Sweet Tooth season 3 episode 4 recap: “Beyond the Sea”

Sweet Tooth season 3 episode 4, "Beyond the Sea," is one of the most devastating episodes of the series so far. They put poor Gus through the wringer in this one!

At the end of the third episode, Gus, Jepp, and Singh see The Whale Song. They finally made it!

Trigger Warning: Suicide

The fourth episode begins by sharing the last few moments of The Whale Song's final journey to Canada. This is it. They aren't going back to the United States ever.

Aboard The Whale Song, it’s a giant party as they head for Canada. When Gus, Singh, and Jepp arrive, they realize the engine is off and everyone is gone. Jepp looks around and finds the Sick on the ship! They argue about whether he’s been exposed to the Sick. 

Rosie nearly kills Becky for killing her son, but then, Mrs. Zhang arrives and takes Becky captive. 

Gus locks Jepp and Singh in a room together while he investigates around the ship. He can’t be sick, obviously, but it’s bound to be a horror show. Gus finds a radio, and he starts talking to someone, Darwin, the first mate. He’s going to give Gus instructions on how to get the ship moving and heading to Alaska. 

Zhang knows who Becky is or used to be. She’s Bear, the former leader of the Animal Army. Zhang starts to bring Becky into her family. She’s trying to manipulate her, but Becky doesn’t go for it. Becky explains why the phrase “blood is thicker than water” actually is used incorrectly as taught to her by her adoptive parents. Zhang tells Becky to decide if she’s going to help the easy way or the hard way, while Wendy tries to find a way into Zhang’s compound to break her out. 

Then, we get another great scene with Singh and Jepp, who go toe-to-toe over who is supposed to be there and who’s not. Singh remembers Jepp from before, at the hospital when he had a son. Singh tried to convince Jepp to go back to his wife and son, which was a huge moment for Jepp in the series and his life.

Gus and Darwin read through the captain’s journal. They go through the last hours on the ship as the crew and passengers succumb to the Sick. The captain leaves a short note to Darwin, along with the notes about not making landfall again. “This has to end here,” the captain wrote, and now, Darwin won’t help Gus restart the engines. Darwin won’t do it, so Gus is back on his own. Gus offers to throw the rest of the sick passengers overboard for Darwin to help him. 

When Zhang’s men try to torture Becky, one of them flips at the last second. He says that he’s trying to help her escape. In the attempt, Becky reveals that they were going to Alaska. Right then, Zhang appears, and it’s clear that it’s been a hoax. He’s not helping Becky escape; he’s getting information from her. Zhang, then, calls the phone of the man who attacked Birdie. Siana answers. When Zhang hangs up, she tells her team that they’re leaving for Alaska in the morning. 

It’s all going down in Alaska, apparently! 

Back on the boat, Gus breaks down as he tries to clear the ship of the sick. As the sweet, little deerboy he is, Gus holds mini-funerals for each person he throws into the ocean. He promises to keep their stories alive as he can and says that he’ll remember them all. 

How this show deals with grief, sadness, death and other complex emotions and issues is incredible! 

After Gus cleans up, Darwin leaves his cabin and sets course for Alaska! 

When Gus goes to unlock Jepp and Singh, Darwin is gone. He leaves a note. In it, he promises that he must follow the captain’s orders. He leaves the ship, gone forever. Dead.

Back at Nag’s Reef, the Zhangs are leaving via plane and heading for Alaska, I guess. Zhang orders Rosie to leave her dying son behind. She shoots him to end his suffering. This show is cold.

After Singh and Jepp test negative for the Sick, Gus talks to Siana on the radio. They’re almost to Alaska! 

It took half the season, but Gus and the gang are getting closer to the end. They’re finally within reach of Alaska, but they have the Zhangs hot on their tail, or perhaps even ahead of them if they’re flying there. It’s going to be a sprint to the finale, and there are still so many questions we don’t have the answers to yet.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.