The hunt is on! Billy Pace is prime suspect number one for the murder of Cal Bradford, and Xavier is hot on his heels, but is he hiding more sinister secrets than just Cal’s death?

Episode four of Paradise’s sci-fi extravaganza turns up the pace of the investigation. This time, the twists and turns surrounding Cal’s death place themselves directly at Agent Billy Pace’s (Jon Beavers) doorstep.

He’s a man of many secrets, and an episode focused on him is just what the series needed to kick it into overdrive. The episode begins with a series of intense flashbacks about Billy’s life before Paradise. From the outset, it is made crystal clear that he didn’t get the best start in life, as his childhood was characterised by violence and abuse. These events stained him, marking him as someone who would do anything if cornered.

“When something’s no good, it has to go”

Billy’s Uncle

All in all, before his life in Paradise, Billy was an unpredictable and dangerous individual with a propensity towards violence. This is why he was chosen to be one of the 25,000 given a chance at survival.

Behind the smiles and the fake Americana, Billy has become the equivalent of a hired gun in Paradise, helping Sinatra keep her grip on power and keep people from wondering about the outside world. Unlike when we see her in her official capacity, Sinatra’s interactions with Billy in these scenes show her true personality. She’s a narcissist with a God complex, a role Nicholson relishes whilst on screen.

In spite of Sinatra’s assessment of him, however, Billy has more layers than a mere killer for hire. As the story progresses, we get an insight into his relationship with Xavier, and it seems that his moral compass has influenced him in more ways than one.

Knowing next to nothing about him, Xavier still makes Billy a part of his family. It’s a defining moment for his character, as it gets him to question his actions and to consider whether his own slice of normality is worth the suffering of so many others. It’s this conflict that also caused Xavier to be so relaxed around him and why he’s shocked that his investigation turned him out to be a rotten apple.

Billy’s revelations aren’t the only twist this episode has to offer; in fact, its biggest comes about because of his perspective.

Like all good underground civilisation dystopias, there’s an inevitable reveal about the surface world. These come in all different shapes and sizes but ultimately tell of a surface world that’s become habitable or has always been habitable. Paradise falls into the former category, and while it isn’t the most novel of executions, Fogelman has plenty of scope to play around with numerous novel concepts as more of the surface world is revealed.

Reaching the halfway point, Paradise’s fourth episode kicks the series into high gear. With a tight focus on one of the prime suspects in the president’s murder, Billy Pace, the story puts the story’s mysteries front and centre. As a result, the viewer gets a clearer picture of the situation as well as discovering the obstacles facing Xavier on his way to the truth.

I Give Agent Billy Pace: 9/10