I am absolutely obsessed with Jenna Ortega’s “Wednesday.” From the looks of it, the media is too. But I’ll be honest: I didn’t think I’d have this reaction. Sure, I thought it would be good, but not to this extreme extent. I figured it would be like the other Wednesday from the 2019 Addams Family movie adaption, which is on the family-friendly side and made for kids. This new adaptation of Wednesday is a beautifully homicidal psychopath with an iconic black-and-white aesthetic. 

Please be aware that spoilers are included, and as much as I would want you to read this article, I do not wish to ruin the show. So, if you have yet to watch the show, please return after you have done so.

From the teasers and trailer, we are given a glimpse of Nevermore. Nevermore is a boarding school for outcasts that Wednesday is sent to after an incident involving piranhas and the water polo team. 

We are introduced to the series’ original characters, such as Wednesday’s bubbly roommate Enid Sinclair (played by Emma Myers), Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday), and others in the first episode. We also meet two faculty members, Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) and Marylin Thornhill (Christina Ricci), who played the 1991 version of Wednesday. 

For all the romantics out there, we are also introduced to potential love interests, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) and Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White). Trust me, while Wednesday makes a point to refuse showing any emotion, these two boys are obviously smitten from the start.

We also learn that the origin of Wednesday’s name was not due to her being born on a Wednesday (it was Friday the 13th) but from the nursery rhyme. Although Morticia says it is called “Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe,” the poem’s name is “Monday’s Child,” written by Anna Eliza Bray.

The poem goes like so: “Monday’s child is fair of face/Tuesday’s child is full of grace/Wednesday’s child is full of woe/Thursday’s child has far to go/Friday’s child is loving and giving/Saturday’s child works hard for his living/ And the child that is born on the Sabbath day/Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay” (Bray).

The poem means that the day a child is born affects the personality and future of the baby. Wednesday Addams is, however, not very woeful, considering her love of all things morbid. Going deeper into the poem to satisfy the Wednesday living in my mind rent-free, she was born on a Friday, as stated before. Considering how the writers must have at least read the poem and understood it to include it in the show, it must mean something more.

Of course, Friday the 13th is infamous for being the bringer of bad luck. But according to the poem, the children of Friday are loving and giving. So does that mean that Wednesday secretly has those traits? 

Speaking of Wednesday’s emotions that hide in the depths of her soul, we are given glimpses of them – such as her books centering around Viper De La Muerte, who Wednesday stated is misunderstood and is said to have issues with her mother. The parallel is quite evident because Viper is Gomez Addams and Morticia’s pet name for their daughter. 

Her cello sessions show passion and expression she very artfully avoids, which catches the attention of many, letting them see what she hides inside.

Of course, a lighter side to her is seen as the season progresses and she builds relationships around her, which we will hopefully see in the next season.  

For anyone with access to the internet, whether it be TikTok or YouTube, the show has taken the world by storm. From including the loveable disembodied hand Thing in their videos, doing Wednesday’s Raven dance to Lady Gaga’s Bloody Mary, to thousands of fan edits, Tim Burton undoubtedly blew us away, much like with his other works. It was different from what I had seen. It felt like part of the 2020s, connected to the audience’s age group and the Addams Family’s returning fans, and carrying the classic macabre touch that Tim Burton is known for. 

My Christmas wish was to have Nevermore Academy to be a reality. This series is a masterpiece, and I am impatiently waiting for the newest season.