Welcome back for another episode of Sweet Tooth. Last we saw Gus and Tommy Jeppard, they were going down the gondola out of the woods. The last couple of episodes were much more bright-eyed for Gus, but this one has some more action to it and has some emotional depth to sink your teeth into.
1. The Train
After making it down the mountain, Jeppard and Gus spend the night in a beatdown bus that Jeppard has used to store extra supplies. He tells Gus to get some sleep because they are a day’s trip away from “the market” where the train to Colorado is going. That night, Gus has a nightmare of being abandoned in the forest covered in snow. This is a sign of separation anxiety that Gus is experiencing after he had realized Jeppard was planning on leaving him with the family at the cabin. Gus is young and naïve to the world, but he most certainly is not dumb. He understands that Jeppard wants to get rid of him, but Gus still has a fear of the world, especially after seeing the guns and willingness to kill from the soldiers. The train may be the vehicle to take him to his mother, which he has never known, but it will also be what takes him away from everything else that he starting to see.
2. The Dinner Party
Singh and his wife go to a dinner party inside of their gated community that has more than they could have bargained for. He’s hesitant because his wife has “the virus” and her recent treatment is still taking some time to hide the side effects, aka her pinky twitching. He does his best to hide his anxiety but it reads all over his face as he continuously stumbles over his words and stares at his wife’s hand. The party ends when the hosts’ pinky starts to twitch and it does not go well for the others. Not only does everyone cover their faces but the house gets burned down and the host gets taken into custody. This scene shows how cutthroat this little gated community is. Friends or family do not matter, as they’re getting thrown to the wolves and protect themselves.
The glimpses always give the audience the idea of rich people getting away with everything and this episode really shows how true it is. These people are ruthless when it comes to avoiding the virus. There is also an eerie vibe that comes into play while during the fire they start to sing a weird anthem.
3. The Market
Much like the dinner party, the visit to the market with Gus and Jeppard is filled with anxiety and tension. Soldiers are in nearly every inch of the place, carrying massive guns and taking temperatures of people to see if they have “the sick” and looking for any sign of hybrid children. Gus is amazed at everything he sees because he’s never been around this many people and the various businesses. In the next frame, it shows Jeppard looking all around to make sure they are not drawing attention to themselves.
This choice of opposite reactions is interesting because, although Jeppard knows the area, he has never had to watch out for anyone but himself, let alone a hybrid child. He does care enough to try and create a make-shift costume for Gus to hide his antlers, but he knows if anyone takes a long enough stare they will see his deer ears move around. Jeppard will not admit it, but he is showing all the signs of a parent and making sure Gus is within eyesight and disguised from others.
4. The Medicine
Aside from his parental instincts kicking in, Jeppard also shows his signs of willingness to do whatever it takes to get more medicine. It has yet to be disclosed what the pills help him do, but ever since Gus ate and lost most of the pills, he had left he has seemed a bit more on edge. When they are standing in line for the train, Gus mentions that he can smell them in the huge containers the soldiers are moving and Jeppard’s eyes light up. They end up making a move to get them but end up getting caught right when the train is about to depart.
Continued belowJeppard had been walking a thin line of trying to keep Gus out of trouble but he was willing to toss it all away for the hope of restocking on his medicine. Although watching it caused me to clench my fist with anger, because of how close they were to get to Colorado, it’s good to see that Jeppard is not without his faults and he may have more than just anger issues. The question for his medicine is now, is it for pain management or addiction?
5. The Leader
This episode starts with the line “Great leaders are created in the most unexpected places.” “Weird Deer S**t” goes on to show a group of rebel child soldiers playing a game before an alarm goes off saying, “Emergency IRL, hybrid distress.” Each episode has a section that seems to focus on another character but never goes back to them. This episode changes that when the female leader of that group meets Gus at the market and then saves him and Jeppard. These people are all dressed up in animal furs and disguising their faces. Although they are organized, it is clear that they are against everything that is going on against hybrid children. This is also the first time we see a scared Jeppard, as he is tied up and face-to-face with people he’s never dealt with before. His strength is usually his strong point, but it doesn’t seem like it will do him any good right now.
