Episode Grade: (7.6/10)
The outreach event between Nevermore and the people of Jericho shines a light on the town’s dark history. Wednesday briefly encounters the monster during her investigation into Jericho’s history. Later in the night, the monster adds to its growing list of victims.
Plot (36/50)
Wednesday’s “kidnapping” was a total letdown. It turns out that some students have kept the secret society going -surprise, surprise- and they were trying to intimidate Wednesday because she wasn’t allowed in their secret hideout. There was some inconsistency with how Wednesday gained possession of the book after she clearly left the Nightshades’ hall without it but somehow emerged with it at her desk in the next scene. She could’ve went back for it, but I find it hard to believe that the society members would let her take it after the shenanigans they pulled in the name of exclusivity. Anyways, there were some important developments in the other plots. We learned that the monster is human, although that seemed implied. There’s tension between Nevermore and the townsfolk of Jericho despite the uneasy alliance Weems has struck with mayor Walker. The tension has existed ever since Joseph Crackstone settled in town with his pilgrims four centuries ago. He rounded all the outcasts up and burned them all alive, with the exception of Wednesday’s ancestor. This was a really odd way to further the plot. The way they abruptly dropped the backstory felt disjointed and out of place. This is in part due to how little I expected such a serious topic to be brought up in this type of show. Despite the dark backstory muddying the plot, the investigation into the monster’s identity remains intriguing especially now that Wednesday knows that the monster is human. The suspense was fairly well done in this episode as it leaned into the supernatural. Of course, there was plenty of teen drama. Moving forward, the direction points to the sheriff coming down hard onto Nevermore now that he has evidence of the monster’s existence. Look for him to team up with Wednesday as she was telling him the truth all along.
Character Development (12/15)
Wednesday’s battle with Weems intensified over their differing views on how the normies view the outcasts. It’s clear that Weems’ complicated relationship with Morticia is playing a role in her treatment of Wednesday even though we don’t yet know what happened between the two. The alliance between her and mayor Walker is strictly based on Weems’ donation to Walker’s reelection campaign, by the way. The mayor, for his part, was a more dynamic character than expected. Him and the sheriff having a semi-working relationship with their common ground being that the mayor was the sheriff’s predecessor. There’s something going on between him and Thornhill, which is worth keeping an eye on as it becomes clear that there’s more to her than she lets off. Elsewhere, Xavier has daddy issues and Enid gets stood up by Ajax after he accidentally gargoyles himself.
Theme/Messages (5/5)
- “Secrets are like zombies, they never truly die.”
- “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
- “The world isn’t always black and white. There are shades of gray.”
- “One coincidence is just a coincidence, two are a clue, and three are proof.”
- “The truth is, there are monsters everywhere, and sometimes the monsters we least suspect are the most dangerous, they don’t need teeth or claws to terrify, they hide in the shadows until no one is looking, and then they strike.”
Acting (11/15)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) continues to impress but Gwendoline Christie’s (Weems) over-the-top acting is just not doing it for me.
Cinematography (12/15)
- Great shot of the Crackstone statue’s face melted (35:42)
- Cool shot of Wednesday and Weems standing face-to-face (36:35)