Diksha Sundriyal
The penultimate episode of Hulu’s ‘Paradise‘ Season 2 opens with a flashback to six years ago. Anders takes Sinatra and Cal Bradford through the newly built bunker, as he explains the science of the place and how it will keep running while the world on the surface goes to bits. He talks about the oxygen, the pressure, the complete lockdown in case they have the army of Uruk-hai lands at their door, and the opening of all doors in case there is a lack of oxygen. While Anders assures him that there is a solution for every redundancy, Cal wonders what happens if all the things that can go wrong go wrong at the same time. Anders says the chances of that happening are infinitesimal, which means he never really considered that possibility. While he and Sinatra brush off Cal’s concern, by the end of the episode, his worst fears come true in the most unexpected of ways. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Xavier and Teri Reunite
The previous episode ended with Xavier finally coming face-to-face with his wife, Teri, after being betrayed by Gary the Mailman. While Teri welcomes him with open arms, the others are wary of him because his arrival was marked by an explosion. Before they can catch up with each other, Xavier is taken in for a briefing, and the leader comes out convinced that he is not a threat. He also seems to have told them everything they need to know about the Colorado bunker, though the exact specifications of his revelations remain a secret. In the meantime, Teri receives a note from Gary, in which he asks her to come home, mentioning he has Bean. She becomes concerned about the child, so as soon as she is allowed to see Xavier again, she tells him that they need to go back to Gary.
On the way, they catch up, as Xavier tells her about what their kids have been up to, including the fact that Presley is now dating Jeremy Bradford. Teri tells him how Bean kept her sane through the worst of times and why she cannot go forward without him. Xavier doesn’t need a lot of convincing on that part, considering that he has yet to tell her about Annie’s baby. Despite what Gary has done so far, Teri still believes there is some good in him. Xavier, however, is not ready to take that chance and tells her he will shoot the guy if he senses an ounce of danger from his side. Teri goes in, sends Bean out, and talks to Gary. The tense exchange makes it look like Gary will make a wrong move, and either he will hurt Teri, or Xavier will take his chance and shoot him dead.
Fortunately, none of it happens. Gary is hurt to realise that Teri thought he would hurt Bean. He is also deeply regretful of killing Ennis, calling his action at the time entirely impulsive. Teri succeeds in calming him down, and the exchange ends with them bidding each other goodbye. On their way back, Xavier tells Teri about Annie’s baby, whom they pick up before heading back to the train. By the end of the episode, the four of them are on their way back to Colorado. Curiously, Xavier has a vision about Link again, and he is still confused about why he is having it and what exactly it means.
Sinatra and Link’s Meeting Leads to Unexpected Revelations
As Sinatra prepares for the meeting with Link, she and Tim talk about the death of their son, Dylan, which created a distance between them. He laments that their son would have been 26 this year, while she wonders how he was able to heal from Dylan’s loss when she can’t even take his name without breaking down. At the council meeting, the others wonder why they are not going into a total lockdown if there is a threat from the outsiders who seem hell-bent on breaking in. Sinatra reveals that a lockdown would have a huge impact on their resources, and unlike the people on the outside, they basically live in a cage. She assures them that she will find a way out of this in the meeting. Soon, she is face-to-face with Link and his five unarmed men.
He is glad to get a piece of apple pie as he asked, and surprised that Cal Bradford didn’t come out to meet him. When he notices Air Force One in the hangar, he asks the meeting to shift there. Only he and Sinatra sit inside the plane, while she asks him how old he is (26, he says), and how many people he is responsible for (10k, give or take). At first, he says he wants one of their nuclear reactors so he can help restart the world, but Sinatra calls bullshit. She points out that they cannot exactly spare a nuclear reactor, and he knows it well. So, Link comes to the point and tells her he wants Alex. She feigns ignorance, but he knows he has hit a nerve. The meeting ends with Sinatra calling an impasse. As Link is back at the door, ready to head out, Sinatra tells him she will not let him bring down everything she has built.
At this, he becomes enraged and points out that she hasn’t “built” anything. She lied and manipulated her way to get what she wanted, and before that, it was billionaires like her who destroyed the world so much that they had to build a bunker to survive. He promises her that he will come for her with all he has, and as his words start to reflect his anger and hate, his men call out to him. At first, they call him Link, but then, they use his real name, Dylan. Hearing the name of her son surprises Sinatra, and she asks Link when he was born. It turns out to be the same day her son was born. She notices his nosebleed as he leaves, and before the doors close, we see her wiping off her nosebleed.
Jane Targets Gabriela
Following her confrontation with Jane in the previous episode, Gabriela is increasingly paranoid. She has a nightmare about Jane killing her, and when she is awake, she thinks she is being watched. As she steps out of her door, Jane shows up, offering her a ride, though it’s more of an intimidation, showing Gabriela that Jane can get to her whenever she wants. At the council meeting, when Sinatra talks about taking five unarmed guards with her, Jane volunteers to join her. Gabriela intervenes, pointing out that seeing Jane again will make the outsiders wonder if there aren’t enough people to fight on their side. To Jane’s ire, Sinatra agrees to it. Gabriela also has a chat with Sinatra about being scared of Jane, though she is assured that Jane doesn’t do what she hasn’t been asked to do.
Sinatra’s words aren’t entirely reassuring for Gabriela, who continues her search for Alex while continuing to live in fear. While Sinatra steps out to talk with Link, Jane decides to go forward with her nefarious plans for Gabriela. In the evening, when the therapist is ready to call it a day and step into the shower, Jane sneaks into her house to kill her. However, when she removes the shower curtain, she finds the space empty. It turns out that Gabriela anticipated her move. So, when Jane steps into the shower, Gabriela stabs her in the back, leaving her bleeding in the shower, while processing the shock of having stabbed and killed a person. While all the adults are busy with their own things, Hadley and Presley band together to find the prison where Jeremy and the other missing people are being held.
All the Things That Can Go Wrong
In the flashback, Cal and Sinatra continue their conversation about the possibility of contingencies. He gives an example of his expensive robe that he never uses, and hopes that the bunker turns out to be the same thing. When Sinatra tells him that the bunker will surely be used, he compares it to great empires that rose to the status of seeming almost entirely unbreachable. But even they fell, because in all their wisdom, they failed to consider the contingencies that show up in the most unexpected way. His words ring true years later when the bunker finds itself in an entirely unprecedented situation.
Hadley breaks into her mom’s computer and locates the place, realising that she has been there before. They take the elevator to descend to that level. Around the same time, Jeremy, Andres, and Robinson enact their plan. Jeremy doesn’t like Robinson acting like his stepmom, and he says some harsh things to her. Later, however, he apologises, and they focus on the task at hand. Anders tells them that they need to destroy the oxygen supply so that the instrument can detect an issue and open the doors automatically. They are all too happy to do it. Around the same time, the other council members go behind Sinatra’s back and decide to initiate a lockdown.
As soon as the oxygen levels drop, the system tries to open the doors, but at the same time, it receives the order to lock the place down. This leads to a system error, and Anders has no idea what to do. While all this goes down, Sinatra returns home in a good mood. She and Tim share an intimate moment, which surprises him, and later, she takes a ride to the part of the bunker that almost no one else knows about. There is a sense of calm and happiness in her face, most likely because she knows her son is alive. The episode ends with her entering a room with a bright light and greeting Alex.
Read More: Is Annie Dead? Did Shailene Woodley Leave Paradise?
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