There’s a new Addams joining the family on Wednesday. In addition to the title character (Jenna Ortega) and her iconic family, the series introduces a distant ancestor: Goody Addams (also Ortega). Four hundred years before Wednesday was born, Goody was a young woman living in the town of Jericho, nursing the same mysterious psychic powers as Wednesday. When Wednesday arrives at Nevermore Academy, the supernatural school on the outskirts of Jericho, she begins to have visions of her blonde predecessor — and her deadly enemies.
Those enemies may not all be dead and buried. Joseph Crackstone, the sadistic pilgrim founder of Jericho, was locked away by Goody in a secret crypt after his witch trials terrorized the outcast community. But someone wants to wake him up. These supernatural stakes were baked into Wednesday from the very beginning of its conception. “It couldn’t just be a real world story,” co-creator Miles Millar tells Tudum. “It needed to be extraordinary, which is what the Addams Family is.”
And Wednesday is certainly extraordinary. Over the course of the series, she learns that she shares the same abilities as her ancestor, abilities that allow her to have visions of the past, present and future. These skills come in handy as Wednesday learns the dark secrets of her parents’ past, and unravels a string of murders terrorizing Jericho. Wednesday ultimately realizes that cute “normie” Jericho barista Tyler (Hunter Doohan) is the culprit, a deadly monster known as a Hyde. It’s a revelation that comes at an inopportune moment — Tyler and Wednesday’s first kiss.
That’s not the whole story, of course. As it turns out, Tyler is just a pawn in a much larger conspiracy, one led by (*gasp*) kindly normie teacher Marilyn Thornhill. Marilyn’s real name? Laurel Gates, a member of the notoriously bigoted family that clashed with Wednesday’s parents Gomez and Morticia during their time at Nevermore. Laurel is also a descendant of Joseph Crackstone himself, and she needs the blood of an Addams to resurrect him. Risen from the grave, Crackstone and Thornhill conspire to burn Nevermore to the ground.
Fortunately, Goody and Wednesday together are more than enough of a match for the forces of evil. In Wednesday’s final vision of Goody, her ancestor revives her from a would-be fatal wound, and Wednesday finally defeats the zombified pilgrim with the help of her outcast friends. With Goody’s powers spent, Wednesday’s visions of the past end, and she’s left on her own. All’s well that ends well? Sort of.
“At this point the Crackstone story is sealed, and the end of the season is the end of that storyline,” Millar says. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Wednesday. The final episode introduces a mysterious stalker, whose ominous text messages to Wednesday suggest she’ll be dealing with another foe soon enough. “The stalker is just the idea that the threats remain out there,” Millar says. “The Crackstone part of it may be gone, but there are certainly other possible threats out there to both Wednesday and the school.” High school is like that.
Reporting by Ariana Romero.
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