The Gus Detail That Makes No Sense To Sweet Tooth Fans

Netflix's "Sweet Tooth" managed to pull off the impossible when its first season largely told a hopeful post-apocalyptic story. But even though the series received overwhelmingly positive reviews (it's certified fresh with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), there are certain parts of the story that didn't make sense to the fans.

Set 10 years after an event known as "The Great Crumble," "Sweet Tooth" follows a 10-year-old boy named Gus (Christian Convery) and his reluctant friend, Jeppard (Nonso Anozie), a former bounty hunter/football player, as they cross a post-apocalyptic America in search of the young boy's mother. Their journey is complicated by the fact that Gus is one of the many hybrid children who were born around the same time as a deadly virus ravaged the population. Given the timing of the virus and the births of the half-human/half-animal babies, many people believe the children are to blame, and they're routinely rounded up by poachers.

As a result, Gus was raised in the woods with no one but his adoptive father Pubba (Will Forte) to look after him. This led to a certain amount of naivete on his part, but some fans still think the young boy is too impulsive and childish for his age. On Reddit, j_arriola was one of several fans who chimed in about Gus' behavior over the course of Season 1. "Okay I'm so glad a lot of people are saying Gus is dumb, I was worried my girlfriend and I would be alone in this lol, it's unbelievable," they said. "He's sooo stupid, even for a 10 year old."

However, other fans were quick to defend Gus. After all, he spent his entire life living in isolation with only his Pubba to guide him. Plus, he survived on his own for an entire year before meeting Jepp, which took a certain level of survival skills. His biggest issues are communicating with others and trusting far too easily, but both of these traits can be chocked up to his upbringing.

Likewise, children in general mature at different rates, so even though Gus is 10 that doesn't mean he would necessarily be as advanced as 10-year-olds who have grown up in social settings and received a formal education. Reddit user Johannablaise added, "Problem solving is taught in school, so is critical thinking. Impulsivity and communication is taught by socialising with peers at school. Some 10 year olds aren't as mature as other 10 year olds even when they have normal schooling. I found him annoying, but believable."

So while it may be frustrating to see Gus risk everyone's safety to search a guarded train for his stuffed toy Dog or traverse a rickety bridge, these things don't automatically equate to him being immature. It's more that he's still figuring the world out, and learning what risks are acceptable to take. In the end, the fan base seems to be somewhat split on how believable Gus' personality is, but since his blind optimism is such a key part of the story, it's hard to imagine him any other way.

But given the way Season 1 ended, fans may get their wish to see a more mature and hardened Gus in Season 2 of "Sweet Tooth."