Episode Grade: (8.6/10)
Following a series of expulsions for bad behavior, Wednesday is admitted into Nevermore, a boarding school for outcasts. Wednesday gets off to a rocky start as she attempts to escape the school. By the end of the episode, she finds herself caught up in a couple of mysteries that intrigue her enough to stay.
Plot (43/50)
The pilot does a good job of setting up what should be the show’s main storylines: Wednesday’s relationship with her parents, the hunt for the serial-killing monster, and the Addams family history with Nevermore. Rowan’s actions, and subsequent death at the hands of the monster, coupled with the sheriff’s allegations against Gomez Addams set up an intriguing murder-mystery. Expect the show to lean heavily into the mystery element, with Wednesday’s dry humor providing just enough contrast to keep things fresh. There was some suspense with the fencing scene and a bit of originality to the story that helped this round out as a solid first episode. It also helps that the storyline is super simple to follow. Moving forward, Wednesday will likely face some pressure over the death of Rowan as she investigates the mysteries of Nevermore.
Character Development (12/15)
Any meaningful character development involved Wednesday, and that’s something I doubt will change much throughout the season. We already got a couple glimpses of how touchy Wednesday gets with regards to her mother. Those two clearly have a complicated relationship that will definitely be explored further in the coming episodes. Wednesday’s friendship with Tyler suggests that she can get along with people who have strong values. Her interactions with Xavier show that she values her independence. Opening up about her bullying experience to comfort Enid was a surprising display of empathy that humanized Wednesday’s character in a way that is usually reserved to big end-of-the-season moments. Finally, the most telling interaction Wednesday had was her fencing faceoff against Bianca. Her loss was another surprising choice from the writers, but it was effective in establishing that Wednesday is ultimately just a teenage girl. Sure, she can beat up three “normie” boys on her own in the “real” world, but in Nevermore, she is among equals. I’m sure there will be plenty of teen-drama clichés throughout the season, but this early effort to ground Wednesday’s character is commendable.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- “I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation.”
- “I never thought it was possible to be an outcast in a school of outcasts.”
- “No good deed goes unpunished.”
- “We all die alone.”
- “Tears don’t fix anything.”
Acting (13/15)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) was made for this role. This was a star-making role for her, and rightly so. I’m not quite sure what to think of Catherine-Zeta Jones’ (Morticia) performance yet.
Cinematography (14/15)
There were plenty of impressive color-contrast shots.
- Fun shot of Wednesday in the middle of the screen looking forwards as her parents sing in the car (4:28)
- Nice shots of the window in Wednesday’s room half clear, half colorful (18:20, 18:35)
- Cool shot of Wednesday and Enid standing face-to-face with the color contrast of their sides of the room on full display (19:08) with a similar shot at (19:48) driving the message home
- Great contrast shot of Wednesday in a black uniform and Bianca in a white uniform standing face-to-face with Bianca on the better lit side of the room as well (22:30)
- Another nice juxtaposition of color as Dr. Kinbott and Wednesday sit face-to-face (30:16)
- Bonus points for the great soundtrack featuring classic songs such as “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” and “Paint it Black”