Fans of the new dystopian thriller Paradise have made it known that while they’re thrilled that the show has been renewed for season 2, they have a bone to pick with star Sterling K. Brown over how his character handled a pivotal moment in season one.
If you’re caught up with the show as it’s been airing on ABC so far, then you know that Sterling’s character Xavier Collins is a U.S. Secret Service agent and single father of two (more on that to come), who has made it his personal mission to uncover the mystery surrounding the death of President Cal Bradford (James Marsden).
But as the mystery unfolds throughout episodes one through six, Xavier concocts a plan to take down Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), the billionaire behind the creation of the dwelling they call Paradise and the person who he believes to be responsible for Cal’s death. He gathers a team of agents to help him, all while Sinatra has set up a trap to kidnap his daughter, Presley.
With all of its twists and turns, episode seven, “The Day,” offers viewers a look into the past as it recounts the end-of-the-world events that led up to this portion of humanity being siloed in a hollowed out cave in Colorado. It also leaves viewers with a cliffhanger of an ending, where present-day Xavier is holding Sinatra at gunpoint in her own home.
With all of the trouble she’s seemingly caused up until this point, viewers are fully expecting that Xavier will take this opportunity to end it. As the episode closes out, Sinatra plays a recording of a woman’s voice stating, “I’m looking for Xavier Collins. My children, Presley and James, they were headed toward a complex in Colorado.… I’m here with survivors, searching for our loved ones.… If you know the whereabouts of Xavier Collins, tell him I love him,” which leads Xavier to believe his wife, Terri, who he assumed up until this point was killed on the day of the catastrophic events, is still alive somewhere in the world.
Though, fans would’ve had it go another way.
“I thought, 'shoot her in the foot! shoot her in the knee!' Keep that up, she'll tell you where Presley is,” one person commented on Reddit. “Why do we always sleep on non-lethal injuries 😭 it irks me so much how shows always seem to pretend it is either a bullet through the brain or I have to be a total pacifist,” another added. “Definitely shoot first, find family second. I think Terri’s voice may be fake. I don’t trust Sinatra,” a third fan weighed in.
Well, Sterling revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he’s privy to the conversation ... and he’s actually in agreement with fans. “It's funny, online, I saw people say, ‘You should have at least shot her in the knee. You could have done something,’” he told the outlet. “And like there's a part of me that's like, I should have shot her in the knee.”
So, Paradise fans, at least you know he's listening! And maybe next season, Xavier will take some of our suggestions. Only time will tell.
Cameron (she/her) is a staff writer for Good Housekeeping, where she covers everything from holidays to food. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received a B.A. in magazine journalism. In her spare-time she can be found scrolling TikTok for the latest cleaning hacks and restaurant openings, binge-watching seasons of Project Runway or online shopping.
