Key Takeaways
- Plot Overview: Xavier searches for Teri while uncovering truths about survival since The Day.
- Season Highlights: The second season introduces new characters and deepens the existing narrative.
- Character Development: Significant backstories are revealed, enhancing the complexity of the characters.
- Release Information: Season two premieres with three episodes on February 23rd on Hulu.
Plot: Xavier searches for Teri out in the world and learns how people survived the three years since The Day. Back in Paradise, the social fabric frays as the bunker deals with the aftermath of Season 1, and new secrets are uncovered about the city’s origins.
Review: If you are like me, you did not expect the reunion of This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and star Sterling K. Brown to be one of the best science-fiction-murder mysteries in years. Paradise kept its true story a secret until the series premiered, shocking audiences with a twist: the story took place in an underground bunker after a cataclysmic event destroyed life on Earth. With each new reveal about the titular paradise and the secrets orchestrated by Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), the story shifted from a whodunit about who murdered President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) into a dystopian and post-apocalyptic drama. For season two, Fogelman and Brown defy all expectations and take the story in a direction fans of the first season will not see coming, while deepening what we know about the world inside and outside the bunker. Paradise delivers a fantastic sophomore run that once again blends genre storytelling with soapy elements, resulting in one of the best shows on the air.
The first season of Paradise opened with the murder of President Cal Bradford and the investigation spearheaded by lead Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown). Through flashbacks, we learn that tech billionaire Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond and elite leaders prepared a bunker to survive a supervolcano eruption that caused a worldwide tsunami and killed the majority of humanity. As the season progressed, a rift developed between those in control of the bunker and those who realized they were being lied to. To avoid an uprising, Redmond reveals the truth to Xavier that the world outside was not destroyed by thermonuclear weapons but instead was subjected to an EMP. As the weather recedes, Redmond learns that there are survivors, including Xavier’s wife, Teri (Enuka Okuma). Xavier sets out to find Teri, leaving his children in the Colorado bunker. Season two continues the divide between those in control of the bunker, along with new obstacles both in the outside world and the artificial town created by Redmond.
With the first season ending, setting the table for where Paradise would head next, I did not anticipate the format Dan Fogelman’s writing staff would implement. Without divulging any spoilers, the premiere episode of season two gives us a flashback to introduce new cast member Shailene Woodley as Annie. It may seem strange to detour from the main storyline at the very start of the second season, but Annie’s experiences during the years after the tsunami are integral to where this season is headed. The episode also introduces Link (Thomas Doherty) and gives us a long-awaited look at the outside world immediately following what is referred to as The Day. With Paradise debuting with three episodes at once, audiences will learn what happened to Xavier after leaving Colorado, as well as what is happening inside the bunker after the uprising is quelled. This includes what happens to Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall) and double agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom), as well as Xavier’s kids Presley (Aliyah Martin) and James (Percy Daggs IV), Cal Bradford’s son Jeremy (Charlie Evans), and Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi).
It was very difficult to review the first season of Paradise without being able to address the twist at the end of the series premiere, but with that out of the bag, season two is chock full of plot twists, reveals, and flashbacks that shed light on elements we did not even think to question in the first season. Nicole Brydon Bloom gets a lot of development as Jane’s past is examined, and how her murderous skills factor into the new world order. We also get a decent amount of screentime from James Marsden and Jon Beavers in flashbacks throughout the season, which gives us additional insight into characters’ contemporary motivations. Having seen seven of eight episodes, I am left with a bombshell in the penultimate episode, leaving me with over a month before I find out how this season will conclude and set up what will surely be a third-season renewal.
Directors Glen Ficarra & John Requa return to helm the first two episodes of this season, with season one veteran Hanelle Culpepper directing the final two. Ken Olin and Liza Johnson directed two episodes each in the middle of this season. Showrunner Dan Fogelman co-scripted this premiere episode with Eric Wen while Jason Wilborn, Scott Weinger, Stephen Markley, Katie French, Nadra Wdatalla, Melissa Glenn, John Hoberg, and Seena Haddad wrote for this entire season. The palace intrigue and murder-mystery elements that drove this first season still exist but in a much smaller capacity as Paradise introduces many more plot elements. There is a power vacuum within this bunker along with new challenges from survivors who know where this underground city is located in Colorado. Outside, this post-apocalyptic world has given rise to factions; however, Paradise does not follow down paths similar to The Last of Us or The Walking Dead. There is a sense of hope in this series that despite death looming in many episodes shows humanity to be inherently more good than we often see when presented with end-of-days scenarios on screen.
Paradise was a welcome surprise that kept me glued for this entire first season. With great cover songs of popular tracks that add to this series’ narrative feel, this series hit hard. Season two takes a different direction while maintaining balance between flashbacks and contemporary storytelling while giving us multiple concurrent storylines that make up most of these eight episodes; introducing us to brand-new characters while deepening what we know about our original ensemble. With much on line after seven episodes I am convinced that this season will conclude with a shocking cliffhanger keeping us all on edge as we await another year filled with theories and anticipation. Sterling K. Brown is once again a solid lead anchoring this emotional core which presents different mysteries from last year’s yet remains every bit as engaging and entertaining. Paradise is once again one of our best shows right at start of 2026.
Paradise season two premieres with three episodes on February 23rd on Hulu.
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Source:
JoBlo.com
