‘Paradise’ stars tease “you are not ready” for “explosive” Season 2 finale: “It’s unspeakably good”

Each episode of Dan Fogelman’s hit Hulu series, Paradise, takes viewers on an epic emotional roller coaster. But stars of the show warn that the upcoming Season 2 finale is about to take things to a whole new level.

Season 2’s eventful penultimate episode featured a long-awaited Xavier (Sterling K. Brown) and Teri (Enuka Okuma) reunion. Gabriela (Sarah Shahi) turned the tables on Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Robinson (Krys Marshall), Jeremy (Charlie Evans), and Anders (Erik Svedberg-Zelman) tampered with the bunker’s oxygen supply to force the doors open, while panicked leaders — worried about Link’s (Thomas Doherty) crew breaking in — put the bunker into lockdown. The conflicting commands led to a system failure, which means Paradise is in deep trouble in the finale. Oh, and Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) is convinced Link is her dead son, Dylan! How? Presumably because of the work she’s been doing to manipulate time with “Alex,” which we’re betting is the codename for the technology she stole from professor Henry Miller (Patrick Fischler) rather than an actual person. So what does Season 2, Episode 8 have in store?!

Hulu’s official synopsis for Season 2’s finale, “Exodus,” is as follows: “Worlds collide. Time is of the essence for Xavier. Link and his team spring into action. Sinatra puts it all on the line.” The episode officially hits Hulu on Monday, March 30 (or March 29 for the West Coast), but to hold fans over, DECIDER asked the Paradise cast what we can expect from the highly-anticipated finale.

“It’s definitely jaw dropping, for sure. I remember reading it,” Doherty told DECIDER over Zoom, dropping his jaw to show just how shocked he was when he read the script. “It’s an explosive ending,” Nicholson echoed. “One of the things about this show that I’m so admiring of is the editing, and all that goes on in post-production. There are some visual things that happen — similar to our Episode 7 last year — that are, as Thomas says, jaw-dropping. I feel like with every question answered, five more come up. So it leaves you satisfied, but wanting more.”

“It’s an explosive ending… I feel like with every question answered, five more come up. So it leaves you satisfied, but wanting more.”

Julianne Nicholson, Paradise

Nicholson’s character is connected to one of Season 2’s biggest mysteries: Alex. And in addition to Link, who’s determined to “kill” her mysterious side project, Sarah Shahi’s Dr. Gabriela Torabi has also been diligently investigating Alex in hopes of thwarting Sinatra’s plans, should they put others at risk. So how does the dynamic of Paradise‘s friends-turned-rivals develop in the finale?

“With Season 2, Gabriela is in a space of investigation and curiosity, and realizing that her seeing the humanity in the monster may not have been the wisest choice,” Shahi told DECIDER. “The wedge [between them] begins at the beginning of the season, and when we get to the end, there is a connective piece that allows the audience to see that even though they’re distant from one another and Gabriela has spent the majority of the season manipulating Sinatra, and setting her up, there is still so much care between the two of them.”

Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo

Episode 7 also ended with Gabriela stabbing Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom) before Jane could take her out. While we don’t know if Jane is actually dead, the out-of-character violence clearly took an emotional toll on the therapist. “I definitely think there’s going to be some form of retribution in some way or another. We’ll see what that looks like,” Shahi teased.

The juiciest Season 2 finale teases of all came from Brown’s real-life wife/Hulu’s Paradise companion podcast host/Episode 6 guest star, the great Ryan Michelle Bathé.

“Ma’am, you are not ready. No one in America is ready. Get your tissues out. You’re going to have a field day, because you’re going to cry,” Bathé said while visiting DECIDER’s Manhattan studio in February. “It is unspeakably good. You know how sometimes you watch things and there’s such a build-up and nothing happens? And you’re pissed? [Paradise] gives you everything, but then they set you up for a whole other stratosphere. So you’re not left like, ‘Oh my god. I got everything. Why would I watch?’ You’re like, ‘I have to keep watching this for the rest of my life.’ They give so much, and they take so much. They take your heart. They take a teeny little bit of your soul.”

“They give so much, and they take so much. They take your heart. They take a teeny little bit of your soul.”

Ryan Michelle Bathé, Paradise

Bathé wants Paradise fans to know that she’s right there with them, watching though the same lens. “It’s just that good,” she promises. “It’s so amazing what they do. The acting is so good, and you’re left with so many emotions, and you can’t wait for Season 3.”

It’s no secret that Paradise has been toying with time in some way since Season 2’s premiere, and Bathé promised that the show “gets very sci-fi” to tee up Season 3. The Episode 6 cold open essentially confirmed that “Alex” is sending messages back in time to shape the future. And Episode 7 revealed that Link’s real name is Dylan, and he shares a birthday and an age with Sinatra’s late son. Nicholson said that means one thing: “Physics! Quantum physics, guys! Get on board with it, people!”

“I found it very moving. I obviously don’t know quantum physics, so I had to have faith in the writers, who did all this research,” the Paradise star continued. “But I found [the Episode 7 twist] very moving, even just for Sinatra to imagine that this is her son. We don’t we don’t know, exactly. But the idea of it, and the peace it brought her, and the hopefulness was really beautiful… [Dylan’s] loss is is basically why Paradise exists. Her need to protect her remaining family has been at the top of her list ever since then. Everything is driven with that as the end goal.”

So what is Alex? Is Link really Sinatra’s son? Is Jane dead? Do Xavier and Teri reunite with their kids? Does Xavier find Link? And do the people of Paradise survive the bunker’s imminent meltdown? We have faith that the “explosive” finale will answer a number of burning questions, while creating compelling new ones for Season 3, as Nicholson promised.

In the mean time, catch up on Decider’s in-depth Paradise Season 2 coverage and read on to learn how to watch Episode 8 ASAP.

New episodes of Paradise Season 2 premiere Mondays on Hulu.