When audiences got to the end of the pilot for the award-winning show This Is Us, most were shocked to learn that they were watching three different storylines play out in different decades… all featuring members of the same family. It was a clever puzzle-box entrance into what became an heartwarming story of the Pearson family, as presented by the creative writer and creator Dan Fogelman. Eyes were on Hulu’s new drama Paradise so audiences could see if Fogelman’s reunion with This Is Us standout Sterling K. Brown could match the previous levels of entertainment. And another surprise was waiting at the end of Paradise Episode 1 – though it’s one that will have a quicker payoff in its explanation.
You might not want to keep reading below if you haven’t yet caught up on the first three episodes of Paradise, available to stream now if you have a Hulu subscription.
What happens at the end of Paradise’s pilot?
The bulk of the main story presented in Paradise involved a lead Secret Service agent named Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) who springs into action one morning when he arrives at the Oval Office and finds U.S. President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) dead on the floor, apparently murdered. We spend most of the pilot figuring out, alongside Collins, who he can trust. Meanwhile, other advisors around the government leader figure out how to maintain peace in their idyllic community. This storyline, alone, could help Paradise become one of the best shows streaming on Hulu at the moment.
But there’s a twist. The audience ultimately learns that the city where all of this action is taking place is housed inside of a caved-out mountain. And that something horrible happened to the rest of the planet, forcing the top minds to escape to this setting, and try to preserve the remains of humanity. It’s a sick hook, one that Paradise Episode 2 writer Katie French says they spent so much time exploring as they scripted the series. In an exclusive interview, French told CinemaBlend:
I mean, I personally love really deep, big worlds to build and play around in. So I'm immediately like, ‘Can we build a miniature model of this town?’ Like, ‘What are we looking at? How does it work? How does it function?’ And Dan (Fogelman) is like, ‘Let's figure that out later.’ Like, what's happening between our characters that we love? What are we going to be feeling? What are we going to be caring about through the show? So it was a really great balance for the two of us, because I was like, ‘Well, how did they get their groceries?’
Because Paradise comes from Dan Fogelman, you could predict that the episodes were going to be character driven. So far, Episode 1 set the table, while Episodes 2 and 3 focused on Julianne Nicholson’s manipulative Samantha (aka “Sinatra), and Sarah Shahi’s Gabriela. But when will we start to learn about what happened on the surface?
When will Paradise explore the disaster that hit the planet?
It was difficult to interview the Paradise cast on behalf of the season, because I knew that the episodes would roll out on Hulu weekly, even though I’d been able to see seven of the 8 episodes in Season One. With that in mind, I asked the cast if Paradise would be the kind of show that spent multiple seasons teasing out the reality outside of the mountain without ever showing it. Sometimes that happens with a science-fiction drama. The “threat” happening off screen is window dressing for the human element, and you never really find out about the danger that’s lurking.
But Julianne Nicholson promised CinemaBlend, and Paradise viewers, that details are on the way as she said:
No, no, no. You should definitely be paying attention to everything, What's happening on the surface. What's happening around the corner. I think it's a really exciting show to look for the clues as you go. And it will be very interesting, when you watch it a second time, to see all the ones that are placed that you won't probably notice until you have all the facts. But do pay attention!
To which Sarah Shahi added:
Dan Fogelman is such a smart writer. He’s known for those twists, and presenting things. And just when you think you have it figured out, you realize that you're just kind of at the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more underneath. A little grocery store horse in the corner may not be just that. It might be something more than that. So yeah, you definitely have to… you’ve got to pay attention.
The hints at the direction of the rest of the season do start to crop up, as immediately as Paradise Episode 2. In one brief shot, we see Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier Collins speaking to his wife on a mobile phone as something bright and overwhelming happens outside of his window. And one of the most terrifying scenes featured in the first three episodes of Paradise probably feature the scientist doing his best Chicken Little impersonation about the dangers of climate change, only to be speaking to an empty room.
Commenting on that sequence, Paradise co-writer Katie French explained:
I think it's terrifying because it feels very real. It feels very real that there is someone in a room today talking about a problem that it feels like no one cares about in our world. Be it climate change or, honestly, any of these other terrifying topics. AI or modern day warfare. Take your pick out of a hat. Sure. But that was such a fun sequence to do, and so fun to bring what feels to me like a very classic 90s disaster movie kind of character … but have that world collide with this intimate character story of a woman grieving, and how that's destroying her life.
This tells me that wherever Paradise goes – with the story of the mountain city or the story of disaster on the Earth’s surface – the decisions made in the writer’s room will always be rooted in character. Which is why I have hope that this will be a journey worth taking.
Looking for more options outside of Paradise. Check out our guide to the best streaming services available to consumers, as they all have unique offerings that are sure to interest the curious audience member.
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