Netflix — Wednesday Review
Apart from raving reviews about the show, I had no idea what the show was about nor what was the genre. Yet, right from episode 1, the titular character and the portrayal by Jenna Ortega were quite something. While the genre is supernatural comedy horror with a teen base, the characters were interesting enough to captivate any audience.
Casting — Full marks for getting the casting spot on for most roles. Jenna Ortega is perfect as Wednesday and delivers a memorable performance. She is so perfect that you want to see more of her. The last person who had that effect in a tv show was Rachel Brosnahan in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. That makes me wonder if there has truly not been any male character’s in the recent past who had that effect on me. No complaints though. Enid played by Emma Myer sums up Wednesday’s character perfectly and says while many people act like they don’t want to give an F, Wednesday does not have an F to give. Emma plays Enid in just the right manner where you can sympathize with her as well as understand when she is frustrated with Wednesday. They make a great pair and are wonderfully written characters that offer relatable dialogues. Other memorable performances include Gwendoline Christie as Principal Weems and Percy White as Xavier. While I was disappointed in the casting of Uncle Fester initially(We had the bar set pretty high by Gary Old Man as Sirius Black) Fred Armisen grew on me as the episode went on. Hunter Doohan as Tyler was slightly one note but maybe that was what the character required?
Apart from Enid and Bianca, not enough was explored about Xavier and his family. Hopefully, the future shows the detail that more.
I almost forgot to mention “Thing”. It is a very interesting and unique sidekick! Felt weird initially but was used smartly yet predictably in most scenarios.
Plot — The story itself reminds us of many other shows/books/movies we have seen previously but the uniqueness of Wednesday’s characters makes it something to gloss over. A School for Outcasts in a village with a history of not treating them equally is the base premise of the setup. The protagonist has psychic powers and prefers to celebrate her birthday in a crematorium than with real people. Without giving away too much of the story, a mysterious creature causes trouble in the village and Wednesday tries to find the truth. There are connections to the past that go back to the origins of the village’s enmity with the outcasts themselves a few hundred years ago.
There are quite a few subplots that make it difficult to pause and make rational/logical reasoning a tad difficult and that works for the show. Also, the self-proclaimed genre of the show itself helps in harping over any potential loopholes.
Summary — As a show itself while this is not something I would say is a must-watch, Wednesday the character and Jenna Ortega’s performance make it a near must-watch. Relax, recline your chair and have fun as Wednesday goes through the series with the attitude which I wish I had in School and College.
Spoiler Discussion
The one good aspect of the show was how they did not shy away from killing central characters. While Game of Thrones set the bar quite high, the ability to kill central characters adds a little unpredictability to the show.
The twists are semi-predictable in the sense that we are quite clearly shown Thornhill is more than what she is showing and there are far too many coincidences with Xavier to make him an easy suspect. Wednesday not being Sherlock Holmes also makes it a not-so-perfect character with flaws. Her falling into the Xavier trap is a little too convenient but her imperfection there also makes it a little more engaging. Although it is still a little perplexing why Xavier is behind her.
