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For most of its first season, Sugar <\/em>on Apple TV Plus was a fairly typical if slickly produced detective story. It starred Colin Farrell as John Sugar, a private investigator with a number of charming quirks \u2014 obsessed with old movies, unable to get drunk, beloved by dogs \u2014 who was determined to solve a missing persons case involving the granddaughter of a famous Hollywood director. Then, at the end of episode six, the show introduced a twist that threatened to change it into something very different. But now that Sugar<\/em>\u2019s finale is out, it\u2019s clear that the twist didn\u2019t alter what the show already was \u2014 it just added some new flavor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Spoiler warning for the first season of <\/em>Sugar, including the final episode.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Okay, let\u2019s get it out of the way: Sugar is an alien. At the end of episode six, he revealed himself to be a blue humanoid who looks like a cross between Doctor Manhattan and Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>. It was a startling moment, although one that makes a lot of sense in retrospect. All of those quirks could be explained by Sugar\u2019s extraterrestrial nature. He loves movies because he used them to learn about humanity. He can\u2019t get drunk because he has different biology. And he\u2019s part of a secretive group of polyglots because that\u2019s how his alien friends meet up to discuss their observations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Turning Sugar into an alien doesn\u2019t fundamentally change the show \u2014 it\u2019s still a modern noir with a compelling mystery at its core. The finale drives this home, as the sci-fi aspect mostly recedes to the background, while Sugar races to rescue Olivia (Sydney Chandler) from a potentially horrific fate and return her to her grandfather (James Cromwell). The episode is concerned with the same questions that have propelled the series since it started: what really happened to Olivia, and can Sugar save her?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mostly, the sci-fi elements add to the urgency. In Sugar<\/em>\u2019s finale, the aliens are discovered and forced to leave Earth. This means that Sugar needs to solve the case before hopping on a spaceship to wherever he\u2019s from. Every moment counts. And the show ends in a way all good detective thrillers do, with a crime that is disturbing but also isn\u2019t quite the end of the story. Even if you guess where it\u2019s going, there are a number of unexpected twists and turns along the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ultimately, the aliens are a fun twist on a well-worn archetype. Sugar is patient, observant, and dedicated, skills that make him great at his job and that can also be linked to his extraterrestrial origins. He\u2019s patient and observant because his real job is watching people and reporting back to his home world. He\u2019s dedicated to finding Olivia because he experienced a tragic loss on his planet and doesn\u2019t want it to happen again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The finale also makes it clear that Sugar\u2019s story isn\u2019t over. He ends up staying on Earth, partly because he can\u2019t get enough of humanity, but mostly because he discovers that a fellow alien \u2014 who has also stayed behind \u2014 is essentially the intergalactic Moriarty to his Sherlock. If it gets renewed, Sugar<\/em> will likely shift from a detective story to a revenge tale. Hopefully, if that happens, it can maintain that careful balance between sci-fi and noir. Sure, Sugar is an alien \u2014 but that\u2019s not the most interesting thing about him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n