‘Wednesday’: Morticia and Wednesday’s Mother-Daughter Bond Isn’t What Fans Remember
Fans of the Addams Family franchise admired the unique relationship between the glamorous Morticia Addams and her daughter Wednesday. Being both fascinated by the darkness of death and the macabre, Morticia often understood her daughter’s desires and overall personality. But the Netflix series Wednesday tweaks Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter’s relationship. In this supernatural tale, Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) fights to move away from her mother’s shadow.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wednesday.]
Wednesday wants nothing to do with her mother’s achievements
In the original movies, the family matriarch has no problem giving her daughter an ax or a few knives to play with her brother. But fans adored their mother-daughter bond, with Morticia being one of the few people who truly understood who her daughter was. But once diving into Wednesday, the story is a bit different.
This version of Morticia is more based on emotion and trying to reconnect with her distant daughter. In Wednesday, after the female lead is sent to Nevermore, her family farewell is less than amicable. It is clear that Wednesday resents her mother and promises to escape and never see her again. Morticia gives Wednesday a parting gift. An obsidian necklace of their initial works to conjure vision. But Wednesday is less than impressed and calls it a “tchotchkes.”
But Wednesday further stabs the dagger into her mother’s heart when telling her she will never fall in love, be a housewife, or have a family. She clearly states, “I’m not you, Mother.” From the get-go, fans see that the franchise bond between the two is nearly nonexistent.
Wednesday unwillingly follows Morticia’s footsteps at Nevermore
One of the things that Wednesday makes very clear in the Netflix series is that she does not want to live in her mother’s shadow. While at Nevermore, Morticia was at the center of almost everything. She was beautiful and well-liked and led her dorm to win the Poe Cup. Fans even see that Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) has resentment toward her old roommate, likely for stealing Gomez (Luis Guzmán).
But to her surprise, Wednesday does lead her dorm to win the Poe Cup for the first time in years and joins the fencing team. She also has the same complex visions as her mother. In Wednesday Episode 5, her anger toward her mother becomes more intense when she confronts her parents about their past at Nevermore.
Sadly, Morticia is less than enthusiastic about telling Wednesday the truth because she knows her daughter would not believe her. But when she does, Wednesday admits she hates that her mother sent her to Nevermore, where she could only live in her mother’s shadow. But the mother-daughter relationship does take on a hopeful note when they work together to free Gomez.
Is the relationship difference between Morticia and her daughter in ‘Wednesday’ good?
The change to the mother-daughter dynamic will surprise many longtime fans. In the franchise, there was always an unspoken understanding between Morticia and Wednesday. But seeing as Tim Burton’s Wednesday is a coming-of-age story, Wednesday has to go through the woes of her turmoil to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Wednesday certainly accomplishes the more often-seen family scenario and how much Gomez and Morticia love their children. But some might find that Morticia’s warm heart is not typical of the macabre character. There is more emotion on the surface to process through. But there is a heartwarming aspect that helps Wednesday evolve to be empathetic. The change in the mother-daughter relationship is 50/50.
Wednesday is available on Netflix.
