Paradise returns to Hulu on February 23.
By Elazar Abrahams
Paradise was one of last year’s biggest surprises, a propulsive thriller that sometimes packed what felt like entire seasons of television into single episodes. The twists just kept coming, and had that classic network feel blended with streaming service binge that is so rare these days.
Season 2, sadly, is a huge step down. Now, slowing down the pace of a series is not inherently a bad thing, and when your freshman season moved like a runaway train, it was bound to happen at some point. The problem is that by going quieter, and moving things largely out of the underground bunker society, Paradise has lost a lot of the fun in the process. It drags its feet, spending too much time recalibrating its chess pieces instead of letting things rip.
Sterling K. Brown feels largely absent from any agency this season, another unfortunate byproduct of the show’s world expanding. A lot of time is spent on new characters at the expense of the crew that made the first eight episodes shine. Now, creator Dan Fogelman is branching into new locations, exploring the survivors and gangs that inhabit the post-apocalyptic world outside the bubble we spent all of the first season in. In execution, Paradise is diverting too much attention away from its strongest assets. It feels less like a continuation of what made the show work and more like a setup for what might come next.
The show is still committed to its flashback-heavy structure, but this is where diminishing returns start to set in. Originally, these flashbacks deepened the characters, reframed alliances, and made the twists land harder. Now, with many of these characters, the trick just isn’t as exciting anymore. There comes a point where backstory stops adding texture and starts feeling like stalling.
Big setup energy is the defining vibe of these episodes. It feels like Season 2 is doing the necessary work to build toward a bigger Season 3, but it’s not particularly satisfying television in the moment.
The frustrating part is that the ingredients are still there. The show still has an appealing premise and a world worth exploring. And it is still anchored by the same core strengths, particularly Brown’s ability to ground melodramatic plotting in real emotional weight. But the season’s priorities feel off, and the pacing is not doing it any favors.
The hope is that this is a temporary dip. Plenty of shows have bridges that age better in hindsight once the payoff arrives. But as it stands, Season 2 trades in the adrenaline rush that made Paradise special for a slower, less confident sprawl.
I give Paradise Season 2 a B-.
TV and City 