Wednesday spoiler-free review – A snappy, sharp goth girl fantasy

Tim Burton taking on Charles Addams’s comic-turned-TV-and-film-series The Addams Family has felt like long-overdue destiny given the creators’ overlapping gothic aesthetic and pitch-black sense of humour. Excitement may have dimmed somewhat when it was announced that Burton’s Netflix adaptation would be a high school-set mystery centred on the kooky family’s daughter Wednesday. But while the new series, out today, Wednesday, 23 November, may not be what fans necessarily wanted, we’re pleased to report it’s better than expected, and definitely worth watching.

Wednesday opens with titular character Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) enacting some gruesome revenge on behalf of her bullied brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez). Seeing as setting piranhas on the school polo team is considered attempted murder, the 15-year-old troublemaker is expelled and shipped off to Nevermore Academy – a boarding school for paranormally “gifted” outcasts, run by Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie). Notable alumni of the school include Wednesday’s parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez Addams (Luis Guzman).

At Nevermore, Wednesday has to navigate new social cliques with the unrequested assistance of her colourful and enthusiastic roommate Enid (Emma Myers), survive both monster attacks and assassination attempts, unravel an old family mystery, and grapple with her developing psychic powers.

The last may be a sticking point for some. While Jenna Ortega is outstanding as the lead, the addition of these latent psychic powers as a plot device is somewhat out of place. The Addams family has, traditionally, been a satirical inversion of “the ideal 20^th Century family,” in that they delight in the dark and morbid – but maintain strong familial bonds with their extended Addams clan, are supportive of each other and generous with their time and money. However, they’re not magical. So, shoehorning in a reason for Wednesday to be considered an “outcast” is a hard departure from Addams lore.

Luckily, where the plot may stumble, Jenna Ortega is there to carry it on her stoic shoulders. The best embodiment of Wednesday since Christina Ricci, and the first ever actress with Latina heritage to play the part, Ortega channels a fierce confidence, balanced by the awkwardness of being an outsider among society’s outsiders. Her unblinking, expressionless intensity with just the slightest smirks and expression changes show a subtle but surprising range of emotion.

Wednesday is the embodiment of the teenage goth girl fantasy of being able to speak with zero filters, face few consequences for your cutting frankness and still, somehow, have people gravitate to you. Cute boys want to date you, and friends keep coming back. Biting, razor sharp dialogue in the form of Wednesday’s asides is part of the reason we’re enjoying the show more than we thought we would. Ortega’s deadpan delivery of her character’s ripostes is the unquestionable highlight of the series.

It also sets Wednesday apart from the likes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which has similar macabre leanings and supernatural high school setting, but played things straight. Wednesday is more fun thanks to its embracing of dark humour, and it runs the full emotional range as needed.

There’s a high concentration of young-adult-y stuff in Wednesday, and the goings on at Nevermore Academy plays out like a gory Harry Potter. If your tolerance for CW-esque shows is low, you may struggle. Luckily, the twisty main mystery keeps the show energized. The fact that it’s only eight episodes works to Wednesday’s advantage here, ensuring the story stays tight and the momentum trundles along at a decent, if a little uneven, pace.

That said, the pared down number of episodes (for a Netflix series anyway) doesn’t serve the supporting characters. As the main plot picks up pace, they sort of fall away, which is jarring after the Parents’ Day episode which is practically dedicated to Wednesday’s classmates.

At this point we have to give a special shout out to the casting of Christina Ricci (enjoying a career resurgence thanks to Yellowjackets) in a proper supporting role as Nevermore’s first “normie” teacher. This instead of just making her appearance a wink-wink cameo in a nod to the 90s big screen Wednesday. Gwendoline Christie is also memorable as the school’s imposing step-on-me headmistress.

As the director of the first four episodes of Wednesday, Tim Burton’s involvement might feel like more style over substance, but the filmmaker lays solid, tonally suitable groundwork to build off of. Surprisingly, and to the benefit of the series, at no point does his presence (accompanied naturally by a score from Danny Elfman) smother the project. Burton’s work here always seems to be in service to the story – guided by Smallville and The Shannara Chronicles creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar – and it’s something that fellow directors Gandja Monteiro and James Marshall pick up and run with over the rest of the season.

We’ve had a blast with Wednesday, but it’s important to remember that the show is named Wednesday for a reason. It’s not a rehash of Barry Sonnenfeld’s beloved films. With the notable exception of Thing, who has amazing personality for a dismembered hand, the rest of the Addams clan are guest stars at most, though the relationship between stoic Wednesday and her passionate mother Morticia does get some long-overdue probing.

Ultimately, it’s up to Ortega to carry the show. This she does exceptionally well in a series that – except for her shoehorned-in psychic powers – stays true to its lead character, exploring her identity and allowing its evolution. The result is a slight but suitably spiky treat for all the goth girls at heart.