A famous superhero movie once posited you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. But what if you were never a hero to begin with? Could your sacrifice redeem the choices that came before it?
That’s a question it’s fair to ask after watching the second season finale of Paradise. In the episode, “Exodus,” a lot changes as the series pivots for season 3.
Uncovering Alex
As is so often the case with this show, we start by going back to the beginning. In this case, we travel back nine years to when a young Link (Thomas Doherty), or as we now know him, Dylan, is in class with Henry Miller (Patrick Fischler). As it turns out, he’s created a super AI computer that could change the world. And it piques the interest of Miller, who cancels class and offers to go into business with Dylan.
They begin to work tirelessly on their creation. They name it Alex after Miller’s wife, who is dying of Huntington’s disease. It has massive applications for the world, and it isn’t long before Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and her science team show up to rope Miller and Alex into their project. But as they work, Miller has reservations.
He plans to take Alex offline because it’s too dangerous. It’s thinking on its own and may, in fact, be able to control and alter time. It’s an ability that scares Miller off, but Sinatra feels different. Since we know from earlier in the season that Sinatra had Miller killed and took Alex, it’s fair to assume this difference of opinion about the computer’s capability was at the heart of their dispute.
Alex making changes
Back in the present, Sinatra has arrived to interface with the fully realized Alex, which is located in a bunker about 100 miles away from their underground city. It is isolated so that it can do its work, and it’s begun its final mission. Alex is making predictions about the future that are alarmingly accurate.
Its latest prediction has some big implications for Sinatra and the future. It spits out a card—whose user will be X—that could change the world. It also predicts that today is Sinatra’s last day. Given the impending invasion and meltdown, that feels like something of a fair bet. But Sinatra takes it all in stride.
A meltdown
Meanwhile, back in the bunker, things are going poorly. The conflicting instructions—to lock down and to open all the doors—have caused the system to spiral. With Sinatra MIA, Dr. Torabi (Sarah Shahi) is forced to take the lead. She’s just dispatched Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) but has little time to dwell. She orders the doors opened, which means the Army, led by Link, will be able to enter. The hope is it will buy time to correct the issues.
It doesn’t work. The system is still spiraling, and soon a full-blown meltdown begins. So, Dr. Torabi orders an evacuation, Exodus, to get everyone out before it’s too late. Link and his group attempt to stop the meltdown, but it’s of no use. The facility is going to blow, and the only choice is escape.
When Sinatra returns, she gets and update from Dr. Torabi. She takes control and urges everyone to evacuate. She is calm, even when Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) arrives with a gun. He’s learned his daughter and Sinatra’s daughter are trapped in an elevator. Sinatra offers to help, explaining that she’s come to grips with a lot of things. As they’re on the rescue mission, Link and his group arrive, too.
Link is ready to kill Sinatra, but she reveals that she knows the truth—Link is her dead son, brought back to life thanks to Alex. So, she is fully bought into the idea that it can travel through time and make changes. But it’s Xavier who stays Link’s hand, telling him about Annie and the baby. Soon, they are making their escape. But the only way to save everyone is to close the doors again to contain the blast as the bunker implodes.
Sinatra and Xavier head to the control tower. Sinatra knows it’s a suicide mission. As she prepares to save the rest, she hands Xavier the card from Alex. She believes he is X, and he’s meant to save the world. She tells him Alex is in a bunker underneath Denver International Airport and he’s got to go and use the card to finish the plan. She believes he’s the only one who can—and in fact already has.
Xavier is stunned but manages to make his escape. Sinatra, meanwhile, closes the doors just in time. As the bunker is destroyed, she sees a vision of her dead son before she meets her fate. Xavier is left outside, his family reunited, and armed with a new, important mission.
I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the first season of Paradise, especially the emotional way things played out. This season has always been tracking toward a more science fiction approach, but I’ve been somewhat resistant.
It's clear from the finale, though, that we’re firmly locked into the idea of time travel now. I’m curious to see where it will go, but also a little weary of this turn of events. Still, it was a compelling finale that leaves me intrigued about where we go next.
Paradise is now streaming all its second season episodes on Hulu. Keep up with all the action following our recaps of the season right here. Stay tuned for more news about Paradise season 3.