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Sweetpea: Vicious Serial Killer Or Relatable Victim?

Rhiannon Lewis transforms from prey to predator in pursuit of revenge and redemption.

Courtesy of IMDb

By Emma Coleman, First Year, English (edited by Chien Wen)

This modern murder story, whilst based off of C. J. Skuse’s novel Sweetpea, acts as somewhat of a prequel to her novel, with its focus on Rhiannon before she turns into a full-fledged serial killer. The show stars Ella Purnell as Rhiannon, dealing with a psychotic break after the death of her father. The director, Ella Jones, flawlessly encapsulates the ‘dark thriller’ genre, having previously directed the British Comedy-Horror series, The Baby (2022).

Sweetpea begins with the sudden death of Rhiannon’s father, Tommy, and the death of her dog, Tink. This immediate tragedy sets Rhiannon up as a victim of circumstance. An idea that follows her through the rest of the show, as we are introduced to her high-school bully Julia, played by Nicôle Lecky, whose youthful torments result in Rhiannon pulling out her own hair forcing her to wear a wig. She is similarly disregarded at her office, with no one realising her potential. At this point I believed she was a victim, I was even rooting for her, and after her first kill at the climax of episode one, I was in full support of a murderer!

Courtesy of IMDb

Yet this is by no means the end of Rhiannon’s warpath. Compared with this first random killing, her next victim is more targeted, a man whom she believes to be responsible for her absence during her father's death. Rhiannon believes that because of his trivial argument with a hospital receptionist, she failed to acquire the check-up her father needed, ultimately returning to her father, know a corpse in his hospital bed. Thus, another killing is validated, and Rhiannon maintains her status as a Robin Hood figure, but instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, she is righting the wrongs in her life. Purnell's acting is thrilling and intense, but compared to the first episode, she is different. Her greedy and wide-eyed facial expressions, not seen in prior killings, reveal a murderous enjoyment, the beginning of her path to becoming the serial killer we know in the novel.

Even after this gruesome murder, I found myself, astoundingly, on Rhiannon's side and fearing for her discovery, particularly when police officer Marina, played by Leah Harvey, gets closer and closer to the truth. I began to ask myself why? Why do I care for murderous Rhiannon? One reason was the soundtrack of Sweetpea. Featuring original music by Isobel Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Emma), songs by Billie Ellish and Charli XCX, Sweetpea's soundtrack is dominated by women, it is grungy, poppy, and empowering. This diverges from standard thriller soundtracks with their suspenseful crescendos, and instead of feeling frightened and disgusted when the murders occur, we are mesmerised and maybe tapping our foot to the beat. Another reason is the framing, the shots rarely place us as an onlooker of Rhiannon's crimes, but rather the camera positions the viewer in the POV of the victim, or as Rhiannon herself. We are therefore intrinsically connected to the crime, and are implicated in it. We, as an audience, become part of the murder, not just a horrified witness

Courtesy of IMDb

Nevertheless, by episode four, I began to detest Rhiannon’s character: the self-victimisation had grown tiresome and the revelations of Julia whilst she was kidnapped highlighted this. Julia is similarly shown to be a victim, domestically abused by her partner, Marcus, shattering Rhiannon's construction of her as merely a cruel bully, and invited me to question Rhiannon’s one-sided narrative overall. As an aspiring reporter, Rhiannon utilises her killings to progress her career, and the original image of a sweet but maltreated girl overcome with anger and self-loathing began to fall apart for me. Her murders and cruelty are now poised, planned, and if the old adage is true, that hurt people hurt people, Rhiannon is the poster child. This ordeal is concluded by both women framing Julia's fiancé and abuser, Marcus for the murders to both escape their dire situations – however, Rhiannon murders Marcus, and instead of this helping Julia, she flees abroad after growing to fear her new, unstable friend.

Finally, to sum up this thriller, we must also look at the character of AJ (Calam Lynch) – the classic ‘innocent’ and tragic final victim of sociopathic Rhiannon. As if in a frantic reflex, Rhiannon murders AJ in the final episode after he discovers she is the serial killer plaguing their town. This consolidated my wavering judgement of her, and I reached the verdict that whilst she could not help but be a victim, she chose to be a ruthless monster. Rhiannon Lewis transforms from prey to predator in pursuit of revenge and redemption. My frustration with this ending, however, does not extend to Sweetpea as a whole, which still offers a valuable portrayal of the dangerous effects of neglect and grief. Yet, Rhiannon as a character falls short of the organised and effortless serial killer we see in the book, and her emotional impulses leave us with a rather unsatisfying ending.


What did you think of Sweetpea?

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