The Grump and The Cinnamon Roll

Recently I was indulging in a must needed Introvert Day™, curled up on my couch, wearing my comfiest clothes, scrolling through all the various streaming services I pay for, trying to find something to watch. I eventually settled on Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. I recalled that it had received some minor buzz when it dropped a while back and that it was based on a comic book that was enjoyed by a favorite booktuber of mine, so it seemed like a safe enough bet.

Watching, however, I quickly grew incensed. Not at the show, which I thought was quite good. It’s got great production value, the performances are top notch, and the world feels comic-booky and fantastical with a brand of whimsy that is straight up my alley. The whole thing is very Penelope but make it dystopian, which is something I never knew I always wanted, but here we are. No, I was furious because the show has been moderately successful, in the cultural conversation for months, and in all that time no one thought to mention that this was a Grump/Cinnamon Roll story.

How dare the interwebs not tell me there was another piece of popular media which featured a Grump/Cinnamon Roll dynamic available for my immediate consumption? What is the internet even for if not to let me know when someone makes something catered directly for me and my tastes? I have Google Search mining metadata from so far up my hind parts it's taken residence in my colon, and still I didn’t get one targeted ad for this show? What is the point?

You may be asking, what in the blue saddles is a Grump/Cinnamon Roll? Which is a fair enough question, considering I came up with the term. However, I only felt compelled to coin the phrase because I kept seeing this particular character dynamic and I needed to articulate this thing that has brought me so much joy.

A Grump/Cinnamon Roll dynamic is a relationship featuring a character who is a Grump - i.e., someone who is generally curmudgeonly, huffy, misanthropic, jaded - and a character who is a Cinnamon Roll - i.e., someone who is generally innocent, kind, hopeful, too pure for this world. This trope is similar to the incredibly popular Grump/Sunshine relationship, but there are a few key differences. For one, while not exclusively a romantic phenomenon, the Grump/Sunshine dynamic is usually found within that genre, while the Grump/Cinnamon Roll dynamic tends to be platonic. Also, Sunshine characters have a focus on pep and joy, while with Cinnamon Rolls it’s more crucial for the character to have an aspect of naivete and guilelessness.

Let’s give examples shall we? Some examples of a Grump/Sunshine relationship would be Luke & Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, Harry & Sally from When Harry Met Sally, Nick & Jess from New Girl, Calhoun & Felix from Wreck-it-Ralph, and Gus & January from Beach Read, etc. For the Grump/Cinnamon Roll stories, examples include Din & Grogu from The Mandalorian, Geralt & Ciri from The Witcher, Ripley & Newt from Aliens, Rocket & Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, and Pentecost & Mako from Pacific Rim. Like I said, I really like the former examples I gave, but the latter? The latter I want to eat up with a spoon. Look how pure. Look how selfless. I love them all so hard.

So imagine when on my screen I see a gruff behemoth called Big Man paired up with a kind little deer-boy who is nick-named Sweet Tooth. Big Man. and. Sweet Tooth. And no one told me! I got to watch the little boy follow Big Man like a puppy. And then Big Man keeps telling Sweet Tooth he’s not going to take care of the kid, but he keeps taking care of the kid. At one point, near the beginning when Big Man is still being gruff and standoffish, Sweet Tooth throws his tiny body in front of Big Man, hugging him tightly, begging a group of vigilantes to spare the man’s life. The look on Big Man’s face when this small child risks his life for his grumpy behind is the kind of stuff I live for. Later, after Big Man has accepted that he very much cares for Sweet Tooth, he returns the favor, risking his life, single-handedly fighting off a militia, just to return to the boy his stuffed dog. It’s a scene that made my heart grow three sizes too big.

So in conclusion - I am making my wishes expressly known for all the interwebs. If there is a new Grump/Cinnamon Roll story, I am to be informed immediately. You get this one pass, but if this happens again, we are having words.