By the third episode of Wednesday, we’ve got a pretty good idea of how the series works. Each new chapter of Wednesday Addams' (Jenna Ortega) adventure introduces a new school-related challenge and deepens the show’s central mystery. That allows the plot to move forward while giving us a unique event in each episode. That’s just great television there, as Wednesday’s episodes don’t feel like fragments of something bigger, but they have a purpose in themselves. In Episode 3, "Friend or Woe," we learn more about the unstable relationship between the outcasts of Nevermore Academy and the people of Jericho. Meanwhile, Wednesday makes massive discoveries about her family’s past and the monster in the woods.
We are still at the beginning of Wednesday, but Episode 3 already gives us some answers while asking new questions that will keep viewers glued to their couches. That’s because breadcrumbs left by the first two episodes already lead Wednesday to discover why she’s part of the Nightshades prophecy. Meanwhile, the Nevermore students engage in voluntary work on Jericho during Outreach Day, an annual event where the outcasts show the normies they can all work together and fear shouldn’t be part of their relationship. But, of course, in reality, the people of Jericho despise Nevermore’s outcasts, and Episode 3 helps us better understand the major players pushing for cooperation, even if we still don’t know why they want to spread fake acceptance.
An Outcast by Choice
Episode 3 starts right where Episode 2 left off, with Wednesday’s head inside a bag after the Nightshades society caught her snooping around their secret library. As Wednesday soon finds out, the Nightshades are just a bunch of students organizing parties and fun events, a disappointment to the girl, who hoped to meet some truly evil characters. The leader of the Nightshades, Bianca (Joy Sunday), uses the occasion to try to intimidate Wednesday. At the same time, Bianca’s ex-boyfriend, Xavier (Percy Hynes White), says they should invite Wednesday to join their ranks. As it turns out, Wednesday is an outcast by choice, refusing Xavier’s proposal, getting rid of the rope that ties her wrists by herself, and just pointing out how pathetic the Nightshades are.
The encounter at least gives us some new clues about what’s happening at Nevermore. Thirty years ago, when Wednesday's parents were at Nevermore, a normie kid died somehow. That tragic event led the Nightshades to disband. The new students reforged the club, but since they just used the Nightshades cover to party, headmaster Weems (Gwendoline Christie) turns a blind eye to their gatherings as long as they don’t disrupt school activities. Wednesday also manages to steal the prophecy book during her kidnapping which gives her new clues about her destiny. The image that shows Wednesday amidst flames while Nevermore burns also features another person dressed just like a pilgrim. And if Wednesday wants to figure out how she’ll destroy Nevermore, she must first learn who shares the prophecy with her.
Happy Outreach Day
The following morning, Weems announces the coming of a new Outreach Day. Besides giving each student their voluntary work assignment, Weems tells Wednesday she’ll be playing the cello with Jericho High School during a presentation of a joyful Fleetwood Mac melody. That is a personal attack, as Weems seems to have some sort of grudge against Wednesday.
Wednesday gets in charge of working at Uriah’s Heap. At the same time, Enid (Emma Myers) is chosen to go to Pilgrim World, Jericho’s themed park that celebrates a grim chapter of American history by reenacting witch hunts. However, after Xavier tells Wednesday the man in the book is Joseph Crackstone (William Houston), the founder of Jericho and a pilgrim himself, Wednesday decides she must go to Pilgrim World. If his name doesn’t sound strange, that’s because Wednesday has a psychic vision after touching the founder’s crypt during Episode 2’s Poe Cup.
Knowing that Enid has a crush on the gorgon Ajax (Georgie Farmer), Wednesday has Thing (Victor Dorobantu) change his assignment so he can go to Uriah’s Heap. Then, Wednesday trades her assignments with Enid, who is happy with the opportunity to spend some time alone with Ajax. As for Wednesday, she gets to Pilgrim World and discovers a museum dedicated to Crackstone, containing ancient relics from the 17th century. So, she decides to sneak inside. That’s not an easy task, as Nevermore’s students are watched closely by Mistress Arlene (Lisa O’Hare), a themed parked employer who puts all the children to work at Ye Old Fudgery, the local fudge store.
Wednesday escapes Ye Old Fudgery and stumbles with Eugene (Moosa Mostafa), who’s in trouble with the trio of Jericho bullies, led by the mayor’s son, Lucas (Iman Marson). After beating one of the bullies again, Wednesday enlists Eugene to stand guard while she breaks into the museum. There, she finds a painting depicting the first Jericho settlers joyfully burning a witch in a bonfire. In the image, Wednesday also sees the girl from her vision, who looks like her blonde clone. The girl is holding a book that’s also found in the exposition, the Codex Umbrarum or Book of Shadows. Unfortunately, the copy of the Codex Umbrarum in the museum is fake, made only for showing purposes. Determined to find more about the girl and the book, Wednesday decides to track the remains of Jericho’s first settlement.
Family Business
Willing to track down the original meeting house of Jericho, Wednesday goes to the Weathervane café to ask for Tyler’s (Hunter Doohan) help. Xavier is working there due to Outreach Day and warns Wednesday that Tyler is a dangerous person to be around. Wednesday dismisses Xavier, who by now must be pretty angry by always being ignored by the girl. As for Tyler, he points to the location of the original meeting house in the woods and offers to take Wednesday there after his shift. Wednesday, however, is quick to say she can take care of herself.
The meeting house is in ruins, with only fragments of its walls remaining after over three centuries. It doesn’t seem like Wednesday will be able to find any clues in the ruins, so Thing proposes she uses her psychic powers. Wednesday confesses she can not yet control these powers, leading Thing to suggest Wednesday asks for her mother’s council. The girl prefers to fail than to contact Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and decides to leave the place. However, when Wednesday touches the front door of the meeting house, she has her clearest vision yet.
Wednesday is taken back in time when the girl from her previous visions is being accused of witchcraft by Crackstone. The girl, named Goody Addams, looks like Wednesday because she’s a distant relative. And just like Wednesday, Goody is ready to challenge the status quo by pointing out how the people who lived in Jericho before the pilgrims led a life of peace and harmony with nature. The pilgrims are the real monsters. And just to prove her point, Crackstone locks Goody inside the meeting house, where the girl's family and friends are chained to the floor. Then, claiming to act in the name of God, Crackstone sets the house on fire, determined to burn everyone alive. Goody’s mother tells the girl to run. Since she’s the only one unchained, Goody can escape and avenge their deaths.
Wednesday has had so many visions at Nevermore because she has a family history with the place. And the prophecy that pitches Wednesday against Crackstone is probably related to the genocide pilgrims committed in the name of god. Goody’s revenge might be enacted by Wednesday, who’s more than happy to discover the truth and learn how Jericho has been an enemy of the outcast since the town’s inception. And instead of waiting for a prophecy to unfold, Wednesday decides to take the first blow against Crackstone immediately.
Before Wednesday can pick a fight with Crackstone, she wakes up from her vision under the rain. The forest monster, for some reason, is also looking at her. The monster runs away as soon as Wednesday wakes up. The girl uses the beast's footprints to pursue it. That leads Wednesday to discover the beast is human since the footprints change midway. Wednesday also stumbles with Xavier, who comes to the woods to find her. The girl is, of course, suspicious of him since he could be the monster. As for Xavier, he begins to believe Wednesday and also thinks Rowan (Calum Ross) is dead. Unable to figure out each other’s intention, the two Nevermore students return to Jericho, where Wednesday can put her plan into action.
The Sweet Sound of Revenge
Outreach Day is set to end with a ceremony to unveil the new status of Joseph Crackstone, in which Wednesday is supposed to play the cello with the high school band during the event. To remain above suspicions, Wednesday joins the band and plays the happy tune Weems wants her to play. However, the girl sends Thing to fill the statue's fountain with gasoline, make a powder trail, and light it on fire. The statue explodes in the middle of the ceremony, and everyone runs away. Expect Wednesday, who begins to play Antonio Vivaldi’s “Winter” to celebrate her victory.
Weems is smart enough to realize Wednesday is behind the explosion, but the headmaster cannot prove the girl’s crime. Even so, Weems scolds Wednesday when they are alone, pointing out how the girl’s actions taint Nevermore’s image. Wednesday rebuffs the headmaster, underlining how Jericho remains afraid of outcasts and hateful towards Nevermore, and they need to stand their ground instead of accepting the prejudice. Wednesday is right. Even more, because Episode 3 reveals Weems has some sort of secret agreement with Jericho’s Mayor Walker (Tommie Earl Jenkins), going as far as funding his reelection campaign. We don’t know yet which game Weems is playing, but Episode 3 also raises new questions about other recurring characters.
For starters, in Episode 3, Mayor Walker seems to recognize Marilyn Thornbill (Christina Ricci), Nevermore’s first normie teacher. Marilyn says they cross each other often at the Weathervane café. Still, the truth is more complex, as Episode 3 shows Marilyn snapping her fingers twice to get inside the Nightshades’ secret library.
Then, there’s the nasty affair of the monster's new victim. In Episode 3, we see a homeless man stealing an old analog camera from Uriah’s Heap, just as Enid puts all her energies into flirting with Ajax and convincing him to go on a date with her that evening under the rare Blue Moon. The homeless man appears again at Jericho’s ruined meeting house, where Wednesday scares him away. By the end of Episode 3, the homeless man is back at the ruins and trying to make the camera work. That’s when the creature kills him. The camera shoots during the attack, capturing images of the beast. These accidental photos will undoubtedly help Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) to go after the truth, even though Jericho’s mayor insists the attacker is only a bear. After revealing the old camera’s film, the Sheriff has the proof he needs about the monster’s existence, which might lead to a new witch hunt in Nevermore.
As for Enid, the poor girl is stood up by Ajax, exploding in a fit of rage. It’s not the boy's fault, though, as he accidentally turns himself to stone with his gorgon powers when taking a shower. It will be interesting to see how their relationship evolves in future episodes. However, that’s not the last thread to be left hanging, as we still don’t know why Xavier thinks Tyler is dangerous and why Tyler has a court order to go to therapy. Episode 3 is packed with both answers and questions, and as we approach half-season, we start to get a better picture of what’s at stake in Nevermore and Jericho, even if we don’t understand every character’s motives.