Wednesday Season 2 Part 1 Review: A Fantastic Cast Struggles With Overcrowded Plotlines

"Wednesday" Season 1 came out in 2022. (If you need a refresher, check out our recap.) That's eons ago in adolescent years, though not so long in streaming years. But for a show like "Wednesday," which employs several adolescents in its cast, this has occasioned some shake-ups. These include Isaac Ordonez, who plays Pugsley Addams, and Moosa Mostafa, who plays Wednesday's friend Eugene, shooting up like weeds in the time between seasons. Plus, Percy Hynes White, who played Xavier in Season 1, is missing from the cast (he's been accused of sexual assault). Additionally, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman, as Wednesday's parents Morticia and Gomez Addams, join the cast on a more permanent basis — the product of Season 2 being bigger in every way.

While the first season leaned on a charismatic turn by Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, relying on her to make the show work despite featuring the sometimes inane stuff of teen dramas, the second season, at least so far, relies on so much more. Morticia and Gomez are staying in Vermont to be near Nevermore Academy because the new principal, Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi), has recruited Morticia to chair a committee. Pugsley now goes to Nevermore as well and has made friends with a zombie called Slurp (Owen Painter). Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) is now the student liaison to Morticia, which has cut into Bianca's plans to be her mother's protector despite their fraught relationship last season. Wednesday's roommate, Enid (Emma Meyers), is caught between her old love, Ajax (Georgie Farmer), and her new one, Bruno (Noah B. Taylor). Plus there's an assortment of teachers at Nevermore and staff at the psychiatric facility for the criminally insane, Willow Hill, played by noteworthy names like Billie Piper, Christopher Lloyd, and Thandiwe Newton. So it would be an understatement to say this season is stuffed.

Perhaps it's no surprise that with all those characters to serve, Wednesday herself would at times get lost in the shuffle. The character doesn't lack for story, mind you. She has plenty to deal with in Part 1 of Season 2 — but even then everything doesn't seem entirely true to her. Wednesday drops a lot of juicy bon mots — my favorite was about Pugsley having limited opportunities: "We both know being tall and male will only get him so far" — and between what's going on at the school and what's going on at Willow Hill, she has enough on her plate to keep her busy. But it still doesn't seem to be enough for this show. Not only do all the other characters impinge on Wednesday's screen time, but in Episode 3, "Call of the Woe," Wednesday inexplicably becomes the main player in an event that she would normally ignore. So, while "Wednesday" Season 1 neatly introduced the character and her world, this season, showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar along with their executive producer, Tim Burton, just want more.

The fact that there are so many characters and locations in "Wednesday" Season 2 Part 1 just makes the proceedings feel somewhat fractured. When we meet Wednesday this season, she's enjoying her summer break by catching a serial killer that the police couldn't. Then she's taken to school by her parents and finds that she's still the object of a mystery someone's attentions — and not in a good way. Not only that, a swarm of birds has killed a man, and Wednesday wants to know why. Plus, Morticia has taken Goody's book of spells from Wednesday after she's come to the conclusion that they've become a crutch for her and Wednesday's still preoccupied with the Hyde staying at Willow Hill. That and all the other non-Wednesday-centric storylines make for quite a show, and Jenna Ortega and the rest of the game cast is eager to take it on. In fact, the only thing missing this season is a love interest for Wednesday, something that Wednesday and everyone else who loves her won't lament the loss of.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Christopher Lloyd, and Steve Buscemi are pros — and their performances show it. Even Thandiwe Newton, who has the thankless job of being the very straight character Dr. Fairburn, and Billie Piper, who is a music teacher with little to do so far, are good in their roles, despite them not being nearly as interesting as many of the others. But the story just can't accommodate certain people like it should.

While Enid's boyfriend from last year has a personality, Enid's current boyfriend could use more than being labeled a werewolf to show his teeth. And though Eugene was Wednesday's friend last season, they haven't had a scene where they interact one-on-one this season. Instead, Eugene is stuck with Pugsley, and he seems the worse for it. Then there's Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) from last season, who has the worst fate of all; bereft of his son and his position, he soon dies horrifically, with no one to mourn him. While it's understandable that he might lose his title as Sheriff, this seems crueler than even Galpin deserved.

One of the unambiguous bright spots in "Wednesday" Season 2 Part 1 are the sets. There is, of course, the quad of the school and Wednesday's dorm room, but there are many new sets too. These include the school's derelict clock tower, an outdoor camp, the Gardener's Cottage, the house where Morticia and Gomez stay, the hotel Apple Hollow, and many parts of Willow Hill — and they're all beautifully designed. Production designers Marc Scruton and Philip Murphy have done a fantastic job making all these spaces work, as have the designers of costumes, hair, and props — they really elevate the show.

I wish I could say the same for the season as a whole. Ultimately, this is still an enjoyable show that has enough off-kilter humor and twisted moments that it works for what it is. But it has soured a bit with too many cooks in the kitchen. Though there are bright spots, including Tim Burton's animation in the first episode, the whole doesn't live up to the sum of its parts. I still heart Wednesday, but more doesn't always equal better, and Part 1 of "Wednesday" Season 2 is a testament to that.

"Wednesday" Season 2 Part 1 creeps onto Netflix on August 6.