What happened in Wednesday season 1? Full recap ahead of season 2

Oh, and she’s connected to a powerful white witch dating back to the 1600s Pilgrim era. No biggie.

All of this becomes both a blessing and a curse for Wednesday as she arrives at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts near Jericho, Vermont, in season 1.

When a killer starts striking "normies" in the creepy woods surrounding the school, budding detective Wednesday is quickly on the case, which grows more sinister when she realises the killer somehow has a connection to her.

So, with ancestral prophecies, a rogue monster, and a string of mysteries that tie her to her destiny, Nevermore life is anything but boring.

As we prepare to return for Wednesday season 2, here’s everything you need to remember from the first season: from key players to the mystery that brings everything together.

Wednesday season 1 recap: What happened to the Addams Family in Netflix series?

Who are the key players in Wednesday’s life?

Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) likes to think of herself as a lone wolf, but that’s not strictly true.

First off, there’s her family: Mum Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), dad Gomez (Luiz Guzmán), little brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), and her literal right-hand man, Thing (provided by Victor Dorobantu).

Thing in particular is a major help for Wednesday, often doing the heavy work in her investigations as he can go undetected.

At Nevermore, Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) takes an immediate disliking to Wednesday, in part due to her past rivalry with Morticia going back to their time at school together.

Regardless, she does try to look out for her, personally driving her to Jericho to attend her ordered therapy sessions with Dr Valerie Kinbott (Riki Lindhome).

Enid (Emma Myers), a yet-to-transition werewolf with an exceedingly bubbly personality, is Wednesday’s roommate, and quickly fights to be considered the stand-offish leading lady's "bestie".

Other notable students are Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday), a popular student and a siren, allowing her to bend others to her command and member of the Nightshade Society – a secret society dating back to the 1600s.

A rival to Wednesday to begin with, over time they learned to admire each other's particular skillsets, becoming allies. She previously dated Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes-White), an elusive artistic type with a penchant for drawing terrifying predictions, animating them once completed.

While Wednesday does not appreciate being away from creature comforts, she does bond with Ms Thornhill (Christina Ricci), the botanical sciences teacher and sole ‘normie’ teacher at the school.

The only other normie in Wednesday’s life is Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), a local barista in Jericho who Wednesday draws into her investigations as he’s the son of the sheriff (therefore useful to get info from).

What is the Crackstone curse?

As Wednesday’s investigation into the murders unfolds, she realises it’s connected to the Crackstone curse, which dates back to the 1600s.

During that era, Joseph Crackstone (William Houston), a Pilgrim and founder of Jericho, vowed to rid the world of "unholy and evil" outcasts. He gained a substantial following in Jericho, with many murdered under his command.

When immigrant Goody Addams (also Jenna Ortega) and her mother were accused by Crackstone of being witches, they were placed in a crypt alongside others before it was set on fire.

Goody managed to escape the blaze, though it killed everyone else, and she went after Crackstone after becoming consumed by revenge.

Goody cursed his soul and sealed his body in a coffin that was bloodlocked by magic. Only her blood could ever unlock it.

In the years since, several generations of Addams Family members have killed Crackstone descendants – including Morticia, who killed Garrett Gates at school when he went insane trying to win her affection.

Who was the Hyde?

With the help of a quick visit from Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen), Wednesday discovers the creature responsible for the murders is most likely a Hyde – a volatile being that only materialises from its timid hosts when commanded to by their Masters.

So, now having to track down TWO culprits, Wednesday jumps to conclusions and believes the Hyde to be Xavier, with therapist Kinbott his Master. Though her evidence is flimsy, Xavier is still arrested and carted off by the sheriff for the murder of six people.

Wednesday realises her mistake a little too late. She later gets a vision of the Hyde murdering Kinbott – and transforming back into Tyler. Which is awkward, as the vision is triggered by her kissing Tyler for the first time.

Thing steals files from the police station to confirm her suspicions: Tyler’s dead mother was an outcast who went to school with Weems and Morticia.

While her powers never materialised at school, post-natal depression triggered her Hyde. She was vanished from town, with the sheriff claiming she had bipolar disorder. Tyler’s grief at losing his mother would later trigger his own Hyde when he found out the truth.

In the woods, Wednesday tries to torture the truth out of Tyler, but gets expelled from Nevermore by Weems when she’s caught. But a brief interaction with friend Eugene – who was nearly killed by the Hyde and its Master – gives a key detail that reveals the truth.

Who was the Master?

Step forward: Ms Thornhill – or should we say Laurel Gates. Laurel faked her death years before joining Nevermore to make it seem like the Crackstone bloodline was lost. In fact, she was determined to complete her ancestor’s life’s work.

At the school, Laurel spills her plan to Wednesday, believing she’s won. But Tyler, who stands behind her, isn’t actually who she thought – it was the shapeshifting Weems, who took the form of the teen in order to overhear everything.

Sadly, Weems is immediately killed by Laurel, who injects her with nightshade when she reveals herself.

Laurel takes Wednesday to the crypt, with Tyler gathering the body parts he’d collected from his murder victims to complete the spell to revive Crackstone.

It works – and Crackstone is revived, stabbing Wednesday through the chest, leaving her to die.

How did the series end?

While Laurel is delighted to meet her famed ancestor, she’s not exactly a welcome addition to Crackstone’s life, and he promptly shoos her away for being too chatty.

Now with powers of his own, he heads to Nevermore to burn it – and everyone inside – to the ground.

But it turns out Wednesday had some back-up. With adrenaline pumping through her to save her friend, Enid finally turns into a werewolf for the first time – and literally tears Tyler a new one in the woods.

Bianca uses her siren powers to command students to leave Nevermore and get to safety before Crackstone arrives, and Xavier is ready to take a stand and fight for Wednesday (clearly forgiving her for the false arrest thing).

But the Wednesday TV show wouldn’t be Wednesday without Wednesday, right? That’s where the ghost of Goody Addams comes in. Using the last of her magical powers, she passes through Wednesday, reviving her, but ending her existence in the process. Her only request was Wednesday end Crackstone’s reign of terror for good.

Joining the others in the courtyard, Wednesday, Xavier and Bianca work together to finally kill Crackstone, turning him into fire and brimstone as Wednesday deals the fatal blow of stabbing him through the heart.

Laurel returns and comes after Wednesday with a gun – only to be promptly stopped by Eugene, a pupil who can command bees to his will. Wednesday then seemingly kills her as well, before reuniting with her friends.

What came next?

Considering the damage to the school (and the trauma of the students), Nevermore is closed for the rest of the year – but everyone is looking forward to returning. Even Wednesday.

Xavier gifts Wednesday an iPhone, asking her to "maybe text him once in a while". She accepts it, but an anonymous texter quickly threatens her life, sending her covert photos of herself, making it clear they’re watching. Now Wednesday has a new mystery to solve.

Meanwhile, Tyler, who survived Enid’s attack, is strapped up into a straitjacket and taken away in an ambulance. But as he passes Wednesday’s car… he starts transforming, just as the show cuts to black.

Wednesday season 2 is streaming from Wednesday 6 August on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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