Paradise Answers Major Questions (and Sets Up More Mysteries) in Episode 7

The following story contains spoilers for episode 7 of Paradise, “The Day.”

ON THE WHOLE, Hulu’s new hit political/conspiracy/dystopian thriller Paradise has a very distinct feel: the 2000s/2010s network television event series. This isn’t a show that wants the cinematic feel of more modern hits like The White Lotus or Severance; it’s clearly cut from the cloth of the shows that followed Lost, shows with embraceable high concepts that were easily digestible and often made for relatively easy viewing. While these were fairly soapy shows where a lot of things happened, it was the kind of show you could sit back and not think too much about. It’s designed to watch the drama unfold in front of you, wash over you at the end of a long day, and leave you hooked at the end wanting more.

Episode 7 of Paradise, though, changed the pace up, as we finally got some answers as to what exactly happened to lead us to the scenario we’ve been watching for the prior six episodes. Yes, we finally figured out why these people are living in a hollowed out mountain in Colorado. And the answers came in an episode (titled “The Day”) that was informative, dramatic, and incredibly stressful. How could the implied end of the world not be?

On top of learning even more about our key characters Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and Cal Bradford (James Marsden), we also learned a few key things about the world of Paradise that both inform the show we’ve been watching and answer the questions we’ve been wondering, and also set up a number of new threads that we will most certainly see pursued in next week’s season finale (and, presumably, season 2—which has already been ordered by Hulu).

Here’s the biggest takeaways.

We learned what really happened outside the mountain bunker on Paradise

We had seen hints earlier in the series of what was going on that led us to the “Paradise” (inside the hollowed-out mountain), and in “The Day,” we finally got our answers. A supervolcano erupted in Antarctica, causing destruction-level 300-foot-tall tsunami waves that led just about everything to certain doom. Australia, the show says at one point, no longer exists.

On top of this massive, world-threatening event, there was also a horrifying nuclear arms race unfolding, as each country wanted to be the one to stake a claim to the world’s remaining resources. The episode opened with a flashback to the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 28th, 1962, when nuclear war was avoided. A contemplative colonel wonders an important question: “What if the wrong person is at the controls next time?”

Well, we learn how this played out late in “The Day,” as Cal Bradford opens the nuclear suitcase. He was told by the joint chiefs to launch the U.S.’s missiles; but he reveals to Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond (the fantastic Julianne Nicholson, who is in full villain mode at this point of the series) that in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a nuclear Plan B that only the sitting president ever knows about was put in play: a massive EMP blast that would take out the entirety of the world’s electricity and technology. Sinatra objects, but Bradford goes forward with that choice as their plane continues toward the mountain in Colorado.

Why? “To give them a chance,” he says.

We learned that Xavier’s wife, Teri, really is alive and looking for him (and that Cal’s murderer is also someone from the outside world, too)

All of the above was relayed as a part of Sinatra trying to save her own ass (while drinking a glass of wine) as Xavier pointed a gun at her; it was a bargaining chip. Xavier knows she’s up to something, but she knew she had the biggest piece of info to change his mind: that his wife, Teri, is actually still alive out on the barren surface.

Sinatra (who also compares herself to a Bond villain—seriously, Julianne Nicholson is so good at this) plays a recording that is distinctly current of Teri seeking Xavier out. She also reveals that Jane (who, you’ll remember, is actually a murderous assassain) has Xavier’s daughter, Presley. So, kind of has Xavier’s hands tied at this point. Either way: Xavier has some new purpose.

Sinatra also drops another bombshell: the DNA on Cal’s dead body didn’t match anyone in the mountain bunker. So that means the killer is someone from the outside who made their way in. Is Teri inside? Is someone inside not who they claim? Will Sinatra and Jane let Xavier’s daughter go? Will Xavier find his way back to Teri? All great questions, and answers we’ll be hoping to get in the finale of Paradise (if not, then, we’ll just have to sit back and wait for season 2).