‘Paradise’ Season 2 Episode 7 Recap
“The Final Countdown” sets the stage for total collapse within the bunker
A Penultimate Episode That Changes Everything
Paradise Season 2 Episode 7 “The Final Countdown” delivers exactly what a penultimate episode is supposed to—answers, chaos, and a level of volatility that refuses to let you breathe.
[SPOILER-ALERT: Read at your own risk]
There is a reason Paradise is renewed for its third season with the script already complete. Cancellation isn’t an option with Dan Fogelman, his writing team, and Sterling K. Brown at the head of the spear.
While finale’s tend to set viewers up for the next season, penultimate episodes sole purpose is to answer every question in a way that is volatile and unrelenting—and this episode did just that.
With James Marsden reprising his role as President Cal Bradford, we take a trip back in time to when Sinatra successfully commissioned the bunker and she gave him a tour. This tour was riddled with foreshadowing as Cal—while many thought he was aloof and unaware—carefully yet blatantly challenged Sinatra’s ego and ambition; questioning her true motivation behind the bunker.
But as we continue to toggle from the past to present, unraveling everyone’s secrets and true identities along the way, we can finally cheer: Xavier is reunited with Teri.
Secrets, Showdowns, and a System Ready to Collapse
Episode 6 revealed that Gary was not the man he portrayed himself to be, proving Xavier’s instincts to be unfailing when it comes to reading people’s intentions (and, let’s be honest, when has a Gary ever been trustworthy in television?)
But we’re not here to rewrite the episode for you. In Paradise fashion, “The Final Countdown” matches—if not exceeds—its previous season’s penultimate episode, not only with answers but with lingering questions that pound on our brains endlessly as we head into the season finale.
Let’s quickly recap:
Xavier found Teri and almost took out the entire camp before she convinced them he was good
Gary was revealed to be a liar and was confronted by Teri in an intense showdown that had him at the end of Xavier’s sightline
Robinson joined Jeremy in his quest to lead an uprising in order to inform the people of the bunker that there is life outside
Sinatra and Link both made plans to move against one another
The leaders of the bunker are in a panic
Yet somehow in all of the chaos and mystery of the series, Teri went from not wanting kids, to falling in love with Xavier and having two kids, all to head back into the bunker with two more children (Teri, it was your destiny all along).
However, one of the more dangerous, and slightly expected, showdowns came between Gabriella and Jane.
Gabi spent the entire season being extremely suspicious of Sinatra, as well as suspicious of her influence on Jane’s violence within the bunker—and rightfully so, after a direct confrontation and Sinatra all but admitting it under the guise of doing good and not being “a monster” (Season 1 anyone?)
This revelation led us to a (not so) shocking twist, Jane is brought down by Gabi after trusting her suspicions, instincts, and total belief that Jane was a murderer.
You Were Warned
The most informative and brilliant part of the episode is when Cal delivers a historical account of former leaders in power to Sinatra during their tour—in both a flashback and voiceover as the leaders of the bunker lose their stability:
“they started infighting and they all imploded…they were unstoppable until they weren’t”
As Jeremy, Robinson, and the engineer initiate their plan with the internal system mechanisms, the leaders (without Sinatra) initiate a total lockdown, thus pressurizing the bunker to explosive levels.
“Everything, Sam. Every single thing that achieves greatness, they all have one thing in common. They end.”
As the episode ends, Xavier and Teri make their way to Colorado on a train while Sinatra makes her way to a secret passageway on another.
In the final countdown of the episode, a door opens and Sinatra smiles and says:
“Hi, Alex”
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Final Thoughts
With all of the answers in the world, the biggest question still remains:
Who is Alex?
But there are certainly more questions on the list:
Is Jane dead or just paralyzed?
Is the bunker going to actually explode is Link Sinatra’s son?
Is “Alex” Billy? (we have a running theory that he didn’t die and somehow was kept hidden for an alternate agenda, I know, but that’s the beauty of fiction)
As we head into the finale, we must take a look at every clue in the first seven episodes. I feel that just like in Season 1, the mystery character is someone we’ve already seen, but who?
Tune in to Paradise Season 2 finale, “Exodus,” Monday, March 30, only on Hulu. Go inside the episode with the official podcast for the show below.
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