Paradise Season 2's finale ultimately revealed what Alex really is, and the massive twist involving its location could hint at a devastating Season 3 twist for all of the characters.
The mystery of who or what Alex is has hounded the sophomore run of Hulu's original post-apocalyptic series, splitting the fanbase over whether Alex is a person or a device that can save the world or further push it to the brink of the apocalypse. As it turned out, it was the latter because the finale confirmed that Alex isn't human at all, and it was hiding in another underground bunker all this time.
How Paradise's Alex Twist Sets Up Darker Season 3
Paradise Season 2, Episode 8, "Exodus," confirmed that Alex is the world's first quantum AI supercomputer, created by quantum computing genius Henry Miller and a younger version of Link (Dylan), way before the "end of the world" even began.
Sinatra (aka Samantha Redmond) secretly funded the project because she saw it as a way to solve the looming climate crisis by predicting and correcting world events in microseconds, with Miller noting that "it learns from past runs, and it can predict anything that can go wrong in the future in microseconds." However, as expected, things went awry, and Alex decided to go rogue after it became capable of "manipulating time" itself, which explained why there are anomalies such as Link being Sinatra's son, Dylan, and the persistent occurrence of nosebleeds in some of the major characters:
Henry Miller: "We have to shut Alex down."
Sinatra: "What? Why? I-- You said it was making incredible progress."
Henry Miller: "It is, but it-- it's also trying to do something dangerous. It's trying to manipulate time."
After Sinatra realized the errors of her ways, she sacrificed herself to save everyone by allowing everyone to safely evacuate outside the bunker and stay behind to go down with the bunker she helped create in the first place.
Before her sacrifice, though, Sinatra told Xavier that Alex's core is stored in a second, separate bunker located beneath Denver International Airport (DIA), which is 100 miles from the original bunker, and she implied that Xavier might be the only one who can operate it and stop all of this from ever happening.
Sinatra: "Deep underneath the Denver airport. It houses a quantum computer that can stop all of this. In fact, it has already stopped all of this. You just need to get there. You have to follow its instructions and get there."
This twist actually has a deeper meaning because Alex’s base is located in one of the most conspiracy-laden areas of America.
This is a deliberate, brilliant nod to decades of real-world conspiracy theories about the airport being a front for something far more sinister underground, which could lead to dangerous consequences in Paradise's already-confirmed Season 3 because it strategically sets up a looming clash between Alex and Xavier's group of allies, including Link, Teri, and Dr. Torabi.
Theorists have claimed that Denver International Airport is hiding vast underground bunkers and tunnels where the government & the elites would use to survive the apocalypse.
Others have pointed out that "Blucifer," the demonic horse seen in the final minutes of Paradise Season 2, is the harbinger of doom, and this ties heavily to the idea that Alex could start another apocalypse in Season 3 unless Xavier stops it from generating further chaos.
The Blue Mustang (demon horse) statue also has a grim backstory when its artist, Luis Jiménez, was killed in 2006 when a piece of the sculpture fell on him during construction, amplifying its ties to the statue being cursed. The fact that it also has piercing red eyes is a dead giveaway that it has a demonic glare.
Why Paradise's Demon Horse Twist Is the Perfect Endgame for Season 3
The twist involving Alex being located beneath Denver International Airport isn't just a casual Easter egg for conspiracy theorists; it actually sets up the perfect endgame for Paradise by hinting that shutting down Alex will not be as simple as pulling the plug on this complex quantum supercomputer.
Many are theorizing that Paradise's latest twist is clear foreshadowing that Alex has truly evolved into Season 3's main antagonist.
It's possible that Alex could have created a way to protect itself with exterior surfaces, such as allowing Jane to live and using her as its main protector, or possibly luring more survivors into its bunker to form an army capable of defending its base.
Given that the quantum supercomputer can manipulate time itself and create time loops, it may use these abilities to resist Xavier's control, leading to a doomed future for Earth and its remaining survivors. Thankfully, though, Xavier has Link (Sinatra's son), Dr. Shorabi, and Teri on his side, and they could all work together to try and outsmart Alex before it is too late.
