If These Woes Could Talk

Terrific midseason finale. Definitely a much darker tone than last year, what with the gruesome death last episode and the gruesome death(s) this episode. I will admit that most Wednesday fans will be surprised about the demise of a certain character, but it does kind of up the ante that nobody - except the titular Ice Queen herself, of course - is safe.

If I had any complaint about this season so far it would be that they are under-using Enid, who is tied with Thing - imho, anyway - as the show's second most intriguing character. I do like that the primary plot device this season is Wednesday trying to solve her friend's death before it happens. But so far Enid's role is hanging with Thing (awesome) and taking Wednesday's place at the center of this season's love triangle (not so awesome). Hopefully, Burton, Gough and Millar will gave our favorite werewolf girl some cool stuff to do in the second half.

The chaos at the asylum was mindless fun. Tyler/Hyde's rampage. Fester's antics. The reveal of what "Lois" actually means. Poor, deluded Louise/Lois, and so much more.

Plus, the "What happened? Wednesday happened" line was pure gold.

There was another big reveal that I will say took me by surprise - something that most of us thought wasn't going to be revealed until sometime toward the end of the season - but of course will lead to bigger reveals in the second half. Don't want to say more as this is a spoiler-free review but I think most fans who have watched this episode will know what I am talking about.

Eagerly looking forward to part two of this season. Who's behind all the chaos and what is actually going on? Who knows, but I am counting the days until the first Wednesday of September.

Episode 4, and the end of the first part of Season 2.

For me, this episode is by far the best of the four. The plot is starting to make sense and isn't marred by pointless digressions like in previous episodes this season.

While the arrival of Grandma Addams is a bit disappointing (Joanna Lumley deserved better writing for her role), that of Uncle Fetid is, on the contrary, successful, bringing a real touch of humor to the whole thing.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Morticia, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose face is shamefully and artificially "smoothed" (which, even more shamefully, is also the case for Jenna Ortega's, a process by which she can still play a 15-year-old for another ten years?), doesn't have much to talk about.

Luiz Guzman's absence from this episode is, however, welcome!

I appreciated the return of the always excellent Christina Ricci as Laurel Gates.

The episode is well-paced and the action scenes are effective. However, I still regret the lack of depth and use of most of the characters, even though they have interesting potential to begin with, whether it's Enid, Agnes, or Bianca.

The episode ends on a false cliffhanger, given that there are four episodes left...

It's likely that the "resolution" of the plot proposed in this episode turns out to be a sham... Principal Dort and Isadora Capri still have, in my opinion, a lot to reveal.

For my part, I hope that the second half of this season will build on this fourth episode to increase its interest even more, and not fall back into the same predicaments as the first three...

The wait is worth it!

The new season is much more captivating, the story line takes you through many assumptions and keeps you caught up in the story. From the first episode of season 2 you get into the mystery, and the narrative sequence keeps you interested in each episode. Much more mystery, much more need for imagination and a greater need to pay attention to subtle details.

The quality of the special effects is superior to season one, especially the way they chose to build the set. Black color and dark notes predominate, that's why I recommend watching it in the evening , in the dark.

Overall I recommend, it really is a very good season and the end of episode 4 is extremely promising.

There are so many improvements to Wednesday in S02, I don't even know where to start:

• Characters - They are really establishing the stand-alone universe and exploring the Nevermore school. They are showing students powers, but unlike in S01 where powers were used in an ostentatious way, you can see students using the powers in purposeful ways (build bonfire, use siren song to manipulate, etc) so it feels more like a real school with real students using powers in real-life scenarios, rather than in S01 where you had a bunch of young kids in a school setting occasionally using power without any purpose just to showcase "oh, it's really a magic school". At times, it reminds me of Hogwarts, but in an new and original way where they don't try to copy it, but build its own universe.

• Addams family - In S01, Wednesday was the main character and her family was just background cameo without any importance. In S02, i really like that they are bringing her family to the front and they also explore their personalities and motivations, not just have them as stand-ins with occasional line. Their re-introduction is also done in a smart way where in each episode we focus on a new Addams character and get to know them better - first episode - Pugsley, 2nd/3rd episode - Morticia/Gomez, last episode - grandmama/Fester. And their side stories are organic and interesting. I am happy that Pugsley/Fester got their own interesting storylines. Bit sad that Morticia/Gomez do not, but I am happy that at least they are exploring their personalities and motivations more and we get to know them better. Plus, the relationship between Wednesday and her mom is very interesting (Morticia wants to protect her in a condescending way and Wednesday rebels as a regular teenager - feels very organic)

• Dialogues - Dialogues are much wittier in Season 2 - so many punchlines and memorable quotes. I also like the overall pacing. I like they bring back a lot of S01 characters too, and not just for the sake of cameo, but give them interesting storyline as well and implement them to further progress the plot.

Overall, every scene seems purposeful, every character has importance and there seem to be no filler scenes. Really smart writing this season and huge upgrade from S02. Addams family now knows who they are and the writers are playing into their strengths.

The second season of Wednesday allows the show to expand beyond the title character and her spooky-ooky classmates to involve more members of the Addams family. First, I would like to address several comments regarding some of these other characters:

Gomez (Luis Guzman) - Many commenters have negative reviews of Guzman, however he is exactly as how creator Charles (Chas) Addams envisioned Gomez when the comic first appeared in the New Yorker magazine. Gomez was NEVER drawn as dashing. He was drawn to look more like Chas Addams himself - short and corpulent. (That never stopped Chas Addams from romancing the most glamorous female stars of his time - look it up.) Gomez was not intended to be like the late Raul Julia (movie's Gomez) or even John Astin (on TV).

Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) - Some criticize her extreme white makeup and ruby red lips. But that's the point - she's suppose to look like a corpse, with an unhealthy pale appearance. BTW, in the TV series, Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones, who also portrayed her sister Ophelia. Will we see that same dual casting with Zeta-Jones? It's possible we may have gotten a glimpse of Ophelia in the mid-season 2 "cliff hanger".

Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) - Some also take issue with Ortega's complexion. But since she is Morticia's daughter, it only makes sense her skin should have the same pale complexion.

Mama/Grandmama Frump (Joanna Lumley) - Mama's appearance is definitely NOT in line with the original. In the comic and TV show, Mama is more or less shown as a witch - short, old and withered, etc. Instead, Tim Burton has elected to glam her up and make her a funeral home mogul. That only works in service of this season and is not what the character was suppose to look like. And since she also lived with the family in the TV series, making her estranged from Morticia also makes no sense. (But since Mama Frump is supposedly also American, it does make sense for Lumley to affect an American accent in this role.)

Pugsley and Eugene - It was 3 years between seasons 1 and 2. In that time, these two actors went through a dramatic growth spurt. Pugsley does not look like he's suppose to. And without the curly wig and glasses, Eugene could probably be the romantic lead.

Ms. Capri (Billie Piper) - There was absolutely no reason for Piper to drop her British accent. In season 1, Principal Weems (Gwendolyn Christie) certainly didn't change her accent. A poor choice by the producers to change Piper's voice.

It was not completely surprising to see the re-appearance of Christina Ricci. But is she "gone" or not? Not everyone really dies in these shows.

In general, I'm still not sold on the idea that somehow the Addams have powers - that's way out of line with the source material. And to invent a whole new subculture of "outcasts" somehow dilutes the importance of the Addamses as quirky characters in the first place. The whole point was that, despite their appearance, they exhibited stronger family values and morals than the "normies". But in Burton's interpretation, that now makes less sense.

Tim Burton has taken extreme liberties with the Addams family. While we're still waiting to see Morticia to demonstrate any real powers beyond ESP, will Gomez and Mama also be powered, or are they just wealthy? (I'd be fine if they dropped the whole powers thing, but Burton's opened this Pandora's box and now he has to live with it.)

One more thing. Both Ortega and Emma Myers (Enid) are beginning to age out of their roles, both turning 23 in 2025. Maybe for season 3, the show could "time jump" to allow Wednesday, Enid, and others to experience adventures outside Nevermore. Just a thought.