The fate of Xavier Collins' wife, Teri, is up in the air after Paradise Episode 4 dropped a shocking bombshell about the true state of Earth.
Paradise is Hulu's new political thriller that initially revolves around the murder of U.S. President Cal Bradford, and his trusted Secret Service agent Xavier Collins being the prime suspect.
However, as the season progresses, the murder mystery subplot deepens as the series uncovers more shocking secrets unveiled in a game-changing twist at the end of Paradise Episode 1.
It turns out that the characters are among the select few living in an underground city, and Xavier's wife, Teri, is not one of them.
Teri's Fate in Paradise Explained
Aside from being a potential suspect in the murder of U.S. President Cal Bradford, Xavier has a deeper emotional burden that he has yet to move on from: the supposed death of his wife.
To recap, Xavier and his family were given the privilege of joining the citizens of the underground city because he saved President Bradford's life.
While he and his two kids made it underground, his wife, Teri, wasn't able to join them.
In Paradise Episode 3, Xavier reveals to Gabriela what truly happened to Teri. It turns out that she was in a different city when the terrible apocalyptic incident happened.
He blamed Cal for not getting Teri to a plane even though he promised him that he would keep his family safe:
"I didn’t lose my wife. I know exactly where she was. She was in a different city, and she died because he didn’t get her to a goddamned plane."
Some have theorized that Teri missed the plane on purpose to keep her family safe, knowing that she may have delayed them from getting on the plane to the underground city.
Another theory is based on Teri's job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She and her team may have been the reason why the apocalyptic event happened in the first place.
She may have been part of the first casualties of the incident or she felt guilty of being the cause of it which is why she decided to stay behind.
Read more on why Teri decided to name her son James in Paradise.
But Wait, Is Teri Still Alive?
At this point, no one knows if Teri is still alive. Xavier clearly thinks that his wife is dead, but with a series like Paradise that has its twists and turns, there is a good chance that she may be alive.
Paradise Episode 4 revealed that the outside world (aka the surface) is still habitable, but Julianne Nicholson's Sinatra (the scheming leader of the underground city) has done everything to keep the truth from getting out.
She even hired Agent Billy Pace (played by Paradise breakout star Jon Beavers) to kill the scientists who discovered the truth on the surface and to prevent it from being public knowledge.
This is also the main reason why Bradford was murdered in the first place because he wants to tell the truth about the surface to the underground citizens.
Given the big reveal in Paradise Episode 4, there is a good chance that Teri is still alive in the outside world, potentially with other survivors who may either be struggling or thriving.
At this point, it is up to Xavier to learn the truth first before venturing into the surface to search for his wife.
The next episode of Paradise premieres on Hulu on Tuesday, February 18, at midnight PT.
