One of the sleeper hits on Hulu is Paradise Season 1. It stars Invincible’s Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent who has to solve the murder of US President, Cal Bradford (James Mardsen). Xavier is stunned because he’s usually sharp as a bodyguard. He has no clue how someone could have slipped into the office and done this.

This controlled environment is part of the narrative’s big twist: America exists in an underground city, which is very similar in concept to Apple TV+’s Silo. Politics, greed and corruption all play out, pushing Xavier to weed out the true villain of the story and who could have had access. The Season 1 finale does crack the case on one problem, but as it ends, new issues arise for the already-greenlit Season 2.

Who Killed Cal Bradford in Paradise?

Trent the Librarian Murdered Cal

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Cal’s death occurred in the Paradise premiere. Xavier and Cal weren’t on the best of terms, but Xavier was hellbent on doing his job. Unfortunately, he found Cal bludgeoned to death in his bedroom. Since then, Xavier has wondered if his colleague, Billy, did it, or if one of the elites, Samantha (codename: Sinatra) ordered it to assume power. After a long investigation and Xavier learning that Sinatra has been hiding massive intel, Xavier finally learns the truth: the killer doesn’t belong to the cabinet or the Secret Service.

The person who killed Cal is revealed when Xavier tracks new clues down and heads to the library. He realizes Cal has left details behind in a book, The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA. That book dissected America’s shady history when it came to national security. It’s appropriate that Cal slips key information into it as to the oppressive nature of their home. However, when Xavier tries to figure out what Cal left behind, he’s knocked out cold and restrained by the librarian, Trent.

Trent later admits that he killed Cal in the political thriller. Flashbacks show that Trent snuck into Cal’s home after the President came down into the library. Trent hated Cal with a passion, so he cracked the man’s skull a couple of times with a rotary drill bit. The murder method is also symbolic since the Bradfords became wealthy in America from oil drilling. Trent was hitting back at capitalism and corporations, but he also had a personal reason that regarded the death of millions of Americans.

Why Did Trent Kill Cal Bradford?

Trent Hated How Cal’s Elites Betrayed Society

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Paradise Season 1, Episode 8 opens by showing Trent as the manager of the drilling team that created the city underground. They thought they were building a recycling plant, but they had no clue that they were building a haven. Cal and associates got word of a supervolcano eruption, so they had the project decommissioned. Sinatra was in charge of building this underground settlement. Sadly, the government miscalculated the timeline and once the eruption occurred, massive tidal waves, sonic waves and earthquakes decimated America.

Trent harbored hatred because he advised the drilling to stop previously, as it was poisoning his workers. He was fired and later snuck in with the media to assassinate Cal. That failed, which landed Trent in jail. But once the chaos of the evacuation hit Colorado and fighting occurred in the prison, Trent escaped and infiltrated the haven. He killed a couple and stole unique bands that allowed him and a waitress he met into the city. Trent took on the man’s identity (Ian) and plotted to kill Cal, but he got comfortable and let the vendetta die.

Trent considered himself lucky to be in the city, so he didn’t want to ruin the second chance, until he saw Cal in person. Little did he know, Cal was leaving details for Xavier and Cal’s son, Jeremy. Cal got information about how there were survivors on the surface, which were the very details that Sinatra wanted hidden. Many assumed that when the rest of the world began nuclear warfare for resources, the rest of America went extinct. It turns out Cal activated EMPs before he went underground, and not all the bombs hit America. The surface was ash and a wasteland, but people survived.

Sinatra had Billy kill a scientific expedition who wanted to bring a survivor back. She then had another Secret Service agent, Jane (Billy’s lover), kill Billy to ensure the city never knew what happened up top. Cal’s death was fortuitous since Sinatra could keep the ruse going. In her eyes, the city was the promised land filled with chosen ones. The surface was meant to be forgotten and didn’t care who suffered there. It was natural selection in her eyes. That’s why Xavier made it clear he’d kill her if she was the one behind Cal’s death. However, Xavier’s probing leads to Trent admitting the truth, giving closure over Cal. Trent later throws himself through the city dome, hoping to make a statement.

Trent feels survivors’ guilt and hypocrisy that he became part of the very society he hated. Trent knew many taxpayers were lied to and abandoned, and that many moral lines were crossed. Xavier even had to kill some of their own, along with White House workers, when they fled to the haven. Thus, Xavier empathized with the pain and secrets Trent kept in Dan Fogelman’s show. Unfortunately, all Trent had to do was talk to Cal, and they could have worked together, avoided a murder mystery and stop Xavier’s rebellion. Instead, his hasty actions kicked off the unfortunate chain of events that put many in danger.

How Does Paradise Set Up Season 2?

Xavier Will Have to Find Teri While the City Maintains Peace

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Paradise has many creative angles to work with. Firstly, Xavier used Cal’s book to man a plane and find a route back to the surface. He intends to rescue his wife, Teri. Cal had to abandon Teri when the rush occurred to get underground from Washington, which drove a wedge between him and Xavier. Now, Xavier has recordings that prove she is still alive in Atlanta. His flying is very spiritual, because he couldn’t follow in his father’s footsteps as a pilot due to his bad eyesight. He also forcefully had his father removed from service as the man had Parkinson’s Disease.

The decorated old-timer died without ever healing that rift. However, Xavier has the man’s badges as he uses them as motivation for his trip. Xavier will face a setting akin to shows like The Walking Dead and The Last of Us, but without the zombies and monsters. Many people will want to come back, and they will kill for the chance to do so. He will have to pick and choose if he wants to get back with Teri. Secondly, the vice-president, Baines, has taken charge. He may follow in Sinatra’s footsteps and not want outsiders coming in.

If more people up top know about the bunker, then they can try to break in for supplies. Interestingly, Jane betrayed and shot Sinatra to keep her covered up. Xavier doesn’t know Jane came close to killing the former’s daughter, Presley. If Xavier is deemed a threat again, Jane will have no problem reverting and wanting to kill the rest of Xavier’s family. Xavier had a romance with the city’s therapist, Gabriela. In addition to Robinson (Cal’s secret lover and head of the Secret Service), Jane will have more of Xavier’s inner-circle to target.

James Mardsen Actor Details

Presley will be troublesome outside of her father’s arc. She and Jeremy have the information Cal left behind to sully Sinatra and the other elites. This could lead to a war with Baines and others trying to silence them. There is no telling if citizens will want democracy back and fresh elections as well. The elites could bring a recuperating Sinatra back for this mission, as quelling insurrection is something she knows how to do. Robinson and Gabriela will want to protect everyone who backs Xavier, but the elites have the ability to sway people to their side. Not everyone will be as loyal as Xavier’s detail or the dome worker, Carl.

If it’s a life-and-death situation, and when the elites strengthen their military, fans can expect a culling, especially if Xavier is up top. The elites know they need to safeguard the dome from hacking, and secure their repository of weapons. This can lead to a military state where media censorship, police brutality, and fascist tactics are used to subdue society. There are other dramatic arcs to wrap. Should Teri get to the city, a love triangle will unfold between her, Xavier and Gabriela. Xavier thought his wife was dead and hinted at being in love with Gabriela. He will need Gabriela alive because she has details on the legitimate profiles in the city. This can help them expose spies like Trent and the waitress (who pretended to be Maggie).

As much as Xavier’s family might need Gabriela at a distance, his professional life needs her close, which complicates things. Robinson and Cal’s wife, Jessica (Cassidy Freeman from the Smallville TV show), will also clash as Jeremy needs guidance. On top of that, Cal’s father, Kane, is alive, but the former oil-baron has dementia. He will be a wildcard, because it does feel like he wants to redeem himself and atone for being part of the elites that hid the natural disaster news and didn’t allow America to prepare for it. The elites have access to secret resources and weapons, so Kane could well become an MVP if a second revolution is needed. Ultimately, Paradise Season 2 will make and break alliances as people try to maintain the integrity of the city, while figuring out if it’s possible to rebuild on the surface and honor Cal’s legacy.

The complete Paradise Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.

Paradise

Release Date

January 26, 2025

Network

Hulu

Directors

Gandja Monteiro

Writers

Jason Wilborn

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  Sterling K. Brown

  Xavier Collins

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  Julianne Nicholson

  Samantha ‘Sinatra’ Redmond