Paradise Recap: The Man Who Saved the World
The series “The Day” doesn’t commence as expected on the title day, but instead, we find ourselves eagerly anticipating its unveiling. Instead, it begins on a different day, far in the past: October 28, 1962. The nail-biting end of the Cuban Missile Crisis has just occurred, and an American Air Force Colonel seeks solace with a drink at home after this close brush with nuclear catastrophe. His wife implores him to go to bed, to which he reveals how precariously the world had teetered on the edge of destruction. In reality, it was one man, Vasily Arkhipov, on a Soviet submarine carrying a nuclear warhead, who refused to give authorization for deployment when the sub lost contact with Moscow and believed they were under attack. One man! This individual has been referred to as “the man who saved the world.” Our Air Force Colonel understands how fortunate we are, yet also recognizes that the world will likely find itself on the brink of nuclear war again in the future. He ponders aloud, “What if the wrong person is in control next time?” This thought is a chilling one for him, and us. Before retiring to bed, he turns his room light on and off a few times, perhaps symbolizing how effortlessly the world could be ended or a thought process unfolding. The ensuing episode will reveal more about this intriguing opening scene.