Sweet Tooth – Season 3 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

This is a Story

Episode 8 of Sweet Tooth season 3 starts this finale with a reminder that all stories end. Except for the ones on Netflix where they’ve cancelled the first and second seasons, eh? Anyway, everything has led to this chapter as we now find out just who is still alive at the end of everything. Humans or Hybrids?

Back in the cave, Jepp is livid and forced back by the guards holding him. Gus is similarly distraught and realizes that humans don’t deserve to be kept alive. All they do is take and turn on one another. He’s completely grief-stricken and after a big speech about the horrors of humanity, Zhang brushes it off and believes that Gus and the other hybrids are “mistakes”.

She wants to wipe all of them off the planet. In fact, Zhang decides she’s going to create a new virus that targets hybrids only. She’s going to use the tree sap to concoct this. Singh is shocked at her plan, but with the Beast, they’ll be able to extract the sap and cause chaos and destruction. Adi Singh is starting to have doubts, especially after killing Birdie, and he contemplates whether he can do this.

His slight hesitation is enough for Jepp to break free from his guards and give everyone inside the cave an ultimatum. With an explosive and flare in hand, he forces Zhang and the others back. He wants them all to leave otherwise he’ll blow the place sky-high.

Zhang calls his bluff and knows he won’t kill all these people – and specifically Gus. When he eases off, Zhang steps forward and stabs Jepp in the gut after telling him he’s good at “getting in the way”. With Jepp down, Singh steps up with the knife and looks set to kill Gus.

Back at the Outpost, Siana leads the group as they decide to head out and track down the Beast, stopping it before it’s too late. They’re now going on the offensive. With harpoons in tow, they chase the cars and manage to hit the back of Beast, right in the fuel tank. Unfortunately, it’s barely draining but Becky breaks into the cockpit and manages to stop Jordan, causing the vehicle to top upside down in the process. Unfortunately, it catches fire and Wendy is shocked, believing that her sister may be dead.

Back in the cave, Adi Singh tells Gus he’s no longer a doctor. He stalks toward Gus with a knife, and as our little Sweet Tooth whispers that he’s not afraid, Jepp chimes in and tells him he needs to make sure he doesn’t lose himself. Zhang though mentions Rani… which does the trick. Singh calls her a gargoyle and he turns on her men and starts wildly slashing everywhere. Everything kicks off, Zhang pulls the axe out the tree… and gives everyone the Sick. Blood oozes out the tree, and even outside everyone collapses on the ground and begins twitching.

Gus heads over to the tree and cuts his hand open, touching the wood. He calls out, begging to save Jepp. As he slams his fists repeatedly, we cut to a vision of Gus in the woods with Pubba. They have a touching reunion, with the latter giving some encouraging words of wisdom to his son. Jepp is also there too and when Gus awakens, he finds himself leaning on Jepp, who’s breathing heavily.

As a result of this, Gus knows exactly what to do. He sets off the flare and ignites the antlers. As the whole tree burns in a kaleidoscope of colour and heat, the Sick fades and everyone is back to normal again. That goes for everyone outside as well. Rosie awakens and immediately embraces her children, while Becky also awakens and finds herself absolutely fine, albeit a bit banged up inside the upside-down Beast. Jordan though, is dead.

Wendy and Becky are reunited, just as the cave starts to fall apart. Singh is trapped under a bunch of rubble and encourages them all to leave, while he grabs hold of the severed antler as his final act on this planet. Everyone else scrambles outside.

At the same time, Rosie catches up with Becky and holds her at gunpoint. Wendy meanwhile, frees one of her pups that was chained up. There aren’t any more deaths right now though, as Ginger goes into labour. She’s there with Tex, and both Wendy and Becky join in to help with her labour. After all, Becky has experience with this now!

Just as the cave explodes, Zhang steps out and demands the soldiers continue to kill… but they refuse. After all, Ginger has just given birth. Rosie carries the babe all the way up to her mum and shows off her hybrid child. Zhang is disgusted and rejects it. In turn, everyone decides to reject her. One thing’s for sure – nature has decided to show them mercy. 

The group turn away from Zhang, and in turn her archaic ideological ideas, as it becomes clear that hybrids are destined to take over in human’s stead. The Sick is buried for good and the clock has now stopped ticking for humanity. At least in terms of the Doomsday Strain. Now humans can live out their final days however they want, together in peace.

The colony decide to set out and create a better world, while Zhang is left all on her own in Alaska to presumably die a horrible, lonely death. Inside that cave where Singh died, we do see that new life is starting to grow.

Gus heads back to Yellowstone where all the other hybrid children are hanging out. The gang all hang out together, and create a much better home for everyone. As we cut forward in time, we see that our narrator has actually been Gus all along! But a much older Gus, who has grown old with Wendy as his partner and they’ve ended up in a relationship together. He’s been telling this story to the kids at their sanctuary.

Through all of this, Jepp has been suspiciously absent. Outside the cave back in Alaska, he asks Gus to tell him a story to help them keep going. His knife wound looks fatal and he starts crying as Gus tells his story. Those inside the community ask about Jepp, and Gus reveals that he lives on “through their stories”.

After this, we cut to Yellowstone, where Jepp steps out the house and sits with Gus. The pair drink syrup at the same time and seem to live out their days together… but this scene is definitely open to interpretation.

On the one hand, yes Jepp made it back with Gus and the others and presumably got patched up from the knife wound. However, him asking Gus to tell a story and acting lethargic, crying and struggling outside the cave, not to mention Gus’ words about him living “through their stories” hints at him passing and the Yellowstone part simply being the Big Man living on through Gus’ memory. What do you think though? Is he alive at the end? Let us know in the comments below.

The Episode Review

Sweet Tooth closes out with a pretty decent ending to this show, all things considered. Trying to wrap up this story with a satisfying bow was always going to be a tricky one and this season is certainly not without its flaws.

It would have been far more effective if Rosie had been the one to stop her mum, or at least be given a conclusive chapter to her seeming redemptive arc. Even seeing the pups decide not to kill after the hybrids’ show of affection would have helped solidify their continued arc but instead it feels a little unsatisfying the way everything plays out.

More satisfying however, is the way the Sick is cleared up and the significance of Alaska. Not everyone makes it out in one piece, which helps with the tension, and the ambiguous ending involving the Big Man is certainly one such example.

At literal face value, yes Jepp survived and made it out in one piece. But really, looking at the way this is edited together, it’s kinda hinted that he didn’t make it, especially with the way Gus talks about Jepp’s memory.

Either way though, Sweet Tooth has been a really good series and it bows out with a satisfying conclusive chapter.