“Wednesday Season 2, Part 2” dives straight into darkness and drama draped in the haunted harmony of Lady Gaga’s “The Dead Dance.” Filled with horror and secrecy, this compelling sequel to season 1 features Wednesday Addams’ (Jenna Ortega) attempts to save her family and her best friend Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers).
Beginning after Wednesday is badly injured by her ex-boyfriend Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), tensions peak during the second half of season 2. In her search for the culprit responsible for Enid’s impending death in her psychic visions, Wednesday discovers the dark shared past between the elders of the Galpin and Addams families.
However, the season starts off on the wrong foot with the return of Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christine) in episode 5. While her return as a ghost was well-deserved after being tragically killed off in season 1, the execution was poor. Weems is brought back as Wednesday’s relative to help her control her psychic abilities despite lacking psychic abilities herself. Instead of making a heartfelt tribute to the beloved character, the writers solely use Weems’ cameo to bring back the show’s season 1 audience, making it feel shallow.
Still, not all of the cameos were butchered. Lady Gaga’s appearance as Rosaline Rotwood successfully adds to the foreboding mood surrounding Enid’s eventual death. Her eerie facial expressions and haunting voice perfectly depict the ethereal yet authoritative aura of the most legendary psychic known to the Outcast world.
Gaga’s cameo also introduces several hilarious scenes after Rosaline curses Wednesday and Enid to swap bodies. Unlike last season, Myers is able to experiment with her acting, flawlessly taking on Wednesday’s personality when the girls swap bodies. Ortega similarly captures Enid’s panic with dramatic facial expressions reflecting Myers’.
As the two experience each other’s everyday lives, the season reaches its climax: the Nevermore Gala. During the gala, Evie Templeton, who plays Agnes DeMille (Wednesday’s former stalker), marvelously portrays Agnes’ desire for self acceptance. As she goes from being quite literally invisible to performing confidently with Enid at the gala, the fluid dance steps between Myers and Templeton in episode 7 highlight their hard-won friendship. Overcoming their initial rocky start sets Agnes up for a bigger role as part of the main trio—Wednesday, Enid and Agnes—in season 3.
Unfortunately, the development of these characters came at the cost of others, including Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday), who continues to be blackmailed by new principal Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi) during the gala—a subplot that contributes nothing to the plotline and disappointingly shatters her relationship with Wednesday despite the camaraderie they forged at the end of season 1.
But the gala wasn’t entirely worthless; Academy award-winning costume designers Colleen Atwood and Mark Sutherland returned, dressing the girls in beautiful Gothic Venetian clothing that reaffirmed the prestige of Nevermore Academy. Unlike last season, the costumes—both in quantity and quality—were no longer limited to just Wednesday. Enid, Agnes and all the women in the Addams family received costumes aligned with their personalities: the Addams women wore dark, regal gowns while Enid and Agnes wore bright, dynamic clothing.
Elements like the stunning attire successfully distracted fans from anticipating the final plot twist, during which the secrets between the Galpins and Addams were finally revealed. As the show progresses, the storytelling and atmosphere of the show seamlessly encapsulate the twisted heart at the center of the characters’ familial and Outcast bonds, satisfying fans’ long-awaited desire for the uncanny.
Watch Season 2: Part 2 of Wednesday on Netflix.