'The Purge' Season 2 Episode 1 shows what happens when those in favor of the system lose one of their own to legalized crime
This article contains spoilers for Season 2 Episode 1
Hey Purgers, it's time for the annual day of legalized bloodbath and massacre to wreak havoc in the new America of the future, aka a nation reborn.
James DeMonaco's movie franchise-turned-TV series is finally here with its second season which primarily focuses on what goes on for the rest of the year, as Americans prepare for the next annual Purge night while reeling in the destructive aftermath of the previous one.
What the premiere episode titled 'This is Not a Test' also tackles is the impact of losing a loved one to the most dreaded night of the year in the dystopian world created by the New Founding Fathers, when you are part of the same government that runs the annual celebration of bloodbath and massacre.
Season two sees Paola Nuñez as Esme Carmona — a top tier professional working for the NFFA government's surveillance security on Purge night.
She is your typical female badass from typical procedurals — the kind that has grown a thick skin to the crimes and depravity she comes across but is extremely easy on the eyes and has secret storage of compassion and warmth locked up under layers of that stoic, cold exterior.
Esme works every Purge night and her eagle eyes spot shifty-looking Purgers who are doing things or carrying weapons outside the allowed levels. Her boss appreciates her sixth sense and compliments her for doing a good job, "as always".
And even though Esme is typically brilliant, and acts as a mentor to the newly transferred Vivian, who is having a hard time digesting the graphic extremities of the deadly night, never once does she forget the code engraved on her brain by the new founding fathers.
Esme breathes and preaches the mantra that the annual Purge is ethically right or else every night in the country will be like Purge night, but that is until a close one of her own faces a direct threat, and suddenly, Esme isn't hesitant to break protocol.
While watching the horrors unfold on the streets on the annual Purge night from season one, the season two premiere shows Esme snag a passing glance at the live footage on Vivian's computer.
The cameras show a middle-aged African American woman outside the front door of a house. She looks petrified with fear and can be seen clearly seeking refuge by banging loudly on the front door, before heading outside once she gets no response.
Esme gasps in distress, her stoic stance shifting momentarily to a picture of concern. When Vivian picks up on that, Esme tells her that the woman is Drew who had once helped her come out of really dark times and means a lot to her.
In a frantic haze, Esme ends up asking Vivian for a link to the live streams tracking Drew's moves, only to be reminded by Vivian that these live footages aren't for their personal use.
Esme blows it off and begins tracking Drew anyway, and refuses to budge from doing so even when Vivian tries to warn her that she is breaking government protocol by following her basic human instincts.
It is only when Drew gets shot down by a bunch of people outside that Esme finally yells in frustration, shaking up the atmosphere at work because of her unlikely behavior.
The fact that a woman who is pretty much desensitized towards cruel, offensive jokes and people throwing up in the dustbins next to their chairs could be so affected by violence on Purge night is shocking to most around her.
Even though she tries to brush away their concerns, it's not before she burns a copy of the footage on her personal memory device.
It will be interesting to see how Esme's plot pans out this season, especially considering she is professionally pro-Purge. Now, after losing a loved one to the same notorious night, will her dynamics or allegiance to the NFFA change?
She is on to something with Drew's footage as she hears the armed men who murdered her ask her for certain files and documents before they shot her to death.
It's likely that Esme might get to the bottom of what looks like a conspiracy, but what we are waiting for is the way this incident will impact her loyalty to the system.
'The Purge' season two airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm only on USA Network.