Sweet Tooth season 3 ending explained: Did Gus succeed in saving humanity?

Boasting a captivating premise, Sweet Tooth is a fantasy drama series set in a post-apocalyptic Earth. The Netflix series sees the rise of human-animal hybrids as a result of a viral pandemic, which has led to humanity responding to it in various ways.

While most people hunt these new hybrids, some protect them. Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) finds himself helping Gus (Christian Convery), whose father dies, leaving him a single photo of the woman he assumes is his mother.

Regardless, what starts off as a search for his mother becomes a fight for humanity’s survival in general, as Gus travels all the way to Alaska in season 2 in search of a cave that they believe holds the key to curing the virus.

A thrilling end to season 3 saw the protagonist (Gus) succeed in destroying the source of The Sick, the virus that plagues humanity.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Sweet Tooth season 3. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Sweet Tooth season 3 finale breakdown

The three seasons have generally seen Gus and Jepperd, who the former addresses as Big Man, attempt to reach his mother, revealed to be Birdie, played by Amy Seimetz. However, the two realize that Gus was among the few hybrids known to have been born after The Sick was unleashed on humanity, which has led to the death of millions.

This means Gus was born before The Great Crumble, the pandemic that led to the deaths of 98% of people in Sweet Tooth. His blood, therefore, holds the key to cure people who continue to be affected by the virus.

This leads them to Alaska, believed to be where the virus and the hybrids first originated. The season 3 finale largely dealt with Gus and his friends’ journey to ‘The Cave,’ said to be the exact site where the virus originated. However, one of his allies is Dr. Singh, played by Adeel Akhtar.

Dr. Singh, who travels to Alaska along with Zhang, played by Rosalind Chao, actually believes that sacrificing Gus inside this mysterious cave, which he gets visions of, will free humanity from the virus. When the group arrives at The Cave, it leads to a violent fight, which results in Gus slicing his own hand.

The group finds out the origins of The Cave and how Captain James Thacker, who first traveled to Alaska in 1911, had ‘wounded it,’ which led to a curse being inflicted on humanity, leading to the release of The Sick.

The curse was also how the first Hybrid, named Munaq, came into existence. However, during the season 3 climax, fans watch in horror as Zhang mistakenly unleashes another wave of The Sick after wounding the tree with their axe.

In response, Gus slices his hand, bloodying the tree and stopping the virus from spreading. A thrilling finale for Sweet Tooth then sees Dr. Singh save Gus. The screen fades away after a new tree seemingly sprouts from a broken piece of Gus’s antler.

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Sweet Tooth came to a conclusion with Season 3

While fans are bound to ask for more, Sweet Tooth ended with Season 3, with Netflix making the announcement well in advance. The series itself enjoyed a poignant, almost bittersweet ending.

On one hand, humanity seemingly is set to be completely replaced by hybrids, as the ending effectively signifies the beginning of a new era. However, the curse of The Big Sick has finally been lifted, which means that the remaining humans on the planet were cured and lived out their lives peacefully.

At the same time, every new child born was a human-animal hybrid, with the new species set to take over humanity eventually. This happened as we saw the protagonists, both Gus and Big Man, return to Yellowstone to continue their lives.

As it turns out, Sweet Tooth's conclusion sees a huge time gap as an aged Gus recounts the story of Big Man to a group of human-hybrid kids. The show’s ending suggests that human kids no longer exist, completely replaced by a new generation of hybrids.

A fitting finale through any stretch of the imagination, Sweet Tooth completely encapsulates the way in which humanity, in general, has affected nature and members of other species.

It predicts a grim fate for our species in general, as it suggests that constant meddling with nature might eventually lead to a harrowing future. Regardless, fans will take respite from the fact that Gus and Big Man not only survived but were able to live out the rest of their lives in peace.

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Sweet Tooth Season 3: Streaming Information

The release of the finale means that the entire series is now available to stream online. All three seasons, along with the 8 episodes of the final season, are now available to stream on Netflix.