Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Dopesick.
The Hulu 8-part miniseries Dopesick takes an in-depth look at the OxyContin opioid addiction crisis from several angles. This allows the viewer the opportunity to see the effects of Purdue Pharma's deadly "medication."
There's the doctor duped by a charming sales rep who is, himself, being lied to by Purdue. Then there's the years-long investigation being conducted by the office of Virginia's D.A., which is continuously met with shady lawyers and rare cooperation. There are more threads that shed a light on the victims of the company's negligence as well as Purdue president himself, Richard Sackler.
Amber Collins (Phillipa Soo)
Like other TV shows and movies about drug use, there's always the one who's complicit. In Dopesick, there are many, but Purdue Pharma representative Amber Collins seems to take outright joy in profiting from misery.
She's personable and spirited enough to meet her quotas, but her emotional intelligence is lacking. Dopesick reveals that she isn't as cold as she lets on. She its to having feelings for Billy Cutler and is later seen crying in her car after he's carried from the office, fired for stealing some incriminating videotapes. That means she actually was smart enough to know what Oxycontin was doing to people, but not smart enough to do something about it (or walk away).
Betsy Mallum (Kaitlyn Dever)
Kaitlyn Dever's phenomenal performance as Betsy Mallum is just one reason why is a show to watch on Hulu for November. Mallum seems content in a physical job that doesn't necessarily require a college degree. She really just wants to leave her hometown because she feels marginalized by her own parents.
Mallum's true potential is never met, the extent of her intelligence never realized, as Oxycontin takes her life far too soon. It's hard to say just how smart she was, as most of her time on-screen is spent either in pain, high, or in withdrawal.
John Brownlee (Jake McDorman)
District Attorney John Brownlee is a clever and smart guy, and he and his cohorts do end up dealing a blow to Purdue Pharma. However, the company and its seemingly endless financial resources still stay a step ahead of him.
Brownlee gets points for being smart (and decent) enough to want to do something about OxyContin and Purdue Pharma in the first place. His fellow attorneys turned a blind eye the same way higher-up U.S. Government officials did.
Billy Cutler (Will Poulter)
Billy Cutler is a role as good as any in Will Poulter's best movies because he's so conflicted. Early in the season, he pushes Oxy for Purdue Pharma left in right. It's clear he's beginning to suspect that it's all phony and duplicitous but is heavily debating whether to turn a blind eye or take action.
Thankfully, he chooses the latter (to an extent). This is where Cutler reveals his intelligence, as he steals three videotapes that would be slam dunks for the prosecution. Furthermore, he's smart enough to keep them secret and safe instead of bending to Perdue's threats by g an NDA and destroying the tapes.
Dr. Samuel Finnix (Michael Keaton)
Getting addicted to something like OxyContin isn't stupidity, it's practically unavoidable (at least it was). The only real potential exception to this in of Dopesick characters is Dr. Samuel Finnix.
He's a small-town doctor and a great neighbor, but it doesn't take much convincing for him to say that he'll prescribe Oxy to his patients. The issue is that he had already rebuked Billy Cutler's claims about the drug, finding them hard to believe. If Dr. Finnix had gone with his gut, he would've remained a doctor.
Grace Pell (Cleopatra Coleman)
Grace Pell is out of the miniseries more than she's in it, but she makes quite the impression with her screentime. Like Betsy, Pell works in the mine and can do that type of labor (which many cannot).
However, she's also emotionally intelligent. She knows that her former girlfriend is going through a severe battle with Oxy. This is information she had even before Betsy's mother reached out to get Pell back in town for an intervention. This is because Pell is perceptive, and she's also comionate (emotionally intelligent) in that she does come back for the intervention in spite of the fact that Betsy's parents have been very clear they believe homosexuality is a choice.
Richard Sackler (Michael Stuhlbarg)
The show isn't quite clear on just how ethical (between not very and not at all) or intelligent Richard Sackler is. Most of the Sacklers seem relatively intelligent, and Richard seems like he could be either the smartest or dumbest of the bunch, with there being no middle ground.
If anything, Richard is smart because he avoided going to prison for the rest of his life (which he very much should have). However, this could be equally attributed to his family's extreme wealth, which can more or less buy innocence.
Rick Mountcastle (Peter Sarsgaard)
Just one of several cast with many other credits, Peter Sarsgaard gives a restrained, mature performance. With that being said, Rick Mountcastle, Assistant D.A. to John Brownlee seems like the slightly less intelligent version of his partner.
In of practical intelligence, they're fairly even. Mountcastle can stay ahead of the curve, but his ability to keep his temper in check pales in comparison to the emotional maturity displayed by his partner, Randy Ramseyer.
Randy Ramseyer (John Hoogenakker)
Randy Ramseyer gets the truth in a clever way. He and Rick Mountcastle may run into headaches constantly, but Brownlee will call up a former pharma rep and try to set up a meeting. The former pharma rep will say it's not a good time because they just got home from work. Ramseyer will say, "Great, I'm right outside your house."
Ramseyer is clearly quite quick, and he also seems like a genuinely decent individual out to help others. He's a man of both practical and emotional intelligence. His workplace involvement with, and narrow avoidance of, Oxycontin addiction further adds to the depth of the character and makes the viewer question how he's keeping it together without once slamming a door or storming out of an office. He's smart enough to understand that everyone investigating this crisis is tired, so why add to the lashing out.
Bridget Meyer (Rosario Dawson)
When Bridget Meyer is initially approached by the D.A.'s office to gain insight, she's cold. In truth, it's because she's sick of big pharma killing people with impunity and she's apprehensive (she knows how far pharma's arms reach).
In time, once she starts truly cooperating with the investigation, she's absolutely critical. She brings the proof to the FDA (who basically laugh off their own job) that Purdue has been tampering with their numbers on addiction rates. Meyer knows who to go to in order to get things done. She can delegate, and during the miniseries, she receives a well-earned promotion.