Wednesday, Netflix's latest twist on The Addams Family franchise, depicted the family's kooky Uncle Fester in a starkly different light than did the 1991 film. The film featured Christopher Lloyd in the role of Uncle Fester, while Wednesday cast Fred Armisen as Wednesday's beloved uncle. Wednesday's reimagining of Uncle Fester contrasted with the depiction of Fester as a suspicious interloper in the 1991 film.

The series focused on Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, as she transferred to a new school, Nevermore, specifically designed to educate outcasts — namely, those with supernatural powers such as Wednesday. While Uncle Fester was not a main character in the series, he did make an important cameo to aid Wednesday in her pursuit of a murderous monster tormenting Nevermore and the adjacent town, Jericho. Armisen's Uncle Fester was a skilled fighter and a sharp thinker, while the essence of Lloyd's Fester was the subterfuge involved with posing as Fester, followed by the reveal that he actually was the real Uncle Fester, afflicted for the duration of the movie by amnesia.

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Who Plays Uncle Fester In Netflix's Wednesday

Wednesday: Uncle Fester

Fred Armisen plays Uncle Fester in Wednesday. Audiences may best recognize Armisen from his starring roles in Portlandia and SNL. With his esteemed reputation for his ability to disappear into unusual and exaggerated characters, Armisen was a strong choice for the notoriously unique role of Uncle Fester. For the role, Armisen was transformed into the pale, hunched, hairless older brother of Gomez Addams.

Uncle Fester's presence in Wednesday felt somewhat like an Easter egg to the original Addams Family rather than a necessary beat in the story; prior to the penultimate episode of season 1, Uncle Fester had only featured in sinister asides from Wednesday. Still, Uncle Fester provided Wednesday with crucial information regarding the species of the monster, identifying it as a "Hyde," which made Wednesday realize that it was the monster's handler, not the monster itself, who was the true villain.

Wednesday's Uncle Fester Electricity Powers Explained

Wednesday: Uncle Fester on a Motorbike

In The Addams Family films, Fester's ability to conduct electricity is attributed to his having been struck by lightning, which incidentally also served to restore his memory. In Wednesday, it remained unclear whether Fester acquired his powers or was born with them, as the rest of the family was depicted as having been born with supernatural gifts. Fester ostensibly didn't attend Nevermore, home to every species of outcast, because he didn't possess the academic aptitude. Fester did mention group electroshock therapy sessions during his time in Zurich which may have been a subtle reference to the origin of his powers.

Regardless of how Fester came by his abilities, these powers proved useful more than once during his brief sojourn at Nevermore. After Thing is attacked, Fester is able to restore Thing's life after shocking the hand. Fester is also shown to enjoy his potential as a general nuisance, delivering Tyler a slight shock upon shaking his hand. Wednesday seemed to imply that Fester didn't use his powers for anything particularly sinister, describing him as the family's black sheep based upon his harmless nature.

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What Wednesday Changes About Uncle Fester

The Addams Family Wednesday and Uncle Fester

In the 1991 movie adaption — in which Christina Ricci famously played Wednesday — Fester spent the majority of the film ingratiating himself with the family as a means of scamming the Addams' out of their home and fortune. Fester was actually Gordon, son of a predatory loan shark. Throughout the movie, Gordon came to adore the family and even felt at home with their unusual way of life. In the film's twist, Gordon turned out to actually be Uncle Fester, having lost his memory in the Bermuda Triangle and subsequently recovering it after being struck by lightning.

Wednesday's Uncle Fester was far more independent and self-assured. He learned how to fight as a prisoner in a monastery and later passed those skills down to Wednesday. He was depicted as a skilled criminal, only having shown up in Jericho after pulling a bank heist in Boston. Fester was clearly Wednesday's favorite person and the only one able to elicit a smile from Wednesday. Where the film's Fester is self-effacing and often unsure of himself, Wednesday's Fester fully embraces his strangeness. In a franchise in which a singularly bizarre family was always proud of being weird, Wednesday finally allowed Uncle Fester, the family's formerly-unassuming black sheep, to embrace the oddities that made him great.

Next: Wednesday Episode 2 Secretly Told You The Monster's Species