In the latest episode of Hulu's Paradise, tensions boil over as Xavier initiates his plan to take down Sinatra. As he leads his covert militia, Samantha pulls a hail mary to stop Agent Collins in his tracks.
Episode 6, titled “You Asked for Miracles?,” opens with a flashback of Xavier and his wife meeting Presley’s principal about a concern with another student. It’s a few weeks before her trip to Atlanta and the catastrophic event. Here, we get a bit of Xavier’s wife’s personality: she’s as bold as she is smart, challenging the status quo, a stark contrast to Xavier’s even keel and kind personality. She tells Xavier that someday he’ll have to cause a scene, and she prays for the person in his wake.
In the present, Xavier’s moment has come. His scene is set. The prophetic warning in the sky has elicited the eyes of the community and Sinatra, stirring curiosity and panic. Unable to interrupt the bold messaging, which has changed from “They’re Lying To You” to “Who Is Sinatra?” Samantha unravels. When she learns Xavier has absconded all the weapons, she demands her family be protected.
Meanwhile, Xavier has arranged for Presley, James, and Carl to hunker down in the arena basement. But Presley Collins, much like her father, has other plans. With President Bradford’s tablet, she finds Jeremy and tells him how she obtained the classified item. The night of Cal’s murder, she was at the house playing Wii with Billy and Jane. She found the tablet in the bushes and wondered if it had answers about her mother’s disappearance. The couple asks Jeremy’s grandfather, Kane, to unlock the device.
In another flashback, Cal spends a day with Xavier on a walk through the city. The unusual request is another opportunity to see their close bond. Cal is astonished Xavier has never seen Die Hard as they go on this stroll. In the end, Cal begs Xavier to convince his wife to postpone her trip to Atlanta, given how unsafe travel has become.
Back in the present, Xavier and his team proceed with their mission. In a scare tactic, Nicole and Xavier fire sparklers at the control room where Samantha and other team members, including Gabriela, are stationed. During the faux attack, Samantha makes a drastic decision: temporarily shut the power down to wipe the messaging from the mainframe. Gabriela warns the measure would send the community into chaos, reminiscent of the day they arrived, but Samantha states she has no choice. Terrified, Gabriela questions what Xavier is holding over Samantha’s head. She refuses to answer.
In the darkness, people rush haphazardly in every direction. Amidst the uncertainty, all board personnel and their families are immediately escorted out of the building to a safe house. As the caravan of black SUVs wisk this selected class away, angered and distressed citizens realize they’re being left behind to fend for themselves. Jeremy approaches the crowd, announcing that the message is true: they have all been lied to about the scientists and the conditions above the surface. As he testifies to the crowd, Jane appears in search of Presley. She tells her she’s scared and asks Presley to come with her. Presley agrees, not knowing Jane is operating under Sinatra’s orders.
Meanwhile, Xavier, Nicole, and the armed guards await the Black trucks’ arrival at the safe house to ambush Sinatra. Suddenly, Samantha’s SUV pulls a U-turn in a retreat. Someone has blown their cover. Determined not to let her escape, he chases the vehicle to her home only to find Gabriela at the gate. Gabriela tipped Samantha off, giving Xavier no choice but to face her head-on. He gallops into the house and finds Samantha waiting with a glass of wine. She instructs him to lower his weapon as she tells him that his wife is alive and she can take him to her.
This episode was another solid entry in the series, with great pacing and escalating suspense. It will be interesting to see how the people react to this truth and what measures those in control will take to remain in power.
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