In Paradise episode 1, "Wildcat Is Down," Secret Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) goes to work at the White House per usual, but is stunned to find the commander-in-chief lying in a pool of blood. The only thing more shocking to Collins than finding his boss dead is him learning something of grave importance to national security has been taken. But just how did President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) die and what stolen item has kicked off a widespread panic? We break down what happened in Paradise episode 1.
The commander-in-chief is down
After another restless night, Collins begins his day by making lunches for his son and daughter, then going for a run. While on his route, he jogs by the White House, stopping to speak with Agent Billy Pace (Jon Beavers). Pace says he’s leaving his shift early because of an upset stomach, and Agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) is coming in to relieve him.
Back home, Collins' daughter reminds him of her debate competition at 3 pm. He promises to be there and turns his attention to his son who is reading James and the Giant Peach. Collins is rattled by his son’s choice of book and zones out momentarily before heading to work.
As Collins walks into the White House, two other agents note the president isn’t up yet, which is unusual. When Collins goes to check on President Bradford, no one answers. Collins enters and immediately sees Bradford lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
The episode flashes back five years when Collins was in the Oval Office for an interview to be Bradford’s new lead agent. Collins inquires why the president has chosen him to be on a shortlist. Bradford says aside from his current lead agent being boring and getting older, he wants Collins because he heard he was the best of the best, and it helps he’s Black. Bradford claims he sold voters on him being a “Southern Progressive,” and it would help with optics to see Collins around him. Although Collins doesn’t appreciate being chosen based on his skin color, Bradford makes no apologies for his candor and directness. They wrap their conversation by exchanging a pair of jokes about where Syria is located and who the eighth president of the US was.
In the present, Collins checks Bradford’s vitals, verifying he’s dead. Collins looks around the bedroom to see two wine glasses, a trail of blood leading to the balcony and a cigarette butt. He also spies two pairs of earrings lying on a table and a pack of cigarettes. In a panic, Collins goes to the closet and sees the president’s safe has been broken into.
Jane then radios Collins and asks if everything is good, to which he replies he needs a second. He eventually tells her to lock down the residence. She questions if she should notify Robinson (Krys Marshall), keeping in line with protocol. Collins is adamant Jane doesn’t contact Robinson yet, and instead locks the White House down for 30 minutes before following through with calling Robinson. Collins tells her he only wants himself and Pace to be allowed in the president’s bedroom. Jane agrees and he calls Pace, telling him “Christian Laettner,” which signals an emergency and prompts Pace to move with haste back to work.
Someone tried to kill Bradford before
Another flashback shows Collins’ first week on the job as President Bradford’s lead agent. The president asks about Collins’ family, and the agent responds he has a wife and two kids. Bradford is reminded of his own unharmonious family, and guesses his wife didn’t even vote for him.
In the present, Collins goes to the basement to look at security footage with Agent Garcia (Eddie Diaz). Flashing back to the day of the murder, the president has a contentious discussion with a woman. Returning again to the present, Garcia shows Collins a video of the president cooking dinner for his son, only for the son to bail. Bradford later met with a different woman, and the two were laughing and drinking wine entering his bedroom. She's wearing the earrings found at the scene of the crime. As the footage continues to roll, it appears the last person to see Bradford before he retired for the evening was Collins.
The episode goes back again to a news conference where President Bradford is grilled about an incident in Utah. As he tries to answer, Collins sees a man posing as a cameraman pull out a gun. Collins quickly tackles the president to the ground to save his life, but Collins is shot in the back. Later as Collins lies in the hospital recuperating, Bradford shares that when he saw the blood, he thought he was “Christian Laettner’d.” The president explains that when the basketball player made a game-winning shot for Duke over Kentucky, he felt it almost killed him.
Agent Robinson is revealed to be…
Agent Pace arrives at the scene of the murder. Collins tells him the contents of the safe are gone, meaning whoever did this had a lot of access to Bradford. Collins asks him to check the grounds but not to take any photos or write down any notes. Garcia then calls Collins back to the basement to look at more video footage.
As it turns out, Collins left the president’s room at 10:04 and was relieved by Pace at 10:32. Pace does his rounds but takes an hour nap on the couch in front of the TV. From 10:42-12:13, all security cameras were offline. Jane also appeared to log in for work during those hours. Collins leaves Garcia and stumbles upon Pace and Jane having a conversation. He tells Jane to finally call the murder in.
After the coroner arrives, Mrs. Bradford arrives outside of the residence wanting to know what happened to her husband, but no one gives her an answer. Collins is escorted upstairs and is questioned by two agents as he was the last person to talk to Bradford. Agent Robinson appears for the first time, and she is the woman who was going into the president’s bedroom and left her earrings.
Where is Paradise?
Another flashback shows the final conversation between Bradford and Collins in the president’s bedroom. Bradford goes to his safe and pulls out a tablet, noting he “has the news of the world.” The president has a drink and implores Collins to join him, but the agent declines. Bradford goes on about how the two of them don’t talk anymore and how Collins has stopped calling him sir. Furthermore, Bradford pushes Collins to speak his mind freely, but an annoyed Collins again refuses.
The president asks if Collins will ever be able to forgive him for what happened. It’s later revealed that during the conversation between the two men, Collins shares the story of how James and the Giant Peach was what his wife referenced in naming their son. Additionally, Collins has trouble sleeping at night and may never have a good night's rest until Bradford is dead.
In another flashback scene, Collins returns to work after being shot. He’s ushered into a room full of high-ranking officials and asked if he wants to receive the highest clearance possible, privy to information that only about 100 people know. He has some hesitation, but the woman who was previously seen on footage arguing with the president says Collins probably wants the clearance given he has children. Collins agrees, and Bradford asks if he’s aware of Colorado?
Back in the present, Collins is dismissed for the day and he jogs back home. As he does, he passes by a woman using a bracelet to get into a car, a kid using a bracelet to pay for ice cream and a man walking in the pond picking up fake ducks. Collins stops in the street to look at the package of cigarettes he took from the crime scene. He pulls one cigarette out to see a series of numbers written on it. He then notices an electronic sign behind him ding, describing that dawn has been delayed by two hours.
Flashing back to the high-level meeting, Collins is told they are preparing for a massive catastrophe that can be a human extinction event. To prepare, they’ve begun construction under a mountain in Colorado, the world’s largest underground city. The camera pans to the town’s dome, and above the dome is an intricate system to make it all happen.
Episodes of Paradise are available to stream on Hulu in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK.
