The Purge Season 1 Episode 9 recap: I Will Participate

In episode 9 of The Purge, Joe holds Penelope, Jane, Rick, and Jenna on trial while Miguel and Pete fight to stop Joe’s madness.

For Joe, it’s time to play judge, jury, and executioner on The Purge. Joe has taken his group of captives to Thomas Paine Middle School for a trial in order to seek justice against those who wronged him. Miguel and Pete race to find Joe’s location in order to save Penelope and the others.

Who will live and who will die? Below is the recap for episode 9 of The Purge titled, “I Will Participate.”

Joe holds a trial for the captives

In episode 8, Joe was revealed to be a collector instead of the meek savior he previously portrayed. Instead of collecting people for profit, Joe collects specific people who he felt wronged him. Joe brings Penelope, Jane, Rick, Jenna, and three other people to Thomas Paine Middle School and keeps them in a cell on the auditorium stage.

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Joe did not track these people down by chance in one night. This was through months of deliberate planning and even went as far as tagging them with a tracking spray in order to find them easier. Joe wants revenge and more importantly, justice. Joe tells the captives that he will hold a trial and that he will present his case of how each person failed him.

After Joe presents his case, the defendant will have a chance to confess. If Joe accepts the confession, he will set the person free but if it’s not up to his standards, he will purge.

First up is Charlie, a former classmate who bullied Joe into doing his homework and humiliated him when Joe peed his pants, shown through a flashback. Joe hugs Charlie and all seems to be forgiven until Joe stabs his former bully to death.

Next on trial is Eileen, the woman who relayed the message that Joe and his former place of work, the power plant, was shutting down. When Eileen is released from the cell, she attempts to make a run for it but is shot down by automatic guns as soon as she opens the door. Joe has rigged the school so that no one can get in and no one can get out.

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Next on trial is Jane and in a flashback, we learn that Joe and Jane once went on a date. The date was awkward, cringe-worthy, and uncomfortable. Joe and Jane used a dating app to meet, but Joe used a significantly younger picture of himself so the date was already off on the wrong foot.

Then, Joe makes a few shrewd, racist remarks, insisting that Jane received her job because of her race. Joe feels that Jane is looking down on him because of her high financial status, which to some, may seem accurate, but does not excuse Joe from his racist remarks.

When Joe forces Jane to confess, he reveals to the group that Jane purged her boss earlier in the night. Jane confesses to the crime but pleads with Joe that purging does not make things better or any easier. It only brings shame upon yourself.

When Joe points a gun at Jane, she knocks it out of his hand and begins to fight back. However, Joe gets on top of Jane and strangles her to presumably her death.

Joe is a loose cannon that is full of anger and rage. His reasons for purging range from a bad date with Jane to something as petty as not saying thank you when he held the door open, which is what happened with Penelope. Now, only Penelope, Rick, Jenna, and another woman are left in the cell. Will they face the same fate as Jane?

Miguel and Pete team up to find Penelope

Once Joe escaped from the cantina, Pete decides to help Miguel track down Joe. They track his license plate, which leads them to Joe’s house. Joe was prepared for intruders as a bomb was set to explode if anyone tried to get in, but Miguel was able to defuse it.

Miguel and Pete enter the house and find Joe’s sick father, who is deathly ill. As they explore the house, the duo finds Joe’s plans all over the wall, including each person’s whereabouts and how he tracked them. When Miguel and Pete confront Joe’s father, he laughs, saying that nothing will stop his son from purging at the school.

Before Pete and Miguel can drive away, they are forced to jump out of the car to avoid an RPG, which destroys the car. The RPG was shot from Rex the cowboy and his workers, who are still hunting Miguel from the carnival. Miguel and Pete are now forced to flee on foot as they race to save Penelope.

What did you think of episode 9 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.