‘The Sticky’ Recap: ‘Petiole’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Margo Nightingale as Ruth Landry in Episode 101 of ‘The Sticky’ – ‘Petiole’. (Photo Courtesy of Jan Thijs/Prime Video.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Series Premiere of ‘The Sticky’.
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It is definitely safe to say that heist stories, in any capacity, are supremely flashy and slick in nature. As though the opportunity to rob say… millions from a bank vault in a casino in Las Vegas… is a pretty cool thing to do and would require a crew and a setting and a style… that is as cool as the idea. So those stories tend to keep things in that light, and we simply eat it up. Since it makes crime fun and allows for a wild story that is perfect escapism. Since in reality, theft is a dangerous and scary game. One where sometimes people are hurt or left terrified over the fact that someone threatened harm to have something that did not belong to them. 

Which is why we keep with that formula and rarely deviate it from it. But now and again, you run into a story that knows how to offer up something with substance on the matter while still keeping the story grandiose and entertaining in nature and that is why, The Sticky, on Prime Video is of note. For it is, based on the very-real Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist that took place in 2012. Which in its own right, elicits a sense of goofy wonder that relieves the possibility of dark pressure upon this story. But it is what this series does beyond the re-telling of a wild heist that makes it special, since it is a heist story that is supremely character centric in nature and that is supremely important.

Because unlike other grand heist stories, ‘Petiole’, is grounded in concepts that the audience will and does find relatable. Because we meet a cadre of characters that are not world-class thieves that thrive in a world, we know nothing of. They’re everyday people. There’s Ruth for instance, owner of a struggling syrup farm that just wants to make enough money to get by and take care of her ailing husband who is locked in a coma. Plus, there’s Remy, a security guard at the Canadian Maple Reserve that dreams of being part of something bigger and feels marginalized and well, pressures upon both of them prompt them to turn to ugly acts to feel as though they matter. For Ruth, that involves a touch of revenge and for Remy, that involves talking to local gangster named Mike… to bring about the heist in question.

Which brings about a story that is in many ways, a unique blend for this type of tale. For it is clearly grandiose and epic in nature and filled with the fun that creates that sense of escapism. Courtesy of its concepts and moments of surprise. Such as when Ruth opts to get revenge upon those who would do her farm, harm, by launching a maple tree into a freaking building. But at the same time, it’s an intimate character study that feels real and helps us to understand what drives people to crime in the first place. Since like so many, Remy and Ruth are just shattered individuals here who have minimal hope and minimal prospects for a better tomorrow and feel marginalized and insignificant. Which are indeed the ingredients to a powder keg moment or in this instance, a maple syrup moment.

But all jokes aside, this is a refreshing heist story. One that injects the right balance of escapism and realism into a wild heist that actually took place to give us… a supremely human story about people desperate for more in a world where the rich and powerful fight hard to enact their own agenda and plans and forget about what matters more than their profits and operating plans… people. For they make the world go round and clearly, trouble could be avoided by treating them with respect. But the foundation for the heist has been laid, and it will be interesting to see how this refreshing take on the heist story plays out, as we enjoy this grand and unique dramatization of the one most unique heists in modern human history. Until next time.

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