Editor’s Note: Below are spoilers for Season 1 Wednesday. Netflix Wednesday follows the titular Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) as she is sent to study at her parents’ favorite alma mater, Nevermore Academy, after an incident at her old school where she nearly killed some obnoxious boys in the school pool. Even though she never stays in the dark about what goes on in the world of outcasts and normal people, among whom Wednesday is without a doubt one of the outcasts, she finds herself in a completely different situation, since the people around Nevermore are not the most loving. . of those who attend school. Wednesday is literally stuck between two worlds as she quickly develops feelings for two different boys who exist in completely different spaces, one normal and the other an outcast. There’s quite a bit of potential as the story progresses, the twists and turns add a fair amount of drama to complicate things for Wednesday as she struggles with her already overcomplicated feelings. Unfortunately, this love triangle just doesn’t work in the grand scheme of things.
Tyler (Hunter Doohan), local barista and son of Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) seems as normal as it gets. He is goofy, charming, and sweet, Wednesday begins to fall in love with him almost instantly, despite her dislike of other people and aversion to romance, which is exacerbated by her overly loving parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman). Meanwhile, the pensive Xavier (Percy Hynes White), a fellow Nevermore student whom Wednesday already knows upon her arrival, begins stalking her – much to the chagrin of his current girlfriend Bianca (joy sunday).
There is no development of the love triangle between Wednesday, Tyler and Xavier
As the season progresses, the love triangle continues, with both boys vying for Wednesday’s love and developing a healthy rivalry with each other. Xavier uses his outcast position to get closer to Wednesday, especially after his relationship with Bianca ends. Tyler, on the other hand, becomes something of a taboo after his father forbids him from seeing Wednesday due to the trouble she’s managed to get herself into while investigating a mysterious monster and murders in the area over the previous few weeks. Tyler doesn’t listen, and neither does Wednesday, and the sheriff gets even angrier as he believes Wednesday’s father got away with murder while visiting the Nevermore.
In the end, Wednesday’s relationship with Tyler seems to be winning. She decides to go to Rave’N with him and any feelings she had for Xavier are temporarily erased when she suspects he is a deadly monster. She even had Xavier arrested for the murders, which also dampened his feelings for her. At the end of the penultimate episode of the season, Wednesday decides to finally show her growing feelings for Tyler and share her first kiss with him, after which everything falls apart. One of Wednesday’s psychic visions reveals that Tyler is a monster, and he later confesses that his feelings for Wednesday were never real as he was forced by his master, Marilyn Thornhill, aka Laurel Gates (Christina Ricci) to approach her.
So, when Xavier and Wednesday have a moment to start over and Xavier “beats” the girl, it doesn’t feel deserved or satisfying. It’s simply because Tyler is no longer a prospect, despite Wednesday only picking him in the previous episode. Also, Xavier’s development of both himself and his relationship with Wednesday is nothing compared to Tyler’s. The writers spent a lot of time on Tyler, detailing his past and working out the nuances of his relationships with those around him, because a grand betrayal was approaching. Xavier’s role pales in comparison, his feelings for Wednesday are very two-dimensional and central to the character as a whole. Besides, Xavier hardly does enough to qualify as a love interest.
On many occasions, he treats Wednesday horribly, especially when Wednesday begins to aggressively suspect him of being a monster. Compared to Tyler, who did this to infiltrate Wednesday’s life with villainous intent, Xavier does little to get to know Wednesday for real. Besides Enid (Emma Myers), Wednesday’s roommate and future best friend, Xavier berates Wednesday the most for her actions, but does so in an inconsiderate manner. All in all, the time spent with Xavier feels like wasted time.
The show should have been more focused on other relationships
Also, the love triangle doesn’t work the way it was supposed to because there are other, much more interesting and rewarding relationships to devote time to, which gave more story. Enid and Wednesday’s relationship is the most obvious example, as mismatched best friends didn’t spend enough time together, leaving Enid isolated from the overarching murder story for too long. Bianca and Wednesday’s unexpected friendship is another example, as the girls getting over their ridiculous grudge against Xavier and hugging each other for who they are is one of the most satisfying aspects of the season. Finally, EugeneMusa Mostafa), and the relationship between the Wednesday siblings could and should have been given more time, as they became one of the warmest couples on the show and offered a family element that the Addams Family sorely lacked.
Too much time is wasted on the love triangle, taking time away from other dynamics and stories that should have been fleshed out. But the worst violation of the love triangle is that it just doesn’t fit with who Wednesday is as a character. This is forced on the medium as the series tries to make her the protagonist of a teen drama; however, it doesn’t naturally fit or build on Wednesday Addams in any new way. The environment avoids human touch and affection. To get closer to her, close enough for her to consider pursuing a relationship despite her aversion to intimacy, it would take Tyler and Xavier much longer to secure a place in Wednesday’s heart. By the end of the season, Nevermore had not even completed a full semester. So little time has passed for the heroes. Pushing Wednesday into that triangle and rushing both novels did a disservice to the boys, the story, and especially the main character. It didn’t work, and hopefully the writers will take a step back to understand why (if the show gets renewed for another season).
Every episode Wednesday currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: Collider
