The Ending Of The Purge: Election Year Explained

James DeMonaco, the creator of "The Purge" franchise, created a world in which American citizens and murder tourists would gather one day each year to do whatever they wanted — including stealing, arson, and, of course, murder. Director Everardo Gout explained DeMonaco's goal with the franchise: to get people to confront their own ethics. "It's dystopian, but he's trying to get us to look in the mirror," Gout revealed to TotalFilm. "It makes you think, 'S***, if I get pushed into a corner, would I do the same?' Once you open that door, how do you close it again?"

That question was also at the center of the third movie in the franchise, "The Purge: Election Year." With heavy political themes and events that have vaguely mirrored real life at times, the film focused on presidential candidate Charlene "Charlie" Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell)'s fight to stay alive. As an active critic of the Purge, Roan was a target of the New Founding Fathers of America, the political group in charge of the country that vehemently supported the Purge. Throughout the movie, we sat on the edge of our seats, wondering who would not only win the election but who would end the night alive. And while the film seemed to end on a positive note, it ultimately left us with plenty of new questions.

At the end of "The Purge: Election Year," we fast forward two months after the violent event to election night, where we see Roan win in a landslide victory. Meanwhile, Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria) and Laney (Betty Gabriel) have a sweet moment together as they work to repair the recently deceased Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williamson)'s store. Eventually, Laney leaves Marcos to continue painting, as he contemplatively looks out a window at an American flag floating in the wind. It looks like that will be the final shot when suddenly, we can hear the newscast Marcos is watching.

The ominous report mentions "a few scattered incidents around the country where NFFA supporters are reacting violently to this defeat," which is a drastic change from the happy ending we witnessed moments before. What does this mean for the future of the annual Purge? Is the horror really over? While at first, it seemed that Roan was going to successfully end the tradition, it looks like the Purge supporters aren't going down without a fight — and that will undoubtedly lead to more violence.

Though the last film of "The Purge" franchise (set to release on July 9, 2021) is reportedly ending on a positive note, we don't have the highest of hopes since the third installation took such a sharp turn.