After the bombshell reveal in Season 1 of Paradise that survivors, including Xavier’s (Sterling K. Brown) wife, remain in the outside world, the ex-Secret Service agent commandeers an aircraft and pilots it out into the unknown, leaving the turmoil-filled bunker behind. With such a natural cliffhanger, Season 2 of the hit political thriller and dystopian saga from Dan Fogelman could have tread predictable ground by picking up where viewers left off.
Instead, the series — debuting after a wave of positive reviews for its sophomore installment — opts for a more interesting and unexpected angle, zeroing in on the life of a survivor named Annie (new cast addition Shailene Woodley, who will undoubtedly be vying for a Guest Actress in a Drama Emmy with her undeniable performance).
In its premiere episode, titled “Graceland,” Annie’s backstory is traced from childhood to the moments leading up to the global catastrophe, stretching into the dark years of loneliness beyond the immediate ruin the disaster begets.
True to form, the episode slows down in life-affirming ways — a moving sequence explores Annie’s unbridled joy at the first rays of sunlight bringing a thaw to the glacial biome the ash cloud has thrust upon her. Later on, this is expounded upon when Annie’s post-apocalyptic home — Elvis Presley’s own Graceland — receives an initially unwelcome visit by Link (fellow newcomer Thomas Doherty) and a band of survivors. As Annie warms to the group and their insistence on community, she also forges a tender bond with Link.
Below, Woodley and Doherty talk about working with an intimacy coordinator to craft their “really special” on-screen romance.
Thomas Doherty as Link in ‘Paradise’ Season 2, Episode ‘Graceland’ (Disney/Ser Baffo)
DEADLINE: There’s so much life in this season premiere, and Paradise sort of subverts audience expectations by delving into what seems to be a standalone episode at first, and is this really beautiful and human story. What drew you both to the characters and story?
Shailene Woodley: We were both fans of Dan Fogelman for a long time. I think everything he touches is just magic and relatable and human and exciting. And I was really drawn to this project initially because of that and because of Season 1 and working with Sterling, and then when I read Annie’s character, I completely fell in love with her.
I’m such a fan of people who maybe are against all odds, but find some strength within themselves to face adversity or fear anyways. And I found her to be really inspiring in that way. And I personally feel like I learned a lot from Annie — what was written on the page and then what ended up being created with her via the connection that Thomas and I had as Link and Annie, and Sterling and I had as Xavier and Annie, and I was just enthralled. I was enthralled by her audacity and her sort of quiet tenacity.
Thomas Doherty: Very like you.
SW: Thank you. I think I’m a little more outgoing than Annie. I’m a little funnier.
TD: She’s been through a lot.
Thomas, if you wanted to share your experience joining Paradise?
TD: Such a huge fan of Dan, of Paradise. Getting to work with this roster of actors was just a dream come true, honestly.
SW: You got to work with Julianne.
TD: With Shailene Woodley, the one and only. I was a huge fan of Shailene before, and I was not going to tell her, but then I did. [Both laugh] I was like, ‘Be cool, Thomas, man, keep it together, keep it together.’ Dan and his team of writers are so good to me, they don’t leave much for the actor to kind of have to develop. You just honor what’s on that page.
Shailene Woodley and Thomas Doherty in Season 2, Episode 1 of ‘Paradise’ (Disney/Ser Baffo)
About the connection that your characters build, it comes together in such a natural way despite happening in one episode. Did you have any chemistry tests? How was that process?
SW: I think we met like three times before that?
TD: If that. No, once. We met in Dan’s office.
SW: We had a conversation with an intimacy coordinator.
TD: When you work with such talent, all that I have to be is present with that and trust my reaction and trust the understanding that I have of my character already, and then kind of just throw it up and see what happens. Shailene just creates such this beautiful—
SW: We both did. We’re there with each other.
TD: It was really special. From when we got cast to when we shot was such a short time period. So for me, there was a lot of kind of apprehension and anxiety with: ‘Do I know this character? Am I going to do a good job,’ just your standard stuff, and then getting on set and and feeling that safe space that Shailene created…
SW: You created it as well. We really just, I think, chose to be honest with each other and vulnerable with each other. And we just took deep breaths and held each other’s hands and looked each other in the eye. And we’re kind of like, ‘Let’s see what happens.’
TD: One take, as well.
SW: One long, long take.
Shailene, for you, Annie’s fears stop her from going along with Link. What do you think is happening in her head? What’s her thought process?
SW: It’s confusing to me, because I’m like, ‘Bitch, why aren’t you going with him?’ Like, ‘Get on that train!’ I think that Annie has been so in control of her life since her mom passed away, she has been in control of her survival, she has been in control of every aspect of it. And up until the moment that her mom passed, she felt very out of control, like everything that was happening to her, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. And I think she internalized that as something being wrong with herself.
And I think when Link asks her to leave, it’s easier for her to stay because leaving would mean she’d be out of control again, and if anything happened to him or their relationship, she wouldn’t be in a state of control. And not being in control is a very, very, very scary, vulnerable place to be, especially for someone like her, and I think that’s why she chose not to go. It was easier to stay comfortable in a moment than it was to risk the unknown. She does end up regretting it.
Thomas, for you, what can you tease to viewers about the — no pun intended — link that Xavier and your character establish in these visions and the nosebleeds that they have?
TD: I can’t tell you anything. So sorry.
SW: Nooo! Yeah, he won’t tell me either.
So you do know?
TD: I know. It’s so good.
SW: Stop! [Both laughing]
This interview has been edited and condensed for concision and clarity.
