Sterling K. Brown is opening up about the dynamic between his character Xavier Collins and the new survivor Annie, played by Shailene Woodley, in the highly awaited second season of the Hulu thriller Paradise. As the show expands its world beyond the Colorado bunker, fans are finally seeing how these two characters from completely different backgrounds collide. But for those wondering if romance is on the horizon, Brown has a clear answer: their bond is strictly business.
The second season of Paradise premiered on February 23, 2026, and it took a bold storytelling risk by dedicating the entire first episode to introducing Woodley’s character, Annie, before circling back to Brown’s Xavier. The shift in focus paid off, but it also set the stage for a new kind of partnership when Xavier and Annie’s paths finally cross on the dangerous surface world.
The Survivor and the Agent: How Annie and Xavier Meet
The first episode of Season 2, titled “Graceland,” follows Annie’s journey from the very beginning of the doomsday event. Viewers learn that Annie was a tour guide at Elvis Presley’s famous Graceland mansion in Memphis when the world ended. She survived by hiding in the basement, and after a time jump, she meets Link (Thomas Doherty), a traveler who becomes her brief love interest. Their encounter results in a pregnancy, but Link leaves to find a bunker in Colorado, promising to return .
Annie, now visibly pregnant, eventually decides to leave Graceland to find Link. It is during this journey that she stumbles upon Xavier, who has left the relative safety of the bunker on a mission of his own: to find his wife, Teri (Enuka Okuma), whom he recently learned might still be alive .
According to reports, when Xavier and Annie meet in Episode 2, their immediate goals clash. Annie wants passage to Denver to reunite with Link, while Xavier remains completely focused on locating Teri . This difference in priorities creates a natural tension between the two, but it also lays the groundwork for a partnership built on survival rather than sentiment.
Sterling K. Brown: ‘It’s a Purely Platonic Relationship’
With two strong characters thrown together in a post-apocalyptic landscape, some viewers might expect a romantic spark to develop. However, Sterling K. Brown has confirmed that is not the case. In interviews promoting the new season, the Emmy-winning actor made it clear that the connection between Xavier and Annie is based on mutual respect and a shared need to survive, nothing more.
“It’s a purely platonic relationship,” Brown told Deadline regarding the bond between the two characters .
Brown explained that both characters are dealing with heavy emotional baggage. Xavier is a husband and father who has left his children behind in the bunker—placing them in the care of Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), an agent the audience knows is dangerous, even if Xavier does not . Annie is a pregnant woman who has been alone since the world collapsed and is desperately trying to find the father of her child.
Given these circumstances, a romantic subplot would feel out of place. Instead, the show focuses on how two very different people can come together to help each other achieve their separate goals. The relationship is rooted in practicality. Xavier needs information and possibly an ally on the road; Annie needs protection and a way to get to Denver. Their partnership is a classic example of survival bringing unlikely people together without the need for romantic involvement.
Xavier’s Main Mission: Finding Teri
For Xavier, there is no room for romance because his heart is set on one thing: reuniting his family. He left the bunker based on a recording that Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) shared with him, suggesting Teri might be alive somewhere on the surface .
“Xavier leaves the bunker in hopes of finding his wife. He heard her voice on a recording that Sinatra shared with him,” Brown explained in an interview with UPI. “I don’t know if I trust her fully, but the idea that [Teri] could possibly be alive was enough for me to go outside of this bunker, leave my children behind, and possibly reunite my family” .
Brown described Xavier’s mindset as one of “hopefulness and an eagerness” to find his wife . This singular focus drives all of his actions on the surface. Any distraction, including a new romance, would undermine the core of his character’s motivation.
Season 2 also dedicates time to showing what Teri has been through. The narrative follows her survival story, revealing how she managed to stay alive and how she accessed a radio to broadcast messages hoping her family would hear her . By weaving together the journeys of Xavier, Annie, and Teri, the show creates a complex web of survivors all trying to find their way back to the people they love.
A Shared Mystery: The Unexplained Nosebleeds
While the relationship between Xavier and Annie is platonic, they are connected by something stranger than romance. A recurring detail in the new season involves unexplained nosebleeds affecting multiple characters. Sterling K. Brown hinted that this seemingly small detail carries much larger significance.
In interviews, Brown suggested that viewers should watch this mystery closely, as it could point to a deeper conspiracy linking Xavier, Annie, Link, and other survivors . The idea that these characters might be connected by forces beyond their control adds a layer of suspense to their journey. It raises questions about what really happened during the doomsday event and whether the survivors are truly as random as they seem.
This mystery element gives Xavier and Annie’s partnership an extra layer of intrigue. They are not just two people helping each other; they might be pawns in a much larger game that none of them fully understand yet.
Life Inside the Bunker Takes a Dark Turn
While Xavier searches for his wife on the surface, the situation inside the Colorado bunker is growing increasingly unstable. Season 2 does not forget the characters left behind. Sinatra is recovering after being shot by Jane at the end of Season 1, but she is determined to claw her way back to power .
Julianne Nicholson described Sinatra’s state at the beginning of the season as her “most vulnerable.” “We find Sinatra in her most vulnerable state, literally just laid out in a coma, and she comes back and it’s, basically, how to find her way back into power, so that she can keep her bigger plan on the path,” Nicholson told UPI .
Meanwhile, the bunker’s population is growing restless. Newly elected President Henry Baines (Matt Malloy) is struggling to maintain order as opposition grows, led by Cal’s teenage son Jeremy Bradford (Charlie Evans) . The psychological pressure of living underground for years is taking its toll on everyone.
Adding to the tension is the presence of Jane. Xavier left his children in her care, completely unaware of her violent history and her role in following Sinatra’s most dangerous orders. Sterling K. Brown acknowledged the dramatic irony of this situation, noting that the audience knows something Xavier does not.
“He’s sort of delightfully in the dark, while everybody’s like: ‘Can’t you see, bro? This chick is evil,’” Brown quipped .
Nicholson added that an upcoming episode will explore Jane’s backstory, giving viewers a better understanding of why she behaves the way she does . This deeper dive into Jane’s character suggests her role in the bunker’s power struggles is far from over.
Sterling K. Brown Defends the Season 2 Storytelling Choice
Some viewers might have been surprised to see Sterling K. Brown have reduced screen time in the Season 2 premiere, with the episode focusing almost entirely on Woodley’s Annie. However, Brown fully supports this creative decision.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Brown revealed that the creative team had extensive conversations about how to structure the opening episodes. “There were a lot of conversations about it,” he said. “Do we invert [episode] 1 and 2? Do we start with him coming out of the bunker or do we start with the world outside of the bunker?” .
Brown called the decision to focus on Annie first a “nice twist” for the audience. He credited creator Dan Fogelman with building enough trust with viewers to take risks with the narrative structure . Most importantly, he had complete confidence in Woodley’s ability to carry the premiere.
“But the first episode is so strong. Shailene holds that s*** down so fiercely that I was like, ‘We are going to be all right. We can wait for a little bit,’” Brown told *Us Weekly* .
The actor also explained why expanding the story beyond the bunker was necessary for the show’s growth. “You got to go bigger [in this episode] because I feel like the show simultaneously gets bigger and more intimate at the same time,” he noted . Rather than turning the surface world into a chaotic action scene, the show focuses on the “human dynamics that are created under this crucible” .
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What’s Next for Xavier and Annie
As the season progresses, viewers will see how the partnership between Xavier and Annie develops. With new episodes releasing weekly on Hulu every Monday, the story is slowly unfolding .
For Xavier, the road ahead is about finding Teri and eventually returning to his children in the bunker. For Annie, the goal is reaching Denver and finding Link. Whether these paths remain aligned or eventually diverge remains to be seen.
What is clear, however, is that Sterling K. Brown and Shailene Woodley share compelling chemistry as scene partners—even if that chemistry is purely platonic. Their characters represent two different faces of survival: Xavier, the trained agent with a family to protect, and Annie, the ordinary citizen forced to adapt to an extraordinary nightmare.
As the mystery deepens and the unexplained nosebleeds hint at a larger conspiracy, Xavier and Annie will need to rely on each other more than ever. Whether they find what they are looking for—or uncover something far more dangerous—is a question that will keep viewers tuning in each week.
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