TL;DR: Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams arrived at Nevermore Academy, made enemies, made exactly one reluctant friend, uncovered a centuries-old murder mystery, learned she was descended from a witchy ancestor, battled a resurrected colonial bigot, and found out her love interest was actually a murderous Hyde working for a vengeful teacher. Also, her principal died, her werewolf roommate finally wolfed out, and now she has a stalker. Oh, and Season 2 drops August 6, with Part 2 on September 3. You’re welcome.

Final Verdict for Season 1: Sharp, stylish, occasionally clunky, but dripping with atmosphere and Ortega’s deliciously deadpan performance.

A Personal Confession Before We Begin

Here’s the thing about “Wednesday”: when it first dropped on Netflix back in November 2022, I wasn’t entirely convinced it would work. Tim Burton hadn’t exactly been on his A-game for the last decade, the Addams Family had been rebooted more times than Spider-Man, and the idea of an eight-episode YA mystery draped in emo lace and cello solos could have gone the way of most Netflix teen dramas — pretty to look at, but instantly forgettable.

But then I watched Jenna Ortega sink her teeth (metaphorically… for now) into Wednesday Addams, and I realized: oh. Oh, this isn’t just another Riverdale clone in a gothic prom dress. This is Wednesday’s show, and it’s got claws.

Season 1 was messy, sure. Some subplots were stitched together with the finesse of Frankenstein’s intern. But the core? The murder mystery, the boarding school for supernatural “outcasts,” the surprisingly touching friendship between a monochrome misanthrope and a rainbow-puke werewolf? It worked. And it worked because Ortega played Wednesday like a precision instrument — every eye roll, every barbed quip, every blink-less stare was a tiny rebellion against Netflix’s usual saccharine teen protagonist formula.

Before Season 2 hits, here’s everything that went down — but not just the dry Wikipedia recap. This is the coffee-fueled, slightly feral rewatch brain dump of someone who still hears “Goo Goo Muck” in their sleep.

From Piranhas to Pigtails: The Expulsion That Started It All

We open with Wednesday Addams already in full “screw this” mode. She walks into her high school’s swimming pool, spots the jocks who were tormenting her brother Pugsley, and responds not with a strongly worded letter, but with live piranhas. In the pool. While they’re swimming. It’s the kind of overreaction that would get anyone else sent to juvie, but for Wednesday, it’s just Tuesday.

This, of course, gets her expelled. Enter Morticia and Gomez — played with a sort of romantic, theatrical gloom by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán — who decide to send her to their alma mater, Nevermore Academy. Think Hogwarts, if the Sorting Hat only had categories for “problematic,” “deadly,” and “needs therapy.”

Wednesday arrives, instantly hates everything, and is assigned a roommate: Enid Sinclair, a werewolf who dresses like Lisa Frank threw up on her closet. Enid hasn’t “wolfed out” yet, which means she’s basically the werewolf equivalent of someone who still can’t parallel park in their 30s. She’s bubbly, chatty, and genuinely nice — which makes her absolute nightmare fuel for Wednesday.

The school has its own clique system: the Fangs (vampires), the Furs (werewolves), the Stoners (gorgons), and the Scales (sirens). It’s all very Mean Girls meets Monster High. Wednesday, naturally, opts to keep to herself, except for the occasional fencing duel with Bianca Barclay — the school’s queen bee siren whose ex-boyfriend Xavier Thorpe immediately starts orbiting Wednesday like a lovesick moth.

Normies, Outcasts, and Jericho’s Founding Sins

Nevermore’s campus might be supernatural, but the nearby town of Jericho is aggressively “normie” — think small-town colonial cosplay with an undercurrent of anti-outcast bigotry. Wednesday meets Tyler Galpin, a barista with suspiciously perfect hair and a Sheriff dad who has a decades-long beef with Gomez Addams.

Tyler becomes her go-to normie contact, and at first, he seems like the kind of love interest Netflix’s algorithm would approve: sweet, helpful, a little wounded. Spoiler: by the end of the season, you will want to yeet him into the sun.

The Murder Mystery Hooks Its Claws In

The real plot kicks off when a fellow student, Rowan, tries to kill Wednesday because of a prophecy. According to his mother’s vision, Wednesday will bring about the destruction of Nevermore. But before Rowan can finish the job, he’s mauled by a monster — a massive, spindly-limbed beast that looks like a Tim Burton doodle come to life.

Only… Rowan turns up alive the next day, walking around like nothing happened. And then he vanishes again. Principal Weems expels him, case closed. Except, no. Wednesday starts digging, aided by her psychic visions, which work like migraines with extra jump scares.

In one vision, she meets Goody Addams — her 17th-century ancestor who survived a witch-burning attempt by Jericho’s founder, Joseph Crackstone. Goody is basically Wednesday with worse dental care, and she warns that Crackstone’s hate for outcasts still festers in the town’s roots.

Parents’ Weekend and the Gates Family Curse

Mid-season, Morticia and Gomez arrive for Parents’ Weekend, and we finally get the truth about Gomez’s alleged murder. Flashback to 32 years ago: a rich normie named Garrett Gates was obsessed with Morticia. He crashes a Nevermore party intending to poison every student. In the fight, Morticia stabs him in self-defense, but Gomez takes the blame. Turns out Garrett’s death caused his family to implode — and his sister Laurel was shipped overseas, presumed drowned.

If you’ve watched literally any mystery in the past 20 years, you already know: no body, no death. Laurel Gates is absolutely still alive.

Enter Uncle Fester and the Hyde Revelation

In one of the season’s best cameos, Fred Armisen shows up as Uncle Fester, who identifies the monster as a Hyde. Hydes are dormant until unlocked by trauma, chemicals, or hypnosis, and once unleashed, they’re bound to their “master.”

Wednesday suspects Xavier is the Hyde, and Dr. Kinbott (her therapist) is the master. This is wrong, but her suspicion does get Xavier arrested.

Then comes the kiss. Tyler kisses Wednesday, and she immediately has a vision revealing him as the Hyde. Honestly, if that’s not a metaphor for dating in your late teens, I don’t know what is.

The Final Showdown: Crackstone’s Revenge

The real mastermind is revealed: Ms. Thornhill, the normie botany teacher played by Christina Ricci. Surprise! She’s actually Laurel Gates. She’s been manipulating Tyler, using his Hyde form to gather body parts so she can resurrect Crackstone during the Blood Moon.

She succeeds — briefly. Crackstone stabs Wednesday, but Goody’s ghost heals her, giving her the pep talk equivalent of “stab him in the heart and don’t miss this time.” With Bianca’s help, Wednesday finishes him off.

Meanwhile, Enid finally wolves out and fights Tyler, which is deeply satisfying after a season of build-up. Tyler is captured, Laurel is taken down, but Principal Weems dies in the process.

The Stalker Texts and Season 2 Setup

Classes are canceled, Xavier gives Wednesday her first-ever phone, and immediately she gets stalker texts from an unknown number — complete with photos of her. She’s officially the campus hero, but someone out there clearly wants her dead.

The Season 2 trailers hint that she’s coming back to Nevermore, stalker in tow, with the added wrinkle of trying to prevent Enid’s death. Which means… the body count is probably going up.