Swarm's Janine Nabers Describes Dre As 'An Alien In Her Own World'
As the desperate, manipulative, angry, confused, and sensitive serial killer aesthete at the center of "Swarm," Dre (Dominique Fishback) wears a lot of hats. Literally, she wears different hats depending on who she wants to impress or embody at any given moment. She tries on multiple identities throughout the series in her various attempts to evade the law as well as her own crimes.
Naturally, "Swarm" co-creator Janine Nabers has a perfect descriptor for this unique combination of outsider and shape-shifter. "This woman is an alien in her own world," Nabers told Variety. "If you look at the pilot, when she gets to Khalid's (Damson Idris) house, there's aliens on TV. Right. That's a through line with her throughout the series."
Just like a shape-shifting alien, Dre reappears in the show's finale as a new and fully realized character, Tony. With a new hairstyle, a new look, and multiple new cars, Tony even manages to maintain a long-term relationship with Rashida (Kiersey Clemons). And as it turns out, this transformation is a full-circle moment of sorts.
Tony may just be Dre's final form
In her discussion with Variety, Janine Nabers described Dre's alter-ego at the ending of "Swarm" as the purest version of the character.
"By the time we get to the finale, [Dre] is the most confident that she's been. She's grounded in her own skin," said Nabers. "The fact that she is living very confidently as Tony — in a grounded, real way without any labels — is part of that. This relationship with Rashida is part of that. It's about coming into your own sense of self. Tony is her at her truest, most humane, present, grounded form."
Given this description, then it may just be her least alien form as well. And if it is, then it's the inevitable product of a series-long journey in which Dre slowly peels back her layers for viewers. According to Nabers, this onion-like storytelling approach is actually inspired by 2001's "The Piano Teacher," in which a seemingly aloof piano teacher (Isabelle Huppert) slowly reveals herself to be a sadomasochist. And considering that both stories are twisty, disturbing, engrossing, and oddly satisfying, it's an apt comparison.