In 2022, when “Wednesday” first premiered on Netflix, it took social media by storm. Wednesday’s dance, Thing, her general attitude and contrasted backdrop of her Nevermore school for Outcasts won over viewers hearts to a decades old franchise that seemed irrelevant. The final twist of the murder mystery and inclusion of the 90’s Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) really cemented the show as a must watch and set up high hopes for the future. Fast forward almost 3 years and we finally get some more “Wednesday”, only this time it’s sadly just the first 4 episodes until the back half of the season drops on September 3rd.
The first episode starts off with a wonderfully macabre interlude which shows Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) in her summer break, harnessing her powers to catch a notorious serial killer (Haley Joel Osment)…of course with the help of everyone’s favorite dismembered hand. Once summer break is over, Wednesday heads back to school with the whole Addams fam, who this time are invited to stay on campus. “Wednesday” season 2A comes out swinging, letting viewers know that only 1 summer has passed since season 1, which makes the young characters aging so quickly a little hard to ignore but not enough to pull you out of the moment. Now if season 3 takes another 3 years, there may be a problem when the youngest of the cast are now full grown adults, but for now let’s take a look at the content we were just given. Warning, beyond this point there are spoilers for season 2A of “Wednesday” which is now showing on Netflix.
Fast forward almost 3 years and we finally get some more “Wednesday”, only this time it’s sadly just the first 4 episodes until the back half of the season drops on September 3rd.”
The first two episodes are undoubtedly the most Wednesday-centric, but as the plot develops we see less and less of the titular character. The story is setup fairly quickly as Wednesday is spooked by a supernatural stalker as soon as he gets back to school. The stakes quickly become sky-high when Wednesday has a premonition that zaps her of her powers and lets her know her roommate and best friend Enid (Emma Myers) will soon be dead – and it’s supposedly Wednesday’s fault.
During this time, other interesting storylines are setup, including Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) reanimating a corpse that was an urban Eugene at Nevermore and the new Principal (Steve Buscemi) recruiting Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to convince her estranged mother to resume donating to the school. The zombie storyline eventually intersects with Wednesday’s unraveling mystery but there is only a hint of a connection before the final episode ends.
The story itself in season 2A is fairly solid and keeps the viewer engaged. The setting even gets a break in episode 3 as the school goes on a field trip and has a no holds barred competition against a troop of militarized young campers. The Addams family drama also heightens as Morticia and Wednesday both fight over Wednesday overusing her powers which causes black tears and eventually the earlier mentioned loss of said powers. This prompts Morticia to take away Wednesday’s book of spells she received from Goodie. This action ultimately leads to the two in a blindfolded sword duel, which is just as intense as it sounds. Wednesday recruits her grandmother (Joanna Lumley) just to get under Morticia’s skin…which obviously works but still doesn’t get Wednesday her coveted book back.
The story is filled with twists and turns and the cast does a great job of normalizing this strange world of outcasts that has been brought to life. The return of Tyler (Hunter Doohan) was unexpected so early in the season, but it works on multiple levels. Enid’s growing friendship with the Thing is one of the sweetest parts of 2A and she even saves his ‘life’ when he falls from the roof of the school. The first mystery is solved by the end of 2A, which is a little disappointing, but Tyler’s escape and Wednesday’s seemingly mortal wounds as she is clawed and thrown out a very high window are a dramatic way to cliffhanger the series until next month. We do hope there is more to be understood from finding Wednesday’s initial Avian tormentor, but overall the season so far has had it’s rewarding share of twists and turns. Our biggest criticism and one we’ve seen mirrored in many reviews is that Wednesday gets lost in the mix of so many family members.
Obviously, “Wednesday” was spawned from the ‘Addams Family’ franchise, so seeing family members wasn’t cause for concern amongst new fans. This season however, it felt like each additional family member that was worked in, mostly took away from Wednesday’s screen time. By episode 3 and 4, we see Wednesday a significant amount less than season 1 and even from the first 2 episodes. Is it time for a companion series about the whole family? Or a Fester spin-off? It likely depends on how the back half of season 2 is received, but so far “Wednesday” is still keeping viewers engaged. This season actually jumped from a 73% RT score to a very strong 82%, but recency bias (especially after an extended wait) sometimes levels off after more fans and critics get a chance to resonate on the new content. The series’ Netflix viewership surprisingly didn’t top the charts and instead landed at #4, but could quickly change in the coming days or weeks as the ramp up to season 2B draws in busy viewers and inspires rewatches by diehard fans.
Overall, “Wednesday” 2A maintains the quality of the first season while expanding other characters and it’s suspenseful mystery is faked out and teased a few ties before seemingly paying off what could later be revealed as a misdirect. If season 2B is about capturing the Hyde, that will likely be a misstep as we’ve already seen that story play out. We feel the initial mystery and the regaining if Wednesday’s powers will be the central conflict in part 2, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess.
What do you think? Was there not enough Wednesday? Will Fester return for his lunch lady? Will Morticia and her mom reconcile? What is the Principal’s bigger agenda?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
