The dark comedy-drama Sweetpea from Sky Atlantic premiered on October 10, 2024, and was met with rave reviews. The series stars Ella Purnell, best known for her lead role in Prime Video series Fallout and Showtime’s Yellowjackets. She’s Rhiannon, a troubled young woman who finally snaps and becomes a killer. Purnell has likened the show to Dexter, and those interested in watching are wondering if this is indeed true. The answer is yes and no. The two characters are very different in many ways. But what really brings them together is the strange way fans view and oddly support them.

How Rhiannon in Sweetpea Connects to Dexter
Release Date October 10, 2024 Creator(s) Kirstie Swain Cast Ella Purnell , Nicôle Lecky , Jon Pointing , Calam Lynch , Tim Samuels , Alexander Bellinfantie , Elliot Cable , Lucy Heath , Jessica Brindle , Dino Kelly , Leah Harvey , Jessye Romeo , Luke McGibney , Gurjot Dhaliwal , Alexandra Dowling , Nathan Hall , Cain Aiden , Mark Rainsbury , Malcolm J K Baker , Lee Byford , Guy Robbins Expand

The story in Sweetpea follows Rhiannon, a meek young woman working as an administrative assistant in an office where no one pays any attention to her, and treats her like dirt. She’s invisible to others in her life as well, including her sister, even random people on the street who seem to walk by and fail to notice her very existence. The only person who pays any attention and who Rhiannon can call a friend and confidante is her father. So, when he tragically passes, her dog is run over, and her old high school bully returns to town, it’s the last straw.

The proverbial camel’s back is broken and Rhiannon snaps after a confrontation with her old bully doesn’t go as planned. She murders an innocent man in cold blood, gets rid of his body, and then heads home shocked at what she just did. But she’s also a bit proud for finally standing up for herself. Indeed, something strange happens in that moment. As Rhiannon walks towards random people in the street, they appear to part ways and make room for her instead of bumping into her like they used to. She has a newfound confidence.

Those familiar with the CJ Skuse novel of the same name on which the show is based know that Rhiannon continues down this path, all while keeping up appearances at work. This is precisely where the similarities lie between Rhiannon and Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) from Dexter.He, too, was a serial killer who kept up polite, normal appearances at work. He presented himself as the quiet, kind co-worker who brought donuts for everyone in the morning to stay in good graces and exchanged pleasantries. Rhiannon, as well, tried to chat with co-workers but was ignored.

Both hide their darkness, the existence of which was in some way fueled by the death of a parent. For Dexter, it was his mother’s brutal murder in front of him while he was just a baby. Additionally, both use their jobs to assist their macabre hobby. Dexter worked as a blood spatter analyst for the local police department, where he got to see crime scenes first-hand and had access to databases of information to look up perpetrators. Rhiannon works at a local newspaper where she gets to investigate crimes, ironically the very ones she’s committing.

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The Differences Between the Two Killers

However, their motivations for acting this way are very different. Rhiannon desperately craves human contact; she wants to be loved, needed, appreciated, and heard. Dexter, on the other hand, did everything in his power not to be noticed. He only went along with social conventions and events like parties and bowling leagues to keep up appearances and hide the fact that he was a remorseless killer. Rhiannon may eventually get to that point. But initially, she really does want the attention.

Their victims are different, too. Dexter is a vigilante killer ridding the world of the bottom barrel of society, people he deems “deserve” to die, like rapists, child abusers, and other dirty criminals. Rhiannon, it seems, kill at whim when she loses her cool, or targets people who have done her wrong. It’s personal for Rhiannon, sometimes messy, and fueled by loneliness. Dexter is methodical, tidy, and deep down, kills because he has a deep-seated need to do so that his father helped him harness for “good.” Both try to justify their actions to themselves, as if using inner monologues to convince themselves they’re doing the right thing or did what they had to do in the moment.

She’s the Female Dexter Because of How She Makes You Feel

So, is Sweetpea really the female Dexter? Not so much in terms of the story trajectory as it is in the way audiences feel about the protagonists. Sweetpea explores themes of female empowerment, trauma, and sexism, a different kind of Dark Passenger to the one Dexter can’t seem to shake. Purnell described the show to IndieWire as “Dexter meets Fleabag,” referencing the British comedy-drama starring (and created by) Pheobe Waller-Bridge about an angry, confused, free-spirited woman navigating life in London. She’s a killer because she’s angry, not because she needs to be.

Purnell’s comments to Cinemablend draw further comparisons to Dexter when she notes that viewers “relate to Rhiannon, we relate to her emotions, we relate to her motivations, even though we don’t relate to her actions.” And there’s the parallel. That’s precisely how fans feel about Dexter. No one appreciated the fact that he hunted down people, drugged them, wrapped them to a table, took a sample of blood, murdered them, dismembered their bodies, and dumped them in the ocean. Yet Dexter is an endearing character who never (or rarely) deviated from his “code.” He killed people who did awful things and skirted the law, effectively cleaning up the streets and indirectly saving lives.

Similarly, with Rhiannon, viewers can’t help but root for her because they feel her pain. She was treated so awfully for so long, and she’s finally getting to doll out her comeuppance. Viewers watch with fists pumped in the air as she stabs a random man to death who accidentally urinated on her and then acted like it (and she) was no big deal. “Even though what she’s doing is horrific and unthinkable,” says Purnell, “a small part of you is like, ‘Yeah, how much can one person take?’ A small part of you is proud.”

Both shows focus on killers who integrate so well that no one even considers that they could be responsible for such heinous acts. It reinforces the idea that the wallflowers, like the guy sitting in the back room analyzing blood patterns or the young woman endlessly opening envelopes and answering the phones, are the ones to watch, because they might just surprise you.

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When to Watch Sweetpea
Sky Atlantic 

There are six episodes in total for the first season of Sweetpea, premiering weekly in North America. The first episode streamed October 10, 2024 after which new episodes air weekly on Friday nights at 10 p.m. So far, the show, which Purnell calls a “coming-of-rage” story, has an impressive 88% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics praising Purnell’s performance.

Sweetpea may not be on the same level as Dexter, and its gender-swapped story is very different beyond the fact that both are about a killer hiding in plain sight. But the one thing to note about both characters is that despite the awful things they do, viewers oddly sort of, kind of, quietly root for them, even if they don’t exactly feel good about it.

Stream Sweetpea on Starz.