Rocky relationships are prevalent in Wednesday season 2, but the complaints regarding one specific Addams Family dynamic forget a major detail about the show. The strained relationship between Wednesday and Morticia wasn’t new, but it certainly got more severe in the second season of the Netflix series starring Jenna Ortega. Still, it served as a fitting aspect of the show’s wider premise.
The differences in their personalities often resulted in conflict between Wednesday and Morticia, but the root cause of season 2’s strain was Morticia’s ongoing worry that her daughter would end up like Morticia’s sister, Ophelia Frump. Not only was Ophelia a Raven, like Wednesday, but she was also driven mad by her powers. Morticia was really only trying to protect her daughter, since she didn’t want Wednesday to end up like Ophelia.
In Wednesday’s mind, she viewed her mother’s actions as an attempt to block her from getting her powers back by withholding Goody’s book. There was lingering resentment there, and that was also the case between Morticia and her own mother, Hester Frump, who showcased their own mother-daughter issues in season 2. Granted, those criticizing Wednesday’s behavior toward Morticia need to remember what the show is trying to accomplish with its main character.
Wednesday’s Relationship With Morticia Has Been Divisive (Especially In Season 2)
Morticia and Wednesday in season 2Jonathan Hession / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
Since the show’s debut, the strained relationship between Wednesday and Morticia has divided fans of the wider Addams Family franchise. The show changed Wednesday and Morticia’s relationship in season 1 as it immediately leaned away from the bond seen in previous versions of the characters. As the conflict between several Addams Family members grew in Wednesday season 2, the mother-daughter relationship got more contentious. For the Netflix show, specifically, criticism has pointed to how poorly Wednesday often treated Morticia.
In the original TV sitcom based on Charles Addams’ comics, Wednesday was depicted as younger and much more innocent. Though she embraced the macabre like the rest of the family, she was mostly portrayed as a good-natured kid with odd interests who adored Morticia. Even in the Addams Family movies, when Wednesday was a bit older, there was obvious respect between Wednesday and her mother.
While it was instantly made clear that Wednesday was willing to stand up for her family, like the case with Pugsley and the piranha incident, she would never be described as overtly warm or loving when it came to her family. Wednesday season 1 proved that the titular character didn’t always see eye-to-eye with her mother, and the tension between the two only got worse in season 2. At one point, the fight over Goody’s book and Wednesday’s loss of her powers spilled out into a swordfight duel.
Wednesday’s Mother-Daughter Conflict Makes Sense For The Netflix Show
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday in season 2COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Whether Wednesday’s treatment of Morticia was right or wrong, it’s important to remember that Netflix’s interpretation of the franchise is meant to be a coming-of-age story. Other versions of Addams Family characters have shown glimpses of a slightly older Wednesday, but the Netflix series was made to show Ortega’s Wednesday character going through the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. It just so happens that the teen in focus tends to find herself involved in murders, conspiracies, and deadly scenarios.
In the same way that Wednesday has been learning how to approach relationships and friendships that had never been pertinent to her life before Nevermore, she’s also at an age that further complicates her connection to Morticia. Rather than present a sense of admiration for her mother, like previous versions of the character, Wednesday has repeatedly made it clear that she doesn’t want to be like Morticia. Unfortunately, her blunt demeanor never sugarcoated her feelings on that matter.
There’s no question that Morticia and Gomez have made mistakes in the past; both seasons of Wednesday have proven that. However, as parents, the duo never claimed to be perfect, and yet, Wednesday declared that she had no interest in following in Morticia’s footsteps. That’s a common trope for coming-of-age tales focused on characters dealing with familial conflicts, so it’s fitting that Wednesday would change up the mother-daughter dynamic from the traditional take on their relationship.
Wednesday has made it clear that she doesn’t want a romance packed with PDA, a married life, or a family of her own. Instead, Wednesday is a teenage Outcast who already doesn’t fit in with the “normal” world, trying to find an autonomous path for herself. She doesn’t back down to authority, so, of course, a show about a teenage Wednesday Addams who strives for independence wouldn’t fully get along with a lovingly overprotective mother.
Wednesday & Morticia’s Relationship Becomes A Deeper Theme In Season 2
WEDNESDAY, from left: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Thing (portrayed by hand actor Victor Dorobantu), Luis Guzman, ‘Here We Woe Again’, (Season 2, ep. 201, aired Aug. 6, 2025)©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
As harshly as Wednesday has treated Morticia, season 2 of the Netflix show presented the conflict as a life lesson for both characters. The ongoing issues surrounding Goody’s book and Wednesday’s powers gave Morticia a push to confront her own mother about Ophelia and the current status of their relationship. Even if it wouldn’t end up changing anything, it allowed Morticia to see the conflict with Wednesday from another perspective.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s attempt to regain her psychic abilities took her on a journey that taught her more about herself and her family. Dark secrets were uncovered, but in the end, Wednesday put her own life on the line to save Pugsley and her parents from Isaac Night. Wednesday notably came to Morticia’s aid when the lab exploded in the season 2 finale, proving that despite everything, she still deeply cared about her mother, even if she had trouble showing it.
Morticia ended up giving Wednesday a journal that once belonged to Ophelia, which also acted like a gesture of goodwill and growing trust. By the end of season 2, Wednesday and Morticia seemingly had a better understanding of one another after overcoming another set of challenges brought on by family secrets and past mistakes. It will be interesting to see how the mother-daughter relationship evolves in Wednesday season 3’s story as the titular character matures with each new installment.
Release Date
November 23, 2022
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Miles Millar, Alfred Gough
Writers
April Blair
