Xavier and Nicole start a rebellion to force Sinatra to reveal the truth.

On the plus side, as Paradise reaches its climax, the game of cat and mouse between Xavier Collins, now working with Agent Nicole Robinson (For all Mankind’s Krys Marshall), and the controlling, defensive Samantha ‘Sinatra’ Redmond is undeniably edge of the seat stuff. X and Nicole know where the guns are, and they have control of the sky (literally) but will that be enough?

There’s also some nicely played backstory exploring Collins’s relationship with his wife, Terri (Enuka Okuma) who never made it to the bunker from Atlanta.

On the negative side, it takes an extremely clunky plot device to get the iPad of Doom into the hands of X’s daughter, Presley. Nor does the ‘turn-it-off-and-turn-it-back-on-again’ schtick convince for dealing with the messages Collins is planting in the bunker’s sky.

Meanwhile the similarities to Silo grow ever stronger. On balance I think Paradise is the more rounded and artistically successful show. The scripts are more layered, the premise is more interesting, the characters more diverse. Also its chief antagonist, Sinatra, as portrayed by the excellent Julianne Nicholson, is a far more nuanced and complex character than Tim Robbins’s wooden, one-note Silo villain, Bernard.

Oh yes, and I can actually see what’s going on thanks to the ample use of lightbulbs.

Verdict: Paradise definitely has a few awkward holes, but it sweeps the viewer along and is addictive, moreish TV. I’m really looking forward to the oncoming denouement. 8/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com