Wednesday is a show about... well Wednesday. Christina Ricci stole our hearts as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values as its sequel so it comes to no surprise the franchise is brought back. The children of the Addams Family had a lot of screen time in the original movies so we are quite used to their perspective.

In this series Wednesday joins a school for "outcasts" or more specifically for people with special abilities. Think Vampires, Werewolves, Sirines. The usual fantasy trope types resurface here. The show reminded me a lot of Harry Potter. It's a school setting with magical beings and magical things. It's obviously not as good as Harry Potter, but it kind of felt similar to me.

You cannot watch this show and not try to make a comparison with Christina Ricci's Wednesday. And although Jenna Ortega tries her best I don't think there's anyone on this planet that can beat Christina. Her character superficially seems similar, but Jenna displays a more emotional version where instead of mischief we get anger and instead of cold stares we get anger and instead of a slight hint of superiority we get anger. Wednesday seems very angry at everything for some reason and it doesn't really help. Only sometimes do we see hints of the real Wednesday, such as the statue and Cello scene. Or the Piranhas scene at the start of the first episode.

The men, as per the usual in Hollywood pictures nowadays where women take a lead role are all very weak losers that cannot do anything right. Pugsley her brother needs constant saving because he can't do anything himself. The original was never very smart, but he definitely wasn't a wussy. Her father turned into a short, ugly and obese waste of space instead of the "zorro"-esque lover boy from the movies. The two appointed boys thrown in for Wednesday to be attracted to are both annoying and weak. On top of it all Wednesday painfully misuses the terms patriarchy, mansplaining and gaslighting when she doesn't get her way. It's all put in to make her appear independent and strong, while in reality it makes her play the victim. It doesn't suit Wednesday at all. But Hollywood cannot make a show with a female lead without complaining about men or how they are suppressed (even if those things are wrong or irrelevant).

Storywise what's weird is that Wednesday seems very sure of her ventures and in an effort to get her way turns everyone against her and seems confused (and angry) as to why this happens. Also it's fairly easy to derive what's going on from a viewers perspective and by episode 2 you should have a firm idea of what's going on and who did what. It's all very very obvious. Yet you'll have to sit through 6 more episodes of Wednesday fumbling in the dark before she gets it. For how smart Wednesday is supposed to be she does come of very painfully stupid in this show. Which is a good thing maybe for her character development? It otherwise feels like a mismatch for her character. The original Wednesday Addams had plenty of character flaws already.

The true star of the show is Thing. The hand that does it all. Has the best character, the best interactions. I think a series without Thing would be very mundane for sure. A honorary mention to Emma Myers as Enid who, with her colorful appearance and character, makes for a very interesting contrast to Wednesday. And while her character arc is very predictable it is very enjoyable to watch. Both Enid and Thing really sell the show and pushes it to be above average.

All in all, it's a flawed series, but with a good budget and an entertaining story. Is it as good as the original? Well yes and no. Jenna will never beat Christina, which is fine, but it is very entertaining and perhaps even more so than the original. Jenna's version is likable dispite the flaws the writers pointlesly added to her character. Still, Wednesday in an indian outfit torturing another girl while slightly mischieviously smirking is how I will remember Wednesday at her best.