Let's hope Alex manages to define the limitations of his hypertension while he's still among the living.

As Almost Paradise Season 1 Episode 2 proved, Alex seems hellbent on making as few concessions to his condition as possible.

He made a half-hearted attempt to listen to his relaxation tapes. He used his anxiety journal for doodling, much to his doctor's annoyance.

About the only concession he had made was not agreeing to help with many cases that the local police had sent his way.

Which was the wrong choice by Alex for several reasons.

He was already an American intruder looking to take away tourism dollars from the locals themselves. Granted, he wasn't making much from the gift shop, even after he did an admirable job of cleaning it up.

Next, being a consultant could just mean looking over case files to see what the locals may have missed. He could do that while still tending his gift shop, as he appeared to have lots of time on his hands.

Finally, Alex seems to be happiest and least stressed when he's on the hunt to bring down bad guys. He gets to do what he enjoys about being a law-enforcement agent without dealing with all the politics.

So here's hoping the pretense of Alex as a reluctant detective goes by the boards soon.

What did ring true was Alex's slow transition to paradise. The man was having trouble learning to decompress.

Yes, the slower pace of life in Cebu was taking some adjustment for the tightly-wound Alex as well.

Of course, not having such essentials as running water certainly wasn't helping Alex to relax.

It was hilarious watching him, with his face covered in shaving cream, racing through the hotel lobby in search of Cory.

What was Cory thinking?

She found a sucker to take that white elephant of a gift shop off her hands. So why not cut Alex a little slack rather than cutting off his water supply?

See, if Alex had been nicer to the local police, he could have used their locker room in just such an emergency.

But at least Alex made a new friend. Give credit to sweet little Rita for helping him carry back buckets of water after he had smeared shaving cream on her face.

It's just too bad it took his new friend being in such pain to get Alex back on the hunt.

As the episode title suggests, Alex is most effective when he has skin in the game.

Alex fouled up Kai and Ernesto's drug sting (for the right reasons) on Almost Paradise Season 1 Episode 1. So he felt obligated to bring the case to a close, even if he had to deal with bureaucrats from his past to do so.

And frankly, they would never have gotten the win without him outsmarting the international task force.

This time out, his goal was getting justice for Rita.

Before that happened, however, he had to make nice with Kai and Ernesto, who he had been snubbing in recent weeks. They were considerate enough about it once they determined he was invested in this case.

Also, Ernesto, the quiet one, had vengeance on his mind, because Rita's murdered father was Nester, a former student of his for whom Ernesto had gotten a security-guard position at the airport.

Although he flunked out of the police academy, Nester was at least conscientious about his work, which ended up getting him killed by his partner Luzon, who had no such qualms.

If Alex hadn't been in the room for Luzon's interrogation, Luzon would have walked free. As it was, Alex offered up a few observations and gave Ernesto a target.

Ernesto is going to be some fun as a character to watch. He may be quiet, but when he has something to say, he says it with his fists and feet.

Luzon may have temporarily got the drop on Ernesto, but a quick perusal of Luzon's apartment told him all he needed to know.

The dude was a ninja as he tracked Luzon through the city then appeared at the door of the gang's hideout.

And what a lovely fight scene as Ernesto took out the entire gang, saving Luzon, who was stupid enough to hold onto the murder weapon, for last.

While Ernesto was solving the who, Alex and Kai were answering the why.

Alex recognized Catherine and her head thug Klaus and put two and two together, sensing their arrival had something to do with Nester's death.

Kai and Alex worked together well for a pair joined for only their second case. She interrogated the clerk long enough for Alex to steal the note and bracelet which Catherine had left for her buyer.

Kai was too young to impersonate an international smuggler but didn't Alex play a redneck Texan well?

The problem that Alex keeps running into is that if a case is personal to him, he gets stressed by certain triggers (old rivals, young girls), which is no good for his hypertension.

It's apparent that this balancing act will be at the heart of this series.

Once again, Chief Ike showed up at the end, just in time to blow his own horn at a press conference. What is he running for?

It was sweet when Alex returned the crystal that Rita had dropped to her at the end.

To revisit Alex's bumpy transition, watch Almost Paradise online.

How did you enjoy watching Ernesto in solo action?

When is Alex going to push things too far?

Are you looking forward to more of his back story?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.