MTV has always been a bizarre
participant in the new Golden Age.
Mainly trafficking in absurd reality series, every so often it will
create a television series aimed at the college age audience that can be superb
in many way. Witness the brilliant comedy series Awkward. and Faking It, and
the intriguing TV spinoff TeenWolf, series
that you just can't imagine any other network (save perhaps the WB in its glory
days) pulling off. Now, they seem to be trying to come up with a series that
defies fitting into any genre, and definitely straddles the line between
entertainment and good taste. Witness Sweet/Vicious.
The series takes place on a college
campus, and centers around two freshmen girls: Jules (Eliza Bennett) a
relatively normal girl pledging a sorority, and Ophelia, a Goth loner. Both
appear to have little in common, except for one stark reality: earlier in the
year, they were each sexually assaulted. Jules seems to be dealing with her
trauma far worse - the assault came in a frat party by Nate, a sophomore who is
now dating her best friend, Kennedy, and who doesn't seem to believe that he's
done anything wrong. Ophelia has taken out her rage in another wage - she has
become a vigilante who has been assaulted and exacting justice on those on
campus who abuse other people. They get their information from the Internet,
and a wall bearing the names of people who are victims. (Sadly, this part
doesn't seem terribly far-fetched.)
To a certain extent, Sweet/Vicious is intriguing. Watching
Ophelia and Jules try to find vengeance against the wicked is reminiscent of
the early days of Dexter, only these
girls don't deliver death to their victims, and because they're not
psychopaths, and are genuine victims, its a lot easier to feel sympathy for
them. There's a certain level of familiarity with the search for authorities,
but this is actually more believable than the previous series, because the
police force at Miami Metro seemed incredibly clueless as to the killer in
their midst. Here, there is a genuine sense of a chase, being followed by the student reporter, Harris, a friend of
both girls, who is a hell of a lot sharper then the people on campus. (It's
also an interesting dig at the implied sexism that no one seems willing to even
consider the possibility that the vigilante is a woman.)
There's also an interesting human
element, particularly with Jules, as she is still going through the shock of
dealing with her assault. Much of the season has been dealing with her trying
to build a relationship with art student Tyler Finn, but it is clear,
particularly when she tried to have sex with him, that the trauma is far deeper
with her than it is with Ophelia who seems to have processed better. In last
night's episode, she finally confronted her rapist in one of the most bold
monologues I've seen in awhile, but then she immediately lost her best friend,
in part because of the suspicious activities she's been up to as a vigilante.
What makes it hard to figure out is
whether Sweet/Vicious should be
considered entertainment at all. It takes two of the biggest controversies of
our day - sexual assault and violence on campus - and tries to turn into a
regular series. There's also a fair attempt to occasionally do this as a
comedy, and while there are some amusing bits, you wonder whether this might be
a bridge too far. Both the female leads (Eliza Bennett and Taylor Dearden) are
relative newcomers and both give fine performances, but often the attempt to
lighten the material undercuts their work.
Despite all this, Sweet/Vicious is very different, and in
some ways, very brave. I don't know if it has the ability to maintain the
courage of its convictions, but in a world where so many series on TV are cookie
cutters, its rare to come across a show that is unlike anything else on, even
adding the market of streaming. Its also, like Awkward and Faking It, a
female run series, which may be another reason it works like it does. I don't
know if it has the potential, even given the lower bar that MTV has, to be a
success, but I admire it enough to hope it does. It has enough power to make it
worth the effort.
My score: 3.5 stars.
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