Sweetpea
By Sioph W. Leal
Constantly overlooked, Rhiannon Lewis (Ella Purnell) is trodden on by everyone around her. Her sister ignores her, the guy she likes won’t commit, work doesn't give her a chance for a promotion, and her dad is sick. On top of that, her high school bully is back and making her feel like she did in school—invisible. In her head she makes a list of people she wants to kill because of their indiscretions and that she believes them to be bullies, but she gets to live out her fantasies and becomes a new person because of it. Rhiannon must learn to keep her deadly secret, as the power of the kill is intoxicating and makes Rhiannon’s confidence grow more and more.
Everything goes wrong for Rhiannon in such a short space of time. Her dad dies, her sister wants to kick her out of the family home and sell it to her childhood bully, work hires someone new instead of promoting her, and the guy she’s interested in only responds in emojis. You get a sense of how overwhelming life is for her and how she is desperately in need of release, and the list of people she wants to kill gets longer with every perceived attack against her. In a series like this, focussing on one character for the majority of the time can become tiring when the same things happen, but not with Rhiannon. It’s interesting to see her transformation and her journey into standing up for herself, and while she proves she could have gotten what she wanted all along had she spoken up, the dark, chaotic nature of her murders and the aftermath make for a great watch as with each kill, we see her grow in confidence.
As a protagonist, how she can adapt to dangerous or compromising positions is a good take and shows that, despite her meek character, she is not someone to be overlooked. That growth and the situations she finds herself in can be quite comical in a dark way but also oddly satisfying. Seeing Rhiannon at rock bottom and kill her way out of it makes for a good journey and combines the dark comedic elements well with her character so that she is a character you want to see more of and complete her goals even though they are murderous. It is also the absurdity of the situations and the rationale of Rhiannon that could have easily come across as tiresome, but Sweetpea adds to the entertainment. In Rhiannon’s head, bullying is the worst thing a person can do, so they deserve to die. She completely ignores how murder is such a final act and far worse than murder, but her mind is so sure of it that you just nod along and enjoy her journey. A good thing about the series is that it never justifies Rhiannon. She is complex, and she has her reasons, but the narrative and other characters don’t validate her thinking. Instead, the show focusses on how bullying destroyed her life and how the ripples through her years after, lying dormant until a trauma forces it all to the top and forces Rhiannon to confront it.
There’s also a tale of trauma beneath the dark comedy as she breaks when her dad dies and is forced to confront the trauma of his death and her childhood from being bullied so badly she pulled her own hair out and had to wear a wig. The culmination of both traumas makes Rhiannon snap, but it's interesting to see her grow and find herself episode by episode. She’s an interesting character, written well and realistic in a way that, despite the almost exaggerated situations, is grounded in reality in a way that will make people connect to her even when there are times that could be difficult. Choosing to focus, subtly, on the trauma of grief is a great move from the writers to humanise Rhiannon, and so it gives some understanding to the viewer why she is suddenly acting this way. It is not one thing but a culmination of traumas and no support that pushes her over the edge, resulting in a rooftop scene where Rhiannon finally confronts her grief in peace. It’s a memorable moment of the series and shows just how human she is and how everything has had an impact on her.
Visually, choices are made to show Rhiannon’s change in herself and how those around her perceive her. At the start, she’s pale with frizzy hair, and it looks as if the toll of her life has drained her, but when she kills, the subtle transformation starts. From smoothed-down hair to warmer lighting, you subconsciously perceive her in a different way. She seems more of herself from the first kill, and you can’t wait to see where it takes her and how she will react.
Ella Purnell easily captivates as Rhiannon, even as she is a meek, hidden person struggling to stand up for herself. There’s a charm and resolve about her that manages to pull you in and root for Rhiannon even though what she’s doing is dangerous and, literally, murderous. Purnell carries the unique sense of humour that elevates the series but keeps it at the right level that makes the darker moments all that more interesting.
A big part of her story is how other characters interact (or don’t) with Rhiannon. A lot of time is spent with Rhiannon’s work and with her childhood bully, Julia (Nicôle Lecky), but halfway through the season we get an interesting parallel with police officer Marina (Leah Harvey), who has her own kill list and who is tied to Rhiannon’s murders as an investigating officer. They both have a reckless nature to them, and while Rhiannon acts on hers, Marina doesn’t until she becomes more involved with Rhiannon. The reckless nature of the two characters puts them both in precarious positions, but the parallel between them and how it comes to a head is one of the best parts of the series. They could easily be each other's best friend with shared experiences of feeling overlooked and invisible, or they could be each other's worst enemy. At first, the series seems like it could have benefitted from more scenes with the two, but it’s a perfect balance, and both characters go through a kind of metamorphosis because of Rhiannon’s actions.
There’s almost something ridiculous about the show that works great in combining the dark humour and the murderous nature of the show. Main character Rhiannon can keep the series fresh with her reckless actions and balances the self-titled vigilante and victim well to justify her crimes and fix her mistakes. It is a revenge fantasy coming to life but full of grounded characters in heightened situations that make for a fun and interesting series that focusses on character.
Sweetpea premiers on 10 October 2024 on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.[n the US and Canada, the series also air on 10 October.