When the stills came out for Netflix’s Wednesday, I didn’t realize that it was a show primarily about Wednesday. I couldn’t get over Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams, and I figured this was just a reboot reimagining of The Addams Family. Regardless, the premise seemed intriguing and I had made a note to catch Wednesday when it dropped.
Having finished the show, I can say that it was overall a fun season of television, that blended nostalgia, a clever plot and pace that gave just enough hints to make you think you know what’s going on, but also so many hints that it makes it difficult to narrow the who done it of the story.
It was also interesting that the show basically takes a property of most of its target audience’s childhoods, which was always campy, but giving it a much more of a push into an adult territory. As much as the old Addams Family show and movies talked about blood and violence, it was rare that any was actually seen, but that’s hardly the case with Wednesday, which isn’t shy at all about showing both. In a way, it’s kind of like Riverdale, re-telling Archie comics, but way darker and more grown-up storyline.
The casting of the show was fantastic, and aside from my fascination with Luis Guzman being Gomez, I think the cast was done well, from all of the Addams to all of the core students that we’re supposed to become invested in. Naturally, the show is centralized around Wednesday, and I had no idea who Jenna Ortega was before this, but I’m sure she’s become quite the household name after this show. I think she did an incredible job of portraying and evolving Wednesday’s character light years beyond the most popular rendition of Wednesday most people remember from Addams Family Values.
And of course it was fun to try and count how many times she actually blinks in the show. I’ve heard no number higher than seven.
Atmospherically, the show feels like Harry Potter in setting, but like the title of the post goes, it’s better that it’s not, because JK Rowling is kind of cancelled and it’s nice to have something that feels like Harry Potter without having to be it. All the way down to the borrowed plot device that was originally lifted from Castlevania II.
The funny thing about the show to me is the fact that the general plot and story of it didn’t actually have to be skinned with the Addams Family franchise at all. Change all the names of the characters and remove all Addams IP, and it would stand alone. Obviously it’s done to give it immediate credibility and ease the need for buzz, but I’m just saying I feel that a show called Friday and featuring equivalent characters with different names would probably be just as enjoyable.
Overall, it’s a fun and enjoyable show that has a lot of variety of appeal. It’s nostalgia, it’s clever, well acted, and has a pace that doesn’t drag and has an easy to follow linear plot that it’s funny to play guess who as the episodes progress.
I’m sure future seasons will be in the works if they’re not already renewed at this point, and I think it has the makings of one of Netflix’s more substantial wins over the last few years.
