entertainment / Friday, 22-Aug-2025

Paradise Episode 4 Ending Explained: Billy's Fate & What The Surface's Reveals Mean

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Paradise season 1, episode 4, "Agent Billy Pace."

Paradise episode 4's ending features game-changing developments regarding Billy Pace (Jon Beavers) and the surface. After Paradise episode 3's ending, Billy looked particularly suspicious, and as though he may be the one who killed President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi) told Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) that President Bradford believed Billy was dangerous and wanted Xavier to know this if something happened to him.

Episode 4, "Agent Billy Pace," sees Xavier looking into Billy's past and trying to figure out if his friend may be the one behindParadise's murder mystery. The episode's flashbacks reveal sobering details about Billy's life before Paradise's cataclysmic event, along with showing how Billy became close with Xavier and his children. Questions about what really happened to the surface are asked and partly answered in these flashbacks as well. The full extent of Billy's connection to the powerful Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond is also revealed, which does not end well for Billy.

Why Jane Kills Billy In Paradise Episode 4’s Ending

Sinatra Sent The "Biggest Motherf***ker" She Had

Billy is poisoned by his girlfriend and fellow Secret Service agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Jane kills Billy on Sinatra's orders and because Billy threatened to expose Sinatra's secrets, which would upend the community of Paradise. Billy demanded that Sinatra leave Xavier and his children alone. Sinatra did not respond well to this and reminded Billy that she could take away everyone and everything he loved in Paradise. He told her that she would need to send the "biggest motherf***ker" she had if she hoped to take him down.

After poisoning Billy, Jane repeats his words back to him, confirming that she also works for Sinatra, and is Sinatra's most dangerous and ruthless operative. Jane's lack of emotion or remorse as she watches Billy die proves that she did not love him and that her true loyalty lies with Sinatra. As soon as Billy tried backing Sinatra into a corner, his fate was sealed, and the episode made this even clearer when he promised to tell Xavier all his secrets the following morning. Billy dying may not have been surprising, but who killed him is a heartbreaking plot twist.

What Paradise Episode 4’s Ending Reveals About The Surface

Paradise's Citizens Have Been Lied To

Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and Cal Bradford (James Marsden) smiling at each other in Paradise
Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) and Cal Bradford (James Marsden) smiling at each other in Paradise

Image via Hulu

Episode 4 reveals that in the months after escaping the cataclysmic event, Paradise's characters were consumed by the uncertainty of not knowing what happened on the surface and if anyone might still be alive. This led to a small team returning to the surface, but none of them survived the mission, and President Bradford shared that the outside world was confirmed to be uninhabitable. This was a lie, though, as further flashbacks show that the air on the surface is breathable. Sinatra sent Billy to kill everyone involved with the mission, so the truth would not come out.

While Sinatra has prevented Billy from sharing the truth with Xavier, it is only a matter of time before he and other characters learn the truth and head to the surface.

Based on the glimpses in the flashbacks, the surface looks like a frozen wasteland, but it is still technically habitable. This means that Xavier's wife and others who did not make it to Paradise may still be alive. Sinatra sees the current state of the outside world as "a third-world planet" and that Paradise's citizens are better off believing that they can never safely return to the surface. While Sinatra has prevented Billy from sharing the truth with Xavier, it is only a matter of time before he and other characters learn the truth and head to the surface.

What Episode 4’s Ending Means For Paradise’s Murder Mystery

President Bradford's Death Is Likely Connected To The Truth About The Surface

President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) in a bathrobe in Paradise
President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) in a bathrobe in Paradise

Image via Hulu

Billy has killed people before, but he had nothing to do with President Bradford's death, which now makes Sinatra and Jane the top suspects in Paradise's murder mystery. President Bradford may have been ignorant of the truth. After learning that the surface was habitable, he may have wanted to share the truth, only for Sinatra to have him killed, so the secret could not get out. With Jane being a Secret Service agent, it would not have been difficult for her to get close to President Bradford and to kill him on Sinatra's orders.

Episode #

Episode Title

Release Date

5

"In The Palaces of Crowned Kings"

February 11

6

"You Asked for Miracles"

February 18

7

"The Day"

February 25

8

"The Man Who Kept the Secrets"

March 4

With four Paradise season 1 episodes left, though, the truth behind President Bradford's murder is likely more complex. More needs to be revealed about other characters, including Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall) and President Bradford's ex-wife, Jessica Bradford (Cassidy Freeman), as their personal relationships with the president may have contributed to his fate. Regardless of who the killer is, President Bradford's death is clearly intertwined with the secrets being kept from Xavier and the other characters in Paradise.

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Your Rating

Paradise
6/10
92
9.2/10
Release Date
January 26, 2025
Network
Hulu
Directors
Gandja Monteiro
Writers
Jason Wilborn
  • Headshot Of Sterling K. Brown In The Los Angeles premiere of 'Atlas'
    Sterling K. Brown
    Xavier Collins
  • Headshot Of Julianne Nicholson
    Julianne Nicholson
    Samantha 'Sinatra' Redmond

Creator(s)
Dan Fogelman

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