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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.
I can’t believe it took six episodes for us to finally see Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) perform a séance.
Wednesday Season 1, Episode 6 opens with the title character trying to contact her ancestor, Goody Addams (Jenna Ortega), in hopes she’d guide Wednesday in controlling her psychic abilities. Which would really help her solve the whole monster mystery thing. A magazine cutout style letter is slipped under her door, telling her that if she wants all her questions answered then to meet at the Crackstone Crypt.
Wednesday’s Unhappy Birthday
Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) follows Wednesday to the Crackstone crypt, and to Wednesday’s very unpleasant disappointment, it ends up being a surprise birthday party for her and not some omniscient being about to tell-all to Wednesday. However much she hates it, it was actually pretty sweet that all of her friends showed up. Thing (Victor Dorobantu) even had a tiny birthday hat on and her cake was very fitting with a Grim Reaper holding a pink balloon. The festivities are quickly cut short when Wednesday notices a Latin phrase carved into the wall, recognizing the first line to be what was burned onto Nevermore’s lawn in the previous episode (“Fire will rain”).
Wednesday gets a vision where she meets Goody warning her that Crackstone is coming and that she has no advice for Wednesday about controlling her psychic abilities. Goody clues her in on where she should go to stop Crackstone; a gloomy and abandoned house in the woods.
Back at the dorm for her post-vision analysis, Thing gives Wednesday her very own taxidermy kit gifted by her parents. And Enid gifts her with a black “snood,” basically a versatile scarf, to match her pink one. It’s not a particularly important detail, other than the fact Wednesday consistently white lies to Enid so that she’s not hurt over Wednesday’s distaste for the snood. It’s surely another step up in the friendship development phase because Wednesday from the start of the season would not have cared about sparing Enid’s feelings.
Morning Star: Modern Tech Cult or Pyramid Scheme?
Although Mayor Noble Walker (Tommie Earl Jenkins) denies it was his son Lucas (Iman Marson) who set fire to Nevermore’s lawn, Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) still insists that Lucas carry out his community service at the school for the Rave’N prank he was involved with. Remember, the fake pig blood? Which explains why he’s cleaning windows at Nevermore when Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) approaches him after noticing his Morning Star bracelet.
In an attempt to not be like her mother, Bianca warns Lucas to stay away from Morning Star and to delete the cult’s app. Cult recruiting has really taken on a more lazy and techy approach these days.
Wednesday Finds Solace in a Surprising Place
Back to the birthday festivities, Wednesday admits that she’s never really been against the idea of birthdays because every year it brings her closer to “death’s cold embrace” and… What’s not to like about that? Personally, it’s the prospect of laying in dark nothingness for an eternity that turns me off. But to each their own.
Wednesday speaks fondly of how her parents always made sure her birthday parties were memorable. Now, they all seem too trivial to her. Note that she’s revealing all this to an unconscious Eugene Otinger (Moosa Mostafa) as her own form of therapy. So you can imagine the tense awkwardness when Dr. Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome) walks in on Wednesday admitting the exact thing Dr. Kinbott is being paid to listen to. Perhaps it’s because Eugene is someone she trusts and is also in a coma and can’t physically respond to any comments she doesn’t want to hear.
What is Mayor Walker Hiding?
Despite the main character still ignoring Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White), she still seeks him out for help in finding the gates from her vision with Goody. It turns out that he had drawn up the same thing and recognizes it as the old Gates Mansion.
Speaking of Xavier, both he and Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) have been fighting over Wednesday’s attention. Tyler gave her a latte with the words “Happy Birthday” written over it. Xavier showed her a painting he made of her playing the cello. In both instances, she leaves them wordlessly. They should get the hint now that she’s not romantically confused, she’s just not interested at the moment.
Wednesday and Thing set out to explore the old Gates mansion and unlock their secrets “or die trying.” She’s surprised to see Mayor Walker already lurking around and with his own set of keys to the house! Thing creates a distraction long enough for Wednesday to sneak past him and into… his car? So much for unlocking secrets at the Gates mansion because Mayor Walker drives back into town to meet with Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane) at the Weathervane.
Before Walker could even completely cross the street, he is hit by a car (a blue Cadillac, remember that). Sheriff Galpin does not hesitate to interrogate Wednesday considering she was just caught hiding. So with all of her recent involvements, Wednesday’s off-campus privileges are revoked, hindering her investigation process. Though we should all know by now that a silly little rule isn’t going to stop her.
Girls Night Out (Plus Tyler) at the Gates Mansion
Wednesday only accepts Tyler’s dinner invitation to use him as a ride. She manages to smoothly manipulate both Tyler and Enid into helping her sneak out of Nevermore, using the excuse of a girls’ night out that Enid physically can not resist. But we already know she’s using them to continue her investigation when she brings them to the Gates mansion. In her defense, this technically is something she wants to do to celebrate her birthday, so Tyler and Enid do not complain.
They manage to break into the garage where the same blue Cadillac that hit Walker is parked. They also find a creepy Joseph Crackstone shrine hidden behind a wall in the library, noticing the unlit candles are still warm. So clearly the house is being inhabited by someone. Small clues around the house are pointing toward Laurel Gate. She was thought to have died a long time ago but is back under the disguise of someone else to seek revenge on those who have wronged her family. And is also thought to be the real master of the hyde.
Unfortunately for them, the aforementioned hyde pays them a visit and Wednesday and Enid manage to escape to the basement. However, the last we hear of Tyler are the sounds of his screams and claw slashes. Down in the basement, Wednesday finds all the missing body parts of the murder victims preserved in jars. Something weirdly ritualistic seems to be going on, and the two girls escape the monster by a hair before Wednesday can look any further.
They find Tyler suffering from claw mark injuries and Xavier congenitally pops out of nowhere to join the group. It doesn’t make his case that he’s not the monster any more believable. It makes perfect sense to Wednesday since he shows up at the scene every time the monster appears and disappears.
Frustrating Truths
Back at Tyler’s place to help tend to his wounds, Sheriff Galpin comes home, and Wednesday tries to convince him to visit the Gates mansion and see for himself. Only to find all of the evidence in the basement to be gone. Sheriff Galpin forbids her from seeing Tyler and pursuing the case, frustrated with her constant claims to be “false.”
Our protagonist brings the prophecy to Weems (in hindsight, something she should have done in the first place) and it explains to Weems why Rowan tried killing Wednesday. Weems continues to warn her that if she gets one more infraction, she will be expelled.
Post-panic attack, Enid calls out Wednesday for using anyone to get what she wants, even if it puts them in danger. She’s frustrated with trying to be Wednesday’s friend and decides to sleep elsewhere because of her anger with Wednesday.
For the first time in Wednesday’s life, being alone doesn’t feel good for her. and she notices that. The episode ends with an unidentified person’s hand pulling out Mayor Walker’s life support in the hospital.
Final Thoughts on Wednesday Season 1, Episode 6
The Addams family in general are very dark and death-obsessed, but not in the depressing kind of way. It seems like we need to be constantly reminded of that since Wednesday is starting to turn soft. So far, everyone has embraced her indifference and morbid personality. Her selfishness is not a hidden trait, but Enid seems to be the first one to call her out on it and her opinion is the first to crack Wednesday’s tough exterior.
It’d be too easy to guess Xavier is behind it all. Red herrings are important for mystery fiction. So are cliffhangers and just barely getting there. Just as Wednesday makes a step forward, it’s like she’s forcefully pushed seven steps back. At this point, everyone is a suspect in my eyes other than the obvious choices.
Other Honorable Observations:
• “I don’t bury hatchets. I sharpen them.”
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.