Abhiroop Das
The second season of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday‘ takes its titular protagonist and her friends on a tour of Jericho over the course of their painstaking investigation of a new murder mystery. This time, the killers are a murder of crows, and Wednesday must find the one pulling the strings from behind before it’s too late. However, her parents’ surprise arrival in Nevermore creates trouble for the protagonist, especially with her mother deciding to temporarily make Rotwood Cottage her home. Elsewhere, Wednesday’s classmate, Bianca Barclay, a siren, faces her own set of trials and tribulations. After sneaking her mother into The Inn at Apple Hollow, she hopes to find a moment of peace, not knowing the series of events that are about to follow. As such, both locations take on an important role in the story, ultimately deciding its trajectory. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Real Inn at Massachusetts Doubles as Wednesday’s The Inn at Apple Hollow
The Inn at Apple Hollow serves as an important setting in the narrative used by Bianca Barclay to keep her mother, Gabrielle, away from harm. The inn then takes on a comic appearance with the entry of Fester Addams, who wastes no time in churning out his shenanigans and putting a spotlight on the entire location. While it is not directly based on a real stay, The Groton Inn, a real place located at 128 Main Street in Groton, Massachusetts, serves as one of its primary filming locations. As such, there is a significant overlap between the real inn and its fictional counterpart. Reportedly, the establishing shots of the Inn at Apple Hollow use Groton Inn’s exteriors, digitally inserting a new logo instead. This creative choice adds an extra dose of realism to the narrative, smoothing the production process.
The Groton Inn stands as one of the oldest inns in the homeland, dating back to the 17th century. This organically contributes to the show’s style, maintaining consistency between different parts of the larger ‘Wednesday’ world. While the fictional name suggests that Apple Hollow is a location within the narrative, there are also real-life inns and cottages with a similar name, such as the Apple Hollow Cabins, which is situated at 100 North Main Street in the town of Glendale, Utah. While there are some vague similarities, given the geographical differences, this cabin is unlikely to have served as a reference point. Instead, it is more likely that The Groton Inn’s aesthetics were fully utilized to infuse this eventful location with a sense of depth and detail.
Rotwood Cottage is a Fictional Residence Brought to Life in a Creative Way
Rotwood Cottage is a fictional location created by Wednesday’s writing team. It is stated to be the former residence of Laurel Gates, and in Morticia Addams‘s care, the house sheds its bright, pink shades, giving way to the show’s characteristic dark, laced aesthetic. Designing the cottage was no easy feat, and it turns out that the team utilized a perspective trick to achieve the desired effect. In an interview with Timeout, supervising locations manager Maria O’Connor explained that all the exterior shots were taped using a miniature version of the house that was set up in Cloragh Woods in County Wicklow, Ireland. Her statement, “We ended up putting a miniature in a forest,” gives crucial insight into what went behind the scenes in bringing the cottage to life.
All the interior shots of the Rotwood Cottage are a result of complex set work, most of which took place in Ashford Studios, a media production company located in the Ballyhenry neighborhood of Ashford in County Wicklow, Ireland. The studio has previously hosted several big titles, most notably ‘Vikings’ and its sequel, ‘Vikings: Valhalla.’ While no direct line of inspiration can be traced as of writing, it is possible that several real gothic cottages, such as Roseland Cottage in Woodstock, Connecticut, and William J. Rotch Gothic Cottage, situated in New Bedford, Massachusetts, might have been reference points. However, given that neither of them is a perfect fit, it is more likely that the idea of a gothic cottage served as the team’s primary inspiration, instead of a particular real-life counterpart.
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