Dr. Gabriela Torabi has become the unsung hero of Paradise—which has given actor and best-selling author Sarah Shahi a lot to play with. With Xavier Collins out in the wild for Season 2 of the Hulu drama, Gabriela has become the character tasked with figuring out the further mysteries of the bunker. That’s pushed her to places she probably never imagined she’d go… and the series is better off for it.

Sarah dove back into the series ready to face new reveals for her character after Season 1 ended with Gabriela and her best friend Samantha Redmond at odds. “I feel like I knew how complicated the show was going to be,” she said in an interview with TVBrittanyF.com. “From the pilot episode, because I had to read it like three times to really understand. There were so many things that I had missed the first time through when you’re first reading something. Then you go back and you’re like, hold on a second. And there were so many little Easter eggs that were planted that I had missed. So I’ve always known from the beginning that this is a very layered story. And my job is to know the story inside and out, so I can layer it to the best of Gabriela’s character.”

One of those layers in Season 2 is the destruction of the friendship between Gabriela and Samantha, which had been core not only to the show but as fans learned, one of the foundational dynamics in the whole creation of the bunker. Gabriela has been the character holding Samantha to account for her misdeeds in Season 1, and determined to expose the further secret of Alex that Samantha’s hiding. That doesn’t mean it’s not bittersweet to see the two former allies on opposite sides, since despite everything, audiences can see how much they really did care about each other.

“She and I were actually sad,” Sarah said of playing that contentious arc with co-star Julianne Nicholson. “We were sad about that because we enjoy each other as people, as girlfriends, as scene partners. We have so much natural chemistry and affinity for one another that to not see each other as much as we had last year was a bit of a downer for both of us. Neither she and I liked that—but obviously it told the most evolved version of the story. Some of what [Samantha] was doing really needed to come out in the open. And Gabi was the one to find it out.”

That catalyst has prompted some exciting character development for Gabriela throughout Paradise Season 2. She’s lost her best friend, and her brief romance with Xavier Collins has ended now that he’s out searching for his wife in the world. She doesn’t necessarily have anyone to turn to—but what could be disheartening or isolating for her hasn’t stopped her. It’s been the exact opposite, as Gabi has stepped further into both her power and her responsibility. She wants to do what’s right by the people of Paradise, and she also knows that she can. She doesn’t need Samantha or anyone else to give her permission or open the door; she’s going to kick the door down herself.

“She’s on her own, but she has a very important mission that she’s playing out, which is she’s kind of the Nancy Drew of the season,” Sarah explained. “She’s become hip to some ideas that she might have overlooked in the past regarding Sinatra. So she is on a completely different mission.”

What was that shift like for Sarah as an actor? “I got to work with Nicole [Brydon Bloom] more this season, which was nice. And so that’s blossomed into a friendship,” she continued. “But it was a very different mission. And I love our cast. I love our crew. So I never really felt like I was alone, even though the character is more isolated this year.”

One of Sarah’s most important scenes happens with Nicole in Paradise Season 2, Episode 6, “Jane.” Gabriela confronts Jane Driscoll in Samantha’s office, telling Jane that she knows Jane has killed several people. Informing the killer that she’s onto her is a very dangerous thing to do—and as it turns out, that was also a complicated moment for Sarah to play.

“That was one that we really had to work on, in terms of the right levels,” she reflected. “Gabriela is not someone with any kind of physical training. She doesn’t know how to throw a punch. She’s approaching a killer knowing that she could probably kill her in that moment, should she choose.

“But at the same time, my strength and desire to uncover the truth has to be bigger than my fear,” she added. “So what is the appropriate level of the natural human fear to play? Coupled with you have to put your big girl pants on. It was important to really nail all of those things in a very subtle way, which I hope we did.”

When she read that scene, did she think there was a chance Gabriela could be killed? “A hundred percent,” she told us. “When we were doing it, we did it multiple different ways, because I feel like as an actor, the biggest thing you can bring is a sense of play and a sense of exploration within the scene. So none of those choices were wrong, so to speak, but I do think we had to play around with the level of fear that was present, and then the level of fear that was underneath the surface, to be able to get the most truthful version of that scene.”

As uncomfortable as that scene is, it’s also one more example of Gabriela’s growth. Paradise Season 2 is showing her in different lights with characters that she didn’t interact with extensively in Season 1, whether it’s Jane or former Secret Service boss Nicole Robinson, played by Krys Marshall. Sarah reflected that Gabriela isn’t totally in uncharted territory, but that getting to play her off different characters has let her move in new directions as an actor.

“She’s a good soldier,” Sarah said. “Her priority has always been protecting the bunker and protecting the people in the bunker. Even though she may not know these people well, she knows them. She vetted them. She is the reason that they are down there. So with that said, she does have a familiarity with every person in the bunker to some extent.

“It’s just great as an actor, working with different actors and getting to spend time with them and seeing what their process is like. Every person brings out different colors within me. So it’s just really great. The character of Robinson is such a shot in the arm, which is so different from Gabi and Gabi’s sort of still quieter nature, that it’s nice to see the two of them juxtaposed together on screen.”

With the Paradise Season 2 finale in sight, and Gabriela’s mission coming to a head as secrets are splling out everywhere, what does the finish line look like? What would Sarah like to see for her character in the newly announced third season, especially as Gabriela is venturing out of her comfort zone and learning new information that she’s never had before?

“I believe as human beings, we’re not all saints and we’re not all sinners. We are complex. We have both sides in us at all times. And it sometimes is a battle between which comes out,” Sarah said. “We have seen Gabi be very altruistic. We have seen Gabi be kind of the optimistic, hopeful light in this world of darkness. I would love to see her get dirty.

“I would love her to be not so altruistic in her behavior,” she continued. “I would love to get a deeper look at the cracks in her veneer, and see how she would operate if those came out a little bit more. As an actor, it’s very fun to play—and we haven’t seen that side of her. We’ve seen a very buttoned-up, very conservative side of Gabi. And I would love to see something that feels more undone.”

Navigating the messiness is a subject Sarah knows something about. She recently published her first book entitled Life is Lifey, which made both the USA Today and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists. In it is honest advice that Dr. Gabriela Torabi would probably be proud of, because Sarah is speaking from the heart.

“It’s kind of every woman’s permission slip to going back to being their most authentic selves,” Sarah told us. “I feel like as women, we are prescribed this narrative of dinner on the table at six and you have to smile and perfection is what you need to chase. Whereas I’m all about chasing authenticity and realizing that the beauty of life is actually in the mess and to embrace it.

“I’m very proud of the book,” she enthused. “I wrote it when I had five people on my team tell me that I had no idea how to write and I shouldn’t. And so the fact that it’s come out and it’s been this massive success—it’s just been very humbling for me to connect with people around the world in this way.”

Perhaps Sarah can impart some advice to her character. Because whatever happens for Gabriela at the end of Paradise Season 2 is definitely going to be messy and difficult—but it’s also going to be emotional and true to who she is and what she wants. As she says, she’s no longer dropping things for Samantha. She’s on her own mission, leading with her heart, and that heart is genuine and beautiful even if it puts her at risk. In that sense, there’s no better person to play her, because Sarah can find a spark in the chaos—whether it’s everyday life or life at the end of the world.

Paradise streams Mondays on Hulu. For more on Sarah’s book Life is Lifey and to order a copy, visit her website. 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.