Is Netflix's "Sweet Tooth" Too Sweet?

Platform: Netflix

Release Date: June 4, 2021

I would not say Jeff Lemire wrote Sweet Tooth for adults and even though the main character is an 11-year old human/deer hybrid, the themes and grim nature of the story lean much more towards an older audience. The comic explored the nature of humanity, faith/religion, the perspective of innocence, self-discovery, and had a mystery that better served the character development than vice-versa. There were not a lot of feel good moments in the series and those that did were mostly relegated to individual character development than change in the world surrounding them. In the Netflix adaptation, the essence of the comic was stripped down and diluted to a more typical adventure/mystery with a thicker line between the good/evil than existed in the comics. How different is the show from the book? Extremely different and, in many ways, that is extremely disappointing. However, the direction the series decided to take is good in its own right and may have been necessary for the general audience.

Netflix's “Sweet Tooth” exists in a world where most of humanity was wiped out by a sudden and mysterious plague called “the sick”. Almost concurrently, the world began to witness the birth of human/animal hybrids with no explanation as to how or why (no, it does not involve beastiality). The show includes flashbacks of certain characters and shows some of how the world was when the sick began, but the bulk of the show takes place nearly a decade later. Gus is a 10-year old who has been hidden in the woods all of his life by his father, living off the land and teaching Gus about the dangers of the world the best that he can. With much of humanity's remaining members having joined the militant “Last Men” army or choosing a more savage path, there are threats to hybrids around every corner. Following his father's death, Gus decides to try and find his mother, a person he only knows from a picture and, against his father's dying wish, ventures outside of his forest safe haven for the first time in his life.

The first season is divided into four plot lines, with each following a different group of characters that you know will eventually all converge down the line. The main plot line, of course, follows Gus and a wandering loner, Jepperd, that Gus decides to follow on his journey to find his mother. Another plot involves Dr. Singh, who desperately wants to find a cure for the virus to save his infected wife. The third plot follows an original character for the show, a former therapist named Amy, who adopts a human/pig hybrid baby and creates a safe haven for hybrids called “The Preserve”. Lastly, the overarching threat is that of the Last Men and their leader General Abbott (a Doctor Robotnik wannabe) as they are willing to do whatever it takes to find a cure for the virus and exterminate the hybrids. Similarly to the comic series, much of the show's success rests on the substantial amount of time to develop each of the characters. A huge shout-out to the casting director(s) for this series, as all of the actors fit the characterizations for this version of “Sweet Tooth” really well. Christian Convery's Gus and Nonso Anozie's Jepperd have amazing chemistry together and embody such an engaging makeshift father/adopted son relationship that carries every scene they are in.

The designs for the various settings and landscapes of the show can be pretty breathtaking, with a lot of focus on natural backdrops amidst a world renewing itself from the loss of humans. It feels expansive and big, which I think is important for some of the underlying themes of the series that I will touch on later. The character designs and costuming have a bit more range from comic accurate to character clichéd to downright silly (looking at you Bobby). But the story and acting are so engaging that you look past a lot of those smaller details as you become engrossed in this world. It is acted so well that the series easily mimics the dynamic character interactions that are riddled throughout the comic and introduces new characters that bring balances to certain aspects that are missing in the comic.

The theme of the show appears to focus around how we define family and how do we define what home is. Gus's primary focus is finding his mother so he feels like he belongs. Jepperd lost his family and tries to avoid getting close to others. Singh is attempting to save his family.Amy has built her own family. Bear loses her family, creates a new one, and then loses that one. The world that “Sweet Tooth” exists in is a cesspool for the antithesis of family, with a greater focus on individual survival and warring against those different from themselves. This helps the characters, even with their flaws, standout as endearing and interesting. Gus's character and his naivety lie at the core of this story and while the series had him borderline an extremely annoying version of that at times, it still shines through as the beacon of hope for the future. That feeling of hope is absent from the comics, but exists as the driving force of the Netflix series and makes it a fantasy show that all ages can enjoy.

For those wondering about some of the differences between the show and the comic series, here are a few plot points from the comic that I feel best capture the differences. Jepperd saves Gus from poachers, but only so he could take him “The Preserve” himself, which is actually a cover for the military's heinous experiments on hybrids in hopes of discovering a cure, which is headed by General Abbott and Dr. Singh. Jepperd does this as a trade for the remains of his wife so that he could rightfully bury her. As I indicated above, there is a large religious element to the story, where Gus's father writes his own bible (which is replaced by children's books in the series) where Gus and the hybrids are the world's saviors. This has a great impact on Dr. Singh's character development and drives his jumping ship to Gus and Co.'s side. There is an ancient god/deity element to the source of the hybrids and the virus, which becomes revealed at the end of the main plot of discovering Gus's origins. There is no parent for Gus to find, Jepperd has a full redemption arc from villain to hero, the Animal Army is a hybrid cult led by a psychopath with murderous hybrid dogs, and there are prostitutes. So, just a bit different. I would definitely recommend reading the 46 issue series, but beware, it might change the way you see the series.

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RATING: 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫 / 5