Hulu’s ‘Paradise’ starts with the assassination of President Cal Bradford but quickly transcends being a straightforward murder mystery to become a dystopian political thriller. In the course of eight episodes, the show reveals one jaw-dropping twist after another, leaving the audience with plenty to think about.

One of the best aspects of the show is the way it uses flashbacks to narrate the story across two timelines, jumping over a decade to leave a breadcrumb after another for the audience. At the finale, all these tiny clues camouflaged in plain sight become visible and provide a better understanding of the events that happened, but also of the forthcoming ones. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Cal Bradford’s Killer Was Right Before Them

The season’s big question is who killed Cal Bradford. With the revelations about Paradise and the individuals behind it, multiple suspects come up, the most suspect of whom is Samantha, also known as Sinatra. But in the second-to-last episode, she confesses that she was not involved in Cal’s death and the killer is an outsider since fingerprints on the crime scene don’t match any individuals within Paradise.

This brings Xavier Collins to two conclusions. The first one is that an individual entered Paradise through the door that had been broken into, committed the murder, and exited without anyone noticing. Or, it’s one of those people who was already in Paradise when the others got there and has remained hidden up to this point.

Xavier is convinced that he and the other agents, and Robinson in particular, missed something at the crime scene. But Robinson is waving his finger saying that if there is a records discrepancy, evidence will be revealed through the arrival day accounts. While Xavier goes off on his own, Robinson tracks down Gabriela. They sort through the anomalies that were experienced on the day of arrival together. Robinson requests that she find out anything that might have triggered the system. It might be as small as a broken wristband; anything flagged must be investigated. Gabriela initially views it as a futile exercise, given that the number would be in the thousands. But then she observes something strange. It leads her to the waitress, Maggie. Her files indicate that she is a nut allergic. Yet, Gabriela observes Maggie devour food that contains nuts without any problems. This indicates that Maggie is not who they believe she is. A short conversation with her confirms that her actual name is not Maggie. She took the identity when a man offered to take her into Paradise with him. This man turns out to be the librarian, Trent, whose real name is Eli.

Why Did Trent the Librarian Kill Cal? Is He Dead?

It turns out that Eli was one of the people who worked on Paradise. During construction, he befriended a man named Adam and came to care about him immensely. One day, Eli learned that the tunnel contained toxic gases within, and this meant the workers who would enter there might die. When he brought it up to the concern of the architect, he was let go and asked to shut up. The architect threatened him that something terrible was going to happen and no one could do anything to prevent it. This prompted Eli to speak to the cops, reporters, and anybody willing to hear him out. He even attempted to kill Cal, and Cal was rescued when Xavier diverted the bullet for him.

Eli got incarcerated, and he stayed there for the subsequent several years. The fateful day finally came about, and a fight ensued in the prison that Eli was at. Fortunately, the prison was located in Colorado, meaning that Eli was able to find his way into Paradise. He discovered his shot when he encountered a man, Trent, and his wife, Maggie. He kidnapped them to the desert, killed them in the head, and assumed their identity. He then became Trent. When he was on his way to Paradise, he met a woman weeping in the car. He sympathized with her and gave her

Maggie’s ID to enable both of them to go to Paradise. Eli’s primary purpose was to kill Cal, whom he held responsible for keeping the truth from the public and killing the people who were not selected for Paradise. However, when he came to Paradise, he got comfortable with his new life. It was not until Cal Bradford appeared at the library with the aim of creating a mix-tape for his son that Eli was awakened to the reality of his predicament. This is when he resolved to complete what he had begun, and as fate would have it, he assassinated Cal that night. The next move in his strategy was to return to the surface, locate survivors, and take them back to Paradise. But there was a gigantic issue. He had no idea how to exit. That is until Xavier discovers Cal’s notes, and Eli steals them from him. Eventually, Xavier and Robinson pursue Eli, but before he can get out of Paradise or they can apprehend him, he chooses to take his own life.

Does Samatha Die? Why does Jane Shoot Her?

With Cal’s murder case closed, Xavier approaches Samantha, also known as Sinatra, and demands his daughter be returned to him. Rather than return Presley, she informs him that his daughter is dead. It is rather a terrible thing on her part, as she did not have any reason for having the girl murdered. Nevertheless, she was feeling trapped and concluded killing Xavier and his family. She has Jane abduct Presley and even tells her to “take care” of the girl. Jane, in return, demands Cal’s video games, but Samantha denies them and even declares that Jane is insane. It is a terrible mistake because when Xavier has Samantha at gunpoint, questioning her about his daughter’s whereabouts, Jane arrives and shoots Samantha in the throat.

The shot is violent, but it’s not lethal. Jane still requires Samantha, and Samantha will be useless to her if she gets killed. She has hurt the billionaire enough to keep her in the hospital for a period but not so long that she never returns. This also grants Jane control over her employer, proving just how crazy she is if she does not get what she demands. Later, Jane acquires her video games, and we find her playing them in the last scene when Samantha is in the hospital, recovering.

In her absence, back home, the order collapses, and a vacuum is left behind. We find the billionaires fighting one another, and eventually, the President attempts to diffuse the situation. But it is apparent that someone else will have to step up to the plate to fill Samantha’s spot. Xavier, on the other hand, is back with his daughter. When Jane kills Samantha, she informs Xavier that she had Presley the entire time. She does not disclose that Samantha told her to keep Presley by her side. Neither does she inform the man that she will kill his daughter for him in return for video games. Rather, she refuses to burn her bridges with Xavier and even more of a loyal friend to Xavier by delivering his daughter safely back to him. This will later come to bite Xavier at a bad time, but for the moment, he appreciates Jane for protecting his daughter.

What did Cal Put in the CD for Jeremy? Why do People Gather Around Jeremy?

When Cal Bradford discovered that there were survivors on the outside and that the truth was not being revealed to the people of Paradise, he knew that there were only a few individuals he could confide in regarding this information. He wanted to reveal the truth to the public, but he understood that Sinatra and other billionaires would go to any lengths to quiet him down. In the event that he couldn’t speak up anymore, he wanted to leave an alternative for others to find. The first two people he thought about during this were Jeremy and Xavier. So, he leaves the hints for both of them.

Xavier finds Cal’s cigarette with a mysterious six-digit number on it. However, he cannot understand its meaning until he finds the CD Cal left for his son. When Xavier listens to it, he finds that Cal recorded the mix tape in the library, which is what makes him realize that the six digits are actually the shelf location of a book in the library. He then forwards the CD to Jeremy, which becomes the last link that Jeremy has with his father. In it, Cal apologizes to Jeremy for his mistakes and also demonstrates to him that he wasn’t such a bad guy and really did try to do the right thing.

Other than this, he leaves Jeremy a lot of songs to keep to himself, something to cling to during his period of mourning. But the music isn’t the only thing Jeremy will remember about his dad. In the second-to-last episode, Jeremy discovers Cal’s tablet from Presley, who had possessed it all along. They access the tablet using Kane’s credentials and discover all that Sinatra and the billionaires were concealing. Seeing this as what his father had died for, Jeremy intends to expose the truth to the people. Even after Xavier abandons his struggle with Samantha and all appears to revert to normal, Jeremy continues to address the public and gains a devoted audience. It is this audience that is assembled around him at the end, showing that he has become a leader in his own right and will be challenging the status quo that Sinatra and her clique have set up.

Where Does Xavier Go?

When Xavier and his kids arrived in Paradise, he had arrived with grief at the loss of his wife. The last that he heard from her was just before the nuclear missile landed in Atlanta, where she was located. Or so he believed. It is much later that he learns Cal Bradford drew the switch that would destroy all nuclear weapons, allowing the rest of humanity on the surface a chance to live. One such survivor happens to be Xavier’s wife, Teri, and Sinatra brings this news to him.

Subsequently, he discovers Cal’s notes that reveal to him precisely how he can return to the surface and locate the survivors, who are estimated to be some thirty-five million in number. Initially, Xavier is not keen to leave his children, but then Robinson persuades him that this is not just about his wife but all the individuals who are out there struggling to stay alive. Additionally, it is concerning Cal’s dying wish and his hope for rescuing the remaining individuals. Therefore, Xavier has to return there and discover whatever he can and save whoever he can, whether his wife or not.

When Xavier shares the plan with his children, they appear to agree with Robinson’s statement. So, he signs off on Paradise’s security and enters a world unlike anything he’s familiar with. In the meantime, he leaves his children with Robinson and, strangely enough, even Jane, but that’s because he’s not aware of the entire truth as of yet. In the final scene, he is seen flying the plane, reading the directions in Cal’s notes, recalling his wife before the doors open, to take him into the unknown. Read More: What Does 812092 Mean in Paradise, Explained