Penelope has doubts. Miguel has a near miss. Jane discovers that she isn’t the only one with a hidden agenda.

This is a fascinating hour of Tv for reasons both in front and behind the camera. Behind the camera this is the first directorial change this season and the first episode not written by creator James DeMonaco. In front of the camera, this is the first time the concept meets the needs of serial TV and the first time the characters meet each other’s goals. This could have been the point where the season falls apart. It does creak in one spot but otherwise this is a pretty seamless gear change.

That creaky moment first. Miguel’s relentless, Jack Bauer-esque pursuit of rescuing his sister encounters a thoroughly Jack Bauer plot beat as he inadvertently lets the RV full of neon-habited murder nuns who she’s been taken by pass. Yes it’s a little creaky. Yes it’s more than a little creaky that the first two people off the bus were pretty much instantly killed while Penelope is conveniently carted away. Yes this is the part of the season that works least well so far. But, there may be a reason for all of this, expressed later in the episode in three letters.

OMF. Original Martyr Family.

Miguel and Penelope lived on Staten Island as children. Their parents were offered money to participate, opted not to and were killed. Further, it’s heavily implied they were killed by the NFFA mercs sent into Staten Island to pad the bodycount.

Mercs we’ve seen, in the closing scenes of The First Purge.

This is a plot beat, and a continuity moment, so subtle that it passes by. After all, neon-habited murder nuns happen not long after it. But this is the exact reason I like this franchise so much. It’s ridiculously tidily plotted to the extent that now we have this information we have a pretty good idea of exactly when the show is taking place in the series’ continuity. We know, in Election Year, that America has purged for at least 20 years with Senator Roan surviving the Purge that killed her family 18 years previously. Given Miguel’s age, it seems likely that the show is happening within a couple of years of Election Year, meaning, potentially, it could carry the overall plot on past the end of that movie which would be a very interesting, cool choice to make.

Regardless of all this continuity gonkery there’s a lot to enjoy here. Not just in the Miguel and Pete the Cop plot but Jane’s too. The reveal on her two subordinates isn’t a subtle one but is all the more horrifying for that. You can see what’s coming, she can’t quite, and that in turn adds an extra level to the horror. Jane’s off her game, for very good reasons, and people are starting to notice. But as others have theorised, her boss being alone on Purge night sounds a lot like an alibi. Perhaps she isn’t the only one with an assassin out on the streets. Even if she is, now she has to deal with the Lord of the Flies situation that will erupt in the office in the wake of the world’s bloodiest career progression.

That’s the key to this episode, as it’s a moment every character shares. Rick and Jenna are shown the fact the money they need for their altruistic work is covered in blood. Miguel is shown the damage his sister never felt comfortable sharing with him. Jane is shown that there are other predators in the water tonight. And we’re shown that the mysterious man in the iron mask we’ve glimpsed seems to have an agenda. One that may be more heroic than his terrifying appearance suggests. All of this combines to make episode 3 another strong entry and the firs tangible gear change in the show so far.

Verdict: Not all of it works but it’s all definitely heading in the right direction. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart