‘Paradise’ Season 2 Premiere Recap: Hulu’s Sci-Fi Thriller Returns With an Epic 3-Parter

Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for Paradise Season 2 Episodes 1-3.

Welcome back home to Paradise, the eerie underground city where all is not well. A dystopian political thriller filled with ruthless twists, corrupt conspiracies, an assassinated President, chilling ecological commentary, and all the traumatizing tragedies one expects from a Dan Fogleman epic, audiences devoured Paradise's unique allure. If you harbored concerns about a sophomore slump, never fear: Season 2's dynamite three-episode premiere cranks up the series' human heart and adrenaline-spiking tension by, oh, at least one hundred percent. As Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) encounters new faces during his journey above ground, the simmering political turmoil underneath him erupts into calculated violence.

Shailene Woodley Survives the End of the World in 'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 1

The self-contained "Graceland" introduces Paradise's new recurring player as a teenager. Annie (Alora Johnson) returns home to her mother after attending an official group tour of Graceland. She's visited Elvis Presley's Tennessee estate often enough to memorize the tour guides' jokes; there's even a framed picture of the rock-and-roll King above their living room fireplace. Later that evening, the negative effects of her mother's long-term mental health symptoms catch up with her; she passes away without moving from her chair.

The adult Annie (Shailene Woodley), now an intelligent medical student, almost faints when a patient's ailments remind her of her mother. The visceral heartbreak spurs Annie to abandon her education, park outside Graceland, and sob over her hopeless future. Gayle Edwards, a concerned security guard, suggests Annie turn her ardent affection for her safe haven into a job. Suffice to say, Annie takes to the tour guide lifestyle like a duck to water.

When Season 1's catastrophic weather strikes, Annie and Gayle use the precious minutes they have to stash every essential supply they can carry inside the mansion's basement. They barely escape to safety before the electricity vanishes, and not without the earthquake tremors injuring Gayle's leg. The pair ventures out after several days and finds bleak, endless chaos: screaming, gunshots, flooded streets, rampant fires, ash clouds blotting out the sun, and freezing temperatures outside and inside. Annie employs every possible measure to keep them alive through the cold, but Gayle dies in her friend's arms on Day 45.

Annie Finds Love in a Hopeless Place in 'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 1

Annie shelters in place until day 689. The emerging sun melts the persistent ice — and eases the way for the small group of armed men who break into what's become Annie's house. Led by Link (Thomas Doherty), a 25-year-old with the looks and heavy shoulders of someone decades older, they find Annie's hiding place and promise her they mean no harm. But Annie's no fool; she escapes Link's small talk at the earliest opportunity by smacking him upside the head and locking herself in the basement. After three days of her unwelcome visitors making themselves at home, Annie emerges, still guarded, to assess the situation. They reassert her safety and update her about the outside conditions: "still some bad pockets," but not terrible, especially since the sensible communities work together to create sustainable resources. They also promise Annie that Graceland is no more than a pit stop on their longer journey.

Gradually, Annie's suspicions fade as the men prove themselves worthy of her trust and remind her of the companionship she's lacked for almost two years. Another hopeful sign manifests when her favorite horse defies the odds and wanders home. The night before the boys leave for Colorado, they encourage Annie — cleaned up with a pink dress and combed hair — to give them the official tour experience. Link cautiously breaks the awkward barrier between them by kissing Annie's forehead. Overwhelmed by sincere human connection and their shared loneliness, and with nothing left to lose, they spend the night together. During their giggly post-coital chatter, Link spills more details about their trip west; they're searching for an underground bunker that, according to their theories, houses both resources and danger.

Annie retreats to the solitude of her candle-lit basement the next morning. Link begs her to leave with them until he can no longer ignore their timeline. Instead, he leaves a handwritten note promising he'll return to Annie once they've "restart[ed] the world." That quest is predicated upon an ominous tidbit Link neglects to directly share, but Annie overhears through the basement door: infiltrating the bunker and killing someone named Alex. Months later, a heavily pregnant Annie hears a nearby plane and spots smoke from its crash landing. She rides her horse into the forest and finds Xavier's unconscious body on the ground.

Xavier and Teri's Meet-Cute Anchors 'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 2

"Mayday" resumes Xavier's point-of-view as well as Fogleman's trademark timeline-blending. In 2004, Xavier injures his kneecap during Secret Service training and recuperates from surgery. Bantering with a nurse about his preferred Jell-O flavor leads to his meet-cute with Teri (Enuka Okuma), a fellow patient awaiting scoliosis adjustment. For Xavier, it's love at first sight. It's amused disinterest for Teri, a PhD student who studies biology from her hospital bed and has her career-based life planned out to the letter.

However, Teri's procedure leaves her without her eyesight, a rare side effect that's usually, but not always, temporary. Xavier had originally postponed leaving the hospital in order to woo his crush. Once Teri asks her irritating roommate to distract her with calming conversation, her steadiness now upended into furious and terrified grief, his lingering presence transforms into a devastatingly romantic act of selfless devotion. Teri's vision returns, and the first things she sees are the sunrise and the love of her life.

Flying into today's unknown risks on another errand of steadfast love, Xavier broadcasts radio updates until a nighttime hail storm downs his plane. He drags himself onto solid ground despite the agonizing pain from his freshly damaged knee. Before he can reset the dislocation, a young boy named Daniel warns him to stay quiet, indicating two approaching men. Daniel helps Xavier evade the curious strangers and leads him back to the small boat that his younger sister and his friends call their refuge. The catastrophic weather separated these children from every trusted adult; none of them had been optimistic for three years. However, Daniel reaches for a piece of his former innocence, falling asleep on Xavier's shoulder as the adult reads James and the Giant Peach aloud.

Xavier finds one of the roaming men loitering outside and drowns him in the mud as quickly as if his threats against the children were aimed at President Bradford. Awake and watching, the kids conceal the corpse as if they have experience with such things. Xavier wakes to find they've absconded with all his personal items and necessary supplies except the photograph of his own children, placed beside a hand-scribbled "sorry." Xavier stumbles back to the crash site and passes out; Annie brings him back to Graceland on her horse. Delirious with fever and exhaustion, he rambles about Teri's name, his Atlanta destination, and the Colorado bunker. Annie declares they're going to the latter — and Xavier, handcuffed in place, currently can't argue against a gun-toting woman.

A Familiar Face Returns in 'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 3

"Another Day in Paradise" catches up with the titular residents, starting with the infamous Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond's (Julianne Nicholson) fall from grace. A flashback revisits the grim speech that stirred Samantha into action and the man who predicted the planet's destruction, Dr. Louge (Geoffrey Arend). Samantha treats him to an expensive dinner where she flashes her power and seeks detailed advice on how to survive the upcoming disaster. Louge remains unimpressed. All the money in the world can't stop Earth's inevitable and agonizing finale, which will unfold in two parts: the initial outburst, followed by warmer temperatures that prelude the scorching heat and atmospheric pressure that will crush every living being on the planet.

Fast-forward to President-Elect Cal Bradford's (James Marsden) election night victory, and Kane Bradford (Gerald McRaney) pulls Sinatra aside with the kind of sinister assistance his son would never offer. Sinatra's bunker plan hinges on accessing advanced technology, but the developer refuses to sell. Kane expedites the bargaining process by hiring a mercenary — Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) himself — to intimidate Samantha's target into signing the company over to her, lest he find himself on the wrong end of a gun. Instead, the developer gives Billy his home address.

Billy arrives to find him at the bedside of the wife he's adored throughout every stage of her Huntington's disease. Unexpectedly moved, Billy doesn't interfere as a man who's ready to perish medically induces his wife's peaceful death. The developer asks Billy whether he thinks there might be a reason he's standing in this exact spot. Even if Billy doesn't believe in higher purposes, the developer begs his executioner to spare his young protégé, who's arriving within minutes. Billy grants him two mercies: a painless death and honoring his last request.

Sinatra and Jane Make a Drastic Move in 'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 3

In the present, Samantha awakens from her month-long coma and finds her precious city unraveling in her absence. President Henry Baines (Matt Malloy) wields his newfound power like a blunt object, plastering his face on giant banners and arresting anyone who resists him. Detainees include the very man who designed the bunker and Jeremy Bradford's (Charlie Evans) revolutionary-minded friends, who protest the government by spray-painting Xs around town in Xavier's honor.

Special agent Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall) has kept her job but been demoted as punishment for her actions. Comparatively, Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom), still playing her innocent role to a T, receives glowing accolades for the cover story they've spun, where she heroically protected Sinatra's life from Xavier's bullets. Nicole urges Presley (Aliyah Mastin) and James Collins (Percy Daggs IV) to avoid trouble, no matter how frustrated they feel about their dad assuming the blame for Sinatra's wound. Meanwhile, Jane's first chat with the boss she shot drips with layers of cautious power plays and unspoken implications. Ultimately, Samantha claims memory loss and agrees to follow Jane's version of events.

The matter settled, Jane escorts Samantha to her interrogation. Baines demands answers about her top secret project, furious at having been in the dark about something that's siphoning resources from the main power grid and determined to shut it down. Samantha denies compromising the bunker "for [her] personal gain," which the lie detector interprets as truthful. Stymied, Baines places Sinatra on house arrest. Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi) visits Samantha's home that evening long enough to gently explain why fixing their shattered friendship is a lost cause.

Elsewhere, Presley twists James' arm until he admits to discarding the latest secret note Jeremy planted for Presley. This one asked her to meet him before he went into hiding, but James didn't want to risk losing his big sister as well as their parents. Presley arrives at the rendezvous point right as police officers arrest Jeremy. He sees her silent apology and answers with a fond smile. Officers escort the son of a murdered president to a detainment level that already holds the bunker's designer. It's the precise boon Jeremy needs; he promises the designer that they'll tear Paradise apart together.

Meanwhile, Jane actively endearing herself to Baines sets off Nicole's alarm bells. She compares Jane's official statement about Billy's death with evidence inside his vacant home, and sure enough, her assertions about Billy's suicidal depression don't match with an unclaimed engagement ring. As Nicole assembles the terrible puzzle pieces, Jane volunteers to shadow Baines' evening run on her own. The President pauses to catch his breath, and Jane slits his throat before drawing an X on his shirt with his own blood. Jane spots Nicole's approach; delighted by her luck, she strangles Nicole unconscious, places the knife in Nicole's hand, and raises the alarm. With their immediate threat eliminated, Sinatra and her aide, Carmen (Nicole Wolf), calmly discuss Alex's progress. Alex can't give them an estimate, but "she is getting closer" — and Gabriela, having planted a listening device, hears every word from the comfort of her home.