Paradise Recap: A Pit Stop in Arkansas

The second episode of Paradise doesn’t really connect to the bunker storyline from the first season. Instead, it smartly balances the difficult present-day story of Xavier in Arkansas with heartwarming flashbacks of him meeting his wife, Teri. I especially enjoyed seeing more of Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins – we need those scenes to truly care about Xavier’s story, and Sterling K. Brown and Enuka Okuma have great chemistry. However, “Mayday,” and the season premiere before it, mostly feel like setup for future events, and it’s frustrating to have two episodes focused solely on getting Xavier and Annie together when the season is only eight episodes long. Sterling K. Brown’s performance is strong enough to keep you engaged, but I’m starting to wonder how long the show can sustain itself on that alone. While I’m hoping for deeper character development, the first season had the compelling mystery of Cal’s murder to drive the plot forward. So far, season two lacks that same momentum.








