You Reap What You Woe

Ohh ffs it's not 10 seasons of the X files. Why in season 1 half way through do we need new writers? The previous four episodes were amazing, this episode is an utterly pointless backstory story. Tedious and plodding. Completely lacking all the pacing and narrative of the first four episodes. This could have easily been integrated rather than been a stand alone story. Terrible directing. I'm praying e6 gets back to the delights of 1-4. Ok I'm now watching e6. Seriously worried we have gone from snappy fresh teen detective series into Riverdale soap opera cringe boring tedium. Hope I'm wrong. Burton has left the building.

Edit. Thankfully it pulls itself back together for the final few episodes.

Ep 5 dials back the Burton-esque flair, which makes it feel a little less distinctive than earlier instalments. The murder mystery moves forward and some key pieces of Nevermore's puzzle start to fall into place, but the visual and tonal weirdness that gave the show its edge is notably muted here. 7.5/10

Jenna Ortega still delivers surgical-level sarcasm with ease, and Emma Myers remains the show's burst of manic sunshine. Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and Xavier (Percy Hynes White) get more screen time, adding intrigue if not quite fireworks. The story shifts firmly into clue-hunting mode - which is fine - but it does mean fewer of those offbeat, unforgettable moments that made the first half of the season sing.

Not a bad episode by any means, but it feels like the show is catching its breath rather than sprinting ahead. Here's hoping the Tim Burton magic creeps back in before things start sliding.

The parents are coming together for a weekend celebration, but seeing Wednesday won't be worth it since Gomez is in prison for a crime he committed. While it is true that he fell as a result of an incident with a normal, there is another, darker thread in the story that eventually led to his tragedy.

If the show's director changes after the first phase is over, the successor director sometimes struggles to maintain the same level of filmmaking quality. As a consequence, the established style deteriorates until it becomes less risky and, therefore, easier to sustain during the course of a session, as the photographs become less innovative, more traditional, and more visually appealing. This is simply background for my main compliment: I believe it is vital to give credit where credit is due, and it is a big achievement for Gandja Monteiro to replace a creative force as formidable as Tim Burton while maintaining the same level of comfort they created. However, if you look attentively, you will see a change in orientation.

The show's dark comedy, macabre aesthetics, and self-awareness were initially what set it apart, but they seem to be taking a back seat to the serious drama-mystery at its center. There isn't as much visual comedy or crazy shots, framing, or staging as there was in the last episode, and there are also fewer humorous characters. The show seems to be losing steam or changing its emphasis away from what makes it unique in favour of less distinctive components. The narrative of the programme is unique in that it depicts a mystery-teen-drama concept through a Tim Burtonesque lens of self-awareness and excessive romanticization of macabre, sardonic, and even sadistic reactions to events that occur.

Interesting episode where the Addams parents take center stage. It is definitely interesting to see their younger selves in the very same institution where we have been discovering secrets about. However, I think the flashbacks should have been more extensive and detailed to give us a better grasp of the backstory and setting. Many convenient information was provided as exposition where I myself would have loved if they had took their time to present the younger versions of the Addams parents and their relationships with the other students so it didn't come as "forced" the eventual animosities that catapulted the events that unravel here.

But I see that as more of a personal filmmaking preference of mine. The show remains as interesting as always through the development of its story. Nevertheless, you can feel the absence of Tim Burton's direction here. There aren't as many wacky shots, framing, staging nor other visual flairs nor character comedy as in the previous episode. The show is beginning to focus more on its serious drama-mystery than the dark comedy, macabre imagery and self-aware nature the show stood out so much for. This isn't Riverdale, this is isn't Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; the show was unique and genius in its absurdist approaches at the Addams-in-the-real-world shtick. But it always maintained a grasp of the cleverly constructed mystery and drama behind the amazing world-building.

It seems the show is beginning to stagnate a bit or in other terms starting to prioritize other aspects of it that are not the ones that make the show unique. The show is unique because it presents a pretty "straight forward" narrative built on mystery-teen-drama through a unique Tim Burtonesque lense of self-awareness and over-the-top romanticised macabre, cynical and even a smidge of sadistic reaction to all the events that unravel. While every other Non-Addams character is interesting in their own way, they don't stand out as great as the nature and personalities of the Addams. I'd just hate for this traits of them to diminish as they become as two dimensional as the other characters can end up being. Lets not forget there's yet a lot of things we haven't seen yet and I hope we get to them in the wacky and over the top way the Addams are known for. I'd just hate to see the show devolve into a cookie cutter teen-supernatural-mystery drama featuring the Addams. There are great performances, fantasticly well-fleshed-out characters, rich and engaging School and town backstory and I hope they keep up the narrative with the same gusto as the previous episodes. And never forgetting that black comedy, that is the cherry on top.

This episode is a decline from the previous. The writing and dialogues are terrible. Gomez and Morticia don't have any personality similarities to The Addams Family characters, and their acting is probably the worst on the show.

During the flashback, Gomez was struggling in a sword fight, yet in the original Addams Family he was always known as an expert swordsman.

Did the writers ever watch the original?

I like Guzman as an actor usually, but this isn't the same character as previously portrayed (perfectly) by John Astin and Raul Julia.

Overall I enjoy Wednesday and Thing as characters, but this isn't The Addams Family, it's basically Riverdale with a Addams twist.

Im also curious what role Tim Burton actually had in this show, not much it seems.