Paradise
It is perhaps stating the obvious to say that being a Secret Service agent on the President’s detail requires an unusual mindset. Unlike many law enforcement officers, the expectation isn’t just serving and protecting. It is to, if needed, literally sacrifice your life to protect someone, to take a bullet, blade, or bomb intended for them. For most, clocking in daily, knowing that would weigh heavily. Imagine continuing to do it after you lose respect for the President. Imagine continuing to do it, day in and day out, as hatred builds in your heart. That’s the situation facing Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) in the new series Paradise from creator Dan Fogelman. The show leaps forward and back in time regularly, holding its cards close to the vest throughout. However, it is immediately apparent that the relationship between the very buttoned-up Collins and the looser and lush-er President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) has gone from a kind of Odd Couple friendship to quite sour. When Collins arrives one morning to find Bradford dead, a pool of blood around his head, it doesn’t look good for him. The fact that he delayed calling it in for a half hour and was the last to see the President alive the night before makes it even worse. Unfortunately, Paradise’s fractured storytelling makes it impossible to discuss plot points beyond that moment. There are significant reveals and frequent twists in each episode, ones often undone or redefined within an episode or two. There’s more to the plot mechanics, a lot more, but even beginning to engage with them will spoil a lot more than this critic feels comfortable with. So, this review has to focus on tone and performance instead. Continue Reading →