The story of Gus and the Big Man comes to a close in Sweet Tooth season 3 episode 8, the series finale for the Netflix original, picking up after the tragic cliffhanger of the previous episode.
Pulling out all the stops
Mourning the loss of Birdie (Amy Seimetz), Jepp attacks Singh (Adeel Akhtar), but Zhang's (Rosalind Chao) men subdue him. Gus (Christian Convery), his optimism shattered, realizes that Birdie was right and declares to Zhange humanity doesn't deserve to survive. But Zhang is unmoved, still wanting to kill all hybrids.
Meanwhile, Jordan (George Ferrier) is on his way to the cave with The Beast. Siana (Cara Gee) , Becky (Stefania LaVie Owen), Wendy (Naledi Murray) and the outpost group chase after him, equipping themselves with harpoons.
Rosie (Kelly Marie Tran) follows Jordan and The Beast, as Ginger (Louise Jiang) ends up going into labor. They discover Siana and the team pursuing them. Rosie asks Tex (Joe Witkowski) to shoot at them.
Using some Fast and Furious stealth and speed, the outpost team manages to get the upper hand on Rosie and Tex. Odell (James Gaylyn) shoots at The Beast with harpoons. He manages to hit its fuel tank, but the tank doesn't drain since the harpoon is wedged into it. Becky tries to pull it out, but is attacked by one of the wolf hybrids. She manages to chain it up, while she goes into the cab to talk sense into Jordan. He reuses to listen, so she pumps the breaks hard and causes The Beast to flip over.
A cleansing flame
Zhang once again forces Singh to try and ki,ll Gus. Jepp tries to talk sense into him. At the last minute Singh remembers Rani and he instead attacks Zhang's men with his knife. In retaliation, Zhang pulls the axe from the tree, which ends up bleeding and infecting the entire human world with The Sick.
Everyone, including Jepp, Rosie, Becky, Siana and the rest of the non-hybrids are infected with the disease. To save Jepp, Gus cuts his hand and bleeds on the tree, begging The Blood of the Earth to save Jepp.
At that moment, Gus is transported to a vision of his Pubba (Will Forte). He tells him he's lost everyone in his life and isn't ready to lose Jepp. Pubba tells Gus that all things end so other things can begin. Gus says he left the woods to go looking, and found a life. Pubba reminds him that humans are complex, filled with both good and bad. If we live our lives the best we can we can leave the world better than we found it. Gus realizes he's ready to move forward with the story. Jepp makes it into the vision, and begs Gus to come back.
Gus wakes up from the vision. The rest of the humans wake up too. Gus realizes he has to burn the tree, so he sets it ablaze. Zhang, still alive, yells in anger and fear. All of a sudden, all humans become cured of The Sick.
What's next?
After the crash, Becky find Jordan's lifeless body next to her. She then reunites with Wendy. They come across the wolf hybrid Becky chained up and unchain him. Rosie shows up and holds them at gunpoint. Becky accepts her fate, telling Rosie she deserves her revenge, but asks that she spare Wendy. Rosie asks what's next for her son and the other hybrids, but Becky admits she doesn't know.
Ginger then goes into labor. Rosie lets Becky and Wendy go and runs to her sister. Ginger is worried the baby will be a hybrid, but Rosie says she'll love it no matter what. Becky and Wendy stay and help with the birth.
In the cave, everything starts to collapse. Singh tells Gus and Jepp to get out while they can, saying they're both free. He dies in the cave in, grasping Gus' antler.
Gus and Jepp, along with Zhang and her men, make it out of the cave. They run into Rose, Becky, and the rest. Zhang declares they should kill Gus before it's too late. But when Ginger gives birth to a hybrid son, Rosie takes it proudly and shows it to Zhang. She remains quiet.
Zhang's men, Rosie and Ginger, realize how lucky they are to be spared. They turn away and head back to their vehicles. Zhang is left alone in the arctic as everyone abandons her there.
The Story of Gus
Jepp, in pain, tells everyone he needs to rest for a second from his stab wound. The party looks concerned, but Gus tells Wendy and Becky to go on ahead, they'll catch up. He thanks them for being there for him, and vice versa.
Jepp says he's seen a lot in his life, but nothing as beautiful as the arctic. He asks Gus to tell him a story. And Gus tells him the story of them, their journey to this moment.
As Gus tells his story, we get glimpses of how Rose, Gigner, Siana and the outpost group end up moving forward. We see Zhang lost in the arctic, and how the antler in Singh's dead hands begins sprouting a new tree. Eventually Gus, Becky and Wendy are reunited with their hybrid friends. They build a sanctuary and teach the next generation of children how to survive and live as a community. Because, as we find out through the narration, humans would eventually become extinct and the hybrids would inherit the earth.
We flash forward to the future, where a now older Gus and Wendy, telling a community of hybrids, including his grandchildren, the full story of the series, saying the best of humanity, including Jepp, lives on in their stories.
In the present, Jepp asks, Gus if "The Big Man" will live on. Happily, it's revealed that Jepp actually did make it back from the arctic and lived with Gus, Wendy and Becky at the community for the rest of their days together.
All episodes of Sweet Tooth are available to stream on Netflix.
