TV Review: Wednesday Will Become Your Dark, Netflix Obsession

Coming out November 23, on Netflix, I was incredibly impressed with Wednesday. After all, it is created by the Tim Burton. Yet, I felt a protectiveness over the 90s cult classic, in part, because they were helmed by my beloved, Boricua Raul Julia. Moreover, Christina Ricci became iconic thanks to her childhood rendition of macabre. Thus, what can you expect from a teenage Wednesday (Jenna Ortega)? 

Created by Tim Burton, the visuals and ambiance is totally Addams, but this tv show lives and breathes off of Ortega´s performance. While Catherine Zeta Jones and Luis Guzman do well as Morticia and Gomez Addams, Raul and Angelica Huston MADE those characters, and it was hard for me to shake their renditions. Still, Isaac Ordonez was adorable as Pugsley and plays a pivotal, but small in furthering this new, more ¨feeling¨ Wednesday. 

Part of why we loved Christina Ricci´s Wednesday was because she was unusually cold and dark for a child and her family’s attraction to things that terrify, like a walking hand, was so outlandish it was charming. Particularly, because they embodied everything we fear, like death, but were deeply loving and loyal. I mention this because Ortega elaborates that Wednesday’s embittered, embattled demeanor is NOT a reflection of who she is inside. In fact, she is quite emotional, compassionate, and vastly intelligent. To be frank, this show felt like a wild rendition of Nancy Drew.

Attending Nevermore Academy, Wednesday is immediately confronted by mystical, powerful children with their own vendettas against life and their parents. One surprise, was the lack of connection between Wednesday and her family, but… hey … teen years. She is in total mood mode: feeling misunderstood, alienated, and absolutely betrayed….. and not in the good way, as she would say. Yet, Wednesday is excited because she has been almost murdered, getting kidnapped, having a werewolf for a roommate Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair), facing off with popular sirens like, Joy Sunday’s Bianca, and wondering if her potential love interest ¨sweet¨ Tyler (Hunter Doohan) or moody Xavier (Percy Hynes White) are an evil, mystical creature murdering everyone. Of course, she has to figure out these mysteries, how to handle her new psychic visions and their connection to the past, and make her a trusty bee-obsessed buddy does not die in her company. 

The Latinidad is DRIPPING in this how, and I am proud, especially because I simply did not know what to expect from Wednesday but did not expect what I got. Scooby-Doo and Gang would be proud to see a bunch of weird kids uniting to solve murders, and confront adult establishments like the absolutely queendom of  Gwendoline Christie (Larissa Weems). She is pure elegance and suave as a thorn in Wednesday’s side, while also being her ally. Her character´s flashback sequences with a young Morticia and Gomez made me crave a high school spinoff for the their love story. Moreover, Christina Ricci´s is so good as a normie teacher, Marilyn Thornhill, with a lot of plants and secrets, and made me really happy that she was not some ¨hello-goodbye¨ feature. 

I literally binge watched Netflix’s Wednesday like three times in a row. It will be a hit in part because there is nothing like it. Similar to The Umbrella Academy or even Riverdale, the first few seasons, the show stands out in its strange originality. Moroever, it is so perfect for all the family. I can see everyone enjoying the show, and feeling connected to its unique warmth and making it their grim obsession. Check it out November 23.