A mind-numbing German sci-fi thriller, Paradise, delves into a plausible future where money is not the currency anymore. With the ever-increasing technological developments, impossible has just become a word. Though the streaming giant boasts several sci-fi thrillers that ignite shivers such as Black Knight, Paradise raises the bar higher. Time travel might be a well-rehearsed trope but Netflix’s Paradise has a different perspective to offer and what a baffling perspective is it. Helmed by Boris Kunz, Tomas Jonsgården, and Indre Juskute, Paradise explores the sci-fi genre and attempts to make a satirical punch at socioeconomic issues.
Set in a distant future where a small pharma startup, AEON, comes up with a tempting offer, Paradise offers deep insight into the bleak future that awaits us. With the movie being a roller-coaster ride, brimming with dark emotions and conspiracies, its ending remains the highlight. If you, too, are wondering whether Elena gets her revenge on Sophie at the end of Paradise, here’s your chance!
Paradise Plot Synopsis
The film follows a normal couple, Max and Elena Toma, who harbour ambitions to lead a luxurious life. While Elena is a nurse at a community hospital, Max is a donation manager at the AEON pharmaceutical organization. He’s as persuasive as cunning, twice as ambitious and equally hard-working. It is due to his ruthless and carefree nature that he lands a promotion. He soon gets acquainted with the bigshots of the company including the CEO, Sophie Theissen.
Upon hearing the news of Max’s promotion the Toma couple plan to purchase a house by the lake despite their current apartment being on mortgage. AEON might be the subject of criticism but it is undeniable that the agency has shifted the paradigm of the world. Due to this transformation, time donating and receiving have become a norm. While Max possesses experience with the procedure, Elena is oblivious but soon, that changes, too.
When the Toma couple arrives back at their apartment, their dreams are burnt along with it. The bank demands payment and the insurance agency denies any support due to the reason of the arson being negligence. Repaying more than two million euros in an instant becomes a secondary issue, the contract Elena signed becomes the primary one.
READ THIS: The Deepest Breath Ending Explained: What Happened To Stephen?
Why Does Sophie Target Elena?
According to the contract Elena signed with the bank, forty years of her life are listed as collateral. The icing on the cake is Max wasn’t informed of this damaging contract before the accident. The couple naturally becomes desperate, trying to arrange the money however they could but they soon crumble under their pressure. While Elena is taken away by AEON scientists, Max reaches out to Sophie to ask for help. She doesn’t deny it straightaway but doesn’t help either. As a result, Elena’s forty years of life are snatched from her in the blink of an eye.
With a wrinkled face and crumbled self-esteem, Elena tries to continue with her life but Max has other plans. He now realizes the gravity of time donations and how deeply it renders the person broken. Thanks to the flabbergasting growth in technology and due to his experience working at AEON, Max decides to reverse the process and embarks on a journey to retrieve the identity of the receiver.
As it turns out, it is none other than Sophie Theissen, who purposefully constructed the circumstances so that Elena would have no option left. In a fit of rage and in their pursuit to reverse the situation, the Toma couple kidnaps a young Sophie and rushes to a deserted place.
Paradise Ending Explained: Does Elena Get Her Revenge On Sophie?
For decades, Theissen has been searching for a DNA match and she found it with Elena. But she knew, Max would never let his wife agree to donate her years no matter the price. So, Sophie pulled some strings, got their apartment gaslit and made sure the insurance agency wouldn’t cover the expense. Moreover, she had Max’s recipient killed so only Elena could donate her years.
The Toma couple, along with the young Sophie who turns out to be Sophie’s daughter, Marie, are abducted by Lillith and her men. As she narrates the entire ordeal to them, they are convinced Sophie could pull off the stunts. Meanwhile, Sophie and her team circle the estranged cottage and offer millions of euros in exchange for Marie. However, Lillith, who is firmly revolting against AEON, manipulates Max and keeps Elena hostage.
Lillith wants nothing more than Sophie’s corpse but before her plan could succeed, the situation is reversed and the latter’s team members attack the cottage. Marie, Elena and Max succeed in running away while Sophie is shot but not dead. The Toma couple succeed to reverse the time donation procedure and Elena gets her years back but Marie has now aged forty years older. As Netflix’s paradise climaxes, Max has turned against AEON and the world is akin to a scorching hell.
RECOMMENDED: The Out Laws Ending Explained: Why Does Owen Kill Rehan?