It really feels like Paradise just started, but here we are at the season finale already. Season 1 episode 8 “The Man Who Kept the Secrets” answers the show’s outstanding questions, while leaving open the door for a new season. Thankfully, because I need more of this show in my life. That said, there’s a lot to discuss this week, so let’s jump into it.
The Mystery
The final episode of Paradise‘s first season finally answers the question of who killed President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). And honestly? I was a little let down by the reveal. At first.
It’s a little weird, because the whole reason I checked out Paradise was because it was sold as a murder mystery. I love murder mysteries. I don’t particularly enjoy post-apocalyptic survival shows. But this show hooked me and didn’t let go.
Still, over the course of the season, I found myself less invested in who killed Bradford than in the character arcs outside of the central mystery. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t care at all. It just wasn’t the thing getting me to tune in every week.
Perhaps for that reason, I felt the resolution came…a little out of the blue. It felt like a murderer being introduced in the last chapter, who had never been mentioned before. But when the episode ended, I took a moment. I munched on some cheese fries (with real cheese). And I thought it over.
In retrospect, I suspect all the breadcrumbs were there to find the criminal mastermind. (I doubt there were any such clues for Maggie’s (Michelle Meredith) involvement. But maybe there were. The cheese fries ended up being an important plot point, after all. (Though inviting someone into a bunker who is deathly allergic to the only cheese substitute around is an act of cruelty, I say.) I suspect fans will find there was a lot we missed, upon rewatch.
And The Killer Is…Who?
I’ll confess that, after last week’s episode, I was convinced Marsha (Amy Pietz) would be the killer. I mean, if I’m loyal to you and you betray me, leaving me to die? Well, that just sucks. You leave my child to die? To quote the late, great Gene Hackman in Class Action, “They won’t be able to identify you with dental records.”
As it turns out, it was Trent (Ian Merrigan). The librarian. But not really, because he was also the President’s would-be assassin! Remember him? From the first episode? He did it, and this episode highlighed some of the clues that eagle-eyed fans might have noticed in the background of earlier episodes.
Yeah, he felt a little out-of-the-blue for me. He wasn’t entirely a new character for us. He has been seen in several episodes. But his connection to the murder felt a little dropped in at the last minute. Until I thought it over a bit.
The Motive
It really was the motive that started turning me around on Trent as the killer. I’ve written before that everyone in Paradise might have cause to kill the President. They all lost…a lot of people. But Trent wasn’t driven to murder because of who was chosen to live and who was chosen to die. He was driven to it because of people who were so immaterial to the equation (to those making the decisions) that they died long before any decisions regarding survivors could be made. The very people who built the city were the first to be considered expendable to its creation.
As it has with all flashbacks, Paradise did a beautiful job showing Trent’s motives. HIs friendship with his fellows miners. His determination to get the truth out. And the desperation that led to his assassination attempt.
He’s also absolutely correct in pointing out that Paradise was supposed to be just that, but it was built on the same greed and the same flaws as the world above ground. The rich get saved. The poor are left to die. One way or another. Humanity had the chance to start again and chose instead to make the same mistakes. It isn’t exactly an encouraging revelation, is it?
As I think of it, I do love Trent’s motive for murder. Because, let’s face it: Even if they’d survived, none of the miners would have made it to a file on Dr. Gabriela Torabi’s (Sarah Shahi) desk. They wouldn’t have even been in the running. It’s true that there were always going to be losses in an extinction-level event. Even if they’d wanted to, the founders of Paradise couldn’t save everyone. But they knew the work would kill the very men building the city and moved forward anyway. The miners’ deaths were filed under “the cost of doing business.”
The Victim
“The Man Who Kept the Secrets” did a wonderful job of wrapping up President Cal Bradford’s story. Honestly, as rich and powerful as he was, his life was just a little bit…sad. His death felt particularly gruesome. And, really, just a little bit unfair.
Cal isn’t an angel with unclean hands, to be sure. But he wasn’t entirely a villain, either. Maybe he could have given more warning to people about what was coming, but would that have done anything but incite panic? When the chips were on the table, he was one of the few – if not the only one – who wanted to offer what comfort he could. Not a sanitized message to distract as he saved his own skin. But a chance for people to say goodbye.
I do think he ultimately wanted to do more right than wrong. And who in his position could do better? Figuring out how to deal with the End of the World is a daunting task. He also, upon discovering the truth, did what he could to get the truth out. It wasn’t in quite the manner I expected, but again, the pieces were there.
And, ultimately, he loved his son. Even though his son was angry with him. Even though their relationship seemed beyond the point of repair. His last message to Jeremy (Charlie Evans) was a beautiful, heartfelt one.
With his great mystery concluded, it probably wouldn’t make sense for Cal to make appearances next season. But I rather hope they find a way to (organically) fit him in. For an actor whose character who died in the first episode, Marsden was a wonderful addition to the season, and I’ll miss him in the future.
And what does the future look like for our other characters?
Heir Apparent
Cal’s last words to his son encouraged him to find a way to make Paradise better. And the last few minutes of the episode suggest he is drawing a following that may help him do just that.
Maybe I’m channeling my inner Kane Bradford (Gerald McRaney). I don’t really see the potential in Jeremy…yet. But I do have faith that, if anyone can pleasantly surprise me in the future, it is the writers of this show.
Which isn’t to say Jeremy won’t have his work cut out for him. The billionaires in power? Well, they aren’t going to give up power without a fight. And Jeremy might have been protected in the past by his family’s connections. But with his dad dead and his grandfather’s grasp on reality slipping, he may be in more peril in the future than he assumes.
Leader of the (Rat) Pack
I unapologetically love Sinatra’s (Julianne Nicholson) character. Is she a monster? Well…maybe. Yes. She probably is. Even she admits as much. But I still love her. And she makes an excellent villain, so I’m thrilled she survived the season. She may temporarily be down, but she’s not entirely out.
And she’s also not entirely bad, either. Okay, yes, she did sic Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) on Presley (Aliyah Mastin). Putting the teenager’s life in danger. But in her defense, even Sinatra didn’t seem evil enough to want to actually cause Presley harm. Not that that’s much consolation. One doesn’t get too many consolation points for knowingly sending a psychopath after an innocent victim. And whooo boy, is Jane…let’s just say “a few tacos short of a combination platter.” She turned against her boss for a Wii.
You just know, while she was bleeding out, Sinatra had to be thinking, “You’ve gotta be freaking killing me.”
But the real concern with Jane is that Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) now has every reason to trust her. In his mind, she was a loyal co-worker, and now she saved his daughter. Not to mention himself. He’s going to keep her close next season, I expect, and that is absolutely the last place she should be. (Though he will also have Robinson (Krys Marshall) on his side, and that’s not nothing. I certainly wouldn’t want to cross her.)
Still, while I wasn’t originally sold on her character, I’m loving the actress’s ability to switch between personas. So yes, give me more of her creepy, cold-as-ice killer action. Please and thank you.
Family Matters
But of course, what I’m looking forward to the most next season is seeing more of the Collins family. With the addition of Teri (Enuka Okuma). If there’s anyone who will be able to match Brown’s bringing the emotion every week? I have no doubt it’s going to be Okuma. I rewatched the last 20 minutes of the last episode before jumping into the finale, and their phone call gutted me again.
As an aside, I am begging this show to stop ripping my heart out with parents doing everything to save their children. I know it’s realistic an an integral part of the plot, but stocking up on Kleenex? In this economy? You need to cut me some slack.
I’m often a little “meh” on kids in shows. Because kids and shows are often caricatures, to an extent. Particularly teenagers, who are always so over-the-top bratty and rebellious that a show like this might make you wish they’d been left top-side.
Paradise avoids that trap. Yes, Presley was a bit impetuous, and it inadvertently put her life in danger. It also helped bring the truth to the people in Paradise, which will no doubt be a huge plot point next season. Now everyone knows there are people alive aboveground. Do they fight to rescue them (thereby potentially putting their own life support systems past capacity and risking everyone)? Or do they fight to keep their location hidden? Things could get ugly.
But, listen. Wherever this show wants to take me? (As long as it leads to the reunion between Xavier and Teri?) I’m here for it. Heck, Brown has so won me over with his acting, the first episode of season two could start with him reading the cast list for ninety minutes, and I’d tune in.
While I had to process my feelings at first, Paradise season 1 episode 8 “The Man Who Kept the Secrets” was exactly the episode the show’s freshman season needed. Which was a high bar to hit, given how utterly outstanding (and emotionally wrenching) the penultimate episode of the season proved to be.
Plus, the season finale gave me hope that I’ll see my ship together again soon. Yes, I know we only got, like, five minutes of Xavier and Teri together thus far in the series. I don’t care! I love them already.
