Wednesday needs a werewolf girlfriend, not a Xavier/Tyler love triangle

If a show is a teen drama, it is obligated to have a love triangle — even if the love triangle doesn’t make any sense. This is an essential element of any teen drama, regardless of its origin. Recently, teen dramas are gravitating towards the Elena Stefan-Damon-Trope version, which features an interesting and cool girl being paired with two identical boys. The Vampire DiariesDan-Serena Nat Gossip Girl. Netflix’s newest teen drama WednesdayThis is not an exception.

But of all characters to be caught in a love triangle between two bland boys… Wednesday Addams? Goth icon Wednesday Addams? A teenage, macabre misanthrope who delights in torture

Alas, in Netflix’s new Tim Burton show, Wednesday herself falls victim to this most grating of teen drama tropes, with shy barista Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and angsty artist Xavier (Percy Hynes White) both vying for her attention. There was another way.

[Ed. note: This post contains major spoilers for Wednesday.]

Image by Netflix

Admittedly, the crushes do seem incredibly one-sided, especially on Xavier’s end. He broods about Wednesday paying more attention to Tyler, even though she’s made it pretty clear that she’s not interested in dating. In fact, even though Tyler ends up “winning” in the end, Wednesday’s interest in both the boys is more pragmatic than anything, something that actress Jenna Ortega deliberately played up.

Ortega said in an interview to W Magazine that she was trying to stay away from the idea of a love-triangle because it would be against her character as well as what people loved about her.

“Nobody wants to see her in the middle of a love triangle,” she says. “They want to see her torturing people.”

When she first caught a whiff of a potential love triangle, Ortega confronted the writers, who assured her that it wasn’t going to be one. Still, she was suspicious and decided to play up the idea that both boys were infatuated with her and she only tolerated them when she could gain something — be it a ride to the train station or information about the mysterious monster murdering people in the woods.

Photo by Vlad Cioplea/Netflix

Photo by Vlad Cioplea/Netflix

It’s refreshing to see a teenage girl in the middle of a “love triangle” who isn’t swooning over two identical leads. Although Tyler and Wednesday end up having sex, Tyler turns out to have been the worse guy. The romance was only a means to an ending. Xavier’s one-sided crush is still grating, but at least Wednesday doesn’t indulge him.

The creators behind Addams Family’s many incarnations have been determined to pair Wednesday off in a way that never applies to her younger brother Pugsley. (Thanks, sexism!) But that doesn’t mean all Wednesday Addams love interests are created equal. You can read more about In Family Values by Addams she had nerdy outcast Joel (David Krumholtz — yes, ThatDavid Krumholtz), was far more entertaining than Tyler or Xavier. In the musical, she has Lucas Beinke, who is deliberately designed to be as normal and bland as possible in order to contrast the kooky family and ends up roping around to being charming in that sort of “Just a Nice Guy!” type of way.

Tyler and Xavier seem to have been designed to be interesting and cool to the point of being stereotypes. Sure, the twist at the end means Tyler is a bloodthirsty monster (definitely more of Wednesday’s type), but as evidenced, Wednesday’s best romantic interests offer a contrast to her while still being interesting characters of their own — which means that there is already a perfect love interest for Wednesday in the show: her roommate, Enid Sinclair.

Photo by Vlad Cioplea/Netflix

Enid is a werewolf, but when the show starts, she hasn’t been able to fully transform, which puts her at odds with her mother. This mirrors Wednesday’s own estranged relationship with Morticia. Enid enjoys bright colors, sparkly things and friendship. She’s the sunshine to Wednesday’s grumpy rain cloud, to pull from some popular trope language, and their relationship is the strongest in the whole show. The two of them start off a little frosty and not keen to be roommates. However, they eventually become tentatively friendly. They eventually develop a closer connection. The show ends on Wednesday Hugs Enid. That’s a big deal, considering she doesn’t hug anyone else.

Female friendships are essential, but romantic relationships are equally important. Wednesday Addams, a role model for girls all over the world, has served as a beacon of hope and inspiration for many young women who have never felt at home. This legacy is being honored by giving Addams a girlfriend and not a boyfriend for 2022. It makes complete sense and many of her fans have already taken to heart this idea. Wednesday rejects the norm in every version of Addams’ family. Her stance against heteronormative couples would make her a total jerk and she’d rather smooch the bubbly werewolf girl.

WednesdayNetflix has it available for streaming.