More mysteries are uncovered and continue to be unveiled as the story delves deeper into revealing the origins of the underground city. Episode 2 immediately begins 12 years before the present day, and the audience is introduced to the team creating the underground and mapping out how it can all come together. It is revealed that Samatha, aka Sinatra, is the brains behind the whole operation and financing of the whole project. She interviews different people in the beginning to gain an idea of how the creation of an underground city would work; she provides the scientists with all of the resources to make it happen, and the creation of “Paradise” commences. Once the series brings the show back to the present day, we learn that “Paradise “ has been active with the people living in it for 3 years as Sinatra attempts to write the eulogy for President Bradford. The investigation into the murder and how to move the city forward from this situation begins.

Xavier is hell-bent on solving the mystery of this murder and the box of cigarettes he took from the crime scene is brought into play. He examines the mystery behind the digits written on one of the cigarettes in the box. While Xavier is actively investigating this murder on his end, he has to be cautious of how he goes about it with the agency hot on his heels. He’s their primary suspect, due to him not calling the scene for over 30 minutes. The investigation into Xavier is all the more complicated as his boss, Agent Robinson, leads the investigation. 

However, Agent Robinson has a conflict of interest as she and Bradford had a sexual relationship, which makes Xavier look at her side-eyed and twists up the web of possible suspects of who committed the murder. Xavier is heavily looked at as a suspect in Robinson’s eyes as she puts him through a lie detector test. He successfully passes the test even though he did not tell the complete truth about why he waited so long to call in the crime scene. Though he passes the lie detector test, he is helped by a therapist, Gabriela, who works directly with Sinatra. she tells Xavier to admit he was happy Bradford died, as she believes the confession shows Xavier as not a suspect and Sinatra concurs.

Throughout the episode, flashbacks showcase Sinatra and her life before “Paradise.” She lost her son due to him dealing with a chronic illness and it was a major struggle for her. We see her introduced to Gabriela, a grief expert, and their relationship forms and blossoms as she tries to get through her grief. The flashbacks also showcase a time when she spoke to Bradford and bonded with each other as he talked with her about the death of her son. They happened to both be in a seminar about an impending disaster that was due to come.  We see the wheels in motion with Sinatra as she is heavily invested in the topic and wants to learn more about it.

Sinatra and her role in “Paradise” is revealed throughout the episode. In flashbacks, it’s revealed she was the richest, self-made woman in the world. . She uses her power and position by forcing the narrative that the president died via natural causes to keep the town calm as if nothing is wrong. During the town hall announcing the death of Bradford, Xavier confides in Agent Billy about his distrust of Sinatra and wanting to take her down. The episode ends with a poignant moment between Sinatra and her son in a flashback scene where he describes his idea of heaven. He describes it as home with more storefront horse rides. Cut to the final shot, showing animatronic horses all around the town.

This was an excellent follow-up episode that slowed the pace down from the first by providing us with more details about the underground town and the people within it. The episode does a great job of giving us the backstory of the underground town and how it all came about. The performances continue to be great by everyone. Sterling. K. Brown brings a very commanding presence as Xavier and a lead we can follow as we uncover the mystery of this story. The introduction and backstory of Sinatra, by Julianne Nicholson, was excellent as we learned about her position in the town and her life before it all that led her to this point. This was a solid follow-up episode that kept us hooked and ready to uncover the mystery of the town and the mystery of who murdered President Bradford.

Rating: 8/10