Your Burning ‘Paradise’ Questions, Answered

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Thomas Doherty Breaks Down the Paradise Season 2 Finale

Photo by: Ser Baffo/Hulu

This story contains spoilers for Paradise season 2, episode 8.

Thomas Doherty doesn't have an exit plan for the apocalypse. "I'm gonna be like everyone else, running around like a madman," the 30-year-old actor and star of Hulu's Paradise jokes over Zoom. He might find his way back to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was born and raised. "The air is fresher," he says. But beyond that, all Doherty wants or needs when things turn belly-up is his adorable golden doodle, named Daisy, by his side. "If I can't go back to family," he says, "it's gonna be me and Daisy against the world."

At the end of the sci-fi series second season, Doherty's character, Dylan, is certainly feeling the end of the world. He's the brainy rebel on a mission to stop the collapse of America's now-abandoned nuclear facilities, until a twist places him at the center of almost every fan theory about Paradise's future. Dylan was first introduced to audiences in the premiere by the alias Link—a nerdy nod to the wandering champion from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. But we later learn Doherty character's real name and his potential connection to the show's calculating antagonist Sinatra, played by Julianne Nicholson. Alongside every twist on Paradise, Doherty is as heavily invested in figuring out the mysteries as the show's inventive fans.

"She could be his mum," Doherty theorizes, "But we don't know. That's the thing about any Dan Fogelman show. You want a question answered, you'll get the question answered. But with the answer comes five more questions."

In Paradise's first season, agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) fought to reveal the truth behind the secret bunker that humanity lives in following an apocalyptic event. His quest put him face-to-face with the bunker's controversial leader, Sinatra. She revealed then that her son died (supposedly) of an unknown illness when he was a young boy, and that her grief compelled her to throw her resources into the Colorado mountain bunker way before the Antarctic volcano erupted. But as season 2 carried on past Link's introduction, theories slowly sprung up on Reddit that speculated a connection between his true backstory and Sinatra's secret project, codenamed "Alex."

At first, fans threw around everything from time travel to parallel universes. Then, in the penultimate episode of season 2, the show proposed the very real possibility that the viewers were on to something. Link/Dylan may be Sinatra's son. Whatever Sinatra secretly planned with "Alex" apparently "worked," as she phrased it. But in the season 2 finale (now streaming), fans are still left without many concrete answers.

"Almost tricking the audience can be dangerous, because you're thinking about the perception of the performance instead of the truth," Doherty says. "A lot of the time you just have to trust the writing."

In a conversation with Esquire, Doherty graciously answers some—but not all—of your burning questions below. Is Dylan really Sinatra's son? What are his and Xavier's visions really about? How is "Alex" the supercomputer involved? And what does Doherty think about where Link/Dylan is headed in Paradise's third and final season?

By Eric Francisco

"That's the thing about any Dan Fogelman show," Thomas Doherty tells Esquire about Paradise. "You want a question answered, you'll get the question answered. But with the answer comes five more questions." / photo by: Ser Baffo/Hulu

Mailbag!

Now that Paradise is over, I bet you're thinking: What should I watch now? Well, the TV calendar is looking really promising next month. We broke down the top 10 shows we're looking forward to this April, including Euphoria season 3, the return of BEEF on Netflix, and the final season of Hacks. But I want to know what you're excited to watch! Let me know by writing to me at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.

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Three cheers for Harry Potter's new Ron Weasley, played by Alastair Stout. / photo by: Aidan Monaghan/HBO

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Winner: The New Ron Weasley

I've never been a massive Harry Potter fan, but I must admit that the new trailer for HBO's upcoming series charmed me. How? By giving us a perfect shot of Alastair Stout (pictured above) as the new Ron Weasley. (He's taking over the role originated by Rupert Grint in the films.) His little "brain explosion" hand gesture when he first meets Harry vaulted him to the top of my cutest kids on TV rankings.

Loser: TV Screens Without James Marsden on Them

Not only is Paradise season 2 over without another cameo from U.S. President James Marsden, but Jury Duty returned without the Hairspray actor as well. The Prime Video comedy just isn't the same without him. But don't worry, Marsden returns to screens next month in Your Friends & Neighbors season 2.

Winner: Jokes!

Did you catch the trailer for RuPaul Charles's new slapstick comedy film, Stop! That! Train!? The parody disaster thriller's quick one-liners feel like we've finally received Gen-Z's Airplane! I couldn't be more excited.

Loser: KFC's Pickle Puffer

The fast-food chain is selling a real, see-through puffer jacket stuffed with sliced pickles and brine. It looks—and I'm sure, tastes—as insane as it sounds.

Winner: X-Files Fans

Following his Best Director win at the Oscars, Sinners' Ryan Coogler is taking on a surprising new project: rebooting The X-Files for Hulu. The new series will star Himesh Patel and Danielle Deadwyler as two FBI agents who investigate extraterrestrial cold cases. With all the renewed interest around government files and UFOs, the TV show honestly couldn't arrive at a better time.