Wednesday season 2 Part 1 review: This Addams magic might be delightfully dark but it's occasionally dim too!

Wednesday season 2 Part 1 takes us back into the eerie world of Nevermore once more after a wait of three years.

Who would've thought back in 2022 that Tim Burton would take us back into the gothic, macabre world of the Addams family, where narcissistic darkness and absurdity are their most attractive features? Leading that legacy now is their two-pigtail-wearing, death-obsessed daughter, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega). In a world full of normies, Wednesday was always an outcast, the kind who thought sending piranhas into a swimming pool counted as a prank. But even in a school full of fellow outcasts, she still didn’t quite belong and honestly, she preferred it that way. Her only real companions were her psychic abilities and her literal right-hand best friend, Thing until Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), her bright, bubbly, overly affectionate werewolf roommate shook up her world. Together, they cracked the season 1 mystery haunting the town and uncovered that Wednesday's romantic interest was a murderous Hyde.

So, if Season 1 was the starter course laying out this rich, detailed supernatural world then Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 acts more like the setup to a battle that’s clearly building toward Part 2. Only this time, the intrigue isn’t quite as gripping. Season 2 picks up right where season 1 ended. Wednesday, after spending a murder-filled summer trying to strengthen her psychic powers while chasing down her long-lost enemy, a serial killer, returns to Nevermore, the school for outcasts where sirens, werewolves, psychics, avians, and more are trained to exist in a world that fears them. But she's no longer the mysterious loner; rather, she's the hero who saved the school. And yet, true to form, Wednesday would rather slip back into the dark shadows. But a new murder mystery involving ravens and suspicious deaths pulls her right back in. A chilling premonition about Enid dying because of her throws her off-balance. And as she struggles with her psychic abilities, all roads seem to lead her to Willowhill, a psychiatric facility where dangerous outcasts are locked away.

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Woe is the world that builds Wednesday's world, even if that woe might just be herself. Season 2 underlines that very idea. Because why is it always her who sees the threads no one else can, and that somehow always ends up leading her straight to serial killers? But the truth is, those threads often lead her to the cruel realities that most adults conveniently miss. So at its core, Wednesday still remains a teen drama, one about teenagers who are fiercely convinced of their version of the world and will go to any lengths to prove they're right. And maybe it's telling us that even if teens aren’t always right, we could learn something by looking at the world through their eyes once in a while.

Of course, this is wrapped in the most supernatural, gothic, and wonderfully weird packaging - something fans of the genre will absolutely enjoy. There’s something oddly funny, curious, and even a little charming about death, darkness, and outcasts. And no one understands that better than Wednesday; no one plays her like Jenna Ortega who slips right back into the teen girl with a stone-cold stare and deliciously dark thoughts with just the right flicker of a look that hides innocence and care under all that gloom. This season, though, Catherine Zeta-Jones also gets her moment as Morticia Addams. She plays an overbearing mother who almost feels like the villain in Wednesday’s story but only because she’s trying to protect her daughter from, well, herself. It also brings back the show's signature production design that is eerie, stylish, and full of little gothic details. There are new characters like the principal, a mysterious music teacher, and a stalker-fan who’s basically Wednesday’s chirpier, more obsessive mirror image. We also get a little more focus on Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), who might be her opposite in personality, but still finds himself in trouble just like her.

All of this adds up to a season full of promise. But somehow, it doesn’t land. The central mystery involving the ravens and Willowhill Hospital just doesn’t build enough tension. To be fair, Wednesday has never claimed to be a serious detective thriller. It's more like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Famous Five than Stranger Things. But what it has done well is make predictable mystery-solving feel fun and never dumbed down. This time, though, it occasionally misses the mark as twists don’t fully hit. There's too much going on and the final killer reveal feels rushed, almost like a crash landing that makes you go like, “Wait! That’s it?” And after waiting three years, it’s natural to expect more. Especially when the world of Nevermore is still richly strange and full of potential. But the storytelling doesn’t always live up to it and that’s what makes it feel like we’re settling for less than what it’s capable of.

That said, the ending has me curious. A lot of mysteries are wrapped up, except the biggest one which is Wednesday herself. So maybe, if I’m still left wanting to know what comes next in Part 2, Part 1 has done its job. And no matter what, for the world Wednesday builds, one that keeps reminding us that just because someone is different doesn’t mean they should be treated differently, I’ll always show up. Especially for Jenna Ortega as Wednesday! Even if it’s just for the thrill of watching light hearted gothic, horror-comedy, teen-murder-mystery madness unfold again.

Wednesday season 2 Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix

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