Love is in the air in Episode 4 ofWednesday, as the students of Nevermore Academy get ready to party at the school’s yearly ball, the Rave’N. And yes, even our favorite nihilist (Jenna Ortega) takes some time to have fun in Episode 4, “Woe What a Night,” after being caught in an unwanted love triangle.
However, while Episode 4 focuses on the relationships between students, that doesn’t mean the series' central mystery is forgotten, as Wednesday keeps investigating the monster in the wood. And after Episode 4, we can tell for sure who isn’t the creature, even though the price to pay for that answer might be the life of a beloved character.
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Crossing Suspects Off the List
Episode 4 begins as Wednesday and Thing (Victor Dorobantu) break into the coroner’s office to investigate the body of the monster’s latest victim. They are almost caught by the coroner and Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane), who also decide to make a late visit to the morgue and speed up the police investigation. Even so, the trip is fruitful, as Wednesday uncovers new details about the creature. While the beast form of the monster mauls and chews its victim, it seems like its human form is some sort of serial killer. That’s because the monster used a saw to cut out two toes of the homeless man as if it was gathering trophies. And in fact, all previous victims also had organs or body parts missing. In short, the monster’s attacks might not be random but carefully planned by a killer who can shapeshift into a beast.
After the events of Episode 3, Wednesday has grown suspicious of Xavier (Percy Hynes White), the tormented painter who can bring his art to life. Not only Xavier showed up right next to the last monster appearance, but he now tries to hide some ugly claw marks on his neck. Determined to uncover the truth, Wednesday follows Xavier to a shed in the woods, a place he carefully keeps locked. And as it turns out, Xavier has a reason for all the secrecy, as the shed is filled with paintings and drawings depicting the monster. That is evidence enough for Wednesday, who snatches a couple of sketches to take them to the Sheriff. However, as Wednesday exits the premises, she stumbles upon Xavier, who questions her presence. After an awkward conversation, Wednesday is forced to ask Xavier to go to the Rave’N with her in order to cover her tracks. Xavier is ecstatic about the invitation, making it abundantly clear he really likes the goth girl.
At the police station, Wednesday proposes she and the Sheriff work together to catch the monster. At first, Galpin is unconvinced he’d need the help of a teenager, but when Wednesday shows the drawings of the monster, the Sherif realizes there’s some advantage in having a pair of eyes inside Nevermore. So, he asks Wednesday to find hard evidence if she wants his cooperation.
One of Xavier’s drawings is the key to the first piece of evidence. By looking at the drawing, Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) recognizes some mysterious circles as the entrance to a nearby cave. The two beekeeping allies visit the cave, finding an enormous amount of animal bones. Inside the cave, they also find a pair of handcuffs chained to the stone wall, maybe as an early attempt of the monster to control its murderous impulses. More importantly, Wednesday finds a claw she can use to run a DNA test.
To get a sample of Xavier’s DNA and compare it with the claw, Wednesday goes back to the boys’ shed, grabbing a tissue he used to clean his neck wound, which is now soaked in blood. This time, Xavier catches Wednesday inside the shed, realizing she was after him the whole time and only used the Rave’N invitation as a cover. As he explains, he has been tormented by nightmares of the monster and has been using his art to process the images. One of the images inadvertently came to life the previous evening, scratching Xavier’s neck. His story makes sense, but Wednesday keeps Xavier’s blood sample anyway. The boy is visibly heartbroken by Wednesday’s deception, and at that moment, we can even see some glimpses of regret in Wednesday’s eyes. The cruelest member of the Addams Family might have a heart, after all.
Determined to avoid her feelings as much as she can, Wednesday delivers the claw and the blood sample to the Sheriff, promising to explain everything once they get the results. And since neither she nor Eugene have a date for the Rave’N, they both decide to stalk the cave at night to catch the monster and unveil his identity. Unfortunately for Wednesday, destiny has a Thing for pushing her into forming emotional bonds.
Woe, That’s a Great Dress
During Episode 3, Wednesday seems to be the only student who doesn’t care about the Rave’N. Everyone else is busy getting a date, finding a dress, or helping with decorations. So, as expected, when Enid (Emma Myers) finds out Wednesday is going to the ball with Xavier, she almost bursts with excitement. Naturally, Enid wants to find a dress for Wednesday and takes her roommate shopping in Jericho. While Wednesday only wants to use the opportunity to talk to the Sheriff, she does spend a few seconds admiring a creepy and kooky black dress in Uriah’s Heap.
During her visit to Jericho, Wednesday also crosses paths with Tyler (Hunter Doohan), who suggest they might go together to the Rave’N. Wednesday reveals she’s going with Xavier, and while she underlines she had no choice, Tyler is still hurt. As the boy tells her, he knows there’s a connection between them, and he hopes they can get closer. Thing is present during the whole affair, hiding in Wednesday’s backpack. So, as soon as Xavier is out of the picture, Thing writes a letter impersonating Wednesday to invite Tyler to the Rave’N.
When the day of the Rave’N comes, Wednesday is ready to go monster hunting in the woods with Eugene. Instead, Tyler knocks at her dorm room, saying he was touched by her heartfelt letter. Wednesday is angry with Thing for forcing her to go on a date, but she’s also excited. And when Thing reveals he stole the dress she loved from Uriah’s Heap, Wednesday seems ready to have a lovely evening.
The Rave’N goes as expected, with the usual amount of drama any teenager gathering has. Even so, the event serves for us to learn some things about the series’ main cast. For starters, Headmaster Weems (Gwendoline Christie) doesn’t like the Rave’N because when she was a student at Nevermore, her crush invited another girl to the ball, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). That means Weems dislikes Morticia and Wednesday because she fell in love with Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and thinks Morticia stole her chance to get together with him. We also learn that Tyler used to hang out with Lucas (Iman Marson) and the other Jericho bullies. In fact, Tyler helped vandalize a mural Xavier painted in Jericho, and that’s why they seem to have some history. His actions are also what led Tyler to do mandatory therapy. While Wednesday is ready to forgive Tyler for his prank, that might not be the last time we hear about this. There’s a difference between pranking someone and being a bully with outcasts. Finally, Bianca (Joy Sunday) takes a heartbroken Xavier to the ball, trying to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend. However, when Xavier asks Bianca to use her siren song to make him forget about Wednesday, she gets rightfully angry and dumps him on the spot.
The Rave’N goes well, and everybody has a good time until a bloody ending. In Episode 3, Ajax (Georgie Farmer) is embarrassed to tell Enid he stoned himself with a mirror, so the girl thinks he just missed their date on purposed. That leads Enid to go to the Rave’N with Lucas, the leader of Jericho’s bullies. Lucas promises Enid to help her make Ajax jealous, but the boy intends to help his friends put red paint in Nevermore’s pipes, pull the fire alarm, and let the sprinklers bathe the outcasts red. Unfortunately for Lucas, he bonds with Enid, realizing outcasts are people just like everyone else. There might be redemption for the bully, but due to peer pressure, he still chooses to be a bigot and move on with his plan. On the bright side, Ajax apologizes to Enid while the party is ruined, and they kiss under the starry night.
Wednesday’s evening ends more tragically. When Wednesday decided to go to the party with Tyler, Eugene felt abandoned and decided to stake out the cave by himself. While waiting for the monster, Eugene sees a man drive close to the cave and throw a Molotov inside it. Soon after, Eugene gets chased by the monster. Wednesday has the vision of Eugene in danger. Unfortunately, she is too late to save him. The monster mauls Eugene, and while the credits roll before we can learn if he’s alive, the attack will undoubtedly lead Wednesday on a path of revenge. Watch out, monster, the most dangerous Addams is coming for you.
