‘Paradise’ Review: Sterling K. Brown Can’t Save This Series

You will be very deep with Paradise at its worst it rears its deafening head, but perhaps you need to go through the episodes to really enjoy the rhythm that sees Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) mysteriously control the story while a somber cover of the piano ballad plays “Eye of the Tiger”. I almost shut down my laptop at that point, but unfortunately I still have a lot of episodes to watch.

Paradise it’s the kind of high-concept fun you’d expect to see on network TV. Created by This is us mastermind Dan Fogelman, the Hulu series prides itself on its ever-evolving mysteries and subtle social commentary, and there’s even the odd black fade or two that seems to be placed at just the right spot for a commercial break. (It was recently announced that the show’s first episode will air on ABC and FX within the next week, an interesting layer to its intentions.) As for the story, Xavier is President Cal Bradford’s right-hand man. (James Marsden), his security detail and his friend. But when Cal ends up dead and Xavier is identified as the last person to see him, the agent finds himself caught up in a massive underground conspiracy. It’s clear that something big is going on, and that there’s a lot of hidden threads. Although critics have been warned against discussing those secrets (expect the Big Reveal That Changes Everything), you can be sure they have something to do with the icly pragmatic tech expert in Cal’s inner circle, Samantha (Julianne Nicholson).

Seven of the series’ eight episodes were made available for review, and they don’t make for a very coherent product. The show is big on flashbacks to tie its story together, with several episodes focusing on a specific character. Some work better than others, like Samantha’s arc about losing her son to a rare illness; it’s a little cute, sure, but Nicholson gets to show off a few emotionally powerful scenes. Later, an episode that focuses on one of Xavier’s employees reveals a serious but hopelessly hokey backstory. The game never really hones in on the complexity it presents, leaving a lot of really interesting ideas unexplored.

Uneven character moments aside, this is the majority ParadiseHis story hinges on its biggest secret twist. Spoiler alert: that secret is stupid. If you’re not on board with it from the start, the show does very little to convince you. In fact, it often invites more questions than answers, and you may be caught pondering the mechanics of these silly little twists rather than focusing on the actual show. And while the spectacular seventh episode is a reversal of that trend, exploring motivations and morals and featuring a strong performance from Marsden, it’s long overdue for the series to win it back.

There are many overlapping family and interpersonal dramas being played out Paradisebut that does not mean the return of Fogelman This is us field. If anything, it’s close to a creative disaster film Your Life. Attempts at metanarratives, tightly interwoven storylines, and really poignant pop culture references (not to mention the many amazing covers of classic rock songs)—this show has it all. That’s not to call it a colossal failure, but its highest goals are unfulfilled.

Paradise it’s the kind of series that falls apart the more you look at it, no matter how hard its talented cast tries to hold it together. The antagonist goes from complex and emotionally damaged to a self-proclaimed “Bond Villain.” Xavier’s plan to get to the bottom of things is so vague and slapstick that it doesn’t register, as it turns out. An early episode of the series goes as far as challenging the murder investigation, rewriting the stakes seconds before the credits roll. Although it is unknown how this show will end now, there is no need to stay to find out.