Woe What a Night

This is the rich kid high school dance episode. Really driving home the have-nots the Outcasts are. Drama abound with pointless webbing caught up in the corners of "if they would just have one conversation this plot would be resolved." I don't care about the relationships of any of these characters and I have a hard time believing the protagonist does either. At least Wednesday being caught off guard and not being clever enough to figure a way out of it addresses the elephant in the room: This is not Wednesday Addams, and I'm not sure who this show is for. The middle school edgy kid dialogue is becoming grating, did one of the not-like-other-girls outcast actually say a "I grew up with brothers" line, and sprinklers don't work that way.

Episode 4 of Wednesday starts with her sneaking into the County coroner's office with the help of Thing. She wants to learn more about the victims of the monster and examine the body of the latest victim. Her sleuthing is interrupted by the return of the coroner and the sheriff.

She hides in one of the mortuary cabinets and overhears their conversation. The killer is keeping trophies from his victims. The sheriff asks the coroner to keep this a secret and he gladly agrees. He is more excited that this is his last case before retiring. The next morning, Wednesday shares her findings with Edin who faints at the site of the grotesque crime scene photos. Later in class, Wednesday finds Xavier's neck wounds a little suspicious but he tells her that he tweaked his neck while fencing. Wednesday doesn't believe him and spies on him. She discovers his secret painting room on the school grounds and breaks in. Once she is in, she finds drawings of the monster, she takes one of the drawings and leaves. Xavier spots her before she leaves and asks what she is doing there. She asks him the same question and he tells her that it is his private art studio but refuses to give her a tour. She has no valid excuse for being there so she decides to ask him to the upcoming Rave N dance. Xavier is happy to be asked and thinks she is into him. It is a bit sad to see Xavier and Tyler try to get into Wednesday's good graces when she is more preoccupied with finding the monster. She is not going to be able to understand their feelings or even reciprocate them. Eugene should have just listened to Wednesday, it was a terrible idea to go alone into the woods. Ajax and Enid make a cute couple though, and it is adorable that in the midst of all the killings and mysteries they can find love. Edin is also happy that Wednesday has changed her mind and wants to bond over dress shopping. Wednesday however has other ideas and doesn't think dress shopping is their thing. While in town she visits the sheriff and tries to convince him they should walk together. The sheriff is hesitant at first but between the Mayor's constant calls for an update and Wednesday's persuasion, he agrees. He asks her to bring him some evidence and maybe they might work together to zone in on a suspect. Edin left to her own devices runs into Lucas Walker, the mayor's son and one of the three troublemakers. He asks Edin to take him to the dance in her school and lies he wants to make an ex jealous. Edin thinks this is a great idea as she is still under the impression that Ajax ghosted her and wants to make him jealous too. At the dance, Xavier is grumpy to see Tyler and Wednesday together and he asks Bianca to use her siren powers to help him get over Wednesday. Bianca is rightfully annoyed by this request and leaves. Tyler and Wednesday have a great time and she learns that Xavier was once bullied by Tyler but that doesn't faze her. On the other hand, Lucas starts to realize that he has a lot in common with Enid. However, he is at the party to ruin it and he and his friends spray red paint on the students at the end of the party. Enid is disappointed when she finds out that he only used her but the situation gives her an opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding with Ajax. They kiss and makeup.

Ep 4 proves that Wednesday isn't afraid to go big - and occasionally, gloriously ridiculous - when the moment calls for it. My teenage daughter loved every twist; I was just impressed at how confidently the show leans into its own brand of gothic absurdity.

Jenna Ortega continues to deliver insults like precision weapons, while Emma Myers' Enid remains the human equivalent of a confetti cannon. Gwendoline Christie once again commands the room as Principal Weems, and Joy Sunday's Bianca gets more layers, moving beyond the "mean girl" mould into something sharper and more interesting.

This one also gives us one of the season's most talked-about set pieces... a brilliantly offbeat, slightly unhinged showcase of Wednesday's individuality that will either make you grin or wonder if you've lost your grip on reality. Burton's fingerprints are all over it: exaggerated, stylised, and just the right amount of creepy.

It still straddles that line between teen drama and macabre mystery, but it's doing it with such flair - and such unapologetic weirdness - that you can't help but enjoy the ride. Another 8/10 from our cross-generational review panel.

A trip to the morgue to observe the cadavers, the bodies of those who've been turned into rashers, by monstrous claws, and by monstrous jaws, with conjecture on who's morphing into the slasher. There's a high school dance that's a bit of a bash, as the outcasts assemble for a dance and a thrash, Wednesday has all the moves, gets herself in the groove, added crimson red scarlet makes a right monster mash (Carriesque in fact, but nowhere near as vengeful). But a vision results in an exit unseen, as the monster approaches defenceless Eugene, a run to the woods, before all of his bloods, disappeared and he's just a has been.

I have a theory that the writers wanted to create a generic teen drama show, but got landed with a Wednesday Addams series, so just inserted her in place of their original protagonist. That's really the only way I could explain someone thinking involving Wednesday Addams in a teen love triangle storyline would be a great idea, or half a dozen other naff plot lines that Wednesday's dragged into.

Even Wednesday's surly, sarcastic disposition, and Ortega's great characterisation isn't saving this show from mediocrity. The uniqueness of the character is being drowned out by all this... bland normality. That's about the worst thing that can happen to an Addams Family show.

And of course we still haven't gone an episode without the writers inserting their political baggage into the dialogue. This episode we got 'climate crisis', 'female objectification', and 'you can't say that, *it's offensive*' - how they spoil us!

Three points for Ortega's performance, the dance choreography, and Thing. Everything else is far too normie.

Why can't shows like this or the recent Foundation series be developed by people who love the source material and will treat them with the respect they deserve?

I suppose if everyone complains but then gives it a 9/10 we're getting what we deserve.