Netflix’s Wednesday series gives its titular character powers, leaving many viewers wondering whether she had them in previous Addams Family adaptations. Upon her arrival, she becomes embroiled in a murder mystery perfectly suited to her talents. Wednesday (which forgoes the Addams Family’s theme song) offers a new perspective on the spooky family. One of the most significant changes to its mythology comes via its protagonist, giving Wednesday psychic powers.
Wednesday Addams’ Vision Powers Explained
In Wednesday episode 1, for example, she is able to identify Pugsley’s bullies after touching him. She can also see the future, as shown when she sees a man dying in a car accident after bumping into him, which ultimately happens. Her visions are aggressive, causing her to jerk her head back and enter a trance-like state. As Wednesday described it: “They come on without warning and feel like electroshock therapy, but without the satisfying afterburn.”
Why The Netflix Show Gave Wednesday Addams Powers
There have been multiple adaptations of the property throughout the decades, both on television and in film. Most of them have adhered to a fairly conventional approach to the characters’ basic traits. Having so many adaptations following the same formula could have eventually led to the franchise growing stale, especially with several installments struggling critically. Thus, the intention with Tim Burton’s Wednesday show was to do something different. As co-showrunner Alfred Gough explained to Empire (via CBR):
“Wednesday Addams is such an iconic character. We thought, ‘What if you made her 16 years old and took her out of the family and put her in boarding school, so she has to make a new kind of family?’ We wanted to put her in a setting that still feels like you’re in the world of the Addams Family, but completely different.”
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