Commentary: ‘Paradise’ Was Always Wholly Science Fiction
by Frank Martin
Science fiction is a very wide-ranging genre. It can encompass anything from Back to the Future, to The Fly, to Godzilla and Star Wars. Post-apocalyptic stories are also science fiction, however they embody a totally different science fiction than say 2001: A Space Odyssey, which takes the science aspect of its fiction to a whole other level. The second season of Paradise is firmly a post-apocalyptic story, but it also dovetails into aspects of dense science fiction. This may seem like a wild change, but the series has always been really dense in its sci-fi elements.
Paradise is about an artificially constructed city inside of a mountain meant to withstand a cataclysmic tsunami. It was built by the rich and powerful to keep the United States government going after the collapse of civilization. However, it wasn’t the only technological marvel meant to withstand the end of the world. Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), the mastermind behind Paradise, had also been working on a quantum supercomputer meant to help humanity survive the apocalypse. This super computer became so advanced that it began manipulating time. After Paradise fell, she instructed former Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) with the task of finding the supercomputer as it holds the key to the future of the human race.
Fans of the series have noted that this supercomputer, named Alex, is a wild sci-fi concept as it involves time manipulation. This is extremely dense science fiction territory that might seem too out of left field for the grounded post-apocalyptic plot of the rest of the season. However, Paradise was never a traditional post-apocalyptic story. The very nature of the city itself is a wild concept of science fiction. It’s a picturesque American town meant to mimic the regular lives of society, utilizing incredible air circulation, water filtration, and nuclear energy. A computer that manipulates time falls firmly in line with the existence of this city. So fans shouldn’t be surprised by the gravity of the show’s science fiction elements.
Paradise is now streaming on Hulu.