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 Samatha “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 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 the 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 the characters’ contemporary motivations. Having seen seven of the 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 the stage for what will surely be a third-season renewal.
Directors Glen Ficarra & John Requa return to helm the first two episodes of the season, with season one veteran Hanelle Culpepper directing the final two. Ken Olin and Liza Johnson directed two episodes each in the middle of the season. Showrunner Dan Fogelman co-scripted the premiere episode with Eric Wen, with Jason Wilborn, Scott Weinger, Stephen Markley, Katie French, Nadra Wdatalla, Melissa Glenn, John Hoberg, and Seena Haddad writing the rest of the season. The palace intrigue and murder-mystery elements that drove the first season still exist, but in a much smaller capacity, as Paradise introduces many more plot elements. There is a power vacuum within the bunker, along with new challenges from survivors who know where the underground city is located in Colorado. Outside, the post-apocalyptic world has given rise to factions, but Paradise does not follow the same path as 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 the end of days is presented on screen.
Paradise was a welcome surprise that kept me glued for the entire first season. With great cover songs of popular tracks that add to the series’ narrative feel, this series hit hard. Season two takes a different direction, maintaining the balance of flashbacks and contemporary storytelling while giving us multiple concurrent storylines that make up the bulk of the eight-episode season, introducing us to brand-new characters and deepening what we know of the original ensemble. With a lot on the line after seven episodes, I am convinced that this season is going to conclude with a shocking cliffhanger that will keep us all on the edge of our seats as we await another year of theories and anticipation. Sterling K. Brown is once again a solid lead who anchors the emotional core of this series, which is a different mystery from last year’s but every bit as engaging and entertaining. Paradise is once again one of the best shows of the year right at the start of 2026.
Paradise season two premieres with three episodes on February 23rd on Hulu.
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Source:
JoBlo.com
