Paradise (Season 2)
- Jun 23
- 3 min read
A worthy sophomore season by any measure, PARADISE: SEASON 2 may meander a bit in its middle, but it more than makes up for it with a slam bang final three episodes that lets its stellar cast loose.
Creator Dan Fogelman (This Is Us) continues to dazzle with his use of time, popping back and forth with flashbacks before unleashing something truly clever as we near the finale.
Sterling K. Brown (Is God Is, American Fiction) is excellent as Xavier, former secret service man, now in the outside world and on a quest to find his wife Teri (a stellar Enuka Okuma) whose radio transmission from Atlanta put Xavier in motion. After a wild plane flight and a less than stellar landing, he meets Annie Clay, a former tour guide at Graceland who's holed up post-apocalypse in the KIng's house with a good friend. Episode One introduces takes us back years earlier to get to know Annie, well played by newcomer Shailene Woodley (To Catch a Killer, Ferrari). Her survival skills have been honed for a few years by the time she meets Xavier.
She also meets a band of travelers led by Link (Thomas Doherty). He's gathered a loyal following and they say they are on their way to the rumored bunker in Colorado. His and Annie's bond will serve as a fascinating trail to follow this season.
Meanwhile, back at the massive underground bunker, our favorite characters are facing new challenges.
Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) finds power to be an elusive thing to hang onto within the city of survivors. Rebellion looms, led by the late President Bradford's son Jeremy (Charlie Evans).
A young new secret service agent named Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom from "The Gilded Age") has an eye for advancement and deadly reaction skills, moving quickly up the ladder as two factions emerge within the city. Driscoll is a lethal, brown nosing beast with some deep, deep issues.
Dr. Torabi seems to know everyone's secrets at the top and as played by Sarah Shahi, she's loaded with great intuition and a bit too much curiosity for her own good. I loved how her character, along with Sinatra, evolve so much this season in the capable hands of Shahi & Nicholson.
When Xavier arrives at the site of Terri's radio transmission, he meets a lonely guy named Gary (Cameron Britton), known as The Mailman. He claims to be a very close friend of Teri's, opening up a fascinating flashback history of the planet's day of reckoning and the wild group of folks who end up in Gary's Fallout Shelter at the Post Office.
The final two episodes, 7 and 8, unleash a hell of a conclusion as all of the stories collide at the Colorado bunker and beyond. It's a killer structure that nestles all these disperse story lines into one beautiful conclusion.
Well, at least the conclusion of Season Two!
The finale has real life and death consequence, wrapping up story lines while setting up plenty of mystery for the future.
To say worlds collide would be a vast understatement. I loved several unexpected story lines that emerge in the final two hours. At least twice, I said, "I didn't see that coming" and there is no higher compliment from my chair.
Most of the series has a low tone, or a couple notes playing behind the scenes instead of dramatic music, just like Fogelman's "This Is Us". When he does bust a full musical score out, it's twice as powerful.
Fogelman has created a strong tale with so many fascinating exits and off roads that we're just barely scratching the surface after two seasons and 16 episodes.
It feels like the best seasons of "24" with a dash of "Westworld" and a stable of strong actors creating fascinating, complicated characters. Sterling K. Brown leads with intense power, a man on a mission he'll die to complete. Brown is incredibly compelling. Special effects and production design are first rate.
Another massive hit for Hulu, just like it's inaugural season, the series is set to return for Season 3 in 2027. We can't wait to see what's next.
PARADISE: SEASON 2 gets a very solid B+.
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