Several years beforeElla Purnell’s popular rolesinYellowjacketsandFallout, the young actress starred in the underrated drama series,Sweetbitter. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name written by Stephanie Danler,Sweetbittertells the story of Tess, who moves to New York City in 2006 and begins working in a highly regarded restaurant. Running for just two seasons,Sweetbitterwasn’t highly received upon release, which may have contributed to its premature cancelation.
Sweetbitterwas the first true multiple-season television series for Ella Purnell, after she had mostly worked on films likeNever Let Me Go,Maleficent,andMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Premiering in 2018 on Starz,Sweetbitteronly aire a total of 14 episodes before it was canceled due to low viewership. Despite that, there is a lot to like aboutSweetbitter, and Ella Purnell’s character, Tess, is a fascinating protagonist to follow throughout her journey.
Ella Purnell’s Sweetbitter Character Explained
Purnell Plays Tess, An Ohio Native Who Begins Working At An NYC Restaurant
Ella Purnell plays Tess inSweetbitter, the main character of the entire show. Moving from Ohio to New York City in 2006,Tess finds herself thrust into a world that she had relatively no experience in, and working at a fine-dining restaurant in NYC. Like many young adults striking out on their own in big cities, there is a lot that Tess must confront about herself and her place in the world, trying to make sense of life at every turn. This is whatSweetbitterdoes so well, and the ways Tess fails are what makes her a great protagonist to watch.
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For a lot of the show,Tess can come across as unlikable and immature, which makes sense for who she is as a character. In fact, it doesn’t make her a bad character at all — it only makes her more compelling. In particular, her relationship with fellow restaurant staff member, Simone, played wonderfully by Caitlin FitzGerald, highlights the ways in which Tess falls short, allowing her jealousy to inform her decisions throughout the series. Tess is extremely messy and that’s completely okay. There needs to be more grace afforded to characters like that in movies and television, especially younger women.
What Ella Purnell Has Said About Her Character And The Show
Given thatSweetbitteris adapted from Stephanie Danler’s novel,a lot of who Tess is as a character is based on Danler’s own experience working at Union Square Cafe, a popular restaurant in New York City, when she was younger. Because of that familiarity with the character, it could be nerve-wracking to portray a character that is a fictionalized version of the writer, especially when that person also created the show itself. In an interview withMarie Claire, Ella Purnell opened up about playing Tess inSweetbitter, stating:
When Stephanie and I sat down for this introductory coffee when I first got to New York, I felt so much pressure… I thought Stephanie was badass, and I thought the script was and the book was, and I was freaking out about why they entrusted me with this really special thing.
Going back to Tess being an unlikable protagonist throughoutSweetbitter, that was sort of always the point of the character. In fact, it is because of it that she becomes so compelling. Purnell understood this as well, and it helped to shape the way she played Tess and also the way she wanted audience members to view the her. In a fantastic interview withNylon, Purnell talks about the pressures young women are faced with in terms of being perfect and never making mistakes, but didn’t want Tess to be like that. In fact,Purnellwanted the character to not always be likable, stating:
I didn’t want to play her likable. I didn’t want people to like me. I just wanted to play her truthfully. I think you’ll have some people who read it and go, “Oh, she’s messed up. She has no structure. She’s this and she’s that.” Like, this is real life. She is the most realistic character I’ve ever had the fortune of playing, I think. She’s just grounded in naturalism and real life. I don’t know anybody that is not having an existential crisis at the age of 21. It is hard. She’s unapologetically saying, “I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t know what I want.” And everybody can relate to that I think. It’s such a relatable story.
It’s a mature outlook for an actress who was stepping into a brand-new role while also being new to the television world. In that same interview, Purnell talked about her experience with approaching the character of Tess and what it felt like to star in a series likeSweetbitter, stating:
It’s actually kind of a reflection of how it was [for me], how my experience was filming it. It was my first time in New York. The audition process was all really fast. I had never done TV before, I had never even been a waitress before. I felt kind of out of my depth and really quite terrified, so in the first episode, it really is Ella as Tess trying to find my feet and my place. And I guess as I got to know my character more, and I had a bit more confidence in my abilities, and we all got to know each other better, that really actually reflects well in the show, as Tess finds her feet and gets better at her job and makes friends.
Purnell’s Sweetbitter Role Compared To Yellowjackets And Fallout
All Three Characters Started Out As Naive Young Women Who Must Navigate A New World
Despite being a much different genre altogether, it’s easy to see some of the comparisons between the various roles that Ella Purnell has played in her career. In particular, her role inSweetbitterinforms quite a bit of her other characters, especially Jackie Taylor inYellowjacketsandLucy MacLean inFallout.
InYellowjackets, Jackie is one of the characters who has the most difficult time adjusting to their new way of living, not knowing how to navigate socially without a high school structure. She must do a lot of self-discovery but never gets to truly evolve as a character before she freezes to death.Falloutplaces Lucy in a somewhat similar situation, where the way she has lived her whole life is completely turned upside down when she ventures out into the Wasteland to find her father.
Although being similar in terms of some characteristics, all three characters find themselves in very different settings, allowing for Ella Purnell to show how wide her acting range can be.
While not at the same level in terms of stakes, Tess inSweetbitteralso must learn to navigate a new, wild environment that she had never been exposed to before.There is a streak of naïveté that runs through all three characters that Purnell pulls off so well. It’s unfortunate thatSweetbittermight not be taken as seriously as the other projects, given that it is aimed at a younger female demographic compared to edgier shows likeFalloutorYellowjackets.
Why Sweetbitter Deserves A Rewatch
Given how Ella Purnell’s popularity has grown since herSweetbitterdays, the 2018 series is worth revisiting just to see her career trajectory. On top of that,Sweetbitteris a good show that is underrated compared to her more prominent projects likeYellowjackets,Fallout, andArcane.
The setting is a big standout in the series, and seeing how it informs each of the characters and the frankly messy choices they make along the way. Alongside Ella Purnell, Tom Sturridge proves himself a scene stealer, years before he led Netflix’sSandman. On top of that,Sweetbitterrevolves around subject mater that has picked up some more traction in recent years.
Popular series likeThe Bearhave shown that audiences have an appetite for stories that take place in kitchens, revolving around the world of fine dining, andSweetbittercan fill the gap while everyone anxiously awaits for season 4. Of course,it doesn’t need to be watched just to hold someone over, as it has plenty to offer beyond a BTS fine dining experience.
The characters are complex and messy, feeling like real people who deal with real problems, depicting a 2006 New York City through the eyes of young adults trying to find their place in the world.Sweetbitteris a must-watch for fans of Ella Purnell, seeing how her character here contrasts with some of her more well-known roles.
Sweetbitter
Cast
Sweetbitter is a drama series based on the novel by Stephanie Danler. The show follows Tess, a young woman who moves to New York City in 2006 and begins working at one of the city’s most prestigious restaurants. As she navigates the fast-paced and chaotic environment, she experiences a crash course in fine dining, toxic relationships, and self-discovery. The series stars Ella Purnell in the lead role.
