‘Almost Paradise’ Rewatch: Opening Up

Written by John Edward Betancourt

How the Events of ‘Rise of the Kalangay’ Help Alex Walker to Open Up and Trust People Again

‘You have no idea what it’s like to be stabbed in the back by the one person you trust.’
​
‘Yeah, I do. And betrayal eats you alive, but you can recover. You pull that trigger, and there is no coming back, and you can trust me on that. You become someone else.’ ​

‘Yeah? Who is that?’

‘Me’.

-Kai Mendoza and Alex Walker

At some point or another during our lives, we will be hurt badly by someone that we genuinely trust… and that is going to leave us in quite the difficult place, emotionally and mentally. Because trust is something that means a lot to us, and to have it broken in any form or fashion, is a violation of sorts. That kind that truly shatters us and leaves us hurting in a manner we never thought possible. To the point where the only safe thing to do, is to close off our hearts and our souls to others and lick our wounds and keep those walls up. So that when we finally do move on, we don’t get hurt again. But while that definitely helps us in the moment, that is of course… an unsustainable path to living life.
 
Because eventually, we will meet people that trust us and want to be close to us, and we have to figure out how to lower those walls and trust, and yes... risk being hurt once more, and that is truly no easy task. For the walls we put up, are thick for certain and it takes something big to remove them from the equation and well, all of this is relevant to our discussion today, simply because this particular problem serves as the foundation for the next episode of Almost Paradise. Because ‘Rise of the Kalangay’ makes it clear that both Ernesto and Kai want to trust Alex completely and have him reciprocate in kind and well, he’s simply not willing to do that early on in this tale, because of what happened to him in the DEA and because he thinks the current arrangement is perfect as is.
 
Which in turn allows for this tale to explore, what motivates a person to lower their walls and trust again and well, that made the rewatch of this episode quite the pleasant surprise. Because initially, it really did feel as though it was a story revolving around Alex coming into his own as a mentor, and it does have feature that element. But as you watch this story unfold and see Alex terrified of the fact that his closed-off nature is beginning to push Kai away from him as a friend, you start to see that this episode features some incredible depth for certain. And it really is quite bold and powerful of this crime story to point out the fact that closing ourselves off to others, can create problems and that while it is scary to open up after we’ve been hurt, we have to do it… in order to keep those new and often better people in our lives.
 
Something that Alex does do as the episode rolls along, since he is willing to inform Ernesto of how scrambled he is emotionally after everything’s that happened and of course… by slowly showing Kai that he cares about her well-being and her future. An act that comes to a head in the finale, when Alex finally lowers his guard and opens up to Kai in a powerful and beautiful manner, and uses his pain and experiences to show her that there is a better way in a bad situation and well, that act makes this one complete and satisfying tale. One that shows us that the way back from the pain of betrayal, often involves surrounding ourselves with better human beings that will reciprocate and nurture our trust, instead of using it or violating it.
 
Plus, it is also quite incredible that this story offers healing advice to the audience. Since that is unheard of when it comes to crime shows… but it’s there and it is it simply magical to find within the framework of this show, and it also takes the time to grow this universe as well. Since we finally get to learn more about Kai and what makes her tick and what drives her moral center, and it is wonderful to see her grow before our eyes in this tale, and see this team finally come together in a dynamic and wholesome manner. And it just goes to show that once again, Almost Paradise is a crime show unlike any other in the genre and it really is wonderful that a rewatch is revealing all of its incredible layers and truly, it will be fascinating to see what other subtext awaits us as we close in on the season one finale. Until next time.
​
​‘Almost Paradise’ is available to stream for free (with ads), right now, on IMDbTV.

---