Summary
Despite the fact that generations of Addamses went to Nevermore Academy before Wednesday season 1, the titular character delaying her attendance at the school isn’t actually a plot hole. Netflix’s series kicks off by revealing that Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is attending a typical suburban New Jersey public school alongside her younger brother Pugsley, until a piranha-filled prank causes her expulsion. Wednesday is soon sent to the alma mater of her parents Morticia and Gomez, with Nevermore Academy’s school for supernatural “outcasts” being where she learns to hone her emerging psychic powers.
Wednesday arrives at Nevermore Academy well into the academic year with an expedited acceptance due to her family’s legacy at the school, with each reveal about the intertwined nature of Nevermore and the Addamses’ history making her delayed attendance more curious. Not only did her ancestor Goody Addams influence Nevermore’s foundation, but each generation of the Addams family tree has enrolled at the school and played an integral part in its functions. However, Wednesday began her high school education in a public school, which at first glance appears to be a plot hole due to her parents’ fondness of the supernatural and outcast-friendly Nevermore. Of course, this is the exact reason why Wednesday’s delayed enrollment isn’t a plot hole.
Wednesday Avoided Nevermore Before S1 Because Of Her Parents
While various other details may create plot holes in Wednesday season 1, the fact that she hadn’t previously attended Nevermore isn’t one of them. Netflix’s Wednesday clearly establishes that the titular character actively avoided following in the footsteps of her parents, particularly her mother Morticia. Given how involved Morticia and Gomez were in the school’s activities, how fondly they remember the school and its legacy, and the fact that Morticia was the “queen bee” when she attended, Wednesday simply saw Nevermore Academy as a place where she would live in her parents’ shadow.
Part of being an outcast for Wednesday meant also trying to separate herself from her kooky family, whereas willingly attending Nevermore would have meant embracing her role as her parents’ successor. By attending public school before Wednesday season 1, Jenna Ortega’s character actively resisted giving into her parents’ wishes and expectations. It’s baked into the same reasoning behind Wednesday’s insistence that she wouldn’t join the fencing team, participate in the Poe Cup, become a Nightshade, or attend the Rave’n Dance – she didn’t want to turn into her parents, compete with them, or have them brag about her continuing their legacies.
Wednesday’s Old Schools Were Places She Knew She Would Be The Only Outcast
Another compelling explanation for why the title character hadn’t attended Nevermore before Wednesday season 1 is that she actually would have preferred the “normalcy” of public schools. Just as Wednesday rejects conformity within her family, she prefers to establish herself as an outcast at school and with her peers. Attending a school tailor-made for outcasts to feel “normal” thus would have been counterproductive, as Wednesday would have had to put even more effort into sticking out than fitting in. Consequently, Wednesday tries her hardest to reject her classmates and Nevermore itself when arriving, but she finally comes around by the end of Wednesday season 1.
