Can Wednesday Season 2 Get Away With More Violence Than Stranger Things?

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Summary

  • Wednesday plans to push dark fantasy limits with a horror season, predicated by Stranger Things‘ graphic Season 4.
  • Violence in Wednesday is more playful and tongue-in-cheek, while Stranger Things’ later mature themes are displayed more seriously.
  • Tim Burton’s depiction of violence uses eccentricity and surreal qualities to keep it quirky rather than grisly.

Jenna Ortega hinted at a scarier second season of Netflix’s Wednesday, revealing that one episode will be influenced by slasher movies. Given that slashers are usually violent and gory, it remains to be seen how graphically brutal this tribute could get, as the show has a TV-14 age rating.

On Wednesday, Netflix’s Stranger Things counterpart might serve as a benchmark to determine how far the show can venture into the realms of intense dark fantasy while staying within acceptable ratings guidelines. The Duffer Brothers have skillfully managed to incorporate a significant amount of gore and horror in Season 4 of their series without crossing any boundaries. However, the question remains: Can Wednesday match or surpass this level of intensity? It’s intriguing to consider whether it can achieve this feat while maintaining its TV-14 rating, as this rating allows for a certain degree of violence. Both shows have successfully argued in favor of permitting violence in various forms, even within supernatural settings.

Wednesday Vs. Stranger Things

The type of violence you see in “Stranger Things” differs from that in “Wednesday”. In “Wednesday”, the violence is often presented in a humorous or exaggerated manner, giving it an almost playful vibe. Showrunner Tim Burton uses light-hearted musical scores and a witty Wednesday Addams, brilliantly portrayed by Ortega, to color its violent scenes.

Initially, the Duffer Brothers’ series, “Stranger Things”, was set in a sandbox tinged with red, similarities abounding in its first season. However, as the characters in their show grew older and so did their audience, the themes of the show matured correspondingly. By the time we reached the latest season of “Stranger Things”, the horror elements were fully manifest, devoid of any hint of irony or softening of violent scenes for a more friendly impact.

In the premiere of ‘Wednesday‘, we see a school of piranhas viciously attack a swimmer, a gruesome decapitation reveals a gory head from a deceased man, and a detached, reanimated hand takes center stage as a prominent character. Unlike ‘Stranger Things‘, which gradually introduced its darker, more frightening elements over several seasons.

One spine-tingling event in Season 4 involved Nancy (portrayed by Natalia Dyer) delving into the malevolent world of Vecna. In this otherworldly realm, she uncovers the heartbreaking story of how Vecna transformed into such a wicked embodiment of evil. Along the way, she encounters unsettling scenes of entangled bodies trapped in webs of living tissue, with liquid oozing from their mouths as if they were expelling waste through their faces.

In one of the most chilling horror scenes from the Stranger Things series’ fourth season, a young character undergoes a harrowing ordeal involving being tormented, lifted off the ground, and disfigured by a creature that appears demonic enough to frighten even the devil himself.

Wednesday’s Approach To Fantasy Violence

On Wednesday, you’ll find an assortment of adult themes running throughout its first season, beyond just the gore. It features strong language, frequent drug mentions, and casual references to self-harm, all presented in a playful manner. As Ortega hints at a more genuinely terrifying direction for Season 2, it’s intriguing to ponder if Burton can reach the level of horror that “Stranger Things” has achieved.

In essence, if not for its unique quirks and the over-the-top style reminiscent of German expressionism, Season 1 of Wednesday might have rivaled the chaos of Stranger Things. However, these distinctive elements, intentionally used, give Tim Burton’s portrayal of dark and painful subjects a dreamlike, whimsical twist rather than a gruesome one.

As a movie enthusiast, I can’t help but notice that some scenes on Wednesday possess an eerie intensity that could rival Stranger Things’ most chilling moments if stripped of their musical backdrop. For instance, in episode 4, ‘Woe What A Night’, the terrifying image of a razor-clawed monster attacking a vulnerable beekeeper, suggesting disembowelment, is presented surprisingly calmly given the violent nature of the scene. This tranquility might be attributed to several factors such as the comical appearance of the monster, the upbeat musical score, and the exaggerated reaction from the victim, who seems devoid of any genuine pain or fear.

Tim Burton Knows What He’s Doing

If Burton were to eliminate one of those aspects, the scene would plunge into much darker, eerie dimensions. For example, if the monster murder scene was accompanied by the music from Vecna’s grisly dismemberment of Chrissy in “Stranger Things”, it would be a startling shift from other depictions of violence within the series. Crucially, however, it would significantly deviate from Wednesday’s ethereal vibe.

In the very same episode, it’s clear that Burton has taken note of the situation; after all, a school dance at Nevermore was suddenly disrupted by what appeared to be a downpour of blood from the sprinkler system. For a fleeting instant, it was quite intense. Wednesday then tasted the liquid and voiced her displeasure over its being paint instead of the genuine article.

The setting strongly resembles that found in Stephen King’s novel, “Carrie,” with a comparable act of retribution against peers. If Burton chooses to draw from classic slasher films for Season 2, he is likely to keep the focus on Wednesday, both as a character and a series, by skillfully employing atmospheric elements and creative storytelling techniques to soften the impact of any potential violence.

No Matter How Season 2 Is Done, It Will Be Done Right

Wednesday Addams finds solace in the grim and ghastly aspects of life. To truly capture the authentic dread associated with despair and mortality, the show should not stray from this theme at all. Overall, the series Wednesday is a tale of a girl asserting her unique identity against society’s efforts to mold her into something ordinary. In its second season, if it chooses to explore themes similar to slasher films, it will do so in Tim Burton’s distinctive manner and won’t be constrained by the dark fantasy conventions typically found among its Netflix contemporaries.

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2025-03-20 15:37