How President Bradford Foreshadowed The Bunker’s Fate

Paradise season 2’s penultimate episode was one of the most chaotic yet, as it set up numerous mysteries and conflicts to be resolved next week, all while the bunker looks ready to fall. Having designed a near-flawless underground city capable of surviving a nuclear blast, Sinatra’s empire looked untouchable, especially with Jane by her side.

Together, they have managed to maintain control of the facility and eliminate anyone who could potentially expose their secrets, but that all changed in “The Final Countdown.” While Paradise season 2, episode 6’s ending explained why Jane was loyal to Sinatra, her need for approval and concern about Gabriela caused her to make an overzealous mistake.

Meanwhile, Samantha’s meeting with Link all but confirmed that whatever technology is involved with “Alex” in Paradise season 2 worked, something that hasn’t been fully revealed. However, despite her breakthrough, things are falling apart within the community, and while President Bradford may have lacked any real scientific intellect, he foresaw this turmoil happening long before his death.

President Cal Bradford Predicted Sinatra’s ‘Empire’ Would Fall All At Once

Cal may have lacked wisdom and a bit of critical thinking, but his humanity and understanding of people is what made him likable enough to become President, and it’s exactly why he predicted Sinatra’s fall from grace. Sure, there’s still time to save the bunker, but with so much going wrong all at once, things won’t ever be the same.

Too many people know about Sinatra’s dark secrets for everything to return to normal, and while the villain thought she was invulnerable enough to bypass Cal’s warning, that clearly isn’t the case. As Paradise season 2 continued its signature flashback trick, we got to see Cal explore the bunker once construction was finished on it.

Naturally, he was impressed, but also concerned. Cal hoped it would be an expensive investment that he never had to use, and while trying to understand the functions, he questioned what would happen if multiple emergencies happened at once. The creator dismissed this as highly unlikely, yet it’s now becoming a reality in the show’s present timeline.

Jeremy and Robinson are sabotaging the oxygen so that the bunker doors will open, Link’s preparing an assault on the bunker, which could cause a fire, and Sinatra’s governing team is initiating the lockdown protocol since they can’t reach her. Additionally, Gabriela stabbing Jane alongside Presley and Hadley’s situation adds to the pandemonium.

Given that Cal never got an answer on what they’d do if all these things happened at once, there likely is no contingency plan, meaning all hell will break loose. He tried to warn Sinatra about a problematic future, claiming, “Everything Sam, every single thing that achieves greatness, they end.”

However, Sinatra ignored his words, replying, “Not on my watch“, and while her confidence may seem misguided given everything that’s going on, she does have some sort of plan.

Sinatra Has A Solution To The Ongoing Crisis & It Involves Alex

Rather than being flustered by all the chaos, Sinatra seems to be completely avoiding it and is far more focused on her own plan. Whether this will stop any of the conflict that is unfolding remains a mystery, but whoever or whatever Alex is seems to hold the key to her objective, which will almost certainly be revealed in the finale.

Her wild solution looks like it will further cement Paradise season 2’s time travel theory, which is growing more probable by the episode. There have been multiple hints that different timelines could exist in this sci-fi thriller, and with Alex potentially being the wife of Henry Miller — Link’s mentor — her survival adds more fuel to the fire.

Henry was a masterful quantum physicist who Sinatra had killed for his powerful technology, which may very well be some form of time travel, hence why she needs so many resources to keep it operating. This tech could’ve merged Paradise‘s main timeline with one where Alex didn’t get sick, making her part of this complicated secret project.

Trying to guess where the show was going next was hard enough before all the sci-fi elements, but now it’s even more unpredictable. That said, whatever Alex is could be the answer to creating a timeline where phase two of Earth’s disaster doesn’t happen, explaining why Sinatra will protect this technology by any means necessary.

How Dylan Is Alive & What It Means For Paradise Season 2

Towards the end of her meeting with Link, Sinatra heard someone call the gang leader Dylan — the same name her son had. Tragically, Sam’s son died of an illness years before she even began constructing the bunker, but she proceeded to ask Link about his birthday, which happened to be the same as Dylan’s.

Additionally, Link is 26, the same age Sinatra’s child would have been, all but confirming that he may very well be Dylan from a different timeline. Both his and Sinatra’s noses began to bleed following this interaction, a trait that other projects have used when exploring time travel, adding even more mystery to this already complicated narrative.

Interestingly, Link knew about Samantha Redmond (Sinatra) as well as various other figures from the bunker, but he didn’t recognize her as his mother. In fact, he may even be aware that Sinatra ordered the hit on his mentor, since he’s clued up on Alex and how the bunker works, yet he has no idea that he could be the villain’s son.

Considering Link is one of Paradise season 2’s most important new characters, his possible relation to Sinatra completely changes things going forward. He seems to resent her and everything she’s built, vowing to destroy it, yet if he learned about the alternate timelines, his opinion would surely change.

It also means Sinatra will do everything in her power not to hurt him, suggesting the two could become allies rather than enemies. Whether this is a good or bad thing for the rest of the community and Link’s gang is anyone’s guess, but if Link really is Dylan Redmond, it will be significant to Paradise season 2’s finale.

Xavier & Teri Are Finally Returning To The Bunker, Which Could Cause Even More Chaos

With things in Colorado already unstable enough, Xavier’s return with Teri will only make things more complicated. Following Gary’s betrayal in the last episode, Xavier’s bomb blowing up early actually allowed him to reunite with his wife, but before heading to the bunker, they had other matters to attend to.

Gary kidnapped Bean so that Teri would be forced to “come home.” While Xavier wanted to take a more aggressive approach to the problem, Teri encouraged him to stay outside while she talked to Gary. She was able to secure Bean’s safety early on, and following an emotional confrontation, she eventually left Gary behind, with everyone coming out of the ordeal unharmed.

Off-screen, Xavier, Teri, and Bean then went to collect Annie’s baby, before they were last seen on a train heading for Colorado. Xavier’s history in the bunker was already going to make getting back inside difficult, but the group will be arriving during the ongoing crisis, adding to how messy things will be in the upcoming finale.

The fact that two children are also with them — one of who is Link’s child — creates an even more complex situation, as it could impact the biker gang’s attempted infiltration. Xavier’s strange visions involving Link also mean he’s connected to the overlapping timelines, elevating the importance of his return.

All of these factors point to Xavier and Teri’s presence stirring up plenty of problems, yet they may also help defuse the situation, considering their people skills are strong. Regardless, Paradise is set for a third season if Executive Producer John Hoberg is anything to go by, meaning more twists are all but guaranteed.

“The Final Countdown” Leaves Plenty Of Mysteries For Paradise Season 2’s Finale To Answer

As Paradise season 2 races towards its finale, there’s still a lot to answer following “The Final Countdown.” The most obvious mysteries include finding out what Alex actually is, whether Dylan is alive, how time travel factors into the narrative, and discovering what will happen to the bunker following this cluster of big events.

That’s not all though, as the penultimate episode also raised questions about Jane’s fate. After stalking Gabriela and preparing to kill her, the therapist flipped the script by running the shower so she could ambush Jane, allowing her to stab the assassin in the back. Jane proceeded to fall to the ground, but is she really dead?

Considering Sinatra survived being shot, Jane could theoretically survive. However, she was strategic when shooting Sinatra, whereas Gabriela was acting off instinct and had no combat experience. Jeremy and Robinson’s next steps are also unknown, since they successfully sabotaged the oxygen, which should cause the bunker doors to open, but the lockdown initiation could prevent this.

Either way, they still have to escape the underground facility, which may be difficult if the entire bunker is secured. Speaking of which, Presley and Hadley got stuck in an elevator at the end of episode 7 due to this sequence, but no one knows they’re in there, leaving uncertainties around their fate.

Overall, Paradise season 2, episode 7’s ending set up so many exciting storylines for the finale to cover, making it one of the best yet. As a result, “The Final Countdown” feels like a fitting name, given that the walls are closing in on many characters, making the next outing simply unmissable.