Paradise Season 2 has committed itself to breaking my brain with all its insinuations of time travel and quantum shenanigans.
Season 2, episode 7, titled “The Final Countdown,” is no different, dropping the biggest bombshell of the season so far. Somehow, Link (Thomas Doherty) is Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond’s (Julianne Nicholson) late son Dylan.
How do we know this, and more importantly, how is this possible? Let’s break it down.
A key Star Wars reference hints that Link is Sinatra’s son.
In “The Final Countdown,” Link negotiates with Sinatra about what his massive band of survivors wants with the bunker. Their showdown takes place on Air Force One, and as Link enters the plane, he marvels at the situation.
“This is like Star Wars, huh?” he tells Sinatra. “All these people and troops and pomp and circumstance. But, I mean, you know, it all comes down to Luke and Vader in the end.”
Link likens Sinatra to Darth Vader because they’re both “evil.” However, there’s more to Luke and Vader’s relationship than the fight between good and evil. They’re also possibly the most iconic parent-child duo in film history. Paradise wouldn’t make that connection lightly, suggesting that it might have an “I am your mother” reveal up its sleeve.
Link’s real name is Dylan, just like Sinatra’s son.
Sinatra and Link reach an impasse over the survivors’ desire to take control of Alex, Sinatra’s top secret project. As she and Link share one last tense exchange at the exit to the bunker, his companion Geiger (Michael McGrady) calls out to him that they need to leave. Only he doesn’t call him by his code name, Link. He calls him by his real name, Dylan.
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The name immediately sets off alarm bells in Sinatra’s head. That’s the same name as her young son who passed away in a Season 1 flashback, and whose death motivated her entire quest to save her family from any potential apocalypse. Knowing Paradise, nothing is coincidence, not even the extremely common name “Dylan.” Plus, Link/Dylan appears to have the same birthday as Sinatra’s son, and he seems to be as old as Dylan would be had he lived.
How is Dylan alive in Paradise?
All these clues suggest that Link is, in fact, Sinatra’s son Dylan. But how in the world is that possible?
It all comes back to Alex, Sinatra’s mysterious side quest that still hasn’t been fully revealed. Based on flashbacks in the third episode, we know that Sinatra’s project involves the use of technology developed by late quantum mechanics professor Henry Miller (Patrick Fischler) and his protégé, Link. We also know that the project has to do with buying more time for Earth, as it’s the one resource Sinatra doesn’t have enough of.
Because of this need for more time, it’s possible that Henry’s technology — likely nicknamed Alex after Henry’s late wife (Gwen Holloway) — could have ties to time travel, the multiverse, or some combination of the two. Perhaps while testing Alex out, Sinatra tried to see if she could save Dylan in the past. Or maybe Link is another universe’s version of Dylan. Whatever the truth, Sinatra and Link’s final interaction cues nosebleeds for both of them, this season’s portent of strange, Alex-related activity.
Sinatra is also incredibly happy after crossing paths with Link/Dylan, cryptically telling her husband Tim (Tuc Watkins) upon returning from negotiations that “it worked.” “It” likely being Alex, right? Because those negotiations certainly did not work.
Tim goes on to ask Sinatra if she’s okay, and she says yes. She also says, “I can’t explain it, but I think Dylan is too.”
That’s yet another confirmation that Link is Sinatra’s son, and that his presence is tied to Sinatra’s secret project. But to both Paradise and Sinatra, I’m going to need a concrete explanation of this whole thing by the end of next week’s finale!
Paradise is now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes every Monday.
