Paradise has come to an end after eight nail-biting episodes. Answering the season’s biggest questions, fans finally learned who murdered President Cal Bradford, while Agent Xavier Collins contended with the idea that his wife, Teri, could still be alive.
A finale filled with twists and turns, it’s safe to say episode eight went down a treat. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), fans showered it with rave reviews. “Paradise finale was [flame emoji]! Shoutout to the writers, directors and actors…masterful work by everyone involved,” penned one.
© Disney“10/10 season finale. Give me season 2 by August. #Paradise #ParadiseHulu,” pleaded a second. Meanwhile, a third commented: “Paradise season one finale was so good, genuinely this season was one of the best seasons of a political drama that I have ever seen.”
So, what went down in Paradise’s eighth and final episode? We break down the biggest revelations from the season one finale. WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD…
Teri survived the nuclear war
Picking up after the events of episode seven, Xavier quickly realised that Teri had survived the nuclear war and may still be alive.
To save her own skin, Sinatra had pressed play on a recording of Teri stating that she was safe and looking for Xavier and their kids. After hearing it, Xavier had agreed to let Sinatra live.
President Cal Bradford was killed over a cover-up
For seven episodes, fans wondered who had killed President Cal Bradford in his home, and by the finale, we got our answer. As he left Sinatra's office, Xavier realised that the number in Cal's cigarette box was the number of a library book and after tracking down his top secret notes, was hit over the head by Cal's murderer. Now for the truth…
With several flashbacks, it was revealed that one of the construction workers who'd helped to build Paradise had uncovered a deadly residue in the cave, and told Anders – Sinatra's lead architect – that his fellow crew members would die if they kept working on it.
© HuluRefusing to press pause on Paradise, Anders shut him out of the project and promised that he'd keep the other workers safe. After reaching out and failing to get newspapers to listen, the construction worker realised that both Anders and his fellow crew members were dying from the poisonous gases, and set out to assassinate the President and reveal the truth.
When he attempted to shoot Cal, however, Xavier saved his boss and the construction worker was sent to prison. It wasn't until arrival day, when the President announced that the world was in peril, that the worker used the mass panic to his advantage and escaped from prison.
© HuluSetting his plan in motion, he killed two strangers on their way to Paradise and assumed the identity of Trent. As he got comfortable with his new life and took a job as a librarian, however, Trent began to find peace and even let go of his revenge plans.
Unfortunately for Cal, it was his impromptu visit to the library that triggered Trent. After glimpsing the President, he quickly remembered the rage that had consumed him for so long and decided to see his plan through.
© HuluCal had only visited the library to leave clues for his son and Xavier, so they could learn the truth about the survivors. Unfortunately, it was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time for Paradise's President.
Determined to get revenge, Trent had broken into Cal's home later that night and used one of his old tools from the construction site to bludgeon him. As Trent came to terms with what he'd done, Cal silently crept over to his box of cigarettes and marked an X on them in his own blood.
© HuluInside the cigarette box was the reference number for his notes in the library and he desperately needed Xavier to find them. As Trent turned around and realised that Cal was still alive, he hit him over the head one more time, and he succumbed to his injuries.
Back in the present, Trent finishes telling Xavier his story and attempts to flee from Paradise. Thankfully, he's able to reunite with Robinson and they pursue him on foot. Boxed in, Trent jumps from the top of the city, and falls to his death.
As former Vice President Henry Baines takes charge of the government, it's hinted that Cal's son, Jeremy, may have a bright future in politics. As for Xavier, the agent heads over to Sinatra's office to tell her what happened, and find out where she's been keeping his daughter.
Sinatra was betrayed by Jane
Sinatra may have used Jane as her assassin, but by the finale, Jane had turned the tables on her boss. While keeping Xavier's daughter, Presley, at her house, Jane got a call from a conflicted Sinatra. Unable to decide whether or not she should kill Presley for knowing too much, Sinatra told Jane to hold off for the time being, and she agreed.
After asking Sinatra if she could keep the President's Wii gaming console and being berated by her, however, Jane became enraged and hung up on her boss, telling her she would handle Presley herself.
© HuluSetting a trap for Sinatra, Jane lied and told the business mogul that she had killed Presley on her behalf. By the end of the episode, when Xavier confronted Sinatra in her office and asked her to hand over his daughter, Sinatra was forced to admit that Presley had been killed, prompting the enraged agent to hold her at gunpoint again.
As Xavier prepared to pull the trigger, Jane then burst into Sinatra's office and shot her in the shoulder, telling him that she'd been with Presley the entire time and had kept her safe. As Xavier left to reunite with his kids, Jane told Sinatra that she'd need a long time to recover and quipped that she should have just given her the Wii.
In the final scenes, we saw Sinatra in a coma while the sociopathic Jane enjoyed a casual game of Wii Tennis, unscathed by the roles she played in Billy's murder and Sinatra's schemes.
Xavier prepared for his next mission
Following in his late father's footsteps, Xavier used Cal's notes to identify a way out of the cave and prepared to pilot a plane into the ruins of Colorado.
© HuluDetermined to find his wife and other survivors, the father-of-two agreed to leave his children under the watchful eye of Agent Robinson, so he could find out who and what's left of the world outside. "I'm coming baby," Xavier muttered to himself, before taking off to look for Teri.
Paradise is currently available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu
