Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Wednesday Season 2 Part 2.Opposites attract, but any hope for a Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) and Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan) romance needs to be buried once and for all. School’s back in session in Season 2 on Wednesday. While everyone’s busy attending classes and tidying their dorms, Wednesday has a different kind of schedule. Having worked on her psychic abilities during her vacation, Wednesday receives a vision she couldn’t ignore: someone’s about to die. Not if Wednesday has anything to do with it. Unfortunately, her new case requires a small trip to Willow Hill asylum, where Wednesday’s former-crush-turned-monster is locked up in solitary confinement. Don’t get your hopes up — a romantic reunion is nowhere in sight.
What Happened Between Wednesday Addams and Tyler Galpin?
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday.’
Image via Netflix
Season 1 of Wednesday first saw Wednesday and Tyler as unlikely allies as Wednesday investigates a string of killings in Jericho. When Wednesday stepped foot into Nevermore as a student, she was immediately detested by the rest of the student body. However, Wednesday would later meet Tyler at Weathervane, a coffee shop where he was working as a barista. Wednesday offers to fix the espresso machine, provided he drives her to Burlington Station. Since then, Tyler has inserted himself into Wednesday’s investigations. As much as she is reluctant to his help, she can’t deny that Tyler is a valuable asset to help her get around.
A major part of the Wednesday Season 1 plot is the “love triangle” between Wednesday, Tyler, and Nevermore student Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White). Xavier shares the same psychic abilities as Wednesday, using his realistic abilities as a medium to capture his visions. However, as one of the popular guys in school, Wednesday has no intention of returning Xavier’s genuine kindness. If anything, she’s suspicious of his every move — whenever there’s trouble around, Xavier always seems to be nearby.
Meanwhile, in a school where nobody wants to accept Wednesday’s oddities, Tyler was a human who surprisingly liked her despite her intricacies. Under the impression that he’s a regular Normie, Wednesday lets her guard down, thinking that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. Unfortunately, the infatuation is short-lived. In one of Season 1’s biggest plot twists, Wednesday not only kisses Tyler — she also receives a psychic vision of Tyler with blood on his mouth. It is later revealed that Tyler is the Hyde behind the Jericho murders, which explains why he’s been tagging along with Wednesday throughout her investigations. The kindness in Tyler’s eyes is gone as he succumbs to his flesh-eating form.
It Is Not Wednesday Addams’ Job To Save Tyler Galpin from His Monstrosity
The moment Tyler reveals his Hyde self, Wednesday loses all romantic feelings for him. However, in his defense, it’s important to mention that Tyler himself is a victim. His Hyde mother is presumably dead, leaving Tyler without either a motherly figure to care for him or a proper mentor to teach him how to control his powers (then again, there’s also no guarantee that his mother is mentally capable enough to guide him). His father, Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane), was unaware of his son’s Hyde form, though he did have his suspicions. But Sheriff Galpin was just as bad a father. Following the “passing” of his wife, Sheriff Galpin emotionally distanced himself from his son. Plus, his manipulative teacher, Marilyn Thornhill (Laurel Gates), made things worse by grooming Tyler into her own personal killing machine.
That said, it is not Wednesday’s obligation to fix Tyler, especially considering the volatile nature of a Hyde. In Season 2, Wednesday finally pays a visit to Tyler in Willow Hill asylum, marking their first reunion since their battle in the Season 1 finale. Tyler is locked up in solitude, all chained up and with no chance of escape. Every time Tyler shows any signs of a Hyde-related relapse, he immediately gets electrocuted. During Wednesday’s visit, Tyler was still under the impression that she still harbored feelings for him. However, Wednesday immediately shuts him down, especially when he threatens to kill Enid (Emma Myers). The more Wednesday rejects Tyler, the more angrily reactive he becomes, which almost triggers his Hyde self.
Surprisingly, in the season finale, when Wednesday was given the chance to kill Tyler easily, she “missed” and let him go instead. However, this should not be read as a gesture of love. Throughout both seasons, Tyler has always been under someone else’s control, and as a Hyde, he lives with the belief that he requires a Master to survive. Over the course of Season 2, Wednesday learns to grow emotionally — not in a vulnerable, letting-her-walls-down manner, but in a way where she learns how to understand what it’s like being in other people’s shoes. Wednesday freeing him instead of killing him is not an act of romance, but a sign of respecting Tyler’s wish to be free.
Wednesday Cares More About Enid than Looking for a Boyfriend
Pushing for a Wednesday-Tyler romance would ruin one of the show’s strongest pillars: Wednesday and Enid’s friendship. At first glance, the two couldn’t be more mismatched — Wednesday arrives at Nevermore armed with blades and gloom, while Enid is all glitter and gossip. Neither is thrilled about being roommates, but over time, Enid warms her way into Wednesday’s cold heart. Her intel proves invaluable in Wednesday’s case, and slowly, the grim detective starts to rely on her roommate. The pinnacle of their friendship comes in the Season 1 finale, when Enid finally “wolfs out” and nearly sacrifices herself to free Wednesday from Tyler. Just like that, they transform from reluctant cohabitants to best friends — not in a “yay we’re BFFs!” way, but in the sense that they both realize they would do anything to protect each other.
What makes their bond so interesting is the contrast in how they express care. Enid openly shows hers, while Wednesday hides it beneath her stoic self. Season 2 puts their friendship to the test when Wednesday receives a premonition of Enid’s death, one she keeps secret to protect her. However, this means Wednesday puts Enid’s at an arm’s length. Back in Season 1, Wednesday refused Enid’s help because she operated better alone. This time around, she keeps her distance not out of arrogance, but out of fear of losing her — especially since Wednesday is the one “at fault” for her untimely death.
That’s the relationship that deserves the attention. Not the boys fighting for a chance to win Wednesday’s stubborn heart, but the friendship that represents growth, mutual understanding, and learning how to be vulnerable with the unlikeliest of people. No love triangle could ever top the strange, imperfect, yet beautiful blossoming of Wednesday and Enid’s bond. That’s why, in the Season 2 finale, Wednesday spends her vacation going north with Uncle Fest (Fred Armisen) to search for Enid, who has now transformed into an Alpha werewolf notorious for being a literal lone wolf. In the past, it was Enid who kept reaching out to a distant Wednesday. This time, Wednesday returns the favor — she refuses to let her best friend drift away.
Wednesday is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Release Date
November 23, 2022
Network
Netflix
