After the three-episode debut of Paradise season 2 on Monday, Feb. 23, the board is officially set for the season. With just eight episodes in the season, this week’s fourth episode, “Holy Charge,” is the midway point.
Episode 4 is the first time we get some forward action after the opening episodes reset the stage. So, where are our heroes headed?
Haunted by dreams
As we closed the second episode, we saw Xavier (Sterling K. Brown), seemingly haunted by dreams of what appeared to be Link (Thomas Doherty). Did he know the man before? We weren’t given much time to linger on that. But as we open this episode, we’re seeing the same dream again. This time it’s happening for Link himself. Does that mean they’re connected?
Later, Xavier sees Link’s ID. He seems to express that they don’t feel like dreams, but visions of the future. Annie (Shailene Woodley) seems to dismiss the idea, but maybe there is something to it. Either way, Link doesn’t take time to dwell. He’s on a mission to find the bunker.
As we pick up with him, he starts the caravan. As we end the episode, it arrives at the bunker doors. We don’t know what Link wants with the bunker, but the flashback from episode 3 offers at least some insight as to his knowledge of it. When they arrive, he has a message he wants to meet the leader, and he doesn’t plan to be patient.
The road to Atlanta
Meanwhile, back in Graceland, Xavier is healing. He needs a bit of time before he can travel, but he’s focused on Atlanta. He talks to Annie, who is weary at first but comes to trust him. Eventually, they strike a bargain—she’ll go with him to Atlanta, then he’ll take them all back to the bunker in Colorado.
So, the next day, they head out. Along the way, they pass a group who appear to be local. Annie is wary of any strangers or anyone outside and warns Xavier not to say anything. He offers a friendly wave and a greeting. He’s not willing to lose what it means to be human and a part of society.
He and Annie stop at an old waffle diner nearby. There, Xavier teaches Annie how to swaddle a baby using a sack of flour. They share more stories and get to know each other. But as they head out the next morning, Annie is stopped. She’s in pain. Labor is coming, and she hasn’t been honest with Xavier. She knows that she’s in trouble.
Xavier races to the nearby house and the people he met on the road. They agree to come help and set up a delivery space for Annie. She delivers a healthy baby girl. But her fears turn out to be founded. She doesn’t survive the delivery. Before she passes, she makes Xavier promise to get her daughter to Link. He agrees.
In the wake of Annie’s passing, Xavier’s new friends help him bury her. Then they provide supplies as he heads out. By the end of the episode, Xavier and the baby arrive in Atlanta. There, instead of finding his wife, he finds a man (Cameron Bright). The man says Teri has been his best friend for three years, and now she’s been taken.
Flashback birth
Along with Annie’s journey, we flashback to Luisa Moreno (Jessica Marie Garcia), the first to give birth in the bunker. It seems like a parallel story, and a way to get the President (James Marsden) and Billy (Jon Beavers) back on screen. It’s a troubled pregnancy, and at first, I thought the baby or the mother would die, but it was a bait-and-switch for what happened with Annie.
Instead, the purpose of the flashback is to help us learn more about Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson). More specifically, it’s to learn more about what she’s doing. Near the end of the episode, she offers to watch the baby while the new mother rests. Out on the porch, looking at the bunker stars, she promises the baby that someday he’ll see the real sky.
Whatever Sinatra had Billy acquire all those years before was part of the endgame. The reason she’s siphoning power off the grid isn’t for a special personal project; it’s for a means to get the world back on track.
Thoughts on Paradise season 2 episode 4
A lot of time was spent building up Annie as a character. I enjoyed Woodley in the role and her performance, especially in the premiere. So, it was somewhat of a surprise to see her journey end here. We know on this show that those who are dead aren’t necessarily gone, but it was still a surprising move. It was also a deeply emotional scene that sets some serious stakes for the rest of the season.
New episodes of Paradise season 2 hit Hulu on Mondays!