This article contains major spoilers for Paradise season 1 episode 8.In Hulus eight-episode post-apocalyptic murder mystery Paradise, Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) is a secret service agent tasked with protecting President Cal Bradford (James Marsden) in a society created under a sealed dome after a series of natural disasters led to the end of the world. The slow-burn series kicks off with President Bradford (whose code name is Wildcat) being murdered, then reveals more details behind what happened to the world outside the dome, who killed the president, and how each character ended up in this simulated new environment with each episode.Along the way, Paradise viewers are treated to literary and musical references that help provide clues, including a heavy lean into Roald Dahls James and the Giant Peach in Episode 1 and a musical soundtrack filled with classic tunes and haunting covers that allow parts of the story to unfold in a new way as the series goes on. Its a show where viewers can never be sure who has pure motives and whos up to something, and it keeps everyone guessing all the way up to the season finale.Heres how things shake out in Hulus post-apocalyptic whodunnit.Who Killed Wildcat?The first episode of Paradise sets the tone of the series: a murder mystery with an end-of-the-world twist. President Bradford is found murdered in his bedroom by his number one secret service agent, Xavier Collins, who breaks protocol to investigate the crime scene on his own before making an official report. The premiere episode carries on, leaving viewers with the impression that were experiencing the United States as we know it, but the final minutes offer a major shake-up. This society exists after an apocalyptic event and the people who live in this idyllic town are actually beneath a protective dome, surviving after the end of the world.Not only is the town a glorified fallout shelter, but the people within it are not always what they seem. Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), the worlds richest self-made woman who helped build the dome, becomes a prime suspect, as her cutthroat motives for maintaining order become apparent. Theres also the presidents mistress Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall), a high-ranking secret service official who often seems suspicious, and Agent Billy Pace (Jon Beavers), who has his own share of secrets and a shady past to contend with. In fact, Xavier struggles to trust everyone through the course of the series, and viewers are given a glimpse into the suspicious behaviors of Xaviers own daughter, Presley Collins (Aliyah Mastin), leaving even the kids under the dome looking like murder suspects at times.But the twists and turns of the murder of the president come to an end in episode 8, when it becomes clear who killed Wildcat. Turns out, the president was murdered by the librarian beneath the dome, Trent (Ian Merrigan), who isnt actually supposed to be in the society at all. In the final Paradise season 1 episode, we learn Trent was among a set of construction workers who helped build the structure, but was dismissed from his position once he found out the construction area was toxic and making workers sick. This led Trent down a path of conspiracy theories and attempts to alert others of the presence of the dome, which would eventually house just 25,000 people at the end of the world. Also of note? Theres a flashback to the assassination attempt on Wildcats life where Xavier took a bullet for the president in episode 1, and its revealed in the season finale that the shooter was Trent, who at the time was trying to stop the construction.When the predicted events of world devastation began, Trent murdered a couple whod been chosen to enter the dome, stole their paperwork, and assumed the mans identity a librarian chosen to maintain the books and other media resources after the end of the world. Trent murdered Wildcat after realizing hed become complacent and happy beneath the dome, wanting to exact revenge against the person he blamed for picking and choosing whod get to survive the end of the world at the expense of everyone else.Did the Worlds All-Time Greatest Cheese Fries Help Identify the Murderer?Among the most intriguing characters in Paradise is Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi), a therapist we learn was Sinatras grief counselor before the worlds end, who was recruited to help design the happiest, most liveable post-apocalyptic society possible. Gabriela also helped choose the 25,000 people whod be allowed to enter the dome, and she becomes a love interest for Xavier, whose wife did not make it to safety due to planes being grounded when the devastation began, early on in the series. In episode 3, we learn all about Gabrielas involvement, and how she created everything from thriving marketplaces for shopping to outdoor spaces with simulated cricket chirping to keep everyone happy.As it turns out, one of Gabrielas seemingly silliest creations helped identify Cals murderer. In episode 3, she tells Xavier she designed the diner beneath the dome, right down to its worlds all-time greatest cheese fries, which she later takes him to try. Since foods beneath the dome needed to be shelf-stable, eliminating fresh items like dairy or meat, these cheese fries are smothered in cashew-nut cheese. Early on, we learn that Gabriela has bonded with a waitress at the diner, Maggie Davis (Michelle Meredith), and the pair often shares a plate of cheese fries when she stops in.Its when Robinson visites Gabriela at home (after learning the presidents murderers DNA didnt match anyone approved to be under the dome) to inquire about whether or not anyone she interviewed as people checked in for the dome on the day the world ended seemed suspicious, that Gabriela pulls up her computer and begins going through people her team spoke with that day. When she sees a flag under Maggie-the-waitress profile that says she has a tree nut allergy, has visited the emergency room multiple times for anaphylaxis, and uses an epi-pen, she realizes her waitress friend cannot be who she claims to be, since they are both big fans of cashew cheese.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!This leads to Maggies confession that she met Trent on the day of the apocalyptic event, and that he offered her the chance to enter the dome as his wife, since hed just murdered a couple and stolen their dome-admittance paperwork and wristbands. Maggie may not be the murderer, but she knows who is, and the cheese fries helped Gabriella and Robinson figure it out, too, just in time to save Xavier, who was tied up by Trent in the library when he went to look for a clue left there by Wildcat. After Xavier is freed, Robinson and Xavier follow Trent to a break in the dome, where he ends his life trying to escape capture.A truly gutting final episode, in the finale of season 1 of Paradise we learn that while experts had predicted thered be plenty of notice and time to prepare once the world-ending disasters began, the world fell apart in a matter of hours. Tsunamis, widespread panic, and the firing of nuclear weapons led to a chaotic evacuation of the White House, but not before Wildcat addressed the nation, suggesting the threat of extermination was very real and they should surround themselves with loved ones as they await the end. His admission caused a flurry of panic, with many realizing there was a bunker where some were headed to safety, but they were not.During this time, we see the heartbreaking background of Xaviers wifes not being under the protection of the dome: Teri Rogers-Collins (Enuka Okuma) was on business travel to Atlanta at the time of the disaster and, since planes were grounded due to the unfolding tragedy, she was not able to make it in time for the flight to Colorado where the dome is located. Xavier blames Wildcat for Teris death because he knew the end was near and did not share this information with Xavier or tell him not to allow his wife to travel, but learns in the final episodes that all may not be lost where Teri is concerned.Throughout Paradise Season 1, there are hints that the world may not be completely destroyed, from learning that Billy accompanied researchers outside of the dome on a mission and was ordered by Sinatra to shoot and kill them once it was discovered that life existed outside the dome to Sinatras admission to Xavier that Teri and others are alive and communicating from survivors settlements around the country via radio waves. In the season finale, we learn that at the last minute while flying to Colorado to enter the dome, the president made the decision not to fire nuclear weapons at other countries to protect the dome, but instead to shut down all electricity and power throughout the world to stop everyone from firing weapons and give humanity a fighting chance to survive. The most important thing we learn about the apocalypse in the Paradise finale is that some people did survive and theres a world outside the dome, although we dont know the state of it.Whats Next for Agent Collins and Sinatra?Season 1 comes to a close with Xavier using instructions left behind by Wildcat (hidden before his death inside a book in the library) to open the dome and fly a helicopter into whats left of the world outside. Sinatra has been shot by Agent Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom), who tells Sinatra her wounds will lead to a long recovery, but that shes of no use to Jane dead, only alive, so shes been spared, for now.As Xaviers children, Gabriela, Robinson, and the others beneath the dome await news of what kind of world lies outside of the dome, the population living beneath it have been alerted that Wildcats death was, indeed, a murder, and that theres more to the world than theyve been led to believe for the last three years.Will There Be a Paradise Season 2?Ahead of the season 1 finale, it was announced that Paradise has been renewed for a second season. The shows creator, Dan Fogelman, who created This Is Us, has revealed he has a three-season plan for the series. Production on Paradise season 2 is expected to begin in spring 2025, with a season premiere some time in early 2026.All eight episodes of Paradise Season 1 are available to stream now on Hulu.