I have seen enough bad Netflix adaptations and spinoffs to be skeptical about the success of Wednesday. While the casting seemed perfect, I refused to get too excited. I was pleasantly surprised by this spinoff. While it may not be perfect, it is a solid series that you should consider watching.
After a terrible prank, Wednesday is sent to Nevermore, a school for gifted outsiders. The school is full of werewolves, vampires, and people who just don’t fit into the rest of society. Wednesday is resistant at first but slowly comes to tolerate the change. There is something sinister lurking in the woods around Nevermore, and Wednesday loves sinister. Wednesday finds herself in the middle of a mystery full of murder, mayhem, and conspiracy. It is enough to put a smile on her otherwise pale and gloomy face. Can she get to the bottom of things before the year is out?
This is the fourth show in this supernatural school genre I have seen this year. While I noticed that are a lot of parallels, it manages to be a unique enough narrative. The story and lore are tame and easy to follow, the aesthetic is visually appealing, and Wednesday is a fantastic protagonist. Some of the writing and acting aren’t great, but it isn’t bad enough to stop watching.
The mystery in this series is well-developed. It will keep most audiences guessing until the big reveal at the end. I can assure you that there is enough misdirection to muddle your theories as soon as you make them. If you are paying enough attention, there are enough clues to solve the mystery early on. It isn’t overtly obvious unless you know what you are looking for, so I would avoid spoilers. It is refreshing to see a mystery with good attention to detail. There is nothing worse than watching a sloppy mystery where the solution is over-rationalized nonsense at the end.
The characters in this series are fine, although they get sloppy the farther removed they are from Wednesday. The acting is inconsistent between the supporting actors unless they are close to Wednesday. It isn’t bad, but it is noticeable. This might be intentional since outside of Wednesday, most characters are one-dimensional.
Wednesday is a fantastic protagonist. I was afraid they were going to make her a generic brooding goth girl, but there is some surprising depth to Wednesday. I like that Wednesday isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes, loses, and is even wrong sometimes, but she learns from her downfalls. She may not admit when she makes mistakes, but she tries harder, attempts to make amends, and experiences meaningful character growth. The series does a tremendous job of building up her growth and highlighting those important moments. Wednesday will not end in the same place where she started her journey.
My only complaint about this series is that the ending is a bit sloppy. I lost interest because the pacing feels rushed as the series tries to close up all the different plot threads it’s set up throughout the season. It still remained an enjoyable experience and one that I recommend to everyone. This is a different tone than any of the source materials. This is a lot more serious dark and structured more like a teen drama. It has a lot of similar themes, but with a lot less fan service. That said, this is honestly one of the better ones of the genre I have seen. You can stream it now on Netflix.
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The Addams Family 2 (2021) – Review
This was a very bland movie. Writing this, I don’t really remember what the movie is about because it does so little to stand out or create any lasting presence. The movie tries so hard to be relevant and hip that at the time of this review, it has already become obsolete. This movie will not age well.
That being said, if you are forced to sit through this movie, you won’t hate it. It’s not a bad movie, but I wouldn’t recommend it over the first one because it isn’t as good.
The biggest issue with this movie is Snoop Dogg. He is in way too much of this movie and adds very little to the actual plot. He only exists to create references to Snoop Dogg the musician and has nothing to do with the Adams family. His character is the off-brand minion character no one asked for. His scenes in this movie kill any momentum the movie creates as it halts the film to show the audience how big of a pimp Snoop Dogg is. If you take out all of his scenes, you have a slightly better shorter movie.
This movie is a giant build up to a very disappointing Snoop Dogg music video. If you have kids that want to watch this, it’ll be fine. However, I suggest you try to convince them to watch the first one instead. Watch it if you must, the first one is still better.
