How Agent Collins Feels About President Bradford Twist In Paradise Episode 1 Explained By Stars Sterling K. Brown & James Marsden

Warning: SPOILERS for episodes 1-4 of Paradise!In Hulu's new political thriller Paradise, Agent Xavier Collins may have been close to President Cal Bradford (played by James Marsden), but Sterling K. Brown reveals that his character's feelings around Bradford are much more complicated than they appear. The tumult of his emotions is especially poignant in the opening moments of the show, which reveal that Cal has been murdered and, from that moment, Xavier makes it his mission to discover who is responsible. The problem is that the government — or rather the billionaires who control the 25,000 people in so-called Paradise — would rather keep the murder under wraps for their own sinister purposes.

Paradise

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Drama

Crime

Thriller

Cast

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Sterling K. Brown
Julianne Nicholson
Sarah Shahi
Nicole Brydon Bloom

6/10

9.2/10

Release Date: January 26, 2025
Network: Hulu
Main Genre: Drama

Or perhaps it is as Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), the world's richest woman and the inventor of the underground bunker in which the remnants of humanity live, says: they are simply looking out for the good people of their community and preventing disruptions from leading to chaos. Regardless of the reason for the cover-up, Collins must search for answers throughout Paradise season 1 even as he contends with deeply mixed feelings about his boss. Flashbacks prove they were once close confidantes, but after the United States of America relocated underground, the relationship thawed considerably.

ScreenRant interviewed Brown and Marsden about the tragically complicated past between Xavier and Cal, the mystery surrounding the decimation of their friendship, and why it couldn't really be a friendship in the first place. Finally, the Paradise actors compared the show to creator Dan Fogelman's previous series, despite being two totally different genres.

Sterling K. Brown & James Marsden Break Down The Collins-Bradford Dynamic Before His Death

"It's A Beautiful Journey That These Two Go On."

Paradise is full of shocking twists and turns, but perhaps one of the earliest moments of true surprise occurs when Collins is asked whether part of him is glad the President is dead, and he calmly answers, "Yes." Granted, that response was prompted by psychotherapist Dr. Gabriela Torabi through a hidden note on her hand, but that doesn't make it any less true. Collins is a loyal and steadfast man who would have given his life for President Bradford a few years before, but ever since the near-extinction event that left his wife on Earth and presumably dead, he hasn't been able to look Bradford in the eye. As Brown succinctly puts it, "It's such a complicated relationship."

"There was a real affinity between these two people," the actor continues. "And because Xavier allowed himself to think that they were friends, he felt a very deep betrayal when things didn't go the way that he thought they were supposed to." As of episode 4, audiences are still not entirely privy to the events that kept Xavier's wife from boarding the plane to Paradise, but it's very clear that he harbors intense resentment towards Bradford for not being able to save her. "Whether that is fair or not, I'll leave that to the audience to decide as they watch the show unravel," Brown teases, which hints at the possibility of future episodes shedding a very different light on the escape underground.

“These two very different human beings are going to begin working together, and one of them ends up bleeding out on the floor."

Marsden, meanwhile, takes a bird's eye view of the dynamic between the President and his bodyguard before "one of them ends up bleeding out on the floor." He keeps details vague, but what stands out about Bradford's murder to him is precisely the fact that it takes place within "this very unique community." Given that it's the first murder Xavier knows about — although episode 4 proves that it's far from the first one to have been committed, "How does that wreak havoc on what's going on?"

But even a community as unique as Paradise's underground mountain is not without the trappings of society as large, and Marsden asks that audiences keep an eye on just how easily humans fall back on the hierarchies they know best when times get tough. "I think you see, with his character and with mine, the disparity of class, of position, of power — and those things definitely come into focus as we move through the show."

The Propulsive Engine Of Dan Fogelman’s Mysteries Lie At The Heart Of Paradise & This Is Us

“I Can't Wait To See How This All Comes Together.”

Fans of Paradise might be surprised to learn that the creator, Dan Fogelman, is also responsible for the highly acclaimed family drama This Is Us, but the two shows have more in common than simply starring Sterling K. Brown. For one thing, "there's a lot of use of flashback, which we saw very much in the fabric of This Is Us." Beyond that, Brown points to the central mystery of Hulu's political thriller as one of its biggest similarities.

While This Is Us traded in "very complicated relationships based upon their past," the actor explains that the connective tissue often referred back to the question of Jack's fate, much like Paradise has viewers constantly wondering not just who killed Bradford, but whether those left behind are still alive. "Dan [Fogelman] has a way of delving deep into human stories that are intricate and rich in and of themselves," the actor concludes, "but also laying another thing on top of that s--t that has people glued to the front of their seats." With four episodes left in the season, there are plenty more explosive plot twists to layer onto the rich emotional base of the show.

Check back soon for our other Paradise interviews with:

Julianne Nicholson & Sarah Shahi
Jon Beavers, Nicole Brydon Bloom & Krys Marshall

New episodes of Paradise drop Tuesdays on Hulu.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

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