‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Review: Gothic Mystery Is A Gothic Mess

The first season of Wednesday came as a surprise to many audiences. I had been eagerly waiting the series, having developed a love of all things Burton and Addams Family. The show blew up on social media, going viral for Jenna Ortega’s now iconic performance as the psychic daughter of Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones). One would think a second season would come sooner due to just how popular the first season was, but due to Jenna Ortega’s stacked schedule (with films such as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Death of a Unicorn, and Hurry Up Tomorrow), the show had to wait. But now that Wednesday Season 2 has been released, we can dive into just how messy this instalment is. Read our review for Wednesday Season 2 below.

Wednesday follows the titular Wednesday Addams, a student at Nevermore Academy for Outcasts, and her adventures as a teenage detective in a world of magic and monsters. She is often aided by roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) and her good friend(/family member?) Thing. This season sees Wednesday grapple with premonitions of death, her new principal (Steve Buscemi), and a mysterious case of murders revolving around crows. Joining the cast this season is of course Steve Buscemi, but also Billie Piper, the 90s actor for Fester Addams, Christopher Lloyd, and Lady Gaga, whose song “Bloody Mary” was the tune to the viral Wednesday TikTok trend.

This season is quite weird. Due to the fallout of events from Season 1, the status quo of the entire school has changed, with a new headmaster, new teachers, and also the presence of the entire Addams Family on campus. I found the latter addition to feel quite bewildering, because either by audience or producer demand, the entirety of the Addams Family are in this show about ten times the screentime they had last season. Besides Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) and Fester (Fred Armisen), the rest feel incredibly forced into the plot of the series and despite the joy their portrayals bring, the show is the worse for it.

Further contributing to this mess of a season is just how many moving plot points there are. There’s the follow-up to the Hyde storyline, the mystery of the crow killer, Pugsley’s endeavour with the zombie, Enid’s romance and grappling with her true nature, Wednesday’s premonition, and Agnes the stalker. A lot of it is rooted in good ideas but it is quite a lot to juggle when attempting to craft a coherent story.

Where this season continues to thrive is with its campiness and lived-in characters. The worldbuilding here is exceptional, as one would expect in something attached to the Tim Burton name, although creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar do a great job here with the character writing. This writing for the characters lends great assistance to the performers here with Ortega, Zeta-Jones, Myers, and Buscemi, giving fantastic performances.

Wednesday Season 2 is not as coherent as its predecessor, due to a crazy amount of characters writhing within a convoluted story, but the show continues to thrive with its character writing and performances, with Jenna Ortega giving one of her best.

Wednesday is created by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough and directed by Tim Burton, among others. Season 2 stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams, Steve Buscemi as Principal Barry Dort, Billie Piper as Ms. Capri, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems, Christopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff, and Lady Gaga as Rosaline Rotwood. 

Wednesday is now streaming its first two seasons on Netflix. Watch them below:

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