Michelle Almeida
Just another Wednesday of mysterious murders, mayhem, unorthodox pranks, a haunted past, and a vaguely predicted future.
Snapped my fingers twice on a late Wednesday evening, and I was left wanting more of this sinister mystery series centred around the oldest sibling in the macabre family: Wednesday Addams. What starts with a spunky student being expelled for unleashing piranhas into the school pool during swim practice evolves into a gripping mystery to solve within the halls of the archaic Nevermore Academy.
Nevermore Academy
We see Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) in her gothic-like impetuous persona as she exudes grim and dark humour throughout the 8-hour series at Nevermore Academy (a high school for peculiarly gifted students).
“It is a rather fascinating spin to normalise atypical students by attaching high school tropes onto a show that oozes ominousness“
The Netflix series, directed by Tim Burton begins with Wednesday getting expelled for pursuing a disturbing form of revenge for her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez). She’s then driven by her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) to their alma mater: Nevermore Academy.
While Nevermore is a haven for all the outcasts with a unique gift, like any other high school, it’s not exempt from its mandated teenage drama, group-ism, gossip, and popularity cliques. It is a rather fascinating spin to normalise atypical students by attaching high school tropes onto a show that oozes ominousness. What enables the show to stand out from the over-exhausted high school plots, while still maintaining its dark tone, is its adherence to gothic horror.
Characters
The ‘group’ parallel is perceptible when we’re introduced to the cliques, such as the ‘Fangs,’ ‘Furs,’ ‘Scales’ – or the ‘popular person’ paradigm when we’re introduced to Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday). On top of that, we cannot forget Wednesday’s preppy roommate- Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), who is yet to ‘wolf out’. Although she is the polar opposite of Wednesday’s dark and edgy aura, we see an unlikely friendship bloom in the ensuing episodes as they tackle the mysteries embedded in the halls of the boarding school, and prevent history from repeating itself.
“Her authority is not just because of the plot, but also because of the brilliant acting behind the stoic and enigmatic character”
Ortega’s character dominates the series. Her authority is not just because of the plot, but also because of the brilliant acting behind the stoic and enigmatic character. Ricci also makes her special appearance in this 2022 spinoff edition of the Addams Family – and no, her character has no connection to her past role. In fact, she plays the ‘normie’ role of a Biology teacher, Marilyn Thornhill.
Messages and Morals
Given the pre-established gruesome nature of the show, the series takes you through several bizarre turn of events.
Other than the perfect casting and creative ways of styling dark ensembles in contrast to the vibrance of Nevermore Academy, what stood out were the messages the show tried to convey.
“the series almost tries to normalize people with peculiar behaviours”
Not overlooking the morbidity of some of the characters’ distinctive features, the series almost tries to normalize people with peculiar behaviours. We don’t just see a repeat of the Addams Family’s absurdity, but we see them use their characters to call out several issues we face in reality. For instance, Wednesday’s reaction and dialogue that satirically condemns American whitewashing- like the scene at Pilgrim World or the confrontation about the Outreach program and the treatment of outcasts at Jericho.
Cinematography
In terms of visual cinematography, the show lacks. Most of the villainous scenes are CGI-heavy and obviously perceptible – something you don’t want to see with 21st-century technology. That being said, the behind-the-scenes of filming Thing was definitely a highlight of the series. The creepy crawling hand that skitters around Jericho playing the perfect ‘helping hand’ by orchestrating all of Wednesday’s ploys deserves its own applause.
Wednesday does a fantastic job of reigniting our fascination with the spooky Addams Family; however, it fails to deliver on the continuity of the previous film and series adaptations. There are certainly gaps that you would expect to be filled, such as the origin of the family, and the story of how ‘Thing’ came to be given that he plays an essential role besides Wednesday. We’re also shown snippets of her kooky Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen), who is shown to live a nomadic life due to a job requiring a hideout.
“The show isn’t for those who want to indulge themselves in nostalgia”
The show isn’t for those who want to indulge themselves in nostalgia, but rather it’s aimed at a wider audience who may be unfamiliar with the Addams Family. Jenna Ortega’s performance makes the series worth the watch, with her trademark all-black ensemble, perfectly braided pigtails, and her classic death stares of disapproval. I doubt the show would have reached a record-breaking debut week if it wasn’t for the ideal cast and gory storyline, with a snappy twist at the end.
Despite the title of the first episode, Wednesday isn’t full of woe, but we definitely need some more context to satisfy our intrigue in the eccentric Addams Family. Digits crossed they deliver in season 2!
Featured image courtesy of Marco Cassé via Pexels. See image license here. No changes were made to this image.
