There's A Big Harsh Reality About Paradise's Villain That Has To Be Addressed After Episode 5
The following contains spoilers for Paradise episode 5, "In the Palaces of Crowned Kings," now streaming on HuluParadise's overarching villain may have committed some monstrous things, but she does make some good points about the horrifying truth of the show. Samantha Redmond was introduced as a powerful fixture within the world of Paradise, a wealthy tech CEO with control over the other surviving powerful figures in the world. Despite her sympathetic backstory and motivations, Redmond has been increasingly codified as Paradise's primary antagonist, especially after episodes 4 and 5. Redmond's actions have gotten innocents killed and doomed countless people left alive on the surface.
However, none of this is done in a way that makes her feel like a heartless caricature of a CEO. Like with the rest of Paradise's characters, Redmond has been steadily revealed to be a flawed person who allows her insecurities and fears to determine her actions. The result is a character who can do terrible things for an understandable reason, which adds to the natural complexity baked into the show and the plot twists of Paradise episode 5.
Redmond Actually Makes Some Good Points In Paradise (Which Makes Her Way Scarier)
Redmond Has Some Genuine Concerns About Exposing The City To The Remnants Of The World
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Samantha Redmond's arguments in Paradise about why she fears exposing their secret city to the rest of the survivors on the surface make a certain amount of sense, which adds a compelling and complex element to her harsh decisions. The fourth and fifth episodes of Paradise revealed that Redmond had the scientists sent to the surface murdered when they found evidence that the surface was livable and were bringing a survivor back to the city. As Redmond explained to Billy and Cal, this is because she fears the impact that exposing themselves could have.
By opening the doors to other survivors, Redmond exposes the citizens of the city to unknown threats. This could range from illness to marauders, which could decimate the relatively small population of people left in Paradise's city. Redmond already lost one child, and her commitment to saving her other one spurred her to help construct the city in the first place. If saving unknown civilians risked her family, Redmond has a vested interest in keeping the city hidden. Given the risk posed by unknown threats, this does make a certain amount of sense, even if it remains a heartless decision.
Redmond's Motivations Still Don't Justify Her Brutal Actions In Paradise
Redmond Is The Villain Of Paradise Even When She's Making Good Points
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Despite making some valid points about the potential threats that could arise if they expose their survival, Redmond's actions in Paradise are still clearly cruel. While Redmond seems to have some genuine concerns about the potential cost of exposing their survival, Cal is right when he tells her in flashbacks that it's worth doing something to help the other potential survivors. Redmond's motivations may be understandable and tragic, but Billy isn't wrong when he tells her that he doesn't care about why she ordered him to kill the scientists but simply that she did it.
Paradise has never shied away from showing [Redmond] to be a genuine person with emotional connections to people, but also doesn't hold back from portraying her in a dark light.
Redmond has been a fascinating version of a classic villain archetype, the ruthless CEO who treats human life as a numbers game that she must win. Paradise has never shied away from showing her to be a genuine person with emotional connections to people, but also doesn't hold back from portraying her in a dark light. Redmond has still had innocent people killed for the crime of refusing her orders, painting her as a despot hiding in plain sight of a struggling democracy. While Redmond's arguments make a certain sense, she's still a villain for acting on her fears.
Paradise's Biggest Moral Dilemma Highlights The Show's Complexity
Paradise Doesn't Turn Redmond Into A Super Villain Even Though She's The Big Bad
One of the things that has made Paradise such a compelling drama is the way that it gives archetypes of political thrillers and sci-fi stories a deeper sense of humanity — for better and for worse. The heroes are heroic and the villains are villainous, but there are moral grey areas that both have to work within. Xavier's emotions make his decision-making somewhat murky, even as he remains the central hero of the show. Conversely, Redmond is coded effectively as a Bond villain at the end of the world, but also as someone who deeply loves her family.
This makes her decision to kill people to consolidate her power feel less like a monstrous act of evil and more like a desperate mother willing to cross moral lines for the sake of her loved ones. Paradise leaning into that complexity allows the conflicts to feel far more grounded and less driven by pure ideology, forcing characters to reckon with their actions and why they're making them. It's one of the reasons that Paradise has been such a compelling mystery, as even the central villains can make valid points while still being morally wrong.
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