WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Wednesday season 1!Wednesday’s season 1 ending finally reveals the real killer and solves Nevermore’s 30-year-old murder mystery, but still sets up future conflicts for Wednesday Addams. Based on The Addams Family characters by Charles Addams, Wednesday follows the family’s eldest daughter portrayed by Jenna Ortega as she’s sent to Nevermore Academy, a school for supernatural outcasts. Wednesday’s gothic nature, deadpan delivery, and homicidal obsessions come in handy as she investigates a murder mystery affecting her family, which threatens the lives of all outcasts.
The Tim Burton-directed Addams Family TV show ends without tying up all the season’s loose ends, which largely hints at the series returning for Wednesday season 2. Wednesday Addams may have solved the murder mystery by exposing Tyler as the Hyde monster, discovering that Miss Thornhill, A.K.A. Laurel Gates, was responsible for resurrecting Joseph Crackstone, and ultimately saving Nevermore Academy by stopping these malevolent figures, but the show teases that the enemies she made during her investigation will still lead to future troubles. Wednesday’s twist-filled season 1 ending still leaves plenty of unanswered questions while introducing character developments that need to be resolved.
What Happens In Wednesday’s Season 1 Ending
Wednesday’s season 1 ending sees the title character battling Tyler and his master as they bring back Joseph Crackstone to eradicate the outcasts at Nevermore Academy. After Tyler admits to being the Hyde, Jenna Ortega's Wednesday Addams has to gather her friends and prepare for the attacks that will inevitably occur at the school. However, as she’s about to be sent home to her family, Wednesday realizes that the real killer controlling Tyler’s Hyde is Miss Thornhill, whose true identity is Laurel Gates. Laurel reveals her plan to bring back Joseph Crackstone and finish his work to rid the world of outcasts, with Christina Ricci’s character killing Principal Weems after her confession.
The suspenseful season 1 finale of Wednesday then reveals that Laurel and Tyler are using the body parts of the murdered victims to resurrect Joseph Crackstone, who soon stabs Wednesday. However, Wednesday’s ancestor Goody arrives to heal scream queen Jenna Ortega’s character, which allows Wednesday to reunite with her classmates, kill Joseph Crackstone (again), and save Nevermore. While Wednesday and Eugene seemingly kill Laurel, Tyler is left alive after being attacked by Enid, with his Hyde being unlocked again while in constraints. The characters head home for break in Wednesday season 1’s final moments, with Wednesday being given a cell phone by Xavier before receiving threatening texts from a mysterious “stalker.”
Miss Thornhill’s Laurel Gates Twist Reveal Explained
Alongside Tyler being revealed as the Hyde monster, the biggest twist in Wednesday’s season 1 finale is the confirmation that Marilyn Thornhill is actually Laurel Gates. Miss Thornhill was already a suspicious figure throughout the season, whose surface niceties were covering up her malicious intent as Nevermore Academy’s first and only “normie” teacher. The bigoted Gates family hated outcasts, with Laurel being the last of the family to die after her brother Garrett was allegedly killed by Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez Addams (Luis Guzmán). Wednesday realized that Laurel was actually alive and behind Tyler’s murders, although she didn’t put the pieces together until Eugene mentioned Miss Thornhill’s signature red shoes at the cave explosion.
After faking her death, Laurel Gates returned to Jericho to finish the crusade against outcasts led by her family's ancestor Joseph Crackstone, although she required the blood of Goody Addams to resurrect the pilgrim. Laurel thus couldn’t have accomplished her scheme without Wednesday Addams’ arrival at Nevermore Academy, with Laurel manipulating Wednesday into trusting her before setting her plan into motion. Wednesday’s season 1 ending doesn’t confirm Laurel's death, but since she was stung by a hive of bees and stomped on by Wednesday, her chances of survival aren’t great. It’s unclear why it took so long for Christina Ricci's new Addams Family character to return to Jericho, but Wednesday suggests another figure is behind her plans.
Is Joseph Crackstone’s Outcast Plan Really Over?
Despite the deaths of the entire Gates family and the fact that Wednesday has seemingly vanquished Joseph Crackstone’s spirit forever, the season 1 ending of Netflix’s Addams Family TV show indicates that the mission to eradicate outcasts isn’t over. The Gates seem to be just one of several wealthy families from Jericho who descended from Joseph Crackstone, with others who hate the outcasts possibly using the Gates’ tragedies to incite more hate against supernatural beings. Wednesday Addams ponders whether Laurel and Tyler were simply pawns in a bigger game, suggesting the plan to get rid of outcasts extends beyond Joseph Crackstone’s vendetta in Jericho.
If Wednesday returns for season 2 on Netflix, it’s likely that 16-year-old Wednesday Addams will discover another villain who has been working to eradicate outcasts on a larger scale. The Gates family’s plan to kill all outcasts with nightshade poison was probably just one solution among many to take down people like Wednesday, so the outcasts are certainly not safe yet after Wednesday’s season 1 ending. Although Joseph Crackstone likely won't be an important villain in Wednesday season 2, his mission is apt to be carried on by even more influential figures in the future.
Why Wednesday Hugs Enid In The Season 1 Finale (& What It Really Means)
Amid the violence and terror at Nevermore Academy, Wednesday’s season 1 finale features an unusually sweet moment between Jenna Ortega's complex Wednesday Addams and her roommate Enid Sinclair. While the two are established as polar opposites, their unlikely friendship culminates in both being changed for the better. This season-long character development is emphasized in one key moment, which sees Wednesday and Enid hug one another when they’re finally reunited at Nevermore. The scene represents the growth of Wednesday into being someone who can show affection for those she loves (even if she, herself, is averse to such actions), and comes immediately after Enid finally “wolfed out” in order to protect Wednesday.
Wednesday and Enid’s character growth throughout Wednesday season 1 saw them change one another for the better, and ultimately established a level of humanity in Wednesday that wasn’t often seen in past iterations of The Addams Family characters. Although Wednesday spent most of the season trying to deny her humanity and affection for others, the moment in which she hugs Enid back proves that her heart beats strong for her loved ones underneath her stony exterior. They may not have liked each other to begin with, but Enid and Wednesday were exactly what the other needed to grow as outcasts at Nevermore.
What Tyler Turning Back Into The Hyde Means For Wednesday
Since Tyler’s master is now seemingly dead, he has an uncontrollable Hyde without someone directing his violent actions. This could mean that his Hyde is unlocked again simply due to his desire for revenge against Wednesday Addams, and that his murderous streak isn’t over. Tyler is last seen in Netflix's Wednesday season 1 ending being chained up and taken away in a prison van, which hints that he’ll be locked up in a nearby facility during Wednesday season 2. Tyler still being able to transform into the Hyde means he’ll likely come back for Wednesday, especially if another sinister figure controls his monster to kill outcasts again.
On the other hand, Tyler turning back into the Hyde in Wednesday's season 1 ending could mean that he escapes his chains and returns to the woods to stalk outcasts. Tyler’s father Sheriff Galpin appears guilty about his son’s actions, but might still help him survive and try to control his monster. Tyler’s last-minute transformation back into the Hyde may also be suggesting that Laurel Gates was never his master, and that the monster is being unlocked by the same mysterious figure who is threatening Tim Burton's Wednesday Addams over text.
Who’s Wednesday’s New Stalker? How The Ending Sets Up Season 2
Wednesday’s season 1 finale leaves off with a new mystery, as Wednesday Addams receives texts from an unknown contact on her brand-new phone. The mysterious “stalker” sends her two pictures: One of Tyler giving her coffee on her birthday, and one of Xavier giving her the phone only moments before. The next text says “I’m watching you,” with an accompanying GIF of knives stabbing an animated Wednesday. Considering Wednesday's title character had only just received the cell phone, it’s unclear who would even have her phone number aside from Xavier. But, Xavier was already widely suspected as being the menacing Hyde, so he isn’t apt to be the stalker in Wednesday season 2.
It’s unlikely that Xavier, Enid, Ajax, Eugene, or Bianca is Wednesday’s stalker, with Tyler also having been in constraints at the time that Tim Burton's Addams Family protagonist received the texts. It could be Sheriff Galpin due to his anger about Tyler’s capture, Lucas Walker perhaps thinking Wednesday was involved in his father’s death, or another Jericho resident who wants to take out Wednesday after season 1’s murder mystery. However, it seems the stalker is an outcast, as they were inside Nevermore Academy when Xavier gave Wednesday the phone. The stalker in Wednesday season 2 is likely another student, parent of a student, or teacher, with it being possible that the Addams Family series has yet to even introduce them.