FromThis Is UsandGalavantcreatorDan FogelmancomesParadise, a post-apocalyptic political thriller that everybody should be watching. The series follows Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), the lead Secret Service agent on the detail for President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). Three years after an apocalyptic event destroyed the world, Xavier and Cal are among 25,000 people who live in Paradise, a city inside an underground bunker built underneath a mountain in Colorado.
When Cal is suddenly murdered, Xavier is put in the middle of a dangerous investigation, having to navigate his quest to find the truth when the very people in charge are the ones standing in his path. The series, which is just over halfway through its eight-episode first season, crosses a classic political thriller with a post-apocalyptic story for something unlike anything else on television. If you haven’t started watching it yet, here are 8 reasons why you should be watchingParadise.
8’Paradise' has compelling relationship dynamics.
Paradise’s setting ofan underground town inside a bunkerlends itself to a number of fascinating storylines and relationship dynamics. Coupled with the murder of the President of the United States, the setting leads to a high-stakes situation that brings out interesting sides to these characters. There are a number of compelling relationship dynamics, like that of Xavier and his best friend and fellow agent, Billy Pace (Jon Beavers), the only person in Xavier’s line of work that he trusts after Cal is killed.
Another interesting dynamic is that of Xavier and Cal, which is told in flashbacks, showing how they once had a strong boss-employee relationship, until Cal did something unforgivable that made Xavier hate him. There’s also Xavier’s sweet relationship with his kids, Presley (Aliyah Mastin) and James (Percy Daggs IV), whom he would do anything to protect. Beyond Xavier’s inner circle, he has a number of more complicated relationships, like those with his reluctant allies, Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall) and Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi).
7’Paradise' has a unique and terrifying premise.
A Secret Service agent having to solve the murder of the president is a compelling premise on its own.InParadise, everything is amplifiedby the central post-apocalyptic twist. Told through flashbacks to both before and after the doomsday event in between the present-day storyline,Paradisepaints a picture ofan underground society that was built to hold 25,000 people in preparation for the destruction of Earth. Taken onto planes at the time of the event, these people are brought into a picturesque town meant to resemble “Anywhere, America.”
Paradise seems like the ideal town on the surface, and those in power certainly do what they can to keep up this image. The dome overhead maintains an illusion of a sunrise and sunset, and there is a local bar where people gather and drink, as well as a diner that serves cheese fries. It is also incredibly eerie, as it becomes clear just how doctored this image is, and how manufactured everything is about this town. Naturally, due to the setting, the stakes of Cal’s murder are much higher, and those in power cover up his murder to make it look like he died of natural causes so that the citizens of Paradise don’t become afraid or revolt.
6At the center of ‘Paradise’ is a gripping political thriller mystery.
For those who love political dramaslikeScandalandDesignated Survivor,Paradisemakes for the perfect next watch. The main storyline is driven by mystery of who murdered the President of the United States, and why. That being said, the political thriller elements go way beyond the mystery itself. Even aside from the questions around Cal’s murder, there is this driving narrative of Xavier trying to do what is right and get justice for Cal’s murder, while also trying to take down the powers that be and expose their number of secrets.
Political thriller fans who are wary of the speculative shouldn’t be driven away by the fact thatParadisetakes place in an underground bunker. The post-apocalyptic aspect of the show only elevates the political thriller, as it becomes clearer that the mystery of Cal’s murder, as well as the current dangers that Xavier faces, are tied to the secrets related to the conception and existence ofParadiseitself. This political thriller takes place in a contained space, without any other countries around, and where weapons have been banned.
5’Paradise' has nuanced and complex characters.
“Good guys” and “bad guys” certainly exist inParadise. Xavier is the clear hero, trying to protect his kids and serve the president, now by getting justice for his murder. Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) is the clear villain, using her abundance of money and proximity to those in the government to gain power and control. That being said, every character is incredibly well-written and nuanced. The antagonistic characters have their motives, and Xavier is not just some one-dimensional hero. They are well-developed, andthey have all been deeply impacted by the apocalyptic event.
Every character inParadise,from the agents, to those who work for Sinatra, to Xavier’s kids, to Cal, are complex and multi-dimensional. Xavier certainly has his reasons for hating Cal, but Cal becomes more fleshed out and understandable through flashbacks. Robinson’s involvement in the investigation is compromised by her romantic relationship with Cal before his death, but this relationship gets the time and space to become understandable as well. Through both flashbacks and individual scenes in the present, it becomes easier to understand the characters, even when they are unlikable.
4’Paradise' explores interesting moral and ethical themes and questions.
While the central thriller aspect of Xavier investigating Cal’s murder is certainly compelling,Paradise’s appeal goes beyond its plot.The shocks and twistsare very entertaining and often scary, but the show is also deeply thought-provoking, and it leaves viewers to ponder major moral and ethical questions about the world even after each episode has ended. One question at the core of the show, ishow do people decide who lives and who dies?As Gabriela explains to Xavier at one point, Paradise was carefully chosen, down to each person selected to be there.
It is a terrifying and fascinating question to think about how the decisions were made to choose who should live, and why more was not done to save other people before the event. This bunker was planned out years in advance due to a prediction about a climate disaster, and yet, more of these were not made as far as the show has revealed, and only a select few were chosen to live. Other questions at the center of the show are what the value of truth is, and how much should be risked, including peace and lives, to learn and reveal these truths.
3’Paradise’s Sinatra is a horrifying and perfect villain.
Nicholson is absolutely terrifying as Samantha “Sinatra” Redford, a woman who made billions of dollars from a start-up that she created, and who has since used a large sum of that money to spearhead the creation of Paradise. Sinatra’s money, idea for Paradise, and ambition have given her more power than even the President of the United States. Although it is unclear whether she was involved in Cal’s death and to what extent,Sinatra is clearly not above murderif it will keep her in power.
Sinatra is even more unsettling because she is not just a one-dimensional villain. She has always been ambitious in her pursuit of money, power, and acclaim, but she is also driven by grief and fear. After the death of Sinatra’s son (Peter Gorbis) to a terminal illness many years earlier, she was utterly destroyed. In the wake of this, Sinatra became terrified that her daughter (Kate Godfrey) would die as well. Upon hearing a man who everyone else dismissed predict a climate disaster that would destroy the world, Sinatra got the idea to have Paradise built, primarily to keep her daughter safe. Sinatra will do anything, not just to maintain her power in Paradise, but to protect her daughter.
2Xavier’s rigid moral code makes him a fascinating and complex hero in ‘Paradise’.
Sterling K. Brown is both compelling and sympathetic as Xavier, who is far more than just a hero who is driven by the need to do what is right.Xavier’s fatal flaw is that he has such a strong moral code, that he will do anything to uphold it, even if that means destroying relationships with loved ones or risking his own life to save and now avenge a man that he hated. It is this central contradiction at the center of Xavier’s character that makes him so compelling, as his strict moral code is often at odds with the people in his life, and with his ability to live life like normal.
Throughoutthe first season ofParadise, Xavier is put in an impossible position, of having to investigate into the murder of a man whom he hated and had sworn to protect, while the most possible people in this society are blocking the investigation. With his life and the life of his kids on the line, Xavier is on a quest to find and reveal the truth in a town run by people who would rather conceal the truth in favor of blank platitudes, plastic ducks, and false promises.
1’Paradise’s post-apocalyptic twist and underground setting make it an unforgettable watch.
There are a number of television shows out there that focus on people struggling to survive, find food, and fight off threats in the wake of an apocalypse. What is much rarer is the concept of people trying to move on with their regular lives long after the apocalyptic event has taken place, even as it taints everything that comes in its wake.The Leftoversdid this phenomenally, focusing primarily on the tension between the divide of people who wanted to move on with their lives and return to a version of normal, and people who refused to let them forget, no matter the cost.
Paradisealso does this incredibly well, andis perfect for fans ofThe Leftoverswho are looking for a show that deals with life after an apocalyptic event without actually being about the event. Every moment and storyline inParadise, even the funnier and more lighthearted scenes, has this tragedy hanging over it. Viewers are put directly in the middle of this, as they are torn between getting lost in the more casual and more intense moments, and the reminder that all of this takes place inside an underground bunker aftermost of the world has been destroyed.
Keep Reading:Has ‘Paradise’ Been Leaving Us Clues About Its Big Mystery This Entire Time?
