Here's What Really Happened in the Season Finale of Netflix's "Wednesday"
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Netflix's latest dark comedy, Wednesday, welcomed us to Nevermore Academy, the school where all "outcasts" — think vampires, werewolves, sirens, and shifters — fit in. Premiering with a fanfare of double snaps on November 23, the eight-episode series from the mind of horror king Tim Burton reimagines cartoonist Charles Addams's famously gloomy character from The Addams Family strip, Wednesday Addams. In this modern interpretation, Jenna Ortega plays the role of Wednesday, who embarks on her first year at boarding school.
When Wednesday arrives at Nevermore, she discovers that an unknown monster (which is later revealed to be a Hyde) is lurking in the woods, targeting students and "normies" from the close-by town, Jericho. While learning to navigate secret visions that allow her to see into the past, romance, and relationships between new foes and friends, Wednesday takes it upon herself to discover the identity of the killer as a way to save the school and remain anti-social. By the season's end, Wednesday solves the mystery with her friends' help — and an extra "hand" from Thing, ofc.
Ahead, find out what exactly happens to Nevermore Academy and Wednesday, as well as who the monster is and their motive behind the murders.
The Hyde's Identity Is Revealed
In a romantic moment with her coffee shop crush, Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), during episode seven, the Hyde's true identity is unveiled. When the pair lean in for a kiss and their lips touch, Wednesday falls deep into a flashback vision showing her that the Sheriff's son was actually the murderous Hyde. Wednesday muses in the voiceover, "Of course the first boy I kiss would turn out to be a psychotic, serial killing, monster. I guess I have a type."
However, the revelation came too late, as one of her peers, artist Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White), was already imprisoned for the crimes after being framed.
At the start of Episode 8, Wednesday leads Tyler into the woods, where he first feigns his innocence. Her friends soon arrive and Tyler is outraged by the confrontation. Luckily, Bianca (Joy Sunday) is able to stun the barista with her siren song. After the group ties Tyler up inside of Xavier's art studio, Wednesday prepares to torture a confession out of the boy while her friends run to Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) to tell her what they've found out. Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) arrives before Wednesday can start her torture, taking her into custody on charges of kidnap, along with Tyler for suspected murder charges.
Wednesday is later freed and her charges are dropped, but before she leaves the station, Tyler confesses to his crimes and admits that he is the Hyde. "At first, I'd wake up naked, covered in blood, no idea what happened. But over time, I started to remember everything. The sound of their screams, the panic in their eyes, and a fear so primal I could taste it. And it was delicious," Tyler says. He continues to say that his feelings for Wednesday were never real and that they had only ever been part of his master's plan.
On her return to Nevermore, Principal Weems declares Wednesday expelled from the school. Enid (Emma Myers) helps Wednesday pack her side of the room as she is meant to leave the next day. Wednesday then discovers that her detective friend Eugene (Moosa Mostafa)has woken up in the hospital following his near-fatal brush with the Hyde and plans to see him before getting on the train. During her visit, Eugene recalls seeing the person who set the cave on fire was wearing red boots. This piece of information allows Wednesday to identify Tyler's master (aka the hypnotist who provoked Tyler's true form and ordered him to commit the murders).
The Hyde's Master's Identity Is Revealed
At first, Wednesday thought that the Hyde's master was her therapist, Dr. Valarie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome). But then Kinbott was murdered, making her unlikely for the role of the Hyde's master. Thanks to Eugene who saw the red-booted arson destroying the Hyde's living quarters, Wednesday figured out that the master of the monster was Marylin Thornhill. The school's "normie" botany professor is portrayed by Christina Ricci, who herself played Wednesday Addams in '90s show The Addams Family.
Thornhill assumed the phony identity to infiltrate the school, revealing that she is actually Laurel Gates, the pronounced-dead daughter of the Gates family. ICYMI, the Gates family are descendants of Joseph Crackstone (William Houston) and have been working to exact revenge on the outcasts ever since Goody Addams killed Crackstone and took the outcast's land back long ago. When Wednesday's parents Morticia and Gomez Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán) were students at Nevermore, Laurel's brother Garrett Gates (Lewis Hayes) broke into the school's Rave’N Dance on a mission from his father to spike the punch with poison nightshade. That night, Garrett got into a fight with Gomez over their love for Morticia, with Gates accidentally poisoning himself during the confrontation.
To avenge her ancestor's death, Thornhill awoke Tyler's Hyde monster with a plant derivative and collected body parts of the Hyde's victims to prepare for a ritual meant to reawaken the dead Puritan founder of Jericho. All she needed to open the crypt was the blood of an ancestor of Goody. With Goody and Wednesday bearing the same last name, it's no surprise that the two are related. Gates captures Wednesday by hitting her over the head with a shovel and using her blood to open the crypt. Crackstone is brought back to life, stabs Wednesday, and leaves the crypt with Thornhill.
Once the two are gone, Goody appears to Wednesday and removes the knife. Using Wednesday's necklace and her powers, Goody becomes one with Wednesday, saving her life. Wednesday then confronts Tyler in the woods, who transforms into the Hyde, but Enid comes to the rescue, turning into her werewolf form for the first time and "wolfing" out on the monster. Meanwhile, Thing rescues Xavier from the back of Sheriff Galpin's car.
While Crackstone works towards setting Nevermore up in flames, Bianca (Joy Sunday) stabs him in the back, which helps Wednesday win a sword fight against the Puritan. As Goody instructed, Wednesday stabs Crackstone in his black heart. Eugene then helps take down Thornhill, directing his beloved bees to swarm and sting Thornhill, which allows Wednesday to knock her out with a kick to the face. Enid emerges from the woods having vanquished — but not killed — Tyler.
A Season 2 Plot Teaser
Following the battle, Tyler is put in a straight jacket and driven away in an armed vehicle, and Thornhill is assumably arrested as well. Xavier later gives Wednesday a phone as a "thank you" for proving his innocence and saving his life. But right before the end credits roll, Wednesday's phone receives a mysterious message from an unknown contact who sends pictures of her. "I'm watching you," the final text read, alongside a gif of a knife going entering Wednesday's head. We also see that in the armored truck, Tyler has transformed into the Hyde once again. How did the beast inside Tyler get summoned, and who is sending threatening texts to Wednesday? Hopefully, the unconfirmed season 2 of Wednesday will answer all of these questions.
You Might Also Like
