Woe There: Wednesday Gets Reinvented
January 26, 2023
By now everyone has probably heard about the newest Netflix show “Wednesday” created by Tim Burton. Known for his jaw dropping movies/shows, creative sets, and imaginative characters, Tim Burton has breathed new life (or death) into the “Addams Family” legacy. Wednesday is a strong-willed, troubled goth girl referenced as a dead-inside, creepy, iconic and cold-hearted young woman. The show starts off with Wednesday dropping piranhas in a pool filled with water polo players who bullied her brother, Pugsly. As cold-hearted as Wednesday can be, she is still very protective of her family, including dismembered hand and sidekick, Thing. As the show progresses, Wednesday’s relationship with her mom is somewhat rocky as she fights the thought that her mom is trying to force her to be more like her. This conflict adds a parallel storyline that helps move the main plot along. Wednesday has many different plot twists and surprises that make it worth watching.
This isn’t the first time we have seen Wednesday in action. The character Wednesday has had multiple interpretations like movies and shows like: “The Addams Family” in 1964-1966, “Halloween With The New Addams Family” in 1977, “The Addams Family” 1991, “The Addams Family Values” in 1993, “Addams Family Reunion” in 1998, “The Addams Family” in 2019 and now “Wednesday” 2022. There are multiple online discussions about which one of these Addams Family/Wednesday’s interpretations are the best. Ironically, Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in 1991, also plays Marilyn Thornhill in the remix. However Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday, said there was no discussion about how Ricci previously played Wednesday. Ortega stated that she wanted to keep them separate; she had her own style for Wednesday and really wanted to bring that to life. She did little things such as not blinking while the camera was on, taking fencing lessons, cello lessons, staring through her eyelashes to create a creepy effect and even choreographing the famous dance featured in the show.
There is one question that remains: is this the last of the series? The cliffhanger in the final episode has fans clinging to their phones waiting for a season two drop date. It’s rumored that the new season will come either mid 2023 or early 2024. However, the show has not been officially green-lighted for a second season. So, as of right now, the first season remains the only season. While producers are tight-lipped about future seasons, and Ortega is relearning how to blink, we can sit in the mystery surrounding the series, or we can just watch it again.
My opinion: Wednesday may be the best show on Netflix as of right now, and it’s worth the watch if you haven’t binged it yet.