If These Woes Could Talk

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...

Comparing with season 1 (at least first 4 episodes that released for now) this season is much more thrilling. The childishness from s1 is gone and all the scary elements are well put. Another good thing is we can see the Addams family and their dynamics more. Waiting for last 4 episodes for now, As yet all good.

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.

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.

After the weird third episode I came into this one a little tentative. Boy was I surprised though. The story continues and is extremely compelling with sudden twists some of which are very shocking(in my opinion) and some great scenes like Billie Piper's character playing Zombie on the piano in that one scene! :> Absolutely devastating cliffhanger and I like the altered formula to make it different from the previous episodes. The relationship between Grandma-ma and Morticia is interesting and it's nice to see Morticia take some action. But the icing on the cake is the last 15-20 minutes with one banger of a cliffhanger. It's also always a plus to see Fester. Agnes is also a very interesting character and I would like to see more on her. Can't wait for Part 2 on September 3rd.