Summary
- Ella Purnell excelled in 2024 with hit shows like Fallout and Sweetpea.
- Both Fallout and Sweetpea renewed for season 2, promising further captivating storytelling.
- Purnell’s portrayal in Sweetpea showcases her acting range with chilling brilliance.
Few actresses had bigger 2024s than Ella Purnell, the apparent darling of the television industry who appeared in one hit show after another in the last year, from the critically acclaimed video game adaptation Fallout to the final season of the Netflix original series based on the League of Legends video game, Arcane, to the darkly exhilarating book adaptation series Sweetpea. The latter title is a psychological thriller that explores the descent of an overlooked woman into a life of murder, with Purnell delivering a chilling and gripping performance that is both a great follow-up to Fallout and also shows the actress’s range if fans of Purnell’s weren’t already aware.
As it turns out, both Fallout and Sweetpea have been renewed for season 2. In a streaming environment with multiple disappointing show cancelations despite positive audience ratings, this is a huge relief for two shows with such great potential. The writing of both must remain tight so that Purnell’s masterful portrayal of her developing characters stays front and center. Purnell’s acting is one of the key reasons why reviews for Sweetpea are so good. Those reviews are so good that the show is getting an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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What Is Sweepea And Who Does Ella Purnell Play?
Sweetpea is a British black comedy-drama television series created by Kirstie Swain that aired on Starz in the United States. The series is an adaptation of the book of the same name by CJ Skuse, and stars Ella Purnell in the lead role. Purnell plays the titular character, whose real name is Rhiannon Lewis. Lewis’ boss gave her the nickname of Sweetpea though it’s clear that nickname is more insult than beloved moniker as she spends most of her life as a rather obvious pushover.
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Sweetpea |
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Director |
Ella Jones |
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Starring |
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Premiere Date |
October 10, 2024 |
Lewis has been a pushover for her entire life and was bullied so badly when she was younger. She was in fact bullied so much that she suffers from the psychological effects by classmate Julia Blenkingsopp, which caused her to develop trichotillomania. The disorder causes her to pull her hair out as a way to deal with her stress. Because of the abuse and her inability to deal with it in a healthy way, she sometimes entertains thoughts of violence or murder.
Rhiannon’s father, Tommy, is the only person who recognizes that though she’s been limited as an administrative assistant at a local newspaper, that she has quite a bit of talent. However, Tommy suddenly dies leaving Rhiannon without any allies and In the aftermath of her father’s death, the woman known as Sweetpea suffers a series of setbacks – she is passed over for a promotion at work by her ignorant boss, Norman in favor of new reporter AJ Pierce; her sister Seren informs her she’s selling their family home; and Julia, now a real estate agent, returns to town and has been tasked with the property sale.
The final straw comes when Rhiannon’s dog Tink dies in a hit-and-run when she is distracted by a billboard of Julia’s face causing her trichotillomania to return. Rhiannon is both angry and drunk when she goes to talk to Julia but is once again rebuffed and this sets her on her murderous path. She does indeed kill someone, freaking out over being invisible and realizes her true calling. Thus, Sweepea turns into a thriller series with plenty of violence, revenge and quite a of looking into what could cause this kind of person to do what she does.
What Ties Sweetpea & Fallout Oddly Together
At first glance, it wouldn’t seem as though Ella Purnell’s characters in Fallout and Sweetpea have much in common, after all, Lucy is dealing with a retro-futuristic world dealing with nuclear fallout while Rhiannon is a modern day newspaper employee having an admittedly tough go, but not anywhere near the end of the world. However, Purnell either accidentally stumbled or intentionally took roles that have very similar characteristics.
Both Lucy and Rhiannon are often seen as weak and unassuming. Both are in fact, victimized more often than not by those around them for one reason or another. Lucy believed her dad was one of her closest allies, only to find that he’d betrayed not only her but the entire human race.
Meanwhile, Rhiannons father might have been an ally but she now has to face the world all on her own. Both characters need to figure out the reality of their situations and deal with them, sometimes in rather violent ways. It’s also true that Lucy was a more altruistic character who really only turned “bad” when she realized the extent of her father’s betrayal. Still, it feels like the Fallout character might have taken a similar turn had she dealt with similar situations that Rhiannon went through.
Created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout is based on the post-apocalyptic RPG gaming franchise that started in the 1990s. Set hundreds of years after the Great War, Lucy leaves her Vault bunker to travel the Wasteland in search of her kidnapped father.
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