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Shailene Woodley‘s character on Paradise was shrouded in mystery — until the season 2 premiere revealed a pregnancy twist and a shocking death.
The Hulu show returned for its sophomore season on Monday, February 23, where Woodley’s Annie was the focus of the premiere episode. Before the doomsday event, Annie had a tough childhood looking after her sick mother. She became an orphan at a young age and ultimately went to medical school, but her anxiety caused Annie to drop out.
Annie then took a job as a tour guide at Graceland, which was cut short by what appeared to be the end of the world. She was able to survive in the basement of the historic home with a fellow coworker who ultimately died from injuries sustained in a fall.
A time jump showed Annie getting a visit from some strangers — including Thomas Doherty‘s Link. The newcomer and his friends were passing through on their way to track down a bunker in Colorado … which should sound familiar for most of Us who saw season 1.
Annie and Link formed a connection before he left — and she even considered going with him. Ultimately, Annie’s anxiety was too overwhelming and she remained in Graceland, but Link promised to come back for her. It was revealed that Annie and Link’s single sexual encounter led to a pregnancy and that led up to her shocking death in the third episode of the season.
“The first episode is so strong,” lead Sterling K. Brown exclusively told Us Weekly about investing time in Annie. “Shailene holds that s*** down so fiercely that I was like, ‘We are going to be all right.’”
Thomas Doherty, Shailene Woodley. Disney/Ser Baffo
Brown, 49, who plays Xavier, praised the show for going “bigger” in season 2, adding, “Because I feel like the show simultaneously gets bigger and more intimate at the same time. A lot of the things that happen in the outside world, we’re not showing as a Mad Max sort of situation. What we’re showing is the human dynamics that are created under this crucible. Because everybody is in their own little bubbles. They may not have all the resources that the bunker has.”
He continued: “Everybody is coming up with their own bubbles and figuring out how to make it. So I think it’s really interesting to compare and contrast. It doesn’t work if you don’t come out with that in episode 1.”
Star Julianne Nicholson also teased the new additions to the show.
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“The most exciting thing about Paradise is that it starts in the outside world,” she told Us in September 2025. “The first three episodes are about discovering a whole new world and a whole new cast of characters,” Nicholson, 54, who plays Sinatra, shared. “It’s pretty exciting where they find themselves.”
Nicholson was excited to expand the fictional world. “It’s been amazing to have some fresh blood [with Shailene and Thomas],” she added. “The biggest lengths [we had to go through to keep the twist secret] are happening now when we’re actually talking to people about it. When we were on set, everybody knows what’s up, so we don’t have to be that secretive.”
She concluded: “But now the trick is how do you grab people’s attention and assure them that this is something different without giving away any of the details? But we’re very excited for people to get on the ride with us.”
New episodes of Paradise air Mondays on Hulu.
