Wednesday Co-Creators Were Worried About One Aspect Of The Netflix Series' First Season

This post contains major spoilers for Netflix's "Wednesday."

After two seasons, Al Gough and Miles Millar's "Wednesday" has proven its unique potential. The Netflix show not only resurrects a beloved franchise but filters it through coming-of-age tropes with Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) at the center. This combination has been a success (for the most part) — the story embraces a tongue-in-cheek irreverence that complements the tone of "The Addams Family" franchise, and the show's supernatural bent makes space for genuine thrills. No one, however, expected "Wednesday" to be a whodunnit, with the titular protagonist snooping around in desolate graveyards and dense forests in search of true danger. 

As neither Gough nor Millar had ever done a whodunnit-driven story before, the duo was apprehensive about the numerous misdirects and red herrings that were part of the first season. Here's a quick refresher: Wednesday joins Nevermore Academy and is immediately obsessed with finding The Hyde, the vicious beast terrorizing Jericho's inhabitants. Soon after, Wednesday realizes that The Hyde isn't working alone, and sure enough, its master turns out to be Ms. Thornhill (Christina Ricci). Also, the Hyde is none other than the traumatized Tyler (Hunter Doohan), who Thornhill uses as a pawn to further her motives.

Gough and Millar spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the doubts that plagued them regarding these twist reveals:

"It was actually much more complicated and difficult than we anticipated [...] It was definitely a jigsaw puzzle. And so we had all eight episodes complete, and then we could really make sure that all the red herrings were there, and it felt like a complete mystery, but then we didn't know it was gonna work until an actual audience saw it. So, it's actually a real nail-biter when you do a whodunnit because it could be so obvious."

Ms. Thornhill is introduced as the only Normie professor at Nevermore, and our initial impression is that of an empathetic, perceptive adult who helps Wednesday navigate the changes in her life. Ricci's presence is significant due to her iconic portrayal of Wednesday Addams in "The Addams Family" films, which is why her portrayal as Thornhill feels like a special cameo at first.

However, she is suddenly revealed to be the twisted mastermind behind every evil plaguing Jericho, and even goes as far as killing Gwendoline Christie's Principal Weems, who makes a surprise comeback in season 2. This should have been obvious, but Gough and Millar keep the mystery alive (and lend shock to the Thornhill reveal) with a smart use of diversions and red herrings.

Millar also talked about the anxiety that came with making their prominent guest star the big bad of the season, and the subsequent relief after knowing that the gamble paid off:

"Then, when we cast Christina, it was like, 'Oh, [she] is gonna be like the guest star, who is clearly the bad guy?' which often is the case. But it's so gratifying to hear that people were really into the mystery, and the red herrings were working. It could be this person. It could be that person. Misdirect. So that's literally the most satisfying thing about the show for us. It's the thing we were most worried about."

While season 1 genuinely makes great use of Ricci's charismatic presence to up the ante, the latest season completely squanders the character's potential. While the Thornhill arc is over, here's hoping that Season 3's primary antagonist will be as compelling as the one that cemented the show's merits.