Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 Review

Jenna Ortega leads a fabulous cast in Wednesday Season 2 Part 1, which dials up the horror but has iffy storytelling.

At the urging of new Nevermore principal Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi), the duo’s parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) stick around too. So, in a way, things begin to feel like a classic Addams Family adventure, but make no mistake: this is very much a Wednesday Addams show.

From a story and character standpoint, there’s a lot to like here, but the problem is that everything feels jumbled together. Going in, I had no idea why on earth this season would be split into two parts and now that I’ve watched everything play out, it makes some sense but it still doesn’t feel entirely necessary. Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 uses last season’s cliffhanger of Wednesday discovering that she has a stalker as a starting point for the mysteries of this season, which is great. The trouble is these writers weave a web of mystery that doesn’t exactly have a satisfying end. In terms of the stalker storyline, we get a reveal that works and was unexpected. Our second mystery, which revolves around murders, is honestly very lackluster and really only serves to set up a more compelling second set of episodes. 

There was a clear end point in mind on the writers’ part, which is good, but certain characters, like new Head of Music at Nevermore Isadora Capri (Billie Piper), feel more like plot devices rather than people. There is also a development that I will not spoil, but it felt extremely unnecessary. Also, after the writers and Jenna Ortega spent all sorts of time confirming Wednesday wouldn’t be involved in a love triangle, I was relieved as that was by far the weakest aspect of Season 1. Unfortunately, this creative team hasn’t learned its lesson and has now shifted the love triangle onto Enid. To make matters worse, Emma Myers has no chemistry with either of Enid’s love interests, and her love affair feels so rushed. 

What audiences will be most interested in here is Wednesday’s psychic vision of her roommate/best friend Enid Sinclair’s (Emma Myers, A Minecraft Movie) death and the subsequent investigation she goes on to try and stop it. There is also the fact that our title character seems to be struggling when it comes to controlling her powers.

While the murder mystery reveal is underwhelming, Jenna Ortega keeps us invested in it all the way though. Wednesday may maintain a stoic facial expression and monotone voice, but Ortega conveys everything she needs to through Wednesday’s eyes which once again rarely blink, if they do at all. You can see this fire that she has to save Enid no matter the cost to her own life as well as the fear that she may not be able to. The investigation leads her to places that Wednesday never thought she’d go, including on a camping trip with her fellow classmates in Episode 3 (which is the best episode of this first batch).

Centering the season around Wednesday’s journey to save Enid was a brilliant move considering their bond was one of Season 1’s best elements. They get some really sweet moments together during Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 but there is angst between the two as well. Ortega and Myers remain great together, bringing one of the best examples of a grumpy and sunshine friendship dynamic to the screen. 

Showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar amp up the horror aspect with some brutal deaths and jump scares. There is a particular animal that repeatedly shows up and every time it appeared, I worried that something bad was about to happen. As much as I’d heard that in the lead up to release, I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to make it work, but they totally did. 

Another huge plus for this first set of episodes is Morticia, Pugsley, and Gomez Addams having more to do. Pugsley as previously mentioned enrolls at Nevermore and tries to fit in, but of course, being an Addams, he stands out. His little subplot is funny and also leads to some of the scariest moments in episodes 1 through 4. Morticia is being courted by Principal Barry Dort to head up a fundraiser to keep Nevermore open, largely because of her wealthy mother, Hester AKA Grandmama (Joanna Lumley), whom she is estranged from. In addition, Morticia butts heads with Wednesday over her overuse of her powers and deceased ancestor Goody Addams’ spellbook. 

Longtime fans of the character will love seeing Morticia fully step into her role as matriarch of the Addams family here. She is very protective of those she loves while also respecting their desire for independence. As we see here though, Morticia won’t hesitate to save her loved ones, in this case Wednesday, from themselves. Catherine Zeta-Jones is remarkable as she puts on a voice that is both alluring and warm.

Last but certainly not least, Luis Guzmán’s Gomez may not have a true side plot like Morticia and Pugsley, but he is an active part of Wednesday Season 2 Part 1. Gomez assists his entire family throughout this batch of episodes while also providing comic relief and never missing an opportunity to shower his wife with love. As much as I love Raul Julia’s take on the character from the 90s Addams Family films, this modern version is my favorite. Guzmán is hilarious, suave, kind, and his look also captures how Gomez looks in the original comic strips by Charles Addams. You truly could not ask for a better portrayal and I hope we see even more of him in the second half of the season. 

The final standout characters so far would have to be Uncle Fester Addams (Fred Armisen), who returns to assist his niece with her investigation and gets more than he bargained for (or everything he wants, depending on how you look at it), Thing (Victor Dorobantu) the sentient disembodied hand who continues to watch over Wednesday for her parents, and Principal Barry Dort (Buscemi).

Fester and Thing provide so many funny moments and I never understood why Fester reportedly has a spin off in the works until now. The work that Armisen does here constantly had me in stitches. Buscemi really surprised me as Principal Dort. He channels his “How do you do fellow kids?” energy and creates a character who is so different from his predecessor Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie). Dort reminded me of principals and teachers I had growing up. They were all quite goofy but also stern when needed in order to keep things running smoothly.

One thing I couldn’t get over is how weird the CGI looked at times, which was an issue during the previous season. While I get wanting to give Wednesday’s ex Tyler (Hunter Doohan) a form that looks like it was ripped right out of Tim Burton’s head once he transforms into the Hyde, but it just doesn’t look believable in the slightest. Tyler looks like some sort of cartoon which is not what you want in a show that is mostly grounded. 

Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 is a welcome return for the title character with an intriguing but flawed story. Jenna Ortega and this cast get you to fully buy in with their outstanding performances. This season also dials up the horror aspect which was a welcome sight. I cannot wait to see what the back half holds considering where this leaves off.

Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 is now available to stream globally on Netflix. Part 2 will be released on September 3.