Netflix’s Sweet Tooth became an international success thanks to its surprisingly optimistic take on post-apocalyptic tropes. Sadly, Season 3 will soon end the story.
Sweet Tooth is set ten years after a dangerous disease wiped out more than 98% of humanity, a mass destruction event known as the Big Crumble. Since the virus began to circulate, people have started to birth human-animal hybrid babies, a new species fated to inherit the Earth. Since survivors don’t know which came first, the hybrids or the sickness, the children of the new world are hunted down and killed, forcing them to hide.
The series follows a deer hybrid named Gus (Christian Convery), who leaves his safe home in the woods after his father’s passing. By the side of Jepperds, aka Big Man (Nonso Anozie), Gus crosses a shattered America to find his mother, Birdie (Amy Seimetz). Along their way, they uncover the truth about the Sick and the hybrids while crossing paths with terrifying villains and brave allies. Before Season 3 of Sweet Tooth hits Netflix, here’s everything you need to remember from Season 2.
The Last Men and the Animal Army are gone
The main villains of Seasons 1 and 2 of Sweet Tooth were the Last Men, a military group that fought to take control of America and rebuild civilization. Finding a cure for the Sick was crucial for giving the Last Men’s leader, General Abbot (Neil Sandilands), the power he sought. That’s why The Last Men hunted down hybrid kids, so they could cruelly experiment on them.
Opposing the Last Men was the Animal Army, a group of self-trained teenagers who vowed to protect hybrids, whom they saw as the heirs of the new world. The Animal Army’s leader, Bear (Stefania LaVie Owen), often travels alongside Gus and Big Man.
During most of Season 2 of Sweet Tooth, Gus remains trapped in a zoo with other hybrids, a building the Last Men took for them. On the outside, Big Man works with the zoo’s previous owner, Aimee (Dania Ramirez), to release the prisoners. Bear goes on her own journey to track Gus down and gives him a cassette tape left by Birdie.
At the end of Season 2, Bear reunites with the Animal Army as they launch an offensive against Abbott’s zoo. Their goal is to destroy the Last Men once and for all. Unfortunately, Abbott wins the battle, slaughtering the entire Animal Army. Bear is the only survivor, spared because she was helping to escort the rescued hybrid kids to Yellowstone, the natural sanctuary where Gus grew up with his father.
While Abbot destroys the Animal Army, the Last Men suffer heavy casualties in the confrontation. Determined to get his revenge, Abbott leads the remaining of his forces to Yellowstone. There, they are ambushed by Gus, Jepperd, and Aimee, who take them out one by one. The last man standing is General Abbot, who manages to harm Jepperd’s knees and shoot Gus in his leg before being injected with the Sick by Aimee. The final blow comes from Gus, whose special connection to animals allows him to summon a bison stampede to crush the General. With his dying breath, Abbot shoots Gus with a crossbow. So, the heroes are beaten and bloodied by the end of Season 2 of Sweet Tooth. Still, the threat of the Last Men no longer exists.
Doctor Singh is treading a dangerous path in Sweet Tooth
Season 2 of Sweet Tooth also sees Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar) slowly losing his moral compass. Abbot kidnaps Aditya and his wife Rani, forcing the doctor to work on a cure to save the woman he loves from the Sick. At first, Aditya was appalled at the idea of hurting hybrid kids to produce the medicine Rani needed. Still, after being pushed to his brink, Aditya begins to see the world through Abbot’s eyes.
At the end of Season 2, Aditya did unspeakable things to find a cure for the Sick. Now, he believes that Gus’ DNA might be the final ingredient he needs to save humanity. As the first hybrid, Gus is indeed unique. In Season 3, Dr. Singh will chase Gus to learn more about the hybrids’ origin. Since Rani left her husband after realizing how far gone he was, Dr. Singh might become a full-blown villain. Or maybe losing his wife will make him realize the errors of his way and pursue the path of redemption. Either way, Dr. Singh’s story is far from over.
Alaska, here we go
Dr. Singh must find some good jackets to catch up with Gus. That’s because, at the end of Season 2 of Sweet Tooth, the deer-boy departs for Alaska with his Big Man, Bear, and Wendy (Naledi Murray).
Season 2 of Sweet Tooth reveals that the hybrids and the Sick were born from genetic experiments conducted by the pharmaceutical company Forth Smith. These experiments were made thanks to the discovery of particular microbes from Alaska. To keep Gus safe, Birdie never went back to find her son. Instead, she went to Alaska, hoping to divert Fort Smith’s attention while Gus grew free in Yellowstone.
Birdie is still alive in Alaska, searching for a cure. Now, Gus is going after her with the help of his friends. This journey will reunite Gus with his mother and allow us to learn the secrets behind the creation of hybrids. So, before the end of Season 3, Sweet Tooth will explain what truly caused the apocalypse and how it will change the planet’s future.
New villains and breadcrumbs
Season 2 of Sweet Tooth left a few loose knots behind that Season 3 must unravel. First, in Season 2, we are introduced to Mrs. Helen Zhang (Rosalind Chao), a warlord Abbot wants to work with to rebuild humanity in a closed community named Evergreen. Mrs. Zhang murders the other warlords Abbot wants to work with to restore society in Evergreen. Abbot wanted to come to Evergreen so she could have access to more places for her people, a move that underlines how ruthless she is.
Now that Abbot is dead and the Last Men decimated, Mrs. Chang remains the last human leader. She will surely go to Evergreen and take over Abbot’s operation. However, she still needs a cure for the Sick. While Aimee burned down Dr. Singh’s lab at the zoo, Mrs. Chang’s men retrieved the doctors’ tapes. So, she will soon discover that the hybrids are the key to humanity’s salvation, which will most likely lead her to chase Gus.
Before setting the zoo on fire, Aimee also retrieves the serum Dr. Singh produced using the genetic material of Roy, the chameleon boy. She refuses to take the medicine after she contracts the Sick, which leads her to die soon after the final battle against Abbot. Still, Roy’s steam cells are kept within the small flask that drops from Aimee’s pocket in the woods. Season 2 of Sweet Tooth puts too much attention on this flask for it not to return in Season 3.
There we have it. The hybrid kids are free again and cared for by the Andersons (Jared Turner and Anna Jullienne). Gus and his troupe are going to Alaska. On his heels, there’s Dr. Singh and Mrs. Zhang. And it will all come together in Season 3 of Sweet Tooth.