Paradise – The Mailman review S2 E5

The Mailman was yet another reminder that few shows can match Paradise on the shocking cliffhanger front. Or to be more directly — they got us again.

For viewers still reeling a week after the out of nowhere twist death in A Holy Charge, The Mailman is another wild episode that makes the case against binge viewing Paradise. It’s a series best viewed after taking a little time to process what’s happened instead of immediately going to the next episode. This one definitely cements that notion.

The Mailman kicks off with a flashback from five years ago. Gary (Cameron Britton) is an average mailman, making very small talk with the kind old lady who awaits her mail delivery, pets the friendly Goldendoodle, scurrying past the Doberman pincher on a leash and awkwardly trying to ignore a small boy’s parents as they yell while he’s on the porch. He leads a pretty lonely life with no family or friends until he connects with a friendly guy while playing an online shooter.

After a few months of casual talk, Gary’s friend Ennis (Andy McQueen) asked if he’d read the manifesto from Trent, the man who failed in his first attempt to assassinate President Bradford. It’s scary how many people heard the rumors about the billionaire’s bunker in Colorado as the “end of the world” approached.

Rather than sitting back, Ennis had a plan — his zombie apocalypse strategy. As an engineer, he realized they would need people with key skill sets in order to survive. While doing his routes, Gary watches a podcast where Dr. Louge warns about the pending disaster. As this is a gym bro podcast, Dr. Louge is trying to convey the threat to as many people as possible. 

Although super abrasive and blunt with his delivery, Dr. Louge was doing more than the government in prepping the country for this imminent disaster. While Paradise has not necessarily been a series that always rewards good intentions or sticks to any illusion of fairness, it would be fitting if Dr. Louge was among the survivors. 

Having a friend is putting a little extra oomph in Gary’s step. He’s having slightly longer conversations with the old lady, petting the Goldendoodle longer and not throwing the mail at the Doberman pincher’s yard. When he sees the boy (Benjamin Mackey) on the front porch again instead of attending school, Gary asks if anyone is taking care of him. That’s going above and beyond the mailman call of duty.

Fully bought in to Ennis’ plans, Gary learns his post office was a designated fallout shelter that five to 10 people could comfortably live through the initial ash cloud. Using his pension, Gary starts stocking the shelter with supplies. Another interesting note about the end of the world. Gary was smart to use cash out his retirement as there likely wouldn’t be any digital way of getting his money afterwards after the EPM struck.

The Day was an outstanding hour of TV making it smart for the writers to continue revisiting how that moment played out for people outside of Xavier’s bubble. Gary picks up and meets Ennis for the first time en route to the shelter, but he decides to ask the boy if he wants to come. Ennis isn’t thrilled that Gary is altering the deal since the plan was no kids or pets.

They make one more stop to get some eggs from a small farm — a pretty brilliant plan as they use a heat lamp to hatch the eggs and then can set up a sustainable egg and eventually, chicken factory. The boy gets out of the post office truck to watch the aftermath of an accident. Teri is involved in this crash, but she’s out of the car and talking to Xavier before the EMP strikes.

Teri spots the boy, who says his name is Bean. Interestingly, Bean acts like Gary hasn’t been looking out for him before The Day and seems reluctant to leave her to go with the guy offering shelter. Gary has to assure Teri he’s on the up and up and that he’s just trying to help and invites her to come along as well.

Already in the shelter are the rest of Ennis’ handpicked crew — Roberto (Alejandro Patino) a carpenter; Jackie (Jojo T. Gibbs) the mechanic, the gardener Ruth (Karly Rothenberg); survivalist Bob (Steven N. Gaynor) and Crystal (Connie Shi) the nurse. Teri explains she’s a doctor who studies mushrooms.

While that skillset doesn’t seem particularly valuable in Paradise, Teri would be killing it on The Last of Us! (Grab the first season on Blu-Ray at Amazon). As an engineer and organizer of the group, Ennis naturally decides he’s in charge. Hard to make a case for Gary, who’s nervously reading from index cards while he tries to rally the group to start by surviving.

Gary relays all of this to Xavier, who is peppering him with questions at gunpoint. Given the last time he encountered strangers, it sure seems like Xavier would be more inclined to listen and less threatening the only person he knows who was with Teri for years at gunpoint. Gary sadly tells Xavier that his best friend betrayed them and gave up their location. Now, Teri’s been taken from him. This phrasing is very interesting and hits a different way after the end of The Mailman.

It’s wild seeing Teri’s reaction to learning the fate of the world from a mailman. Since they don’t know about the EMP, they’re operating under the notion that the ash cloud cover will take 21 days to clear up enough for them to go outside. Gary warns Teri that Ennis doesn’t like her and is worried she’s just another mouth to feed if she doesn’t pull her weight.

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He tells Teri, he’s a 38-year-old mailman who doesn’t have bad instincts so much as no instincts, but his instincts are telling him that Teri would be a very big help for everyone. Ennis is becoming a bit of a grouch, likely because he’s not thrilled to see his dream of dating Crystal is a no go because she’s into Jackie. As far as worst case doomsday scenarios go for a lonely single guy, recruiting a cute nurse into your survival party only to find out she’s a lesbian has to be pretty high on the list.

Teri, meanwhile, is thriving as a leader. She’s got Bean out of his shell and organizes a Christmas celebration using the undelivered gifts as presents. Some of them are a pretty good haul. Gary whipped up a radio for Teri to contact her family but somehow misreads the moment by going in for a kiss. She’s literally trying to use the radio you made to find her husband and kids, Gary! Question for all the HR folks: would this still count as mailman workplace harassment?

Another Christmas arrives and Jackie proposes to Crystal. Teri is happy with her makeshift survivalist family but desperately wants to reunite with her actual family. One day Teri arrives to find the radio destroyed and is heated that Ennis destroyed it due to concerns they’d be discovered after she’s been reaching out for two and a half years. Gary is convinced Ennis just doesn’t want anyone to leave.

It’s been 12 days since Teri has been taken and Gary bemoans that he couldn’t rescue them. “I’m just a mailman.” But he does know where Teri and Bean are being held. Gary leads Xavier to a train where 16 guards with guns, including a sniper, are supervising people working alongside the train.

Gary offers to hold the baby, but Xavier won’t let him hold her. “You may know my wife, but I don’t know you.” It’s wild how different Xavier is treating Gary, who is just trying to help.

Xavier isn’t a superman and has no intention of going in guns blazing to rescue Teri. He needs some more parts to make a bomb to create a distraction so he can go in and get her and Bean. Gary knows a place that might have the necessary supplies.

Welcome to the Fun-derdome! It’s a swap meet style set up where survivors trade services for goods. Jackie and Crystal left so Crystal could start a clinic at the swap meet and help people. They invite Teri to come, but her focus is finding Xavier. It seems like the rest of the crew has already started leaving no doubt tired of Ennis’ leadership style.

Xavier can’t make any progress with the vendors until Gary spots Crystal and Jackie, who vouches for Xavier. They both adored Teri and didn’t know Ennis betrayed her. The Mailman is an episode that a second viewing will definitely reveal some interesting insights. They offer any help they can provide Xavier, who hands them Annie’s baby, which understandably hurts Gary’s feelings.

He wants to know why Xavier wouldn’t trust him to hold the baby, but Xavier knows Gary isn’t telling him everything. Where is this amazing instinct when he’s around Jane?

Ennis tells Teri he never hated her and he wasn’t an engineer. “I was trapped in a life I hated, and I wanted someone I cared about as much as you cared about your family.” Maybe Ennis was an overbearing control freak, but the guy really did try to do what he thought was best for everyone. From all of his online shooter days spent trying to corral younger kids into being an elite unit, he probably erroneously viewed himself as a leader, whose orders and tactics weren’t so readily followed in the real world.

Bean discovers the train, but Ennis isn’t sure if he can trust them and takes Gary with him. They meet the train crew leader (Rya Kihlstedt, Final Destination: Bloodlines) who mentions she’s part of a group that’s trying to restart the world. They’re heading out west to meet up with the leader. A kid named after a video game(!). Link’s caravan is even larger than was shown last episode. The leader makes the pitch that they’re heading out and if there’s anyone with skills that they’re welcome to join them.

Gary confesses to Xavier that he was in love with Teri assuring him that they never crossed the line. He’ll do anything to get her back. Getting the truth…from a certain point of view is good enough for Xavier, who extends his hand in friendship to the mailman.

As they head back from the train, Ennis expresses his remorse for Teri planning to head out and leave him. He offers a hug and Gary shoots him! What Gary didn’t know was Bean saw him kill his “best friend.”

It was the mailman all along! Paradise keeps making the glasses-wearing characters so inconspicuous, but they really are some sneaky dudes, aren’t they? This revelation really makes a near immediate rewatch of The Mailman key. Thinking back on some of Gary’s word choices and actions offer very subtle clues in hindsight.

After back-to-back very strong episodes, it feels like Season 2 is fully locked in and ready to deliver another unpredictable final three episodes.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: Hulu