As predicted, the final part of the three-episode release Paradise season 2 finally brought us back to the bunker in Colorado.
When we left off in the first season, there was plenty to consider. The question is where it could go from that point. In Paradise season 2 episode 3, “Another Day in Paradise,” we get a sense of where we’re headed.
The whole truth
We begin with Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) in the hospital in a coma. She was shot by Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) at the end of the season. And as she’s languishing in the hospital bed, she’s having visions of what drove her to the project. That means going back to the scientist (Geoffrey Arend) whose theories got her working on a solution.
As it turns out, we didn’t hear the whole story. In a bar, he lays out what will happen. The volcano will erupt, and the ash will blot out the sky, dropping temperatures. Not everyone will die. And, after a few years, things will improve. The survivors will begin to return to a normal life. That dovetails with what we saw in the pilot as Annie (Shailene Woodley) experienced the events from Graceland.
He tells Sinatra that won’t be the end. What follows will be a cataclysmic event that will forever change the Earth. It will leave those that survived the first part wishing they hadn’t. It’s a bleak picture, but it also answers some of what is driving Sinatra and some of the secrecy about the events.
Life in the bunker
Meanwhile, we catch up on the rest of life in the bunker. That begins with a flashback to the night he left, where Jane shows up to tell Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) and Nicole (Krys Marshall) a version of what happened with Sinatra. It looks bad, but Jane is good at selling.
Xavier already plans to leave, so he offers to take the fall. In the aftermath, Nicole is demoted, and also serves as caregiver to Xavier’s kids. Meanwhile, Jane is branded a hero and given a promotion.
We’re now living in a bunker led by President Henry Baines (Matt Malloy), and he has wasted little time trying to re-establish order. That means a harsh, zero-tolerance policy for those who step out of line. That doesn’t bode well for Jeremy (Charlie Evans). Fueled by the final words from his father, he’s committed to making a better world. That leaves him something of an outlaw and the leader of the resistance.
For her part, Presley (Aliyah Mastin) is toeing the line, but she’s still in contact with Jeremy. They use a dead drop in a little library to pass notes. James (Percy Daggs IV) isn’t too pleased. He’s already lost his mother and father, and he’s worried about losing his sister.
Morale in the bunker isn’t particularly high. President Baines has a plan to change that—believing the people are missing seasons. He wants to give them a taste of summer by raising the temperature. He’s told there isn’t enough power because of what is needed for Sinatra’s project.
Baines brings her in for questioning. She has woken from the coma and claims not to have her full memory. She also claims not to know about a special project, passing a polygraph along the way. She seems content to chill at home with her family—but is that the case?
The puppet master
We see another flashback for Sinatra, this time the way she met Billy Price (Jon Beavers). He comes to her to solve a problem. There’s a technology she needs for her project, and the man (Patrick Fischler) responsible won’t give it to her. So, Billy is sent to pry it away by any means necessary. The man is surprisingly amiable when Billy shows up, gun in hand. He simply asks his protégé be spared. We soon see said protégé is Link (Thomas Doherty), which explains his knowledge of the bunker in Colorado and his interest in it years later.
Their business done, and Sinatra asks Billy what happens if she needs him again. He says she needs only give him a name and a picture and mention that the person needs a breath mint. Billy wasn’t the only killer who worked with Sinatra before and during the time in the bunker.
Nicole is suspicious of Jane. Looking in her mostly redacted file, the only words that seem visible are CIA. That raises a red flag. When she looks at the report on Billy’s death, she sees a lot of statements that don’t match reality. That leads her to the conclusion that Jane might be hiding something. She searches for Jane, but her realization is too late.
Jane is doing a one-on-one protection with President Baines. But she’s still working for Sinatra, who despite appearances is pulling all the strings. Sinatra suggested the President needed a breath mint, and Jane obliges. Another President is dead. This time, Jane uses a suspicious Nicole as a fall woman.
Thoughts on Paradise season 2 episode 3
Paradise season 2 episode 3 was a longer deep dive, and one that started to provide some more context clues.
While we spent three episodes with three different groups, I like the premiere block taken as a whole. We have a taste of life in the world, we see where Xavier is on his mission, and we know where we’re going with the bunker. I’m excited to see what comes next.
You'll have to wait a bit for Paradise season 2 episode 4. The new episodes arrive Mondays on Hulu! Stay tuned for more news and recaps for Paradise season 2.