Madeleine’s Score: Enjoyed it—would watch it again
(4/5 cool points)

Gus is just a normal kid. He loves his dad, reading books, playing with his stuffed animal named “Dog,” and guzzling sugar. There’s just one thing…

He’s part-deer.

The world fell ten years ago during “The Great Crumble” when a deadly virus referred to as “The Sick” swept through humanity. Animal-human hybrid children were born during and after the apocalypse, and the connection between them and the virus remains mysterious. However, humans are often fear-driven creatures, and many negatively associate the hybrids with the end of the world. General Abbot hates the hybrid kids more than anyone, and he’s enlisted countless “Last Men” in his crusade against them. It’s a war that the very special Gus can’t help but get caught up in.

Sweet Tooth was adapted from Jeff Lemire’s DC comic series of the same name. But the team behind the Netflix series (including producers Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan) lightened up just about every aspect of the comic, from the tone to the scenery to the characters. As a result, the Sweet Tooth show is suitable for adults and older kids alike. I daresay it’s en-deering (sorry, had to), which is a major thing I love about it.

I found myself rooting for plucky, socially-awkward Gus as he embarks on a journey to find his mom, a woman he’s dreamed about forever but never met. It was easy to empathize with the badass Jepperd, a loner who gets stuck with this boy who’s certain there’s a squishy teddy bear underneath Jepperd’s crusty exterior. Truly, I could watch this odd couple for multiple seasons, and hope to do so.

This series contains themes of humanity’s brokenness, hope amidst darkness, and how we ought to love one another regardless of our differences. The visuals are beautiful as often as they are haunting. I enjoyed watching Gus dancing goofily to music for the first time as much as being shocked by the measures a group of neighbors resorts to at a dinner party to keep The Sick from spreading. Any show that can get me saying “daaaaang!” at the screen or eeking out a few tears will get a recommendation from me, and this one elicited both.

Watch Sweet Tooth on Netflix. Not sure it’s for you? Check out the trailer below: