Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Sweet Tooth season 3!
Summary
Sweet Toothproducers Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell have explained why a certain dead character was brought back for season 3, explaining the importance of their newest appearance. DuringSweet Toothseason 3, the core group discover an antler tree, which appears to be keeping balance in nature, but also causing the outbreak around the world. In the final episode, Gus ends up in the astral realm, where the spirit of Pubba (Will Forte) appears, his words encouraging his son to burn down the tree and allow nature to run its course around the world.
Speaking withScreen Rant, Downey and Burrell explained whySweet Toothseason 3 had Pubba return during Gus' hour of need. The producers explained how, even though he died at the start of the series, having him return brought the story full circle, especially for its main character. Check out what Downey and Burrell had to say about the return below:
Susan Downey:I don’t think the specificity of his coming back was, but from the pilot, when we hired Will Forte and he was in the pilot, we knew he was coming back.
Amanda Burrell:He just had to resonate, he resonated, we had to keep going to this very clear touchstone. It had to be there to feel full circle. Also, Will Forte really wanted to go back, but we all knew that we’d had to have him again, and how important it was.
Forte last appeared as Pubba inSweet Toothseason 1.
How Pubba’s Return Made Sweet Tooth’s Final Episode More Important
Pubba has not appeared much in the grand scheme of the series, but his importance to Gus has been part of the show since the beginning. Because humans were hunting hybrids down at the beginning of the series,Forte’s character took his son into the wilderness to raise him, doing his best to keep him safe. However, his death is what starts the protagonist’s journey to Colorado, eventually meeting the rest ofSweet Tooth’s castas the adventure becomes bigger than he ever expected.
By having Pubba come back at the very end of the show,Sweet Tooth’s endingbecomes rooted in the very start of the show, revealing just how far its core hero has come. The encouragement of his father’s spirit is what gives him the courage to burn down the antler tree, ending the virus while also letting nature decide the fate of humanity. It seemed to be the right decision to save the hybrids, as one is born after the tree is gone, signaling humans aren’t long for the world.
Sweet Tooth Season 3 Review: The Netflix Series Sticks The Landing With Death-Defying Final Season
Sweet Tooth season 3 continues Gus’s voyage to Alaska in hopes of finding his mom and the cure for the Sick, with a fitting ending to the series.
Even so, Gus helped create a future for his kind that will continue to shine for generations to come. While his decision doesn’t guarantee the future of humanity, it keeps him and his friends alive, something Pubba would have wanted him to ensure. Given how hopeful an endingSweet Toothhas for hybrids, the show’s protagonist was able to become the person his father always knew he would be. This gave the show the perfect ending, as its hero evolved into a protector that his dad would have been proud of.
Sweet Tooth
Cast
Based on the comic series of the same name, Sweet Tooth is set in the not-too-distant future, post-apocalyptic United States in the wake of a devastating viral pandemic. After the disease decimated the world’s population, some children began to be born with human and animal hybrid characteristics. Many people are afraid of the hybrids, believing them to be the cause of the virus. When his father is killed, a young deer hybrid named Gus (Christian Convery) embarks on a quest to find his mother with the help of a traveler and loner named Tommy Jeppard (Nonso Anozie).
