Welcome back, Multiversity readers, for another recap of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. Last episode, we saw the tension building between Dr. Singh and his wife, Rani, as General Abbot prepares to present “the cure.” Gus had also landed face-to-face with the general after his latest attempt to escape. Important things are about to get into motion, and now we all get to see what will come up next.
1. Solo Dolo
Jepperd, the big badass we all know that he is, has gone solo to Essex Zoo to try and get Gus back. Not too long after he hits the road, he runs into trouble; not only is the car running out of gas, the music from the ice cream truck starts playing, possibly alerting anyone nearby to his location. Thankfully it doesn’t, and he continues on his trek. During the episode, we also get some flashbacks to when he was working with The Last Men trying to get information on his missing wife and child, only to be given a duffle bag filled with their bones and hospital wristbands. It’s heartbreaking because we’ve known he was never reunited with them, but it was left open-ended in that they may be alive somewhere, so to see skeletal remains wipe away any hope for him and the audience. That connection to his journey to be reunited with his family is the fuel that gets him to Essex, and he gets a stand-off with some of The Last Men to warn them about Aimee and her plan in exchange for Gus. However, after seeing the soldiers shoot a net at Bobby when he accidentally pops out of the ground, he snaps and gets knocked out and captured.
2. An Old Friend
Becky and Jordan are on their last part of training to get into The Last Men, and though it alluded to them trying to capture more hybrid children for the zoo, it turns out it’s something else entirely. The hybrid they were sent to keep an eye on and capture is Tiger from The Animal Army. Becky recognizes her and gets into a little one-on-one battle with her away from Jordan so they can talk shop about what she’s doing there. It turns out The Animal Army is heading to Essex Zoo as well to try and help the hybrid children; the main issue is that they are severely understaffed and will likely be killed in what looks to be a suicide mission. The fight between them is weak compared to how brutal The Last Men and other disputes Becky has had because this one was mainly defense and flipping one another before Jordan comes from behind and knocks out Tiger with his gun. This does lay some seeds for Becky to possibly retake charge of The Animal Army to help the others and rescue Gus.
3. Kid’s Plan
Here we are in episode five of the season, and the kids finally get to execute what they’ve been planning for a while. After his last attempt to get free ends, Wendy lets Gus back into the fold with General Abbot and his men shaving off one of his antlers. It nearly destroys his confidence and strength, but she reminds him that white-tail deers can grow back their antlers and be even stronger than the originals. Admittedly, it’s a pretty solid plan using the kids’ strengths and abilities, such as mimicking one of the guards and the quills of the porcupines of another. What gets a little funky is that they let Gus take the lead on getting them out once they’re out, even though Wendy and the other kids used to live in the zoo and should know the ins and outs of the entire facility. I guess that since Gus has been roaming around more than them, he could navigate against where the soldiers are posted. It goes well until one of the children gets separated and nearly caught, but Gus plays the distraction and leads the guard away for the rest of the kids to escape. The kids aren’t out of The Preserve yet, but this is the closest they’ve been since they were captured.
4. Evergreen
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General Abbot’s big plan is finally revealed as he gets a meeting with the three leaders of the other territories and not only gives his pitch about the cure that Dr. Singh has created but for them to live on a plot of abandoned land that would house nearly everyone. The acres contained a residential neighborhood that would house 150 of each territory’s people (including the leaders). He would need their resources, such as agriculture knowledge, fresh water, and electricity. It nearly swooned them all until Gus came running to explain that the cure’s key ingredient came from killing hybrid children and causing two leaders to question whether it was worth it. The key member of the three for Abbot’s plan to work, Helen Zhang, not only agrees to this new plan but uses the soldiers she brought with her to take out the other two leaders to claim all the allocated spots for her family. Abbot has been portrayed as a psycho with a plan, but until now, he still needed a bigger army with better resources, and now it seems he may have that.
5. The Doctor Snaps
This episode brought Dr. Singh into the dark side and took part in General Abbot’s plan for the future. It was revealed early on that the cure that the doctor had created didn’t work, and the virus was still present in the testing he’d done. Rani tried to convince Dr. Singh to tell the truth during the presentation and let the other leaders have at General Abbot for the charlatan he is, but he cowered and went with the Evergreen plan instead. Once the two are alone after Gus’ interruption and Zhang’s move on the others, Rani asks that the doctor stop trying to find the cure at the cost of the children and spend the rest of what little time they have left together. At that point, the doctor snaps back that he’d only gone as far as he did because she’d asked him to, and he warned her it would only lead to him becoming numb to all the effects of the children. It’s a dark moment in the series for a character that had potential for good and now has succumbed to the easy path of evil; it’s not surprising with the hints we’ve seen this season, but for him to turn on the one person he had in his corner is rough.
