This Is How Netflix's Wednesday Differs From Previous Wednesdays
The following article contains general spoilers for "Wednesday."
Netflix's fresh take on the Addams Family's mythos, specifically the daughter Wednesday, isn't your typical look at America's most creepy and kooky family. Fans have seen multiple takes on Wednesday Addam's future, including a musical theater version of the family's tale that sees her as a lovestruck teenager. However, in the most recent adaptation, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is portrayed as a chilly yet fiery teenager wielding a sense of rebellion against the world at large. She is driven by artistic pursuits and determined to solve a mystery. She mainly stands on her own. This causes her to branch out of the clan and begin to relate to the people around her, including her roommate, Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers).
But that doesn't mean she doesn't care about those close to her. In fact, she becomes rather thoroughly enmeshed in the fates of the supernaturally-inclined folks who also attend Nevermore Academy. But that's not the only way this version of Wednesday differs from the other sorts of Wednesdays we've seen over time. Here's how Jenna Ortega's take on Wednesday Addams differs from any version of the character we've had so far.
Wednesday revels in her weirdness - but resents her parents
One of the most interesting things that set this Netflix version of Wednesday Addams apart from her predecessors is that she is initially largely disdainful of her parent's very obviously passionate marriage. Some versions of Wednesday are aware of how intensely Gomez (Luis Guzmán) loves Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). See Christina Ricci's version of Wednesday flatly declaring that her brother Pubert exists due to their passion in "Addams Family Values." In "Wednesday," our titular character seems slightly repulsed by their intimacy. For instance, she looks the other way when her father kisses the back of her mother's hand when the family drives to an interview at Nevermore Academy.
Ortega's Wednesday is also hugely resentful of her parent's choice to spy on her by sneaking Thing into the school; she threatens the poor disembodied creature with violence if he doesn't do her bidding instead of the senior Addams'. Previous versions of Gomez and Morticia reveled in their children's little rebellions and supported their every defiant action, but this time they're determined that she remains in the school in a no-nonsense fashion. That's for a reason that doesn't become obvious until the show gets going, but it's still a significant change.
This Wednesday also cares about others in a much more obvious way and even embraces one of her friends. And she also harbors something her predecessors never possessed — literary ambitions. Ortega's Wednesday is in the middle of writing a mystery novel when a real-life mystery envelops her life, which differs somewhat from previous Wednesdays, who had theatrical, athletic, or musical ambitions. It all goes to show that this Wednesday is one of a kind.