Paradise has put a different character in the spotlight in each episode. Now it’s time for Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) to take center stage in Paradise Season 1 Episode 4, “Agent Billy Pace.” Man, they couldn’t even come up with a pithy title or fun nickname for the character for this one, huh? Makes sense, though. If there’s one word I would use to describe Billy’s entire life, it would be “sad.”
Hard Life, Soft Heart
Billy hasn’t exactly had it easy, clearly, having been raised by an abusive uncle. Who he later killed. To save his pet dog. Okay, I can’t exactly fault him for that one. Between the two, the dog was the one better worth saving.
But it did set him up for a hard life. He definitely does not have the kind of background one would expect from a Secret Service agent. Then again, he really wasn’t one, before Paradise. He was a mercenary, hand-picked by Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) to do her dirty work.
However, to her chagrin, he’s less the hardened soldier/killer and more the lost man who’s just looking for connection and a family. Which isn’t to say he hasn’t done bad things. He absolutely has, and the knowledge of them undoubtedly would have ended his friendship with Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown). The man who always does the Right Thing. But he’s still a tragic figure. His story is still a sad one. If his ending is not entirely undeserved.
Don’t Hesitate
It’s pretty much a law of television: If a character ever tells someone they’ll spill all their secrets “tomorrow,” they aren’t going to live to see the tomorrow in question. Such is the case for Billy. It was clear he was going to die soon the moment he threatened Sinatra. His entire scene with the Collins family brought on a sense of doom. Even before his fateful promise to share all.
I knew he would die once he made the threat. Not to mention when it became clear he’d finally found the love and family he’d always wanted. Still, I don’t know that I expected his ending to take the form it did. Fellow agent (or whatever we should call them since some of them clearly aren’t agents) Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) has been something of a non-entity to me thus far if I’m honest. Not in the last few minutes of this episode, though. There’s definitely more going on under the surface than meets the eye. Could she have killed the president (James Marsden)? Without question or hesitation. This woman is cold. Did she? It’s probably too early for them to show their hand with that one. Maybe. But probably not.
Heartbreaker
As I wrote above, Billy’s fate was deserved, on some level. He was a sad character. Even a sympathetic one, to a point. But he had done some terrible things. Acting upon orders, for the most part. But still terrible.
On that note, Sinatra…I was rooting for you! I want to like you! Don’t make me regret it! Okay, I’m kinda starting to regret it already. But I’m trying to hold on because…you don’t understand. The second episode just got me, all right?
But the biggest obstacle that would have stood between Billy and Collins – you know, if the former had survived past this episode – would have been his actions above the surface. After everyone took shelter in Paradise. After he and Collins became best friends.
There are still survivors. We don’t know how many or who. We don’t know how they survived. But they did. The air is still breathable. The president, Sinatra, and who knows who else is lying to everybody. (It’s unclear how much the billionaires actually know about the situation.) There are survivors, and Billy murdered the exploration team to cover it up.
But why? Why would the president (and/or Sinatra) want everyone to believe that the aboveground is an uninhabitable hellscape? What do they have to gain by not trying to salvage what they can? There’s definitely more going on here. Which Billy could have probably told Collins more about. You know, if he’d lived.
Alas, poor Billy. We hardly knew you. But I do look forward to seeing Collins’s determination to avenge you. I can’t say you were my favorite character, but this episode told me just enough to want Collins to do so. It’s also rather nice to see the male bestie be fridged for a change.
I’m also looking forward to the fallout when Collins discovers that his wife is still alive. I know, I know. They haven’t actually confirmed she did survive the End of the World. But given the dramatic potential of a future unanticipated – and inconveniently timed – return, is there any doubt she did?
I can’t wait to see it.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Paradise Season 1 Episode 4 “Agent Billy Pace”? Share with us in the comments below!
New episodes of Paradise release Tuesdays on Hulu.
