Wednesday Season 2 Trailer Harkens Back to a Classic Addams Family Moment

It’s back to Nevermore for Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), and this time there are some extra bodies tagging along. The newest trailer for Wednesday’s second season gives us a look at more of the Addams Family’s role in the series alongside a few callbacks to the lore of the franchise that we all know and love. 

In the wake of the chaos that she left behind in her first year at Nevermore, Wednesday arrives to a campus full of fanatics—including red-headed Wednesday copycat Agnes DeMille (Evie Templeton), who makes another appearance later on in the trailer with Enid (Emma Myers)–and a new principal in the form of Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi). Principal Dort is dead set on righting the ship that Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie) left behind with her untimely demise at the hands of Ms. Thornhill (Christina Ricci) and there is no doubt that his chipper attitude will rub Wednesday the wrong way. 

It seems that a part of Dort’s mission to encourage togetherness and “outcast pride” at Nevermore involves a return to nature (for another round of the Poe Cup, perhaps?) as we see Wednesday using a crossbow to zipline down to a tower that looks over a campsite that is home to several tents, including one that looks to belong to the rest of the Addams family. This Wednesday probably isn’t going to attempt to burn anyone at the stake like her Addams Family Values counterpart (also, not coincidentally played by Ricci), but there is no doubt that she’s gotten back into another tangled mess that comes with being a Nevermore student.

The reasons for the prominence of the Addams Family in season 2 have become more clear.  Not only is Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) attending Nevermore alongside his sister, but Wednesday’s prophetic visions have intensified. Now, they leave her crying black tears, and she has started to see a headstone with Enid’s name on it, with a bloody, vision-version of Enid grabbing her neck and screaming “I die because of you!” in Wednesday’s face. Despite their sometimes tense relationship, Wednesday seeks out Morticia’s help, and it looks like Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) may have experienced a similar tragedy during her time as a Nevermore student. 

Regardless of what else lies in Morticia’s past, she and Gomez look to be taking their new role as helicopter parents in stride. Wednesday might hate it, but it is clear that the whole family will be coming along for the ride in a more involved way than we previously believed. Grandmama (Joanna Lumley) seems to be getting in on the family action at Nevermore alongside her appearances at her gloomy estate, and though it looks like Wednesday will be able to get some help from her, Wednesday’s lament that, “secrets are the bedrock of the Addams Family” certainty foreshadows the challenges that she will face in seeking a way to prevent Enid’s fate. 

Despite all of the new faces we get to see here, there is still no sign of Lady Gaga’s much-anticipated Wednesday cameo in this trailer. We do know that she will appear in part 2 of this season as the “mysterious and enigmatic” Rosaline Rotwood, a supposedly “legendary” teacher at Nevermore who will cross Wednesday’s path. She is just one of the many things we don’t get a true look at in either trailer for the new season—what drives Wednesday to visit Tyler? How far does Agnes’ obsession with Wednesday go? What are Principal Dort’s real motivations at Nevermore?—but it certainly looks like this season of Wednesday will be even more jam-packed than the last.

Wednesday season 2 part 1 premieres August 6 on Netflix, with part 2 following on September 3.