Paradise Season 1 Episode 6 Review: You Asked for Miracles

The present and past are coming closer together on Paradise Season 1 Episode 6, “You Asked for Miracles.” Amidst chaos, we get more scenes of the days before the end of the world.

Those scenes give more clarity into how everyone picked to survive prepared for what was coming—and how Xavier’s wife’s travels eventually contributed to her being left behind when the day came.

Convinced that Sinatra killed both Billy and Cal, Xavier and Nicole recruit fighters who want the public to know the truth while Samantha assembles an army of loyal billionaires. His message in the sky keeps flashing the entire time.

In desperation and against the wishes of Dr. Torabi (who also remains loyal), Samatha shuts down the sky and causes mass panic. On her orders, Jane draws Presley in with a sympathetic act just as she and Jeremy try to reason with the public.

Samantha and her people flee the city center. Most are locked in a safehouse, leaving the civilians fend for themselves, but Dr. Torabi urges Xavier into a one-on-one confrontation. When he enters, Sinatra tells him that his wife is alive outside the mountain.

Our glimpses of Xavier and his family just before the supposed end of the world bring him back into the show’s center focus. His wife is stubbornly determined to live the life she wants for as long as possible. It’s an admirable quality even as it seals her fate.  

The normalcy of the world in these days is unnerving, leaving us with two possibilities. Either humanity as a whole accepts its fate, clinging to whatever it can, or the vast majority of people have no idea what’s coming.

The latter would almost certainly have come on Sinatra’s orders, determined as she is now to maintain Paradise’s façade. As it falls for the first time, we also see her in a different light: confused, desperate, and panicking.

When she literally shuts off the sky, exposing the true darkness of the mountain abode, that panic spreads to the public. Based on Xaver’s reaction, this works in favor of his rebellion, but the initial chaos doesn’t seem to favor anyone.

It does let Samantha be separated from the herd, though by the time Xavier finds her, she’s already back in her element. Julianne Nicholson’s ability to give her a moment of humanity and then store it away again is impressive.

I’m worried about Xavier’s confidence right up until that last moment After all, he doesn’t know that his daughter has been taken in by Jane, or that Jane is actually an unflinching killer with a guise of sweetness that fools even him.

Even if we assume the Presley is just being used as leverage and will be released safely, Xavier’s potential response to Sinatra is likely to be a game-changer. That’s assuming she’s telling the truth. If so, how does she know?

In one of the series’ few more lighthearted moments, I love the bond between Presley and Cal’s son Jeremy. I’m just hoping it won’t be used to give a story of young, star-crossed lovers. That feels like a point nobody will come back from.

We have two episodes left to see what Xavier will do with this very personal tidbit of truth, and how that will affect the entire city. With so many moral gray areas, I genuinely have no idea how it could play out. That’s all the more reason to come back and see.

 

What did you think of this episode of Paradise? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Paradise first streams on Tuesdays on Hulu.

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