The Netflix series, Wednesday, a modern interpretation of Charles Addams’ Addams Family characters geared towards young adults, became a massive hit upon its release in 2022. Within a week of streaming, the show surpassed Stranger Things to become the most-watched English-language series on the platform. This triumph led to a significantly larger second season, transforming the show into the biggest production ever filmed in Ireland. However, the increased scale and larger ensemble cast result in somewhat superficial characters and a disjointed plot in the first half of season 2, which was released on Netflix a month ahead of the remaining episodes.
In the season 2 premiere, the introverted and psychically gifted teenager, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to Nevermore Academy, only to discover, to her dismay, that she has become the most popular student after saving the school from destruction in the previous season. While her friends, the enthusiastic werewolf Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) and the quirky bug enthusiast Eugene Ottinger (Moosa Mostafa), revel in the attention they receive for their heroic actions, Wednesday desperately attempts to dissuade everyone from admiring her. Her focus is entirely on solving the season’s central mystery: a murder of crows is committing actual murder, and Wednesday has a premonition that Enid will be their next target.
This central conflict had the potential to drive significant character development, yet the characters are largely isolated in their own separate storylines. Eugene is particularly shortchanged, forced into becoming roommates with Wednesday’s younger brother, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), as a favor to Wednesday, only to be swept into Pugsley’s ill-conceived plan to keep a zombie (Owen Painter) as a pet. This subplot aims to reinforce the Addams family’s penchant for the macabre, with Pugsley reacting with childish joy as the undead creature he calls Slurp regurgitates on him and attempts to devour Eugene’s brains. However, the entire situation feels repetitive and predictable, especially when the creature escapes in the same manner on two separate occasions. Regrettably, this storyline appears to be destined for greater importance in the season’s later episodes.
While season 1 explored Wednesday’s romantic entanglements, season 2 shifts the focus to Enid’s love life. Enid returns to school displaying newfound confidence and a carefree attitude, resolving to leave behind the sweet but somewhat clueless gorgon, Ajax Petropolus (Georgie Farmer), in favor of another werewolf, Bruno (Noah B. Taylor). Although Enid is ready to move on from Ajax, who represents a past, awkward version of herself, she still considers Wednesday her closest friend. Wednesday clearly reciprocates these feelings, making the time-honored mistake of trying to protect Enid by concealing the threat to her life. But as Enid cultivates her own social circle, it’s disheartening to witness her attempts to be included in Wednesday’s mystery-solving activities.
Wednesday’s parents, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), have considerably expanded roles in this season. They move into a house on the Nevermore campus to aid a significant fundraiser at the request of the school’s new principal, Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi). Zeta-Jones particularly excels, whether she’s basking in the affection lavished upon her by a devoted husband or expressing frustration with Wednesday’s attempts to distance herself. A fencing match between Wednesday and Morticia, featuring clever banter and fluid choreography, is a visual and emotional highlight of the first part of season 2, reminiscent of fencing scenes in the 1964 The Addams Family.
Buscemi deftly portrays Principal Dort as the antithesis of Gwendoline Christie’s aloof and self-assured predecessor from season 1. His portrayal is marked by a palpable, almost desperate zeal to instill pride in his students. The actor also effectively transitions from charming to menacing as he coerces the siren Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) into using her abilities to advance his own agenda.
Bianca’s attempts to mentor Wednesday on the intricacies of popularity offer some promise for a new dynamic between the characters in season 2. However, this thread is soon dropped as Bianca finds herself torn between placating Dort and safeguarding her mother, who has been similarly manipulated by a cult leader. This particular storyline feels completely detached from everything else, giving the impression that the showrunners simply included it as yet another illustration of the complicated dynamic between mothers and daughters. This same theme is also reflected in the strained relationship between Morticia and her own mother, the wealthy mortuary operator Hester Frump (Joanna Lumley), in a plot that feels equally underdeveloped.
The addition of numerous new characters further contributes to the feeling that the show is stretched thin and overstuffed with recognizable faces, seemingly added to provide a larger pool of suspects for Wednesday’s investigation into who is controlling the birds. Christopher Lloyd appears as a distracting head in a jar. Thandiwe Newton from Westworld portrays a psychiatrist attempting to rehabilitate Wednesday’s monstrous ex-boyfriend, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan). Billie Piper, known from Doctor Who, makes a dramatic entrance as Isadora Capri, the new music teacher who critiques Wednesday’s cello skills, but then remains largely absent from the rest of the first half of the season, except to encourage Wednesday to join a band and perform The Cranberries’ “Zombie” during a zombie attack.
The most successful new addition to the cast is Agnes DeMille (Evie Templeton), a Nevermore student who goes to extreme lengths to infiltrate Wednesday’s inner circle. With pigtails mirroring Wednesday’s and a sweetly unsettling demeanor that contrasts with Ortega’s stoic portrayal, Agnes is hilariously smug as she declares her intention to take over Wednesday’s less important tasks, such as ensuring Pugsley’s survival. Agnes makes a compelling rival for Enid, but it would have been interesting to see the werewolf challenge Wednesday more directly about her willingness to accept help from a sycophant just as readily as she accepts it from her best friend.
While the production values of season 2 are impressive, the spectacle often overshadows character development. A school camping excursion provides some opportunities for these unresolved tensions to surface, but it’s mainly taken over by a conflict with a scouting group, a tired summer-camp-movie trope. Nevermore introduces a new group of students known as the Da Vincis – telekinetic individuals seemingly capable of constructing anything on demand – but the most significant creation they produce is a flying, burning bird that essentially replicates a scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Some visuals do enhance the show’s peculiar and spooky atmosphere, such as the outlandish glamping tent brought by the Addams Family to chaperone the class trip, and a brief animated visualization of a ghost story told by Ajax on the first night of school, directed by Tim Burton. However, the first half of season 2 lacks the quirky charm of Wednesday’s dance scene from season 1. Ortega, who choreographed that scene and became a producer for season 2, hasn’t appeared to have meaningfully improved the scripts that she has publicly commented on. Hopefully, the season’s second half or the already confirmed season 3 will be more successful. However, both Wednesday the character and Wednesday the show appear to be burdened by the immense weight of their popularity at this time.
Episodes 1-4 of Wednesday season 2 are currently available for streaming on Netflix. The season’s remaining episodes are scheduled to be released on Sept. 3.