'Paradise' Season 2 Episode 5 Recap & Breakdown: Did Gary Kill Ennis?

During the flashback sequence of Paradise Season 2, Episode 4, Luisa gave birth to the first bunker baby. Cal was of the opinion that it was a momentous occasion, because it meant that the bunker was capable of sustaining life, and he wanted Sinatra to share some of his enthusiasm. But since Sinatra was a little preoccupied with ensuring that humanity survived the real apocalypse, which was about to happen once the atmosphere of the planet started to stabilize, she wasn’t all that hyped about a baby being born. That said, when she actually laid eyes on the little kid, her zeal to fight for the survival of humanity was only amplified. In the present day, Xavier and a pregnant Annie embarked on a journey to find Teri in Atlanta. However, Annie went into labor, and Xavier had to improvise with the help of a family they came across on the road in order to deliver the baby. While the baby survived the ordeal, Annie unfortunately didn’t. After taking a pause, Xavier reached Atlanta with Annie’s baby (because he had promised Annie that he’d reunite her with Link, her father), only to learn from a guy that Teri had been “taken” by some unknown people. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

We are taken to a time 5 years prior to Xavier’s meeting with Gary, the guy who claims that Teri was his best friend. He used to work at the US Postal Service. He didn’t have any companions or colleagues. He just made guest appearances in the lives of the people who needed mail. He empathized with them, even though he was invisible to them, and he never tried to intervene, even if he wanted to. He simply did his job, went home, and played online FPS games. That’s how he came across Ennis, who began talking about the impending apocalypse, the bunker in Colorado, and what they should do to survive the end of the world. That’s how Gary started listening to Louge, and what initially seemed like a fantasy began looking like humanity’s future. This led Gary to the discovery that certain USPS offices could double as fallout shelters (which is true, and they were built during the Cold War), and the one that he worked out of was one of them. So, while Ennis focused on recruiting people to assist them in their survival plan, Gary worked on making that fallout shelter livable. 

When D-Day arrived, Gary and Ennis finally met in person and proceeded towards the USPS shelter. Everything was going according to plan, but then Gary started taking some detours. Firstly, he picked up a kid called Bean. He used to deliver mail to his house, and since he knew that Bean’s parents were abusive, he always tried to see if he was doing fine. Now that the world was ending, he was sure Bean’s parents wouldn’t keep him safe; hence, he requested that Bean tag along with him. Bean accepted the offer, and he joined Gary and Ennis in the USPS van bound for the fallout shelter. They made a pit stop at a poultry farm to pick up some eggs (so that they could hatch chickens and create an endless supply of chickens and eggs), and that’s where they found Teri. Something about the way Teri protected Bean when she saw two grown men trying to drag a kid to a fallout shelter convinced Gary that she should join the survivors. Teri didn’t have much of a choice, which was why she chose to go to the shelter with Gary and Ennis, because that’d at least mean she’d be able to keep an eye on the kid. 

After reaching the shelter, the identities of the rest of the survivors were revealed: Roberto (carpenter), Jackie (mechanic), Ruth (gardener), Bob (survivalist), and Crystal (nurse). Once the introductions were done, Gary gave everyone the lowdown on how long they’d need to stay in there and what was required of each of the members to help one another survive. While everyone accepted the cards they had been dealt, Teri began panicking because she was too desperate to get to Colorado to be with her family. Again, she wasn’t left with much of a choice, which was why she had to live in that shelter with that band of misfits. Gary noticed that Teri wasn’t exactly contributing in any significant way, and he knew that Ennis was very particular about who he wanted in that shelter and who he didn’t. That’s why, to avert the scenario where Ennis would force Teri and Bean to leave so that they ration their resources better, Gary advised Teri to chip in as best she could. If she did, Gary would ensure that she’s reunited with her family when it’s relatively safe outside. So, for the next few years, Teri played an integral role in aiding their community to make it through some tough times. As promised, Gary built a radio for Teri so that she could reach out to her family if they were out there. For some reason, Gary misinterpreted Teri’s gratitude as an invitation for something romantic. However, Teri swiftly shut down any lovey-dovey advances and restricted their dynamic to that of friendship. Gary instantly accepted his mistake and assured Teri that they’d always be friends. 

Things were going fine until Ennis, evidently angered by the fact that he couldn’t get romantically involved with Crystal because she fell in love with Jackie, destroyed the radio because, in his opinion, it could attract unwanted attention. Ennis feigned ignorance and didn’t claim responsibility for that incident. So, when it seemed feasible, Teri decided to use biodiesel (that she had supposedly distilled from mushrooms) and travel all the way to Colorado. Jackie and Crystal chose to leave too, because the latter wanted to open up her own medical clinic. Right when Teri was about to leave, Ennis confessed that he was the one who had destroyed the radio. He stated that he wasn’t an engineer as he claimed; he just said that to seem like an important member of the community. And he subtly asked Teri not to leave, because it’d break Gary’s heart. Now, before they could have a proper discussion about this, a train arrived (which was the same train that Link and his group were talking about), filled with armed people. Gary and Ennis went to check and were immediately captured and taken to the convoy’s leader. There, they learned that they were on their way to Colorado to raid the bunker there with Link and his group and restart the world. The convoy’s leader said that they’d leave in the next 2 weeks, and if Gary and Ennis knew someone who would be beneficial to their cause, they should let her know. On their way back to the shelter, Ennis said that Teri didn’t need to drive all the way to Colorado; she could just hop on that train and reunite with her family. That caused Gary to panic, and he killed Ennis there and then.

In the present day, Gary begins filling in Xavier about almost everything that has unfolded since D-Day while giving him a tour of what was Teri’s home for the past few years. When Gary notices that Xavier has calmed down enough (Xavier’s initial agitation was understandable, because he had just learned that his wife had been taken), he talks about the people who had “taken” Teri, how he had tried to rescue her, and the fact that he had failed because he’s just a mailman. Well, Xavier is no mailman; he’s a former member of the Secret Service, and he tells Gary to take him to the group that supposedly “took” away his wife. Gary leads Xavier to a rail yard, which is filled with 16 armed guards and several other unarmed people. Xavier states that they are clearly guarding something, but he’s still confused as to why they’d need Teri for whatever they are gearing up for. Given how Gary can’t provide any info regarding this convoy, Xavier decides to infiltrate their space and extract any vital intel. 

Now, before venturing out, Xavier has to do two things: make sure that Annie’s baby is in safe hands and get his hands on some stuff that can take down the 16 armed guards in one fell swoop. Xavier doesn’t exactly trust Gary, but he knows that he is familiar with the locality and the new customs that humanity is following. Hence, he asks Gary to at least help him with his second requirement, and Gary obliges Xavier’s request. Xavier and Gary go to the Funderdome (which is obviously an homage to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, a franchise where gasoline and then water were treated like gold) to get some batteries for the bomb that Xavier is building, but he doesn’t feel very welcome there because everyone in that place is a peace-lover and Xavier seems like a troublemaker. Just when they are about to give up on this endeavor, Crystal and Jackie show up. They are shocked to learn about what has happened to that community they had built in the USPS shelter and the fact that Teri is gone. They even believe the claim that Ennis is the one who betrayed all of them by working with that armed convoy because that’s how vindictive he was. But they are sure as hell glad to see that the man that Teri was fighting so hard to reach is equally passionate about reuniting with Teri.

Jack uses the influence she has garnered over the years to get the supplies that Xavier needs, and she and her wife, Crystal, even accept the honor of looking after Annie’s baby while Xavier goes on his mission. All of this leaves Gary a little confused as to why Xavier doesn’t trust him as much as he trusts Crystal and Jackie; Xavier essentially states that he knows Gary is lying to him about something. As soon as Gary becomes completely transparent with him, he’ll believe everything that he says. 

In episode 5’s ending, as Xavier is making his way to the convoy, it seems like Gary is about to open up and tell Xavier that he’s the one who killed Ennis because he was about to tell Teri that he can board that train to Colorado. Instead, Gary confesses that he was in love with Teri, and even though she never reciprocated his feelings, he is willing to go to any length to save her. Xavier shakes Gary’s hand, as if he were thankful that Gary has chosen to be honest with him. However, it’s possible that he knows that Gary is still lying. Yeah, I don’t think Teri has been “taken” by that convoy; Teri has chosen to go away with them, because they share the same destination. Gary thought that killing Ennis and withholding that info about the convoy’s true purpose would keep Teri from leaving him. That said, once she found out, she left with Bean. 

Gary knows that he won’t be able to take on all those armed guards by himself. Hence, he’s using Xavier to plow through them. Maybe Gary is planning to kill Xavier after he’s done all the heavy lifting so that he can be with Teri for the rest of his life. Therefore, it remains to be seen if Xavier will see through Gary’s ruse or if he’s going to realize that he has been played by an innocent-looking mailman who is in love with Teri. I, for one, am excited to see how this plot plays out. I know that many people watching this will claim that Gary and Ennis are anti-nerd propaganda and have been written like that to paint nerds in a negative light. I can say, with good authority, that all male nerds are exactly like Gary and Ennis. They are obnoxious in multiplayer gaming platforms, and they are even more awful in real life. They claim to be victims of an unequal society and that they are capable of passionate romance if given the chance. Well, I don’t think they are, and I hope that Xavier comes to the same realization that I have. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on this episode. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.