Hulu’s Paradise: The Literary and Musical Easter Eggs That Could Explain That Big Twist

This article contains spoilers for Paradise episodes 1-3.

Three episodes into Paradise it’s quickly becoming clear that nothing’s as it seems in this political thriller about secret service agents and the country they guard. Hulu’s current number one television series stars Sterling K. Brown (This is Us) as an agent assigned to safeguard a president and I’ll be honest … when I first watched the trailer with my husband, I wasn’t sure about Paradise at all.

“This looks like a fake show,” I said to him as we lay in bed looking for something to watch. At first glance, Paradise seems a bit cheesy and pretty similar to other movies and shows in which a bunch of suits guard a man in charge while political scandal brews. Still, what draws viewers in is the twist that occurs in the last few minutes of the first episode. What got our attention before that, however, were the literary and musical Easter eggs that helped further the plot. Here are some major moments of pop culture greatness that fit into the story of Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), and might explain that big twist. 

James and the Giant Peach

If you read James and the Giant Peach as a kid, it’s time to put on your thinking cap. In the 1961 Roald Dahl novel, a young orphan boy named James moves in with two abusive aunts after the traumatic death of both his parents. When a giant peach grows in James’ yard, he finds a hole in the fruit and ends up living inside it with a group of magical garden insects. After many adventures, the peach ends up in New York City and James gets a job, makes friends, and finds a home in Central Park, free of the trauma of his past. 

The book makes an appearance early on in episode 1 of Paradise. Xavier’s son, James (Percy Daggs IV), is reading a copy of it as he’s getting ready for school and seeing it causes an emotional reaction from Xavier. Later, we learn that Xavier guards Cal Bradford (James Marsden), the President of the United States, who Xavier finds murdered early in the episode. In a later flashback, Xavier delivers a monologue about how, when his wife was pregnant with their son, she read James and the Giant Peach, leading to her choice to name their son after the book. Through this speech, we learn Xavier’s wife has died and he blames Cal for her death.

Then comes the real twist. In Paradise, the “United States” we think we’ve been watching no longer exists. Years before, 25,000 humans were taken to an underground dome-shaped structure by the U.S. government when a catastrophe wiped out all of humanity. The dome, located beneath a mountain range, simulates everything about a real town, from sunsets to insect chirping noises, and the survivors have established a new society there. Cal was the former president of the above-ground United States, and acts as president of this town-turned-shelter as well.

Is Xavier James? Is this underground town where so many took refuge after a major trauma the metaphorical giant peach? And what will become of Xavier as he attempts to solve Cal’s murder — the first murder that’s taken place since the 25,000 went into the dome? There’s a good chance the plot of James and the Giant Peach is foreshadowing Xavier’s future, and the literary reference only adds to the uniqueness of Paradise’s twist and makes us wonder if some part of the U.S. as he knew it may be waiting above ground for Xavier.

And it’s not just Xavier who fits into the James and the Giant Peach theory. Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi), the therapist we learn helped choose the 25,000 and arrange the details of day-to-day life under the dome, is a lot like Miss Spider, the James character who nurtured and cared for the crew inside the peach, right down to spinning them each a bed. But is Gabriela as innocent as she seems? It’s too early in the Paradise story to tell.

Lots of characters in the show appear as villainous as James’ aunts, Sponge and Spiker: Our eyes are currently on Billy Page (John Beavers), who Gabriela just warned Xavier to watch out for at the end of episode 3. And we’re sure that someone will emerge as the bad guy in town, whether it’s one of Xavier’s colleagues, members of the newly-erected government, or someone who hasn’t been introduced yet, which gives major Cloud-Men vibes. Cloud-Men appear as the antagonists in James and the Giant Peach, and when they’re upset, they cause all sorts of stormy weather.

We Built This City: The Revealing Music of Paradise

In all three episodes, there’s been a song that plays mid-episode as sung by the original artist, followed by an edgier, hauntingly beautiful remake of the song during the last few minutes. In episode 1, Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” plays as James and Cal discuss his wife’s death during a flashback. At the end of the episode, the twist of the underground bunker is revealed as a very different version of the song by Cat vs Cat and Joyner plays to close out the episode. It’s a poetic song for the start of the series as we’re learning so much about the “paradise” these characters have escaped to.

Episode two brings more details about the town itself and Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), the world’s richest self-made woman who helped create the safe space. As deception and political scandal run rampant during the episode, we hear both the Starship version of “We Built This City” and a dreamlike version by Aron Wright and Jill Andrews. It’s an appropriate tune for an episode that gives so much backstory into how the town was built, and the haunting rendition at the end really makes you think about whether or not “building this city” was the right thing to do.

In the third episode of Paradise, we get some steamy romance scenes and lots more drama and intrigue, all set to Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” and a decidedly gothic version of the tune by Hidden Citizens. With so many secrets in this seemingly-perfect town, it’s no wonder you have to be careful who you trust and make sure you’re really alone when you share information.

As we move forward through the remaining five episodes of Paradise, keep an ear out for songs that may offer clues and tell parts of the story. It’s too soon to tell, but maybe we’ll get some answers with songs like R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” or Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.”

Paradise episode 4 premieres Tuesday, February 4 on Hulu. New episodes premiere Tuesdays, culminating with the finale on March 4.

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