WEDNESDAY : SEASON 1 CHAPTER 5 – YOU REAP WHAT YOU WOE

WEDNESDAY

SEASON 1 CHAPTER 5 – YOU REAP WHAT YOU WOE 

In this chapter Morticia and Gomez come to Nevermore for Parents Weekend. As the parents arrive Bianca and Enid face family-related challenges while Wednesday tries to find out the truth behind a murder her father was cleared of years earlier. She gets him arrested in the process. 

Acting wise we get introduced to several new characters. Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (THE MAGIC FLUTE) as Deputy Ritchie Santiago, Amanda Drew (CHERNOBYL) as Esther Sinclair, Ryan Ellsworth (THE ALIENIST) as Murray Sinclair, Gracy Goldman (SENSE8 ) as Gabrielle and younger versions of Morticia played by newcomer Gwen Jones and Gomez played by Lucius Hoyos (BETWEEN).  

Outside of episode 1, this is notably the only other episode of this series where Morticia and Gomez show up. I found this kind of interesting because they were all over the promos for this series, but are pretty much both afterthoughts when it comes to the plot. I do wonder if they will both get heavier roles in Season 2. I do really like Luis Guzmán as an actor, but casting him as Gomez just doesn’t work for me. It will be interesting to see if they do anything with Gabrielle, Bianca’s mother. She seems like she might be a pretty interesting duplicitous character. 

What is really strong about this episode is the two flashbacks we get to the younger versions of Morticia and Gomez. When “now” Morticia is telling the story Catherine Zeta-Jones is tearing up. The scene doesn’t necessarily call for it, but just that touch is indicative of what an amazing actress Zeta-Jones really is. My second time watching the episode, I was about ready to cry with her. 

Best Line: “Don’t you want to wolf out and finally be normal honey?” -  Esther Sinclair

Second Best Line: “This may come as a shock, but the world doesn’t revolve around you Addams” – Sheriff Donovan

Third Best Line: “I’ve seen Jackals with more self-control than you two. Neither one of you are strong enough to serve hard time” - Wednesday

Fact – Bianca’s real name is Brandy Jane. Her mom belongs to a cult called Morning Song. 

Fact 2 – Fur’s don’t mind playing Frisbee for entertainment. 

Fact 3 – It’s not uncommon for Addams family members to carry around grenades for fishing.

Oddity –  Enid really wants to “wolf out”, but seems to be delayed in doing that. Her mom tries to send her to a camp called “Camp Howl” that helps with that, but she gets pissed and says it’s “conversion therapy”. I understand teen angst, but we have had a few episodes now where the writing for Enid’s character felt a bit beneath the foundation we are given for the character. This is one of the few examples of “good parenting” in the series and they try to play it off like Esther was doing something wrong. She wasn’t. 

This is a very solid episode, that keeps up the pace perfectly even with its side trip “one-episode” Scooby-Doo!-ish feel. Having said that, this chapter does contradict an earlier one in one instance. These are meant to be mostly non-spoiler reviews, so I will leave it up to you to find the contradiction.

This one would have gotten a 5 out of 7, but the final scene pulls it up to 6 out of 7. 

Previous Chapter -

WEDNESDAY: SEASON 1 CHAPTER 4 – WOE WHAT A NIGHT

Next Episode - 

WEDNESDAY: SEASON 1 CHAPTER 6 – QUID PRO WOE

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