Sweet/Vicious

In the vein of Veronica Mars-no idea why it does not appear as a related show.

MTV doesn't have the best track record for making good scripted television but Sweet/Vicious is very enjoyable and refreshing regarding the heavy topic matter. Sexual violence is an extremely serious issue and currently there is no show portrays what victims feel - rather only the legal aspects of the crime and maybe the psychology of the abuser. Sweet/Vicious brings a whole new dynamic to the topic and I personally enjoy that the show doesn't feel cold and matter-of-fact - you really understand the effects and most importantly, you actually want to root for the main characters, who are the campus vigilantes. The show does have it faults - the writing can sometimes be a little off and certain things can be set up better in terms of story development but I overall think the show is a fun time; it doesn't take itself too seriously - there are funny moments, dramatic moments, relatable characters and importantly, strong female characters that show their strength in various different ways. Sweet/Vicious is definitely something to look out for and possibly empowering to anyone who has ever been assaulted. Please don't dismiss this show in fear that it is only about misandry because that is far from the truth.

On the surface, Jules Thomas (Eliza Bennett) is a sweet popular sorority girl at Darlington College. She is secretly haunted by a rape perpetrated by her best friend Kennedy (Aisha Dee)'s boyfriend Nate Griffin (Dylan McTee). She takes on a disguise to fight abusers on campus. Ophelia Mayer (Taylor Dearden) is a hacker, weed dealing student. She happens upon Jules beating up a guy and later becomes Robin to her Batman. Ophelia works in a record store run by her law student best friend Harris James (Brandon Mychal Smith). Tyler Finn (Nick Fink) is a nice guy who takes a liking to Jules but he turns out to be the brother of an abuser killed by the girls.

I really like the relationships between the four protagonists and I really like the four actors in those roles. Eliza is great as the sweet girl and Taylor is great as the wacky alternative girl. The girls are great together and their relationships with their best friend are also great. The dialogue has a little snap. It would great to push harder. This MTV show garnered some complaints about SJW but that can be said about most comics. It's a fun show with compelling characters that reminds me a little of Buffy. It never got an audience and was canceled after a 10 episode first season. It may be unfair but I'm deducting a point for its short run.

I think its unfortunate if the rumors that this show is discontinued is true. I love this show. Sexual assault is serious and in real life a lot of the stuff on this show really happens, meaning many people don't report rape because they are afraid that they won't be heard and instead of getting justice they will be the ones whose name is thrown under the bus. A lot of high profile cases have been overturned in favour of the guy.... just because of who they are. The majority of sexual assault charges are true. But in the courts it doesn't hold up in courts because of who they are and it may ruin the guys life... and girls see that they wont get justice but they are affected for the rest of their lives but cant get justice...

I know a lot of manly men are going to hate this, it shows sympathetic female characters being effective at physically punishing males who deserve it, just wrong, right? This reminds me of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and also Xena Warrior Princess. Not as grown up as the former, not as much a cartoon as the latter. I like the Clark Kent-ish identity of the sorority girls, and I like their often imperfect executions of revenge. I like the balance of humor, realism of a taboo subject (campus rape) from an unusual but needed POV, and of course I adore the violence and gore and action that doesn't require a magic lasso for a girl to prevail.

If I had to nitpick, I'd wish the battle scenes were a bit more realistic, use a stunt actor or something; I know she's a sorority girl, but if she's going to be effective against a larger male, her street fighter skills need to appear better executed.

For future character development, I'm hoping for more darkness and anger and lack of cultural normality from the hacker character; green hair does not alone make an alienated outsider nonconformist hero. And of course I'm looking for an end to the apparent need for straightness or bisexuality (as opposed to exclusive lesbianism) to make these girls sympathetic.

But I'm hooked.