Wednesday’s Nero Storyline Perfectly Continues The Addams Family’s Bizarre Pets Gag
Wednesday’s Opening Torture Scene Is A Callback To 2 Forgotten Original Addams Family Members
The torturous act that gets Wednesday Addams expelled in Wednesday season 1’s opening scene features a subtle callback to two characters from the original Addams Family TV show. Netflix’s Wednesday is filled with references and Easter eggs to past adaptations of The Addams Family and the original cartoons from creator Charles Addams. While many of the outfits, location names, quotes, and sound cues like the infamous double snap are more overt, the series’ Easter eggs also include more obscure connections to the 1960s Addams Family sitcom.
Kicking off the Tim Burton-directed series fittingly, Wednesday season 1 opens with Jenna Ortega’s titular character getting revenge on Pugsley’s bullies. Set to the song “Non, je ne regrette rien,” Wednesday empties two bags full of piranhas into her school’s pool while her classmates are playing water polo. The near-homicidal incident ends with the students being maimed by the dangerous fish and Wednesday Addams being sent to Nevermore Academy’s school for outcasts, proving Ortega’s Wednesday is just as devious as Ricci’s iconic 1990s version of the character. However, this torturous event has an even deeper connection to The Addams Family’s 1960s sitcom, brilliantly pulling from the many iterations of the characters.
The Addams Family Owned 2 Pet Piranhas In The 1960s TV Show
Wednesday using piranhas to torture her classmates in the Netflix series’ pilot makes perfect sense given the 1960s Addams Family characters had two pet piranhas named Isolde and Tristan. The piranhas first appeared in The Addams Family season 1’s aptly titled episode “The Addams Family Tree,” then returned a few installments later in “The Addams Family Meet the VIPs.” Isolde and Tristan shared a small aquarium in the Addams family’s New Jersey household, so they weren’t able to easily attack people like in Wednesday’s pool scene.
It’s not suggested that Wednesday season 1’s piranhas are meant to include The Addams Family’s Isolde and Tristan, but it is a clever nod to two members of the title family that were largely forgotten in the ‘60s sitcom. It’s also unclear where Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday procured the fish, but it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the Netflix series’ Addams family also has an aquarium full of piranhas. Much like their scorpions, spiders, and lions throughout the many adaptations of the characters, piranhas are a pet fitting of the kooky Addams family.
Wednesday’s Nero Storyline Perfectly Continues The Addams Family’s Bizarre Pets Gag
When recounting the last time the title character cried, Wednesday season 1 briefly included a flashback to her childhood in which she discussed the tragic death of her pet scorpion, Nero. Shockingly, the 1960s Addams family members didn’t have a pet scorpion, but they did care for unconventional pets like lions, spiders, vultures, and lizards in addition to their piranhas Tristan and Isolde. Wednesday’s scorpion Nero thus adds to the growing list of unexpected species of animals that become members of the Addams family.
While Nero is the only Addams family pet seen during Wednesday season 1, some deceased pets’ graves are shown in the family’s cemetery. With Nevermore being shut down in Wednesday season 1’s ending, it’s likely that the Netflix TV show will finally show the Addams family’s home in full. If so, the series is apt to give a tour of the characters’ home and the many unconventional pets and animals that inhabit the mansion.