The original post: /r/television by /u/Parallel-Quality on 2025-10-31 23:09:31.
I just finished Season 1 of Paradise on Hulu.
And man am I disappointed.
It started off amazing. The pilot episode was a masterclass in suspense. The bait-and-switch that pivoted from a presidential assassination conspiracy to the revelation of an underground city built to survive a global catastrophe was something that I never saw coming, despite the show’s name.
This episode had the polished, compelling feel of acclaimed shows like Westworld or Severance, setting a high bar that the rest of the season ultimately fails to clear.
The most significant downfall was the terrible writing, which consistently undermined the intriguing premise. The narrative relied heavily on tired tropes and questionable character motivations.
For example, the future President and Sinatra just happening to be the only two people at a seminar where the speaker convinces them that the world is going to end? And then Sinatra deciding based on that, to build an entire underground city, “just in case.”
Then you have the insanely predictable plot devices, such as Billy, being conveniently silenced just before he can reveal everything he knows, because “he just wants to be uncle Billy tonight, but he’ll tell you tomorrow.”
Character development is another area where the season falters. Jane, intended as the shocking “bet you didn’t see this coming” character, comes across as a one-dimensional psychopath with no clear motivation for her murderous actions.
Other character choices feel equally unearned and illogical. For example, X, after discovering Sinatra’s involvement in multiple murders, abandons his previously measured demeanor for a reckless public crusade where he stands in front of her house with “They’re lying to you” written in the sky, literally taunting her.
This abrupt shift is not only jarring but also leads him to make baffling decisions, such as leaving his children in a time of great danger.
Then you have his daughter’s decision to leave a place of safety to find her boyfriend, immediately after being told her family is in danger and that uncle Billy had been murdered. What happened to the trusted adult who was watching her? How do you lose a child when there’s only four of you there?
Then, his daughter, who literally ran away from protection specifically to go find her boyfriend, decides to leave said boyfriend in the middle of his public speech revealing shocking truths to the public to go get ice cream with Jane because “she’s totally sad that Billy is dead and doesn’t want to be alone.”
Despite these significant flaws, episode 7, much like the pilot, offers a glimpse of what Paradise could have been. The acting and tension in this episode are incredible, proving that the cast and crew are capable of delivering compelling television when the script allows.
However, the season finale returns to the disappointing form of previous episodes. The reveal of the librarian and the diner waitress as the masterminds behind the President’s murder is intended to be a shocking twist, but because these characters were underdeveloped, the revelation completely falls flat.
The season ends on a cliffhanger, with X heading to the surface to find his wife, but after a season of unfulfilled potential and predictability, it’s a development that feels more frustrating than intriguing.
Ultimately, Season 1 of Paradise was a massive disappointment. An incredible premise and strong acting performances are wasted on a script that fails to tell a coherent or compelling story. The show had endless avenues to explore, from the early days of the underground city to the fate of the surface world but ultimately fell into a predictable and disappointing path.
The best way for me to describe my experience watching Paradise was that it looked like it was going to be House of Cards but it ended up being Designated Survivor.