I'm Obsessed With Paradise, But I Have One Big Complaint

WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for Paradise, so if you’re not caught up, you can quickly catch up with a Hulu subscription.

I love Paradise, the Sterling K. Brown-led show. It’s my favorite show thus far on the 2026 TV schedule. However, there is one thing that is bugging me, and that is the motivations of two of the characters, and the most recent episode is the most glaring example of it. It’s an episode all about Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom) and her backstory, something that’s been a long time coming. It also involved Dr. Torabi (Sarah Shahi), so let’s get into it.

Jane Is A Stone-Cold Killer

We finally learned a little about Jane’s background in this week’s episode, titled simply “Jane,” and while it does explain a little about how Jane became the stone-cold assassin that she is in the show, it still felt very thin to me. She’s obviously got some serious mental health issues, and psychopathy is a big part of that. How did she ever pass any kind of mental exam to get into the CIA (which I assume is where she is doing her training in the backstory, though that’s a little fuzzy)?

Sure, the CIA is probably forgiving when they are looking for what M once called James Bond: a blunt instrument. That’s almost certainly why she ended up on Sinatra’s (Julianne Nicholson) radar when she recruited her for security in the bunker, but how did she remain in the CIA after delivering the, uh, “parts” of her trainer to her mentor, Stacy Thomas (Ryan Michelle Bathé), as a present?

Maybe she didn’t; the episode left us hanging (for lack of a better term) when Jane arrived to give the present to Stacy. As an aside, if you’re a fan of the show, check out the podcast hosted by Bathé, especially the most recent episode.

Still, the backstory wasn’t enough for me. Yes, Jane had a terrible mom, but we’ve seen far worse mothers on TV before. And yes, there was that crazy message to the Circuit City (RIP) employee on the day Jane was born that “a killer will be born today” (which plays into the time travel/multiverse theories), but how did Jane end up as stone-cold as she is? She’s ruthless and unfeeling, but having imaginary friends and a distracted mother doesn’t feel like enough to get her there. Hopefully, showrunner and creator Dan Fogelman has more in store for us.

Dr. Torabi’s Motivations Are Strange, Too

At the end of the episode, Dr. Torabi confronts Jane and lets her know that she is on to her. As a psychiatrist, Torabi certainly understands how dangerous Jane is, so why in the world would she be so forthright when confronting her? Torabi also knows that Sinatra isn’t happy with her and that Sinatra uses Jane as her blunt instrument. This is a level of danger Torabi is bringing on herself, knowing full well where it could lead. That just doesn’t make sense to me.

This is contrasted by just how well the show has done in showing us the motivations behind both Xavier (Brown) and Sinatra. We know exactly why they are doing what they are doing (even if we have no idea what Sinatra is doing). Those stories give me hope that Torabi and Jane’s reasons will be revealed, and with two episodes left, and now a third season confirmed, I think we probably will.