This Christmas Season, Netflix Goes Gothic

On November 23, 2022 Netflix released a new series starring a timeless spooky girl, Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega. This new series was fabulously directed by the master of macabre Tim Burton, and includes 8 episodes, all of which display Burton’s mind for the morbid while alluding to all the quirks of Wednesday’s past. Our dark and genuinely dangerous antiheroine is swept into a mystery concerning both her ancestral past, and her destined future. Wednesday is begrudgingly joined by fellow freaky students at Nevermore to solve the growing murders in the ungrateful town of Jericho.

Reasons why I loved this series:

Firstly, Tim Burton is my personal idol when it comes to the stranger side of creation and this series is a perfect example of mixing pop culture with the peculiar, we see this firsthand at Wednesday’s complete distaste of technology. I enjoyed the wackiness of the monsters and the unique portrayal of the mythological creatures. Especially Thing, played by Victor Dorobantu!

Next, Wednesday is ruthless and I am here for it. It’s about time we got a representative of a woman who truly believes in justice…even if her retaliations are a bit over dramatic. The piranhas in the beginning had me sold and I instantly became invested in her character arc. Wednesday truly does care about other people, she just chooses to express it with intimidation. I also enjoyed the transformation of Wednesday and Morticia’s relationship. This is a great example of learning to trust and be honest with the people supporting you, such as her friendships at Nevermore. The cast for these monsters and humans alike, is a perfect balance of charming and odd.

Scenes that fell short for me:

The largest letdown was the family dynamic. Not that I’m complaining, but this version feels a bit more like The Chilling Adventures of Wednesday, rather than an expansion of “The Addams Family” this is not to say that I don’t believe they all care for each other, or that Wednesday is immune to some rebellious teen years, but the family unit as a whole felt fragile to me. That being said, I appreciate the love between Morticia and Gomez canonically, however it’s a bit too heavy for me on screen and really activates my third hand embarrassment. I do confess I wanted a little more mystery, however, the misdirect was well placed and I didn’t find the identities of the villains to be overtly obvious.

What the population thinks:

Only two short weeks since the premiere and Wednesday has officially gone viral! A short scroll through TikTok is bound to have content of Oretga’s iconic self-choreographed dance (even though TikTok doesn’t use the original song.) Whether you’re a diggin’ her moves or not, it’s clear to say that the whimsi-goth style is much more popular than the masses originally thought.

Overall Rating: Two Loud Snaps

I’m excited for season 2.