Netflix adapts another comic book series, this time DC’s Sweet Tooth, to deliver an apocalyptic fairy tale that shows potential.
The opening moments of Sweet Tooth’s premiere are surprisingly great with how they set up the cataclysmic event known as the “Great Crumble,” which presents unique miracles and horrors that hit very close to home. As the world becomes consumed by a deadly, fast-spreading virus, there are newborn children that are part-human, part-animal creatures called hybrids. The entire sequence of everything rapidly falling apart is chaotically gripping and has a few strong emotional moments as we see a doctor, Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar, The Big Sick), at the center of all this. The look of these hybrids feels like it was ripped right out of a fairy tale book with some dashes of strange horror, as there are babies with bird wings and others that look like human/dog crossbreeds.
There’s a lot that this opening gets you hooked on that leads us perfectly into the main story threads of this series – mainly the story of a deer hybrid with a signature sweet tooth named Gus (Christian Convery, Playing with Fire). Since his father, who he refers to as Pubba (Will Forte, MacGruber), has kept them isolated in the woods as the world fell apart, Gus still has all the innocence of the world before and grows curious about the world that’s barred from him just outside the fence. Now, as a whole, the entire sequence of Pubba and Gus’ isolated living hits the expected beats of a parent bringing their not-so-normal child into the woods to hide from humanity. Pubba gives Gus rules for survival, Gus questions everything that Pubba teaches him and the world he’s built, and things end with Gus having to fend for himself.
Even for this familiarity, there’s actually a lot of heart developed here through the performances and character writing. The relationship built between Pubba and Gus is incredibly sweet with how Pubba will do anything to protect Gus from those that look to poach hybrids like him and believe that he is the cause for the virus. It’s actually nice to see Forte thrive in a more dramatic role that still lets his delightful charm come through. Convery is also able to deliver some charming heart throughout all the dark elements of the world around him and gets you invested in Gus’ journey to Colorado to possibly find his mom and a potential safe haven for hybrids. His sense of innocence and ignorance definitely get him into tough situations more often than not, but his courage and determination always manage to come through, making him not completely hopeless in a world that wants to hunt him down. Not to mention, he’s got one hell of a bodyguard in the form of Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anoizie, Conan the Barbarian) – a rouge nomad who Gus lovingly calls “Big Man.”
Tommy is someone that is kind of a mystery himself, given that he keeps his dark past a secret and has clearly been through a lot in this world, and the fact that he just wants to be on his own. There’s no doubt that Tommy has some bad history with some of the hybrid bounty hunters out there since his concealed scars have some history that some people are aware of. It makes sense given that he’s quite a dominant fighter all around, delivering rough blows to those in his way and being handy with his rifle. There’s definitely something much darker to him and for only having watched the first few episodes, yours truly is curious if he might have some connection to the series’ big bad villain that was teased at the end of the third episode: General Abbot (Neil Sandilands, The Flash) and his band of gun-toting hunters. Tommy isn’t all bad though, for as much as he might try to get Gus off his tail, he’s always there to protect him, and perhaps he finds something redemptive in helping Gus.
There are also other storylines presented that further flesh out the world and create new, interesting threads. Although it hasn’t been delved into much yet, outside of an introduction, the whole story of Aimee (Dania Ramirez, Premium Rush) finally being out of her box and taking on parenting a baby pig hybrid could lead to something interesting down the road. Everything with Singh so far has probably been the most intriguing part of the series since it shows the darkness that’s come in this new world. With his wife being infected by the virus and him having to take on finding a cure, there’s a lot of pressure on Singh’s shoulders. Take into account that his neighbors legitimately kill anyone who’s infected, and the previous doctor’s methods including experimenting on hybrids, a route Singh isn’t willing to go down, and the odds seem impossible for him. His storyline showcases the lows humanity has come to and creates these thrilling instances that you hope he can avoid while keeping him and his wife safe.
Frankly, there’s a lot of potential greatness in Sweet Tooth, with its great world-building and teases of these interesting storylines coming together. However, the series’ big issues are in its pacing, as things are off to a very sluggish start. The fast-paced opening is just followed by incredibly slow story building that has a good set-up and a couple of character moments but not much more. Not to mention, the series constantly delivers set-up without much progress, so it never feels like things are moving forward in a way that ramps things up past its slow pacing. Obviously, having watched only three episodes, it’s still early on, so things could ramp up very soon, but there are times where you’ll find yourself a little bored and easily put off by how slow it moves. Also, although the narration by Josh Brolin has a good mix of fairy tale and apocalyptic vibes with his rugged voice, there’s too much of it and if we have to hear him say something along the lines of “some stories start the beginning…ours starts here,” yours truly is going to go nuts.
There’s already a lot to like about Sweet Tooth with its complex world-building, notable combination of apocalyptic and fairy tale vibes, and strong performances that could lead to something special – if it gets the ball rolling a little faster.
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