‘Paradise’ Season 2 Review: Hulu Hit Returns for an Even Better Adventure Outside the Bunker
Just over a year since it first debuted, Dan Fogelman’s “Paradise” returns for more intrigue and post-apocalyptic, twisty drama. The show has been an unexpectedly massive hit for Hulu, receiving multiple Emmy nominations and praise for performances by leads Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson and James Marsden. Thankfully, “Paradise” returns in top form with an ambitious look beyond the bunker where the first season took place.
The result is a well-paced journey with plenty of intrigue and forward plot momentum, while doing away with the less compelling whodunnit from the first season.
“Paradise” does continue to be a bit shlocky, like something made to air on primetime ABC with an inflated budget rather than the sleek prestige of something like “Severance” — but that’s not necessarily a weakness. By leaning into some soapiness and hamfisted moments (like that “Eye of the Tiger” needle-drop in the first season), the show gets away with a lot more than it could otherwise. Over the seven of eight episodes provided to critics, the second season has a whole bunch of shocking character deaths and twists that work precisely because the show has fully embraced what it is — while also broadening the scope to distinguish itself from practically everything else on television right now. So long, murder mystery plotline.
If you’re new here: “Paradise” takes place in the years after a cataclysmic natural disaster that has wiped most of humankind off the face of the earth, save for a group of curated survivors taken to an underground bunker and led by U.S. President Cal Bradford (Marsden) and mastermind Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond (Nicholson). When the president is found dead, secret service agent Xavier Collins (Brown) has to solve both his murder and interrogate a wider conspiracy about the bunker’s secrets. At the end of the first season, he finds out his wife Teri — who was presumed dead — might still be alive out in the wasteland of what remains of the world after hearing a recording of her voice.
That being said, Xavier’s cliffhanger isn’t where the second season starts off — at least not right away. We actually focus on a new character as the new season kicks off: Annie (Shailene Woodley), a med school dropout turned Graceland tour guide, inspired by her childhood obsession with Elvis. This is also where she hunkers down for the early years of the apocalypse, mostly on her own until she meets a group of wanderers led by Dylan (Thomas Doherty), which brings her seemingly unrelated story into the wider “Paradise” fray. Woodley turns in a career-topping performance in her episodes as a crucial stepping stone for the story, fitting in naturally with the show’s vibe.
By the second episode, we’re back to the races with Xavier trying to track down his wife. Back at the bunker, Sinatra is questioned for a mysterious source siphoning power away from the structure, while the teens are rebelling against a martial law instituted by now-President Baines (Matt Malloy), imprisoning any dissenters. Throughout Xavier’s journey and these episodes, the strengths of “Paradise” really come into focus once again — carefully placed flashbacks that remind us of why “This Is Us” resonated so strongly. Fogelman and his writing team continue to invest in character-driven storylines, and flashbacks also give fallen characters like Billy a chance to return to the show while still having an impact on the story.
Even Annie, a character new on the scene, is given a fully fleshed-out backstory that informs her motivations in the early season. It is especially apparent with Sinatra, whose backstory and characterization continues to expand, adding nuance to what could otherwise be a cookie-cutter villain archetype — thankfully, she wasn’t written off the show after that shooting at the end of the last season. Even Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) gets her own compelling standalone episode later in the season. The only downfall of writing such fleshed-out, fascinating characters, is how gutting it is when one is killed off the show.
At one point in its later seasons, “The Walking Dead” got too predictable with characters’ deaths. It would dramatically build out an episode centered around a character’s backstory and perspective, only to kill them off unceremoniously. That trope rears its head on “Paradise” this season, which viewers might have mixed feelings about. On one hand, a fleshed-out character makes for a more “earned” death, while on the other, still-alive characters have yet to receive the same character treatment, notably Robinson (Krys Marshall), and to a certain extent Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi).
If for some reason the whodunnit is why you tuned in last season, there is still lots left hanging this season for a more mystery-minded viewer to grab onto: Xavier’s visions and Sinatra’s teased arc, slow-burn mysteries to piece together as you watch. “Paradise” isn’t as much of a mystery box adventure as “Silo” or “Severance,” and doesn’t totally lean into the post-apocalyptic like “The Walking Dead” or “Fallout” (the world outside the bunker isn’t as wastelandish as it probably should), but it’s satisfying when it lands somewhere in the middle.
The sophomore return of “Paradise” proves it has plenty of gas left in the tank, and its writers smash on the plot gas pedal this season for nonstop delight. Although it’s airing weekly, “Paradise” has a real binge quality to it. Sure, it can be a little soapy, but an ever-expanding ambition and continuously solid performances by its ensemble cast holds it all together and elevates it beyond just dadcore television.
“Paradise” Season 2 premieres Monday, Feb. 23, on Hulu.
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