Abhiroop Das
Episode 3 of the second season of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday,’ titled ‘The Devil You Woe,’ embodies chaos and competition, two traits that seem to follow its titular protagonist wherever she goes. While the previous episode ends with the reveal of her mystery stalker, who is revealed to be a junior fan named Agnes DeMille, Wednesday’s ordeals seem to be far from over. The danger to Enid’s life still looms, and the answers seem to be locked away with Donovan Galpin and Carl Bradbury, both of whom meet a tragic end. Elsewhere, Bianca Barclay is forced to play to the tunes of Nevermore‘s new principal, Barry Dort, and his nefarious schemes. As such, this episode continues on this complicated maze, while also providing a breath of fresh air to the narrative. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Morticia Stands in the Way of Wednesday’s Investigation
The episode begins with Morticia and Gomez Addams giving Thing a belated birthday treat in the form of a special hand spa. The family wonders how they forgot such a crucial day, and the mounting pressure of Nevermore’s affairs mixing with their personal life appears to be the only answer. The protagonist’s mother seems to be the most affected by this, as she recounts how she felt compelled to invite her mother, Hester Frump, to the upcoming fundraiser gala as the guest of honor. We know this happened because of Bianca’s ability, but for Morticia, it merely opens a trove of bad memories. Gomez tries to cheer her up, promising a night of fun and pleasure, but it is interrupted by Morticia sensing her daughter, who has snuck into the house in search of the Book of Shadows, Goody Addams’s precious book on psychic abilities.
Wednesday tries to make her case to Morticia, explaining how her premonitions are substantiated by the series of strange events taking place in and around Nevermore. However, her mother refuses to relent, reiterating how unreliable psychic vision can be. Their exchange soon gets argumentative, with the sensitive topic of Ophelia, Morticia’s sister, being brought up once again. The latter exclaims that her sister was a psychic of a similar calibre and attitude as Wednesday and had let her abilities drive her to madness. However, seeing that they have reached an impasse, the teen decides to exit, temporarily halting her quest for the book. Back at her dorm, trouble keeps mounting as she finds no leads on her investigation, and Edin’s growing excitement about the upcoming group camping trip begins to irk her as well.
Wednesday Makes a Breakthrough Following in Galpin’s Footsteps
Thing suggests letting Edin know about the imminent threat to her life, but Wednesday shuts that idea down. Instead, she is joined by Agnes DeMille, who reveals that she has been here, invisible, this entire time. She tries to become a part of her idol’s team once again, but Wednesday is quick to respond, reminding her of how dire the consequences of crossing lines can be. Following this, the protagonist heads to Donovan Galpin’s funeral, which is only attended by Sheriff Santiago and Dr. Fairburn from Willow Hill. The three discuss his mysterious death, and while no leads come up, Wednesday seems to have her eyes set on the latter. A conversation with the psychiatrist reveals that Galpin did visit his son once in the facility, but it proved to be disastrous, as Tyler nearly went out of control in his hyde form.
The scene then cuts to The Inn at Apple Hollow, where Bianca Barclay quickly uses her ability to discreetly secure a room for her mother, Gabrielle. It turns out that her previous relationship with Gideon Sterling, the leader of the Morning Song Cult, was short-lived as a raid disrupted the cult’s operations, and he escaped. This forces Gabrielle to relocate, in fear of her former partner hurting her, and her daughter’s siren abilities come to the rescue. Elsewhere, Wednesday finally gives up on cracking the case on her own and reaches out to Agnes about how she unlocked Galpin’s phone. A junior named Josephine with shapeshifting powers comes in clutch, helping them go past his phone’s facial recognition system. With this, Wednesday finally taps into the voice message describing a bullpen with all the evidence.
Wednesday rummages through Carl’s box of evidence and pictures, eventually hitting the jackpot: a picture of a cabin labelled bullpen. Luckily enough, the cabin is located in the Pine Crest forest region, which lies right next to Camp Jericho, where Nevermore’s students are headed for their camping activity. With a perfect cover in place, the protagonist decides to join the group, much to Enid’s excitement. On the way to the camp, Wednesday meets her brother, who is suspiciously carrying a coffin all by himself. While he claims that he is using it to hide fireworks, we can tell that he is actually bringing Slurp, the zombie, along with him. Things get more intense when Morticia and Gomez join in as well, as parent chaperones.
Camp Jericho Turns Into a Fun Battleground
While the Jericho camp starts out as a fun exercise, trouble soon catches up, as Pugsley informs Bee Boy about the zombie’s presence on this trip. Their secret nearly unravels when Gomez tries to enter the tent, but he stops, instead advising his son to be cautious about their mischiefs. Elsewhere, Principal Dort gets into a fight with Ron Kruger, a Phoenix Cadet Master, over their reservation dates for the camp clashing. With no solution in sight, Wednesday steps in at last, challenging the cadets to a competition where the winner would take it all. The two camps settle on a color war, where the teams would have to retrieve their enemy camp’s color balls and mount them on top of a watchtower first, before bursting it open. With this, an outcasts vs normies matchup begins to take shape.
The competition is a particularly intense one, with both teams using their unique skill sets to earn their victory. Initially, the cadets easily get the upper hand, using Ajax’s Medusa ability to their disadvantage and quickly stealing the outcast’s color ball. Their bad luck continues with the cadets using tear gas and other mechanisms to halt the outcast advance team. However, Wednesday comes to their rescue, taking Bee Boy’s help to guide bees to attack and distract the cadets, while she walks through the tear gas and calmly retrieves their color ball. However, the other team has a significant time advantage, and with no straight way to equalize the distance, Wednesday gets creative, making an emergency zip line to blitz her way to the top of the watchtower, giving her opponent a crushing defeat.
Wednesday’s Target is Connected to Willow House
Having won the competition, the outcasts celebrate, giving Wednesday the perfect opportunity to sneak out and explore the bullpen. Meanwhile, Kruger expresses his dissatisfaction and secretly plots a recapturing mission to take place later that night. As the sun sets, Nevermore’s students settle down to enjoy a peaceful music jamming session, while the protagonist conducts her solo mission, eventually locating the cabin. After breaking her way in, she finds a seemingly inconspicuous camping house but quickly finds its secret pinboard, detailing Galpin and Carl’s investigation into a number of outcasts admitted to Willow High, who are either missing or have been presumed dead. Upon seeing the name “LOIS” spread across the board, Wednesday concludes that this person has been kidnapping outcasts, and Enid might be her next target.
Elsewhere, Ajax and Enid finally have their long-awaited confrontation, where the latter makes it clear how the two have separated, and that she is no longer the girl he fell for. With this, the duo has a heartfelt breakup, giving her time with Bruno new, solid ground. Meanwhile, Wednesday returns to her mother, this time committed to recovering the book one way or another. With both sides refusing to deter, the protagonist proposes a duel-a-ciegas, or a blindfolded sword duel. Morticia agrees, and the stage is set for a grand showdown. The cadets, having listened to all of the happenings in the outcast camp, feel bad about their plan of taking over, and relay that to Kruger. In turn, he rebukes them, aggressively leading the charge himself.
Slurp the Zombie Has a Solo Outbreak
Kruger’s eagerness to act turns out to be a mistake, as Slurp, the zombie, has freed himself yet again and is now starting to resemble a human. Without skipping a beat, he attacks Kruger, chomping down on his brain before looking for his next target. At the same time, the duel begins, with both duelists wearing a glass heart. Whoever shatters the glass first gets their wish fulfilled. While Wednesday proposes a return of her book, her mother takes things up a notch, promising to burn it down if she wins. The fight is a close one, with both characters showing their deft swordplay, nearing a clinch at multiple points. Elsewhere, Pugsley and Bee Boy realize the gravity of the situation and set out with Agnes to look for Slurp.
Slurp, on the other hand, arms himself with an axe and enters the men’s washroom, nearly taking down a showering Gomez, before Pugsley’s electric shocks send him flying. Elsewhere, Wednesday and Morticia cut it close, but ultimately, the latter shows her superior expertise, cleanly shattering her daughter’s glass heart. However, Wednesday doesn’t miss out either; instead, she saves her mother’s life by stopping Slurp dead in his tracks with her sword. With the zombie finally restrained, things begin to come back to normalcy, and the camp prematurely comes to a close. Slurp is sent to Willow Hill, which seemingly lies at the center of all the recent suspicious activity. This notion gets another layer with the final scene, revealing that Laurel Gates, too, is now a patient at the hospital.
Read More: Wednesday Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
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