The last time we were thrown into Sweet Home’s dystopian world, things got disappointing real fast. After a tight first season, its follow-up threw out most of what made the show so gripping and intriguing, instead going big on dodgy digital effects and a sprawling storyline that got so tangled up in its threads that it became frustrating and confusing to follow. That it sidelined one of its most popular characters in Song Kang’s Cha Hyun-su didn’t help either.
Seven months since season two dropped, Sweet Home is back for its third and final round, picking up where its last instalment left off. Seoul is still a dystopian nightmare and the battle between people and former humans who’ve become monsters rages on. This time around, though, there are some surprising discoveries, like “neohumans”, that could change the path of the war.
Viewers who were disappointed at the lack of Hyun-su in season two will be pleased to see his return in the opening minutes of the series. He’s still half-monster, half-human, but the fight between the two sides of him and his one unwieldy, powerful wing is slow to play out – he might have much more screen time here, but it often drags, the tension in his early scenes nowhere near taut or high-stakes enough.
Whether his monster half likes it or not, Eun-yu (Go Min-si) is back by his side, backed up by Park Chan-yeong (Jung Jin-young), as they try to save him from succumbing to the beast inhabiting his body. That group is one example of the factions that have naturally formed among the survivors, their splitting off dictated by their relationships pre-monster takeover and their interests now that the creatures are threatening their continued existence.
Elsewhere, the platoon still has each other’s backs inside the stadium, for better or worse, while family ties in more than one group – like Seo Yi-kyung (Lee Si-young) and her mysterious child – become fraught. On the other side, those who’ve been monsterised are out for blood – and perhaps a little revenge, too.
While Sweet Home season three does fare slightly better than its predecessor, it still doesn’t live up to the promise of its first part. It’s burdened from the beginning of having to wrap up the plots of season two – this is the last season in the series – and fails to make those storylines clearer and more compelling than in the previous part. There are dramatic spikes throughout that feel like things could be turning around, but for the most part they quickly dip back into a melting pot of messiness.
The ropey monster CGI is still very much present here, too, although there are some inventive twists on the creatures. Early on, we’re shown a rabid cavern of the beings, each unique in their appearance. Some have had their faces transformed into something that resembles a ventriloquist’s dummy, jaws swinging on a hinge. Others have tentacles shooting out of where their faces should be, or no longer even vaguely resemble a person. It’s only a minor thrill, but at least it feels like the show’s creators are trying to give us something less tired than the slimy, oozy monsters that dominate the rest of the scenes.
Performance-wise, Sweet Home still belongs to Go Min-si, who’s Eun-yu is resolute in her determination to protect Hyun-su. As she sticks by his side through a series of tense events, Go plays her with a perfect, palpable mix of fear and purposefulness. It’s unfortunate that, in the first four episodes at least, Song isn’t given as much to work with – the two actors firing on all cylinders in one scene could give the last part of this series the jolt it needs to find its way back to the highs of season one.
Sweet Home season three is streaming on Netflix now