Starz Review: ‘Sweetpea’ is an Enthralling and Entertaining Ride with a Fantastic Ella Purnell

It’s often quite appealing to root for the bad guy, or at least for someone who can be considered an antihero. The protagonist of the Sky Atlantic-Starz series Sweetpea opens each episode by listing off “people I’d love to kill,” suggesting seriously violent intent but framing it a way that most can probably relate to, speaking aloud impulses about dealing with the kind of irritating elements that everyone has encountered. This dark and slyly clever series follows someone who decides to act on those fantasies and experience a newfound sense of purpose and self that for once makes her the main character in her own story.

Rhiannon (Ella Purnell) doesn’t have much going for her. The only person who was actually able to see her is gone, and, at work, her boss (Jeremy Swift) doesn’t consider her a good candidate for a promotion to actual reporting. A run-in with her childhood bully Julia (Nicôle Lecky) pushes her to the edge, and another unpleasant confrontation unleashes something in her that triggers a bloodthirst that can only be quenched by killing. Rhiannon discovers a surprising appetite for the adventure and staying one step of her pursuers, including her journalist colleagues, while hunting for her next victim.

This show is best described as a cross between the British limited series Two Weeks to Live and the popular Showtime drama Dexter. Rhiannon isn’t nearly as organized as the blood splatter analyst in the latter but does have an impressive knack for careful planning to cover her tracks, combined with a bit of the spunk exhibited by Maisie Williams’ lead character in the former. The show’s title references the demeaning nickname Rhiannon’s boss has for her, indicative of the lack of respect anyone pays her, which frequently leads to her spouting self-deprecating humor exclusively for the benefit of the viewing audience.

Purnell is a fantastic choice for this role, fresh off her spectacular introduction to an enormous video gaming fanbase as the plucky protagonist of Fallout. Rhiannon lives somewhere in between the overly idealistic and friendly Lucy and the edgier, more self-aware Jackie from Yellowjackets. Purnell has such an expressive face that lends itself perfectly to Rhiannon’s hyper focus and the way in which she shifts from enjoying the ability to move around as if she’s invisible to wanting very much to be seen to either create an alibi or set events in a direction she wants them to go.

The supporting cast includes a handful of players whose characters shape how Rhiannon walks in the world, but the unquestionable standout is Lecky, whose portrayal of Julia goes much deeper than it initially feels like it will, digging into her motivations and how she sometimes can – and often cannot – perceive her role in other’s lives, particularly Rhiannon’s. Leah Harvey is also memorable as an ambitious young investigator determined to put the pieces together whose life experiences don’t feel all that different from Rhiannon’s.

Sweetpea runs just six episodes, which will be released weekly on Starz. Each hourlong installment contains numerous twists and turns that are sure to keep viewers hooked, rooting for Rhiannon to succeed in her unlawful and violent attempts to fulfill the need she has to kill. There’s comedy to be found in the way that she’s able to get away with so much and how she responds when it seems like someone might be on her trail, evocative also of the Alibi-Showtime series We Hunt Together but considerably lighter. Sweetpea is witty, entertaining, and deeply serious when it wants to be, a prime example of top-tier television that certainly merits consideration for a second season but would do just as well to leave things where they end at the close of season one.

Series Rating: 8/10

Awards Buzz: Purnell is certainly headed for awards attention at some point soon given her talent and choice of roles, but this may be a hard sell for awards voters in America, who don’t often pay attention to British coproductions as much as they should, or Starz fare, for that matter.