The Addams Family comes back in a series about Wednesday, created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, directed by Tim Burton, James Marshall, and Gandja Monteiro, produced by Netflix, released in 2022. It is a crime story crowded with monsters.
We follow Wednesday joining Jericho High School, a private school for outcasts like Fangs, Furs, Stoners, Scales, Shapeshifters, to name a few. Among them are the gorgon Ajax, hiding his snake hair under a beanie, and sirens who use their skills to turn the course of events several times.
Bianca and her mother, Gabrielle, are sirens making use of their persuasive skills. Gabrielle is a member of a cult called the Morning Song and attracts new members offering for money a self-help app to “refocus” one’s life. Bianca, however, has decided to leave the cult and do something for herself. She wants people to trust her, to like her for her, so she wears an amulet to harness the manipulating power of her song.
Meanwhile another character of the series, Kent, uses his siren abilities to weaken the sirens’ rivals in the Poe Cup canoe race.
Ambiguous characters and visions are looming around Wednesday, to her excitement. We follow her as she tracks down a murderer and solves mysteries. It is an inspiring portrait of an individualistic, questioning, creative, and reserved teenage girl; a story about facing challenges like adventures, getting to know oneself better and discovering friendship along the way, discovering one’s own abilities, following the family paths in one’s very own way.
Another classical motif that appears several times in the first season is Latin. It is used as the language of science, history, riddles, and magic: during botanical class, in an inscription that seems to be a valuable clue in Wednesday’s investigation, and as the language of some dark spells.
More Classical Antiquity-inspired motifs are awaiting to be discovered by the attentive viewers.
Post by Olga Strycharczyk
Our Mythical Childhood Blog 