"Wednesday" has been getting a lot of traction on social media, so it was inevitable that I begin watching the show - to see what the hype was all about. Frankly, I don't fully understand why the show is so popular (other than Jenna Ortega's performance, which I'll get into later), because it's - for lack of a better word - mediocre and average.

The story itself is nothing too special. It follows a character of the show's name, Wednesday Addams, as she enters a new school (Nevermore Academy) full of misfit students ('outcasts' as they're repeatedly referred to as throughout the show). The show progresses as Wednesday grows to like the school, creates (and destroys) relationships, and becomes engulfed with a murder/criminal conspiracy that plagues the school and citizens of nearby town (Jericho).

On paper, a show like this isn't something that'd enjoy all that much. It's like a high school drama set in a "quirky" world with strange people and creatures. Then, as a cherry on top, there's a murder mystery that the titular character must solve. These kinds of stories often suffer from mediocrity and - for lack of a better word - cringiness, and these are definitely applicable descriptions to "Wednesday." The dialogue can be clunky and unnatural, and the setting doesn't feel all that creative - just another monster/fantasy-based high school drama with a backdrop of murder mystery. If this was all the show was, I wouldn't be able to give it anything higher than a 4/10. But of course, something is bumping the grade up, which I'd like to get into.

Firstly, the cinematography is impressive. The camera work, the colour coding, the settings, and everything to do with the visuals of the show are great. It never felt boring or lifeless, and it was a great and refreshing contrast to the unimaginative and spiritless cinematography of today's films. I also was a big fan of the character work. The characters were, for the most part, written well and in an interesting way, all unique in their own facets and all undergoing some sort of meaningful arc. While, again, the dialogue does, at times, get unbearable to listen to and detract from the character work, the actors do well to counteract the sometimes strange and odd dialogue and make it more enjoyable and even funny.

On that note, the performances in this show were mostly phenomenal. Catherine-Zeta Jones and Luis Guzmán have such fantastic chemistry and portray Morticia and Gomez Addams (respectively) very enjoyably. Gwendoline Christie gave Larissa Weems a great air of intimidation yet sympathy, and I thoroughly enjoyed Emily Myers' energetic performance as Enid Sinclair (her character was a sort of overused trope, but her performance made up for it). I'd also like to bring up that Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) and Thing (Victor Dorobantu) were among my favorite performances and characters in the show, second only to Wednesday herself. If I had any complaints, I'd say Hunter Doohan's performance was underwhelming, as he simply plays Tyler Galpin with the same emotion of "awkward teenage boy" for most of the show. I'd say his performance definitely picked up by the final episode, but it was a minor taint in an overall phenomenal cast and performance. However, this can mostly be attributed to his character's writing, so I'll let it slide.

But of course, I have to bring up the woman of the hour: Jenna Ortega. Her immense rise in popularity on social media and countless praises of her performance was the main draw of the show for me, and I have to agree with the masses. Her performance as Wednesday was compelling, charming, funny, intimidating, and overall phenomenal. This show would not be half as good without the incomparable performance she put up, as well as the fantastic chemistry she had with the other cast members and the effort she dedicated to prepare for the role (eg. Playing cello, practicing fencing, learning German, and so much more).

In all, this show is far from perfect. The writing and dialogue are clunky and clichéd, and the plot does feel redundant to a lot of what's come out in the past few years. But some shining aspects of the show, particularly in the performances, make it a great experience to sit back enjoy. The show may be cringey at times, but you'll be laughing with the show - not at it. I highly recommend everyone to give it a watch and I hope you enjoy this imperfect but fun show as much as I did.