Wednesday Season 2: Spookier than Ever?
Creators of the Netflix show promised a spectacle, and in this department, Wednesday did not disappoint. The second part of the gothic mystery show starring Jenna Ortega as the now-teenage Wednesday Addams was at last fully released on Sept. 3, nearly three years after the successful debut of the first season.
The second season is faster-paced and with more characters than the original season, with a big budget, cameos, and a dizzying number of plotlines. With some returning to the all-star cast, as well as some new faces, there is a lot to be said for the second installment. The premise of the second season starts similarly to the first: now entering her second year at magic/mythology school after a summer hunting serial killers, the eldest Addams child has yet another mystery to crack…and even more enemies to make.
First of all, the acting in this show was fantastic. In particular, Jenna Ortega’s performance of Wednesday remained delightfully deadpan even among some of the more chaotic moments, and the strong ensemble cast kept what could be some meandering plotlines on track and interesting. Despite the large number of new characters, most were still able to manage to hold their own among some more overwhelming moments.
The main pitfall with this season was the two-section release–by splitting the season into two groups of four episodes, it unexpectedly cuts off some plotlines that were being given great focus in part one, then rapidly adds new ones in part two.
The result is that it can feel disjointed watching back-to-back, as various characters are given emphasis only to disappear without a second word, new villains appearing and disappearing faster than Thing’s skittering fingers. It gives the viewer the feeling of watching two seasons jammed into one–a great number of new characters and plots give us a lot to chew on, with the price that not all of them get their due payoff by the end of the season.
Another strong point of Wednesday is the setpieces—from the literal castle that is Nevermore (which, at least for the exterior shots, is a real castle in Romania!), to the various locations that the character’s shenanigans put them in, this season for sure takes the cake in the number of diverse locations it features, unlike many TV shows that seem content to remain in the same four places…and yes, for returning viewers, the woods will make their reprise.
The costuming of the show was entertaining–one episode in particular had a large number of extravagant outfits perfectly suited to each character. The casual outfits were just as much of a delight–what would the Addams family wear camping? A mystery solved, and in a clever way as well.
Even the background or minor characters were given careful attention when it came to what they were wearing, and it paid off in making the sometimes fantastical school feel grounded in what normal sixteen-year-olds would wear…even if it’s to investigate murder.
As for the plot of the show itself, despite being a little more crowded than season one, it was all-around a really fun mystery/drama show that takes a shot at both the present and the paranormal, with a lot of different mechanisms that only start clicking satisfyingly together at the end of the show.
I frequently found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for the next shoe to drop–it lives up to the kooky Addams title it’s trying to uphold. The characters are intriguing and original, each with their own plotline to follow and drama to make in the small Vermont town of Jericho.
Ultimately, Wednesday season two is an enjoyable follow-up to the first season–in many ways the characters are more engaging, and it holds its own in terms of setpieces, costuming, and acting, as well as some creative plot twists. It’s a spooky, fun, witchy teen mystery show, and those looking for a new morbid Tim Burton TV show with a little bit of a more dynamic Addams family to add to their Halloween business need to look no further than this.
