Why Paradise Season 2’s New Character Doesn’t Go To The Bunker Explained By Star

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Paradise season 2, episodes 1-3.Shailene Woodley clarifies why her Paradise character, Annie, turns down the opportunity to go to the Colorado bunker.

Even though Woodley is a newcomer to the Paradise cast, Annie is the primary focus of the first installment in season 2's three-episode premiere. After surviving the global apocalyptic disaster and living for 689 days inside Elvis Presley's famous estate, Graceland, she encounters Link (Thomas Doherty) and his group of survivors. She forms a romantic bond with Link, but when he encourages her to join him on his journey west to the bunker in Colorado, she ultimately refuses to go.

In an interview with Deadline, Woodley was asked about Annie's thought process and what stops her from going with Link. While the real-life Woodley says she would've joined him, she explains that her character is afraid of losing the control she has had since her mother passed away. The Divergent actor clarifies that later on, Annie regrets the choice she made. Check out Woodley's comments below:

It’s confusing to me, because I’m like, "B****, why aren’t you going with him?" Like, "Get on that train!" I think that Annie has been so in control of her life since her mom passed away, she has been in control of her survival, she has been in control of every aspect of it. And up until the moment that her mom passed, she felt very out of control, like everything that was happening to her, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. And I think she internalized that as something being wrong with herself.

And I think when Link asks her to leave, it’s easier for her to stay because leaving would mean she’d be out of control again, and if anything happened to him or their relationship, she wouldn’t be in a state of control. And not being in control is a very, very, very scary, vulnerable place to be, especially for someone like her, and I think that’s why she chose not to go. It was easier to stay comfortable in a moment than it was to risk the unknown. She does end up regretting it.

Season 2, episode 1 shows that Annie lost her mother at a young age, and afterward, whether it was becoming a tour guide at Graceland or figuring out how to stay alive after the destruction of global civilization, she has been in control of her own life. Surrendering that control and going west to a mysterious bunker that she has only just learned about is understandably overwhelming for her. However, circumstances have changed now that she is pregnant, and thanks to her encounter with Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), she has someone who can get her to Colorado so she can reunite with the father of her child.

Annie's personal journey is now caught up in a much larger conflict. Other than the little information Link told her about an underground city that has the potential to restart civilization, she does not know about the location or its many secrets, let alone how it has changed since Paradise season 1's ending and Xavier's subsequent departure. The choices she now makes will affect Xavier, his mission to find his wife, Teri Rogers-Collins (Enuka Okuma), Link, those inside the bunker, and possibly even the world itself.

As Paradise season 2 continues, Annie is poised to be a significant wild card, and her fear of losing control will now seemingly collide with the control that Xavier, Link, Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), and other characters have been attempting to regain. After learning more and presumably reuniting with Link, she will likely have to decide whether to help or stand in the way of what he intends to do with the bunker and Sinatra's secret technology inside of it.

Paradise releases new episodes Mondays on Hulu.

Release Date January 26, 2025

Network Hulu

Showrunner Dan Fogelman

Directors Gandja Monteiro

Writers Jason Wilborn

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  Sterling K. Brown

  Xavier Collins

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  Julianne Nicholson

  Samantha 'Sinatra' Redmond