Chapter 1: Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe – As the first episode of Wednesday begins, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) goes into Nancy Regan High School where she finds Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) stuffed in a locker with an apple in his mouth. She tells him to pull himself together because emotion is a weakness. When she touches his wrist, she sees which students were responsible for bullying her brother. Wednesday admits she has recently been plagued by visions that come on quickly and feel like electroshock therapy. Before leaving her brother, she tells him she is going to do what she does. She goes to the pool and tells Dalton (Max Pemberton) that she is the only one who gets to torture her brother. She drops piranhas in the pool so they go after the bullies.

After the intro, Gomez (Luis Guzman) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) sing together in the car as they take Wednesday to her new school. Morticia questions how long she intends to give them the cold shoulder. She asks Lurch (George Burcea) to remind her parents that she is no longer speaking to them. Gomez believes she will love Nevermore. Morticia agrees, but Wednesday has no intention of following in her footsteps or becoming the captain of the fencing team. Her mother explains that she’ll be among peers who will understand her. Gomez reveals the school is where they met and fell in love. Wednesday is reminded that the boy’s family was going to file attempted murder charges against her. A hiker is dropped off near the academy. He sits down not far from Nevermore for a drink only to be attacked by something.

Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) welcomes Wednesday to Nevermore Academy. Larissa tells her that she was roommates with her mother back in the day. Wednesday has gone to eight schools in five years because they haven’t built one strong enough to hold her. Weems confirms that the board has decided to make an exception and allow Wednesday to begin school mid-term. She has court-ordered therapy sessions and the school has a relationship with a therapist in Jericho. She has been assigned to her mother’s old dorm, Ophelia Hall. Once Wednesday is taken to her dorm, she is introduced to her roommate, Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers). Enid quickly learns that Wednesday is not a hugger and happens to be allergic to color. She is tasked with taking her new roommate to the registrar’s office.

As Enid gives her a tour, Wednesday admits she won’t be staying here long and it was only her parents’ idea anyway. She tells Enid how her parents want to turn her into a version of themselves. Enid asks whether she killed a boy at her old school and her parents got her off. She takes her to the quad and tells her about some of the other students. There are four main groups, including Fangs, Furs, Stoners, and Scales. Wednesday is told about Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) who is the closest thing they have to royalty. She used to date the resident tortured artist Xavier Thorpe. Enid reveals she has a blog that is the number one source for Nevermore gossip. Ajax (Georgie Parmer) comes over to tell Enid a rumor about Wednesday without realizing she is there. Wednesday goes back outside to say goodbye to her family.

Her mother tries to convince her not to run away from the school only for Wednesday to say she will escape and she’ll never hear from her again. Morticia believes she’ll find Nevermore just as life-changing as she did. She gives her daughter a necklace with their initials on it. Wednesday says she is not her mother because she will never fall in love, be a housewife, or have a family. Morticia gives her the crystal ball so they can call her next Sunday. As the car drives away from the academy, Gomez tells his wife that Wednesday won’t be alone. He hits a switch causing Thing to drop from the car. Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane) and Deputy Ritchie Santiago find the hiker’s dismembered head. Donovan says it matches the profile of the other two attacks from last week. The Sheriff wants to take steps to keep hikers out of the woods for the time being.

He wants to tell the media it is a bear until he can prove the murders are connected to Nevermore. When Enid returns to her room, she learns that Wednesday divided it equally. Wednesday sits down and tells her that she devotes an hour of her time each day to her novel. She insults Enid’s writing and her followers who respond to her stories with insipid little pictures. Enid calls them emojis. Wednesday tells her that there are two Ds in Addams so she can at least spell her name right when she gossips about her. She goes after Enid who begins playing music. Enid makes her nails come out and warns her not to mess with her. They stop when their dorm mom Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci) interrupts to check on Wednesday. She gives Wednesday a black dahlia to match her personality. Marilyn gives her a rundown of the rules and explains that passes to Jericho are a privilege.

The next day, Wednesday goes to the fencing class and sees Bianca bear Rowan. Wednesday challenges her to a match. She gets the first point before Bianca gets the second one. Then, Wednesday challenges her to fence without the masks and tips. Bianca ends up slashing her across the forehead and winning. In the medical room, Rowan (Calum Ross) tells her that his mother said he’d finally fit in here but he doesn’t. As Wednesday leaves, the Thing watches her go. She goes outside where someone tries to push a statue off the roof on top of her, but Xavier pushes her out of the way just in time. She complains about his trying to use chivalry to extract her undying gratitude. Xavier (Percy Hynes White) tells her he was just repaying the favor. He reminds her how she saved him from cremation many years ago. While working on her novel, Wednesday learns that the Thing has been spying on her for her parents.

After she makes it pledge loyalty to her, she says she wants to escape this teenage purgatory. She has a plan and it begins now. Weems takes her into Jericho so she can see her therapist. When she drops off Wednesday, Weems admits she is there to prevent her from running away. Wednesday goes inside and talks to Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome) who tells her this is a safe space where she can share anything. Wednesday thinks she did the world a favor since Dalton lost a testicle and people like him shouldn’t procreate. They begin talking about the life Wednesday wants. Valerie knows about her novels about a teen girl detective named Viper De La Muerte. The therapist read the manuscripts and found the relationship between Viper and her mother most interesting. Wednesday asks to use the bathroom so she can escape with her from Thing.

She has a vision of a vehicle crash and a fatality. Then, she goes into the Weathervane Café where Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) is struggling to get the machine to work. Since the instructions are in Italian, Wednesday can fix the machine so she can get a drink. She wants a taxi too, but they only have Uber. Wednesday doesn’t want to be a slave to technology. Tyler offers to drive her to Burlington after his shift and she eventually agrees to that. When Weems sees Valerie outside, she learns that Wednesday has escaped. Workers from Pilgrim World enter the café and confront Wednesday. Tyler tells them to back off only to be told to stay out of it. When Sheriff Galpin arrives, he learns that Wednesday took care of the boys without Tyler’s help. Weems arrives and tells Addams to come with her so the Sheriff learns who she is.

The Sheriff says Gomez belongs behind bars for murder and he suspects the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. On the way back, Weems admits she doesn’t know what he was talking about with Gomez. When they see a crash, Wednesday immediately says he is dead after breaking his neck. She plays music back in her room. Rowan goes to the library and rips a piece of paper out of a book. Tyler goes through his dad’s files to see what he can find about Gomez. The Sheriff looks at pictures of the victims. As Wednesday finishes, she admits she doesn’t feel better because there is something wrong about this place. Enid walks in and learns about Thing. While the others begin wolfing out, Enid confesses that she can’t and only has the fingernails. Some are late boomers, but there is a chance that Enid may never transform and would become a lone wolf. Although Wednesday thinks that sounds perfect, Enid doesn’t because she’d be kicked out of her family with no prospect of ever finding a mate.

Enid begins crying. Wednesday tells her about the first and only time she cried after some kids killed her pet scorpion. She offers to give Enid her room back if she shows her how to use her computer. Thing visits Tyler who tries to hit it with a baseball bat. Once Thing takes the bat, Tyler agrees to cooperate with it. He calls Wednesday and learns she is going to use the upcoming Harvest Festival as cover to escape. Tyler agrees to drive her to the train station without charging her. When asked why, he admits he wishes he was going with her, but at least one of them will escape this town. At the festival, Enid says goodbye to Wednesday who still won’t hug her before she notices that Weems is watching her. Xavier talks to Wednesday while she throws darts until Tyler interrupts. She asks Tyler to meet her behind the parking lot when the fireworks start so she can lose Weems. She distracts her and catches up with Tyler who gives her Gomez’s police file from when he was at Nevermore.

When they try to leave, they’re approached by the Pilgrim World workers and have to flee. Wednesday runs into Rowan and has a vision of him being killed. She runs into the woods to stop him. She catches up with him and tells him that he is in danger, but he thinks it is the other way around. He uses his power to push her up against the tree nearby. Rowan believes he has to kill her to save everyone else. He shows her the picture that his mother drew 25 years ago and says she is the girl in it. His mother said it was his destiny to stop this girl if she ever came to Nevermore. Wednesday watches as he is killed by a monster that runs off seconds later. She takes the picture and returns to her room where she looks at her dad’s police file again. Her parents talk to her using the crystal ball. Wednesday tells herself that she avoided death, discovered her father could be a murderer, learned that she could destroy the school, and was saved by a monster.

 

Wednesday Review

After the opening episode of Wednesday, it is clear that the show is going to be a mixed bag with certain high notes and many low notes. Fans of the older films or the 1964 television series aren’t going to experience any nostalgia from Netflix’s Wednesday because the show is only loosely based on the story. Instead, Wednesday takes a modern approach with a handful of teeny clichés that leave it feeling more like an edgy Harry Potter than an authentic Addams Family experience.

The series looks great without scenes that are too dark and the colors are beautiful. It might even be a little too pristine for the story since a bleaker tone might’ve helped set the mood better. The Thing is probably the best aspect of Wednesday in the first episode since it was the only thing that elicited legitimate laughs.

The majority of the jokes are just quirky without being funny and that is probably an issue when the Addams Family series was always known for its humor. Truthfully, this is just another Netflix show that has lifted the name without even trying to stay true to the source material. The episode wasn’t bad but many viewers are not going to be happy with what Wednesday has to offer.

The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Wednesday can be found on Reel Mockery here. Have you found our site beneficial? Consider supporting our efforts and future expansions by following this link.

 

Wednesday Cast

Netflix’s Wednesday is a coming-of-age comedy based on the cult classic Addams Family. The series was released on November 23, 2022. Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday Addams who is forced to switch to Nevermore Academy after nearly killing a boy who had been bullying her brother. Game of Thrones and The Sandman star Gwendoline Christie plays her new principal at the academy which is specifically for special students.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman play Wednesday’s parents, Morticia and Gomez. Her brother, Pugsley, is played by Isaac Ordonez.

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday

Jenna Ortega is Wednesday Addams who is a teenager with the ability to see visions of the future. Her parents finally get their wish to send her to Nevermore Academy after she nearly kills a boy for bullying her brother. Wednesday is not happy and insists she will eventually escape the school. 20-year-old Ortega was born in Coachella Valley, California on September 27, 2002. She has played in Jane the Virgin, You, and X.

Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems

Larissa Weems, portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, is the principal at Nevermore Academy and a long-time friend of Morticia Addams. She is tasked with keeping an eye on Wednesday and preventing her from escaping the academy. Although she is best known for being Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones, Christie was also Lucifer in Netflix’s The Sandman.

Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair

When Wednesday arrives at Nevermore Academy, she is moved into a dorm room with Enid Sinclair who has powers of her own. Enid is more cheerful and quickly tries to become friends with Wednesday who is not eager for friendships. Myers was in one episode of The Glades, two episodes of Dead of Night, and Girl in the Basement.

Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin

Tyler Galpin works at a café in the nearby town of Jericho where he has a run-in with Wednesday who fixes his espresso machine. He is also the son of Sheriff Donovan Galpin who is investigating a murder near the academy. Tyler will eventually agrees to help Wednesday escape the city since it is something he dreams of as well. Doohan was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on January 19, 1994. He was in eight episodes of Truth Be Told and 10 episodes of Your Honor.

Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe

Xavier is an artist who was dating Bianca Barclay at one time, but they’ve since split. The character is portrayed by Canadian actor Percy Hynes White who was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland on October 8, 2001. He appeared in eight episodes of Murdoch Mysteries, 29 episodes of The Gifted, and 14 episodes of Pretty Hard Cases.

Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay

Wednesday is arguably the biggest role for Joy Sunday who plays Bianca Barclay. She is considered one of the most popular kids at Nevermore and just happens to be a skilled fencer. She may become a bit of a rival for Wednesday. In 2018, Joy was in five episodes of Yas Kween and one episode of MacGyver.

• Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbott
• Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin
• Michael Okele as Morgan
• Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus
• Naomi Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka
• Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill
• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams
• Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams
• Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams
• Victor Dorobantu as Thing
• Calum Ross as Rowan Laslow
• Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Deputy Ritchie Santiago