Sky Atlantic’s Sweetpea is one of the most addictive series to come out of sky in a long time! Rhiannon Lewis (Ella Purnell) is your typical wallflower with atypical anger. After a life of being ignored, mistreated and bullied - the death of her father leaves her more alone than ever. With a newfound courage and desire to be seen comes a twisted dark comedy. It’s evident that this was a passion project for Ella Purnell - her portrayal of Rhiannon Lewis is fresh and interesting. It’s not Ella’s first time taking on an adaptation of a book, in 2018 she was the lead in an adaptation of Sweetbitter, and in 2024 she strikes us again with this cunning adaptation of Sweetpea (Originally a novel by C.J. Skuse).
There’s certainly a level of relatability for anyone that’s ever felt over-looked
Despite this being a hit book series, the plot within the TV series is made to be extremely predictable, and Rhiannon’s snap doesn’t appear to be justified like most other ‘wallflower-turned-serial-killer’ series. The mere 30 minutes where we get an insight into Rhiannon’s background leaves us feeling more sorry for the bullies than Rhiannon; her motivation seems sloppy and unjust. In addition to this, the series purposely blurs the line between the abuser and the abused, but not well. The effect leaves many of the characters completely surface level rather than well-rounded characters with personalities that we have uncovered.
Given its predictability, it’s still an extremely enjoyable and bingeable watch (if you don’t mind blood!), especially as spooky season is fast approaching. The blurred lines between Rhiannon being an under-dog who rises through it all and the origin story of her as a villain is exciting and intriguing. There’s certainly a level of relatability for anyone that’s ever felt over-looked (although we don’t all quite reach serial killer level). Although Season 2 has not been confirmed, it will be exciting to see what happens next in the series and how the characters develop over time.
