Paradise is at its best when it leans into dystopia – and its big episode 1 twist proves it

Teasing tense interrogation scenes of series lead Sterling K Brown and his pursuit for some kind of truth, Paradise was set up for viewers as a glossy American drama with a grisly murder at its core. Did Brown's Agent Xavier Collins commit the crime? He's the president's right-hand man, so surely not, but who did?

Well, while the trailer alone tees up the fact that not everything is quite as it seems in Paradise, nothing could quite prepare viewers for the twist at the end of its premiere episode – and boy, is it a good one.

The synopsis teases that the eight-parter is "set in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world's most prominent individuals", bringing to mind images of the quintessential all-American suburban neighbourhood. You know the type: white picket fences, wide roads, manicured lawns and happy greetings from those across the road.

And while Paradise is set in that perfect idea of a town, the episode 1 reveal that we're following the lives of these people who live in an underground cave-like bunker is a twist that was expertly pulled off.

Accompanied by a haunting cover of Phil Collins's Another Day in Paradise, that closing montage helps you realise that this town is actually too perfect.

From the do-it-all wristbands that seem to unlock cars and act as wallets simultaneously to the always bright and sunny weather and the fake electronic ducks that are always present in the ponds, everything down there is intentionally perfect in order to ignore the fact that these people are living under a mountain in Colorado.

At the same point that we finally start to see this neighbourhood for what it really is, we find out that it's been done in order to house people from a catastrophic event that could've led to the extinction of humanity.

Xavier was told about it and let into the inner circle of secrets after taking a bullet for President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), thereby – in a convoluted way – demonstrating his loyalty to his president (and boss) in the process.

By the end of episode 1, we not only realise that Paradise isn't quite all it's cracked up to be, but also that Xavier's wife isn't with him and the rest of their family, a fact the president obviously knows and seems to harbour some guilt for.

But back to the Trojan horse of it all.

While brilliantly pulled off, Paradise kept its USP under wraps in a big way, so much so that not knowing about the twist may lead to many prospective viewers discounting this series as your run-of-the-mill politically-charged drama. With the promotional materials for the series not revealing it to be anything otherwise, it's a risky move that I think pays off.

With the first three episodes of the series released at the same time, the underground setting of it all adds a necessary claustrophobic feel to everything.

Sure, the president being killed is a major plot point, but now we start to realise just what this spells for this community. A hand-selected group of people were brought down into this manufactured town, so to now know that there's a killer among them surely throws a spanner into the works.

It's this confined sense of space that adds to the drama and tension, making everyone a suspect but also meaning we're desperate to find out more about those who have made it down here – and why others haven't.

At times, Paradise is almost like a hybrid of 24 and Black Mirror. It's got that action-packed Washington-related element to things while retaining a dystopian edge. Who's watching and listening to everything? Seeing as it's a fabricated town, the answer could literally be anyone.

Underground bunkers and towns aren't a new concept in the world of television, with recent hits like Fallout and Silo leaning on the trope in order to show what could unfold if humanity were to be sheltered in such a way.

But while the aforementioned series do a stellar job at presenting alternate ways of thinking about the future of civilisation, Paradise doesn't lean all the way into its science fiction core.

I'm not saying it should go that step further into sci-fi territory, but with talk of the end of the world as we know it and only a lucky group of very rich individuals being selected to live there, it certainly uses some eerie tropes from the genre.

The result is a drama that makes you think of life as a simulation more than ever, while also underlining the inescapable hierarchy of society's rich and powerful. And of course, there's a sprinkling of governmental secrecy in there too.

But in order to retain its strength as a gripping series, Paradise can't succumb to the meandering ways of so many TV dramas these days.

Episode 1 packed a punch and its subsequent two episodes give us integral insight into Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), AKA Sinatra, as well as the motivations for creating such a town and what prompted the decision to do so.

Burning questions still remain over Xavier and his family, as well as just who exactly is down in this version of paradise. Like an onion, we were led to believe that the death of James Marsden's character was the main driving force for this series, but really, when you strip back the layers, Paradise is full of welcome and mind-bending surprises – let's just hope they keep on coming.

Paradise is streaming weekly on Disney Plus, the first three episodes are available to stream now. You can sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month now.

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