One of the main driving points of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth is the "hybrids" — the babies born as part human, part animal. Nobody knows why (OK, as we learned, somebody knows why, but that'll have to wait for Sweet Tooth Season 2), and they're being hunted by half of what's left of humanity, and protected by the other half.
And Netflix decided to ask the question, "What if hybrids were real?" So they made up a cute little red-head baby to look like a hybrid owl and took him out on the streets of Los Angeles to see what would happen.
It's a cute video. It's also pretty idealistic in a world in which too many barely tolerate each other in public. But let's give everyone the benefit of the doubt here. Because you kind of can't help but smile when everyone stops and stares in awe. The old woman blessing herself is great. The human baby cracking up is priceless. The dude with a tattooed head is classic. The nuns shaking their head in disbelief is funny. The baby owl hybrid seeing a snake and possibly wondering if it's food is right on brand. Someone reaching out and feeling the hybrid's wing is ... problematic.
The owl landing on the stroller in front of our young hybrid owl? Brilliant. And worrisome, yes, but also brilliant.
Is this how things would really go down if a woman happened to have a half-human, half owl baby on the streets of Los Angeles? The optimist in me wants to think so.
The cynical realist in me? That's a different story.
