Paradise is one of the best Hulu shows in a long time! Things get wild in Paradise episode 1, “Wildcat is Down,” and I have a feeling things are going to stay that way for the majority of the season.
The season premiere begins with Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) packing his daughter and son their lunch before heading out for a morning jog through the perfect oasis of a city. Xavier pays a visit to a mansion where the President of the United States, Cal Bradford (James Marsden), his boss and the person he protects, resides. Xavier gets into a playful argument with Agent Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) and then returns home.
Like with so many TV pilots, it’s not what they are talking about or who is in the room; it’s who is missing. Clearly, Xavier’s wife and his children’s mother was in the picture at one point, but she’s not anymore, and that absence is pretty clear, despite the perfect town, weather, and more.
Someone murdered the President of the United States
When Xavier arrives at the President’s home later around 8 a.m., Agent Pace is gone, but the President still isn’t out of bed, which seems abnormal. Immediately, Xavier is suspicious. He knocks on the door and finds the President lying in a pile of blood on the floor dead.
Then, we see a flashback to the day Xavier and President Bradford met. It’s an interview for a position with the Secret Service at the White House. In the job interview, Xavier can’t understand why he is being selected over some of the more qualified candidates, and the President reveals that he’s heard that Xavier is the best of the best, but he also admits that he wants Black man standing next to him for political reasons. He also shares that the world is “19 times more f*****” than anyone thinks. Xavier proves his chops and smarts during the interview.
And, then, Xavier is back at the dead President’s side. He analyzes the situation and tries to understand what happened as he takes in the scene. He sees an open balcony, streaks of blood, a cigarette, two wine glasses, and earrings, among other things.
He calls Jane (Nicole Bryden Bloom) and tells her to lock down the residence, but he needs time to assess the situation.
Then, we get another flashback with Xavier and Cal during his first week on the job. Cal is out in the rain smoking a cigarette at The White House. We learn that Cal’s wife might have actually voted against him in the last Presidential election. Xavier doesn’t bite on the personal issues, but he does remind Cal that smoking will kill him.
Back in the present, Xavier calls Billy and asks him to come to the residence. As he reviews the tapes, Xavier witnesses an argument between Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and Cal. They dissect the last few hours of Cal’s life, including a visit from his girlfriend, drinks with his father, and then a conversation with Xavier before going to bed.
Then, we get another flashback! During a press scrum, Xavier takes a bullet for President Bradford. At the hospital, President Bradford and Xavier bonded over the incident. The President, who is a Kentucky Wildcats fan, thanks him for saving him from being “Christian Laettnered,” referring to the Duke Blue Devils star who beat Kentucky in the 1992 Final Four.
Agent Robinson was sleeping with President Cal Bradford
At the residence, Xavier tries to get to the bottom of what happened. He orders Billy to walk the perimeter and find everything he can before they have to call in the murder of the President. Billy takes mental notes of everything. It appears someone climbed down from the balcony. Agent Garcia (Eddie Diaz) pulls up the cameras from the night before. They saw that the cameras were offline for an hour while Billy slept on the couch and Jane monitored the cameras in the middle of the night. Billy passes something to Jane right before Xavier orders her to call in the Code Red.
The third-biggest reveal of the episode is that Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall), the woman now leading the investigation and interrogation, was having an affair with the President. She was one of the last people to see the President. The earrings were hers.
But, in the flashback of the night, Cal Bradford died. it’s clear that whatever bond Xavier and Cal had is gone. As Cal pulls out his special tablet with the “news of the world,” Xavier waits for the President to go to bed, but he’s been drinking. He asks Xavier to speak his mind, but Xavier doesn’t bite until Cal asks him if he’ll ever be able to forgive him.
Xavier is living in the world's biggest underground city
And, that’s when we learn Xavier was read in on a super secret plan to develop a community in Colorado deep beneath the earth for survivors to live in after a mass extinction event. He tells Cal about his wife and his obsession with the book, James and the Giant Peach, which is the book they named their son after. It’s the most Dan Fogelman scene in the history of TV. It’s everything, and it’s nothing at the same time.
Xavier’s wife died because of something the President did, and Xavier is not ready to forgive him yet. He tells Cal that he won’t forgive him until he’s dead. Hey, good timing, though, right?
The episode ends with Xavier holding Cal’s cigarette pack with the code to the super-secret tablet.
Then, we get the big reveal: Xavier and the rest of the survivors are living in the world’s biggest underground city.
There are still many questions. We don’t know what happened, and we don’t know where it’s headed, but it’s probably going to be good TV.
Overall, the twists and turns are everything in Paradise. The premise is interesting, but fans are expecting some major reveals in the episodes to come. For me, I wish there was some more linear storytelling when it’s this dialogue-heavy so far. Obviously, there’s a lot of ground to cover to bring fans up to speed, but do we need all of the flashbacks and exposition? We’ll see.