Serial killers, a stalker, and school songs, “Wednesday” is back and camp as ever
The first part of Netflix’s “Wednesday” season 2 is finally here, with stranger murders, a new sheriff, a freakin’ zombie, and the family unit being challenged repeatedly to our delight. The custom goth outfits? On point. The random bouts of singing? Captivating. Incredibly dangerous pranks? Excellent. Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) being beloved is her worst nightmare and it’s so much fun to watch.
Spoilers ahead
However as macabre and kooky as this show always gets, there’s also a sense of the narrative spinning its wheels a bit. This season starts strong with a creepy serial killer played by Haley Joel Osment and places new, interesting obstacles in our favorite goth girl’s way, but it also feels like the show doesn’t trust that the audience will stick around for the new stuff. It dips back into season one’s storylines too much and almost immediately.
One of the best parts of this season already is the increased inclusion and screen time of Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez Addams (Luis Guzmán). For that alone, the show feels more comfortable, more reassuring, and more like the family story it’s based on. The mother-daughter tug-of-war continues, but this time including Wednesday’s Grandmama, Morticia’s estranged mother (Joanna Lumley).
As a mother to a daughter myself, this particular plot is more intriguing than anything going on at Nevermore Academy, no shade to the Nightshades. But I will say Enid Sinclair’s (Emma Myers) growth and personal struggle with her feelings is sweetly done. Among the multiple new characters introduced, Wednesday’s hilariously insane stalker is my favorite, while Enid’s new beau has the personality of a pretty shoe.
Not everything new hits here, but one of the highlights is Steve Buscemi’s shady principal Dort. If he was purely cast because of the “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme, I support it. He’s just pleasantly menacing enough that he goes under the radar by every single Addams family member, which is a feat.
That speaks to some of the massive mistakes Wednesday keeps making, most likely due to overextending and losing her powers. She’s stubborn and refuses to admit where she’s wrong, which keeps biting her in the butt over and over. Her mother warned her about this and it culminates into an escalating, wild, and violent episode four.
Looking forward to “Wednesday” part two
Part one brought us back into the fold in a big way. With that cliffhanger at the end of episode four, part two should hit the ground running, no brakes. Now that the main villain has been revealed, the ramifications of illegal experiments will come to a head in the second half.
Some questions that need to be answered:
- Why did they keep the damn zombie around?
- Was that Ophelia in the cell?
- How much did Netflix budget for Tyler’s inevitable, upcoming rampage?
- Is Wednesday going to admit to her mom she was probably right?
I’m not the biggest fan of splitting an 8-episode season into two parts, but at least we have a Lady Gaga original song coming soon to distract me. “Wednesday” season two, part one is a gross, good time and a great start that sometimes gets lost in the past and balancing new characters in the present.
Netflix: The Addams Family world gets bigger (and eerier) with Wednesday, returning for Season 2, Part 1 on August 6, with Part 2 following on September 3.