SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Paradise Season 2, Episode 7.

Paradise Season 2, Episode 7 is simultaneously a “WTF” and an “aha” moment. Hulu viewers have already caught on to Dan Fogelman’s music references, so an episode entitled “The Final Countdown” is exceedingly telling. Still, the script by Melissa Glenn proves that there is nothing in this show Fogelman and his cohorts are precious about. They’ll burn it all to the ground, maybe literally.

With only one episode left to go, moves have to start being made. The main storyline involves Samantha Redmond coming face-to-face with Link, which is also bringing the two sides of Season 2 together. The season tagline “It was never just about the bunker” finally comes into focus here, as Link informs Samantha that what he wants is Alex. Samantha confirms in a line of dialogue that Alex is a she, which would match up with the Episode 3 theory that Alex is Miller’s bedridden wife. Audiences don’t know for sure, though, as the episode ends with Samantha greeting Alex—who has been kept in the bunker this whole time, but remains frustratingly off-screen. And that’s not even the biggest plot twist in this episode.

In that same scene between Samantha and Link, audiences learn that Link happens to have the same name and birth month as Samantha’s dead son. His sister Hadley reminds the audience of these facts in speaking to Presley Collins, so the audience genuinely has their heads explode when Geiger calls Link by his birth name. Skeptics could argue this is a massive coincidence, but is anything in Paradise ever a coincidence? And the fact that viewers have to even ask that question is a testament to the level of paranoia—and layered storytelling—that the writers have created. Plus, along these lines, this would mean that Link and Annie’s baby (who is now on her way to Colorado) is Samantha’s granddaughter.

On top of the Alex drama, on top of the family drama, there’s a third “oh no” moment involving Dr. Gabriela Torabi and Jane Driscoll. The most head-scratching move in Episode 6 was for Gabriela to tell Jane she knew what Jane had done—a classic TV cliche. That always ends on every other show with the bad guy trying to kill the other person, and it’s no different on Paradise, except for that Gabriela gets the upper hand on Jane. America’s favorite serial killer ends up dying in Gabriela’s shower. This is shocking on a few levels, both that Jane finally gets stopped and that Paradise is willing to jettison actor Nicole Brydon Bloom, whose performance has been so fun and twisted for the last two seasons. It’s obvious now why Episode 6 was Jane’s episode, since she wasn’t going to be around much longer. But at the same time, how much of a body count could she continue to rack up before it became implausible? The one thing fans can (and should) hope for is that Fogelman and company find a way to bring back Brydon Bloom in Season 3, because much like Jon Beavers and James Marsden in Season 1, her exit is an overall loss for the show. This is the best work she’s ever done, and she at least goes out in a startling way.

Speaking of Marsden, he may be the quiet MVP in an episode that has a lot going on. One of the best decisions Paradise made was to bring back its old cast in Season 2, because the actors were too good to let go of. Marsden has a key role to play in “The Final Countdown,” as the construction of the bunker is juxtaposed against its imminent destruction. President Cal Bradford provides his usual corny comic relief, including a cringe-worthy reference to the song that titles the episode (“It’s from Europe, the band. You’re from Europe, the continent.”). But he’s also the one who provides the warning speech that Samantha needed to hear. Cal is often considered to be dense by a lot of people—including Samantha in this episode—but he’s wiser than he’s given credit for. He sees the downfall coming, and to hear it from him, when his death was the catalyst for it, is kind of like a cosmic “I told you so.”

Cal has the last word in a show where everyone is in shambles to some degree. There isn’t anyone in Paradise who could be called well-adjusted anymore. Gabriela has to deal with the fact that she killed somebody (who’s the monster now?). Jeremy is a loose cannon, and Presley is also on a rogue mission (if she gets out of that elevator). Robinson is on her own last nerve. One could point toward Xavier and Teri, but they’re going to get to Colorado and be like, “What the hell happened here?” It’s telling about the show that Teri confronting an unstable Gary is a subplot. That moment is huge for her and for Xavier, and it’s about number four on the list of plot twists.

All of these personal tribulations are against a backdrop of impending doom. Paradise doesn’t require viewers to know science to understand that Jeremy Bradford’s plan to blow the bunker doors open is going to conflict with everyone else’s plan to keep them closed. The question is just when these two opposite missions are going to screw each other up, leading to all kinds of warning messages and the words “meltdown imminent.” Viewers know the bunker is toast, setting the stage for an epic set piece in the Paradise Season 2 finale. Jeremy and Nicole Robinson can’t un-fire axe the stuff they broke. So does everyone just get forced into the open, and the not friendly arms of Link’s waiting militia? Is there any way for the bunker to avert its complete collapse? And if it does, what’s supposed to happen next? Because fans know there will be a next—the Paradise Season 3 renewal has already been announced—but that doesn’t mean Season 2 owes the audience anything.

This is the knockout blow that viewers have been waiting for. Paradise Season 2 got off to a slow start compared to the plot twists of Season 1, and its storytelling asides definitely gave this season a different flavor. But in “The Final Countdown,” audiences get their eyes opened to see what it was all for, and it happens in the same intense fashion as the Season 1 premiere. Here’s why Link matters. Here’s most of the answer to the Alex story. Here’s the potential end of the world as people know it (let’s play that R.E.M. song). This fearless storytelling is exactly what TV needs, and all that remains to be seen is how hard Paradise will hit at the end… because the other thing that’s crystal clear from Episode 7 is that there’s a whole lot more coming. This entire show could go back to zero, and all fans can do is hold on.

Paradise streams Mondays on Hulu. Photo Credit: Ser Baffo/Courtesy of Hulu.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.