Chapter 8: A Murder Of Woes – As the finale of Wednesday begins, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) meets Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) for what he thinks is a date only to find that she wants to confront him about being the monster. She admits that Xavier (Percy Hynes White) warned her about him, but she failed to listen to him. Wednesday says she knows he is the Hyde and he likely killed Dr. Kinbott after she unlocked his power. Tyler insists he isn’t the monster and he doesn’t know why she’d bring him out to the woods alone if she thought that. However, he soon finds that she isn’t alone because the other students are there as well. Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) uses her siren song so they can restrain Tyler and tie him to a chair.

Although he says he is a normie, Wednesday has proof suggesting otherwise since his mother went to the school with her mother. Thing stole her medical records and she learned that her condition was triggered by postpartum depression. She was a Hyde and Donovan has been living in dread not knowing whether she passed the condition onto her son. Ajax (Georgie Farmer) gets anxious when Thornhill texts. When Wednesday begins torturing Tyler, the other students decide to leave. Donovan (Jamie McShane) listens to recordings created by Dr. Kinbott about Tyler possibly being psychologically scarred from his mother’s death. Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) calls to tell him what happened after the kids tell her what Wednesday is doing. Wednesday is stopped by the sheriff before she can test Tyler’s reflexes.

At the sheriff’s office, Larissa tells Wednesday that it is a miracle they’re not pressing kidnapping charges. Wednesday questions Donovan if he knew when she gave him the claw. He is adamant that Xavier is the Hyde and she is only being freed thanks to the evidence she provided. Wednesday warns him that Tyler will turn on him too. Tyler is given an opportunity to speak to Wednesday before she leaves. He asks her what it feels like to lose. He begins telling her what it feels like. Tyler whispers in her ear that she has no idea what is coming. Back at Nevermore Academy, Larissa tells Wednesday that the sheriff only agreed not to press charges if she was immediately expelled from the academy. Wednesday makes it clear that she acted alone and the others had nothing to do with it. Larissa suggests she should’ve brought her suspicions to her so they could’ve worked together.

Although Larissa remembers his mother, Francois, she doesn’t want to believe anything Wednesday says about Tyler. Wednesday pleads for more time to prove that they’re Hydes, but Larissa refuses to give her more time. She tells Wednesday to pack her stuff because she’ll be on the afternoon train tomorrow. Before Wednesday leaves, she manages to visit Xavier at the jail to tell him that she knows he isn’t the Hyde. She questions if he has drawn anything recently that could shed light on the situation. Xavier refuses to help her because she ruined his life. He tells her that she is toxic and only makes things worse. Xavier tells her she should just leave, go far away, and never come back. The thing in the picture can’t happen if she isn’t here. Back at the academy, Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) admits she is going to miss Wednesday who is busy packing her stuff.

Wednesday insists she won’t forget about her because the mark she left on her is indelible. Enid questions if she has a sneaky plan to elude Weems. Wednesday doesn’t. She believes Xavier is right that the prophecy can’t come true if she isn’t there. It kills her to leave when Tyler is walking around free. Enid promises that the other students will take care of him. On a good note, Enid got a text from Eugene’s moms saying he woke up last night. Enid says goodbye to Thing (Victor Dorobantu). Bianca apologizes to Wednesday because they didn’t mean to get her expelled. Wednesday warns her that the Nightshades must be ready for what is coming or a lot of people are going to die. Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci) catches up with Wednesday to give her a white oleander which is one of nature’s deadliest.

When Weems arrives to escort her to her train, Wednesday asks for a final favor. She is allowed to visit Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) to tell him she should’ve gone with him instead of going to the dance. Wednesday warns him that he can’t go back to Nevermore because the Hyde is still out there. Eugene tells her about the explosion at the cave and how he saw the person’s boots which were red. Wednesday visits Marilyn and calls her Laurel. Marilyn denies everything and tells her that she needs psychiatric help. Wednesday knows her accusations are true because Tyler told her everything. She suspects Marilyn or Laurel used a plant-derived chemical to unlock Tyler’s power. Marilyn is accused of manipulating Tyler by showing him what his mother truly was. Tyler didn’t realize that the truth would enslave him to Marilyn. It was scary at first so she used the cave and shackles until Tyler willingly became her servant.

When Marilyn gets tired of listening to Wednesday, she tells Tyler to make mommy happy and shut her up. She tells Wednesday that she underestimated the situation because she was never going to get on that train. She sent Tyler to intercept her. Wednesday admits she never made it to the station before Tyler turns out to be Larissa. Marilyn stabs Larissa in the neck and injects her with the substance. Larissa dies due to nightshade poisoning. Marilyn hits Wednesday with a shovel and knocks her out. Enid makes out with Ajax until her claws come out. He worries she’ll wolf out since it is a full-blood moon. Eugene calls Enid to tell her that Wednesday and Larissa were going to confront Marilyn. Since he is worried, Enid says they’ll go check the conservatory. Then, Thing arrives to tell Enid about Wednesday being in trouble. Once he tells her about the Nightshades, Ajax has to come clean to Enid.

He tells her he’ll explain on the way before they head to Crackstone’s crypt. Eugene believes he should go to the academy and help. He ignores his mom’s concerns and leaves. Tyler approaches Wednesday who is chained up in Crackstone’s crypt. They talk briefly before Marilyn tells him to go wait by the boat. Once he leaves, Marilyn tells Wednesday that her family has roots going all the way back to Joseph Crackstone. She explains that Joseph dedicated himself to protecting normies from outcasts until his life was cut short by Goody Addams. Then, they stole his land to build that abomination of a school. Marilyn is doing what her family has tried to do forever. Wednesday realizes they’ve been collecting body parts to resurrect Crackstone. Marilyn has Goody’s Book of Shadow that she stole from Pilgrim World and believes she can use it to bring Crackstone back from the dead.

Wednesday is the key because Goody sealed Crackstone in his sarcophagus with a blood lock. A living descendant can open it on the night of a blood moon. Marilyn made her feel special until she was ready to be sacrificed. While he is transporting Xavier, Donovan learns about Eugene and Nevermore from Deputy Santiago. The other cars can’t go because their tires have been slashed so Donovan agrees to check it out. Marilyn cuts Wednesday’s hand and uses her blood to open the lock. She begins performing the ritual to begin Crackstone back to life. Wednesday works to free herself before Crackstone returns. Marilyn tells him that she brought him back to rid the world of outcasts. He quickly uses his power to stop Wednesday in her tracks before stabbing her in the stomach. They leave her bleeding on the ground. Ajax and Enid make it to the secret library. Bianca, Divina, and Kent join them.

They learn what is going on as Enid insists they have to get everyone out of the school and to safety right away. Bianca recommends using their siren song to convince everyone to leave. Goody shows up to tell Wednesday that Crackstone has to be stabbed through his black heart. She tells her that the necklace is a powerful talisman for conjuring spirits. It’ll allow Goody to pass through her and heal her, but she’ll never see her again after that. Goody heals her before disappearing into her body. Sheriff Galpin leaves Xavier in the squad car while Bianca and the others try to escort everyone out of the school. Enid runs outside. When she trips and falls, she begins changing into a wolf. Tyler finds Wednesday outside and says she is like a cockroach. He turns into the Hyde and begins choking her until Enid attacks him. Wednesday runs back to the school as they continue fighting. Crackstone tries to kill the students left in the academy.

Thing finds the police car and tries to help Xavier get out. Donovan shoots Tyler to get him to stop choking Enid. After Enid deals with him, Donovan finds Tyler in his human form nearby. Thing returns to Enid as she returns to her human form. Xavier goes inside the academy where he finds Wednesday confronting Joseph with a sword. He fires an arrow at Crackstone who stops it and shoots it back toward him. Wednesday jumps in the way and gets hit in the shoulder. When Xavier checks on Wednesday, she tells him to get the others out of there. As the fight continues, Joseph breaks Wednesday’s sword and pushes her against a bench. He tries to kill her until Bianca stabs him from behind. She distracts him so Wednesday can drive a piece of the sword into Crackstone’s black heart. After his ring drops to the ground and he blows up, Marilyn arrives with a gun. She believes she’ll be able to kill Wednesday but can’t when she is overwhelmed by Eugene’s bees.

He comes over to remind Wednesday that hummers stick together. Wednesday walks over and kicks Laurel in the face. A bloodied Enid returns to Ajax and the others before asking about Wednesday. When Wednesday finally walks out, she hugs Enid for the first time. Later, Wednesday finishes her novel. Enid tells her that she is going to miss Principal Weems. They agree that she was one of them. Enid wants Wednesday to come visit her in San Francisco because classes have been canceled. Wednesday admits to Bianca that she owes her a thank you. Bianca says they’ll get the fencing title next year so she can’t let killing a pilgrim get to her head. Wednesday sees Xavier above her. He confirms he is a free man now before apologizing for what said he said in the cell. Xavier gives her a gift for taking an arrow for him. It turns out to be a smartphone with Xavier’s phone number already in it.

He hopes for a text at least. Wednesday tells him goodbye without saying whether she’ll be back next semester. In the car, she gets a message from an unknown contact with pictures of herself with Tyler and Xavier. The message tells her that they’re watching her along with a possible warning. Wednesday insists there are still secrets lurking in the dark corners of Jericho. Tyler turns into the monster in the back of the armored car that passes.

 

Wednesday Finale Review

The finale of Wednesday was equally overwhelming and underwhelming with some aspects being more successful than others. Certain characters were underdeveloped so it was never possible to develop a genuine connection with them. Bianca, Divina, Kent, Yoko, Eugene, and some of the others weren’t explored enough while Xavier’s bleakness didn’t make him sympathetic.

Thing could’ve been used a lot more throughout the season because his scenes were easily the most enjoyable. The love triangle between Wednesday, Xavier, and Tyler never felt natural and was always forced. The love angle doesn’t work for Wednesday who works better as a stoic figure. On the other hand, Wednesday’s relationship with Enid was great and really reached a climax in this episode.

The moment when the couple finally hugged was very effective and possibly the best scene in the finale. The monster battles and the final showdown with Joseph Crackstone were not great and neither was the revelation that Marilyn was the master. Both were just too easy and predictable. Truthfully, I just didn’t love the first season of Wednesday because I didn’t find it funny nor did I connect with any of the characters including Wednesday Addams.

The investigation could’ve worked if it hadn’t been the main focus of so many episodes. If the season did anything well, it created a solid foundation for future seasons that hopefully won’t involve sleuthing. The things that could justify another season are Thing and Wednesday’s budding friendship with Enid. If these storylines receive more focus, a second season could easily be a lot better than the first but more genuine humor would help too.

While the finale was just okay, the prospect of another and possibly better season is exciting. The finale scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Wednesday are available on Reel Mockery here. Have you found our recaps helpful? Consider supporting our work. Follow this link to find out how.