Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Paradise Season 2. Catch up on Hulu if you haven't seen!
The streaming wars are in full effect, and those with a Hulu subscription were recently treated to the start of Paradise Season 2. The apocalyptic drama is one of the best Hulu shows to watch, with its sophomore season greatly expanding its world and cast of characters. Actress Shailene Woodley has joined the ensemble as Annie Clay and gives what I think might be a career-best performance. And I'm going to need to see her get at least an Emmy nomination next Awards Season, if not a win.
Critical response to Paradise Season 2 has been positive, and I think Woodley's outstanding work is partly the reason for this. While she's offered a beautiful performance in film as well as TV in Big Little Lies (streaming with an HBO Max subscription). Still, I think that she's earned some award nominations based on her two episodes of Paradise.
Shailene Woodley Made Me Cry And Got Me More Invested In Paradise As A Result
Rather than jumping back into the action of the bunker, Paradise's Season 2 premiere put Woodley's Annie at the forefront. We got to see what the world-ending event looked like from outside the bunker, with Annie and her friend Gayle holding up in Elvis' old digs, Graceland. It was a meditation on survival and the strength of the human character, especially after Annie is left alone for 23 months. And despite her trauma and distrust of people, it was moving to see her eventually let her guard down and bond with Link and his group.
Shailene Woodley's performance is wildly captivating in this first episode, so much so that I forgot about the bunker entirely, as well as the lack of Sterling K. Brown's protagonist Collins for the majority of the episode. Although when she finds him in the final moments of the premiere, I was beyond ready to see these two characters interact.
Of course, Paradise kept us waiting, and we didn't catch up with this new character pairing until Episode 4, "A Holy Charge." And boy was the episode worth the wait. We watched as Collins and Annie formed an uneasy alliance before eventually becoming true friends. And when Woodley's character reveals she's been suffering from pre-eclampsia and eventually goes into labor, the drama and the stakes rise to a ten. Collins teaches her to trust people, and comes through with a group to help her through her labor.
After she gives birth, Annie realizes that the catastrophic postpartum bleeding, which she recognizes as a former nurse, will kill her. It's a truly heartbreaking scene, one that made me cry more than any TV episode in recent memory. Shailene Woodley was able to deliver an epic emotional arc in just two episodes, showing what a truly outstanding actress she is. And if she doesn't get an Emmy nomination, I am going to set fire to the rain.
Luckily, the first season of Paradise did get some nominations, namely Outstanding Drama, and acting nods for Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson, so there is some precedent for the Divergent actress to be recognized. If Emmy voters have any sense, they'll continue this trend and recognize Woodley for her incredible work.
Paradise airs new episodes on Mondays on Hulu as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to see if Shailene Woodley appears again; dead characters have a habit of coming back via flashbacks on the show.
