The Real Wednesday Addams Only Appeared In 1 Scene Of Jenna Ortega’s Netflix Show And Must Return In Season 2

Netflix’s Wednesday series aimed to reimagine the iconic Addams Family character for a new generation. The show’s opening scene, with its dark humor and social commentary, was widely praised for capturing the essence of Wednesday Addams. However, as the series progressed, it faced criticism for deviating from the character’s established traits, particularly with the introduction of a love triangle. Wednesday Season 2 could redeem key I characters in this regard.

Jenna Ortega has expressed her disappointment with certain creative choices, particularly the romantic subplot. She argued that these elements were not in line with the character’s established personality. Despite these concerns, the series has been a commercial success. As the show moves into its second season, Wednesday plot updates reveal whether the creators will return to the beloved character’s darker roots.

Wednesday’s Opening Scene Was The Most Faithful To What Wednesday Addams Should Be

Wednesday Is Sardonic And Dark In The Opening Scene

 

The opening scene of Netflix’s Wednesday sets the tone for the dark approach Jenna Ortega signed up for when she agreed to her titular role. It begins by juxtaposing Wednesday against an environment where she clearly does not belong. It then introduces the viewer to her brother Pugsley and establishes their dynamic. As in the original show, their sibling dynamic is essential to her character. It then takes a delightfully dark turn when Wednesday releases two bags of piranhas into the swimming pool to take revenge on her brother’s bullies, claiming only she has the right to bully Pugsley.

This opening scene is the most faithful in the series to what Wednesday Addams should be. Especially with her voiceover of commentating on her surroundings in her opening linesman of Wednesday season 1 – this emphasizes her awareness of the social structure she is forced into and that she is an outsider. This is key to the appeal of the Addams family.

It also gets the tone right by having Pugsley a victim of bullying. In the original show The Addams Family, the family are “kooks”, but they are not the villains of the piece. They are friendly to their normie neighbors, despite being ostracized by them, which was essential to endear them to the viewer at the time.

Wednesday Season 1 Changed Its Titular Character Way Too Much For The Plot To Work

Some Changes Are Inevitable For The Teen Genre But Could Have Been Better Executed

In the podcast Armchair Expert With Dax Shepherd, Jenna Ortega complained about the writing of Wednesday. She claimed that she was promised no love triangle, but that this along with other out-of-character aspects exasperated her throughout the filming of season 1. It simply did not make sense for her character. Whereas she is grateful for the opportunities the series opened for her, she said, “It’s not my proudest moment internally.” She became very protective of the character and continually fought to have bits of dialogue changed. Despite this, the character still rang false.

Some of these changes are inevitable to make Wednesday more complex; she was a young child in the original series and a tween in the movies, so her character is bound to evolve. However, the series leaned too heavily on tired teen tropes. In particular, the love triangle perpetuates a tired cliché about teenage girls. It is easy to see what the writers were going for – Wednesday is a teen noir which casts Tyler as the homme fatale and Xavier as one of several red herrings. However, it is not executed well, coming off as shallow and distracting.

Wednesday Season 2’s Horror Promise Means We Must Get The Real Wednesday Adams Back

Ortega At The Helm Promises More Frights Than Romance

 

Ortega’s statements led to some controversy over whether actors should be involved in the writing process. With her attachment to Wednesday’s character and her remarks on how she was rewritten, it is clear that she knew her character well and arguably should have some influence on dialogue and plot decisions. Season 1 should have focused on establishing her character and how she has evolved into her teens; introducing romance so early in the show was a mistake. Even in the noir context, it reads as awkward and forced. Season 2 promises to redeem this with more horror.

This horror focus is what Jenna Ortega signed up for from the beginning, with her even pitching some gag ideas of her own that were rejected for being too dark. However, she has built a horror career since then with her roles in two Scream movies, along with her gothy role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. With her stepping up to take on a producing role in Wednesday season 2, Ortega has promised it will ditch romantic interests and focus more on the horror element than teen romance. In an interview with Variety, she stated, “We’re going to get bolder, more dark.”