Unraveling the Misery Behind the Mystery in Wednesday (2022)

Wednesday (2022) has been a perfect wrap-up to 2022, considering how this show breaks the internet with its popularity. This show became the most watched in a week for an English-language show on Netflix, beating Stranger Things 4, which previously held this record. Wednesday (2022) consists of eight episodes lasting 40-60 minutes each. Tim Burton directed the show, which stars Jenna Ortega, Cristina Ricci, Gwendoline Christie, Percy Hines-White, and Hunter Doohan. The premise of this show encourages mystery enthusiasts to watch it. Set in a city in the United States called Jericho, the main character, Wednesday Addams, brings the audience to reveal various mysteries in this small town.

I will not tell you why you must watch Wednesday (2022) in this review. Instead, I want readers to see this drama series from a slightly different perspective. I will discuss how Wednesday (2022) reveals a more complex issue that represents our society rather than merely solving the puzzle about who is the mastermind of terror that hunts the citizens of Jericho. If you decide to read this review, make sure you have watched the show because this article contains major spoilers.

In Wednesday (2022), Jericho is a fictional town with a school for outcasts called Nevermore Academy. The exiles are different from ordinary humans because they have supernatural powers. Nevermore Academy students are divided into four main groups, namely fangs (vampires), furs (werewolves), scales (sirens), and stoners (gorgons).

In the first few episodes of Wednesday, we can see hidden tension between the ordinary citizens of Jericho, which later will be called normies, and the outcasts. The tension between these parties in Jericho has been going on for years. The normies think that the outcasts are freaks whose supernatural abilities are believed could hurt them.

Various attempts have been made by Principal Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy, to make outcasts acceptable in the Jericho community. That's why you'll see a scene on Wednesday (2022) where Nevermore students do volunteer work downtown and mingle with the normies on Service Day in Jericho. However, all these efforts have yet to erode stereotypes and prejudice against outcasts. Do you feel familiar with this situation?

Suppose you are part of a minority group in the world. In that case, you will relate to what the outcasts experienced on Wednesday (2022). The outcasts in this show represent the marginalized people misunderstood by the ruling class. The normies represent the ruling class on Wednesday (2022). The division of the two groups in this show makes it even more interesting to observe because it indicates issues about class struggle.

In real life, the ruling class oppresses minorities. The oppression that they experience limits the minorities' rights to get involved in economic, political, social, and cultural activities. Minorities have to struggle against their oppressors to change their situation. I believe it is the social issue that Burton wants to tell through Wednesday (2022).

Indeed, the characters in Wednesday (2022) are not depicted based on particular race, ethnicity, or social class. However, from how the outcasts receive discriminatory treatment and are often suspected of being criminals, it can be said that this treatment represents reality in society. Marginalized people will continue to experience discrimination unless they stand up to the authorities. As the main character in this drama series, Wednesday acts as a cycle-breaker trying to end the prejudice of the outcasts by the normies.

In her journey to reveal the mystery of Jericho, Wednesday investigates Joseph Crackstone. He is an ancestor of Jericho who is respected for his services in the past. Through her persistence and visions, Wednesday discovers that Crackstone is just an "invader" trying to abolish the outcasts from Jericho. While Crackstone is the oppressor, the heroine in the history of the castaways is Goody Addams, who is none other than the ancestor of the Addams family.

Through her vision, Wednesday sees Crackstone's cruel treatment of killing the outcasts by burning them in a locked warehouse. Furthermore, Wednesday sees Goody confront Crackstone by saying, "You have stolen the land. You have slaughtered the innocent. You have robbed us of our peaceful spirit. You are the true monster—all of you."

Then, Joseph Crackstone replied, "You are abominations in the devil's grip! I will not stop until I've expunged this new world of every outcast. Godless creatures!"

I assume that the scene above refers to a historical event between Native Americans and the Pilgrims that happened in the past. According to Uncivic History (2018), Native Americans and the Pilgrims reached a peace agreement for a moment. They held a harvest party together in November 1621, later known as the first Thanksgiving (History Editors 2009). However, the peace only happened between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, and it did not last long when the Puritans came. The Puritans later dominated the territory of the Native Americans and slowly outnumbered them. It resulted in marginalizing the Native Americans.

Moreover, the Puritans carried religious beliefs that natives must follow at that time. If they refuse, then they must be annihilated. Quoting Uncivil History (2018): "To Puritans, Native Americans were the "Other": wild, savage, godless. With such an ideology, the outcomes were inevitable. If they did not convert to Christianity and surrender their cultural identity, they had to be eliminated." Apparently, it is the historical event that Burton wants to portray on Wednesday (2022).

Burton succeeded in delivering the historic depiction through fictional characters representing the rulers and minorities. Ultimately, in the following scene, Goody defeats Crackstone by sealing him with a spell only she and Wednesday can do. Moreover, this scene convinced me that Wednesday (2022) not only tells about the life of a goth girl from an eccentric family but also depicts the struggle of minorities for the oppression they experience. Furthermore, a source says that the scene where Goody confronts Crackstone is also a form of rejection of the Thanksgiving culture, which has been distorted in history (Bradley and Schager 2022).

You must have known the ending if you've watched Wednesday (2022). Wednesday and the Nevermore students defeated Crackstone and his descendants, who wanted to continue the mission to exterminate the outcasts. However, the story continues beyond there. When I knew that this show was confirmed to have a second season, I was looking forward to how the relationship between the two classes would develop. What agenda will be told in this show? Will Wednesday and the Nevermore students create unity among the normies and outcasts?

A review will only be complete with an assessment from the reviewer. For a memorable pilot season that makes me want to watch a similar show, I give Wednesday (2022) an 8/10. If you like the mystery and supernatural genres, you don't want to miss this drama series.

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