Why Wednesday and Morticia Addams’ relationship is so combative in the Netflix series

This article contains spoilers for the Netflix show “Wednesday”.

The Addams Family may be considered strange from a conventional perspective, but they have always been a loving (and functional) family unit. In fact, their love for the bizarre and macabre never compromises their core values, as Morticia and Gomez are model parents who care deeply about their children. They are also quite charitable towards those around them, except in cases where someone deserves to learn a scary little lesson or two.

In the “Addams Family” film series (and comic books), Morticia and Wednesday share a warm relationship, except for occasional fights that only bring them closer together. That’s not the case, however, in Netflix’s “Wednesday,” where the main character (Jenna Ortega) repeatedly clashes with Morticia (a dazzling Catherine Zeta-Jones) over the course of two seasons. While Wednesday’s family encourages her to embrace her true nature, Morticia’s constant attempts to protect her daughter often come off as overbearing, fueling Wednesday’s tendencies to put herself in danger.

According to “Wednesday” showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar, this combative relationship is necessary for the evolution of our protagonist’s personality. The duo spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, with Gough explaining the troubled dynamic in detail:

“There comes a time when she is [Wednesday] trying to break away from who her mother is, or who she thinks her mother is, and trying to carve out her own identity. And I think that’s really where we find Wednesday and Morticia. Obviously, Morticia is very taken aback by this because Morticia is someone who [thinks] everyone loves Morticia, so she doesn’t understand what’s going on here. It will truly be a journey for Morticia to accept Wednesday as she is. She’s not a carbon copy of her.”

In season 1, Wednesday wants to prove that she is nothing like her mother, which is why she chooses social isolation. But her thirst for truth puts her on a path already traveled by Morticia: Wednesday ends up winning the Poe Cup and becomes a member of the Nightshade Society. As these cases prove that the two are more alike than they think, Wednesday confides in her mother in season 2, but Morticia dismisses her anxieties/worries (partly because she is afraid that Wednesday will end up like her sister, Ophelia). The lack of honest communication exacerbates this budding distrust, which culminates in a blindfolded duel traditionally invoked by moonlight.

Millar adds to the assessment by stating that Wednesday’s need to prove herself stems from the desire to establish that Morticia’s authoritarian nature is wrong and that her own risky actions are valid. Even when Morticia does things out of love, her immediate instinct is to hide the truth instead of having an open dialogue with her daughter, which inadvertently prompts Wednesday’s desire to uncover secrets. There is also a constant need to escape his mother’s shadow, which forms the heart of the show:

“I think what’s great about the Addams Family is the feeling that they love each other 100 percent. They’re the strangest, most functional family on the planet, which is an ambitious thing, but still, everyone’s going to forge their own identity, and for Wednesday, that’s very important, something that’s very vital to her. So, I think the shadow that Morticia casts is something that Wednesday needs to feel that she must escape.

With more family secrets revealed, “Wednesday” Season 3 could offer the mother-daughter duo some closure, where they can (hopefully) meet halfway.