Shailene Woodley makes a striking entrance in the first episode of Paradise Season 2, portraying Annie, an employee at Elvis Presley’s Graceland who becomes one of the few survivors after a catastrophic climate disaster and nuclear warfare sweep the world. This episode, titled Graceland, focuses solely on Annie, offering a unique, character-driven perspective on the unfolding crisis that sets a somber tone for the series’ sophomore run.
Writer Dan Fogelman envisioned Annie’s story as a vignette of solitude and survival, which immediately captivated Woodley. She embraced the opportunity to humanize Annie, grounding the character in realistic details and emotions rather than relying on genre conventions. The episode also ties back to Season 1’s flashbacks to The Day, filling in the narrative with the experience of an everyday American woman adapting to an unthinkable new reality.
Crafting Annie’s Realistic Survival Experience
Woodley emphasized the importance of portraying Annie authentically, without cinematic glamorization. She explained the emphasis on depicting Annie’s physical and emotional state as raw and unpolished, with her character’s hair neglected and clothes repeatedly worn to reflect the harsh environment and psychological toll of isolation.
“It was important to me that Annie felt real, that she didn’t have makeup on, that her hair would get greasy, that she would wear the same clothes over and over again,
Woodley told TheWrap.
It was important to match the way that she probably felt internally.”
Woodley contrasted this portrayal with her previous experience in the dystopian film Divergent, noting that Paradise felt far more grounded and immediate.
“‘Divergent’ was the study on a future post apocalyptic, elliptic world, and some of the stakes were heightened and reality was tightened — this just felt very real and very ordinary, and something that could happen to any of us at any moment.”
Despite Annie’s medical background as a former med student, Woodley highlighted that the character’s real survival skills stemmed more from her ability to endure loneliness than professional training.
“I think she was set up in a way to succeed more than possibly other people who didn’t know how to be alone,”
Woodley added. She mentioned the personal losses Annie faced, including the death of her mother, as pivotal moments that shaped her resolve and grit during the crisis.
“Annie had suffered so much loss in her life and had experienced a lot of discomfort in her own skin that I think when this happened, it was easier for her to tap into her willpower to survive, because she had lost so much,”
Woodley explained.
“It was almost out of stubbornness and out of pure rebelliousness that she would be able to last longer than others.”
Intensive Preparation and Filming in a Replica Graceland
Woodley’s introduction to the project came just days before filming began, with her first Zoom meeting with Fogelman occurring slightly over a week ahead. There was virtually no rehearsal and limited time to connect with directors Glen Ficarra and John Requa prior to stepping on set. This expedited process created a raw environment that encouraged creative freedom and intuitive performance.
“It was a very, very, very quick turnaround … but I think the fact that it was sort of rudimentary, and … there wasn’t a big scene around what this was going to be, created the backdrop in the landscape for a lot of exploration and intuition,”
Woodley said.
The filming took place in a meticulously constructed “faux Graceland,” a set replicating the Memphis landmark in great detail. Woodley admitted she was unfamiliar with Graceland before this project but found herself deeply immersed in the iconic home’s atmosphere. Props like Elvis’s gold-plated handgun, which Annie hides for protection, and distinctive features such as shag carpeting, mirrored ceilings, and old-fashioned TVs served as physical markers of Annie’s confinement and mental sanctuary.
“In that way, Elvis and his home became a character,”
Woodley observed.
“For Annie, he became a reflection of the solitude that both of these people experienced in their lives, and then also for me, just selfishly, there’s so much to play off of, whether it was the shag carpet or the mirrored ceilings or the four … analog TVs and the walls … there was a lot of textural inanimate objects that I think kept Annie’s mind sane during her time alone.”
Annie’s Growing Connections and Emotional Breakthrough
After nearly two years of isolation following the onset of the disaster, Annie’s solitude is disrupted when a group of men arrives at Graceland. Surprisingly, these visitors do not become threats but instead spark the return of community and human contact. The group’s leader, Link (played by Thomas Doherty), shares an intimate moment with Annie, breaking the emotional walls she had long maintained.
Woodley described the organic development of their scenes, with limited prior familiarity between the actors and directors giving them the freedom to explore their characters’ vulnerabilities together. Their first interaction, including a hug, allowed Annie’s defenses to dissolve, mirroring Woodley and Doherty’s own openness in portraying fresh, fragile closeness after years of distance.
“Thomas and I … had an unspoken pact of just choosing to be very vulnerable with each other and very open with one another,”
Woodley recalled.
“It was so beautiful. I felt like we melted into who these characters were, by way of really believing this was the first time that we were connecting physically with another human after years and years of distance.”
The script specified that Annie and Link would sleep together, but intentionally left many details ambiguous. This allowed the actors and directors to decide how to visually and emotionally represent the scene, emphasizing tenderness rather than sexuality.
“Do we see anything? Do we not see anything? Is it just instantly, post-coital? Is it during?”
Woodley said.
“We decided that what makes it so beautiful is that there’s a tenderness and a slowness — it’s true intimacy, even more than having a sexual experience, it was a it was a moment of intimacy,”
she added.
“Our goal was to make it beautiful, not sexy, and to make it feel cozy and warm and tender and not gratuitous.”
The Struggle Between Control and Vulnerability
Despite the warmth of their connection, Annie retreats emotionally after their night together, retreating to the basement and shutting Link out. She refuses to accompany him on his risky journey to Colorado, where he believes an underground bunker might hold the key to their survival. Woodley expressed curiosity about Annie’s decision, noting she herself would have joined immediately, but understood the character’s motivations deeply.
“I think she doesn’t go with him because it would force her to be out of control again, and because she’d lost her mom, because she wasn’t able to get through med school, because she lost Gail, she really was accustomed to losing something when she didn’t have control over the situation, and being alone at Graceland fortified this idea, even if it was false, that she could control something,”
Woodley explained.
Annie appears to choose comfort in her controlled isolation over the risk of further loss that joining Link would bring.
“I think it was easier for her to stay comfortable and choose her loss than it was for her to get uncomfortable and have something be taken from her,”
Woodley said.
New Beginnings Amidst Devastation: Annie’s Pregnancy
The episode ends with a significant revelation: Annie is pregnant. This unexpected development injects renewed purpose into her survival, shifting her role toward that of a caretaker and nurturer, determined to protect the life she carries in a world rife with danger.
“Everything from the moment she found out she was pregnant moving forward was about protecting that child, and creating a circumstance that would allow this child to thrive in a world that is built for destruction in her current moment,”
Woodley shared.
“One of my favorite things, actually, is that she found her strength by way of this unborn kid … it just shows the power and the healing that can come from unconditional love.”
Woodley’s nuanced performance brings Annie’s journey from desolation toward hope, making the character’s arc a deeply personal and emotional touchstone within the series.
Looking Ahead in Paradise Season 2
The focus on Annie’s experience in the opening episode sets a contemplative and intense stage for Paradise Season 2, inviting viewers to explore the psychological and emotional aftermath of a global catastrophe through intimate storytelling. Woodley’s portrayal of Annie merges the extraordinary with the everyday, emphasizing resilience, vulnerability, and the human need for connection amid devastation.
Paradise continues to release new episodes on Hulu every Monday, developing the broader narrative around survival, loss, and the rebuilding of community in an altered world.
