Friend or Woe

Even though "Wednesday" appears to have gotten off to a sluggish start, the show is really starting to come into its own, embracing the quirky absurdity of its premise and having fun with it while also managing to strike a good balance between genuine intrigue and mystery and brilliantly constructed moments of comedy.

In addition, Tim Burton's instantly recognisable visual aesthetic is becoming further engrained in each episode, giving the series a singular identity that helps it stand out from the rest of the competition.

Wednesday Addams is represented more realistically as well, with all of her sadness and cynicism being brought out without going too far into pity lest we lose sight of what it is about her that makes her so endearingly different from other people. It gives me pleasure to see that they have refocused on her and provided her with a route that is more plausible. In this episode, she is completely preoccupied with pursuing her own objectives and dealing with the uncertainty of the issue without getting diverted by other things, which is exactly what we would want her to be doing.

Wednesday does some historical investigations about one of Jericho's founding fathers.

This is a well made episode with some intrigue and spectacle.

For me the previous cliffhanger could not be more of an anticlimax, but it is pretty funny due to Wednesday's reaction and attitude.

The most revealing plot element in this chapter comes in one of the exposition dumps that are Wednesday's psychic visions. It is another great visual sequence, to go with so many others in the show, plus it drip feeds more information that holds interest in the central mystery. It does not feel particularly original. Her arc feels quite similar to the great Simpsons episode 'Lisa The Iconoclast', but unlike the humorous Springfield story, it gives a more satisfying resolution to the historical whitewash, along with Wednesday's blunt distain for the museum.

As with previous episodes I find some characters better than others. Wednesday carries the show for me, but several other characters feel a bit uninspired, particularly the other students. I am not a fan of the martial arts scenes and doing it again here with the same antagonists feels repetitive.

All performances are strong and the production values are excellent.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.

The midweek minx, continues her jinks, takes her leave from the secret assembly, as its time to get dressed, become Pilgrim World's guest, and pretend that she's kind, keen and friendly; in the Meeting House room, she discovers a tome, but the pages are white as plain snow, and a picture reveals, alike image appeals, takes her to a house from long ago; another vision unlocks, 1625 shocks, where an ancestor reveals foul play, waking up in the rain, there's that monster again, just an ordinary Jericho day.

Any show that plays a song from Beach House in the background is always going to be a winner with me!

Three episodes in, and my teenage daughter and I are both officially hooked... though for entirely different reasons. She's here for the mystery and supernatural teen drama; I'm here for the withering one-liners and a cast that knows exactly how to lean into Burton's macabre playground.

Jenna Ortega remains flawless as Wednesday, somehow making insults feel like poetry. Emma Myers as Enid keeps chipping away at Wednesday's icy exterior with relentless rainbow energy, creating one of the show's best odd-couple dynamics. Gwendoline Christie continues to command the screen as Principal Weems, while Hunter Doohan's Tyler gets a bit more room to breathe in the plot.

Ep 3 balances the creepy investigation with school rivalry shenanigans, including a wonderfully over-the-top competition sequence that's pure Burton: eccentric, stylish, and slightly ridiculous in the best way. My daughter's thrilled at the twists; I'm just impressed the show keeps finding fresh ways for Wednesday to insult people without repeating herself.

Still a perfect mix of weird, witty, and watchable - another 8/10 from our two-generation viewing squad.

This is so politically motivated that the 'slumber-free' cheer and the rest wonder at the vilification.

Even so, this is remarkable well done. I am confident that the cast was really well led by the writers and direction. There is enough 'on the page' that the editing can step along briskly. Even the doofus boys are well written. The first episode drags a bit but this features the set-up. Ep.2 shows us Wednesdays character. Ep.3, this one, goes overboard on the two-dimentional mean kids but no hero fares well unless the villains are serious.

I liked best the dialog 'asides' which are numerous and quick enough to keep the viewer interested and chuckling.