Despite having flashes of Tim Burton’s iconic flair, Season 2 of Netflix’s 2022 series Wednesday struggles to engage viewers in its underwhelming story.
Season 2 of Wednesday takes place in the school year following the events of Season 1. Season 2 follows Wednesday Addams as she looks to investigate mysteries at Nevermore Academy.
It was obvious in the first episode that Tim Burton was heavily involved in the creation of the show. Burton directed the first four episodes of the initial season and directed the season opener for Season 2. The first episode even features a stop motion sequence reminiscent of some of his most famous projects like The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and The Giant Peach. The show also features wonderfully shot sequences courtesy of cinematographer David Lanzenberg. The high production value and great cinematography makes the lack of engaging storylines that much more frustrating.
The writing leaves much to be desired on all fronts. Almost all the characters are poorly written and without meaningful arcs. Main side characters like Enid, Pugsley, and Gomez are left high and dry.
This is maybe most apparent with the Addam’s family patriarch Gomez, who has been dumbed down beyond belief in the interest of poor comic relief. The way Gomez is characterized makes it incredibly difficult to believe that he is the biological father of two intelligent children. Pugsley is also particularly poorly written. Pugsley, who viewers of the first season would think aged 10 years between seasons, is written as entirely socially inept in the interest of letting Wednesday repeatedly be his savior.
Enid, Wednesday’s roommate and closest thing to a friend, exists almost entirely as a vehicle for the romantic subplot required in every teen drama. The main issue though lies in the fact that the romance plots are rushed leaving an empty feeling.
Despite having such a poorly written script, Jenna Ortega as titular character Wednesday and Emma Myers as Enid turn in all-star performances. One of the most redeeming qualities of the series is some of Jenna Ortega’s deadpan line deliveries in serious moments. Ortega’s dark and serious performances contrasted with Myer’s superfluous and upbeat portrayal of Enid makes for one of the only interesting character dynamics.
Not all of the actors have career performances, however. Surprisingly, Hollywood legend Steve Buscemi of Fargo and The Big Lebowski fame puts on a performance that would incline viewers to believe that he has turned the corner into being washed. Unfortunately, it feels as if Buscemi only agreed to come on board in the interest of money and working with Tim Burton.
In the second season of Wednesday, Burton attempts to reach more into his horror bag than in the first season. Burton’s iconic mild horror tone actually falls flat in Wednesday’s second season.
While Season 2 of Wednesday has its moments of great cinematography, directing, and acting, it falls flat in many of a story’s most important aspects. With poor writing, horror, and plot elements, I fail to recommend Wednesday to anyone who wants a meaningful story with any substance.
