Wednesday Bosses Break Down Shocking Finale Death and Tease Potential Season 2

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the finale of Wednesday.]

Wednesday's child may be full of woe, but the Wednesday Addams in Netflix's new series is certainly a little less woeful by the end of the show's eight episodes. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and directed by Tim Burton, Wednesday follows the eponymous character as she solves the mystery behind a serial-killing monster haunting Nevermore Academy. By the finale's end, Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) has successfully identified the monster. It turns out, it was none other than Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), recipient of Wednesday's first kiss, and put a stop to his master's evil plans. 

The reveal of this master's identity was another major moment in Wednesday's finale. Christina Ricci, who famously played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, starred as the unassuming dorm mom Marilyn Thornhill in the Netflix series. But Ms. Thornhill was actually Laurel Gates, the one controlling the Hyde — Tyler's monstrous alter ego — and who was on a mission to rid the world of outcasts. For a moment, it seemed like her plans would be thwarted by the Nevermore Academy's formidable principal, Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie), but Ms. Thornhill came prepared, and plunged a syringe filled with deadly poison into Weems. 

Did the poison actually kill Weems? "I feel like Larissa Weems would never be dominated by something as commonplace as death," Christie told TV Guide. The last we see her, the principal was on the ground foaming at the mouth with a panicked Wednesday at her side. "I was really devasted when I read that," Christie said of the scene. "However, I was energized when I knew that a life-long desire of Christina Ricci stabbing me in the neck would be realized."

TV Guide asked showrunners Gough and Millar our burning questions after watching Wednesday's finale, including whether Weems is actually dead. We also wanted to know what's next for Tyler and Ms. Thornhill, after they had been incapacitated and apprehended. "I remember getting the final script and seeing the scene and where [Tyler's] in the car being taken away in chains and then he wakes up and I was like, 'Yes! Not dead! Let's go!'" Doohan told TV Guide. "I'm just happy that he's still alive." And of course, we had to ask about Wednesday's stalker, who was revealed to still be around in the last moments of the finale. 

How did the idea of Tyler being the Hyde first come about?
Alfred Gough: We liked the idea that it was the character who you think is the normie, who you think is her friend. I'm sure as you're watching, people are like, "It's him!" and then, "it's not him." It's how many of those red herrings can you throw in the way so that when that reveal does hit at the end of Episode 7, it really lands. And it lands with you and also lands with Wednesday. Because again, she's very smart. So you also wanted to make sure that you weren't betraying the character. I think the thing that Tyler does, and Hunter as an actor does so well, is he comes across as so non-threatening and as such a normie that there's a certain point where Wednesday's just like, "I know who this person is. He's not on the list." That was really the balancing act with that character.

Given that Wednesday is very smart, do you think without the vision she would have eventually figured out Tyler's identity?
Miles Millar: Oh yeah, I think definitely. There was also that sort of subconscious attraction for her that was there, that she maybe didn't know. She says that in the voiceover as well, it's like her first kiss has to be with this serial-killing monster. Just very, very Wednesday-like. Very on brand.

How did the idea of Marilyn Thornhill being Laurel Gates first come about?
Gough: That was something that when we were first breaking the mystery, we had the monster but then we also wanted, is there a mastermind behind that? And then that really fed into the Gates family and their connection to the Addams family in the past, and then going all the way back to Crackstone. It was something that once you saw it all revealed, you're like, "Oh, I see." All of these things throughout the season that don't necessarily feel connected, you realize they're all connected.

I can see that. And did Christina Ricci know she was going to be the villain when she first signed onto the project?
Millar: Yes.That was one of the enticements. She loved the idea of the two Wednesdays being in the finale together and having that scene in the crypt and that she was this sweet, nurturing, maternal dorm mom and then she turns out to be the mastermind behind it all, all the mayhem. It was just great to see Jenna and Christina in scenes together. 

At the end, Wednesday asks if Laurel and Tyler were just pawns in a bigger game. What can you say about whether Wednesday's speculation is true?
Gough:I think you always want to have doors open. It's a very satisfying season and the story's wrapped up but you always want to leave those doors open to possibilities in subsequent seasons. 

In the finale's last moments, it's also revealed that Wednesday's stalker is still around. Can you tease who this stalker is?
Millar: We know who it is, we can't tease who it is. We never take for granted that we're going to get a second season but we certainly have big plans and lots more stories to tell in terms of Wednesday and her friends.

Should the audience believe that the stalker has been working with Laurel and Tyler, or should they believe the Stalker has been operating separately?
Millar: The audience can think what they want. I think both those things are good in terms of, both of those are possibilities. The goal is to intrigue and to have an audience ask exactly those kinds of questions. The story could lead them in numerous directions, and it's up to a Season 2 to decide which one.

And would you be able to share whether we have met this stalker already?
Gough: We can't share that yet.

Got it, I had to ask! By the end of the season we don't see either Laurel or Tyler dead. Does that mean that we can expect them to return in the future?
Gough: You see Tyler at the very end starting to Hyde out and then Laurel is in custody.

Millar: Probably at a hospital with bee stings.

With Tyler, can you talk about whether he actually had feelings for Wednesday or if his actions were to help Laurel execute her plan?
Gough: We'll explore more of that in Season 2 as well. I think there are some parts of him that he doesn't know. And there's definitely some primal attraction there and it's just like, were those real feelings? We're not convinced that even Tyler knows that at this point.

And did everything with Tyler put her off of dating completely or is that an aspect that could be explored more in a Season 2, maybe with Xavier (Percy Hynes White)?
Millar: We spent a lot of time talking about this in terms of Wednesday and romance. I think she's not someone who's looking for romance. And maybe that's why people are attracted to her because she's not interested. I think that's something that is very true to her character, and I think it's because she's so emotionally reserved and it's an important balance to keep for the purity of the character — that's something we'd always keep an eye on in terms of making sure that she's behaving as Wednesday would. She's not boy crazy, girl crazy. She's sort of amused like a scientist is amused, or fascinated by people's attraction. She doesn't quite understand it — "why are people interested in me in this way?" I think it's something that can evolve over seasons. But at this point, it's kind of an annoyance to what she really wants to be doing which is investigate or write or just get on with her life.

Something else I wanted to ask—for me, the most shocking moment in the finale was Larissa Weems seemingly dying. Is she actually dead?
Gough: Well, she looked pretty dead when we left her.

Millar: We like the idea that people die in this world, that there are real sacrifices and there's loss — and that Wednesday has to react to that. That it's not a cartoon. For us, the fact that we could kill such a significant character, it was important that we did that. It's hard because the relationship between Weems and Wednesday is so magnetic and one of the highlights of making the show was seeing Jenna and Gwendoline work together. Those scenes were always, there was a magic when you shot them. You see that in those scenes that those two people really connected in a deep way. And even though they are in constant conflict, there's also an underlying respect for those characters in those scenes. So to have her die is even more impactful. But that said, we're always open for — it's a supernatural show, there are always ways people can return. Never say never, but at this point, she's definitely dead.

In what ways do you think Wednesday has changed the most throughout the course of this season?
Gough: I think she's someone who has learned that you can have friends. Friends were not a thing she did and I think when she first met all these people, she would just sort of use them to her advantage when she needed it and in service of solving this bigger mystery. And then they kind of turn on her and then she realizes at the end like okay, these are people that I could trust. 

Millar: Maybe tolerate. Her emotional arc of the season is literally a hug. She goes from someone who has no physical connection and is repulsed by that idea, to the Episode 8 moment where she hugs Enid (Emma Myers). Our goal was for that moment to be deeply meaningful to those two characters but also to the audience. It's this far in any normal show [Millar holds up his fingers a few centimeters wide], where your big emotional arc is a hug. But for Wednesday Addams that's the Grand Canyon. It's a huge leap that she's made. We love the idea that they're two female characters, they're these two friends, that's the heart of the show. It's not about romance. It's about this female connection. And this female friendship transcends all the drama and trauma they experienced in this episode. And I think that to us is the emotional climax of the first season. 

Wednesday is available to stream.