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Sweet Tooth Season 2: Not As Good As The First

Sweet Tooth season 2 gets dark and intense at its best times, but overstuffed and silly at its worst. Still, there is a lot of great things here.

Sweet Tooth Season 2 review

Sweet Tooth. Christian Convery as Gus in episode 201 of Sweet Tooth. Cr. Kirsty Griffin/Netflix © 2023

The first season of Sweet Tooth set a really high bar. Not only did it capture the darkness of the comic books, it made the world fall in love with a deer-human hybrid boy named Gus. We were all captivated by his journey and his tenaciousness to go out into the world and find his mom. Not to mention the innocence that surrounds him as he refuses to think the worst of people, even when he is scared. 

Sweet Tooth season 2 is now streaming on Netflix and while it tries to capture that same feeling, it doesn’t quite hit the mark the way the first season did. That isn’t to say this isn’t a good season, because it is. However it has some faults that hold it back from being as good as it could have been. 

Sweet Tooth Season 2 wendy

Sweet Tooth season 2. (L to R) Christian Convery as Gus, Naledi Murray as Wendy in episode 201 of Sweet Tooth. Cr. Kirsty Griffin/Netflix © 2023

The season starts out strong, reminding us of where things left off, because it has been a long time since June 2021 when we were all first introduced to the series. Gus has been captured, as have many other hybrid children, and they are being held at what they used to call their home, an old zoo.

We know that Gus’ mom is alive and likely working on a cure for “The Sick”. Doctor Singh is being forced by General Abbott to experiment on these children in hopes of finding a cure as well. At the same time, Big Man was left for dead and separated from Bear. 

This is a lot of things to touch on, but the season does it well enough over its eight episodes. It is weird because at times it feels like we could have used more episodes to explore some story lines in more depth, but then others feel too drawn out. There is a happy medium there somewhere, but season two was never able to find it.

Sweet Tooth Season 2 review

Sweet Tooth. Adeel Akhtar as Singh in episode 206 of Sweet Tooth. Cr. Kirsty Griffin/Netflix © 2023

One of the most fascinating parts of Sweet Tooth season 2 follows Doctor Singh. We know his motivations behind finding a cure now, to save the love of his life. However the extremes he is willing to go to in order to this are gut-wrenching. He has forced himself to forget that hybrids not only living breathing things, but that they are children.

While he has been doing a decent job holding this in, it really starts to come to a head this season. You can only push aside the truth of what you are doing for so long, before it comes bubbling to the surface of your conscious. Still, he is determined and strong willed, which is portrayed well in this next chapter of Sweet Tooth.

Sweet Tooth Season 2 hybrid kids

Sweet Tooth. (L to R) Ruby Hall as Haley Mockingbird, Harvey Gui as Max Skunk, Aeon Scott as Anna Rabbit, Amie Donald as Maya Monkey, Cyan Scott as Hanna Rabbit, Christian Convery as Gus, Naledi Murray as Wendy, Christopher Cooper Jnr as Teddy Turtle, Erin Minchin as Jo Jo Raccoon, Apii Pukeiti as Junior Owl, Yonas Kibreab as Finn Fox in episode 202 of Sweet Tooth. Cr. Kirsty Griffin/Netflix © 2023

I truly feel awful saying this, but adding in so may hybrid kids was the downfall of Sweet Tooth season 2. They are by far the worst part. Kids, in general, aren’t the best actors. They simply have not had the time to hone their craft. Putting so many of them, in so many scenes together, where they are tasked with acting like specific animals, becomes silly. And Sweet Tooth has far too heavy topics to be dubbed as silly. 

The first time we saw Bobby in the first season, I thought he was absolutely adorable. However, spending so much time with him it was clear that he didn’t quite work on screen. The majority of the time he looks off, and like he doesn’t quite belong. This is not a good thing as he is very distracting in some really important scenes.

Being stuck in the zoo for nearly the whole season wasn’t the smartest choice. While I can understand and appreciate that the thought process was likely to leave the viewers feeling trapped like Sweet Tooth was, it ends up causing the feeling of claustrophobia as well as messing with the pacing of it all. This drags out the season too much.

Sweet Tooth Season 2 review

Sweet Tooth. (L to R) Christian Convery as Gus, Neil Sandilands as General Abbot in episode 205 of Sweet Tooth. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023

Overall Thoughts

The biggest issue with Sweet Tooth season 2 is that it just doesn’t live up to expectations after a stellar first season. Spending so much time in the zoo causes a lot of the season to drag, while the rest of the storylines feel too rushed. Having so many hybrid children surrounding Gus makes sense, but at the same time they bring too much silly to what should be a very serious and dark series.

Wendy is the exception to this rule, as she is by far the standout. Her and Gus make a great pair, and I am eager to see what Season 3 has in store for them. 

The decisions made in episode eight of Sweet Tooth season 2 are brilliant. It feels as though things are heading in the right direction, back to the vibes of season one. We can only hope that the series will be renewed so that we can finish Gus’ story.

Rating: 3 out of 5

NEXT: Sweet Tooth Season One Review: A Dark & Gritty Visually Stunning Show

Sweet Tooth Season 2 poster

About Sweet Tooth Season 2

As a deadly new wave of the Sick bears down, Gus (Christian Convery) and a band of fellow hybrids are held prisoner by General Abbot (Neil Sandilands) and the Last Men. Looking to consolidate power by finding a cure, Abbot uses the children as fodder for the experiments of captive Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar), who’s racing to save his infected wife Rani (Aliza Vellani). To protect his friends, Gus agrees to help Dr. Singh, beginning a dark journey into his origins and his mother Birdie’s (Amy Seimetz) role in the events leading up to The Great Crumble.

Outside the Preserve, Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) and Aimee Eden (Dania Ramirez ) team up to break the hybrids free, a partnership that will be tested as Jepperd’s secrets come to light. As the revelations of the past threaten the possibility of redemption in the present, Gus and his found family find themselves on a collision course with Abbot and the evil forces that look to wipe them out once and for all.

Based on the DC comic book series by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth is executive produced by Jim Mickle, Susan Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Amanda Burrell, and Linda Moran. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television.

Sweet Tooth Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.