Two Snaps and Three Cheers for Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’

A smart plot and sublime protagonist make it a must-watch.

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“For some reason I cannot fathom or indulge, you seem to like me,” observes Wednesday Addams to a classmate in the first season of her eponymous new Netflix series.

And yet the reasons to admire both Jenna Ortega’s performance in the title role and the series as a whole are both manifest and manifold.

Produced by Tim Burton, Wednesday is in part a murder mystery, a dark comedy, and a high school drama. Played by Ortega, Wednesday is a unique, frustrating, and delightful protagonist more than worthy of her near-omnipresence onscreen.

The series begins innocently enough: With Wednesday siccing a school of piranhas on bullies tormenting her younger brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez). In her defense: “He lost a testicle. I did the world a favor. People like Dalton shouldn’t be allowed to procreate.” That act provides her parents, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), with all the excuse they need to drop their unwilling daughter off at Nevermore Academy, the educational institution for outcasts (including werewolves, vampires, sirens, and more) where the Addams parents first laid eyes on each other.

At Nevermore, Wednesday contends with social media-obsessed roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), smothering principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie), an ancient grudge match with a murderous pilgrim (William Houston), a rampaging monster, recurring and potentially unreliable visions, and perhaps most dauntingly, a love triangle with artist Xavier (Percy Hynes White) and townie Tyler (Hunter Doohan).

“As much as I hate to admit it, you were right, mother. I think I’m going to love it here,” concludes Wednesday at the end of the opening episode.

In Jericho, the sleepy New England town Nevermore’s students and staff call home, hikers are dropping like flies, and while Tyler’s father, Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane), is publicly attributing the killing spree to a particularly bloodthirsty bear, he suspects that the real culprit hails from the school. 

On school grounds, Wednesday quickly gains the attention of both Xavier and his ex-girlfriend Bianca (Joy Sunday), Nevermore’s “it girl.” She also quickly discovers that her parents entrusted Thing, the family’s right hand man/pet, to watch over her from a distance. After threatening to lock him in her desk drawer for the semester—“ruining your nails and your smooth, supple skin; and we both know how vain you are”—she extracts a pledge of “undying loyalty” to her. 

By the end of the would-be pilot, Wednesday has not only survived two attempts on her life by Rowan (Calum Ross), a student who tells her that she is destined to bring about Nevermore’s destruction, but has numerous mysteries to solve. Who is the monster? Why does it save her from and put a swift end to Rowan? And what is the meaning of the painting on which her assailant’s prophecy is based, which shows a girl bearing a striking resemblance to the eldest Addams child opposite a pilgrim with a burning Nevermore in the background?

Watching her work through all this while navigating the treacherous waters of high school, monotone and dry sense of humor in hand, is a great joy.

The character retains all of the hereditary sadism portrayed in the The Addams Family (1991) and The Addams Family Values (1993), but with much more depth. Ortega’s Wednesday is every bit as harsh and tough as her forbearers, but also in possession of just enough sensitivity to make for a compelling, complex protagonist rather than one that’s too reliant upon a schtick. That’s a credit to Burton and his team, and a bigger one to Ortega herself, who delivers a nuanced performance in her lines and—more importantly—in her expressions. The character is frustrating at times, but only when she’s supposed to be. Talented and brilliant, but not unstoppable. Distinct, but without being single-note.

Ortega had a tall order to fulfill in convincingly portraying a relatable, easy-to-root-for psychopath—especially one with subdued reactions to, well, everything around her—and made it look easy.

Most of the supporting characters are similarly well cast. Zeta-Jones is an appropriately sultry Morticia. White is an appropriately brooding Xavier. Myers’s Enid makes for an excellent, oftentimes deliberately irritating foil and friend. Christie’s Weems is a formidable frenemy and figure of authority. Doohan is quite good as Tyler for most of the series, before taking it to another level in an immensely memorable monologue in the first half of the finale. 

The decision to cast Guzmán as Gomez and Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen as his brother Fester, however, was near malpractice. This isn’t a judgment on Guzmán and Armisen’s abilities in general, but on the incongruence between their personas and those of their characters.

In the Addams Family universe, Gomez is magnetic and mellifluous—a smooth operator. Guzmán doesn’t become Gomez, instead coming across like he’s playing a clumsy admirer imitating his style and manner of speaking, but with none of his natural charm or suavity. 

Armisen, meanwhile, plays a flat version of Fester, delivering lines as he might in an Addams Family sketch on SNL or even while playing a yuppie on Portlandia. Without the costume, Armisen’s Fester would barely be recognizable.

It’s unreasonable to expect an actor to do an impression of another, previous iteration of the character. That, too, would prove unbearable. But Wednesday’s version of the Addams brothers is so jarring that it can distract from the worthwhile material around them. Mercifully, they only feature somewhat prominently in three of the series’ eight episodes.

In conjunction with Ortega’s performance, though, it’s the smart writing of both Wednesday’s dialogue and plotlines that renders it so watchable. Each episode ends on a cliffhanger that leaves the audience clamoring for more, and each one feels earned. They’re not cheap tricks to keep people attached to a mediocre product; they’re the sizzle served in addition to a sizable steak. 

Nearly every aspect of the show is executed as it should have been. The Freaks and Geeks element is handled in a mature and even believable way. The romantic relationships are full of feelings and fumbles, instead of being constructed as fairy tales, and the intra-Nevermore plot devices are fun enough to keep you interested during breaks from the primary storyline.

A steady stream of questions and mysteries along that storyline boast satisfying answers as well as journeys to them. Wednesday proves a capable if not infallible detective, with various suspects—including her two love interests—both serving as the Watson to her Holmes depending on what her instincts are telling her at the time. Her tumultuous relationship with Sheriff Galpin, which ends with her eventual vindication, toes the line between mutual suspicion and mutual respect, declining to caricature the lawman. 

There are snappy lines aplenty—largely reserved for Ortega—to keep viewers engaged and induce plenty of smirks, if not outbursts of laughter. Yet the show’s comedic elements never overshadow its plot or dialogue.
Wednesday bore a heavy burden of expectations, emerging as it did out of a pre-existing cinematic universe. There were emotions to stir up, characters to live up to, and a fresh angle to establish around them. Burton proved more than up to the task, creating a must-watch show that honored past material without depending on it, a worthy standalone project inside a unique world. For that, he and his colleagues earn two snaps and three cheers.

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Comments (24)
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  1. Brandon.Shafer

    Good review. Though, personally I loved seeing Fred Armisen as Fester, and I'm ambivalent about Guzman. My biggest downside was that there is too much WB "Beautiful people doing things" aspect to the show, but the dark comedy and especially Jenny Ortega herself overcome that. She's a revelation, and if it wasn't for her dynamism, I'm sure the whole thing would have fallen flat. It reminds me somewhat of Netflix's show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina except I stopped watching that show because it became humorless and caught up in its own moralizing. This show, on the other hand, maintains a dark wit and especially fun, throughout.

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  2. Eralph

    Agreed, except for Mr. Guzmán as Gomez. He's a different Gomez contrasting with Morticia's mature goth svelte. He's the handsome prince before being magically kissed. His observations lack poetry; she is all wry nuance. There is a different texture here from the predecessors. I must admit I found it jarring at first, expecting another witty and urbane Gomez, not a Mr. Hyde in mid-transition. Perhaps it was the enjoyment of everything else in this series and sensing Mr. Burton's vision come to wonderful life that got me over a bit of rough start accepting the new Gomez.

    You failed to mention Christina Ricci. I believe that she carries off this homage seamlessly, enjoyably and unobtrusively. Then again I am a long time admirer of her work.

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    1. Shaunpatrickconley

      Agreed. Mr. Guzmán was serviceable in his role. Zeta-Jones, however, appeared flat and disinterested to me.

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        Dennis

        Perhaps we’re in a minority, but I too expected more from Zeta-Jones. And regarding that “mature gothic svelte,” that’s true only in relation to Guzman. She’s put on considerable avoir du pois—too much for a Morticia, at any rate

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  3. Borkus Flimflam

    My father decided to become a woman and my mom a man. But they didn’t go for transitional surgery because really, what’s the point of swapping junk?

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  4. Dennis.Trask.Z

    A fun show. Far better than much of the streaming universe. The review addressed the flaw rather well. Ready for more.

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  5. Belisarius.Aves

    I see a number of your points but there are two jarring aspects. The first is the (naturally, Netflix) wokism that has to be mentioned. Everything from two loving moms to the titular character references to the odious pilgrims. At one point there is even a plea that before the pilgrims, all was harmony and joy. Not quite the reality of Native American tribal life. The other part is the challenge of making a teen drama out of the Addams family. At one point the parents are shocked at an accidental murder when the true Addams would have reveled in such an accident. Either the Addams live by a different code or, as in this case, their oddness is a thin veneer that covers a desire for conventionality. They try to have it both ways in this series.

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    1. Gerald Cuesta

      When will people just accept that what’s called ‘wokism’ is a perfectly natural reaction to the past and is now everyday part of our very varied culture. For decades we watched films and tv shows — retroactively for most of us — that had black Americans, gay Americans, other minorities, relegated to either demeaning status at worst, and exotic otherness at best, or guilt valves for the white characters, meaning the ‘others’ only served as a lesson for the straight white characters, not 3 dimensional human beings. I can’t stand virtue signaling or cancellation based on thought and words. This ‘woke’ thing that the right needs so much to childishly infuriate their base, is fading as we speak. Like most other reactions against injustices large and small, it starts like a wildfire, then burns itself out as things come to a more acceptable balanced normal. In short, I have no problem with it, and if I do, then just turn the channel.

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  6. Gerald Cuesta

    Yes, it’s Tim Burton’s dark-lite goth kid Harry Potter.
    Yes, Luis Guzman is the weakest link. Yes. Armisen was meh. No, it doesn’t build on the great comic nastiness of the opening piranha scene. But Ortega is a star. Thing is awesome. Enid is funny. The kids are all engaging. The production design is Halloween eye candy par excellence. And the whole vibe is charming turn off the mind and go with it entertainment. In short, I liked it very much.

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  7. Endofunctor

    Jenna Ortega was excellent in her portrayal of Wednesday Addams; if there is a reason for watching, it's her. There are quite a few funny moments, but the plot and dialog didn't do much for me, often seeming generic and predictable. Also, much of the show is an allegory for LGBT issues, which I found tiresome... I get enough of that messaging and virtue signaling elsewhere. It would be nice to be able to take a break from the culture wars and politics during my evening's entertainment.

    I'll probably watch season two.

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    Marion Coatsworth-Hay

    Hey, here's a TV show I actually DID watch! For me, this is a big deal. :). I grew up watching "The Addams Family", but have seen no sequel or homage until this one.

    I loved this show because of Jenna Ortega's performance, but also because of Thing. Thing was so very well done -- the degree of expressiveness in a severed hand was brilliant. My favorite quip was Wednesday, struggling with some object, saying, "Thing? A hand?" I was one of those who often laughed aloud.

    I didn't care for Luis Guzman's "Gomez" at first, but I came to appreciate him. The comparison to the Gomez of my childhood Addams Family, John Astin, was pretty stark. But, I watched a whole season, which my husband proclaims "shocking". I'm the freak who's watching the Tirreno-Adriatico bike race stages for the third time counting the days until the UCI 2023 season begins.

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  9. The Widow’s Son

    Could not disagree more. I understand it is a tv show, but it is nothing more than a Harry Potter ripoff targeted at tweens. Reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its progeny where adults are morons and children are genius. The dialogue and story are stupid.

    Also, there were no pilgrims in Vermont. Vermont had no permanent settlements of white Europeans until the 1700’s, well after the pilgrim era.

    It was obviously not filmed in Vermont ; there are no mountains in any scene, no snow, and no freezing temperatures. Other than a brief merciful break in late June and July, Vermont has two temperatures: cold and freezing.

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    Electricrook

    I do live the story-line, and the whole atmosphere ... however, I find great fault in the acting. The superb sultriness [is that a word?], the supreme sultriness of Angelica Huston is missing here.

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