'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Emotional Premiere Finally Reveals Xavier's Fate After That Cliffhanger

Annie and Gail witness the end of the world.

Annie ends up scoring a job as a tour guide alongside Gail (Angela Lakota Moore), who quickly becomes a mother figure in Annie's life. Annie learns her way around Graceland even more intimately than she did before, and she finds a ton of joy in talking about The King's history. As a history and pop culture nerd myself (who also happens to love an immersive experience), this is exactly the kind of job that would put a smile on my face!

But Annie and Gail's joy is cut short when the end of the world changes everything. The duo hunkers down in the basement of Graceland with books, candles, and canned food, but there's a problem: in the chaos, Gail fell down the stairs and injured her leg...and is never able to heal. In a truly devastating moment that broke my heart, Gail passes away, leaving Annie alone for over a year in the mansion while the sun disappears and the world freezes over.

Despite the fact this is only a tiny portion of the episode, this moment really captures the effects of isolation, confusion, and despair. It literally made me feel sick to see Annie all alone in the dark...gosh it's sending a shiver down my spine all over again.

'Paradise' season 2, episode 1 centers human connection.

But, finally, the clouds part and the sun returns. Annie's overjoyed at first thanks to the fresh air and the sun rays shining through the window, but when she notices a truck pull up — and a group of men break into the house — she goes on the defensive. Thankfully, I really appreciate that this show steered away from the "dangerous men cause single woman harm" trope I've seen so many times, and this group ends up being really kind to Annie — Link (Thomas Doherty) more than the others.

My favorite moment in the episode is when Link and Annie take a moment for themselves, and after Link puts his hands on Annie's shoulders and then wraps his arms around her, they end up just crying in each other's arms. This is the first time Annie has had human contact in over a year (and who knows what kind of physical affection Link gets from all the guys), and it really just reminded me how important human connection really is.

It doesn't take long for a serious connection to form between these two, but even though Link is desperate for Annie to join the guys on their quest out West, she can't muster up the courage to leave Graceland. But weeks after the group leaves, with Link promising to return, Annie realizes she's pregnant with Link's child.

We get a look at Xavier's past.

Flash forward 9 months, and Annie sees a plane fall from the sky. Armed, dangerous, and on horseback, Annie sets out to locate the crash. Okay, I also have to point out that seeing Shailene Woodley surrounded by horses throughout the episode was totally giving Felicity Merriman, I could barely focus on anything else. Anyway, Annie finally finds an injured Xavier (Sterling K. Brown), who, after crashing, was rescued then robbed by some kids.

The episode also brings us into Xavier's past, his training, and how he fell in love with his wife Teri (Enuka Okuma) while they both recovered from injuries. After bringing him back to Graceland, Annie declares that his quest for Teri is over. He's taking them out west to find Link.