Ollie

As usual, let’s start with the positives:

- The inclusion of Weems as a spirit guide was a great idea. Lots of incredible outfits for her to wear, too, which totally didn’t trigger any yearning sapphic feelings…

- While I feel Agnes’ character got off to a rough start, seeing her slowly accept the idea that it’s better to be herself than to base her identity on obsession and blind subordination was one of the best character arcs we got this season. Her style change was also a welcome surprise.

The dance routine with her and Enid was a great way to visualize their shifting relationship and Agnes’ acceptance of herself. She was clearly set up to be a middle ground between Enid and Wednesday’s extreme personalities, and I think her evolution to a more independent mindset combined with her unique power makes her an intriguing ally moving forward.

- As cliché as the body swap episode was, it also gave Emma and Jenna an opportunity to showcase their masterful acting skills, and boy did they deliver. I believe the relative success of this season hinged largely on the actors’ consistently stellar performances. 

- Enid's werewolf form looks better… kind of. 

- I’m glad Enid kicked Bruno to the curb and didn’t take him back. In doing so, she seems to become less terrified of loneliness, a theme that will no doubt be explored next season. 

- The Venetian Ball was visually stunning and every costume was a perfect representation of each major character. The trick hatched by Wednesday and Bianca was quite satisfying after multiple episodes of loathing Principal Dort. RIP Bozo.

- Despite the many awful things he’s done, I’m glad Tyler was able to explore his past and get some closure from his mother.

And now for the negatives:

- You can't just hype me up for Lady Gaga in a TV show and only give her two scenes. Not cool.  

- The fucking Omegaverse is canon before Wenclair is? Really?? I can’t- 

- I kept this critique out of my Part 1 analysis because I thought perhaps I'd read too much fanfiction and it was affecting my perception, but this has to be said. A ridiculous number of plot points have been ripped directly from A03. It almost seems like they grabbed some of the most popular fics to train an AI, made some tweaks around the edges, and called it a day. 

That might explain why this season's writing imposes such major regressions in Wednesday and Enid’s character development. So much of this story relies on everyone just refusing to communicate with each other, despite the fact that most characters have proven to be useful in a crisis. Miscommunication is a great trope when used effectively, but it's not a Hail Mary for every time you don't know how to manage your story’s pacing. 

- Very little personal progress was made by any main character with the exception of maybe Agnes. In fact, everyone seems to be backpedaling. Even spirit Weems has lost so much of the warmth and firm benevolence that was the hallmark of her character last season. 

The major shift despite the show having the same writers as Season 1 makes me suspect the use of AI even more. The way everyone speaks this season is just… strange. It’s linguistic uncanny valley, at times. The actors all did a wonderful job with what they were given, but at the end of the day, it can only go so far to mask a sub-par script. 

- I don’t think I heard a single speaking line from Kent all damn season. I guess he’s just there for decoration, now. They might as well get a life-sized cardboard cut-out of him next season and stick it somewhere in the background at all times, the writers won’t know the difference. 

- I can’t get over this new and (not so) improved version of Enid. I wrote about some of her misdeeds in Part 1, but her publicly humiliating Wednesday IN HER OWN BODY was entirely too much. 

I refuse to believe that kind and sweet Enid Sinclair would do something like this to anyone, let alone her best friend. Certainly not because of something she read in Wednesday’s manuscript THAT SHE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE READING IN THE FIRST PLACE. If anyone understands the social ramifications of doing something like that, it’s Enid. Ostracization is her biggest fear!! There’s no way she’d expose Wednesday to that kind of pain, even if they experience social interaction very differently. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this season left a lot to be desired. Ironically, there was both too little and too much going on at once. Too many convoluted plot points and side-quests that made following the story in an organized, linear way almost impossible. Too few meaningful interactions between characters, which left them stagnating and making the same mistakes over and over. 

I believe this season’s underperformance is largely due to the fact that the people (or machines) in the writer’s room are not fans of The Addams Family. If the showrunners are so eager to use tropes and storylines from fanfiction authors, they should consider just hiring them instead. When you employ talented people who are genuinely passionate about the IP and the characters within, you get fantastic and memorable outputs like Suicide Squad (2021), The Last of Us, Fallout, etc. Passion was clearly not at the helm of this season, and it shows. 

That said, I don't think all is lost, and there's still potential to get back on track if Netflix makes some staffing changes, adheres closer to the tone of Season 1, and stays away from Chat GPT.

And that's my breakdown! Do you agree? Do you have anything to add? Polite disagreement is always welcome, but hate comments will not be tolerated. Thanks for reading!