Netflix Wednesday plays with many boarding school tropes, reimagining them for the purposes of an Addams Family-inspired story, but one, in particular, could see much better use in Wednesday season 2. Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams finds herself drowning in high school traditions and narrative clichés (both good and bad) when she is sent to Nevermore Academy, the school where her parents met, as the series’ inciting incident. This includes her own versions of the lovable best friend – Enid Sinclare (Emma Meyers) – and the bully she comes to respect – Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday).
The school’s macabre history also includes Nevermore’s esteemed and enigmatic faculty, Director Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) and botanical science teacher Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci). However, when the Wednesday The Season 2 cast includes many notable new actors playing characters shrouded in mystery, and Lady Gaga was recently announced to be part of the second season, Wednesday’s typical high school narrative could be completely disrupted in the future. In particular, these developments could make the tropes surrounding one (or a few) key figures at the school much more interesting.
Wednesday Season 1 Plays It Safe With The Magical High School Teacher Trope
Weems and Thornhill are pretty basic magic school teachers, based on many other stories
Wednesday It relentlessly twists many high school clichés, but the role of the teacher characters isn’t really one of them. In Season 1, the only instructors who receive substantial screen time are those played by the Game of Thrones veteran and another (former) Wednesday Addams actress. Weems and Thornhill follow two opposing but frequently seen narratives of boarding schools: the teacher with whom Wednesday initially has a hostile relationship, but becomes respected as a strong ally, and the teacher whom she immediately likes, who turns out to be the villain.
These scenarios are two sides of the same coin and demonstrate the limited perspective that the first season of the series has when it comes to altering the overall structure of the boarding school narrative rather than just dressing up typical high school events in scary costumes. The teacher the young heroes should/shouldn’t trust appears in everything from Harry Potter to My Hero Academy and it’s not the most original plot on Netflix. However, there is much debate surrounding how Thornhill or Weems might return in Wednesday Season 2, which could result in either of them having a more surprising arc.
Wednesday’s Season 2 Cast Suggests There Will Be More Than One New Nevermore Teacher
Several iconic actors could play new teachers and mentors in Wednesday’s second season
However, season two is set to do something much more interesting regarding the adults who work at Nevermore and who inherently hold power over the students through the many new cast members. Details about most of these new characters have been kept under wraps, but additional teachers are the most natural way for them to enter the story. Additionally, Steven Buscemi is confirmed as the new director of Nevermore following Weems’ alleged death. Thandiwe Newton’s character is referred to as “Dr.”, which could be the title of some type of instructor or staff on campus.
Ortega also wants Lady Gaga to mentor Wednesday, resuming the dynamic that was never fully developed because of Thornhill’s betrayal.
It would be immensely satisfying for Christopher Lloyd to play a mad scientist type in Wednesdayalluding to its iconic Back to the future person. Ortega also wants Lady Gaga to mentor Wednesday, resuming the dynamic that was never fully developed because of Thornhill’s betrayal. Suffice it to say, the fact that there will be so many adult characters in season two – and they will all likely have significant roles as Netflix has cast some very famous people – means they simply can’t have such a simple setup. like season 1, with two teachers, one good and one bad.
Wednesday’s Season 2 should show more complexity among the Nevermore faculty
The Nevermore staff and their interactions with the students have great potential for a subversive story in Wednesday’s second season
They have to juggle more characters and come up with something much more complex when there are more than two teachers who are just opposites of each other. It would be fascinating to see Gaga play someone morally gray, even if she is a genuine ally and valuable mentor to Wednesday. Likewise, the new principal and teachers must demonstrate conflicts between personal agendas and caring for students. The younger cast is, to some extent, stuck in teen tropes because they are teenagers, and interacting with a variety of adults will contribute to their arcs.
Wednesday season two promises more horror, which will hopefully take the story beyond a merely serviceable format and make Wednesday’s coming of age something more befitting of her character’s legacy. Having a rich cast of characters working at Nevermore will make the school feel more dangerous, somewhere the story should be set and Wednesday wants to be, even if it is an environment steeped in tropes. Wednesday The season 2 cast is turning heads with their stellar filmographies, which only proves their potential to improve the show overall.