Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is back at Nevermore Academy with a new deadly mystery in Tim Burton’s Wednesday. Season two of the hit Netflix series raises the stakes with bolder teen angst, as well as a surprising body count. Showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar return with exactly what fans loved from season one, amplified by the addition of new creative voices that truly capture the essence of Wednesday Addams. That includes Ortega’s influence as executive producer, and her collaboration with Burton elevates season two into a chillingly captivating and sharp-as-hell, darkly comedic horror show—and it’s just part one.
We pick up with Wednesday and Thing on a side quest to power up her psychic abilities before school starts. Her newfound gift unfortunately backfires from overuse, and she almost gets caught by her target, the killer who got away with one of her favorite sprees (a dementedly delightful doll-obsessed character played by Haley Joel Osment). For our favorite Addams, this lesson goes nowhere; it simply establishes that Wednesday has shunned any glory for saving the school and would rather just keep getting better at her powers. And as the mysterious stalker teased in season one gets closer, Wednesday starts to push everyone who cares about her away when, after a harrowing vision, her abilities glitch out.
Ortega’s return to the world of Wednesday was well worth the wait. In the gap between seasons, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice solidified her as Burton’s new muse, while Gough and Millar got into the kooky groove of world-building the strange and unusual. This is Burton for a new generation, but the edges are sharper than ever. Ortega deftly digs into Wednesday’s determination to reject her newfound status as a hero; it’s clear she relishes every dagger-sharp word Wednesday says to those she cares about to protect herself from caring too much. Her last vision did foretell that doom would come to someone close to her, and that the weight of that knowledge offers glimpses into the deep vulnerability behind Wednesday’s ironclad deadpan demeanor.
Meanwhile, her friends, specifically Enid (Emma Myers) and Bianca (Joy Sunday), get much-needed agency and stories that are relatable and resonant. With Tyler (Hunter Doohan) institutionalized and Xavier (Percy Hynes White, who’s no longer on the show) getting transferred, it gives them the co-lead status they deserve. That said, we do miss some of the romantic subplots; despite Wednesday’s reluctance to admit she can love as deeply as her parents, it was fun to see men fawn over her and her weaponizing it against them to her ends until, of course, that backfired too. Romance is still relatable teen drama!
Speaking of the Addams Family, season two brings in Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) as a new Nevermore student who brings a different kind of chaos than his sister, much to his new roomie Eugene’s (Moosa Mostafa) dismay. Their odd couple pairing is electric and such a fun mess. It’s also a mess that Ajax (Georgie Farmer), their dormitory den babysitter, gets dragged into, which fleshes out the student body relationships. Nevermore feels more like a place you wish were real for the weirdos.
Pugsley’s presence also offers an excuse for the rest of the Addams clan to stick around the school, as Morticia and Gomez aren’t quite ready to be empty nesters. Their B-plot speaks to the parents watching the show and, as a new mom myself, has given me more to love about it. Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) essentially moves into a PTA cottage on Nevermore grounds; she busies herself fundraising for the school while trying not to cross too many of Wednesday’s boundaries (and worrying about her unpredictable powers). Zeta-Jones is delicious—she exudes goth mom goals, has her share of badass moments, and is a powerhouse when it comes time for deeply emotional mother-and-daughter coming-of-age conflicts.
Gomez (Luis Guzmán) is also more present. When he tags along as a chaperone for a camping arc, it’s a riot and one of the best episodes of the batch. As this era’s Gomez, Guzmán is perfection; the actor shines as a doting father figure and proud protector of his outcast kin. Plus, the chemistry and comedic timing between him and Zeta-Jones is sheer sitcom true love. Plus Thing? Once again, the show’s MVP, whose quirky skills and love for the Addamses and Enid always come in handy.
However, many setups leave us wanting more, as you might expect from the first half of a season. The subplot involving Wednesday’s new music teacher, Isadora Capri (Billie Piper), doesn’t go anywhere in part one. Then there’s the mystery of Ophelia Frump, Wednesday’s aunt, who dealt with similar reactions to overuse of her powers—and then went mad. It all gets lost in the mix as new students are introduced as part of the ensemble—and feel meant to replace actors who will not be returning to the show. They overcomplicate the focus on the main storylines between Wednesday, Enid, and Bianca.
The episodes also often shortchange Bianca’s promising storyline alongside Nevermore’s new headmaster, Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi). He’s got a peppy demeanor, but his presence oozes suspicion as he seeks to exploit her siren powers to raise money for the school. Moreover, his insistence on having the outcasts return to the “old ways” cleverly centers on what exactly outcast pride could mean in the wake of last season’s events. It’s giving supremacy in some mightily insidious ways, and we can’t wait to see how it plays out. In this round, it creeps into the narrative of not only Wednesday’s main mystery to solve but also Enid and Bianca’s, leaving us curious to see how it will come together in part two.
Wednesday season two nails its teen drama and its teen terrors, thanks to the friendships at the heart of the show. But its abrupt ending, even with knowledge that this is the first part of two, may leave viewers feeling a bit stiffed by the staggered release. The loose threads left off here for later episodes are definitely going to be stewing in fans’ heads while they wait for the conclusion.
Wednesday season two part one is now streaming on Netflix. Part two arrives September 3.
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