Chapter 7: If You Don’t Woe Me By Now – At the beginning of this episode, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) attends the funeral for Mayor Walker. After the funeral, she sees someone out of the corner of her eye and begins chasing them through the woods. She runs into Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) who shocks her with his power. He tells her that he just blew into town this morning. He felt nostalgic since he used to drop in on Gomez when he attended Nevermore. Fester says he has a job in Boston which means he needs somewhere to lay low for a couple of days. She takes him to Eugene’s bee shack and admits it belongs to a friend. Fester worries that her friend will be going home in a body bag. Wednesday tells him not to eat the bees because they’re like Eugene’s children.

She shows him a picture of the monster before he identifies it as a Hyde as in Jekyll and Hyde. Fester begins telling her about the Hyde he knew called Olga and how she was a concert pianist. One night, she transformed in the middle of a Chopin sonata and massacred a dozen audience members and three music critics. Fester doesn’t know what triggered her. Wednesday says Hydes are never mentioned in any outcast book. Fester asks if she has tried Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary. Before he founded Nevermore, Faulkner traveled the world cataloging every outcast community. He goes on to tell her where the diary can be found in the Nightshades library. Wednesday tells him they’ll sneak into the library tonight. He should lay low because she’ll disown him and collect the reward money if he is caught.

Back in her room, Wednesday questions who was sleeping in Laurel Gates’ room since she died 20 years ago. She also wonders why they had photos of her and how they’re connected to the Hyde. Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) returns to her room because she can’t find her bottle of silver moon nail polish. Wednesday reminds her that this is the third time in 24 hours that she forgot something. She tells Enid about her annoying habits and how she likes solitude. Enid fires back by telling Wednesday what she finds annoying about her. They continue arguing until Enid leaves. Wednesday goes into the library and runs into Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White). When she reveals she is researching the monster, Xavier insists there is nothing there matching that thing. He tells her that she doesn’t know who her real friends are. He reminds her that he saved her life and believed her theories when no one else did, yet he gets suspicion and lies.

Wednesday tells him that he has been there every time the monster has attacked. He has also drawn the monster dozens of times despite saying he has never seen it. Xavier asks why he hasn’t killed her if he is the monster. Wednesday believes it is because he likes her for some reason. Once Xavier leaves, Fester and Thing (Victor Dorobantu) join Wednesday. Thing and Fester get into a fight over a past job before Wednesday stops them and turns her attention to the diary. They retrieve the diary from the safe and take it back to Wednesday’s room. She finds Hydes in the book and learns that Faulkner described them as artists by nature but equally vindictive in temperament. The Hyde lays dormant until unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis. This act causes the Hyde to develop an immediate bond with its liberator which the creature sees as its master.

Fester believes anyone willing to unlock a Hyde would have to be a next-level sicko. Wednesday knows she is now looking for the monster and its master. When Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci) visits, she hides the book and Fester disappears. Marilyn informs her that Enid has requested to room with Yoko (Naomi Ogawa) for the rest of the school year. She believes Wednesday cared about Enid who brought out a spark of warmth in her. Wednesday tells her that she’ll survive alone because she always has. Later, Wednesday catches Xavier arranging a meeting on the phone. She claims to know what he is, but Xavier just wants her to stay away from him. Once Xavier leaves on a bike, Fester confirms he placed a tracker on it so they can find out where he goes. They follow him using Fester’s motorcycle and sidecar.

They watch him meet with Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome) and tell her that he had a die in which she died. She goes back to the academy to tell Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) only to find that Dr. Kinbott is there too. They discuss the report Valerie is going to turn in to the judge so they can decide Wednesday’s fate. Wednesday tells the doctor that she has been reading about hypnotherapy. She thinks she can use it to unlock her inner self. Dr. Kinbott admits she is a devotee before saying they can start on Monday. Wednesday leaves to supposedly finish some homework. At the Weathervane, Wednesday tells Fester that Kinbott has to be the monster’s master. Tyler comes over to their table and is promptly introduced to Fester who shocks him. He sees the monster in the diary so she tells him about it and how it has a master. Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane) enters and catches them sitting together before Tyler takes the blame.

The sheriff shows them flyers he is putting up about a bank robbery suspect who happens to be Fester. Once he leaves, Tyler tries to convince Wednesday to schedule their date since he thinks she owes him. He offers to meet her at Crackstone’s Crypt at 9 PM. Wednesday finds the fingernail polish in her room as Thing suspects she misses Enid but Wednesday denies it. Thing is tasked with keeping the diary safe while she goes on the date with Tyler. He takes her into the crypt where he has set up a picnic and a scary movie which turns out to be Legally Blonde. The Sheriff finds the suspect’s bike so they begin searching the area for him. After the movie, Tyler tells Wednesday that he’d like them to be more than friends but she thinks he’ll snap out of it. Although she says he is making a mistake, Tyler wants to kiss her anyway. Before they can, the sheriff storms in and stops them.

He tells them what he is doing before making it clear that he never saw the two of them here. When Wednesday returns to her room, she finds it ransacked, the diary is missing, and Thing has been stabbed. She takes Thing to Fester so he can use his power to shock Thing back to life. It eventually works. Thing comes back to life and tells Wednesday that he was stabbed in the back. Wednesday says she’ll stitch him back up. She warns Fester that the sheriff has found his bike so he needs to go. Fester says he’ll stay tonight to keep an eye on the patient and leave in the morning. Wednesday goes back to the academy to tell Larissa and Marilyn what happened. Larissa knows about the diary so she should also know about the Hyde. Marilyn is asked to leave. Then, Larissa tells Wednesday that Faulkner studied Hydes for years to find out whether they were mindless killers or conscious of their actions.

He was killed by a Hyde before he could reach a conclusion. Although others tried to continue his research, the Hydes were too unpredictable and violent. As a result, the Hydes were officially banned from Nevermore 30 years ago. Larissa didn’t tell the sheriff about the hide because it would’ve meant the end of Nevermore. She wants to know if Wednesday suspects someone although Wednesday accuses her of gaslighting and obstructing her. Bianca (Joy Sunday) approaches Wednesday outside to say she has information about Mayor Walker’s murder. Lucas (Iman Marson) gives her files he printed off his dad’s computer while saying he was trying to track down Laurel Gates. Although they thought she had drowned, her body was never found. Wednesday says the Gates mansion was purchased a year ago by a 90-year-old candy heiress. She mysteriously died and gave all of her belongings to her caregiver, Teresa L. Glau.

Wednesday believes it is an anagram for Laurel Gates. They wonder if Laurel came back to Jericho to get revenge on the people she blames for her family’s misfortunes. Wednesday tells them how to monster is doing Laurel’s bidding. After Lucas asks if she knows who Laurel is, Wednesday visits Dr. Kinbott to give her the jewelry box back. She accuses Valerie of being Laurel and killing Mayor Walker to silence him. The roses she left in Eugene’s room were her mistake. They’re the same variety Wednesday found by her childhood bed. She goes on to say there is only one reason an overqualified psychiatrist would settle in a town like Jericho. She managed to find someone to manipulate so they would exact her revenge. Valerie denies everything and says she has an appointment with Xavier. Wednesday says she knows about the sessions in her car and the cave where they’ve been holding sessions to unlock his Hyde.

Dr. Kinbott says she needs help so she is going to call Judge Reynolds and recommend she stay in a juvenile psychiatric facility. Wednesday claims she’d be running that place in a week before telling Dr. Kinbott that her time is up. When Wednesday leaves, Dr. Kinbott calls Larissa to complain about her. The doctor is attacked by the monster seconds later. At the hospital, Sheriff Galpin tells Wednesday and Larissa that Dr. Kinbott is dead. Wednesday says this ends now. She waits for Xavier in his studio. Wednesday accuses him of stabbing Thing before asking him about the sessions with Dr. Kinbott. Xavier says his dad thinks he is a PR problem that he needs to manage and wanted to keep him out of the tabloids. Wednesday uncovers a painting of Kinbott with scratches on her face. She asks why Rowan’s inhaler and Eugene’s glasses are in his shed. She also finds Kinbott’s necklace and pictures of her.

Xavier claims someone planted that stuff before the Sheriff arrives to arrest him. He accuses Wednesday of framing him. Enid moves back in with Wednesday who tells her to skip the tape. She says they work even though they shouldn’t. When Enid says she is sorry about Xavier, Wednesday says she isn’t because he is a liar and a killer. Wednesday visits Tyler at the Weathervane Café. She says Xavier’s arrest has made her reconsider who she can trust. Tyler questions if that means she is ready to be more than friends. They kiss. Wednesday has a vision that shows her that Tyler is the monster. She flees as the episode ends.

 

Wednesday Review

The seventh episode of Wednesday had plenty of twists and turns with varying degrees of success. Viewers probably realized already that Xavier wasn’t the monster because that was being pushed entirely too hard so following through with that would’ve been too easy. Unfortunately, this means that Xavier is going to be saved while Tyler will probably be gone after this episode. The show is effectively getting rid of the better character for a weaker one.

The casting choices are still questionable, especially that of Fester who needed to be a little quirkier. Although I like Tyler, putting Wednesday in a relationship kills the vibe of the character. It likely would’ve been better for Wednesday to remain stoic based on the character’s demeanor and unconventional ways. Thing’s near-death experience was the highlight of the episode proving again that the disembodied hand remains the best character of the series.

The character should be used more frequently because it works in every scene. Like the series, this episode was okay but underwhelming in the big scheme of things. It scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Wednesday are available on Reel Mockery here. Have you found our recaps beneficial? Consider supporting our work by following this link.