The following contains spoilers for Paradise episode 7, “The Day,” now streaming on HuluParadise’sflashback episode to the end of the world ties to real-life history in a pretty stark (and thematically fitting) way.Paradisetakes place in a world where most of the planet’s population has been killed in a massive disaster. While most of the show deals with the survivors living in a secluded town constructed beneath a mountain in Colorado,Paradsieepisode 7"The Day" focuses largely on the end of the world. A major aspect of the episode is the focus on President Cal Bradford as his morality bristles against the pragmatic decisions of the officials around him.
The result is a tense and emotionally effective exploration of how people react in extreme circumstances, with Bradford’s morality at an unprecedented moment saving countless lives and potentially sparing the world from nuclear destruction. It’s an important moment that not only sets the stage forParadiseseason 2but reflects the moral themes of the show. The episode directly ties his ability to do so to a minor nameless character in a stand-alone opening scene, who was in turn inspired by a real life event that almost resulted in the end of the world as we know it.
How Paradise Connects To The Cuban Missile Crisis
Paradise’s Version Of The Cuban Missile Crisis Actually Saves The World Decades Later
Paradise’s seventh episode, “The Day,” ties the fate of the world to a United States Air Force Colonel who witnessed the Cuban Missile Crisis first-hand, tying the show’s sci-fi twists and turns to a fateful moment in real history. “The Day” largely focuses on an extended flashback to when a ecological disaster destroyed the world. However,the opening scene actually takes place decades earlier. The scene focuses on an unnamed Colonel in the Air Force, who has returned home shaken that a nuclear conflict was likely only prevented by a Russian submarine captain refusing to follow orders.
Although this scene happened decades before the events ofParadise, it ends up being a key reason the world hasn’t fully ended within the show’s universe. The Colonel decided to develop a fail-safe for such a circumstance, which could set off an EMP that would disable electronics on Earth. While this would send technological advancement back centuries, it would also disarm nuclear warheads mid-flight and could prevent global destruction. This is howBradford is able to stop the nukes in “The Day,“saving countless lives and setting up a wider world for season 2 ofParadiseto explore.
The World Almost Did Get Into A Nuclear Stand Off In 1963
Vasily Arkhipov Saved The World By Not Firing Nukes During The Cuban Missile Crisis
The scariest thing about this scene fromParadisethat it is actually based on a true story. In 1963, tensions over the USSR bringing weapons to their allies in Cuba set off the Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States Navy moved into position against the nuclear submarines, with the situation escalating into a stand-off that almost proved fatal. Cut off from contact to Russia, the submarine was under orders to open fire with their nuclear payload, which could have quickly transformed the face-off into a nuclear war.
It’s fitting then that his decision to ignore orders to prevent a nuclear conflict would inspire characters in a slightly sci-fi setting likeParadiseto explore ways to replicate his actions en masse.
The decision to fire the missile required unanimous agreement from the submarine’s commanding officers, with two wanting to follow their orders to fire if cornered. As explained by theNational Security Archive, Chief of the Staff of the Brigade Vasily Arkhipov was the holdout among the three officers, eventually convincing the others to ignore their orders. Afterwards,Arkhipov was dubbed “The Man Who Saved The World.“It’s fitting then that his decision to ignore orders to prevent a nuclear conflict would inspire characters in a slightly sci-fi setting likeParadiseto explore ways to replicate his actions en masse.
Paradise Is About Moral Choices In Impossible Situations
ParadiseHighlights The Importance Of Remaining Good Even In Hard Times
One of the themes ofParadise, especially for the characters who find themselves in positions of authority and power, is the importance of maintaining morality in making hard decisions.Thematically, the real-life moment inspiredParadise’s Colonel to set the stage for Bradford’s world-saving actions. This highlights the chain of moral decisions that can save humanity from even the greatest threats. Despite the catastrophe that destroyed much of the world, people have survived on the surface, all because of a chain of people across decades and nationalities deciding to ignore orders for the sake of countless innocent lives.
Paradise Just Raised The Stakes For Jeremy & Presley’s Romance Much Higher After Episode 6
Xavier’s daughter Presley and President Cal Bradford’s son Jeremy have gradually been developing a relationship that is important in Paradise.
It’s a clear moral core to the show given that these decisions stand in stark contrast to the darker actions taken by other characters. Redmond has sacrificed her morals for security and authority, while characters like Billy were haunted by the hard decisions they were forced to make (and killed before they could try to repent).Paradiseis quietly about the importance of making moral decisions in tough times, establishing a clear divide between Redmond’s pragmatic conspiracies with the more humane and empathetic actions of characters like Xavier and Bradford.
