"Wednesday Season 1" Apparently We Did Need This Spinoff

 

    I'll be the first to say I was excited to watch Wednesday when I heard it was excited. As an avid lover of fantasy and all things magic, I had some high hopes to say the least. And, even if Tim Burton has made really weird comments about white people and diversity in media, I'll admit, he has a good track record when it comes to making quality products of art. I think if I had to describe Wednesday with one phrase, one thing that sets it apart from most other Netflix productions, it would have to be focus, and god does it do that well.

    I mean no disrespect to other Netflix shows I've watched, such as The Umbrella Academy and The Witcher, but one thing I've noticed plagued almost every Netflix show is that it inevitably gets stretched too thin, or viewers get a peek into a storyline they really did not need at all. At first, when I first started Wednesday I didn't realize this, until I got to the very end, and I very much appreciated that fact, because to be quite frank, most showrunners would immediately let ambition seep the wrinkles of their brain. They would hope to leave their mark on such a storied franchise as they concoct two hours worth of Enid worrying over Ajax, only to have it lead no where when they realize they ran out of time when it reaches the finale. 

    Speaking of showrunners, are we sure Tim Burton has spoken to a teenager, maybe even a child, in the past 5 years? I mean this with the greatest sincerity possible, because who told him to call the non-outcasts normies? I have not heard anyone use normie in ages, as it is now a term relegated to use by people who think too highly of themselves because they heard an inside internet joke and now consider themselves real "memers". I think it's the most egregious with Enid, poor Enid, because frankly some of her dialogue was the most painful. Overall, I thought that the show did a great job with making sure they didn't make these kids sound like a 40 year old possessed them, but the way she spoke was atrocious, and the fact that she constantly said things such as "totes" and  "effing" was a bit much, even if I did suspend my disbelief. I mean I get that she's sort of supposed to mimic that really obnoxious 

    Speaking of Enid, what the fuck was the that entire plot about her wolfing out? I'll get to the ending later, because frankly it's the only point where I think the show falls flat, but why was there some weird analogue with gay people? What did the LGBTQ+ community deserve for "wolfing camp" to be compared to conversion therapy? One is basically a rite of passage, like puberty, except for some rare cases, while another is literally stripping the humanity from human beings for what they love, like what? I'm not saying that the show made the issue overblown, but Enid literally did call it conversion therapy once again I'd like to ask if Tim Burton has used the internet in even the past 15 years or so.

    Now, you'll notice that overall these points are pretty nitpicky, but that's because the show is just that good. Like I've said previously there was a strong emphasis on Wednesday, as she learns to bond with the other students at Nevermore, in her own weird quirky way. Personally, I felt that the way she quickly became friends with many others was a bit odd, but with the time constraints I'll give the show a pass. Moreover, I really loved Jenna Ortega's performance, despite being 20, she still does look very young, and I thought she did a good job of keeping the deadpan nature of Wednesday, even if I did want a bit more expression from her.

    On a side note, is anyone going to talk about how the "normies" just accept the outcasts and all of their oddities? Like I don't mean to say I hated the way they created the separation between the two, but everyone seemed oddly ok with the fact that monsters existed? To be completely frank I appreciated that they didn't spend too much time on this, because the last thing I wanted was for them to spend excess amounts of tip toeing around the town without tipping anyone off that these children may be more than what they seem.

    Finally, we reach the finale, where I'm afraid to report, Wednesday suffers from CGI syndrome. It's often said, especially about marvel movies, that they're often ruined by some unnecessary CGI fest at the end in order to have some "epic battle" that's wholly gratuitous. Like, when I say it was rushed it was pretty poorly rushed. Wednesday, mortally wounded by the newly revived Crackstone, is magically revived by her ancestor Goody Addams, who mind you has done absolutely nothing all series, especially in training Wednesday with her visions, and then its off to the races. Enid somehow finds Tyler and fights him, while all of her friends conveniently leap into action in order to fight the big bad who looks awful. Like it's kind of hilarious how bad his mask looks, it looks like a bad 90's movie.

    Then, the people who Wednesday had random grudges with, come to her aid, and they fight back against the big bad reveal where they win in pretty convincing fashion. Now, I'm not saying I have some magical remedy to solve it all, but this probably could have used one or two more episodes, because everything in the finale felt rushed, which is the exact opposite of the entire show. This show is phenomenal, my gripes aside, it has suspense, a double reveal which I never expected, and a good balance between not getting too bogged down by lore and exposition, while also introducing a lot of cool concepts. I suppose the fact that I spent all of this time talking about how it could have improved, just shows that I really felt like this show could have been that much better.

Final Score: 85/100

    I understand that its easy to get swept into the hype, and that frankly the old Addams Family movies were cool, but didn't do much to convince many that a TV show was needed, but Wednesday is just that good. Personally, I hope they stray away from the whole romance thing, because Wednesday is pretty clearly kind of asexual to me, but you never know, maybe Netflix will finally get its grubby hands by the time the second season rolls around. If you're afraid that Netflix has gunked up another beloved franchise with their cheap products, have no fear, because the production value is great, and the show is just a wonderfully short bundle of joy.