Summary
Wednesday Season 2 concludes in a convoluted Part 2, which can sometimes get in its own way but nonetheless provides a ton of heart and payoff where it counts.
Wednesday is about werewolves and zombies and death; about Gorgons and Sirens and mad scientists. But it’s mostly about friendship and family, especially in Part 2 of Season 2. These final four episodes, picking up from a very good Part 1 that left things on several ripe cliffhangers, understand that the real core of this show isn’t Wednesday’s sardonic demeanour but her relationships with her mother, Morticia, and her best friend Enid.
These dynamics are threaded throughout the remaining four hours of the season, even the much-talked-about Lady Gaga cameo that, I’m pleased to report, is mostly just a bonding exercise (and probably the best episode of the season). There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot itself, which knits together Tyler’s escape from Willow Hill with the Slurp debacle, but they’re all backdropped by these two evolving core relationships.
It’s this that justifies the unexpected return of Gwendoline Christie’s Principal Weems, who becomes Wednesday’s spirit guide in the hopes of coaching her through repairing the relationship with her mother, since that bond is integral to regaining the psychic powers that still remain frustratingly out of reach. The Lady Gaga thing is the setup for a brilliant Freak Friday-style send-up that gives Jenna Ortega and Emma Myers a ton to work with, allowing Wednesday and Enid the space to work through their issues and understand each other better. That understanding might ultimately take an obvious shape – Wednesday is learning to appreciate and admire Enid, while Enid starts to understand that Wednesday’s peculiarities are rooted in affection – but builds to a big payoff.
You can see it in the supporting players, too. Agnes has a mini-arc in these four episodes about finding her true value as an individual, not someone cosplaying Wednesday, and Thing’s ongoing backstory and need to know where he comes from and feel at home in the Addams family remains important. Like the Enid thing, this has kind of an amazing payoff.
On the subject of payoff, it’s easier to provide than it was in Part 1 since the plot calcifies into something more straightforward and simplistic, with what seemed like disparate elements knitting together into a tidy whole. It still feels convoluted, though, in part because the show is loathe to allow anything to not be connected to the main story. Sometimes, the next reveal explaining how this person was integral to that person’s backstory, which caused this event and that outcome, starts to feel artificial. The only subplot truly divorced from everything else involves Bianca and Principal Dort, but it’s given short shrift and concluded much too easily.
There’s also a whiff, dare I say it, of Wednesday Season 2, Part 2 slightly pulling its punches. After Part 1 killed off half the cast willy-nilly, these four episodes feel surprisingly restrained, with only a couple of deaths, none of which are especially shocking. There’s still the expected amount of gore and Gothic horror, but it rarely amounts to much, and truly daring storytelling choices remain few and far between. The production design remains top-notch, though, with a masquerade gala being a particular highlight in this regard.
But it’s fun, of that there can be no doubt, and really, there isn’t much else that matters. The characters remain highly engaging and fun to spend time with, and the great accomplishment of this season is how it has deepened the dynamics between them, allowing them all to grow into their own people who each bring value to the narrative. There’s still plenty to play for in the already-confirmed third season, and while I quietly hope that one might take a few more chances, I’m already relishing the opportunity to spend another semester at Nevermore. Wednesday must be doing something right.
