Top 10 Best Wednesday Moments (Season 1)

Wednesday Addams is the new kid at Nevermore Academy and what better way to introduce yourself than going head-to-head with the school’s queen bee, Bianca Barclay. When Wednesday marches into fencing practice, she makes a bee line for Bianca and challenges her to a duel. Wednesday comes from a family of top tier fencers, Addams patriarch Gomez in particular. And in this series, Morticia captained the fencing team in her Nevermore days. So, naturally, their daughter would be packing some serious skills. Wednesday and Bianca each score a point before the masks come off. Wednesday may not come out the victor but she made it known that there’s a fighter beneath that gloomy glare.

Addams Family fans will remember when Wednesday kissed Joel Glicker at Camp Chippewa in 1993’s “Addams Family Values.” But in “Wednesday”, the teenager’s first kiss is a lot more intense. Wednesday finds herself in a love triangle with fellow Nevermore student Xavier Thorpe and his Jericho rival Tyler Galpin. As she’s not one for expressing emotion, both guys feel like they’re getting mixed signals. But after Xavier’s arrest, she stops by the Weathervane to see Tyler, picking up where they left off during their oddly romantic, fairy-light date in Crackstone’s crypt. It’s not just any kiss, though. She has a vision and realizes Tyler is the Hyde. Only Wednesday Addams would have her first kiss with a literal monster.

In “Wednesday,” Jenna Ortega pulls double duty playing the titular teen as well as her ancestor Goody Addams, one of the original outcasts and victims of the outcast-hating Jericho founder Joseph Crackstone. But she’s also the one to put him in an early grave. Little does Wednesday know that she will meet the same fate when Ms. Thornhill resurrects Crackstone using her Addams blood to unlock his sarcophagus. Things look bleak until the spirit of Goody appears to lend Wednesday a helping hand, made possible thanks to the talisman gifted to her by Morticia. The Addams have always been a close family willing to die and kill for each other. And this scene proves that their familial bond goes beyond the grave.

Wednesday Addams is not known for being a team player, so we were just as thrilled as Enid when she joined the Black Cats for the Poe Cup race. Of course, her main motivation was vengeful sabotage, but we like to think she also wanted to help out her roomie. Decked out in a catsuit reminiscent of Catwoman from Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns,” Wednesday is determined to beat Bianca at her own game. With the help of Thing, she takes out Bianca’s siren helper underwater, sinks the Gold Bugs’ canoe, and co-leads the Black Cats to a historical victory, much to Enid’s delight.

The first time we see Wednesday Addams in the series, she walks the halls of Nancy Reagan High School. She finds her brother Pugsley stuffed inside a locker and we get the feeling this isn’t the first time he’s been terrorized at school. When she gets a vision of Pugsley’s tormentors, Wednesday calmly goes to exact her revenge. She strolls into the school’s swimming pool area with bags of piranhas, dropping them into the pool, and watches the water polo team scramble in fear. One of the swimmers even loses a body part in the process. The scene is pretty gruesome, but Wednesday’s twisted way of protecting her brother is undeniably entertaining.

One of Wednesday Addams’ top skills is the cello and in the first episode, we get to hear her play a hauntingly beautiful rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black”. But episode three has her in front of an audience delivering an even more epic solo. When the Nevermore students gather among the normies for Outreach Day, she’s forced to play “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac with the Jericho school band. But soon after Principal Weems and the Mayor unveil the new statue of Jericho founder Joseph Crackstone, there’s an explosion. And when it goes up in flames, Wednesday switches to a more fitting piece for the chaos – Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “Winter.” It’s dark, intense, and very Wednesday Addams.

After being kidnapped by Thornhill (aka Laurel Gates), stabbed by Crackstone, and then healed by her ghostly ancestor, Wednesday Addams is ready to take on the murderous pilgrim before he fulfills his mission of eliminating all outcasts. Wednesday takes an arrow for Xavier, which is only fair since he saved her from getting crushed by a gargoyle. But the arrow doesn’t really faze her and she’s still in fight mode. With an assist from Bianca, Wednesday stabs Crackstone in his black heart. Even before she survived near-mortal wounds and risked her life to save her fellow outcasts, we knew Wednesday Addams was a total badass. But this heroic takedown shows just how powerful she is with a little help from her friends.

Wednesday puts a plan in motion to prove Tyler is the Hyde, which he denies, of course. She’s prepared to get a confession through extreme interrogation methods, but is stopped by Sheriff Galpin before things get too violent. At the police station, Tyler reveals to Wednesday that she was right, but that she’s already lost. He tells her about the horrible things he’s done to innocent people and how much he enjoyed the carnage. Whether or not you suspected the friendly barista all along, this is a chilling scene that shows a sinister side of Tyler we haven’t seen before.

The antisocial Wednesday Addams doesn’t have a lot of friends…or, well, any friends. That is until she goes to Nevermore Academy, where she meets her bubbly werewolf roommate, Enid Sinclair. Though they are polar opposites, the two form a bond as Wednesday slowly breaks down her emotional boundaries. And when Wednesday’s in trouble, it’s her loving roomie who comes to her rescue. After wolfing out for the first time, Enid attacks the Hyde, giving Wednesday the chance to flee. When Wednesday and Enid reunite, they finally share a deeply emotional hug, making for a beautiful moment between unlikely friends.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Wednesday vs. the Pilgrims, “Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe”
From Quippy Sucker Punches to a Full-On Beatdown

Snap Twice, “Woe Is the Loneliest Number”
A Quick Callback to the Classic Addams Family Theme

Rejecting the Nightshade Society, “Friend or Woe”
Wednesday Addams Doesn’t Have the Time or Respect for Amateurs

Hummers Stick Together, “Friend or Woe”
Wednesday Becomes Protective of Her Beekeeping Friend, Eugene

Thing Lives, “If You Don’t Woe Me by Now”
Wednesday Tearfully Watches as Uncle Fester Revives the Disembodied Appendage

Without a doubt, the most watched, loved, and talked about scene in “Wednesday” is when our gothic antiheroine steals the show at Nevermore Academy’s Rave’N Dance. Wearing a gorgeous black tulle gown, Wednesday breaks out her unexpectedly hypnotizing moves to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps. What’s more impressive is that actress Jenna Ortega choreographed the dance herself, incorporating moves inspired by punk dancing of the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, rocker Siouxsie Sioux, and of course, Lisa Loring’s Wednesday shuffle from the 60s. It’s already sparked a dance craze on the internet, inspiring thousands to reenact the routine themselves. The dance perfectly reflects the icon that is Wednesday Addams, who still manages to stand out in a school full of weirdos.