Looking for a recap of Paradise Episode 1? You’ve come to the right place. The first episode, “Wildcat is Down,” debuted on Hulu and Disney+ on January 27 and stunned the viewers with its explosive ending. The plot revolves around Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), a Secret Service agent in charge of the security detail of President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). The episode ends with big revelations about Xavier, Cal, and the setting of the show, the eponymous Paradise City.
Here’s a spoiler-filled recap of Paradise Episode 1.
Did President Cal die in Paradise Episode 1?
Yes, Cal dies in Paradise Episode 1. Xavier walks into Cal’s bedroom early in the episode and finds the other man dead. The show’s narrative is not entirely linear, so it might confuse some fans. At first, it seems that the main narrative takes place after Cal has served his second term at the Oval Office and has since retired in a luxurious community, just as he told Xavier he intended to do. There are multiple flashbacks to the earlier years, shedding light on the relationship between Cal and Xavier.
The very first one among them shows the first meeting between these two characters. Later, Xavier takes a bullet while protecting Cal but survives. However, toward the end of the episode, a flashback scene indicates that their relationship has severely deteriorated, with Xavier holding Cal responsible for his wife’s death. He even says that he will forgive Cal once he can sleep well. And that will only happen when Cal is dead. This effectively sets him up as a potential suspect for Cal’s murder.
What Paradise city really is, explained
The final moments of the episode reveal that the eponymous setting is an underground bunker, a domed structure with an artificial sun. Flashback scenes disclose that Cal and his advisors took Xavier into confidence about the highly classified project in the mountains of Colorado after he risked his life during the shooting. At least a portion of the human population has retreated into the bunker following an apocalyptic event. Further, the flashback scene that depicts the shooting also reveals the attacker was shouting that the world deserves to know, likely referring to the apocalyptic event.
It’s also possible that Paradise City is not the only bunker in the world. During the above-mentioned meeting, one of Cal’s advisors reveals that a few hundred people know the truth about the extinction-level event, so there may be other bunkers in the world.
