Who is Laurel Gates Netflix’s Wednesday? This article discusses the mysterious character found in the Netflix series Wednesday season 1. This article contains spoilers.
The main mystery in the Netflix original series Wednesday centers on the hunt for a serial killer in the local area, but the murderer may actually be an escaped monster on the loose, not just some deranged individual with a grudge. Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) finds herself entangled in this investigation that also happens to involve an apocalyptic drawing of her fighting Joseph Crackstone (William Houston) and the mysterious Gates family. They are Jericho’s long-dead elite, who are deeply linked to the plot in intricate ways. As the story unravels, the Gates family name keeps cropping up, and Laurel Gates soon becomes the number one suspect in the case. But who is Laurel Gates, and what does she want with Nevermore Academy or Wednesday Addams for that matter?
Wednesday season 1 – who is Laurel Gates?
The Gates family was one of the richest and most powerful families in Jericho. Descendants of founding father Joseph Crackstone himself, they hated the outcasts of Nevermore. They were also furious that Crackstone’s land was stolen and used as the Academy’s grounds. This hatred built and built over time, until Ansel Gates forced his son Garrett to break into Nevermore to poison the students, ridding the town of the outcasts once and for all.
Garrett took a vial of nightshade to the Rave’N Dance of 1990, hoping to spike the punch. Yet he was madly in love with Morticia and started a fight with her boyfriend Gomez before attempting the poisoning. During the fight, the vial was crushed against his skin and the poison seeped into Garrett’s body, causing foaming of the mouth and rabid behavior. Garrett attacked Gomez, and Morticia killed him in self-defense. Gomez took the blame for the killing but was later freed. The Mayor and the Coroner covered up the murder to keep Jericho and Nevermore’s reputation unscathed, but Sheriff Galpin always held a grudge.
The Gates family fell apart after Garrett’s death and they all subsequently died. Garrett’s sister was rumored to have drowned overseas and a death certificate confirmed this, but the Mayor always had his suspicions. When lights were noticed on in the Gates mansion, the Mayor started to investigate Laurel’s death further, even acquiring a copy of the death certificate. He broke into the mansion and snooped around. On leaving this place, he called Sheriff Galpin, asking to meet to discuss his latest theory. But the Mayor was run over and then killed before revealing his secrets. He was evidently onto Laurel Gates.
Wednesday found the killer’s car and the missing body parts from all the monster’s victims inside the mansion. There was also a hidden shrine to Crackstone inside the building. Then when she stepped foot into Laurel’s bedroom, she noticed that it had been lived in more recently, which explains the lights being on in the mansion. Enid then suggests that Laurel has returned to her old bedroom once again.
When the Mayor is killed, his son then discovers his father’s paperwork. He had uncovered more damning information. The mansion was purchased by a 90-year-old candy heiress, who died mysteriously and left everything to her caregiver Teresa L. Glau, which is an anagram for Laurel Gates. The woman had returned to her hometown, bought her childhood home, and had then begun killing for revenge. Wednesday theorizes that she killed off those who were involved in her family’s misfortune, the Mayor, the Coroner, and now she was after the Addams family too.
Fester had identified the monster as a Hyde, a beast that inhabits a body and lays dormant inside until awakened. The monster is summoned either by hypnosis, chemical inducement, or a traumatic event. Whoever awakens the beast can then control the monster to do their bidding. Laurel was using the monster to kill off certain people. At first, Wednesday believes that Dr. Kinbott is Laurel and she is controlling Xavier to do her murders, but she is unfortunately wrong. Xavier is framed and Dr. Kinbott is eventually killed by the monster. Once Wednesday kisses Tyler, she realizes via a vision that he is actually the monster.
The real Laurel Gates is revealed to be the sweet, innocent teacher Marilyn Thornhill, played by Christina Ricci, which is quite the twist. Eugene delivers the final, fatal clue, stating that he saw a figure in red boots blowing up the cave, and Wednesday joins the dots together instantaneously. She confronts Marilyn, who confesses everything. She used a plant-derived chemical to control Tyler. She specifically targeted this teen after noting that his mother had a history of depression and a possible bipolar disorder. Marilyn had Tyler gather the specific body parts so that she could resurrect Joseph Crackstone from the dead. She wanted to awaken Crackstone in order for him to help her kill all the outcasts of Nevermore once and for all. But obviously, Marilyn’s plan fails thanks to Wednesday’s determination and detective skills.
