Paradise episode 4 recap: a surprising murder takes place

In Paradise episode 4, “Agent Billy Pace,” Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding his best friend Billy (Jon Beavers). Given Dr. Gabriela Tarabi (Sarah Shahi) shared President Bradford’s (James Marsden) concerns, Xavier attempts to learn if the friend he’s come to know is capable of murder.

Elsewhere, Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) flexes her power, while doubt emerges about the actual impact of the apocalypse. Plus, the episode concludes with a shocking murder and perhaps an even more shocking assailant.

Here’s our complete breakdown of Paradise episode 4.

The early years of Billy Pace

A teenage Billy (Beau McConnell) is hunting with his uncle and dog. When Billy fails to shoot an unsuspecting deer and the dog barks, scaring the deer off, his uncle slaps him across the face and calls him “worthless.” His uncle tells him to “never hesitate.”

When the trio arrives back at their cabin, Billy prepares to feed the dog when his uncle forbids it. Instead, he hands Billy a gun to kill the pet for scaring the deer away. Billy hesitates, but his angry uncle approaches until Billy shoots and kills him. Convicted of murder, Billy heads to a juvenile detention center where he violently defends himself against a bully.

When Billy is released, someone he doesn’t know takes him to a camp with other “violent” people to be trained to become a mercenary. At the camp, they're introduced to a big man named Bull, who completed the program. The director asks who thinks they can take Bull. Billy is the only one to volunteer, beating Bull to a pulp.

In the present day, Billy wakes up in his bed next to Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), after having a nightmare about shooting a deer. The duo talks about her excitement about the town carnival, which is oddly taking place even though it’s a day before the president’s funeral.

How did Xavier and Billy become friends?

Xavier wakes up in Gabriela’s bed and rushes to get ready to go. He tells her their time together was nice, but she disregards the topic of conversation, wanting to know his thoughts about what she shared about the president’s opinion of Billy. Xavier doesn’t have much to say yet and leaves. On his way home, Xavier texts Billy that they need to talk.

When Xavier hears a truck backing up, he freezes, as the noise reminds him of the day of the apocalypse and trying to get his children to safety. The three of them reach the checkpoint, and a security officer checks them in. When Xavier says his wife didn’t make the plane, the security officer extends his apologies and deletes her name from the system. Billy approaches Xavier and introduces himself, saying the powers that be want Xavier to help secure the area and get people inside the residences.

In the present, Xavier arrives back home to see Presley (Aliyah Mastin) in the kitchen cooking breakfast for her brother. She chastises her dad for not calling, under the impression he was working the night shift and didn’t tell them. He apologizes and she heads out to help Jeremy (Charlie Evans) and his band set up for their carnival performance. Xavier is confused, thinking his daughter wasn’t Jeremy’s friend. But Presley emphasizes that Jeremy’s dad just died.

As Xavier goes to see Billy, he thinks back to a week after the apocalypse when Xavier and Billy are securing the bar in case the president stops by after his speech. The bartender admits he got his job because his wife is one of the preeminent atmospheric scientists in the world who helped develop Paradise.

Backstage before the president’s speech, President Bradford asks Xavier and Billy for their opinion on it. Billy bluntly says the situation they find themselves in is messed up and the people would probably like to hear their president say so. The president appreciates the advice.

Back in the present day, Xavier is still waiting for Billy to reply to his initial text. When Billy does, he says he already left for work. However, Xavier is watching him walking around in his house.

Xavier’s next stop is a records room, where he pulls Billy’s personnel file. It contains a lot of redacted information. Suddenly, Jane appears and asks why Xavier is there. He replies he’s handling some things before the carnival. The two pivot the conversation about Billy, and Jane notes he doesn’t seem as excited about the carnival, which is odd for him.

There’s another flashback to Xavier and Billy meeting at the bar two months after being underground. They’ve become fast friends, and Billy opens up about how tough it was for him in the old world, admitting to seeing and doing things that would probably make Xaiver skeptical if he knew of them. Xavier invites Billy over to meet the kids. When Billy does, they like him right away.

In the current timeline, Agent Robinson (Krys Marshall) catches Xavier in the records room as he’s putting the documents back and leaving. Xavier fails to notice her.

Xavier and Billy’s showdown

Billy and Jane are walking around the carnival when Robinson rudely interrupts them. She tells Billy Xavier is on Sinatra’s radar, which is not something he wants. She pulls Billy away from Jane to talk further.

Xavier is with James (Percy Daggs IV) at the carnival, trying to find Billy. He eventually spots his friend huddled with Robinson and Sinatra. The latter two see Xavier looking at them, and James interrupts the gaze by pulling his dad to the bathroom.

Moments later, James and Xavier stand in line to get on a ride when Gabriela approaches. Xavier believes she wants to talk about them and gets awkward, but she just wants to know if he talked to Billy. He hasn’t so she tells him Billy is in the line for funnel cakes. He leaves James in her care so he can finally talk to his friend.

Xavier flashes back to him, Billy and Bradford at the bar. Billy says it’s not knowing what happened to the people above ground that has the community underground still so tense. Bradford claims there is no communication with anyone above and readings show limited signs of life at best. The president later holds a press conference announcing that four people are going above ground to assess things (including the bartender’s wife).

Back in the present, Billy and Xavier finally catch up, and Billy warns him to stop what he’s been doing. Xavier plays dumb, but Billy calls him out for looking into his file. In response, Xavier questions why Billy told him he was at work earlier when he wasn't. Billy says it was because Jane was at his house, but Xavier already knows he and Jane are together.

The conversation gets more tense as Xavier wants to know if Billy killed the president. Billy is taken aback by the accusation and denies it before storming off.

Billy is murdered by…

Xavier assures Gabriela Billy didn’t kill the president. Billy, on the other hand, goes to the bar. The bartender goes into a story about how he begged his wife not to be one of the four explorers. The conversation triggers a flashback where Billy is in a mask above ground standing over the bodies of the explorers. The bartender’s wife begs for her life, saying people underground need to know the air is breathable above ground, but Billy shoots her.

In the present, Billy storms into Sinatra’s office and claims he’s done everything she ever asked of him, including murdering the explorers to keep everyone scared to think beyond the underground city. Sinatra admits that conditions above ground are liveable, but may not be hospitable. If people are alive up there, they are probably tearing each other apart for scarce resources. He’s still upset and calls her a monster.

Billy demands Sinatra leave Xavier and his children alone. Sinatra scoffs at him giving her orders. She says he was only spared for his murderous skills and threatens to take away Jane. He doubles down to leave Xavier and the kids alone as they are his family.

Back at the Carnival, Billy finds Xavier and Presley and gives them sparklers. As the kids walk off, Billy repeats to Xavier he didn’t kill the president, but thinks there are some things Xavier should know. Billy promises to share everything tomorrow.

When Billy arrives home, he apologizes to Jane since they didn’t get to do all the things she wanted to at the carnival. He kisses her and asks to finish off her beer. He drinks it but then begins having a hard time breathing. Jane callously watches as Billy dies. She takes a bottle of pills out and pours them on the table to make his death look like a suicide attempt. Jane confesses to Billy that Sinatra sent him.

Episodes of Paradise are available to stream on Hulu in the US and on Disney Plus in the UK.