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I am an English and Film major, cinephile, and aspiring writer! When I'm not buried in school work and lectures, I'm usually in the depths of streaming services and their plethora of film options. Or reading.
BIG SPOILERS AHEAD.
Everyone is gathered in respective black attire at Mayor Noble Walker’s (Tommie Earl Jenkins) funeral. If you can recall, he was hit by a car in the last episode, ending with his life support being pulled by some unknown person. Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is fully aware that she is close to the truth. She has all the pieces to the puzzle–maybe even has all the edges in place–but still needs to put the rest of them together.
Uncle Fester’s Highly Anticipated Appearance
In the corner of her eye, the titular character spots a dark figure watching her and bravely chases it through the woods. It ends up being her infamous Uncle Fester Addams (Fred Armisen)! And she smiles one of her rare and true smiles, the biggest one we’ve probably seen so far, with the corners of her mouth lifting up to her eyes and everything! Fester’s reason for his sudden appearance was to check in on Wednesday at Nevermore, and possibly lay low and stay hidden from the authorities. She takes him to Eugene Otinger’s (Moosa Mostafa) bee house as his temporary place of stay.
Later, Wednesday meets Uncle Fester at the Nightshades’ library to look for Nathaniel Faulkner’s diary. In it, they find more information on the hyde monster, learning that hydes can have masters who control them for their own agendas. So not only is Wednesday trying to track one monster, but its master as well.
As if Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) cannot help his own case anymore, Wednesday spies on him and sees him getting into a car with none other than Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome). Now Wednesday has her first master suspect, which inherently makes sense because of her expertise in hypnotherapy. Hydes are easily persuaded with hypnosis, so Dr. Kinbott would be Wednesday’s perfect lead.
Wednesday & Tyler’s ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Date
Spying and allegations aside, Wednesday tasks Thing (Victor Dorobantu) with keeping the diary safe while she goes on her “not date” with Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan). A ‘quid pro quo’ for getting him injured during their visit to the Gates mansion in the last episode.
They meet at the Crackstone Crypt where Tyler had set up a very romantic and well-lit picnic dinner with a movie. They sit and watch what Tyler assumes Wednesday thinks is the most terrifying horror movie of all time: Legally Blonde. It was pure torture, but she thanks Tyler for it because she clearly enjoyed the terror of a Y2K chick flick.
Tyler admits that he wants them to be more than friends and leans in to kiss Wednesday and… she does also? Is she conforming to the stereotypical teenage conventions? Before they can awkwardly lay lips (knowing that Wednesday is most likely uninterested in learning the technicalities of kissing), they’re interrupted by Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane) and a few other cops, surprised at the sight in front of them. The date is quickly cut to an end and we are unsure if Wednesday is relieved or slightly disappointed.
Someone Will Rue the Day
Wednesday returns to her dorm to find it completely trashed and Thing stabbed and suspended against the post. Panicked and traumatized, she rushes him to Uncle Fester for his electrical powers. And Wednesday cries! She cries! For the second time in her life, she cries! This episode has been more than abundant in the Wednesday emotions department.
Through a tense few minutes of trying to resuscitate Thing, they’re ultimately successful at bringing him back to life. Then Wednesday–in Liam Neeson/ Taken fashion–declares she will find the person responsible for Thing’s near-death experience and threatens to kill them. This only makes her even more determined in the case.
Uncle Fester is, unfortunately, off and running by the next morning; Sheriff Galpin found his stolen motorbike and it probably won’t be long until they catch him. I was truly hoping he would play a bigger part in the series but at least he was there to rescue Thing and offer some much-needed therapeutic relief for Wednesday’s hectic life. Before taking off, Fester reminds her that she was always his favorite. Then she advises him to let her brother Pugsley Addams (Isaac Ordonez) know about it because it’ll give him a complex. The necessary Addams personality trait.
HYDE-n Truths
Wednesday is quick to accuse Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) of knowing all about the hyde monster. The reason Weems had been withholding the information from the Sheriff is that if they ever find out, Nevermore would be done with. Her motive this entire time was to protect the Nevermore family.
Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) finds Wednesday and insists she follow her to the Nightshades’ library on the promise of having more information about Mayor Walker’s death. There, she also meets Lucas Walker (Iman Marson), who hands her documents that he found on his father’s computer. His father was trying to track Laurel Gates, even though she was presumed dead. It turns out that she may still be alive and had come back to Jericho under the disguise of someone else. Now they have to find out who and why that is.
Wednesday’s mind immediately goes to Dr. Kinbott and Tyler, and that Laurel is seeking revenge on all the people she blames for her family’s misfortunes. Wednesday confronts Dr. Kinbott at her office, returning an old music box from the Gates mansion to her, hoping to get any sort of reaction out of Dr. Kinbott after recognizing it. Then she straight up accuses her of being Laurel Gates but Dr. Kinbott has no idea what she’s talking about.
Dr. Kinbott threatens to call the judge and recommend they have Wednesday placed in a juvenile psychiatric facility, but Wednesday is unmoved by that threat. “Oh please. You and I both know I’d be running that place in a week.”
When Wednesday leaves, Dr. Kinbott immediately calls Principal Weems to tell on Wednesday but is killed by the hyde, ruling her out as its suspected master. Back at Nevermore, our protagonist brings the Sheriff and his police department to arrest Xavier. Considering he had a painting in his shed of Dr. Kinbott with claw marks over her face, again, doesn’t bode well for Xavier.
Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) moves back into the dorm and Wednesday admits to herself that she’s evolving. Included in that evolution is the unlocking of romantic emotions. She finds Tyler at the Weathervane and kisses him (thoughts on this below). It triggers a vision that tells her… dun dun dun… Tyler was the hyde this entire time. Poor Xavier, he was just arrested.
Terrified and shocked, Wednesday sprints out and down the street.
Final Thoughts on Wednesday Season 1, Episode 7
While I enjoyed the boys pining over Wednesday, I was never entirely for the idea of romance. I didn’t expect Wednesday to engage in those emotions as her character in the canon gives off simple aromantic vibes more than just a tough shell to crack. In an interview with MTV News, Jenna Ortega even voiced her opinion on the love triangle between Wednesday, Tyler, and Xavier, saying she was against the idea. She sees the opportunity for a platonic relationship, instead, claiming you rarely see that sort of relationship between a boy and a girl in film and television. Wednesday and Jenna Ortega would absolutely love the Bechdel Test. Although, many fans across social media have expressed their passionate interest in Wednesday and Enid ending up together instead.
All signs have been pointing toward Xavier leading up to the end of this episode, but when watching a mystery, it’s wise to expect the unexpected. Although I didn’t expect it to specifically be Tyler, I knew it would be just as shocking if it were Enid or Eugene. It is more of a disappointment now, considering Tyler was one of the few people Wednesday trusted and truly enjoyed being around.
With only one episode left in the season, Wednesday only has one out of her three questions answered. She knows who the hyde is, now she has to figure out who’s the master and what’s their evil plan.
Other Honorable Observations:
• “But you know lobotomies. They’re kinda like tattoos. You can’t just get one.”
I am an English and Film major, cinephile, and aspiring writer! When I'm not buried in school work and lectures, I'm usually in the depths of streaming services and their plethora of film options. Or reading.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.