Craving for SWEET TOOTH

 Article first published as SWEET TOOTH TV Review on Seat42F.

Note: This review only covers the first episode of the series.

Netflix recently released SWEET TOOTH, a series starring a young boy who is half deer. Based on the comic series, SWEET TOOTH follows the child as he ventures out into the world, dodging hunters and searching for his mom. He isn’t alone, thank goodness, but he does have to rely on himself a fair amount. Surely, the story have a happy ending, though probably not the one the boy hopes for.

SWEET TOOTH takes a little time to get going, providing exposition through the eyes of Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar, Enola Holmes). We see a plague overtake his city, and are told it’s widespread. This could be a bit traumatizing for some who just lived through a pandemic, especially if you lost someone. But it really isn’t too graphic, focusing on Singh’s emotional journey, including as his wife, Rani (Aliza Vellani, Little Mosque on the Prairie), becomes one of the infected. Listed as a lead, it’s certain we’ll come back to Dr. Singh’s tale in later episodes. This is a good way in for those who aren’t already drawn to post-apocalyptic fare. In all, especially with the accompanying narration by James Brolin (Life in Pieces), it’s a strong opening.

From there, it quickly moves to a man (Will Forte, Last Man on Earth) carrying a baby into the woods. We know from the hospital scenes that there are many animal-human hybrid infants, though we don’t know why, and this guy has one with him, a little boy with deer features. The man, known to the boy as Pubba (sounding like Papa), raises the child for nine years, and this extended sequence, making up about half the episode, is phenomenal. It is incredibly moving, if a little tame, and the love the father has for his son is palpable. Forte ditches the goofiness and really brings home the feelings.

It isn’t surprising when that happy time comes to an end; the trailer and poster spoil that it will. But like the beginning of the film Up, it could make a fitting stand-alone short that would be worth watching repeatedly.

The rest of SWEET TOOTH’s pilot sets up the premise. Pubba makes the boy, Gus (Christian Convery, Legion), promise not to leave their home, but it’s a given that he won’t listen. Gus does stay  for awhile, but this story needs a journey, and you can’t get that hiding away. There is an arc, quickly gone through, developing the kid, and it’s just as moving as the stuff with his dad. Gus is a compelling protagonist who will immediately have you rooting for him.

The second lead, Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie, Game of Thrones), is barely introduced in episode one, but already demonstrates plenty of complexity to attract interest.

SWEET TOOTH isn’t for little kids, even if it looks like it might be. But older children can watch it with their parents, as the deaths aren’t gruesome and the terror isn’t intense. It has a magical and hopeful spirit about it that is sure to intrigue many viewers, feeling like a heart-warming story that is sanitized, but not so much that it distracts. The acting seen so far is solid, and the story is interesting. Set in the woods, it also looks beautiful. There’s lots to praise SWEET TOOTH on.

I would be surprised if this series doesn’t have legs. Reviews have been good so far, deservedly so, and I was easily sucked into the story. I’m sure I’ll watch further installments before the end of the day. With a first season of only eight episodes, it should be an easy, enjoyable binge.

SWEET TOOTH’s first season is available now on Netflix.

LOKI Resurrected

 Article first published as LOKI TV Review on Seat42F.

The latest MCU series is LOKI, which premiered on Disney+ this past week. Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as the titular villain circa the first The Avengers film, having just killed Coulson and attacked New York. As glimpsed during the time travel portion of Avengers: End Game, Loki briefly escapes this time with the Tesseract. But as LOKI the series begins, he’s caught by the Time Variance Authority, since he’s a variant out of the accepted timeline. In their custody, he faces punishment and possible death. Until a TVA officer with sway takes an interest in him, hoping Loki can help the organization.

Loki himself doesn’t really understand (or at first believe) what’s happening to him, and that’s beneficial to the audience. He’s a fish out of water, and our way into this new world, a corner of the MCU we were previously unaware of. Loki has always straddled the line between hero and bad guy, and while this Loki comes from the darker period of the character, it’s easy enough to make us care about him, knowing he is capable of more. Which Loki is shown before the end of the first hour, an important step in getting a redeemed Loki, as he was before he died in the films.

The co-lead alongside Loki is Mobius (Owen Wilson, The Royal Tenenbaums), the agent who wants Loki to help him. He seems about as opposite a personality as one might get from Loki, easygoing and confident, secure in who he is. He’s a good way to get us into the world and introduce the rules, as there is never any doubt that he knows what he’s doing in his job. Wilson is playing the role as he always does, but if anything, with even more depth, an excellent scene partner for Hiddleston.

Rounding out the cast are a slew of smaller parts that aren’t really developed yet. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show) is a great presence as Judge Ravonna Renslayer. Wunmi Mosaku, who shone last year in Lovecraft Country, is hilarious as Hunter B-15. And Eugene Cordero (The Good Place, Star Trek: Lower Decks) is great doing what he does best as the hapless Casey. I look forward to more from each of them, easily seeing their parallels to Monica, Woo, and Darcy from earlier MCU series WandaVision.

The plot is a little slow to get started, but that’s OK because of the sheer amount of new information that had to be covered in the initial installment. So much is added to expand the universe (or omniverse). Yet, at the same time, LOKI finds time to give us some extremely moving character moments and showcase its leads’ talents. It’s a great balance of exposition, action, and development, well executed and immediately enticing.

Some fans have already dissected Avengers: End Game for what they perceive as inconsistencies in the time travel portrayal, and that is sure to continue with LOKI. But here’s the thing: Time travel isn’t real. So as long as a franchise is consistent within itself and the rules it sets out, then I recommend suspending disbelief and accepting the way it is. Having a character in the first episode of LOKI declare what the Avengers did, mucking with time, was always meant to happen is an easy out. It’s also a way not to get bogged down in the details and keep the story moving, which seems necessary.

LOKI is not quite the mystery box WandaVision was. There is plenty still unknown, but that doesn’t seem to be the point of the series. It is a lot more complex than The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and certainly more ambitious. I would say by finding a place between those two, LOKI has staked its own ground and already earned its keep, just as compelling (if not more so) than the first two efforts. I look forward to see how it progresses.

New episodes of LOKI drop Wednesday on Disney+.