Paradise Lost: A Disappointing End to a Promising Season

The season finale of Hulu’s Paradise promised to unravel the intricate web of secrets and power struggles within the post-apocalyptic bunker. It delivered, albeit in a way that left viewers more frustrated than satisfied. While the mystery of President Cal Bradford’s killer was finally solved, the resolution felt rushed, convoluted, and ultimately undermined the carefully built tension of the preceding episodes. The finale answered questions, yes, but it raised even more about the show’s narrative direction and its potential for a compelling second season.

The episode begins with a classic Dan Fogelman (of This Is Us fame) flashback, introducing Ian Merrigan, a conscientious construction worker involved in building the Paradise bunker. Merrigan is portrayed as a man of integrity, concerned about the safety of his crew. His downfall begins when he raises concerns about a potential hazard that could halt construction. Dismissed and ostracized, Merrigan descends into conspiracy theories, his obsession with the bunker growing. We even learn he was the one who tried to assassinate Cal before the catastrophic volcanic eruption, an attempt that resulted in Xavier Collins, our protagonist, taking a bullet for the president. This revelation, while adding a layer of depth to the character, feels somewhat disconnected and raises questions about its future relevance to the overall plot.

The narrative then abruptly shifts back to the present, where Xavier finds himself in a desperate situation. He holds Samantha, also known as Sinatra, at gunpoint, while she holds his daughter hostage and dangles the tantalizing possibility that his wife is alive on the surface. Sinatra informs Xavier that Cal’s killer came from outside the bunker and demands he uncover the truth, or risk never seeing his daughter again. This setup, while intense, essentially returns the show to its starting point, a feeling of narrative stagnation that permeates the entire episode.

Meanwhile, Robinson and Dr. Torabi diligently sift through the records of Paradise residents, searching for anomalies in their arrival dates. Their investigation leads them to Maggie, the seemingly amiable diner waitress. Through some rather convenient "nut-allergy sleuthing," Torabi uncovers Maggie’s deceptive past. Maggie confesses to her subterfuge, claiming she acted under the influence of "him." The mystery deepens, only to be quickly and unsatisfyingly resolved.

Simultaneously, Xavier retraces Cal’s final steps, ultimately leading him to the Paradise library, where he is unexpectedly knocked unconscious by none other than Trent, the seemingly harmless librarian. In a twist that feels more ludicrous than shocking, Trent is revealed to be the mastermind behind it all. The show then unveils a string of improbable events: Trent, the construction worker from the flashback, escaped prison on the day of the volcanic eruption, stumbled upon the bunker, killed a man who vaguely resembled him, and infiltrated Paradise with a woman he met at a gas station. Inside the bunker, he blended into the privileged society until Cal’s presence in the library triggered his resentment. Trent, fueled by the mistaken belief that Cal orchestrated the Paradise project, decided to exact his revenge.

The episode then subjects viewers to an unnecessarily graphic flashback depicting Cal’s murder, adding a layer of gratuitous violence that feels out of place within the show’s overall tone. Trent attempts to escape, a futile endeavor given the bunker’s closed system. He is eventually cornered by Xavier and Robinson in the bunker’s rafters and chooses suicide over capture, leaving Xavier with a tidy report to deliver to Sinatra.

However, the situation remains far from resolved. Sinatra claims she cannot reveal the location of Xavier’s daughter because she has lost control of Jane, her loyal assassin. In a bizarre turn of events, Jane’s loyalty to Sinatra is broken over a video game console, of all things. Jane arrives at the standoff between Sinatra and Xavier, shooting Sinatra in a way that leaves her alive but incapacitated.

The season concludes with a sense of unresolved tension and several dangling plot threads. Jane remains a sleeper sociopath, Xavier prepares for a perilous journey to the surface to find his wife, and the residents of Paradise conveniently ignore the near collapse of their society. The episode paints a picture of a society returning to normalcy, indulging in cashew cheese fries as if nothing has happened.

This ending, however, feels deeply unsatisfying. The finale introduces too many loose ends, resolves mysteries in a disjointed manner, and squanders the dramatic momentum built in earlier episodes. The revelation of Trent as the killer feels anticlimactic and undermines the intricate power dynamics established within the bunker. The show’s villains are reduced to caricatures of mild-mannered individuals with improbable backstories, a far cry from the complex and menacing figures hinted at earlier in the season.

The finale’s shortcomings make it difficult to be enthusiastic about a second season. The show risks falling into a predictable pattern of introducing seemingly innocuous characters as the masterminds behind the chaos. A post-apocalyptic thriller needs more than just unexpected twists; it requires coherent storytelling, compelling characters, and a believable world.

The onus is now on Xavier, not only to find his wife but also to salvage the show from the narrative missteps of this season finale. The producers must find a way to re-establish the show’s intrigue, build suspense, and offer compelling reasons for viewers to remain invested in the future of Paradise.