TV Recap: “Paradise” – Episode 6 “You Asked for Miracles”
We are back in the past with Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife Teri (Enuka Okuma). They have both been summoned to their daughter’s school. The couple feels some tension because Terri’s work takes her to Atlanta, but the couple is happy. When they are brought into the office, the principal proceeds to explain about the project that Presley (Aliyah Mastin) did for class embarrassed a boy in her class.
Leaving the meeting, Xavier and Teri talk about their luck with their kids, and Xavier tells his wife that she didn’t need to make a scene in the principal’s office. His wife responds that sometimes making a scene is all that you need to do. (This ties in nicely with how episode 5 ended. Xavier made a scene for sure.)
Flashing to the present, Xavier sits in the bar alone, sharpening a knife, and thinking about what Terri told him. She tells him that someone will force him to make a scene one day and she does not want to be the person on the other side of it. (Amen Terri!)
President Bradford (James Marsden) is very curious to know how much cake the boy in Presley’s class was able to hold down before he vomited. While Xavier describes the big leaps Terri is taking at her job, Bradford asks the Secret Service agent to stay late, and that they go on a field trip. Bradford wants Collins to run through the evacuation program when the end comes.
It's the next day in the cave, and the message ‘They’re Lying To You’ is still on display in the sky. People are focused on the message and wondering what is happening. Robinson (Krys Marshall) is making her way to the gun storage room at the arena, while Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) is in the control room wondering why there are still words on her sky. Sinatra is told that they can’t take the words down, because whoever put them there has locked everyone out of the system. (Well done Carl!)
Carl (Richard Robichaux) has made his way to hiding, thanks to Xavier, and he brings his little dog too. Presley is also in the hideout with Carl and is anxious to hear from her dad. Presley is looking to leave the safety of the hideout, and James (Percy Daggs IV) is questioning his sister’s actions. Big sister turns on her brother and says this is time for him to do some cool stuff that he is always begging her to let him do.
Gabriela (Sarah Shahi) comes into Sinatra’s office talking about the situation with the message in the sky. Sinatra tells her to cut the crap and get right to business. Gabriela tries to talk about crafting a careful message for the people, and Sinatra states again to cut the lies and get right to the point. She tells the doctor that the problem outside is a direct result of Collins.
Sinatra describes how Gabriela and Xavier had sex in the shower and then wonders how she didn’t know about what Collins was going to do. Gabriela describes how she helped Sinatra through her worst time and is appalled at being spied on in the privacy of her home. Sinatra counters with that they both love the city they have built and if she, Gabriela, wants to protect it, she needs to go have a nice meal with her man, and find out what he is up to.
At the diner, Xavier sits and waits in a booth. He knows someone is coming, and Gabriela soon enters the joint. He describes how he thought he would miss meat but he doesn’t. As Xavier describes how terrible it must have been for the cows as they were led to slaughter, Robinson enters the weapons cache under the stadium.
Robinson empties the weapons cache as Xavier describes how he wonders if what Sinatra did bringing everyone into the cave was the same as how cows would be led to slaughter back in the past. Gabriela wants to know what happened, and Xavier describes how Bradford is dead, and he wants to know why Sinatra killed Bradford and Pace. Gabriela tries to describe how Sinatra is not a monster, that she is a mother who is trying to protect others. (I like how we have referenced that she is a mother, yet we don’t know how Sinatra’s son died.) Robinson messages Xavier that she has the guns, and they are moving on with the next phase. Before leaving, he cuts off the wrist band that enables everyone to be tracked and tells Gabriela to tell Sinatra that he is coming for her.
Back in the days before the cave, we see Xavier taking Bradford on a rehearsal of his evacuation route. Bradford is going philosophical but Collins doesn’t have time and keeps moving, forcing Bradford to keep moving. When Bradford emulates John McClane by taking his shoes and socks off to make fists with his toes, the President is shocked to learn that Xavier has never seen Die Hard.
In the control center, Sinatra can’t believe what Xavier is doing. Everything that Gabriela tells her about Xavier is a surprise because she can’t understand what is happening. Sinatra wonders if any other known associates of Xavier have gone offline. When Robinson is discovered to be offline, they learn that Robinson accessed the weapons cache. She sends a security detail to guard her family. When the security team enters the weapons cache, they see it’s empty with an excellent note inspired by Die Hard. (I love the note, and the connection to Die Hard.)
Xavier meets up with Robinson, and while they discuss getting a crew together that is loyal, he wants to know if they should recruit Jane (Nicole Bloom). Robinson has little use for her, while Xavier talks about how loyal she is. (Not a good choice Xavier.)
Sinatra can’t understand what Xavier is up to, and while she stares at the sky, the message changes to ‘Do You Want To Know The Truth?’. People in the streets are focused on the new message. In the control room, they know that the messages are going to change. When Sinatra demands that the sky is fixed, the only possibility is to do a hard reboot and shut down the sky and turn it back on again. Sinatra considers the idea while Gabriela strongly advocates that she not do this. It would set everyone back and destroy the illusion that everyone is not in a cave. The doctor is successful, and Sinatra begs off. She informs all authorities to be on the look out for Xavier and arrest him on site.
Jane gets a text from Sinatra to find Collins, and the hidden killer agrees. She removes a gun in her bedroom and begins the hunt for her former boss. Collins and Robinson meet with their team of outsiders talking about their next steps, and that even though they have weapons, they should keep them out of sight so that the people are not panicked.
At the library, Jeremy (Charles Evans) is listening to some mixtapes made by his dad when Presley joins him. She wants to know how he could just sit there when so much is happening, and she has something she needs to tell Jeremy.
In the stairwell, Presley recounts how Billy is dead, and how she doesn’t know what her dad is doing, and she thinks it has something to do with the presidential tablet. Presley explains to Jeremy that she would go play Wii with Billy at the President's house because they would turn the cameras off. She was going to the house that night, and she found the tablet in the bushes. Presley took it because she thought she might be able to find out what happened to her mom, but it has security protection. Jeremy offers to help.
Xavier is giving his pep rally speech to the band of rebels. He describes how the community was told that President Bradford died of natural causes. Collins tells them the truth, that he was murdered, and that Pace was murdered. Xavier goes on to describe how Sinatra is pulling the strings, and the other billionaires are marching in step with their leader. To Collins, this must stop now because they are taking control of this city. They will find justice for the President and Billy.
On the tour Xavier is recounting the timeline of Bradford’s evacuation and how long it will take to get to safety. Collins tells the President that he wants to know what is happening, and when it is happening. The President tells him that he can’t give him details, but he advises Collins to tell his wife to stop the trips to Atlanta. The President says that those trips are no longer as risk free as they use to be. Xavier says that his wife hasn’t listened to him in twenty years, and without details, everything sounds so far fetched. Bradford responds that they will just have to go pick her up if it comes to that. (I bet Bradford planned to save Xavier’s wife, but Sinatra said no.)
Collins’ rebels split up and head to their posts. At a meeting with her fellow billionaires, and President Baines (Matt Malloy) Sinatra tells them all that the message is cycling through and changing, and that the techs are searching for a way to disable it. President Baines wants to know about the breach at the weapons cache, and why a Secret Service agent is leading a group of rebels. The meeting falls into chaos, and Sinatra leaves. She texts Jane and wonders if she has Collins, to which the hidden killer responds not yet.
Collins and Robinson make their way through security doors, and Jeremy brings Presley to his home and grandpa Kane (Gerald McRaney). Explaining to his grandpa that he wants to help Presley he asks Kane if he can help them access the presidential tablet. On Air Force One, Collins explains to Robinson about the defensive measures that the plane has. They don’t need to blow anything up, they just need Sinatra to think they are going to do that.
In the Bradford home, Kane tells Jeremy, who he thinks is Cal thanks to his advanced dementia, that it is not that simple. Presley recognizes the symbol on Kane’s bookmark as something she saw on someone’s coat walking around the Bradford home the night Cal died. Kane tries to warn Jeremy that things are not always simple to understand, but he uses his handprint to open the tablet.
Sinatra is staring longingly at a photo of her family and remembering the good times with her son and daughter. (She has lost control of the situation, and it shows that Sinatra cannot fathom what to do next.) Gabriela enters the room to reassure her friend that she is doing the right thing. Sinatra talks about her daughter and how she has a biology test today. Gabriela says that the police will find Xavier and then they can talk things out. Sinatra wonders if that is possible, and the look on her face makes Gabriela ask what Xavier knows.
Presley tells Jeremy that there is information about Atlanta and how two nuclear weapons hit the city. She also found something else, and hands the tablet to Jeremy.
Gabriela asks Sinatra what she is afraid of Xavier exposing and then asks the billionaire what she did. A song comes on the outdoor sound system, (Wow I can only imagine the electrical lines they had to run for that to work.) and a new message has appeared in the sky. Asking, ‘Who is Sinatra?’ the city and the people and left in chaos wondering what is happening.
Amongst a crowd of people confused and worried about the message in the sky, Xavier sets up his next parlor trick to rattle to security of the super rich. Using a countdown clock on the sky, and the flare system from Air Force One, Xavier fires the defensive flares at the control tower, which sends everyone, including Sinatra, to the ground for cover.
In a moment of stunned fear, Sinatra orders the technicians to reboot the sky, against Gabriela’s protests. The city is plunged into chaos and panic. Xavier is not surprised by Sinatra’s actions and quotes Die Hard one more time. (I never thought anyone would recite this line as good as Bruce Willis. Sterling K. Brown rose to the occasion.)
Back in the Oval Office, Bradford thanks Xavier for the tour, and tells him that he really needs to see Die Hard. When he learns that Xavier is trying to get home to see Terri off to the airport, the President orders a car for his Secret Service agent to get home faster. Gabriela and Sinatra as well as every other important billionaire, including President Baines are being brought to a secured location. Jeremy and Presley join a crowd, and Jeremy stands on the back of a truck to get everyone’s attention. He tells the people that whoever wrote the note on the sky is right.
As the group of the super rich are close to the safe house, Xavier and his crew are waiting to capture them. Sinatra’s car breaks from the group, resulting in Xavier chasing after her.
While Jeremy is telling the assembled people that the four people sent outside the cave were murdered, and that his father was murdered, Jane approaches Presley at the rally. Initially happy to see her friend, the two embrace. (Presley, you are in the presence of the most dangerous killer in the cave.) Jane pleads with Presley that she doesn’t want to be alone, Presley agrees to go with her and keep her company. (Oh boy, this is bad.)
Xavier makes his way to Sinatra’s residence and is met by Gabriela. She tells him that the city must hold, and that she tipped off Sinatra. The sky starts to reboot, and the light starts to shine. Encouraging him to talk to her, Xavier makes his way to the house, where he finds Sinatra waiting. He accuses her of murdering the President and Billy. She denies killing Cal Bradford but admits to Billy. While Xavier holds a gun on her, Sinatra starts to talk about the love he has for his wife and family.
In the past, Xavier makes it home in time to see Terri getting ready to leave for the airport. He asks her not to go, but Terri says he’s late and that she will see him in ten days.
Holding a gun on Sinatra, Collins learns that his wife is alive outside of the cave. If he stops all this nonsense, Sinatra will help him find her. (I would never trust a psychotic billionaire who will do anything to maintain control.)
Review:
For episode 6, we finally get some backstory on Xavier and his wife Terri. We know a lot about him and his kids, but it took forever to see Terri, and what she was like. It’s undeniable that he loves his wife, and while the grief Xavier has had through most of the show has cloudy his judgement, I like how Terri’s desire to make a scene is inspiring Xavier to find the truth.
Seeing Jeremy step up and take action in the name of his dad was a nice touch. I like the burgeoning friendship/romance between Jeremy and Presley, and I hope they are able keep this level of energy for these two characters.
I wish we had more time with Kane Bradford. Gerald McRaney is a brilliant talent, and I wish he had more to do in this episode than simply sitting and reading poetry.
Overall, the episode gets an A- for ratcheting up the tension and allowing Collins to be a hero in a place that is lacking leadership for the people.
MVP of the Episode Award goes to Robinson. She may have been an antagonist to Collins, but she is proving to be an excellent partner in taking back control from the billionaires.
The Character I Run Away From Award goes to Jane. Nicole Bloom has the look of someone who is innocent and sweet, which allows Jane to hide her true abilities in plain sight. However, if I was at a rally where my boyfriend was exposing the truth about the billionaires, and Jane, a supposed trained Secret Service agent approaches me and acts like a troubled high school teen, that is an adult you shouldn’t trust.