The producers behind Apple TV+’s Sugar said why they chose to reveal that genre-bending twist in Episode 6 and not earlier.
Warning - This article contains spoilers for Sugar Episode 6.
There was a lot for audiences to digest in the latest episode. Not only did Colin Farrell’s Sugar slaughter Stallings and his entire crew, but Kirby’s Ruby also betrayed him for unknown reasons.
But none of that could compare to the final few seconds: it turns out John Sugar is an alien.
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Is John Sugar an Alien?
In an exclusive interview with The Direct’s Russ Milheim, Sugar producers Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon discussed that shocking genre-bending twist at the end of Episode 6.
Chon revealed that they talked a lot "about whether or not [they] should do it in the beginning or towards the end," with them opting towards later in the show that people can get to know John Sugar without that crucial information:
"We talked a lot about whether or not we should do it in the beginning or towards the end. And we ultimately decided to put it where it is because we wanted people to experience the show without that reveal, because really, the show is about who John Sugar is, both as a character psychologically, how can you get to know him besides that reveal?"
She continued on, explaining how it should also shine the previous episodes in a whole new light once everything starts to click:
"…Then once the reveal happens in Episode 6, I think you get to experience the last couple of episodes, knowing that he's an alien, and all the breadcrumbs and clues that we had along the way will hopefully click in, and you'll go back and realize, oh, it all makes sense. He was an outsider, and there was a mystery around him. But this was why, you know, so that's why we decided to place it where we did."
When asked what some of the breadcrumbs were that some audiences may have missed up to this point, Chon pointed to "a lot of comments" that Sugar would make that "a normal person wouldn't:"
"Well, there are a lot of comments that he'll make about as an outsider that a normal person wouldn't. And it feels like he's making a comment. He's making comments as a detective. But we're kind of winking at the audience, saying, No, this is from the perspective of an alien. But we don't hit it too hard in the course of the show because we obviously don't want to tip our hand."
Kinberg noted how "he drinks but doesn't get drunk," a quirk that is easy to dismiss at first:
"There are little things that you could dismiss as a character quirk, like he drinks but doesn't get drunk. You know, and when you watch that, for the first time, you'll be like, Oh, that's an interesting, quirky thing. That seems like it's a detective's power. And then when you watch it a second time, you're like, oh, that's why he's not allergic to alcohol the way we are."
What's Next for Sugar After That Twist?
The amount of questions that have likely sprung up for many audiences following Episode 6 probably created some sort of whiplash.
Why is John Sugar even on Earth in the first place? Does this mean the entire group he works for is also alien?
It is pretty damning going back and looking at John Sugar’s dialogue and habits. As producer Simon Kinberg pointed out, it's all easy to simply dismiss as a character quirk without ever suspecting a thing.
Even in Episode 6, the way John refers to humans when speaking to Ruby should have been a dead giveaway.
Does this mean that the case of Olivia Siegel’s disappearance is connected to these extraterrestrials, given Kirby’s sketchiness about it all?
With only two episodes left, Sugar has a lot to tackle—but it’s certainly given itself a unique jolt of life.
Sugar is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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