‘Paradise’ Star “Still [Has] a Lot of Questions” After Finally Digging Into Season 2’s Most Dangerous Character

Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Paradise Season 2 Episode 6.

As Hulu’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi series Paradise heads into its last few episodes, things have never been more intense for these characters. Not only has the Dan Fogelman-created series widened its scope beyond the Colorado bunker to reveal what life has been like for the people struggling to survive on the surface, but the situation inside Paradise has become even more intense, with Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) seizing her power back with the help of a truly unpredictable wildcard in Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom). Other characters have already become caught in the crossfire, including Nicole Robinson (Krys Marshall), who’s sent to Paradise’s underground prison after being framed for murder, and Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi), who’s beginning to seriously question Sinatra’s true intentions.

Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with several cast members, including Bloom, Marshall, and Shahi, about some of their characters’ most pivotal moments over the first six episodes. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, the women of Paradise discuss Robinson’s tougher side, Jane’s incredibly dark and complicated backstory, and Torabi’s increasing doubts about whether Sinatra’s goals are really the best thing for humanity in the long run.

COLLIDER: Krys, in Season 2, we see Robinson knocked down a little bit after her role in the resistance last season, but she’s too tough to be completely knocked out. What did you enjoy about getting to showcase more of that physical and mental toughness when the chips are down for her, especially once she’s framed for murder that season?

KRYS MARSHALL: Robinson is tough as nails, and it is so fun to get to be a woman playing a woman who is just so strong. I feel like her vulnerability, we got to see last season, we got to see a woman in love, in this sort of unrequited, complicated love relationship. So, I think to play her in Season 2 and know that the love story is set to the side, and now, she’s just this badass who is kicking butt and taking names, was just delicious to play.

Nicole, Jane has been such a big question mark in this show, but in Season 2, we finally get a glimpse of who she is at her core. What was most appealing to you about getting to delve into her backstory? Because we see some really defining events that seem to shape her into who she is in the present.

NICOLE BRYDON BLOOM: It’s always useful to get to explore that side of a character, go back in time. The young actress who played little Jane was just so beautiful and sweet, but her intensity that she brought to it helped me place where Jane has grown from there. I still have a lot of questions, but it definitely helps to have some clarity. It was really fun to explore that side of her.

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‘Paradise’s Sarah Shahi Explains Why Gabriela Is More Motivated To Take Down Sinatra Than Ever

“I think she was able to see the humanity in the monster because she understood her from such a different place…”

Image via Hulu

Sarah, Torabi’s always had these little misgivings about Sinatra, despite their long friendship and the history there, but Season 2 really seems to mark a shift in their dynamic that can’t really be walked back from. We see Torabi doing a little bit of self-surveillance with bugging the office and whatnot, and now, heading into the back half of the season, Jane catches on to what’s going on there. When you’re approaching her mindset this season, what do you think is driving Torabi most in this mission to unearth the truth about what’s really going on in the bunker?

SARAH SHAHI: I feel like, from day one, I felt that she was different, and initially, it was not a difference that I liked. I feel like everyone straddles a line of morality in some way or another, but Gabriela did not as much. She felt very earnest. I think the thing that I always go back to with her is, in this world where morality does get crossed, and good versus bad, people at the top, the people at the bottom, and those lines are very distinguished, she just wants what’s for the highest good of everybody. She really does have an altruistic sense about her.

So, to be able to look at it from that angle and to also see that, as a therapist, she sees many red flags, and Sinatra is like, “Let me walk towards that.” It’s like, “No, you should walk away from that,” you know? I think she was able to see the humanity in the monster because she understood her from such a different place than everybody else did. But, as you said, the writing on the wall just becomes all too clear, and it’s for the good of humanity that she needs to do what she does.

The Women of ‘Paradise’ Reveal What They Loved About Getting to Share More Scenes in Season 2

“We got to do some fun fight training.”

Image via Hulu

It’s nice to get to see more scenes between the three of you this season — not a group scene, necessarily. Your characters do get more of a chance to face off in a way that is clearly adversarial, but also just so fun to watch. What did the three of you enjoy about getting to share more scenes together this season?

BLOOM: We got to do some fun fight training.

MARSHALL: Some really fun stuff. Nicole is such a little sweetheart in real life that to get to kick her ass is kind of tough because she’s just such a little cuddlebug. But I really enjoyed the fight training that we did. Nicole and I spent weeks in MMA fight training to get into our bodies what it’s like to choke a person out, to slit a person’s throat. So, that was really fun.

I also love that throughout our story, we see Agent Robinson has always got a beat. She’s always watching and seeing what’s going on. So, while everyone else has the wool pulled over their eyes about who Jane actually is, Robinson sees something early on and is like, “Wait a minute, I’m not buying this.” So, it felt very delicious to watch that come to the head.

BLOOM: Yeah, it was really fun getting to have that moment with you. And then we get to come a little toe-to-toe.

SHAHI: Ours was more of a cat-and-mouse type of situation. We didn’t have anything physical. I was mostly with Julianne [Nicholson] last season and didn’t really get to experience these other brilliant actresses in the way that I was able to more so this year. So, it’s good to be able to have scenes with Nicole.

And I only had one with you, [Krys]. That’s the thing about the show, too, is there’s such a large cast and large casts can go so many different places. I spent the entire season barely even seeing Julianne or Sterling [K. Brown]. But yeah, we had some fun cat-and-mouse stuff to do. The paranoia was fun.

New episodes of Paradise Season 2 premiere Mondays on Hulu.