The man with all of the secrets is finally revealed in this satisfying conclusion to the first season of Paradise. Life is precious, especially the connections people make. This episode showcases that by showing a flashback from twelve years before the present involving the original project manager for the bunker. He is introduced as a socially awkward, yet well-intentioned man who befriends one of his workers and builds a bond with his team. Throughout the building of the bunker, he notices one of his guys’ health compromised from hazardous materials and informs the architect Sinatra brought in to build the bunker. The architect sees the hazard and pretends that he is going to look out for the workers, yet instead the next day, he revokes the project manager’s access to the work site to avoid having him let his team know of the dangerous working conditions, setting the man up on a vengeful and murder- fueled rampage.
It is revealed he attempted to inform news outlets of the truth of the disaster coming and even went as far as infiltrating a presidential speech to make an attempt at Cal Bradford’s life and inform the world of the incoming dangers. Once that attempt on the president’s life fails, he is coincidentally sent to a prison in Colorado, where the bunker is located, and decides to take advantage of the chaos that ensued the day the world ended. This continues the man’s path to vengeance as he is willing to do anything it takes to complete his mission of unveiling the truth and securing his freedom, no matter what life he takes along the way.
Xavier is still on the move to discover the truth about his wife’s whereabouts, and not only that, he has to find a way to save his daughter as Sinatra had a contingency plan to have her kidnapped by Jane. This sets Xavier off to finally uncover who killed the president, which leads him back to the original crime scene to uncover clues he may have missed. Upon his discovery, he found the disc that Cal made for his son, Jeremy. The disc gives him directions to go to the library and discover what the secret numerical sequence code means. The number sequence is a label on a book in the library titled, The Man Who Kept The Secrets. The book contained specific details about the atrocities Sinatra caused while also containing the location of Xavier’s wife, Teri, and how to find her exactly. This moment of joy for Xavier is short-lived, as the librarian knocks him out and ties him up in the library as he reveals the truth of who he is.
The librarian is revealed to be none other than the original project manager for the bunker. He reveals that he infiltrated the bunker by taking the real librarian’s life along with his wife’s and decided to give him and a woman he met on his way to the bunker their identities. He grew comfortable in his new life in the bunker until the day he saw the president arrive in the library on his final day, which reignited his mission to take out the president and unveil the truth of everything to the remaining survivors. He is revealed as the person who killed the president and that is why the DNA didn’t match with anybody listed in the bunker.
The librarian decides to take the book and attempts to reveal the truth, but Xavier and Agent Robinson catch up with him. Unfortunately, he takes his own life in the process. With all of the answers he needs, Xavier meets with Sinatra to try to save his daughter and find his wife, but Sinatra loses control of Jane and the situation and believes that Presley is dead. This enrages Xavier to take out her guards and almost her, but before he does, Jane swoops in shooting Sinatra in the chest to make sure she survives. Jane just wanted the Wii and got it in the end, but her business with Sinatra is far from over as she now holds power over Sinatra. As Xavier and Agent Robinson are browsing through the book, they are able to confirm the location of Teri. Robinson vows to protect Xavier’s kids with her life so that he can go out in the world and save his wife. Presley agrees and encourages him to bring her mother home. This sets Xavier off now on a mission to find his wife as the season finale comes to a close ending this first chapter of the series.
Paradise closes out its first season on a high note with a satisfying season finale closing out the storylines introduced at the start of the season. A key highlight to the series that makes it stand out among the best shows on television is its stellar writing of dialogue between the characters. We hear and understand the characters motivations and actions based on the dialogue being said that makes us understand and sometimes sympathize with the characters despite the questionable choices one may do and we see that with the character of Sinatra. Julianne Nicholson did a phenomenal job bringing this complex character to life. The choices her character makes throughout the series are questionable and sometimes even egregious, but the show does a great job of making us understand her actions based on the reasoning she provides and even sympathize with her a little due to the struggles she had to face in her life. Sterling K. Brown shines in this finale as he keeps us emotionally engaged with his character and his journey throughout the season. The episode does a great job showing us the human element with the librarian character and the lengths people are willing to go to survive. It also showcases what pain does to people and how it affects the actions one makes. This was a fantastic conclusion to the first chapter of this series, leaving us viewers wanting more by closing out the season on a high note, while also teasing what’s to come in the next chapter of the story.
Rating: 10/10