The biggest teacher twist fromWednesdayseason 1 was cribbed straight from Professor Quirrell’s big twist inHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Wednesday Addams has been an iconic character for decades, but Jenna Ortega’s performance in the Netflix spin-off series introduced her to a whole new generation and took her to a whole new level of iconography. WhenWednesdayseason 1premiered on the streaming service in 2022, it quickly amassed a giant fan base and became one of Netflix’s most-watched original shows.
Wednesdayis the latest installment in the long-runningAddams Familyfranchise, and it borrows a lot frompreviousAddams Familymovies and TV shows. But it arguably borrows even more from a different beloved fantasy franchise. As the story of a lonely kid with magical abilities who goes to a specialty school for supernatural students,Wednesdayhas an almost identical premise to theHarry Potterseries. One twist in particular — the bombshell final twist fromWednesdayseason 1 — is taken straight from Harry’s first adventure.
Wednesday Season 1 Copies Harry Potter’s Big Teacher Twist
The Nice Teacher Turns Out To Be The Villain
The biggest twist atthe end ofWednesdayseason 1is the same as the final twist fromHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Throughout most of the series, Wednesday and Enid’s dorm mother at Nevermore Academy — Marilyn Thornhill, played byprevious Wednesday actor Christina Ricci— is shown to be one of the nicest and most unsuspicious teachers at the school. But in the season 1 finale,Thornhill is revealed to be the villainous Laurel Gates, the big bad of the series.
Wednesdayseason 2 is set to premiere in 2025.
InHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,Professor Quirinus Quirrell is similarly shown to be kind and unsuspicious — and he’s similarly revealed to be the villain. In the third act of the movie, Quirrell is revealed to have a weakened Lord Voldemort living on the back of his head, controlling his actions. Much like Quirrell, Thornhill is the last person anyone would expect to be the bad guy all along, which is what makes the twist reveal so surprising.
Netflix’s Wednesday Borrows Many Other Elements From Harry Potter Too
The Horrible Teacher Turns Out To Be Good, Too
Thornhill isn’t the only character fromWednesdaywhose arc is borrowed fromHarry Potter. InHarry Potter, not only is the nicest teacher revealed to be the bad guy; the most horrible teacher is revealed to be a good guy. Severus Snape is the mean-spirited teacher who turns out to have a heart of gold. This is similar toWednesday’sPrincipal Larissa Weems, who also seems evil but is actually really sweet.Like Snape, Weems also has a personal connection to the protagonist’s parents, having roomed with Morticia Addams at Nevermore.
Wednesday
Cast
Wednesday follows the journey of Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts. Tasked with mastering her psychic abilities, she confronts a series of town murders and a haunting family mystery from 25 years ago, all while managing new social dynamics.
