Creating a ‘Unlike-able’ Hero
In what ways does Sweetpea (2024) fail to create an empowering, relatable anti-hero and
succeed in creating a pathetic unlikeable character on an unsatisfying killing spree.
The new Now TV series Sweetpea (2024), is directed by Ella Jones and stars Ella Purnell in the lead role as Rhiannon. While it draws comparisons to dark comedies like Fleabag, it struggles to deliver the same charm and emotional depth as the original novel written by C.J. Skuse.
Although Rhiannon, the protagonist, is meant to embody the frustration of a woman overlooked and mistreated by society; rather than coming across as empowering or relatable, she often feels petty and mean-spirited. Her voiceovers, intended to showcase her inner world, fail to make her likeable, instead of drawing viewers into her hardships, they reinforce her narcissism, without giving enough reasons to sympathize with her; Yes, we know she's endured significant trauma, but the show doesn’t balance that with moments of charm or humour that could help make the audience root for her, even as she spirals into violence.
Her needlessly hostile reaction to Craig (played by Jon Pointing) who shows her kindness and affection, coupled with her obsessive thirst for revenge, is offputting. Although her reaction to the terrible events she experiences would be understandable, due to her lack of charisma, authenticity and kindness, it’s hard to feel satisfied why her killing spree begins; unfortunately, her snarky behaviour overshadows her character’s potential to empower and make an important statement on the unfairness of the world.
Rhiannon’s character is meant to be complex and reflective of a world gone wrong, but the show misses the mark in making her a figure we can truly root for despite her flaws; this failure in character development diminishes the effectiveness of her darker traits as we aren’t shown enough lighter traits, leaving her more frustrating than fascinating.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS :
1) A longer introduction to Rhiannon as a person rather than the extreme sequence of bad things that happen to her.
Aside from her social anxiety and trouble defending herself, who is Rhiannon? What are her fun quirks? What does she like?
The opening scene would have benefited from a longer scene showing how warm, quirky and kind Rhiannon is behind closed doors. In the scene where Rhiannon visits her father, it would have been a great opportunity to show her real charming personality, and just how bright, charming and kind she can be - without this element she comes across as pathetic rather than a good person going through bad/unfair treatment.
2) A Better use of Rhiannon’s Narrations
The voiceovers should have helped make Rhiannon more accessible, but in this case, it only deepened the distance between her and the audience. If the narration was used to show a more relatable and perhaps humorous side to Rhiannon’s character and how she thinks, it would have been a great opportunity to create more of a connection with people watching the show, for example, Joe Goldberg’s narration in You (2028-2024) is a unique and amazing insight into a character’s mind, allowing the audience to feel superior as they know sides of the protagonist that the other characters in the story have never seen.
3) Installing a strong sense of justice for other ‘outcasts’ and leaning into the Hero-like qualities.
Another suggestion would have been to instal Rhiannon with a strong sense of justice for other people who also get overlooked, much like herself; by adding an empathetic element to her character we can see that although she struggles with confidence and anxiety, underneath she has ‘hero like’ qualities that were evident way before her killing spree; for example, if we saw her making an effort to appreciate those who were nice to her and trying her best to make other people feel seen (especially other outcasts), we would have seen a respectable side to Rhiannon and her ability to take notice of other outcasts; if we saw her trying to ‘be the change she wants to see in the world’, this mentality would have easily helped balance the horror of her murdering spree as she heroically takes justice for the unseen into her own bloody hands.
