Review: “Wednesday”

Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, checks all the boxes for an enticing teen drama and a suspenseful whodunit. Despite some cringey moments, almost to be expected in a Netflix original, it succeeds in keeping the viewer glued and rooting for Wednesday in friendship, romance and her quest to solve a murder mystery.  

The set up for the series happens in the first few minutes, with Wednesday rescuing her brother, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), from his locker, having a psychic vision, releasing bags of piranhas into the pool during the boys’ water polo team practice, getting expelled and going away to a school called Nevermore Academy. It’s at Nevermore, a boarding school for “outcasts,” that Wednesday’s relationships and adventures begin. 

I really admired Wednesday’s appearance; she looked like a modern teenager without completely erasing “The Addams Family” touch. For example, she had curtain bangs rather than having it all pulled back into her two iconic braids.  Her clothing was also similar to the old Wednesday’s, being shades of black or neutral colors and plain, but it had a modern Goth look to it. The changes to her wardrobe, hair and makeup were subtle enough that you could see the Wednesday of the past, but dramatic enough that she looked 21st century stunning and mysterious.

Ortega not only pulled off the Wednesday-look, but also the personality. Her deadpan delivery and macabre thoughts are mostly convincing and funny. But, in some scenes Wednesday tries to sound intimidating and edgy and it just sounds cliche and unauthentic.

Then there’s Wednesday’s roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), who’s a werewolf and is supposed to be Wednesday’s opposite. She wears bright colors, is perky, chatty, happy and kind of cringey. For example, in one scene where Wednesday has just divided their room in half and is about to turn off Enid’s cheery music, Enid shows her long nails and threatens, “Don’t step any closer. This kitty got claws and she’s not afraid to use them.”

Yeah, I was absolutely horrified by that line; she’s not even a cat, she’s a werewolf! That makes her canine, not feline. It was the first episode and I was tempted to turn it off and end the show all together; it was really that bad.

And it wouldn’t be a teen drama without a love triangle. For most of the series, Wednesday seems oblivious or uncaring about the two boys that like her, Tyler (Hunter Doohan) who’s a “normie” (such a  cringey name for “normal” people) and Xavier (Percy Hynes White) another “outcast” at Nevermore. You’ll have to watch it through to the end to find out how that turns out, but expect the typical hurt feelings and miscommunications along the way that are a staple in teen dramas. Neither Tyler nor Xavier were too interesting and I didn’t really care about how it all played out, but it was still stressful to see them get mixed signals from Wednesday.

All the teen drama was good, but it was the murder mystery plot that kept me watching. To sum it up, there’s a monster attacking and killing people in the town, including students at Nevermore. Wednesday uses her intelligence, psychic abilities and help from a variety of others, like students at Nevermore, Thing, Uncle Fester and the ghosts of her ancestors as she tries to solve the mystery.  The suspense, plot twists, teen drama and supernatural all added together make this series popular and it’s definitely a show you should watch if you’re into any of those things.