Paradise Season 3's "Multiverse" Story Explained By Sterling K. Brown

This article contains spoilers for the Paradise season 2 finale.Sterling K. Brown is going into detail on the ever-changing world of Paradise.

Hulu's hit post-apocalyptic political thriller concluded its second season Sunday, delivering major emotional moments and answers (including key reveals about the AI Alex and some character fates), and leaned heavily into cliffhangers, too. And with the season 2 finale, "Exodus," moving the show from its rooted settings, there are many other areas left to be explored when filming picks up for season 3 in April.

In an interview with Variety, Brown, who plays Secret Service agent Xavier Collins, discusses what the future of Paradise could look like. Referencing very popular movies, including Back to the Future and Everything Everywhere All at Once, he hints that "multiple realities" could be a major focus of the upcoming season, and the role "time" and "multiverses" could play a part in season 3.

Check out Brown's comments below:

I think this is Fogelman's exploration of the multiverse. Any show that’s dealing with genre and science fiction or whatnot eventually loves to play around with the idea of, "Is time travel a possibility? And what are the rules that dictate our excursion into time travel? The first time that I really got geeked over it was Back to the Future. So you've seen Marvel has dealt with the multiverse and all the different timelines. Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse has done its own specific thing as well. I find it intriguing, because Everything Everywhere All at Once is more real than people think. And it unlocks your brain in such a way that whatever you think is possible can be possible if you can conceive it.

Brown positions Season 3's sci-fi pivot as an intentional "multiverse" exploration as the show continues to ask questions surrounding, "what do you really want?" Characters are divided, with some reaping high-status privileges, and others stuck to defending themselves after an initial apocalyptic disaster, and now the destruction of the bunker.

Moving into season 3, however, the playing field could be evened a bit more, as now, thousands of evacuees have been forced outside, and the bunker is no longer contained. ALEX, an AI supercomputer developed by Dr. Henry Miller (Patrick Fischler) that Sinatra had been keeping hidden, is potentially capable of time travel, and will play a huge role in season 3.

Discussing this immensely powerful character, Brown says:

And so now that this is introduced into our world, I think the question is, what do you really want? Do you want to go back? Do you want to move forward and leave it alone? Is it too mysterious to play with, to even tinker with, or is it too compelling to not? And different people have different decisions to make based upon where they are in life at that particular time. And you'll see how that plays out over the course of Season 3.

When Dr. Miller and Link (Thomas Doherty, aka Dylan) meet, Link tells Miller that he's invented his own AI-controlled quantum computer that can essentially predict the future. Together, they partner up, and after being approached by Sinatra and her colleague Dr. Chase, Sinatra tells them she wants the "fastest computer possible" for a "singular mission" to stop the climate catastrophe before it becomes irreparable.

ALEX is not located in the main bunker city (it's located beneath Denver), and the finale strongly suggests that's where Xavier will be heading, as a key card given to Sinatra from Dr. Chase has the words "Awaiting: User X." This person is Xavier, and this super computer could be what's capable of stopping what is happening.

Paradise is described as one of Hulu's scariest shows. Creator Dan Fogelman has already discussed spinoffs following season 3, as Fogelman has framed the show as a 3-season arc. But what will be left in store for season 3 appears to be linked to Xavier's journey, and what ALEX is capable of doing. Elsewhere in conversation with the outlet, Paradise executive producer and writer, John Hoberg, had this to say about Xavier's future:

If you think about where all of our characters are and what we were left with at the end, which is Xavier has been given this task by Sinatra to go to this second bunker, the question for me is, is he going to? Does he believe in what Sinatra is up to? Is Sinatra actually up to good? Does this machine do what she thinks? Or is she actually just dealing with her own grief, like she said? And will Xavier answer the call to do what she wants? I don't know if I can name a specific genre [to describe Season 3], but I do know we’re going with, Xavier has been given a task, and I’m asking myself, is he going to follow through on this? And what are the repercussions if he does and if he doesn't?

Now that Xavier has his family back and has been given his new mission, he must decide which road to take. There are many roads, including the possibility of time travel, multi-universes, and helping humanity, versus being with his family, his real mission following the death of President Bradford. With the end of season 2, Paradise is entering its most uncertain chapter yet, with a multi-universe sci-fi story that stands to change the world of its players as audiences know it.