Wednesday Season 2: Weighted down by meandering plot

The Netflix record-breaking show 'Wednesday' returned earlier in the week with the second part of its second season.  With its sinister ambience, macabre charm and Jenna Ortega's phenomenal performance, this dark yet somewhat comical mystery series ended in a promising tone last season with the Hyde being defeated and Nevermore saved, but it was only the end of the beginning.

Season two picks up from the vacation, where Wednesday is busy mastering her psychic abilities and has captured the mystery serial killer, the Kansas City Scalper. She returns as a hero to Nevermore and is met by the overly enthusiastic new principal, Mr Barry Dort, who is keen to restore Outcast pride and establish a friendly relationship with her. Wednesday gives him a cold shoulder and severely detests it when everyone starts idolising her. 

As Pugsley and Wednesday both are in Nevermore now, Morticia agrees to chair the fundraising gala and live close by, a decision which is despised by Wednesday. The plot moves forward as Sheriff Galpin is murdered by the attack of a particular bird and Wednesday has a vision of Enid dying in the same manner. 

Grappled by psychic exhaustion, bothered by the constant hovering of her mother, a stalker and a series of sinister murders, Wednesday's ability is tested to the highest tier as she struggles to save her friend Enid. 

If one word defines this season, it's busy. The story ambitiously expands into the world of Outcasts, which had promise, but the writers overloaded it with too many subplots and failed to tie them together. As a result, the characters remained severely underdeveloped.

Enid came across as downright annoying for the first four episodes, portrayed as self-absorbed and selfish—quite the opposite of her usually jovial, extroverted, and kind nature.

Her character was supposed to serve as a foil for Wednesday, but this gets lost in this season. The writers try to reinforce their friendship and build the whole plot around it, but we don't witness any impactful interaction between these two in the first half of the season. 

However, they somehow manage to salvage their friendship and Enid's character in the later half of the season. Despite being central characters, the show keeps them forcefully apart. Enid being caught up in a love triangle was a waste of screen time and budget, as it lacked chemistry and its contribution to the plot can easily be ignored. 

The show immensely lacked focus and struggled to develop relationships between characters. A huge part of this season focuses on Wednesday and her mother's strained relationship, but viewers never saw much of a development in their dynamic, only squabbles. 

However, the relationship that did not take a front seat but was still beautifully portrayed was the one Wednesday had with Gomez, where he comes to her rescue without informing her mother, and she takes a stand for him in front of her grandmother. 

Even with a meandering plot, Wednesday's sharp-witted dialogue with Ortega's remarkable delivery managed to keep viewers drawn till the end. Tim Burton's magic in turning Gough, Millar, and the show's writers' imagination into stunning gothic aesthetic visuals was an absolute treat to watch.

It displays their hearty relationship, but the chemistry of the whole family together fails to capture the charm it has been known for in the previous rendition of the Addams family.

Despite having a great array of characters, it felt the writers were at a fix in regards to what to do with them, and some of them, such as Eugene, fell completely flat. 

Tyler's family was an interesting aspect, but was executed rather hastily without much attention to detail. Wednesday, with both her grandmother and Uncle Fester, was a treat to watch, and their additions to the plot were a marvelous choice. 

Perhaps the most refreshing change this season was the absence of a love interest for Wednesday. While some viewers may have resisted the idea at first—especially with Xavier written off—it was a commendable choice to explore her character beyond romance, particularly in a genre where teen and young adult audiences often expect a focus on love lives.

Even with a meandering plot, Wednesday's sharp-witted dialogue with Ortega's remarkable delivery managed to keep viewers drawn till the end. Tim Burton's magic in turning Gough, Millar, and the show's writers' imagination into stunning gothic aesthetic visuals was an absolute treat to watch. 

The Addam family's new abode, or the hidden laboratory, the visuals of the whole series will leave you starstruck, and you will realise the true beauty of Burtonesque. A special mention goes to the spectacular gala dance choreography executed by Enid and Agnes, which reminds us of the viral dance steps of Ortega in the previous season. The choreographies of this show, with their unique zombie-like moves, stoic expressions, capture the overall vibe of the show perfectly. 

This show had raised the bar so high in the first season that it has become difficult to fulfill the same expectations. This is a season that will make the viewers go "this could have been done differently" or "this could have been better". However, at the end of the day, this show had its own moments and enough eerie charm to keep viewers hooked.