Wednesday

Mystery-wise, the show offers the same kind of thrills that made season 1 so watchable. .... After finishing episode 4, I immediately wanted to learn what would happen in Part 2, which will have to deal with a major cliffhanger and a lot of blood spilled.

Based on Part 1, “Wednesday” has found its stride and loosened its grip on boxing itself into the mold (or in some cases, coffin) of YA television, with the help of strong performances and more spooky, delectable production design.

In addition to breaking from teen drama stereotypes, leaving out a bothersome love triangle also makes room for more interesting character dynamics to flourish and deepen. Season 2 of Wednesday zeroes in on two other complicated relationships that were merely skirted around earlier.

Wednesday continues to be a funny, scary delight because of Ortega’s performance and because Burton has gone all in with the nightmarish imagery written by Gough, Millar and the show’s writers.

A hugely elaborate and wildly entertaining thing that happens very quickly and at great budgetary expense only to be promptly buried under the demands of a more immediately pressing plot strand.

This show is mayhem in the best way possible, finally living up to the unparalleled popularity that season 1 (perhaps unfairly) earned.

Wednesday’s zingers aren’t as wickedly sharp as they once were. And because we know she’s going to be annoyed by her classmates, such as perky werewolf roommate Enid (Emma Myers), the dynamic is not as morbidly charming. The bond between Addams family members, however, is more deeply explored and their dysfunctional interactions add a new layer of contemptuous humor to the mix.

Full of zing and depth, the season remains just as thrilling as the first.

Sure, it's possible that the remaining four episodes of the season could lose the plot (or become consumed by it), but given what a strong start this first batch is, I think the only one who'll be full of woe by the end of "Wednesday" is Wednesday herself.

A near three-year delay would have killed off a lesser show, but Wednesday’s murderously enjoyable second season proves worth the wait.

It’s obvious that series creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and their writers, are having fun with the introduction of new characters and settings.

There's an urgency and verve to the series that wasn't there in the almost lackadaisically paced first season, which seemed to going for a paint-by-numbers approach to plotting and stakes. Everything has been tightened and sharpened this time around, and the series is so much the better for it.

While I still have my hangups about how well the Addams Family fits into this kind of murder-mystery milieu, season 2 seems to have righted the ship and given Netflix’s latest mascot a more delicious meal to chew on…. so far.

The diminutive actress’s remarkable stage presence imbues the prickly teenager with enough humanity — and intelligence and chilly, real concern — to anchor and sometimes justify the show’s horror and clichés and patchy, not-quite-persuasive lore.

There are still strong “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” vibes — fine by me, because I liked that show a lot. But “Wednesday” works best when it leans most heavily into its history, a strange family happy in the misery they bring onto themselves and to others. To each their own.

Wednesday's two-part season break ultimately weakens the story, cutting things off at the knees just as the plot is ramping up into a good place. Although this means that Part 2 will almost certainly be a wild ride, it means that Part 1 resembles more of an appetizer rather than a full meal.

Wednesday herself seems less striking this season — she’s not any less unusual, but she is less distinct from her surroundings. Her classmates have embraced her, despite her objections, and her visits to the outside world are increasingly fleeting. Something is lost when there’s no culture clash in an Addams Family story. And yet in plenty of superficial ways, Wednesday has become a more entertaining show.

Really, there’s a lot of promise here, despite the season split that, instead of enhancing the story, ends up curbing the show’s momentum.