by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Starz is at a weird crossroads in its existence. Between the Power universe and Outlander, the channel has made a name for taking chances on unconventional shows. Even taking on a show like Minx proved that Starz was looking for captivating stories that talk about tough topics. But despite a recent string of duds, Starz continues to take chances while showcasing some genuinely talented individuals like Ella Purnell.
Sweetpea follows Rhiannon (Purnell) as she lives in the shadows of her family, friends, and coworkers. Years of abuse — unintentional or not — have taken a toll on Rhiannon’s mental health, confidence, and ability to make decisions. She finds herself struggling to find a way to cope with all these feelings. When both her father and her dog die, a chain reaction begins, showing Rhiannon the horrors she’s capable of doing. As more people around her turn up dead, her community must grapple with the dark reality that Rhiannon might be a serial killer.
Purnell is a blossoming star, and she’s having quite a year — Sweetpea continues a streak of solid hits. Rhiannon reminds me a lot of a character you would find on Yellowjackets. She’s mistreated by people when she’s younger. On the flip side, she has a lot of unresolved rage and issues that she never adequately dealt with. Because of that, she doesn’t know how to channel her anger, especially when something goes wrong. Her perception of how she’s treated also brings up a lot of questions. We don’t always know if she’s a reliable narrator, but Rhiannon is a main character who is still learning to channel her anger about her life circumstances.
Rhiannon’s trauma stems from two characters: one is her dad, Tommy (David Bark-Jones), and the other is a former classmate. We don’t see much of Tommy, but we feel his effect on Rhiannon. Whenever she talks about it, Rhiannon can’t help but think her dad is among the only people who have treated her well. Not even her sister wants to be in her life. It’s understandable how he is involved in the inciting incident that set Rhiannon off.
Rhiannon’s former nemesis in high school, Julia Blenkinsopp (Nicôle Lecky), is a fascinating character, because just when you think you have her pegged as a bully and a fake, the writers drop something real about her that sort of makes you emphasize with her. Even in the most dire circumstances with Rhiannon, Julia still manages to invoke sympathy. By the end of the series, I was rooting for her, which I wasn’t expecting.
I’m generally not one who likes police procedurals or crime shows, but this one kept my attention enough, largely because Rhiannon makes a fascinating antagonist. Since she’s already underestimated as a character, it would make sense for nobody to think she could be capable of such heinous violence, as it fits with her characterization all throughout the show. It’s not only the cops who don’t suspect Rhiannon (until an officer makes a chilling connection), but the media as well. In a way, Sweetpea subverts expectations by taking the least likely suspect and multiplying it to the next level.
For a police procedural, this is where the story falls apart. The investigation isn’t grounded in evidence — just someone with a hunch attempting to get lucky with a suspect. One of the detectives on the case, Marina (Leah Harvey), parallels what Rhiannon is going through: being underestimated and constantly being told that she won’t amount to anything. She even makes many reckless decisions that jeopardize her case and credibility. Some cops might have tunnel vision to try and find a case. However, this also feels like this is either saying the police are incompetent or wildly out of control. Either way, the show fails in terms of the police investigation portion.
The ending will be divisive, mainly because of the choice regarding AJ (Calam Lynch). As a coworker of Rhiannon, and one of the only people who sees the lovely person she can be if they get to know her, AJ seemed like he would be the real deal. Even when she had a love interest in a former coworker of her dad, Craig (Jon Pointing), the audience could see the budding relationship between Rhiannon and AJ. However, the end has called into question choices made to focus on AJ, and whether Rhiannon is a monster. It broke my heart, and the repercussions will probably be felt for the remainder of the series (however long it lasts).
Overall, Sweetpea is a perfectly inoffensive show. It can be a little violent, and it deals with tough topics involving bullying and how we deal with trauma, which makes for great television. The police work has so much negative impact that it is hard not to be frustrated by the outcome.
Rating: High Side of Just Okay
Sweetpea is currently streaming on Starz
You can read more from Mike Hilty and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd