There are some very relevant points in all three parts, which I encourage people to read. As a screenwriting student, I agree.
Add to that that Larissa isn't presented as a childish or petty woman, far from it. At 49 years of age, her resentment towards Morticia no longer makes sense. Besides, she is shown to be pretty indifferent towards Gomez during their very brief interactions. If she still loved him (which would explain why she still hates Morticia so much), she wouldn't act like this around him. Arguably, she would also act differently around Wednesday, whom she would probably constantly remind herself could have been her daughter with Gomez. Does her anger stem from the general past rivalry, then? We understand that Larissa felt like living in Morticia's shadow. But that was 30 years ago, and Morticia made it clear that she doesn't hate actually Larissa nor ever meant to undermine her (unless she's being extra fake with Larissa, which should be explored, too). And Larissa might have not had Gomez or fame then, but she isn't any less of a successful woman now, obviously, even if her job is hard, time-consuming, and at times dangerous. So the writers let us believe that there could be so much more to the Morticia/Larissa relationship and to Larissa's anger (and pain) than just that, but then kill Larissa off so they don't have to diverge from Wednesday's arc. That's called being 🧚🏻♀️lazy🧚🏻♀️.
If Larissa sees Nevermore as a safe haven and works so hard to keep it that way (both on site, and in a more political way as OP pointed out), if the brief mentions of her student years present her teenage self as a lonely, rejected girl (who already suffers those feelings from the simple fact of being an Outcast), and if despite what happened with Morticia, Gomez, and Garrett, she still loves Nevermore so much she would work and live there, then there was a lot the writers could/should have explored about her adolescence.
Then there is the whole actual murder scene that bugs me. Wednesday is obviously just a teenager, a child, but she is constantly presented by the narrative (and she presents herself) as resourceful, intelligent, and she has visions. She struggles with her powers, so let's not count on the fact that she could have seen Larissa's death just by touching her. Even then, in other circumstances, Wednesday would have anticipated Marilyn/Laurel's actions (Larissa, too, for that matter). Then there is also the fact that Wednesday is explicitly said to have extensive knowledge in many subjects and, specifically, herbology. Nightshade poisoning, unlike what the show presents, isn't something that happens within seconds. Garrett Gates was seen struggling and even fighting for several minutes before starting to foam at the mouth and die, and even that was wrong. First symptoms with nightshade poisoning appear within 2-4 hours, maybe a few minutes if it were highly concentrated. So it's most unlikely that a tall and strong woman like Larissa would be off in ten seconds. And not only did they get this fact about nightshade poisoning wrong (the symptoms, too), but they also clearly dismissed that there is an antidote for it. Granted, Marilyn/Laurel knocked Wednesday out quickly so Wednesday's herbology knowledge couldn't have helped. But hey, Thing was there wasn't he? Thing is intelligent. Thing would know. And you know, I get that it's mainstream fiction primarily meant for teens young adults so tweaking stuff if more than okay, but nightshade is common enough in Eurasia and North America that many people would know things don't happen like that. A (screen)writer would have to be careful to keep likelihood (and thus the suspension of disbelief) going, and those who worked on that show didn't. And apart from that, the whole scene seemed forced? Like, oh, how convenient that Marilyn was prepared, and Wednesday and Larissa weren't! How convenient she had highly concentrated nightshade in a syringe in her pocket, and then a shovel right next to her!
And then, not having a funeral for the actual principal? Larissa was an Outcast, from the Nevermore family. She cared about her students so much, and I'm convinced many loved her and saw a maternal figure of sorts in her when even their Outcast families were toxic and unsafe (Bianca, Enid, etc. as OP mentioned). She shared a history with the main character's parents. She was herself a very important character in more aspects than one. And no one thought to give her a proper funeral? But they sure gave Mayor Walker one, huh? Now, I wouldn't want to be too optimistic and say that no funeral = no death, even if Gwendoline herself joked about it. But it just makes those writing choices so much worse.
I've been repeating these thoughts over and over for the past 2 years, I know. But I will keep defending them. I find myself hoping that it was Gwendoline's choice to leave after one season to move on to other projects in the end because I can't believe any sensible screenwriter would purposely squander all of those opportunities, dismiss all of those possibilities so easily and lazily. I also cannot believe any sensible screenwriter and director would have Gwendoline motherfucking Christie in their cast and think, "Nah... Won't work with her". Let's be honest: she brought a lot of audience to the series. Either way, whatever the process was, is the slander from this new principal necessary? (/rh) Can we really not have one (1) realistic and complex character (especially a +40 yo genderqueer, socially isolated woman) live and die in peace? What is the point of having the sempiternal old, white, cis, male insult and belittle a strong, successful, and appreciated woman?
Anyway. These three posts make very good points, thank you OP. I'm glad we all agree on the unfairness and ludicrous aspect of those writing choices.
(And yet, when the petition was made for Larissa to be brought back, nobody signed it, *sigh* /hjk)
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