If you tossed “Greek,” “Kick-Ass,” and the first arc of “Veronica Mars’” third season into a blender, you might get something close to “Sweet/Vicious,” a new hour-long drama from MTV that leavens the heavy subject of sexual assault on college campuses with dark humor. And the series premiere – titled “The Blueprint” – lays out that story plan in an entertaining way.
We meet our two heroines before they meet each other and they couldn’t be more different. Sporting emerald-green hair, Ophelia (Taylor Dearden, “101 Ways to Get Rejected”) is your classic pop culture hacker/outsider/stoner whose days at Darlington University lack a purpose. She ends up finding one when she stumbles across a brawl involving a woman dressed like a ninja. This turns out to be Jules (Eliza Bennett, “Broadchurch”), which stuns Ophelia when she tracks her down since Jules, on the surface, appears to be a stereotypical blonde sorority girl. But it becomes clear that Jules – driven by personal trauma – is on a mission to make things right for other victims, which Ophelia jokingly compares to Batman’s backstory. “You wanna be my Robin,” Jules skeptically states when she realizes Ophelia wants them to work together. “I wouldn’t be Robin, Robin’s a bitch,” Ophelia volleys back.
A show like this succeeds on the chemistry between the leads and, right from the jump, Bennett and Dearden have a great rapport as Jules and Ophelia bounce off each other. The first scene they share – in the basement of Jules’ sorority house – was my favorite of the episode. Additionally, there’s a very darkly comedic moment where the girls break into an impromptu singalong to break the tension. I also think the narrative the show is exploring with Jules’ own assault – why she’s keeping it a secret and pursuing justice this way – is interesting and Bennett does a good job of flipping between Jules’ different faces – bubbly college co-ed, traumatized victim, steely vigilante, etc.
None of the supporting players really pop here, but we’ll see what happens with them as “Sweet/Vicious” moves forward. More troublesome to me was a plot turn late in the hour that I’m not sure about. I get the purpose it serves in bonding Jules and Ophelia, and it’s something the show was probably going to have to address at some point. But I dunno, I’m not a hundred on it, on how the episode deals with it, and especially on it being used as an obstacle in Jules’ meh flirtation with Tyler (Nick Fink, “Glee”), an artist she takes a shine to.
“Sweet/Vicious” premieres this Tuesday on MTV, but if you’re in the USA, you can watch “The Blueprint” and the next two episodes right now by going here. Either way, be sure to share your thoughts on the show in the comments section.
