‘Paradise’ Star Enuka Okuma Unpacks Teri and Xavier’s Reunion and That Tense Episode 7 Confrontation

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Paradise” Season 2, Episode 7.

After seeing Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier and Enuka Okuma’s Teri clawing to find their way back to each other throughout “Paradise” Season 2, Okuma knew anticipation to see the couple finally reunite was high among the fan base, adding a layer of pressure to their Episode 7 reunion.

“It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, right?” Okuma told TheWrap, applauding the writers for giving the couple a private reunion following their initial reunion, which still saw Xavier guarding himself from potential attacks of the group with Teri. Once the leaders vets him, though, Xavier and Teri get several minutes alone together in the tent, which Okuma calls essential, saying “quiet the world down and give them five minutes to actually connect.”

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, but once we were in the tent, and the scene happened, and the circumstances were what they were, it ended up being very, very easy,” Okuma said. “I’d lived with the character for so long, and I also hadn’t worked with Sterling in ages … it felt okay in the end, all the worry that I had just melted away.”

Episode 7 sees the couple relish in their reunion — and debrief the kids they’ve collected on the way — but they quickly head into “action mode,” with Okuma noting the couple shifts from operating as individuals to a unit, which naturally comes with some bumps in the road after years apart.

“They’ve both been leaders in their own camps, and now they’re working together, but you see that husband and wife dynamic of … ‘You’re not going to tell me what to do. I’ve got a mind of my own. I’ve been my own leader — I’m living my own life,'” Okuma said. “It was a delicate balance between ‘Happy to see you’ also ‘Don’t tell me what to do.'”

That action mode is needed as Teri attempts to rescue Bean (Benjamin Mackey) from Gary (Cameron Britton), which results in an emotional conversation with Gary, which Xavier monitors from afar with a sniper set up. Despite things seeming to take a turn for the worse, Teri talks Gary down from his ledge, paying off her risky move.

“Teri knows Gary’s heart at the end of the day, and so she wouldn’t walk into that line of fire unless she knew that she could reach Gary — and she was she was right,” Okuma said. “It’s a gamble, because we know that Gary’s kind of frayed on the edges, but I think she believes that his love for her will trump anything else nefarious that could happen … she trusts her gut, and she was right in this situation.”

Below, Okuma breaks down Episode 5’s bunker scenes and how it clued her into who Teri is and teases what’s next.

TheWrap: We saw Teri a couple times in Season 1 but much more this season. What was it like getting to build out the character more?

Okuma: It was really such a treat to get to fill out this character. There’s a lot of fun in playing a character with mystery, but there’s also a lot of pressure. The episode that Katie [French] wrote for this one … it was a nice way of looking at the world outside. It’s great that Teri gets to represent a part of a community of people that are banding together and that are better together than they are alone. Getting to see that through her and through the group, I thought, was really great.

We get a glimpse into the start of Teri and Xavier’s relationship. How did you want to portray that start to their dynamic?

It was a little tough in the beginning, just because, on the page, Teri does not want anything to do with that guy. It was finding the balance between a refusal and and clocking that there is an attraction right away, so we played in many different ways, and it kind of ended up in the edit how they decided which way it would go. It definitely informed the rest of what happens as they get together — you see that right in the beginning there’s a dynamic to them that is echoed when you see them together again.

What was it like building that through line with Sterling?

We had worked together in Season 1, but not very much, so what was exciting about Episode 2 especially was just that while we were getting to know each other personally, the characters were getting to know each other, so it kind of made that organic rollout pretty seamless. The fun thing was plotting that later, as in, they’ve been married for years, and it’s been years since they’ve seen each other in this whole apocalypse.

We get to see everything Teri has been up to in Episode 5. What was it like shooting that spotlight episode and seeing Teri’s perspective on The Day?

We had a bunker of our own, and the aspect of the family — the sort of found family — I think Teri, as much as she is a career woman, she is grounded by her family, and so without that, I think if she had been alone, she would have been very, very lost. But she gathers herself and gathers the people, and she is the one who ends up creating the sense of family, creating the sense of actually living life, not just surviving out there. That was a huge clue to me and her character, and what type of woman she is, and given these circumstances, she’s going to make a home wherever she is.

What was it like being immersed in a bunker like that?

It did feel like very tight quarters. We shot in a very small space, even though it was in our studio for the most part, it was very tight, and it was a large group of people, plus our cameras, plus our crew, and so the intimacy was forced upon us, and you can’t escape it. And because of it, the Episode 5 family USPS bunker crew, we all kind of bonded in a really special way. It was a very intense couple weeks of shooting and and it ended up being really lovely.

How has she kept hope without Xavier and her children?

It was definitely her fuel to keep going. She had to have something to grab on to, and I don’t think she would make it if she didn’t believe that they were still out there and that she would get back to them. And that untenable faith — you clearly see it in Xavier so that speaks to their love and their bond, that they sense that each other was out there and that they both steadfastly believed and worked to get to see the other person again.

We see things with Gary eventually go sour. How did you understand how Teri was navigating that one?

Cameron Britton, I just have to say, is one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with. We talked extensively about these two and it was just great working with him, because he’s such a thorough actor and the two of us got really nerdy on all the different levels of what was going on between them. Teri definitely knows where her heart is, and she doesn’t believe [Xavier is] dead … so she’s just staying true to her vow and, and knows that her man is out there and, and she believes that she will be with him again, therefore nothing further can develop with somebody who cares about her.

It definitely took me by surprise that Gary was the one to be scared of. What did you make of that twist?

It was a great twist — talk about great storytelling. I believe that Gary does not act out of malice — it’s an emotional decision, and it’s made in the moment, and I wonder if he immediately regrets it. It’s based on his heart, and I think it’s an example of what we are actually all capable of, of what could happen if we are all pushed to the [brink], who knows what the circumstances are? I think the episode is a wonderful way of giving us this portrait of a lonely man who finally finds love in whatever form it is, but in his way, he will do anything to keep that love. It’s a reminder of what could happen, what we could all do for love.

What do you think it says about Xavier and Teri that they both collected these surrogate children?

It’s a testament to who they are. It makes perfect sense. Neither one of them really bats an eye because … it’s just in their DNA together as a couple, that that would be the case — they’re both generous hearts and and providers. I love that the information is taken in, but it’s not really a big deal. There’s a lot to talk about, which I’m sure they will talk about off screen, but the initial information it’s like, “Okay, yes, you have a child, and I have a child.” But it’s funny, the way Sterling puts it is they went out in the world and they both got white children.

We leave off with Teri and Xavier heading to Colorado. What can you tease for the finale?

All the stories that we’ve been watching converge, and once we get to that finale, you realize … the buildup of all the episodes of Season 2, how it all culminates, and is a ramp for Season 3.

What have you heard about Season 3?

I asked Dan and Sterling last year, if we get a season three, what would be the deal? They were thinking about the story back then, and they were like, “Oh, it’s good. It’s good.” That’s all they would say to me. I’m like, “What do you mean? In what capacity is it good? How do you elaborate on that?” The sneaky smiles on both of their faces … They gave me nothing. So I’m like the fans — I want to know where this story could go. But what I would want to see is that the family — could these people please possibly be together so long that they’ve all been apart? Can they be together? That’s what I hope for.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“Paradise” Season 2 releases new episodes Mondays on Hulu.

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