Wednesday’s season 1 throwback review: The deadpan queen’s best moments

Netflix’s Wednesday stormed onto screens with the force of a snapping double beat, proving that the Addams Family’s most delightfully morbid daughter could carry a show entirely on her own. It wasn’t just another reboot banking on nostalgia. This TV show was a reinvention, one that balanced the eerie charm of Charles Addams’ original comics with modern sensibilities, giving Wednesday her twisted coming-of-age story.

Disclaimer: This review is as sharp as Wednesday’s wit. It's opinionated, unapologetic, and occasionally biting. While grounded in the facts of Wednesday Season 1, it leans heavily into personal perspective and appreciation for all things macabre. Proceed accordingly.

Note: If you disagree, just imagine I’m staring at you with an unblinking deadpan glare. Just kidding. Double finger snaps. Or maybe not.

Tim Burton’s influence is unmistakable, from the gothic set pieces to the quirky yet macabre tone, but the heart of the show is undeniably Jenna Ortega. She doesn’t just play Wednesday; she becomes her, down to the precise mannerisms, icy stares, and acidic wit.

Every moment feels carefully calculated yet entirely organic, making it impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. This wasn’t just a casting win; it was destiny. Jenna Ortega’s deadpan delivery, pitch-black humor, and murder-mystery antics made Wednesday Season 1 an instant hit.

However, what really cemented Wednesday as an icon for a new generation? Let’s dig up the best moments—coffin, meet nail.

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A masterclass in gothic excellence

Every version of Wednesday Addams has one thing in common: a deep-seated hatred for sanitized history. The Netflix series pays homage to Christina Ricci’s legendary speech from Addams Family Values, this time with Jenna Ortega tearing apart the hypocritical nostalgia of a Puritan festival. (Plus, we have Christina Ricci in Wednesday series too. Talk about nostalgia!)

While other students perform cheerful reenactments, Wednesday calmly dismantles the event’s revisionist history, delivering a perfectly timed monologue about colonization, genocide, and the true horrors of the past. Bonus points for the arson.

And that dance that took over the world?

If there’s one scene that burned itself into pop culture’s collective memory, it’s the Goo Goo Muck-scored Rave’N dance. Ortega choreographed the now-viral sequence herself, blending classic goth moves, silent film inspirations, and just the right amount of unsettling energy. The result? An eerie, mesmerizing, and oddly elegant performance that turned Wednesday into a TikTok phenomenon. Even Lady Gaga got in on the action, because of course she did. There is a Russian version as well.

Who knew a severed hand could be the emotional core of a series? Yes, in Wednesday Season 1, we were gifted with Thing's most dramatic death scene (so far).

Thing, everyone’s favorite disembodied sidekick, spends the season delivering sass and silent loyalty—until an assassination attempt nearly turns him into a literal corpse.

Wednesday’s reaction is nothing short of devastating as she desperately tries to revive him. It’s a rare moment of vulnerability that reminds us: no matter how emotionally unavailable she pretends to be, she’ll fight tooth and nail (or in this case, stitch and thread) for the ones she loves.

And what about that fencing showdown, huh?

Nothing says ‘goth girl supremacy’ like out-dueling the school’s resident queen bee in a full-blown fencing duel—on her first day. Wednesday’s introduction to Nevermore Academy is already iconic, but the way she effortlessly puts Bianca Barclay in her place, all while bleeding from the face and refusing to blink, is pure cinema. It’s her way of saying: yes, she may be the new girl, but she’s here to dominate.

That finale monster fight?

Well, it’s one thing to solve a murder mystery. It’s another to take down a monstrous undead pilgrim in a schoolgirl uniform. The final battle against Joseph Crackstone leans fully into the gothic fantasy vibes, with Wednesday proving once and for all that she’s not just an observer. She’s the main event. With a sword in hand and an ancestral vendetta to settle, she slices, dices, and sends Crackstone straight back to hell where he belongs.

Wednesday Addams: The legacy of a deadpan icon

Wednesday Addams has always been a scene-stealer, but in Netflix’s Wednesday, she became a full-fledged force of nature. And for me, it was personal. Growing up, I was often compared to her—both in looks and personality (Christina Ricci's Wednesday).

That deadpan humor? Check. The tendency to side-eye the absurdity of the world? Absolutely. Watching Jenna Ortega embody Wednesday for another generation with such perfection felt like watching a reflection of that unapologetic weirdness I always embraced.

Beyond that personal connection, Wednesday delivered exactly what it promised: a gothic spectacle that never shied away from its own darkness, while still making room for wit, camp, and unexpected heart.

Jenna Ortega gave us a lead who wasn’t just a caricature of the Wednesday we already knew, but a fully realized version for a new era. Wednesday Season 1 wasn’t just a hit—it was proof that Wednesday Addams, much like the morbid legends she admires, will never truly die. It gave us everything: sharp one-liners, Tim Burton aesthetics, gothic grandeur, and a protagonist who redefined what it means to be unapologetically weird.

The only question left? How much darker can she go in Wednesday Season 2.

5 out of 5 stars.

Rating with a touch of flair: 5 out of 5 gothic loners reluctantly falling for their sunshine best friend—if only Netflix had the guts.