Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Paradise Episode 4.
The series premiere ofDan Fogelman’sParadiseshowed that there was more than meets the eye to this political thriller. Initially, it seemed like the plot would just follow the investigation into the death of U.S. President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), but thetwist ending inParadiseEpisode 1 completely changed what this story would be about. After a catastrophic world-ending event, about 25,000 people have escaped to an idyllic underground city, located beneath a mountain in Colorado.Paradisesets up two big mysteriesas the main characters try to solve who murdered Bradford, while the audience also looks to uncover what kind of apocalyptic event caused this community to move to an underground bunker.It may seem easier to find a murderer within a much smaller population, but it also makes the series much more tense, leading to the overarching question of who can be trusted.
ParadiseEpisode 3’s cliffhanger features Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi) warning Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) that his colleague and close friend Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) is dangerous, as per her last conversation with Bradford. It initially seemed that Pace was innocent of any involvement in the President’s murder after confessing that he and fellow Secret Service agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) were playing video games at the time. But the show’s latest twist hints that he might bemuch smarter than he presents himself to be. Given how close Billy is to Collins and his kids,it’s an even more emotional punch when the show’s latest episode culminates in his death. Fogelman once again changes our initial perception ofParadiseby showing Billy Pace’s past through flashbacks and how he went from a violent mercenary to an agent trying to make up for his past. But after threatening Samantha Redmond/Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) to stay away from Collins and his family, Pace tragically dies at the hands of an unlikely enemy.
Who Killed Billy Pace in ‘Paradise’?
InParadiseEpisode 4, Sinatra explains she personally chose Pace to join the underground city because of his killer instinct, if she ever needed someone taken out. AlthoughEpisode 2 previously revealed Sinatra’s tragic backstory, her actions this week have proven that she is willing to do anything to preserve this new community, no matter the cost. Under Sinatra’s orders,Pace is forced to kill an exploration team that discovers the surface world still has living animals and breathable air. Sinatra later explains that she would rather let the Paradise citizens live blissfully unaware instead of giving them hope that they could one day return to the surface. During this conversation, it’s implied Pace wasn’t involved in Bradford’s murder, but he suspects Sinatra was. After being threatened by Pace to leave Collins and his family out of her dealings, Sinatra hints that Pace might not be the only killer that she had brought down with them.
Pace feels remorse for what he did in his past and plans to confess everything to Collins, but he wants to enjoy one last night as “Uncle Billy” to Collins' kids. When Pace returns home, it’s revealed thatJane is secretly working for Sinatra, as she murders Pace by poisoning him while planting pills to make it look like he killed himself. It’s sad that Pace died as soon as he became more interesting, as well as someone to root for — but this moment also proves that no one is safe or can be trusted inParadise. Hopefully, he can stick around in flashbacks likeJack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) did in Fogelman’s previous series,This Is Us.
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Did Sinatra Kill President Bradford in ‘Paradise’?
Pace’s death will definitely shake things up for the remaining episodes ofParadise. Although Bradford was the President, Sinatra is the one pulling the strings, and she’s seemingly willing to have anyone killed in service of her own agenda. After the twist that the surface world is still habitable,it’s much more likely that Sinatra ordered Bradford’s murder. Bradford didn’t seem to know the truth about the world when he sent the exploration team, but Sinatra probably did if she had Billy on standby to eliminate them.In theParadiseseries premiere, Sinatra and Bradford seem to have a confrontation on the day of Bradford’s death. He may have uncovered the truth about the surface world and was planning to reveal it to the Paradise citizens, but Sinatra threatened him to keep it a secret.
Collins seems to be the only person who has any suspicion of Sinatra’s villainous nature inParadise. Although Pace’s death has been staged to look like a suicide, Collins might suspect Sinatra’s involvement since he saw Pace talking to her and Agent Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall) hours before he died.Just like her character inMare of Easttown, Nicholson’s Sinatra is complicated and complex. She believes in her cause and will go to any means necessary to pursue that — a quality that makes any villain more interesting. As Fogelman continues to throw in twists and turns,it appears thatParadise’s big conspiracy runs much deeper than we thought, making the show’s overall mysteries that much more exciting to follow.
New episodes ofParadiseare available on Hulu every Tuesday in the U.S.
