MTV’s Sweet/Vicious walks the line between funny and tragic in Tuesday’s episode “Heartbreaker,” where Jules (Eliza Bennett) joins Ophelia (Taylor Dearden) and Harris (Brandon Mychal Smith) for a day of celebration while also tackling traumatic flashbacks to the night she was raped. Walking that line is something the show does so well because the humor never feels forced or out of place but on the flip side, there is never a question as to when it’s time to be serious.
OMFGTV had the chance to talk with actress Eliza Bennett about “Heartbreaker” and what it was like shooting such an emotional episode.
Given the subject matter of the flashbacks — Jules’ rape and the immediate aftermath, the episode as a whole was difficult to film. “It was a very heavy, heavy, week of shooting so it in no way was my favorite week to shoot. It took its toll and it was exhausting but Dylan McTee who plays Nate was just the most amazing partner in those scenes and in that work. I’m very proud of it and I think that Jenn (Kaytin Robinson) has written it incredibly; truthfully and delicately at the same time.”
The scene of Jules’ rape itself is an incredibly difficult watch but is written and shot in a way that shows it is about Jules and what is happening to her, not about Nate. It is about the victim and what this is doing to her and her trauma. It is shot as an assault not as sex because that is what it is, assault.
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Bennett also found the scene hard to watch back after shooting it. “I found it really difficult to watch that scene because it’s uncomfortable. It truly is uncomfortable but you should feel uncomfortable watching it and it’s necessary that it’s uncomfortable.”
The episode also has a lighter tone in the present with Opharris Day, the anniversary of Harris and Ophelia’s friendship that Jules tags along for. After participating via sour gummy snacks instead of shots for the first half of the day, Jules makes the decision that she is ‘fine’ and wants to drink with them. Cue the dance number and a sing-a-long.
“Jules drinks for the first time in a year so that was really fun for me actually getting to play Drunk Jules. Drunk Jules is really fun! I hope if we get a season two Drunk Jules will come back. So Taylor and I and Brandon had a lot of fun shooting that stuff.”
Jules is not as ‘fine’ as she pretends to be and after an encounter with Nate in a bar, almost exposes them by trying to attack him in the bathroom. Thankfully, Ophelia, who is the greatest friend in the world, stops her and begs her to go to talk to someone about what she’s dealing with.
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While Jules may be in a situation where only one person in her life believes her, Bennett wants the audience to know that she and everyone involved in the show believes you.
“With Jules and with many survivors I just want to be able to say that we believe you and that we are with you and most of all that you’re not alone. That’s all we wanted to do with this show is just show that this is happening to multiple people and that you are not alone in your experience. There are people in your life, let alone people in your universities and further than that, that have been through similar or the same experience as you. So I hope that men and women feel supported and feel less alone.”
Make sure to tune into Sweet/Vicious on MTV Tuesdays at 10/9c and check back for the rest of our chat with Eliza Bennett where we talk about what drew her to the show, the research she did to get into character, and some fun stories from set!
