It won’t be too much of a surprise to find out Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) is still alive after her near-fatal attack at the end of “Wednesday,” Season 2, Part 1. But don’t worry, these next four episodes contain more twists and turns than you could hope for — and it’s not just the very fun Lady Gaga cameo.
At its best, “Wednesday” is campy and fun, or spooky and disturbing. At times, and definitely in these last episodes, “Wednesday” can get bogged down in convoluted plots that don’t always materialize in satisfying ways, with some storylines that feel drawn out. Although Part 2 closes the loop on most of these arcs, the writers are smart to continue building out the show’s central friendship, which has quickly become the grounding force of the series.
Wednesday and Enid (Emma Myers) began as an unlikely roommate pairing, and their conflicting personalities boil to the surface this season. Specifically: Wednesday’s habit of keeping Enid in the dark and never being vulnerable with her, contrasted with Enid’s overbearing and somewhat naïve outlook on life. Wednesday progressively learns to trust and rely on Enid, a major shift for a character who prides herself on self-reliance and independence. On the other hand, Enid begins to empathize with Wednesday’s peculiarities, and also comes into her own as she uncovers her growing werewolf powers.
An excellent and entertaining sixth episode gives both actresses a lot to work with as they clash in an unexpected and comedic way, deepening their bond and giving Wednesday’s vision of Enid’s death more weight and urgency. Although this friendship doesn’t seem to be slated for a romantic conclusion to the chagrin of Wenclair shippers, it is a much stronger focus than last season’s love triangle. Ortega and Myers have great non-romantic chemistry.
On the periphery of their friendship is Agnes (Evie Templeton), whose power of invisibility and stalker-ish behavior comes in clutch at multiple points in these episodes. She deservedly joins the fold by the end, even finding her own identity outside of her obsession with Wednesday. While Agnes naming the trio “The Three Musketeers” is a bit of a reach, we’re seeing the building blocks of a solid core crew — plus Thing, of course, who gets his own arc and backstory this season.
Unfortunately, when the show zooms out to its overarching and side plots that lean on trope-y betrayals and fight scenes, “Wednesday” isn’t as compelling. Such is the case with Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), Slurp the zombie (Owen Painter) and the way those stories intertwine and become central to these four episodes. By linking these threads from Part 1, there is a lot less up in the air as far as plot: The villains of the story here are clear, but the lack of mystery or nuance in that reveal takes the steam out of the conflict, especially between Tyler and Wednesday.
At this point, these crushes-to-enemies have had ample opportunities to kill each other, and the repetitiveness of their hesitation to do so continues to play into these new episodes. The shock of that conflict has overstayed its welcome, and eventually stops really making sense — why continuously plot to kill each other, but never actually do so?
Although there are plenty more reveals for Tyler and Slurp in terms of their backstories, with convoluted twists right up until the end, their side of the story starts to feel like a necessary but drawn-out evil. Scenes away from Wednesday, Enid and Agnes are far less engaging and interesting.
Another side plot involving Bianca (Joy Sunday) helping her mother hide out and the real reason as to why she is doing Principal Barry Dort’s (Steve Buscemi) bidding also comes to a swift but lackluster conclusion, with a backstory that feels shoehorned in at the last minute involving a cult and extortion.
Luckily, there is still plenty of fun to be had on the outskirts of the conflict. After losing a few characters in the bloodbath of the fourth episode, the show brings back Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) as Wednesday’s spirit guide and thirteenth cousin twice removed, a ghost that follows her around and mostly provides some entertaining banter (the first season featured Goody Addams, Wednesday’s ancestor from the 1600s, as her first spirit guide). Christie is excellent as always, and it’s a reassuring thought that a character may die on the show but their spirit remains in the “Wednesday” universe. This season has had quite the high body count, so who knows who could re-appear next.
Regardless of the clunkier plot mechanics in this back half of the season, “Wednesday” continues to be a good time with top-of-the-line production design. There is always a twist and some spooky gore around the corner. This season showcased a deepening of the Addams family history — Joanna Lumley shined as the very glamorous Grandmama Frump. But as Wednesday says as the season comes to a close, “Secrets are the bedrock of the Addams family.” Based on the finale’s cliffhanger, “Wednesday” is sure to dig deeper into those mysteries in an already-greenlit third season. Maybe Wednesday will actually have time to go to class next season?
“Wednesday” Season 2, Part 2, is now streaming on Netflix.
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