It’s official, our favorite child full of woe is confirmed for Season 2 on Netflix (ILINK). This next installment of Wednesday is believed to release sometime in early 2024 and the fans are incredibly excited. The creepy and kooky Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) took Netflix by storm with the insane amount of hours streamed and within a week of release, fans had already binged it, started it for a second time, and took to the internet of what they hope or want to see for the next season.
The first season chronicles Wednesday attending Nevermore Academy, an institution for the outcasts, freaks, and monsters. Passed down from her mother, Morticia (Catherine Zeta Jones), Wednesday is learning how to channel and use her psychic powers that seem to happen when she is least expecting it. While Wednesday is learning to coexist with her roommate, Enid (Emma Myers), navigate bullies, and try therapy for the first time, a monster called the Hyde emerges and she takes it upon herself to stop it. On top of that, she’s trying to uncover the secret of what happened 25 years ago that has classmates calling her father, Gomez (Luis Guzman) a murderer. Totally normal things to be dealing with as a sixteen-year-old.
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One of the things that fans have been anxiously hoping for is the opportunity to add queer storylines among the murder, mystery, and heavy deadpan. With Wednesday‘s initial release, Netflix hosted a drag event called ‘WednesGay’ with some of RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni to perform in their best Wednesday inspired looks. Despite having an explicitly LGBTQ+ event, the series lacked almost all queer representation on the surface, except the brief introduction of Eugene’s (Moosa Mostafa) moms. Because of this, fans are relentlessly tweeting, blogging, and instagramming about how they want to see the representation that they were, essentially, promised from the perception of the ‘WednesGay’ event. Truthfully, it’s not too late to add queer representation into the story and here’s why.
Wednesday Is A Queer Icon
Wednesday Addams is an outsider and feels like no one understands her or can relate to her, a familiar allegory felt among teens of her age in the LGBTQ+ community. The horror genre has been widely regarded as a queer genre because of the “monster within” feeling that those in the queer community experience as they are discovering their sexuality. Many of the earliest works of horror, such as Dracula (Bram Stoker), were written by queer authors to express their innermost selves that were labeled as freaks or abominations. Nevermore Academy is the definitive place for the freaks and the outcasts, separating themselves from the town normies, a familiar tale within horror books, films, and series. Even at the academy, Wednesday still feels as if she is an outsider compared to her peers, which helps to propel her further into her place as a queer icon. To any teen or adult questioning or living in the closet, it is deeply relatable to see Wednesday skim by with friends but still know that you’re a little different and be worried to be exposed.
Enid’s Dilemma
The other focus of the series being on Enid and her inability to wolf out like her friends and family. Feeling the pressure of not being able to change into her wolf mode, audiences can feel Enid’s stress and anxiety that she’s not like the rest of her peers or family. She desperately wants to change but isn’t able to in the way her parents and siblings can. There is also mention of Enid’s family wanting to send her to a conversion therapy camp since she is unable to turn. Unfortunately, conversion camps still exist for queer teens, so this tidbit of the show is a reality for some.
Wenclair
Finally, we come to the nature of the relationship between Wednesday and Enid, or as the fandom has loving referred to them as: Wenclair. Wenclair is endgame online and for good reason. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are well aware that queer movies and shows don’t always have the best track record for safe and loving relationships that don’t end in tragedy. More representation is great in film and TV, but the queer community deserves their happily ever afters more frequently too, instead of ending in despair.
Wednesday and Enid could not be more opposite to each other. Enid is the color to Wednesday’s monochrome and Wednesday is the strong-willed to Enid’s empathetic softness. Their adoration and connection for each other despite these stark differences is something the series could use to enhance the story. It would show those watching that they are also capable of safe, loving, and wholesome relationships despite feeling different or conditioned to think their relationships are doomed. Wednesday leaves the plot open to diversify. This is an opportunity to make an inclusive and realistic look at a demographic where many still question themselves and feel out of place with who they are.
