This review was made possible by advance screeners of all episodes of Sweetpea. Sweetpea premieres on Starz on October 10, 2024. New episodes are released every Thursday.
Not everyone in this world is subject to a good life. While some people thrive in it, others unfortunately are left at the bottom of the social ladder. There are many things that could lead to this, but one that can heavily affect this is how one person may be treated during their childhood. Were they the popular kid? Were they the school bully, making sure that they stayed on top in fear of losing out of any respect or hierarchy that existed? Or were they the bullied, subjected to feeling like they didn’t exist, like they were worth nothing? All the answers to these questions may affect how a singular person may grow up and give us an insight into what type of person they may be. Sweetpea shows us the one possibility of what might happen when someone is treated harshly in life and isn’t respected by society. What happens when a person who’s treated unfairly finally cracks?
Sweetpea follows Rhiannon Lewis (Ella Purnell, Fallout), a woman who doesn’t make much of an impression—people walk past her in the street without a second glance. She’s continually overlooked for a promotion at work, the guy she likes won’t commit, and her dad is really, really sick. So far, so shit. Then everything in her life is turned upside down, and Rhiannon is pushed over the edge. She snaps. Suddenly the wallflower is gone, and in its place is a young woman capable of anything… Rhiannon’s life transforms as she steps into a new, intoxicating power, but can she keep her killer secret?
This is a story that’s loosely based off the book of the same name by C.J. Skuse. In the book, Rhiannon is already a serial killer, and it starts off 3 years after her killings. With the series, we seem to be exploring the origins of this character, seeing how she got to that point in her life. I’m not a reader of the book, but it’s an intriguing creative decision to change the story and start from the beginning to explain why Rhiannon is the way she is. I think it works in their favour, as we don’t get many serial killers in the media that are women.
We’re so used to seeing men that are serial killers, such as Patrick Bateman or Hannibal, that we have never once really questioned why they do the things they do, although some films in recent years have tried to explore that element. Switching out the man for a woman gives the viewers something new to work with and also allows for the writers to explore the idea of feminine rage.
Sweetpea heavily dives into the emotional reason behind what makes Rhiannon crack. The show starts off with a monologue by her, stating the people she would like to kill and why; we also get this same monologue from DC Marina (Leah Harvey) later in the show. There’s a strong connection between the two characters as they share the same feelings; they’re both unseen and overlooked by society, but they both handle this feeling in very different ways. DC Marina tries her hardest to solve this case and throughout the show is instinctive that she knows who the killer is, being forced to play by the rulebook, she fails to get to the conclusion that she wants, the one that she knows is correct. She begins to lose faith in the system and we see how she slowly begins to let out the feminine rage within her.
These are thoughts that run rampant through people’s heads when they feel disrespected or hurt. You have the feeling that you want to hurt the person who has caused you pain or that you wish for the worst to happen to them. Rhiannon has these constant thoughts; she has never lived a good life. She suffered from being bullied in high school by Julia (Nicôle Lecky), making her feel like she didn’t exist, which has followed through with her as an adult.
Rhiannon is a complicated character; she isn’t just simply a psychopath that enjoys killing; she’s trying to find a way to grab control of her life once again, a way to finally feel like she matters. When she does get her first kill, it’s due to the way she’s being treated by her victim. Like with anyone, this kill haunts her, and she worries that she’ll get caught and starts to feel bad that she’s taken a life. But she does everything in her power to find evidence that the person she murdered is indeed a bad person and to make herself feel better about what she did. Because not only is she killing people, but she’s killing people who have treated others poorly, just like herself.
The one thing about a killer is that once they start, it’s hard for them to stop even if they want to. Rhiannon has that control over her life again, and Episode 4 shows that she’s embracing that, but it’s that nature that gets her into worse situations as she acts without any thought process.
Ella Purnell has recently been showing that she’s an actor that the film industry should be on the lookout for and she shows her range with this role so well. It almost feels similar to previous characters she has played before but the best way to describe her portrayal of Rhiannon is that it feels like a mix of Jackie from Yellowjackets and Lucy from Fallout. Combining two of her best roles to deliver another definitive role of hers. Thankfully with Ella as Executive Producer, she was able to make sure that she tested with every other cast member and helped with the casting process which explains for why characters such as Juliet, Marina and AJ (Calam Lynch), have such good onscreen chemistry with her.
The score composed by Isobel Waller Bridge felt very fitting for Sweetpea. It’s a comedy show that’s also a drama; you need to have upbeat music while also making sure it fits in with the serial killer vibe. It felt like a mix of techno music mixed with pop, and Isobel Waller Bridge mentioned how she wanted the score to sound like “if Charlie XCX and Sophie made a serial killer pop album,” and it sounds exactly just like that. The licensed music that is used throughout and especially for the needle drops is also well chosen and fits alongside the score that Waller Bridge has composed for the show.
Sweetpea is a show that explores the idea of feminine rage and shows us the origin of how one woman breaks and turns into a serial killer. It has great performances led by Ella Purnell and a score that just has you bopping your head when you probably shouldn’t be. The structure of the series slightly falls apart once it reaches its final episode, as it begins to drag on for too long and ends on a cliffhanger that we may possibly not see the continuation to.
Overall, it’s a fun show that’s very easy to watch and will have you wondering how Rhiannon’s story is going to conclude.
Sweetpea airs on Starz from Thursday, October 10. New episodes release every Thursday. Check out the trailer below:
