The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Paradise, now streaming on HuluParadise’scentral murder mystery is set up in the opening scenes of the Hulu thriller, and lays the groundwork for a deadly political thriller. Created by Dan Fogelman,Paradiseinitally presents itself as a political thriller focused on Sterling K. Brown’s Xavier Collins. Collins is a Secret Service agent who arrives one morning to find the President dead. The stakes of the story only escalate the interpersonal drama betweenParadise’s cast of characters, which gives multiple characters reason to kill Bradford.
The result is a murder mystery surrounding one of the most powerful men in the world that could carry larger ramifications than anyone initially realizes.Paradiseis a tense thriller that only grows more complex with the revelation that the show is taking place in a world that’s been reshaped by an unseen extinction event. Despite thatsci-fi twist inParadise’s first episode, the show is still largely focused on Bradford’s death and the immediate fallout. Here are the details surrounding Cal Bradford’s death inParadiseand who, after three episodes, seems like the most likely suspects in the case.
What Is Hulu’s Paradise About?
ParadiseIs A Murder Mystery Surrounding The President Of The United States
The central plot ofParadiseis centered around the murder of President Cal Bradford, and the efforts to uncover the culprit behind his death.Paradisetakes place in the near future, where a cataclysmic event changed the world ofParadiseforever. With most of humanity seemingly wiped out in an extinction-level event, the remnants of the US government exist in a domed city under a mountain in Colorado.The show focuses on Xavier Collins, one of the main Secret Service agents protecting Bradford. Despite this, during a brief window in the middle of the night, Bradford was killed.
Collins is immediately placed under suspicion, because of his decision to not immediately bring in medical teams or other authorities when he discovered his body. Instead, Collins spent twenty minutes looking for evidence before allowing other people to interfere with the crime scene. However,Collins is also established as a firmly moral character. Despite his personal hatred for Bradford after the events surrounding the end of the world (which caused the death of Collins' wife), the agent is dedicated to uncovering the truth.
Who Was Cal Bradford And Why Was He Killed
Cal Was A Well-Meaning President Left In Charge Long After He’d Wanted To Leave Power
A Southern born Democart who is hinted to come from a wealthy family, Cal Bradford had just been elected to his second term as President of the United States when he met Xavier Collins. It wasn’t long after that the seemingly well-meaning but quietly flawed world leader was informed that the world was going to end. Despite openly looking forward to the end of his tenure as the President,Bradford agreed to remain in office after the catastrophe. Flashbacks and moments of unchecked authority in the present suggest Samantha Redmond was the true power behind Bradford.
Cal Bradford is played by James Marsden, who broke out in the early 2000s. He’s also recently been seen in the box-office hitSonic the Hedgehogfilm series as well as the critically acclaimed comedyJury Duty.
Three episodes in, there’s no clear reason why Bradford was killed.However, it’s likely that it had to do something with the computer he had kept hidden in safe in his bedroom. The device was established in the first episode to contain lots of sensitive information, and was described by Bradford as one of the most valuable things in the world. It is missing after Bradford’s death, with Redmond in particular seeming dedicated to locating it. This suggests whoever killed Bradford by surprise had knowledge of the secret computer.
Who Is Trying To Solve The Mystery Surrounding Cal’s Death?
There Are Three Major Characters Each Trying To Find Out The Truth About Cal
In the first three episodes ofParadise,three characters are established as the most committed to solving the murder of Cal Bradford. Xavier Collins was his former friend and current Secret Service protector. Collins has also been established as an honorable man, with Dr. Gabriela Torabi telling him in “The Architect of Social Well-Being” that he was chosen to survive the end of the world because of his moral core. Agent Robins is also on the hunt for Cal’s killer. As the Director of the Secret Service, it’s her job to uncover the truth.
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Robins' affair with Bradford just gives her personal incentive to solve the case. The most ambiguous figure in the mystery so far is Samantha Redmond. Although flashbacks confirm that Redmond was friends with Bradford and valued him on an emotional level, she’s also been established as a ruthless manipulator and power-player. She even tells Robins off at one point for letting her emotions impact her approach to the mystery, reminding her she needs the computer located.This gives Redmond a potentially darker reason to solve the mystery, as that computer could reveal all types of horrifying things about the world.
Who Are The Main Suspects In Cal’s Murder?
Anyone Could Turn Out To Be A Suspect
What makesParadise’s central mystery so compelling early on is the fact thatthere’s no clear suspect in the case. The three clearest suspects are the same three who are investigating the case. Xavier had motivation to lash out at Bradford, who he had grown to hate. Robins was the last person to spend extended time with the President, although she claims to have an air-tight alibi. Redmond and Bradford are shown to have been fighting in a flashback, giving her reason to target him. Other wildcards are the other Secret Service agents as well as the mysterious Torabi.
Torabi is quickly established as a master of reading people, revealing in the third episode ofParadisethat her keen senses was the reason she was chosen to decide who would be allowed into the city. Her apparent knowledge of the case and her connection to Bradford as his therapist makes her a major question mark in the investigation, especially because she’s also close with Redmond. Bradford’s strained relationship with his wife Jessica also makes her a potential suspect, even if she too had an alibi at the time of the murder.
Billy Seems To Be The Biggest Question Mark In Paradise
Bradford Was Apparently Worried About Billy
The biggest suspect in the murder of Cal Bradford so far inParadiseis Billy. Another agent with clear loyalty to Xavier and a secret romance with fellow agent Jane Driscoll, Billy is portrayed in the first three episodes as a likable if easily distractible agent. He is shown to have fallen asleep the night of the murder, and regularly tries to get out of work. However, the ending of “The Architect of Social Well-Being” paints him in a far darker light, with Torabi revealing to Collins (and the audience) that Bradford was wary of Billy.
Billy is given a far more dangerous quality by the end of the first three episodes ofParadise.
Coupled with the revelation that Billy is staking out Xavier’s house and watching his family,Billy is given a far more dangerous quality by the end of the first three episodes ofParadise. He had the opening and he had the skills necessary to attack Bradford. He even discovers a certain amount of evidence during Collins' quick investigation, which he could use to cover his own tracks. Billy may be too obvious of a suspect to really be the killer, but his presence in the first three episodes ofParadisedefinitely pain him as a main suspect.
