Wednesday (2021) Part 2 (Spoilers)

The Netflix, Wednesday television series is wonderful. I loved all the likenesses to the original 1964 TV series. There were sword fights, electricity from Uncle Fester, talk of Wednesday’s guillotines for her dolls, explosives, the undying love between Morticia and Gomez, Wednesday and Pugsley’s antics, and much more. One of the best features was undoubtedly Wednesday’s acerbic wit and scathing commentary.

Wednesday’s roommate, Enid Sinclair is full of life and color. Morticia mentions that she is allergic to color and Enid asks her what happens if her “color allergy” is triggered. Wednesday replies, “I break out in hives, and then the flesh peels off my bones.”

Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) picked up the cello and began lessons roughly two months before filming began. She took fencing, archery, canoeing, and German lessons as well — the latter of which she put to use when telling a group of tourists about fudge and colonialism. Ortega’s interpretation of the stoic, morbid character is the main thing that makes the entire series work. Her performance methods are already the stuff of legend, where it’s said she reshot any scene where she blinked, and she personally helped choreograph the bizarre, goth dance sequence

Another fan-favorite scene is Wednesday’s kooky dance number in episode four, entitled “Woe What a Night,” in which the students of Nevermore Academy attend the annual Rave’N dance. When The Cramps’ 1981 single “Goo Goo Muck” starts playing, Wednesday takes to the dance floor with her date Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and displays some solid moves. Ortega later said she was the one who choreographed the routine.

The show reminds me of Harry Potter, Carrie, Riverdale, Nancy Drew, and of course the Addams Family TV and Movies. Thing is great as always and his near-death scene was epic. Thing isn’t CGI, he is actually played by an actor just like in the 1990s movies. Victor Dorobantu, in this TV series, and Christopher Hart, in the films, are both magicians.

Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the movies, is Wednesday’s dorm mother, Marilyn Thornhill, and the only ‘Normie’ on staff at Nevermore Academy with a focus on all things botanical. Thora Birch was going to play that role and had reportedly filmed the majority of her scenes before exiting the show due to a family illness. At 6’3″, George Burcea is the shortest actor to play Lurch in a live-action role.

Ted Cassidy, who played the character in the 1960s TV series, was 6’9″; Carel Struycken, who played him in the films in the ’90s, is 7′; John DeSantis, who portrayed him in the ’90s TV show, is 6’9″; and Zachary James, who played Lurch on Broadway, is 6’6″.

To prepare to play Wednesday’s color-loving werewolf roommate Enid Sinclair, Myers participated in a “werewolf boot camp,” which Myers told Seventeen involved “me and a couple of other guys crawling around on the floor growling at each other.”

According to the writing duo, Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, a potential second season would focus more on Wednesday’s growth as a character. “The series is really about a girl who sees the world in black and white, and learning there are shades of gray,” Gough told TVLine that same month. “I think like any relationship or any friendship, it can get complicated by other factors. It’s never going to be smooth sailing. And it’s really her learning to navigate the ups and downs of friendship.”

The theme music for Wednesday was created by Danny Elfman, the Emmy-winning composer, and singer who has worked frequently with Tim Burton. Both Elfman and Chris Bacon (Bates Motel, Smash) composed music for the whole series.