It’s the flashback everyone has been waiting for ever since Paradise revealed that Xavier’s (Sterling K. Brown) wife was still alive. When Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) played Teri’s (Enuka Okuma) voicemail for him in season one, in which the latter talked about her exact coordinates in Atlanta and that she’d been trying to get in touch with her husband, it was obvious the show would delve into her backstory. How did Teri survive after The Day and could she still be out there somewhere, waiting to reunite with Xavier? “The Mailman” answers these questions in what is shaping up to be Paradise‘s distinctly saccharine style. A sentimental episode focuses yet again on the value of human connections in impossible, catastrophic times. It’s still a lovely tale, but is anyone else starting to miss the thrills of Paradise season one a little bit?
I’ve waxed in the recaps so far about how Dan Fogelman is charting an exciting path for post-apocalyptic dramas, focusing on how unexpected relationships are forged in a brand-new world. But in the process, Paradise feels less and less like the gripping thriller it was introduced as, one with themes of hierarchical anarchy and how power can corrupt. Plus, I miss that ridiculous underground city. Five episodes in, the bunker has barely been part of the narrative, which is a wild switch-up even though the show’s scope is naturally expanding. It’s been fun to have new faces and places, but it’s taking away from the time already spent on making us care about characters played by Julianne Nicholson, Krys Marshall, Nicole Brydon Bloom, and Sarah Shahi. So while “The Mailman” feels essential and sets the stage for Xavier and Teri’s inevitable reunion, it also tests the audience’s patience.
At least the episode, written by Station Eleven‘s Katie French, fills in more blanks about what happened after President Cal (James Marsden) activated the EMPs in “The Day” to fry the electronic grid. Teri, who was stranded on a road in Atlanta at the time, was rescued by Gary (Cameron Britton), whom Xavier met at the end of last week’s heartbreaking hour. He now gives Xavier the rundown of what they’ve been up to since then and brings him to where Teri was allegedly taken. But if one thing is clear by the end of “The Mailman,” it’s that Gary isn’t to be trusted because he’s a liar and a killer, even if his actions are borne out of impulse and not calculated strategy. Gary wasn’t always like this.
The episode reveals how he was a meek mailman with no real family. (At first, he reminded me of Shailene Woodley’s Annie.) His only friend was Ennis, whom he met virtually while playing video games. Together, Gary and Ennis plotted what they would do if the world ended, inspired by a conspiracy-theory manifesto posted online by the man who shot Cal pre-apocalypse in season one. Their plan was to hunker down in the post office where Gary worked because it was a designated fallout shelter in the ’60s. Gary even used his pension to order supplies so they’d be fully stocked. Ennis rounded up a crew with essential skills (an engineer, a healthcare worker, someone with an arsenal, etc.) who could help them survive. The other criteria for selecting who would stay with them? “They need to be lonely motherfuckers like us,” which means no one with kids, a spouse, or pets. When shit hit the fan, the two ran to their own bunker of sorts with their chosen group of five others. Except, they now had two more mouths to feed.
Gary first rescued an abandoned young boy named Bean. Immediately after, despite Ennis’ objections, Teri joined in after meeting them in the middle of the road. “The Mailman” then poignantly explores how all of them spent the past three years in a small space together, going from arguments and a fixed routine to—on Teri’s insistence—actually living instead of just surviving. So they had makeshift Christmas celebrations (exchanging packages as gifts) and started marking Bean’s height on the wall. Two of the survivors, a mechanic named Jackie and a home-health aide, Crystal, began a romance and got engaged. Crucially, Gary built Teri a radio to start reaching out to Xavier. He didn’t do it just out of the goodness of his heart, though. The man fell in love with Teri and tried to kiss her before she immediately and politely turned him down.
This marked a turning point for Gary. His behavior toward Teri wasn’t different, but it’s clear he began to feel possessive and to dread the day she’d eventually leave for Colorado to try and find the bunker. He’d be all alone again, with only Ennis by his side. And, merely two weeks before Xavier showed up with the baby, Teri was preparing to head there with Bean in tow. That’s also when Bean spotted a train full of people (as in, the same one heading to meet Link!), so Gary and Ennis went to check them out. After they talked to the new folks, sipped on coffee made using okra seeds, and discovered their final destination, Ennis kept blabbing to Gary about preparing to say goodbye to Teri. Just the thought of having to do that seemed to have hit him hard, and he shot his only true friend in frustration, unaware that Bean spotted them. Did he do it also so that Ennis wouldn’t tell Teri about the train’s final destination? Gary’s unclear motivations and hasty actions don’t land well. Paradise is usually great at pulling off twists, but this was random.
In the present day, Gary doesn’t tell Xavier the truth, instead claiming that Ennis betrayed him and gave up their post-office location to the train folks, who then kidnapped Teri. Why Xavier doesn’t ask more questions about this is unfathomable to me. But he makes a plan to attack them and save her all by himself. Before he can do that, he hands the newborn, whom he hasn’t named yet, off to Jackie and Crystal so they can take care of her till he’s back with Teri. As far as season two goes, “The Mailman” is perhaps the most subpar outing yet. Its most impressive feat, though, is finally building Teri up as a protagonist and allowing Okuma to shine. I’m excited about the energy she’ll bring to the show, and, based on episode two alone, I just know her chemistry with Brown is going to be a real treat whenever Teri and Xavier find each other.
Stray observations
- • If Teri is on the train, is Bean with her? He’d better be with her.
- • Gary and Ennis bonding over a video game is a nice tie-in to the fact that Link has named himself after a Zelda character. Dan Fogelman loves this type of stuff, huh? I’m talking about how Teri’s a huge Elvis Presley fan and named her daughter after him, unaware that in a few years, Xavier would end up in actual freaking Graceland.
- • So it was foreshadowing when Gary asked Ennis, “What if our guy with the guns turns on us?”
- • In a set that looks straight out of Fallout, we learn that all the survivors in the nearby area have started a swap meet, where people can go to barter goods like in the good old days. They host shows and everything! Crystal and Jackie live there now, and the former has started a clinic to help those in need.
- • Teri’s intense education is coming in handy, considering she made penicillin and biodiesel all by herself during these past three years.
- • “How are you going to take out 10 armed men with one gun and a baby?”
- • This line from Gary to Teri feels critical: “My instinct is that you’re going to be a big part of this; you’re going to help people.”
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
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