Sweetpea, a new and highly engaging show on Starz, is taking the streaming world by storm. With only six episodes currently available, it has managed to attract audiences with its gripping narrative and intense character development.
The show’s near-perfect pacing and intriguing plot twists have kept viewers glued to their screens. While many questions remain unanswered after a maddening cliffhanger, fans can’t help but speculate about what the future holds for the main characters: Rhiannon (Ella Purnell), AJ (Calam Lynch), Marina (Leah Harvey), and Julia (Nicôle Lecky).
As of now, a second season has not been officially confirmed, leaving fans eagerly waiting for news. In the meantime, let’s revisit what made Season 1 so compelling, and look closely at where the characters stand after the shocking finale.
What Is Sweetpea About?
At its core, Sweetpea is a dark comedy that shows themes of rage, revenge, and isolation. The story follows Rhiannon Lewis, a young woman stuck in a dead-end job as an admin assistant for a small local newspaper called the Carnsham Gaze.
From the very beginning, we are introduced to Rhiannon’s inner world through voiceovers that reveal her deep-seated anger and frustration with life. She feels invisible, neglected, and overlooked by everyone around her. This is partly due to the intense bullying she suffered as a teenager at the hands of Julia Blenkingsopp, her former schoolmate, and her cruel clique.
Rhiannon’s trauma manifests in harmful ways. During her teen years, she developed a compulsive habit of pulling out her hair, which left her balding in places. Her emotional pain is buried beneath layers of resentment and unexpressed anger.
The show opens by showing Rhiannon listing off people she hates, and in her mind, she fantasizes about killing them. The list includes rude convenience store workers, her misogynistic boss, her often-absent sister Seren (Alexandra Dowling), and others who she feels have wronged her.
One of the key themes Sweetpea addresses is how society dismisses people like Rhiannon—those who feel alienated and lost in the world.
Through her eyes, we see her struggle to find her place and the disturbing ways she copes with her feelings of invisibility. This inner turmoil sets the stage for the violent path Rhiannon eventually takes.
The Start of Rhiannon’s Murder Spree
The moment that changes everything comes early in the show. After years of bottling up her emotions, Rhiannon’s rage finally boils over one night in a secluded area by the river. She encounters a rude and drunken man who inadvertently urinates on her.
When he shrugs it off, saying he didn’t even notice her standing there, something snaps inside Rhiannon. Already overwhelmed by grief after her father’s recent death and years of emotional neglect, she pulls out a small knife and stabs the man, leaving him dead in the water.
This first murder gives her a twisted sense of satisfaction, as if she’s finally found a way to assert herself in a world that has ignored her for too long.
From this point on, Sweetpea takes viewers on a dark and bloody journey as Rhiannon continues to kill. Each murder becomes a form of release for her, a way to channel her deep-rooted anger. But unlike many crime dramas, Sweetpea doesn’t present Rhiannon as a typical psychopath.
She is a complex character, and while her actions are unquestionably violent, they are also the product of years of pain, marginalization, and untreated trauma.
Rhiannon’s Complex Relationships
While Rhiannon’s killing spree is central to the plot, Sweetpea also goes into her personal relationships, which are just as complicated and fraught with tension. At work, she harbors resentment toward AJ, a colleague who beat her out for the position of junior reporter at the Carnsham Gaze. Though she initially considers killing him, she hesitates, unable to follow through.
Rhiannon’s relationship with her sister Seren is another source of frustration. Seren left Rhiannon to take care of their dying father, and the two sisters have never fully reconciled.
Seren’s return, particularly when she begins working with Julia to sell their father’s house, only deepens Rhiannon’s feelings of betrayal and abandonment. The house itself becomes a symbol of Rhiannon’s emotional state—neglected, decaying, and filled with memories of a broken family.
The Developing Bond Between Rhiannon and AJ
One of the show’s most intriguing dynamics is the evolving relationship between Rhiannon and AJ. Despite her initial resentment toward him, Rhiannon starts to develop feelings for AJ as the series progresses. They even spend the night together in the Season 1 finale.
This moment of vulnerability between them, however, is quickly shattered when AJ discovers a crucial piece of evidence linking Rhiannon to the murders.
In a tense confrontation, AJ realizes that the knife found at the crime scene matches the one Rhiannon had in her possession. Desperate to protect herself, Rhiannon tries to convince AJ that she’s not the same person anymore, that she has changed.
But AJ doesn’t believe her, and in a panic, Rhiannon stabs him, leaving him to bleed out on the kitchen floor. The season ends with Rhiannon holding AJ’s bloody body, sobbing uncontrollably, as her sister Seren arrives at the house. It’s a shocking and emotional moment that sets up many questions for the future.
Julia’s Role in the Finale
Julia Blenkingsopp, the woman who bullied Rhiannon mercilessly during their school years, plays a significant role in the show’s finale. On the surface, Julia appears to have it all.
She’s a successful real estate agent with a large following, and as Rhiannon notes, she seems to be living the “ideal life.” However, beneath this polished exterior, Julia’s life is far from perfect.
When Rhiannon lures Julia to her home with the intent of killing her, she ultimately changes her mind. Instead, she ties Julia up and keeps her captive. As the days go by, Rhiannon begins to see Julia in a different light. She learns that Julia is trapped in an abusive relationship with her fiancé Marcus and feels sympathy for her former tormentor. This unlikely bond between the two women becomes one of the show’s most unexpected twists.
Rhiannon even goes so far as to concoct a plan to help Julia escape her abusive relationship. She stages a fake kidnapping, threatening Marcus in an attempt to get him to back off. But things quickly spiral out of control when Rhiannon, feeling like Julia is falling under Marcus’s influence once again, accidentally kills him by pushing him to his death.
While Rhiannon and Julia form a fragile connection during the latter’s captivity, it doesn’t last. Julia ultimately realizes that her relationship with Rhiannon is just as toxic as the one she had with Marcus.
In the final episode, Julia secures a plane ticket using Rhiannon’s credit card and disappears. Her whereabouts are unknown by the end of Season 1, but it’s clear that she has escaped the chaos that Rhiannon has created.
Detective Marina and the Hunt for Rhiannon
Another key figure in Sweetpea is Marina, a local detective investigating the string of stabbing murders that have rocked the small town. Marina is a sharp and determined investigator, but she faces pushback from her colleagues, who dismiss her growing suspicion that Rhiannon is the killer.
Marina’s frustration builds as she starts to see a clear pattern linking Rhiannon to the murders. However, she struggles to find enough concrete evidence to convince her peers.
Despite this, Marina is relentless in her pursuit of justice. In one pivotal scene, she confronts Rhiannon directly at her home, warning her that she knows what she’s done. Marina predicts that Rhiannon will kill again, and when she does, Marina vows to be there to catch her.
The cat-and-mouse game between Marina and Rhiannon adds another layer of tension to the show. Marina’s dogged determination contrasts with Rhiannon’s increasingly reckless behavior, setting up a potential showdown between the two in future episodes.
Themes of Isolation, Revenge, and Identity
Sweetpea shows several complex themes throughout its first season, with isolation being one of the most prominent. Rhiannon’s feelings of being invisible and overlooked are at the heart of her character’s motivations. She believes that the world has treated her unfairly, and her violent actions are, in her mind, a way of reclaiming power.
Revenge is another driving force behind Rhiannon’s journey. Whether it’s targeting her former bully Julia or fantasizing about killing those who have wronged her, Rhiannon’s actions are fueled by a desire to make others feel the pain she has endured.
But as the show progresses, it becomes clear that revenge doesn’t bring her the satisfaction she craves. Instead, it only leads to more chaos and destruction in her life.
Identity is also a key theme, particularly in relation to how Rhiannon sees herself versus how others perceive her. Throughout the show, she struggles with feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing.
Her violent outbursts are a way of asserting her existence, of proving to herself that she is not as invisible as she believes. But this quest for validation comes at a high cost, as Rhiannon’s actions ultimately alienate her from those she cares about.
The Season 1 Cliffhanger and Speculations for Season 2
The Season 1 finale of Sweetpea leaves viewers with more questions than answers. Rhiannon’s emotional breakdown after killing AJ is a pivotal moment that marks a turning point for her character. Will she be able to escape the consequences of her actions, or will Marina finally catch up to her? And what will happen when Seren discovers what her sister has done?
Julia’s fate is also uncertain. While she manages to escape at the end of the season, it’s unclear whether she will ever return or if her story is truly over. Given the complicated bond she formed with Rhiannon, it’s possible that their paths could cross again in the future.
As for Marina, her determination to bring Rhiannon to justice remains one of the most compelling aspects of the show. Season 2 could potentially see Marina closing in on Rhiannon, but whether she succeeds in arresting her remains to be seen.
Sweetpea is a dark, thrilling, and thought-provoking show that shows the depths of human emotion and the consequences of unchecked rage. With its complex characters, gripping plot, and shocking twists, it’s no surprise that the show has garnered a loyal fanbase.
While the status of a second season is still uncertain, there’s no denying that Sweetpea has left a lasting impact on viewers. Whether or not we see more of Rhiannon’s story, the first season stands as a chilling scheme of what happens when one woman’s anger turns deadly.
