Episode Grade: (7.9/10)
After Rowan reemerges at Nevermore, Wednesday comes under pressure for claiming that he was murdered the night before. Her investigation leads her to a hidden hall for the Nightshades, an old secret society that her mother was apart of, where she gets kidnapped.
Plot (39/50)
Rowan showing up after he was clearly murdered was a fun early twist. The revelation that Weems is a shapeshifter and that she’s covering up Rowan’s murder means that she’s almost certainly not the monster, as that would be too obvious. Even if she isn’t the monster, why is she covering up Rowan’s murder? It could simply be that she doesn’t want Nevermore under the sheriff’s scrutiny even more than it already is. Nonetheless, it complicates the situation for Wednesday, as Weems has no problem discrediting her to cover up Rowan’s murder. The hunt for the monster didn’t progress much, but Wednesday’s rivalry with Bianca did though, as Wednesday managed to avenge her fencing loss by pipping Bianca to the Poe Cup. This was all giving off major teen drama vibes, for better or for worse. In any case, there were a few key questions that came out of this episode: What was Mr. and Mrs. Addams’ involvement with the Nightshades? Who’s the mayor and what is their relationship with Nevermore? Who kidnapped Wednesday?
Character Development (12/15)
There was a bit of good development with regards to Wednesday, as she reveals her biggest fear is being responsible for something truly terrible. This explains why she’s investigating this prophecy with so much fervor beyond that she’s curious. Her continued battle with Bianca shows that she’s willing to play dirty to even the playing field. Bianca, for her part, seems to know something about Wednesday that the others don’t. Oh yeah, there are a couple of potential classic teen drama love triangles being set up between Wednesday-Bianca-Xavier or Wednesday-Tyler-Xavier. Wednesday seems to be getting along with Enid much better than originally expected. Elsewhere, we learned that Principal Weems has a ruthless edge about her, Ms. Thornhill is a normie, and the relationship between Tyler and his father, the sheriff, is strained over whatever happened to Tyler’s mother/the sheriff’s wife.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- “Emotions are a gateway trait.”
- “The most interesting plants grow in the shade.”
Acting (12/15)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) follows up her excellent performance in the pilot with another strong showing in this episode in what will likely be a trend for the remainder of the season.
Cinematography (12/15)
- Cool shot of the raven on Edgar Allen Poe’s statue seemingly looking down on Wednesday as she solves Poe’s riddle (42:21)