The Purge season 1 episode 8 recap: The Giving Time Is Here

In episode 8 of The Purge, Lila battles with Rick over Jenna while Penelope learns the truth about her cult and Good Leader Tavis.

At some point, many believed that the three main storylines on The Purge would eventually intersect. Well, thanks to a major plot twist at the end of episode 8, the protagonists now find themselves trapped in the back of a van at the mercy of Joe.

Where are they headed? By the looks on their faces, it’s nowhere safe.

Below is the recap for episode 8 of The Purge titled, “The Giving Time Is Here.”

Joe is a collector

In the biggest plot twist of the season, the kind-hearted and admirable Joe reveals that he is not releasing his victims, but holding them captive instead. In fact, the women he saved earlier in the night are not sitting comfortably in the truck.

At the end of the episode, Penelope, Jane, and two other bystanders that Joe saved are all wearing tape on their mouths with handcuffs around their hands. Joe is not a savior, but a collector. It’s ironic because Joe kept repeating to these victims that he was taking them “somewhere safe,” and yet he is holding his victims hostage in his own truck.

It doesn’t stop there. The final scene of the episode revealed that Joe’s next targets were Rick and Jenna. Joe disabled the security system, entered the house, and captured the couple.

Rick is lying outside on the street in handcuffs when he is forced to watch Joe drag out a pregnant Jenna out of the house by her feet. Now, Miguel is the only main character not in Joe’s custody. How will he rescue Penelope and the rest of the prisoners from captivity?

Lila forces Rick and Jenna to make a tough decision

In the last episode, Rick began to ponder Lila’s true intentions in terms of what she wants regarding Jenna and the baby. It turns out that Lila wants to live happily ever after with Jenna and the baby while Rick is removed from the picture. Lila believes her plan will work, but when she brings up the idea to Jenna, the latter shuts it down, saying that their relationship is over.

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Although Lila is devastated, she is undeterred in her mission to win over Jenna. Instead of convincing Jenna to love her, Lila decides to remove Rick from the picture to make the decision easier. Lila begins to bribe Rick, begging Rick to say a number that will make him go away even though Rick rebukes the offer.

This week, the flashback is all about Lila on her 18th birthday. Lila is wearing all white and her parents are dressed to the nines in their finest evening wear. In a normal setting, the scene looks like Lila on her wedding day.

However, this is the NFFA so as it turns out, Lila is preparing for her first purge. When Lila enters the room filled with illustrious guests, a defenseless man is brought into the room as a sacrifice for Lila. Taking the gun, Lila points it at the man, hesitates, but eventually pulls the trigger much to the delight of the crowd.

That first Purge night symbolized Lila’s ability to do something wrong in order to do what she feels is right. Back in the present, Lila decides to take matters into her own hands and remove Rick herself through violence. After beating him on the back with a paddle, Lila points a gun in Rick’s face.

Jenna enters the room to try and calm Lila down with the former stating her love for Lila. With that information, a motivated Lila points the gun at Rick and fires a shot, but misses due to Jenna stabbing Lila’s upper body with a knife. Lila is presumably dead, but don’t be surprised if she ends up saving the day in the next episode.

Penelope learns the truth about Good Leader Tavis

Miguel and Penelope safely make it to the cantina and surprisingly, Pete the cop is happy to see the duo. The reunion is short-lived once Penelope learns the truth about her former cult leader, Tavis.

Pete reveals to Penelope that Tavis is paid by the NFFA to recruit hopeless kids in order to remove them on Purge Night. When explaining why the NFFA does this, Pete says that these victims are “disposable” and it would make sense financially to have them killed on Purge Night instead of treating them with professional help.

Angered, Penelope calls Tavis and tells her to bring the bus outside of the bar. When Tavis arrives, Penelope tries to convince her friends on the bus to leave and reveals what she learned about Tavis. Although Tavis tries to sweet-talk her way out of it, Penelope does not back down and punches Tavis in the face.

When the bus driver attempts to take Penelope hostage, Joe arrives and shoots the driver and Tavis. Joe then forces Penelope into his van, which we now know is not safe.

What did you think of episode 8 of The Purge? Leave your thoughts in the comments or tweet me @danny_giro.

The Purge airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network.