Netflix’s Wednesday Season 1 Review

Brief Overview

When this show was first announced it would be an understatement to say everyone was skeptical. A character like Wednesday Addams would be more than difficult to pull off as it is, but as everyone knows Jenna Ortega also had to live up to the iconic Christina Ricci, who portrayed Wednesday perfectly in the original live-action films between 1991-1993. However Jenna has absolutely knocked this series out of the park, she completely brought Wednesday Addams back to life with her amazing performance.

The Season only had 8 episodes yet managed to make a full 8 episodes completely Chaotic and bizarre which perfectly reflects what the Addams family is. The show saw some of our Iconic Addams Family members return, such as Morticia, Gomez, Pugsley, Thing, and Uncle Fester. Some of these characters were done differently from what we’re used to, but it was still brilliantly done.

This show has reached well past my expectations, and I feel that’s probably the same for most people watching. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, but I’m already rewatching it as I just wasn’t ready for it to end. There are endless amounts of things I could say about the characters and the story but I will try to keep it brief in the rest of my review below!

Story – 10/10

The story for the Season began with Joseph Crackstone, who founded the town of Jericho and wanted to rid the town of people who were different, or as they were known “outcasts”. Joseph tried to kill the outcasts but someone survived, Goody Addams, Wednesday’s ancestor. This ultimately led to the death of Joseph Crackstone as Goody killed him. Anyways 400 years later and his name is still not forgotten.

Although this was a huge part of the story, he was not the main villain throughout. A monster known as The Hyde had been brutally murdering people around Jericho, however, this was only a small part of a much bigger plan. After Wednesday has an encounter with The Hyde, she makes it her responsibility to find out who is behind it. She later discovered The Hyde is actually a human.

Whilst delving into her research into The Hyde, Wednesday discovers a Hyde must be unlocked by another person. It could be through a chemical reaction, hypnosis, and so on. This means The Hyde wasn’t the only villain, but also its master. The ultimate goal was to bring back Joseph Crackstone from the dead so he could fulfill his original plan and rid the town of outcasts, which meant the school of Nevermore was the biggest target.

The series is Gory, Chaotic, and yet an absolute masterpiece is the best word I can think of to describe this. There was never a dull moment and it appears the majority of viewers agree as it’s currently the number one show on Netflix which doesn’t surprise me at all. I could talk forever about the story, and the huge reveal nearer the end. I spent my entire time trying to guess who was doing it, but honestly, the reveal just blew my mind.

Action – 9/10

The action throughout this series was different from what we’re used to watching at comic universe but non the less it was great! The brutal murders committed by The Hyde certainly stood out. But let’s talk about Wednesday and her flawless fighting skills. We see this throughout the series on different occasions, when fighting the Pilgrims, her fencing dual with Bianca, and of course her end battle with Joseph Crackstone. Not only were her fighting skills impeccable but her sword fighting skills were certainly highlighted throughout this as well. Oh, and we can’t forget the moment Enid “wolfed out” and totally destroyed The Hyde. What a perfect way for her character to end this season.

Characters – 10/10

Let’s start with our main character Wednesday Addams. Jenna Ortega honestly deserves awards for her performance of this character. Wednesday has always been the most tricky out of the Addams family, she tends not to show emotion, doesn’t build relationships with others, and has no self-control, this very much continued onto this series. However, seeing the character development here was unbelievably wholesome. For someone who has never had to socially interact with others, she builds amazing bonds with pretty much everyone. We see her care for her friends, her teachers, and basically the entire school. She has such a protective mindset which I just think is very sweet because it’s so subtle. Despite her caring side we still of course have the blunt and devious side to Wednesday Addams which was never forgotten and was still portrayed throughout.

I tend to judge shows supporting characters by whether or not I can remember their names by the end of it, which in this case I remember every single supporting character. But let’s just talk about the main ones, Enid, Xavier, Tyler, Bianca, Eugene, and even Larissa Weems. The list could go on but let’s try to keep this short and sweet. Every single one of these played such amazing parts and became so vital in the story. Each person had their big moments and helped Wednesday with her mission, even if she didn’t seem to like them at first. I think Enid definitely left her mark on this show as she is greatly spoken about by everyone, and certainly brought out a different side to Wednesday which we loved to see. The pair were totally different but it worked.

Now the actual Adams family, Morticia, Gomez, Pugsley, Thing, and Uncle Fester. Iconic characters and it was great to see them back. Some of these characters have been done slightly differently compared to the original live-action movies but they pulled it off non the less. We saw the most of Thing as he stayed at the school with Wednesday and helped her throughout, Thing even developed a great relationship with others at the school, especially Enid. We saw Gomez accused and arrested for murder which made a great episode, and Uncle Fester’s return was vital to our story as he knew what the Monster was and more about it than anyone else.

For more information on the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.

Entertainment – 10/10

I can’t explain enough how glued I was to my tv. The minute someone spoke to me I paused it, if I felt it ruined the moment I had to rewind. I could not pull away from this. There was no moment that was irrelevant to the story so it really is a series you have to pay attention to every single minute and I didn’t struggle to do that.

I think more so, there was never a dull moment. Something was always happening to keep you intrigued. A great series typically leaves people guessing and trying to figure things out for themselves which I did the entire time. All my theories were wrong but that made for an amazing reveal for the Antagonist because I just did not see it coming.

Episodes – 10/10

When you have a short series like this you have to utilize your time correctly which they did. There were only 8 episodes, so you have to make sure you don’t waste time with filler episodes and make every moment count. The introduction was short yet clear so we knew how her journey was beginning, and after that, the story was done so perfectly within the 8 episodes. No moment felt rushed and it didn’t feel like any part of it dragged out. It was action-packed, with plenty of twists. Each episode was roughly 40 minutes long which I felt worked really well.

Antagonist – 10/10

This Season had more than one Antagonist which would typically be difficult to pull off in a short series but it worked amazingly. I’m going to do a short list of each antagonist and what I thought about them so it’s a bit clearer.

Tyler – Tyler was the person who was actually Hyde. He was the one brutally murdering those around Jericho and who saved Wednesday from Rowan at the very beginning. This was deceiving as he only saved her so another prophecy could be fulfilled. I have to say the Reveal for Tyler being The Hyde absolutely blew my mind. I never suspected him at any point.

Miss Thornhill – played by our very own Christina Ricci. After discovering The Hyde had to of been unlocked by someone, all clues pointed towards Dr. Kinbott, this theory went down the drain after The Hyde killed her. It turns out Miss Thornhill was actually Laurel Gates, a normie who was presumed dead after her brother was supposedly murdered at Nevermore. She has come back to Nevermore with her ultimate goal being to bring back Joseph Crackstone from the dead to kill the Outcasts to get revenge for her family. This yet again was an amazing reveal and totally unexpected.

Joseph Crackstone – Crackstone was the founder of Jericho 400 years ago. But his ultimate goal was to rid the town of Outcasts. After failing to kill them all he was murdered by Goody Addams, an ancestor of Wednesdays. Joseph returns in the season finale after Miss Thornhill successfully brings him back from the dead. He was only back briefly but certainly caused plenty of chaos after stabbing Wednesday and almost killing her. He returns to the school yet again to finish what he started and kills everyone at the school. William Houston absolutely nailed this role as Crackstone, he was terrifying to look at but brilliant at the same time.

Quality – 10/10

The CGI was perfectly done in every episode. The makeup was great as we know the Addams family typically have very dark features, eyes, lips, etc and this was done very well, they looked just as spooky as ever. I think what we also have to appreciate is Thing. You’d expect the hand to just be CGI, which would probably be easier. It’s actually a full man in the series and they’ve just cut him out for the sake of using his hand which is brilliant.

Favorite Episode

The finale has got to be the best episode. It was so filled with action and of course, the amazing reveal for our antagonists. We see Wednesday very close to Death after a brutal stabbing, Enid eventually “wolfed out”, the Death of Miss Weems and Enid being the one to stop The Hyde. A fantastic finale that just left me eager to watch it all over again.

Worst Episode

I honestly don’t think I can give the worst episode. Every single episode had such a grip on me. I can’t think of a single bad word to say about any part of the series.

Our Overall Rating 9.9/10

The show deserves a very high rating, there were no dull moments, no irrelevant stories, and every character was amazing and relevant to what was happening. I struggled to put any of the ratings low.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

Absolutely. This has been massively spoken about on every single Social Media platform. Even people who have never seen The Addams family have thoroughly enjoyed the show and want more of it. It’s currently the number one series on Netflix which it definitely deserves, so yes I’d absolutely love more Seasons of Wednesday.

Availability

Wednesday is available exclusively on Netflix.

Season Trailer