“Sweet Tooth,” the Netflix series based on Jeff Lemire’s comic book, released its first season on June 4, 2021. Following the second season, audiences eagerly anticipated Season 3. After nearly a year of waiting, the third season finally premiered on June 6, 2024, and it was certainly worth the wait. The ending of Sweet Tooth Season 3 brought a dramatic and emotional conclusion to the journey of Gus and his companions. The ending left audiences on the edge of their seats with its compelling storytelling and introduced some questions about the overall journey.
“Sweet Tooth” has delivered a captivating blend of a post-apocalyptic world, intriguing characters, their motivation, and deep psychological messages. The third season is no exception, beautifully tying together all the themes and presenting an engaging and thought-provoking ending for viewers. Let’s delve deep into the ending of Season 3 and break down all that there was to take away from the show.
Sweet Tooth: Brief Recap
As humanity teeters on the brink of extinction due to a devastating virus known as “The Sick,” a new species emerges—hybrids that are half-human and half-animal. Gus, a human-deer hybrid, is on the journey to find his mother, accompanied by his protector, Tommy Jepperd, aka the Big Man. In the second season, we see how Jepperd, with the help of Aimee, rescues Gus and other hybrids from the clutches of the villainous General Abbot and his militia, the Last Men. By the season’s end, Gus finds out that Birdie, his mother, is somewhere in Alaska searching for a cure for The Sick. Determined, Gus sets off for Alaska with Jepperd, Becky, and Wendy.
Sweet Tooth Season 3 begins with Gus and his companions journeying to Alaska, pursued by Dr. Singh, who is driven by his own destiny. The biggest threat to Gus and his comrades is Mrs. Helen Zhang, whose life’s mission is to eradicate hybrids in her quest for a cure for The Sick.
Upon reaching Alaska, Gus senses a larger purpose behind his journey — beyond his desire to reunite with Birdie. There, he learns about the Cave, which is the same one he had seen in his dreams, and he learns that it is the origin of everything.
Sweet Tooth Season 3: What happened in Episode 8?
Gus, Jepperd, and Birdie finally make it into the Cave they have been searching for, which holds the blood of the earth. Inside, they discover an ancient tree in the shape of antlers with an axe embedded in it, which is the true source of The Sick. Gus wants to remove the axe to allow the tree to heal, believing this will save humanity. But Birdie and Jepperd stop him, fearing that saving humanity would doom the hybrids.
Mrs. Zang and Dr. Singh arrive with their men and capture Gus, Jepp, and Birdie. Dr. Singh reveals that killing Gus and soaking the earth with his blood would stop The Sick and also prevent any more hybrids from being born, which will save the humans from extinction. During the struggle, Dr. Singh accidentally kills Birdie. Heartbroken by Birdie’s death, Gus comes to believe that humans no longer deserve to survive. Dr. Singh, realizing his mistake, saves Gus from Mrs. Zang. Gus then burns down the tree, deciding to let nature take its course, acknowledging that humans possess both good and evil. Dr. Singh dies while protecting Gus, and taking his last breath, Dr. Singh feels liberated and dies with a smile on his face.
Nature decides to spare the remaining humans; the sickness is eradicated, but no new human babies will be born. This last generation of humans will eventually become extinct, leaving the earth to be inherited by hybrids. The surviving humans come to accept their fate, recognizing the futility of trying to control nature. Mrs. Zang, unable to overcome her hatred for hybrids, is abandoned by her daughters, who have hybrid children of their own.
Gus returns to Yellowstone with Wendy and Becky, where they start building a sanctuary for the hybrids. In the end, it is revealed that Gus has been the one narrating the story. He has married Wendy, and they have children and grandchildren, continuing their legacy.
What happened to Big Man and what’s next?
The series leaves Jepperd’s fate ambiguous, inviting viewers to speculate. But from the beginning of Sweet Tooth Season 3, we have seen Jepp struggling with health issues despite not being infected. In the end, after emerging from the Cave, we see Jepp unable to continue. He asks Gus to tell him a story; the scene transitions to an elderly Gus telling his story to his grandkids. When Jepp asks what happened to the Big Man, Gus replies he lived with him. This is a comforting gesture, suggesting that the Big Man never made it out of Alaska but will always live on in Gus’s stories. The show ends with elderly Guss telling his grandkids that humans did not truly die; rather, it was the evil that perished, while the goodness of humanity survived in the hybrids.
The conclusion of Sweet Tooth Season 3 brings a fitting end to Gus’ journey and marks a new beginning for the hybrids. It is now their time to inherit the earth and avoid repeating the mistakes that led to human extinction. By exploring complex themes through the lens of a fantastical world, “Sweet Tooth” has crafted a narrative that is both entertaining and profoundly meaningful. The series has been a magical journey for fans, delivering powerful messages about acceptance, resilience, and the importance of community. These themes will continue to inspire and resonate long after the final credits roll.
Pingback: What if Amazon Prime’s The Boys was made in Korea?