Here's why The Purge season 2 might just be the best outing of the entire franchise. Blumhouse made its name on high-concept, low-budget horror films such as Paranormal Activity and Insidious, both of which were huge hits that launched franchises. The original Purge arrived in 2013 with the innovative - and terrifying - concept of a future where for one day a year, all crime is legal. This is so the American population can "purge" itself of violence, and the first entry sees Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey trying to shield their children from a group of masked home invaders.
The Purge received mixed reviews, but the concept alone was enough to push it towards a $90 million gross worldwide; this was especially profitable considering its $3 million budget. The Purge soon became a movie series in its own right, with subsequent sequels expanding the world and lore. The First Purge from 2018 also detailed the origin of the horrific tradition. The most recent installment was 2021's The Forever Purge, but while this was initially billed as the final movie, The Purge 6 is back in development with Frank Grillo set to return as Leo Barnes from the second and third entries.
Followers of the series have their own favorites, though the second movie The Purge: Anarchy is commonly considered the best. One of the intriguing things about the concept behind The Purge is how many different stories can be told within its framework, from how it functions to how different classes of people deal with the event. It's one of the few movie franchises that would benefit from a TV series, which eventually arrived in the form of a 2018 spinoff from USA Network. The Purge season 1 was greeted with a somewhat lukewarm response as it offered little the movies hadn't explored, but The Purge season 2 changed things up for the better - and could be the highlight of the whole series for that reason.
Instead of depicting a bunch of characters from disparate walks of life being trapped outside during another Purge Night, the second season starts as one night ends and follows the main characters in the year leading up to the next. Of course, the Purge Night itself is the main attraction for the franchise, but fans had often wondered how the world functioned the rest of the year, and a series was the best avenue to explore that. The Purge season 2 follows four main plotlines; a married couple who barely survived an attack by a hitman during a Purge Night, a group of bank robbers preparing for a heist, a college kid dealing with the trauma of having to defend himself and a worker for the NFFA (New Founding Fathers of America) discovering a dark secret about how the night is run.
Putting the actual event to one side for much of The Purge season 2 was a risk, and while it could definitely be argued the lack of action for much of the season is a downside, it's ultimately to its benefit. It makes the series feel distinct from its movie counterpart and gets to dig into the many questions audiences had about The Purge movies, including what happens when somebody commits a crime outside of Purge Night. Season 2 also boasts a solid cast in Derek Luke, Max Martini and Paola Nuñez, and while the characters aren't always likable, the series does a good job fleshing them out. While the first season and some of the other movies have been hit and miss, The Purge season 2 set itself apart within the franchise by its unusual approach alone.