Paradise Season 2 Teased By Agent Robinson Star As Krys Marshall Explains Confronting President Bradford's Killer In Season 1 Ending
The following contains spoilers for Paradise season 1 episode 8, "The Man Who Kept The Secrets," now streaming on Hulu
In the Paradise season 1 finale, Robinson and Xavier confront Cal's killer before the entire series gets a major reshuffle ahead of season 2. Introduced as the head of the president's security detail, Robinson was initially an adversary to Xavier Collins during the investigation into Cal's death. However, as the mystery behind Cal's death has exposed a much larger conspiracy, Robinson and Xavier find themselves working together to bring down Sinatra.
Robinson ends Paradise season 1 in a tumultuous place. One of the major players who could influence the power vacuum left by Redmond's defeat and Xavier's mission to the outside world, Robinson's strong moral core might be the only thing that can keep the town of Paradise from collapsing onto itself.
During an interview with Screen Rant, Krys Marshall reflected on staying true to Robinson's character throughout her season 1 arc, which character she wants to be paired off with again in Paradise season 2, and what she hopes to see in the character's future.
Krys Marshall Looks Ahead To Paradise Season 2 & Addresses
"You Really Can't Trust Anybody"
Despite starting off seemingly at odds, Robinson and Xavier end up as allies by the time Paradise season 1 concludes, something Marshall appreciates. "I really love Robinson and Xavier as a pair. I think they make a really great sort of Batman and Robin duo." Episode six, when Xavier and Robinson begin staging their coup, is one of her favorite moments. "When the two of us are gathering the guns...that had the juice I was looking for [laughs]."
"We see that again in episode eight, where the two of us kind of solved the big mystery together in this standoff with our librarian." Marshall mostly love the dynamic between Robinson and Xavier because she loves working with Brown. "He's just so much fun to be around."
As for whether that dynamic will lead to more Robinson and Xavier action in season 2 remains to be seen. "It's hard to make predictions. Every time I think I have a handle on what Dan and our incredible writers are going to do next. I'm always wrong. I'm certain that whatever they give me, I'm gonna love and won't see coming."
Paradise Episode 7 Redeems A Major Tragic Character With An Unexpected Reveal About The End Of The World
Paradise's flashback to the end of the world reveals how one character's unexpected moral decision retroactively redeemed his worst mistakes.
When it comes to what's coming, Paradise certainly seems like it has a few tricks up its sleeve, as the entire board has been reshuffled. So who can Robinson rely on? "I think you really can't trust anybody," Marshall says. "We end the season with Robinson and the kids and the people who've been trusted to take care of his children. So I think that is a solid group of folks that will look after Presley and James."
"That is a solid group of folks that will look after Presley and James," Marshall notes, referring to the small circle that Xavier leaves behind when he exits the bunker. "But outside that house, we can't trust anyone. We certainly can't trust Jane because we know that she is a homicidal threat. We can't trust Sinatra because we know that her allegian is to protecting this bunker at any means, even if it means killing people."
It's not just these primary antagonists that Robinson and Xavier have to worry about. There's a slew of other, shadowy figures that pose potential threats to their mission. "There's also the other leaders, the unknown characters. The librarian was a stowaway. Are there other stowaways?"
There's also the outside world to consider: "Even bigger than that, what's happening on the Earth's surface? So, [in] season two, I think we're going to see more of what happens there. I'm dying to know who's left."
Robinson's Paradise Season 1 Ending Explained By Krys Marshall
"Robinson's Allegiance Is To The Truth"
Despite beginning the season as an ally to Sinatra, Robinson explains her loyalties have remained the same. "Robinson's allegiance is to the truth. Her loyalty is to keeping people safe. That's of paramount importance to her," Marshall says. How that takes shape can change, though, Marshall notes: "Whether keeping people safe means protecting the president or taking out Sinatra, the goal is to make sure that mankind survives. That objective is more important than any other thing."
So why did she end up switching sides to help Xavier? "I think it's around episode four when the veil is lifted and Robinson realizes that Sinatra can't be trusted at all. That's when the gloves come off." To Robinson, it becomes clear that Sinatra is working more out of self-interest than she is the greater good. "'[Sinatra] is no longer the person who's going to shepherd us into the future?' You're the obstacle, so I got to take you out."
It's a switch that Marshall acknowledges may seem antithetical to the person Robinson, but she notes it's actually true to the character we've known all along. "That shift may seem like a paradox for who we know Robinson is, but it's actually totally in line with who she's always been."
It's such a beautiful storytelling choice...
At the end of the day, deep down, Marshall knows there needs to be a "nucleus" to who this character is and relates that point to the relationship between Xavier and his father. "It's hard to fathom that a man would betray his own dad, especially when his dad is his best friend," Marshall says, "But then we see that his dad is not well. He's got Parkinson's. He should not be flying airplanes. He could put himself and other people in danger."
"It's such a beautiful storytelling choice to put the man who raised Xavier...in juxtaposition with Xavier's true objective, which is to do the right thing and keep people safe." She relates this to Robinson's own arc in Paradise season 1: "You have things like her relationship with Cal, which is the complete inverse of doing the right thing. It's literally doing the wrong thing. But we understand why she does it."
"I think that's a testament to Dan and the team's writing that Robinson is a human being. She's flawed," Marshall says before acknowledging the extreme circumstances of their world. "She's got no one else left in this bunker, no loved ones, no friends. She didn't bring a dog. She's on her own. So what does that kind of vulnerability do to a person? How does that make you behave in a way that you normally wouldn't behave?"
Paradise Season 1's Bombshell Episode "The Day" Addressed By Krys Marshall
"I Find Her To Be Incredibly Brave & Courageous"
"The Day," the seventh episode of Pardise's debut season, is perhaps the most harrowing entry. Taking place mostly in the past, it's an hour-long disaster movie tracking what happened the day the world ended and revealing how Cal, Robinson, Xavier, and more made it to the bunker. Agent Robinson plays a key role in getting the president to the bunker at any cost.
"There's something incredible about people who dedicate their lives to service in this way," Marshall says. "We see it in episode seven when [Xavier] takes off his vest, puts it on Cal, straps him up, and heads out into the line of fire. Knowing that as a baseline, it informs you as an actor."
"That is the job that [Robinson] signed up for," Marshall explains. "That's the responsibility that you take on when you join up, whether that is military service or the Secret Service. So for Robinson, it's obviously not ideal, but she knows from the beginning of Operation Versailles that she may not make it out the other side. That's just part of it."
Her job is to see the mission through, no matter what.
Robinson is forced to make some deadly decisions amidst the chaos on that apocalyptic day, including shooting another Secret Service agent in the head at point-blank range as he attempts to force his way onto a helicopter with the president. She also stays behind to ensure that the president gets out safely.
"I find her to be incredibly brave and courageous in that, every step along the way, she doesn't have time to think about her loved ones or about the people that she's going to leave behind," Marshall says. "Life as we know it is ending. Her job is to see the mission through, no matter what."
She's not completely tough and cold, though. She does break. Still, she doesn't let that get in the way of doing her job. "We only see that little break in her when Cal is delivering a more honest address to the United States and saying that this is the end of days. We can see that for a brief moment, the reality of the situation hits her. But then she wipes that tear away. 'All right, let's get to work.'"
All episodes of Paradise season 1 are now streaming on Hulu. The series has already been renewed for season 2.
Check out our interview with Jane actor Nicole Brydon Brown about the end of Paradise season 1.
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