Wednesday Addams is finally getting the leading role that a child of woe deserves. Tim Burton’s Netflix series Wednesday takes her to Nevermore Academy for a wild mystery. She tries to find her place among a sea of fellow outcasts and stings everyone with her classic caustic personality. The Wednesday series certainly gives us a new perspective of her with the most notable change being her cool set of powers. That’s right, Wednesday is not only clever and spooky, she also has the perfect powers to solve murder and evade mayhem. Let’s break it all down.
What Are Wednesday Addams’ Powers on the Netflix TV Show?
Wednesday has the gift of psychic visions. We see this pretty early in episode one when she touches her brother Pugsley. She’s able to see which of their classmates bullied her brother. In her psychic visions, Wednesday can witness a scene down to seeing others’ faces and hearing dialogue. In fact, it is her sinister (but not wrong, in my opinion) retaliation against them that leads to her enrollment at Nevermore Academy.
Wednesday Addams reveals in a voiceover that having powers is a recent development for her. Her psychic visions come into play several times throughout the season. First, it is a generational gift (that feels like a curse) from her mom Morticia. But, while Morticia is a dove and her visions are more positive, Wednesday’s dark viewpoint makes her a raven. Her visions are more potent and macabre and also allow her to look into the past and future. Wednesday does get a lot of benefit from her psychic vision powers once she gets into the mysteries of Nevermore Academy. She can see important items and details that give her strong clues. However, Morticia warns Wednesday that she must learn to control them. If not, she runs the risk of losing her mind.
And control certainly seems to be an issue as Wednesday’s powers grow. At first, they are quite short and hazy like dreams. Her body is typically upright with her eyes open and head to the ceiling. But as they become stronger, Wednesday becomes immersed into another time and can even interact with people in that space. We see her doing this with Goody Addams, an ancestor who died at the hands of the pilgrims in Jericho, the “normie” town near Nevermore. And, in reality, Wednesday sometimes finds herself on the ground (or unable to stand) and very vulnerable during a vision. This isn’t great considering the visions can happen at any time, including when she bumps into someone or touches specific objects, like Rowan’s glasses.
She seeks out Goody to help her hone her powers. But Goody tells her there is no controlling a raging river and that she must learn to navigate it. She also tells Wednesday that she’s prime for a lonely life. Principal Weems also warns Wednesday that her powers can be dangerous because of their unpredictability and that they may not tell the full truth. To Wednesday’s chagrin, the ability does lead her down a wrong path that nearly costs her fledgling friendships and initially puts the wrong person behind bars. But the visions reveal the truth of who the real monster is: Tyler. Oh dear.
Interestingly, she doesn’t have any visions in the final episode. Which is a good thing really considering that she’s fighting against the not-so-surprisingly evil Ms. Thornhill, Tyler, and a revived Joseph Crackstone. It is assumed that she still retains those powers and can also use her talisman to conjure spirits. Sadly, Goody healing Wednesday means her spirit won’t return again.
Have Addams Family Members Had Powers Before?
While this power is a first for Wednesday, it is not unusual for the Addams family in general. There have been many versions of this family over the years, including some that allude to other family members having otherworldly abilities. In the 1960s TV show, Morticia loves to “smoke,” her word for basically having smoke emit from her body. Is it a helpful power? No. Do we love its weirdness? Sure. Uncle Fester can also produce electricity, which we have seen in the past as well as in Wednesday.
Thing, who is totally a family member, is a literal hand that can communicate and pull off elaborate schemes. And ’60s Grandmama was a witch who cooked up scary (and often sentient) things in a pot. The family as a whole seems to be able to survive things that others would possibly succumb to, like fires, poison, and being shocked by electricity. And, the latest version of Uncle Fester seems to be quite okay after having several lobotomies. So, it is safe to say that supernatural abilities/powers have always played some role in the Addams family tree. But this is the first time we have seen Morticia and Wednesday share a power.
We don’t know if this latest version of Wednesday will get more episodes or even a movie. The ending certainly sets the stage for more stories with a stalker and a possibly bigger conspiracy in Jericho. But we dig how those incredible psychic powers add a little more kooky to a character we already adore.
