The second season of Netflix’s Wednesday is finally here, and it is actually exactly as I’d imagined. Episode 1 sees Wednesday return to Nevermore, dark as ever. Things have been quite different at the school for outcasts ever since the incidents of the previous school year. Unfortunately, Weems’ death means a new principal, but there’s also a new redhead in town replacing our villainess, Thornhill. The thing that makes this show so darn fun is not the fact that it’s about the Addams family, but that it makes Wednesday such a lovable character despite her naturally uninviting demeanor. Honestly, it’s quite meta how she’d hate how many fans she has if she were a real person. Anyway, Tim Burton is back, and from the first episode, I can already tell I’m going to enjoy the rest of the show at least. So, with that said, let’s jump into episode 1 of season 2.
Spoiler Alert
Does Pugsley Make Any Friends?
Episode 1 begins with Wednesday solving a murder all the way out in Kansas City with Goody’s old spell book. Of course, the reason she gets in trouble with airport security is not her weapons but Thing’s sun cream. We get a little cameo from The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment as a serial killer called the Scalper. But Wednesday learns something new about herself while catching this serial killer. She’s shedding black tears every time she has a vision, and it allows him to tie her up and assume she’s his next victim. But of course, this is Wednesday we’re talking about, and with the help of Thing, they’re quickly able to escape and also catch the Scalper at the same time.
When summer’s done, Wednesday returns to Nevermore, but this time she’s got more company than she’d imagined. Not only is Pugsley joining her (with his cool electric powers), but as soon as they get to school, Morticia is invited by the new principal, Barry Dort, to head the school gala committee. Dort already looks a bit iffy and nothing like Weems, who was commanding. Dort looks a bit meek and also quite annoying, but he’s got a cunning streak to him. Gomez hopes Pugsley is going to make friends at school, because he believes the friends you make at Nevermore will never leave you. His roommate is Eugene, who’s agreed to room with him only because he owes Wednesday. Already Eugene seems uninterested in befriending Pugsley; I mean, one of them eats bugs, while the other controls them—there’s quite an imbalance here. But more importantly, it looks like Eugene’s found his swarm, and he’s not sure Pugsley will fit in, so he doesn’t even want to make the effort. At the same time, Wednesday is appalled by the ghastly sight of her fans, asking for autographs and whatnot, because she saved the school.
Her bond with Enid continues to be surprising, not just to us but to her as well. She’s brought her a souvenir from the murders, and Enid’s brought her a gift that she doesn’t love as well, making them perfect for each other. Enid then learns for the first time that Wednesday has a stalker at school. A crossbow sends a bolt across the room with a picture of Wednesday, claiming that this person is still watching Wednesday. But Wednesday has a vision when she looks at the picture, and there’s another black tear, which she hasn’t told anybody about. Enid is also struggling in the love department because she seems to have grown as a person while Ajax is still the same (oop). There’s also another dude who might take his place here. As for Wednesday, Xavier’s going to another school (we all know why that happened), but he sends her a parting gift of the single-eyed crow.
Meanwhile, we see a private investigator Carl Bradbury get murdered by a murder of crazy one-eyed crows while he’s trying to photograph a man and a woman having an affair. Wednesday also meets Galpin, ex-sheriff and Tyler’s dad, who is not an officer of the law anymore but is looking to solve murders anyway. He claims Thornhill made his son a monster, but Wednesday tells him that he was born a monster. The new sheriff is a woman who looks far more competent and is not so fond of Wednesday, but as we can imagine, mysteries are Wednesday’s playing field. Turns out Galpin was working with the investigator and also seems to be afraid of the crows, which could mean he’s their next target.
At school, Dort introduces himself to Bianca, asking her to be the student liaison for the gala, and threatens to revoke her scholarship if she doesn’t do it. At the same time, Morticia is offered Thornhill’s old home for the time being, and if she takes up the role in the gala, she can continue to stay there. On the other hand, while she’s playing her cello, a fantastic rendition of a song from Romeo & Juliet, the new music teacher, Capri, interrupts her and tells her she needs to work (well, now we have someone from Doctor Who; I love this crossover).
What’s Underneath The Skull Tree?
The second half of the episode focuses on a pyre that Dort has planned out with much amusement. To commemorate the occasion, he invites Wednesday as the student to honor, but she refuses to conform. But she has to go to the pyre because her book, which she’s been working on for 2 years, disappears with a note left behind, presumably from her stalker. It seems her book will be burned in the pyre, and she’s got no other copies. Wednesday rushes to the pyre, and somehow Enid doesn’t manage to tell anybody before Dort lights it ablaze with song and cheer. Wednesday manages to get her book and escape, while Enid goes to the front of the crowd to tell Dort that she’s still inside it. Also, the burning bird (presumably a raven) takes flight, so everybody is distracted, but Wednesday escapes like a hero yet again. Dort asks her to make a speech, and at first, it looks like she’s happy to be there, before turning the thing around and telling everybody that she is not a hero; she’s simply a selfish person who doesn’t think about anybody else. She then sets alight the painting Dort had commissioned to honor her and her group of misfits, including Enid, Bianca, and Eugene.
Now, Ajax tells the kids in the dorm a story about a genius boy who had a weak heart. The boy, using his intelligence, designed a new heart for himself, a clockwork heart that ticked and made him ambitious and, well, heartless. Though he continued to grow as a genius, inventing new things, his ambition ultimately killed him. According to Ajax, his body is buried under the “skull” tree, and only very few kids are brave enough to go hear the ticking of his heart from the tree. Pugsley, just like his sister, gets excited by the sound of this morbid story and decides to go see for himself after the fire. However, his electric power manages to resurrect who we can assume is this genius boy. I wonder if this is going to be another monster and master story, or if Pugsley’s made a grave mistake.
At the end of episode 1, Wednesday gets a vision of Enid’s grave when she touches her. Her eyes bleed black tears while Morticia and Enid look on as she has a seizure. In the vision, Enid seems to be blaming Wednesday for her death, and there are crows (or ravens if you like) everywhere. Also, there’s mention of Wednesday’s aunt Ophelia in this episode, and Morticia worries her story is going to turn out like her aunt’s. She speaks about a mistake she can repeat. Let’s find out in the rest of the season what this means.
