The final shots of the season 1 finale show Xavier boarding a small jet and opening the sealed doors that separate Paradise from the outside world. The engine hums and President Bradford’s notebook is in his hands as Xavier sets out to find his wife Teri, whom Sinatra revealed is still alive via a satellite radio recording.

Dan Fogelman, Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson owe me a therapy session for the anxiety-inducing season finale of Paradise. It's one of the best new TV shows of 2025 and has left viewers on edge as we've tried to solve multiple riddles about the show's plot.

Paradise is one of those Hulu shows that keeps you guessing to the very end. The riveting first season of Dan Fogelberg's political thriller answered many lingering questions, including the central mystery that has carried the show since the pilot episode: Who killed President Cal Bradford (James Marsden)?

The finale of "Paradise" season one reveals who killed President Cal, but three unresolved plots are ripe for exploration in a second season.

Note: This story contains spoilers from "Paradise" Episode 8. President Bradford (James Marsden) was doing a lot of digging into Sinatra's (Julianne Nicholson) running of the place when he got killed.

During the season 1 finale of "Paradise," Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) discovered who killed President Cal Bradford (James Marsden)