POPPY KORNEL
Soft-launching spooky season, Netflix series Wednesday — a spin-off of the ever-popular Addams Family universe — has returned for its second round of deadpan detective action.
The show was wildly popular when it was first released in November 2022, and with Tim Burton at the helm of a supernatural Halloween-esque show, it’s very on brand.
Burton only directed the first four episodes of season one before retreating into the producer’s chair.
A supernatural Halloween show, the sets are draped in that classic grape-purple vibe, which is the school colour of the Nevermore Academy attended by our central character, Wednesday Addams.
That’s the whole premise. In the first season teenager Wednesday begrudgingly goes to boarding school with other outcasts — children who have special abilities like werewolves, medusa snake hair, hypnotic sirens and those who have premonitions.
Her black heart is pulverised by rainbow-unicorn cutie Enid Sinclair, her werewolf roommate, whose contrasts are so fantastically divided by the circular window in their room. Black spider webs on one side, a kaleidoscope on the other. They become besties.
In the first season, she tries to solve a murder mystery. In the second, it’s more mystery to prevent a murder, with Wednesday’s visions dragging her into chaos while younger brother Pugsley also joins the school.
Ag shame, poor actor Isaac Ordonez was a child in the first season and shot up like RG Snyman, which people ragged him for online, as if it was his fault he had a massive growth spurt between filming?
Catherine Zeta-Jones is Morticia Addams and she and her husband, Gomez, played by Luis Guzmán, are sublime.
The season is broken in halves. The first batch sets the scene and can feel a little padded, but the second half is the real watch. It’s fun, a bit gory (like fake blood on a costume-type gore) with a nice who-done-it rhythm that keeps you guessing just enough without ever pretending to be too serious.
Highlights? Ortega is still a force — her eye rolls could cut glass.
Also! Lady Gaga pops up in episode six as Rosaline Rotwood for less than two minutes, but it’s still a slay. She released new music for the show, her song The Dead Dance (dug out from her Mayhem album sessions) is a BOP.
Flaws? It’s a bit cheesy, some cringey lines from the script, it’s still a teenage show, so it is meant for younger audiences. But as a package, it’s exactly what it promises: spooky boarding-school Netflix weekend binge-watch with lots of popcorn and chocolate.
Season two might not reinvent the coffin, but it’s a stylishly morbid ride worth taking.
