If you’re like me, you were shouting, “Girl, don’t get pregnant!” at Annie (Shailene Woodley) during Episode 201 of Paradise. Why do they never listen? The first three episodes of season 2 dropped today, and you’re back for THE MAIN QUESTIONS, our sort of first reactions, somewhat explainer, but not really a recap—with spoilers here and there.
Episode 202: “Mayday”
It’s going down, and by “it” I mean Xavier’s plane. The ash in the atmosphere has created some truly gnarly weather conditions, and he gets caught in a nasty hailstorm. Downed and injured Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) is having flashbacks, and what he’s beginning to believe are flash forwards—fuzzy and painful visions of things that haven’t happened yet. After the end of “Graceland”, we know Annie finds him, but didn’t know what happened in between until now. His first saviors are a gang of silent kids who’ve created a found family for themselves. While he’s dealing with the pain of recovery from a dislocated knee, Xavier flashes back to the first time he suffered the same injury. His time in the hospital, after his surgery, leads to his meet-cute with his wife, Teri (Enuka Okuma). The nurse tells him he doesn’t have a chance with her, but she doesn’t know Xavier like we do. He’s charming, but Teri doesn’t open up until he proves she can rely on him.
In the MAIN QUESTIONS for episode 201, I mentioned the themes: safe places, trust, and loneliness. Those come back into play with Teri, but also the kids Xavier meets. Let’s call them the Stranger Kids, because they’re basically living in The Upside Down. They were on a field trip when the volcano erupted, and they’ve gone just a little feral, but not in obvious ways. If I’m reading their scenes right, these kids are a new breed, a hope for the future, and the best heroes the post-apocalypse has. For them, silence is survival, but their compassion is the only way forward. The leader of the Stranger Kids is a boy named Daniel. He’s Xavier’s savior, and the two bond over James and the Giant Peach, another story about isolation and finding your haven. Xavier can provide them with safety, but they can’t trust him. He’s a relic of a violent world that they don’t want any part of. As a result, he can’t trust them. That leaves him alone again and leads him to the even more lonely Annie. And another flash forward: Is that Link (Thomas Doherty)?
Looking for THE MAIN QUESTIONS from “Graceland” – Paradise Episode 201? Here are our First Reactions, a recap of sorts, and an explainer all in one.
Looking for THE MAIN QUESTIONS for “Another Day in Paradise” – Paradise Episode 203? Things get complicated and we’re all about the sci-fi.
THE MAIN QUESTION:
What is the gang of kids telling us?
Do they abandon Xavier because that was always their plan, or because he’s violent, and that’s not the world they want to build? I think it’s the latter. The Stranger Kids are sick of death. It haunts them, and that causes them to revere life. They’re grateful to Xavier, but a tomorrow built on violence isn’t one they want to grow up in. Adults are toxic to them—that’s surprisingly similar to Annie, and another character whose story takes the spotlight in Episode 206. In the end, Xavier wins one heart, but his journey costs him others. Unfortunately, he’s not ready for the lessons of this episode. Neither is Annie.
Paradise – Episode 202: “Mayday”
Streaming: February 23
Directors: Glen Ficarra & John Requa
Writer: Jason Wilborn
