Welcome back for episode 5 of Sweet Tooth, where we find Gus and Tommy Jeppard back on the road after escaping the Animal Army. Jeppard tells Gus he’s going to go with him to Colorado to help find his mom, since he helped keep him from getting executed. Now the only thing left to do is find out how they’re going to get there in the first place.
1. General Abbot
The big bad of the show, General Abbot, gets some solid screen time in this episode. In the opening scene, he comes into the doctor’s home (from Dr. Singh’s neighborhood) with his team of soldiers. The soldiers start to ransack the home in search of something while he interrogates the doctor. This is a strong opening for the episode, but an even better example of the general’s ruthlessness. After he gets the information he seeks, he has his soldiers kill the doctor and burn her house down. Before this, the audience had only whispers and seconds of his presence shown on screen but with this strong show of power, it is very clear that he means business and is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
The information that he was seeking is the book that Dr. Singh inherited after taking over as town doctor. This book is where she kept all her notes about the potential cure and treatments that she had been developing over the years. The audience also finds out that not only did they work together, but that her cancer diagnosis may have been made up. Whether it was or not, General Abbot is not happy and takes it out the only way he knows how: with violence.
2. Mama Bear
Gus and Jeppard get reunited with Bear after they narrowly escaped from Tiger and the Animal Army. She has a small envelope filled with information about Birdie (Gus’s mom) and her last known address. Jeppard tries to separate from Bear, but they quickly realize they’re all heading towards the train so it makes sense for them to travel together. Between Bear and Jeppard having different styles of how to help Gus and navigate the terrain, it creates a parental dynamic for the three characters.
After Gus saved Jeppard from the Animal Army, he feels a bit more inclined to stay with him and able to show he cares. Jeppard is still very rough around the edges, but he wants to help him get to Colorado. Bear’s tactics for Gus are softer and try to walk him through the obstacles carefully, but also trying to get him away from Jeppard, who she doesn’t trust. The two of them have the belief of doing what is best for Gus, but he’s the one that is going to end up teaching them how to get along and stay safe.
3. Gus’s Hallucination
After Gus falls into a field of purple flowers he begins to hallucinate. After going through a forest filled with stuff from his old cabin, he finds Pubba. It’s a happy reunion, and Gus tells Pubba about crossing the fence and traveling with Jeppard. It’s a therapeutic moment for Gus because, to his surprise, Pubba is okay with it and understands that he was going to leave the cabin sooner or later. The foundation that Pubba created with his rules is what helps keep the positivity in Gus going and to be able to trust good people such as Bear or Jeppard. As a viewer, this is a moment of closure for Gus, not only telling his father about his journey but also saying goodbye, as he didn’t get a chance before.
As the hallucination begins to fall apart, there’s a brief image of General Abbot in flames that I found rather odd, due to the fact Gus hasn’t even seen Abbot. It’s more geared towards the audience knowing he’s a bad guy, but still it can be distracting knowing they haven’t directly crossed paths just yet.
4. The Zoo Preserve
Last we checked on Aimee and her adopted hybrid daughter Wendy, they’d decided to open a preserve in their zoo. While there is no exact time frame of how long has passed, they now have a few other children in the zoo. Aimee has remained vigilant in her tactics for getting the children by picking them up at designated points when someone contacts her on the CB radio. Aimee is still able to have an open heart while still maintaining a sense of safety and precaution, because she knows the soldiers are out there and it only takes one mistake to be found.
Continued belowWendy also has a strong performance in this episode as she wrestles with the idea of wanting to be more animal than human-like the other hybrid children in the zoo. The other children can’t really speak and look closer to an animal but stand upright with clothes on, while she is more human-looking but with a pig nose. This is a strong moment that anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or wishing they could change a physical feature of themselves to fit in can relate to.
5. The Freezer
Dr. Singh’s neighborhood has been on high alert since Nancie went missing. Dr. Singh has been under more stress between hiding the body and managing his wife’s sickness. The clinic has not been able to get any medicine for her treatment until they get a notice about a delivery. However, the couple is disappointed to find it empty of any medicine and instead finds their neighbors waiting for them at the clinic after discovering Nancie’s body in the freezer. The doctor tries to calm everyone down but as soon as his wife starts to cough it’s all over.
The scene quickly shifts back to the angry mob mentality and even the smallest hint of the disease has them turn on one another. It’s a sickening thought that this neighborhood of good-intentioned people is so cutthroat when it comes to the disease and getting rid of anybody who they think may even carry it. Their willingness to not only ignore Dr. Singh’s warning about not being contagious but to try and kill him too shows how they are unwilling to even listen to reason. Before the fire can reach Singh and his wife inside of their home, they are saved by General Abbot and his soldiers. Now it’s just about waiting until the next episode to see if they’ll regret being saved or help him in his evil plan.
