Top 10 Things You Missed in Wednesday Season 2
#10: Kansas City Scalper’s Victims & Dolls
When we catch up with Wednesday Addams in Season 2, she’s tied up in a serial killer’s creepy lair filled with eerie looking dolls. As her inner monologue explains what led her here, there are photos of the Kansas City Scalper’s victims. While we’re not shown close-ups of each doll, we can still see that they bear a striking resemblance to his victims. And if they’re all like the one Wednesday gifted Enid, then they all have real human hair. However, Wednesday wasn’t missing any hair, and he still made her a lookalike doll.
#9: Christopher Lloyd as Professor Orloff
One of Season 2’s new characters is, ironically, Nevermore Academy’s longest-serving educator, Professor Orloff, who is actually a disembodied head preserved in a jar. The biology teacher might look and sound familiar…because he’s none other than legendary actor Christopher Lloyd. He’s known for many iconic roles, including Doc Brown in “Back to the Future” and Judge Doom from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” But “Wednesday” fans definitely know Lloyd as Uncle Fester in both 1991’s “The Addams Family” and 1993’s “Addams Family Values.” Lloyd is always a joy to watch. But it’s especially fun seeing him play a strict professor after portraying a character so unhinged as Fester.
#8: Wednesday’s Attic Bedroom
In season one of “Wednesday,” we only saw quick images of the Addams family mansion. The series mainly takes place at Nevermore Academy, showing how the titular teen navigates a school full of outcasts. Season 2 doesn’t fully explore the mansion, but some early scenes and flashbacks are set in Wednesday’s attic bedroom. Production designer Mark Scruton took inspiration from Charles Addams’ original comic in the New Yorker Magazine, right down to decor details like a painted octopus on the bed and a dinosaur mural. The sparse dwelling is a noticeable contrast to the half-colorful dorm she shares with Enid.
#7: Principal Dort’s Edgar Allan Poe Look
Season 1’s finale saw Ms. Thornhill, aka Laurel Gates, kill Larissa Weems, leaving Nevermore without a principal. When school begins again, we’re introduced to Principal Barry Dort, an enthusiastic Outcast with pyro abilities and ulterior motives. Upon first glance, Dort’s quirky style doesn’t particularly stand out among the other eccentrics. But when he’s standing in his office, he points to a portrait of Nevermore alum Edgar Allan Poe. The late poet is someone he admires, so much so that Poe inspired his whole look, particularly his hairstyle and mustache.
#6: The Addams Family Credo
In Episode 1, we get to see the revival of an old Nevermore tradition — The Founder’s Pyre Ceremony. Principal Dort uses the event to honor the students who helped defeat Joseph Crackstone, commemorating their bravery with a painting. By now, everyone should know Wednesday Addams isn’t the type to enjoy the spotlight or deliver inspirational speeches. Still, Dort makes the mistake of having her come on stage and say a few words. Wednesday delivers a very on-brand diatribe, reciting her family’s credo. This is the first time we’ve heard it in the series, but many viewers might recognize the statement said by Morticia in 1991’s “The Addams Family.” Like everything Addams-related, the credo is morbid…yet still encouraging.
#5: Rotwood Cottage Decor
When Gomez and Morticia drop off Wednesday and Pugsley at Nevermore, Principal Dort asks Morticia to head this year’s Gala Fundraising Committee. He also offers them the Rotwood cottage as a temporary residence on campus. Unfortunately, the last occupant, Marilyn Thornhill, aka Laurel Gates, was a big fan of pinks and florals. The interior design is reminiscent of “The Addams Family” set in the 1960s, which was actually pink, but aired on TV in black and white. Mark Scruton and his team filled the cottage with some classic Addams family decor, including the stuffed bear, iron maiden, shrunken heads, and the iconic fanback chair. The various rose designs are a nod to Morticia’s penchant for cutting them. With her macabre taste, she transforms the residence into a gothic delight.
#4: Weems in the Afterlife
After her untimely death in Season 1, fans hoped for but didn’t expect to see the return of Larissa Weems. Then again, “Wednesday” is a show about the supernatural, so just about any character can reemerge as a ghost. Weems appears to Wednesday as her new spirit guide, filling the position previously held by Goody Addams. She makes a sly quip about this realm not being Hell, a clever nod to Gwendoline Christie’s role as Lucifer Morningstar on Netflix’s “The Sandman.” Wednesday isn’t exactly thrilled to see her former principal, but we’re sure excited for Christie’s transition from “Dreams to Weems.”
#3: Barbara Jean Day
In Episode 6, Wednesday (body-swapped with Enid at the time) goes snooping in the Rotwood cottage and stumbles upon her mother’s fantasy romance books. But Morticia isn’t just an avid reader of spicy novels; she’s an author, publishing under the pseudonym Barbara Jean Day. It may seem like a random name with no significance, especially for those unfamiliar with the “Addams Family” creator, Charles Addams. Barbara Jean Day was the cartoonist’s first wife, rumored to be his inspiration for Morticia. However, Charles created the character in 1933, and didn’t meet Barbara until 1942. Still, that’s quite the deep cut.
#2: Shakespeare References
“Wednesday” is a series full of various literary references, many of which derive from the works of Nevermore alum Edgar Allan Poe, including the new Tell-Tale Café food truck. But he’s not the only legendary figure celebrated at the academy. Last season, Wednesday was assigned to a dorm in Ophelia Hall, named after the character from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Season 2 introduced the other three houses, or halls, at the school. Pugsley, Eugene, and Ajax reside in Caliban Hall, a character from “The Tempest.” The house sigils can be seen on students’ clothing, like Thisbie Hall on Bruno’s jacket, and Puck Hall on Bianca’s t-shirt, both from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Another new location is Iago Tower, referencing Shakespeare’s “Othello.”
#1: Ophelia’s Flower Crown
Season 2 added quite a few new characters who are sure to become fan favorites. But no one is more mysterious than Ophelia Frump, Morticia’s younger sister. When Ophelia’s Raven powers drove her to the point of madness, their mother, Hester, had her committed to Willow Hill. However, she allegedly escaped and has been missing ever since. The season 2 finale revealed that Hester has her daughter locked in a cellar. She’s only shown from the back in the dark room, but we can make out her long blonde hair and flower crown, just like other versions of the character. Although the actress is unknown, Ophelia will likely play a major role in Season 3. Maybe Catherine Zeta-Jones will play both sisters, like Morticia actress Carolyn Jones in the 1960s show.
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