If anything is more torturous than suffering through adolescence while a colossal monster is slashing its way through your classmates, it’s that Wednesday Season 1 is over.
Tim Burton’s spooky take on the teen TV series and its eponymous goth teen protagonist spun viewers into a whodunnit frenzy over eight episodes, provoking us into yarn-walled Sherlockery quicker than an Addams double snap. And it wasn’t just us. Netflix broke a record with Wednesday, with 341.23 million hours viewed in its first week, beating Stranger Things for the most hours viewed in a week for any English-language TV series.
Though Netflix hasn’t officially renewed the series for Season 2, the showrunners and cast are reportedly on board. And those viewership numbers don’t lie.
Sure, Season 1’s monster mystery was solved. But the final moments of the season finale left us with major questions. Who is Wednesday’s stalker? Are those sparks between Wednesday and Enid igniting something more? Who will be Nevermore’s new principal? What’s going on with Bianca and her mother’s scam cult? Where the hell is Cousin Itt in all this?
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We (hello, Mashable’s Yasmeen Hamadeh and Shannon Connellan here!) teamed up to tear apart the loose threads of Wednesday and hypothesize over the burning questions we have for Season 2.
Who is Wednesday’s stalker?
Credit: Netflix
While Wednesday’s monster mystery hunt may have been solved, things aren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows for Nevermore Academy’s top detective. (Are they ever?) The season finale ends with a cliffhanger, revealing that Wednesday’s being stalked by a mysterious third party. Of course, she takes it as an opportunity to tease us about the killing suspense, but we might have a clue about who the stalker could be.
So far, all signs are pointing to the stalker being someone from Nevermore, either another student or a teacher. You can read our theories on the stalker’s identity. But what we can rule out for sure is that whoever the stalker is, they were probably helping Season 1’s big bad wolves, Ms. Thornhill (Christina Ricci) and Tyler (Hunter Doohan). Wednesday‘s second season could be concerned with cracking down on their whereabouts and potentially putting an end to the normie vs. outcast debate once and for all. And we know our gothic Nancy Drew will surely see it done. —Yasmeen Hamadeh, Entertainment Intern
Who will be Nevermore’s new principal?
Credit: Vlad Cioplea / Netflix
In one of the most shocking twists of the finale, Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) was fatally poisoned by Ms. Thornhill (Christina Ricci), even after that shapeshifting double-cross. This leaves Nevermore without its formidable leader, so they’re going to have to do some serious hiring over the holidays.
Who will be the new principal of Nevermore Academy? Chances are it’ll be a character we haven’t met yet. The show didn’t exactly hint at who would step into the role, but likely they’ll be an outcast of some sort, possibly with powers.
I’d suggest Weems’s old roommate Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones) for the job, but Wednesday might have me hung, drawn, and quartered for such a suggestion. If the new principal is a normie, with the intention of continuing Weems’s quest for unity between Nevermore and Jericho, they’ll have a hell of a time convincing everyone. Or perhaps, a certain siren’s mother might “persuade” her way into the job… — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
Will Tyler come back?
Credit: Netflix
Considering that his last scene was him turning into a hyde while strapped down in a monitored vehicle, odds are we’re not done with Tyler yet. His hyde transformations are evidently still triggered by his anger, and boy, do we know he’s angry after that colossal defeat. But will he be a central character next season?
While it makes sense to have Tyler around in Season 2, he might not be its main villain. We know we have the stalker to deal with, and we know Wednesday has a bunch of unanswered loose ends. Tyler could play an integral role in answering them, but he might not be the central puppet master behind them.
A new season means a whole bunch of new characters to deal with, and we’re hoping Wednesday goes down an unexpected route with new plot twists and players to match. Tyler’s defeat is necessary in ensuring that no more monster attacks plague Nevermore and Jericho, but with his dad being the town’s sheriff, the details surrounding his confinement are as foggy as ever. Who knows? Maybe Tyler will have a redemption arc, make more than a few apologies, and learn to accept his outcast side. Or maybe he’ll still be a menace that Wednesday has to put a permanent stop to. There are endless possibilities with endless outcomes, but we know he’ll most likely be returning next season. — Y.H.
What’s going to happen with Bianca and the Morning Song cult?
Credit: Vlad Cioplea / Netflix
Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) began the series as Nevermore’s Queen Bee and Wednesday’s schoolyard enemy, but this siren ended up being the ultimate hero of the whole damn thing. Still, she has some demons to confront, namely the family she fled and her former identity as Brandy Jane Barclay.
Bianca’s controlling siren mother Gabrielle (Gracy Goldman) made only a brief appearance in Season 1, but she scared her daughter (and us) to the core.
During the Parents’ Day episode, Bianca’s mother revealed her birth name and the fact that she used her siren song to manipulate her way into Nevermore Academy. We know Bianca grew up in and escaped a “personal development movement” (*cough* cult) known as Morning Song, which was led by Gabrielle and a man named Gideon who Gabrielle has since married — making him Bianca’s stepfather.
Gabrielle threatened to reveal Bianca’s secrets unless she returned to Morning Song, claiming her siren power was dwindling, recruitment was down, and questions were being asked of the cult. Morning Song’s low-key infiltration of Jericho was apparent as soon as Bianca had to convince Lucas Walker (Iman Marson) to delete its self-help app, which he’d downloaded after he briefly met Gabrielle.
We’ve yet to see what happens with Bianca’s tempestuous relationship with her mother. But could Gideon, Gabrielle, and Morning Song potentially be next season’s villains? Could Gideon or Gabrielle be the next principal of Nevermore and use this position of power to manipulate Nevermore’s students and steal the school’s wealth? Or more likely, perhaps they’ll begin with the easier target of Jericho, where normie brains are ready for the washing. — S.C.
Will Wednesday have a girlfriend next season?
Credit: Netflix
“Wednesday Addams, I know what you are.” Sure, our macabre protagonist and her new bestie Enid (Emma Myers) spent this season crushing over guys who didn’t deserve it, but that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. We all saw their chemistry. We all watched Enid’s notable efforts to shake Wednesday out of her gloom, and we witnessed Wednesday try her best to hold back the tears when Enid roomed with someone else. And we all squealed when they finally hugged after their final battles with Tyler and Crackstone. (Wednesday’s first-ever hug, may we remind you.) They’re a match made in opposites-attract heaven, and I can’t think of a better black-meets-pink couple than them. But will Netflix actually give us what we want?
While we can’t answer that for sure, the fact that Netflix’s Twitter account has been hiding replies suggesting Wednesday is gay hints that this ‘ship may stay strictly platonic. A wrong decision? Absolutely. Wednesday being queer makes sense for her character, and it doesn’t detract from or contradict existing canon. In fact, it would emphasize the Addams Family’s reputation for being notoriously more progressive than their neighbors and community.
Wednesday and Enid as a romantic couple would mean putting a sapphic relationship at the forefront of a Netflix show, which would be a nice change of pace for the streamer. And you already know that diehard romantics Gomez and Morticia (Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones) would be thrilled for Wednesday to fall in love. So here’s to a Season 2 that’s hopefully a lot gayer than this one; we sure know it’s needed. —Y.H.
What’s going to happen to Xavier?
Credit: Netflix
He’s Nevermore’s heartthrob and the president of Wednesday’s fan club, but where is Xavier’s (Percy Hynes White) character arc headed?
Now we know that Xavier was wrongfully accused, but we still have unanswered questions. Why was Xavier having such visceral visions of the monster? What’s up with those meticulously detailed drawings? And will his visions be further explored in Season 2 — possibly with the introduction of his famous seer father?
Xavier’s bizarre ability to bring his drawings to life is definitely a less-than-ideal obstacle Wednesday might have to deal with. After all, he has an entire studio filled with hyde paintings, and that can’t be a good sign. We know he’s Team Wednesday, but his lifelike drawings gone wrong could become a fruitful narrative twist in Wednesday‘s next season.
Apart from his questionable powers and the role they might play, Xavier is still a giant question mark in Wednesday’s love life. While some are shipping Wednesday with Enid (the right choice), others are rooting for Xavier. Maybe they’ll spend the rest of their semester with Xavier offering Wednesday unsolicited lessons in appropriate GIF and cute emoji usage. But if Netflix knows what’s up, they’ll give us some Wednesday and Enid content next season. Xavier can totally sit this one out. (We still love him though.) — Y.H.
Will we get to see more of the vampires and gorgons?
Credit: Vlad Cioplea/Netflix
While we were privy to the vocal power of the sirens and Enid’s long-awaited full wolf-out in the season finale, Wednesday didn’t offer much in the way of vampire and gorgon action. Yes, Enid talked about that incident of pre-Poe Cup sabotage with the garlic bread in the cafeteria, but we didn’t really get to see the vampire students do anything but…look cool. It’s possible that Burton wants to avoid getting lumped in with the glut of vampire shows and movies out there, but perhaps the vamps will get their big bloodsucking moment in Season 2.
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On the other head, er, hand — gorgons! There are hardly any shows featuring gorgons, and we want to see more, please.
Charmed actually addressed the often-overlooked sexual assault in the story of Medusa in a one-off episode, and Netflix’s pre-Wednesday witchy series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina included the gorgon character Nagaina (Vanessa Rubio) doing all kinds of cool gorgon-y shit. All we saw of the Stoners was Ajax (Georgie Farmer) accidentally turning himself into stone by looking in his bathroom mirror and standing up Enid in the process — and not even apologizing for it? Like, it’s one text, dude.
Where were the gorgons during the final battle in Season 1? If every gorgon at Nevermore united, they could have frozen zombie Joseph Crackstone and Tyler “Hyde” Galpin in an instant, but they did nothing. Nothing! Enid fought that dude single-pawedly! According to Greek mythology, gorgons were also not only able to turn anyone to stone with a look, they had wings! Let’s see Ajax fly, huh? — S.C.
Are we going to see more of Nevermore itself?
Credit: Vlad Cioplea / Netflix
Nevermore is fertile ground for wonderful world-building, and we’re hoping that we get to see more of its day-to-day life next season. We know the academy offers fencing and herbology classes, but what about drama, literature, or even P.E.? With Edgar Allan Poe being the school’s most notorious alumnus, we know that an English class at Nevermore would be an exceptional mess of gothic texts and poignant prose. Wednesday also wants to be a published writer — despite what those tasteless editors say. So, seeing her fulfill that fateful bond we all have with our English teachers in high school would be absolutely incredible (and incredibly necessary).
Realistic schedules aside, how wild do Nevermore classes actually get? One can only dream that our favorite Hogwarts-gone-goth prep school includes lessons in the macabre, potions for when you’re in a pickle, fortune telling, the arts of witchcraft, and so much more. Nevermore is a treasure chest of mystical education opportunities, and we hope that Season 2 would take full advantage of it. — Y.H.
Where the hell is Cousin Itt?
Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock
The hairiest Addams of them all, Cousin Itt was only mentioned once, by Fester (Fred Armisen) in Season 1. Itt didn’t physically appear in the series — the only core Addams Family member not to. Yes, Lurch had but three characteristically silent scenes or so, but Itt wasn’t even present. In episode 7, while Wednesday and Fester are searching the Nightshade Library for the diary of society founder Nathaniel Faulkner, they come across a portrait of one Iggy Itt, though it’s ambiguous as to whether or not this is an Addams relative. But with that full body head of hair, it’s definitely an Itt.
Cousin Itt is typically portrayed as a living hairball; in the ’60s TV series, Itt wore a bowler hat and sunglasses — so you would know where their face is, I guess? And in Addams Family Values, Itt has a baby, and, well, it’s adorable. If Season 2 makes room for an Itt adventure as they did for Uncle Fester, I will take my bowler hat off to them. Even just one glorious brushing scene, please. — S.C.
Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix.
