Gwendoline Christie was one of the best members of the cast of Wednesday during Season 1. While she already blew me away with her work in Game of Thrones, Christie crushes her role as Principal Weems. The character exudes a classy charm and sense of complexity that conveys Christie's wide range of skills as an actor. Despite Weems' death, the character is now set to return for Season 2, and Jenna Ortega just recalled one way she and the writers initially thought about reviving the character.
Jenna Ortega has never shied away from discussing the creative choices made for Wednesday. In fact, she made headlines when she got real about some aspects of the show making “no sense” to her. (Ortega had long wanted to up the horror elements and dial down the romance.) Just recently, the Emmy nominee admitted during an interview with AIChark (which was shared to TikTok) that the show made a “terrible mistake” by killing off Principal Weems. With that, Ortega revealed she formulated an idea to bring Weems back, and it involved shapeshifting:
We had had discussions at the end of Season 1 about – we already knew that we were gonna kill her. So we were saying, ‘Oh man, well, this has been a terrible mistake on our part. How are we gonna undo this? Is there a way we could bring her back?’ I would say, ‘Well, she’s a shapeshifter. Maybe she isn’t dead. Maybe all the shapeshifters, their natural form is [Weems]. Maybe if they all reverted back to their initial state…’ That’s what I wanted. We were throwing out all these ideas, and then the writers came up with her being my spirit guide.
I feel like the writers made the right call in going with the spirit guide character plot, which was just recently revealed. I think having all shapeshifters appear as Weems in “their natural form” would be too complicated. Having Christie's character return as a spirit guide for Wednesday Addams is perfect since the Nevermore Head of Staff tried to help the show's titular character during her time at the Academy. Weems even tried tried to help the teen in the end, the notion of having her return in this form certainly tracks.
If Wednesday Season 2 -- which is part of 2025 Netflix's 2025 releases -- were like the more traditional Addams Family movies and TV shows Principal Weems might not be reappearing. Those past productions featured death in relatively definitive ways, so Weems' poisoning would've been the end. The concepts that have been explored in the Jenna Ortega-led spinoff series, however, allow for Weems to come back into the fold. And Ortega is thrilled about that:
We just were so lucky to be playing in a supernatural world where we could bend the rules a little bit and find a way to bring her back. Because she brought so much to the show and established so much of what she — [she] just made that atmosphere feel real. It’s one of my favorite on-screen pairings I’ve ever had, so to be able to elaborate on that and go deeper and further was a great pleasure.
I jumped for joy seeing Wednesday’s Season 2, Part 2 trailer, which revealed Weems' return. She and Addams have an interesting dynamic and, while they don't always see eye to eye, it works. There's also a sense of mutual respect between the two. With the supernatural series being split into two parts, this next set of episodes may place great emphasis on the relationship between Ortega's character and her new spirit guide.
As a fan, I'm so glad Weems is not only returning but doing so in a fun-looking capacity. Considering how happy Gwendoline Christie was when Wednesday was renewed, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she’s thrilled she gets to continue playing her imposing character. It was Christie's stunning turn (complete with Alfred Hitchcock influences) that made her such a standout in the first season. Watch Christie and Jenna Ortega on screen together again when the second part of their show's second season becomes available for Netflix subscription holders on September 3rd.
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