Halloween may be over, but Wednesday is still bringing new kinds of scares to Netflix. The new series reimagines Charles Addams’ family of fright for the 21st century. The series stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, a macabre loner with a psychic gift who enrolls at Nevermore Academy after a… mishap… at her high school. Once there, Wednesday uncovers a string of grisly murders perpetuated by a gnarly monster. Now she has a major mystery to solve in addition to her homework!
And if you’re at this article right now, then you also want the mystery solved — and maybe you want it solved sooner than the TV series has planned. If you’re looking for Wednesday spoilers, you’ve come to the right place — but only if you’re looking for the identity of the monster to be revealed. Consider this your warning, because ahead there be spoilers.
Who is the monster on Wednesday?
Wednesday initially suspects that the monster is her classmate Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White) after she discovers a bunch of his illustrations of the monster. After all, Xavier can make his art come to life. Could the monster be his deadly masterpiece? Or could he himself be the monster? Who’s to say a Nevermore student can only have one freaky thing about them?
Before we get into who the monster is, though, we need to talk about what the monster is.
What is the monster on Wednesday?
Leave it to Wednesday’s Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) to correctly identify the monster as a Hyde — yes, as in Jekyll and Hyde. After reading about Hydes in the diary of Nevermore’s founder, Wednesday learns that Hydes tend to have a master, usually the person who first unleashed the beast. And since Tyler shares a therapist with Wednesday, Dr. Kinbott (Riki Lindhome), Wednesday suspects the doctor must have released the Hyde via hypnosis.
Wednesday is incorrect.
So who is the monster on Wednesday — and who is the monster’s master?
Wednesday takes her theory all the way to the police and has Xavier arrested. Later when Wednesday kisses Tyler (Hunter Doohan), she gets a terrifying vision: Tyler is actually the Hyde, not Xavier.
It turns out that Tyler’s mother was also a Hyde, and her beast was triggered by her postpartum depression. She passed the condition on to her son, Tyler. As for the monster’s master, it turns out that Nevermore teacher Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci) is actually Laurel Gates, a relative of Garrett Gates — the man Gomez Addams was accused of murdering at Nevermore when he was a student.
What happens to the monster?
Tyler’s monster is unleashed once more upon Wednesday, who is saved by her roommate Enid (Emma Myers) after she finally transforms into a full werewolf (it was a whole thing). As for Thornhill/Gates, she succeeds in her mission to resurrect notorious 17th century outcast hunter and town forefather Joseph Crackstone. But Crackstone doesn’t get far, as he and Gates are defeated by Wednesday and her classmates. Xavier is cleared of all charges and returns to the school in time for it to shut down for the semester. Wednesday heads out on a family vacation, her future at Nevermore unclear.
As for Laurel/Marilyn, the last we saw her she was getting stung by bees and stomped by Wednesday. Whether or not she’s in jail or even alive is unclear. As for Tyler/the Hyde, we see him in police custody in the final scene of the season. He won’t remain in custody for long, because the final shot of the finale is of him Hyde-ing out and breaking free of his restraints.
We’ll have to wait and see what’s next for Tyler and potentially Laurel, if Wednesday returns for Season 2. One thing’s for sure: there’s plenty of story left to tell.
