Paradise Season 2 Episode 1-3 recap

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The TV show Paradise unexpectedly became a big hit in 2025. Here’s a quick rundown of what happened in the first three episodes of Season 2 – be warned, there are spoilers ahead!

The Hulu/Disney+ series Paradise initially seemed to center around the investigation into the murder of the U.S. President, James Marden, with Secret Service agent Sterling K. Brown leading the case.

Just when you thought you had it figured out, the show throws a huge twist at you: a massive disaster has nearly wiped out life on Earth, and everything we’ve been seeing takes place inside a hidden underground bunker.

The first season concluded with several key events: the murderer was revealed to be the librarian, Redmond was recovering from a gunshot wound, Driscoll was deceptively playing Wii while hiding her true nature, and Xavier Collins flew a plane away from the bunker in search of his wife. Now, let’s jump into Season 2, starting with a quick recap of the first three episodes.

What happens in Paradise Season 2 Episode 1?

The first episode of Paradise Season 2, titled ‘Graceland,’ starts fresh by focusing on a new character, Annie (played by Shailene Woodley). It tells her life story, covering events both before and after the major disaster that happened in the previous season, and largely disregards the characters and storylines from Season 1.

The story introduces Annie as a child, visiting Graceland with her ailing mother. Later, we see her as a medical student in her third year, struggling with traumatic experiences during her training, which ultimately leads her to leave school.

Annie finds a job as a tour guide at Graceland, which gives her and a coworker a place to hide when disaster strikes. Sadly, her coworker injures her leg, and the injury proves fatal by day 46. After 689 days, the ash finally clears, and sunlight returns.

Soon after, a group of armed men came to Graceland. Annie was wary at first, but they turned out to be friendly and harmless, so she allowed them to stay for a few days.

While with the group, Annie begins a romantic relationship with a man they call Link, and they become intimate. Shortly after, he reveals they’re leaving to search for a secret underground bunker in Colorado.

Link asks Annie to join him and help save the world, but she’s too afraid to go with him.

Just before the men left, we heard one of them say they needed to reach the bunker and kill Alex. At the same moment, Link unexpectedly started bleeding from the nose.

The scene cuts to Annie by herself at Graceland, where it becomes clear she is expecting a baby. Suddenly, she hears a blast and sees flames in the distance. She quickly rides a horse to find the source and discovers Xavier Collins, wounded, beside his crashed plane.

Paradise Season 2 Episode 2 recap – Xavier Collins’ story

The second episode, titled ‘Mayday,’ opens with Collins regaining consciousness after a plane crash. He falls from the cockpit and seriously injures his leg. The episode jumps back and forth between the events leading up to the crash and what happens afterward, so we’ll cover those two timelines separately.

Collins had a history of injuries, including one at the Secret Service Training Center in 2004. While recovering from the resulting surgery, he met his future wife, Teri, in the hospital. He was immediately attracted to her, but she wasn’t interested in his advances.

Over time, Teri and Xavier develop a close connection, which grows stronger when Teri temporarily loses her vision. Xavier comforts her by holding her hand and reassuring her that things will be alright.

Collins is released from the hospital, but he remains to care for Teri. Once her vision returns, she beckons him closer, and they share a kiss.

These days, the scene is much less glamorous. Badly injured, Collins is discovered by a group of kids, which felt reminiscent of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Then, shadowy figures with torches start pursuing them. The children silently guide Xavier back to their secluded cabin in the woods.

I’m really invested in Collins’ story! It’s tough seeing him struggle with his knee injury, but I love that he’s trying so hard to connect with the kids by reading to them. It was a sweet moment, honestly. But then things took a really dark turn when he went back to the plane. I couldn’t believe what happened – Xavier got into a fight and… well, he killed someone, and the kids actually saw it. It’s just awful, and I’m so worried about how this is going to affect everyone.

When Collins woke up again in the cabin, the children and all his belongings were missing. All that remained was an old photo of his kids and a simple message: “Sorry.”

Collins began to hallucinate on the plane, seemingly seeing a vision of Link before losing consciousness. Annie discovered him around this time.

Collins recovers in Graceland and starts talking about Teri and Atlanta. However, Annie tells him he won’t be going to Atlanta – instead, he’ll be taking her to Colorado. Meanwhile, Xavier attempts to get up, only to discover he’s handcuffed to the bed.

Paradise Season 2 Episode 3 recap – Samantha Redmond’s story

Following episodes that centered on Annie and Xavier, Episode 3 focuses on Samantha Redmond, who previously went by the name Sinatra. Like before, the story jumps between different time periods, so we’ll present the events in two separate timelines.

Previously, Redmond spoke with a scientist who predicted future events. He cautioned her that there wasn’t enough time to solve the world’s problems and bluntly suggested she focus on self-preservation.

Years after the initial events, President-elect Cal Bradford remains skeptical about the dangers to the environment. As he urgently tries to launch the ‘Colorado Project,’ Redmond encounters resistance from a developer who refuses to sell vital technology.

Cal’s dad, Kane, then introduces her to Billy Pace – someone we’ve met before who, unfortunately, doesn’t have a long life ahead of him. Billy promises to get the necessary paperwork signed, and sets out to find the person who needs to sign it at a local bar.

So, instead of signing the deal, this guy just writes down his address. When I went to check it out, it turned out his wife was really sick with Huntington’s Disease. It was super heavy, and he actually helped her pass away with a lethal injection, rambling about everything happening for a reason. Then, he made this weird request: he begged me not to hurt his young business partner, claiming this guy was somehow important to, like, the fate of the world. Seriously, the whole thing was messed up.

Pace shoots the man as planned, causing him to bleed from the nose. He doesn’t kill the man’s partner, receives payment from Redmond, and lets Redmond know he’s open to working for him again in the future.

Redmond is recovering in the hospital from her injuries when she learns that Henry Baines is now in charge and intends to create artificial seasons inside the bunker.

Redmond is under investigation for several problems, particularly the mysterious diversion of energy to a hidden project. Despite a lie detector test, she refuses to reveal any information, which infuriates Baines.

Redmond claims Collins shot her, but Driscoll is managing to avoid attention, except from Robinson, who believes something isn’t right about Billy Pace’s death. While searching Pace’s belongings, Robinson discovers an engagement ring, hinting that Pace and Driscoll were planning to get married and suggesting Pace had a motive to stay alive.

Driscoll discovers Robinson is investigating something and, using his close relationship with the President, joins him for a run. During the run, he murders the President and cleverly makes it look like Robinson is responsible.

Young people in Paradise are rebelling against the government, secretly planning a revolution. But authorities are cracking down, frequently arresting and making these activists disappear – including Jeremy Bradford. He’s imprisoned deep beneath the government’s headquarters and is determined to escape, vowing to break free no matter what.

In the last scene, Redmond talks to her suspicious maid, who cryptically warns that “someone is getting closer.”

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2026-02-23 11:21