Paradise kept the twists coming all season long — but which questions got answered in the finale?
Warning: This story contains spoilers about season 1 of Paradise.
During the Tuesday, March 4, episode, Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) pieces together the clues Cal (James Marsden) left behind. Most of the former president’s last day was spent collecting information about the people who survived the doomsday event that caused most of them to disappear into their underground bunker. Turns out, Cal didn’t actually know who was going to kill him — because Trent (Ian Merrigan) came out of nowhere.
Then comes some rewinding back to Cal’s last day. One of the highs of the day was visiting the library where Cal made a mixtape for his son. He also left behind some information for Xavier in a book and crossed paths with the librarian. The twist? The librarian was the man who tried to shoot him back when they were in Washington, D.C. (and that was the bullet Xavier took for Cal).
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Trent initially worked on the construction for the bunker except the employees didn’t know what they were digging back then. Throughout the process, Trent formed a friendship with the other workers, which meant it hurt him even more when he realized the biohazard coming from the dirt they were digging up.
An attempt to whistleblow lost Trent his job. He tried to get attention by shooting President Cal, but what he was really doing was scoring a spot in a dangerous prison located right next to the bunker’s location. Doomsday arrived and Trent — along with the waitress at Gabriela’s (Sarah Shahi) favorite diner — snuck into the bunker.
Trent ultimately got comfortable living in the bunker until he crossed paths with Cal again. The anger came bubbling back and Trent got revenge for the actions that harmed his friends and those who didn’t get the chance to survive the end of the world in a bunker.
Cal’s death wasn’t the only question that got answered. But with those answers came new questions — and luckily fans can look forward to learning more when the show returns for a second season.
Keep scrolling to find out where each character stands at the end of Paradise — and how the story set the show up for more episodes:
Agent Xavier Collins
Once Xavier connected all the dots, he tried to stop Trent from sounding the alarm in the bunker or escaping to what may or may not be an uninhabitable environment. Xavier didn’t get a chance to deescalate because Trent died by suicide in the bunker.
Despite his reservations, Xavier made the decision to take one of the planes and fly out of the bunker — to the surface.
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President Cal Bradford
Cal’s last day was spent trying to right some wrongs. More importantly, Cal found a way to leave a message for his son about fixing the world he created in the bunker. That inspired Jeremy to start a revolution down below in the name of his dad.
Samantha ‘Sinatra’ Redmond
Samantha (Julianne Nicholson) wasn’t lying about not being responsible for Cal’s death. Unfortunately, her decisions caught up with her and Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) found a way to still have the upper hand by shooting Samantha before she was exposed. Samantha didn’t die but she’s currently in a coma as the state of the world is left to the whim of the remaining people in charge.
Nicole Robinson
After teaming up with Xavier, Nicole (Krys Marshall) helped him nearly apprehend Trent. She also encouraged Xavier to check out what was going up above the bunker while she kept the peace down below.
Dr. Gabriela Torabi
Siding with Samantha didn’t work out in Gabriela’s favor. However, that led to Gabriela and Nicole working together to figure out who killed Cal. It remains to be seen how the recent events would affect Gabriela or Paradise.
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Jane Driscoll
All Jane wanted was Cal’s gaming console, but Samantha couldn’t even give her death. Jane found a way to keep Xavier’s daughter safe, which meant no one realized Jane was a threat. She then pretended to help Xavier by shooting Samantha and finally getting to play some video games.
