Top 10 Jenna Ortega Scenes as Wednesday Addams

Jenna Ortega’s fame has skyrocketed since Wednesday premiered on Netflix last November. Since then, she literally became a household name, gaining 10 million new followers on Instagram in 10 days. 

Undaunted by the big shoes she has to fill since Cristina Ricci’s iconic portrayal of the lovable misanthrope, Jenna Ortega not only delivered the goods but managed to make the character her very own. 

Now that the world is caught in a Jenna craze, let's revisit ten iconic Jenny Ortega scenes from the series that proves she is indeed a worthy Wednesday Addams successor.

One of the many memorable scenes in the series can be found in the first episode, “Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe.” The episode opens with her brother Pugsley being bullied and tied up in a locker. She experiences a psychic vision as she is helping him down, showing her that the school’s polo team is responsible for his brother’s misery. Wednesday being Wednesday, she exacts revenge by dropping a school of piranhas into the pool during practice. This results in Wednesday’s expulsion from Nancy Reagan School and the beginning of her journey to Nevermore.

Jenna Ortega’s kooky dance is perhaps the most talked about scene in the first season and it has gone completely viral. Fans and even other celebrities have posted their own versions on TikTok.

Ortega choreographed the dance herself and drew inspiration from diverse sources such as the iconic dance scene with Uma Thurman on Pulp Fiction, goth queen Siouxsie Sioux, certified weirdo Lene Lovich, and Lisa Loring- the original actress who played Wednesday in the ‘60s sitcom. 

Ortega shot the scene while she unknowingly had COVID. While the decision to keep filming despite experiencing early symptoms received harsh criticism, there is no denying her dedication to her craft.

As part of the preparations for this scene, the actress took cello lessons twice a week. One scene has her playing the Rolling Stones’ 1966 hit “Paint it Black,” minus the rock arrangement. It’s the perfect soundtrack as the camera pans around Nevermore Academy and captures the school’s foreboding essence with its gifted outcasts.

Besides learning to play cello for her role, Ortega also took fencing lessons. Her hard work pays off in the scene where she challenges a fellow student and 'self-prescribed queen bee,' Bianca, to a duel. Wednesday succeeds in gaining the first point. Bianca, however, doesn't waste much time and gets her back with a point of her own. With the score tied and Bianca dismissing her initial success as beginner's luck, Wednesday invokes a military challenge for the final round- no masks, no tips, and whoever draws first blood wins. Bianca cuts her on the forehead, to Wednesday's surprise, and wins the match.

Wednesday Addams is known for her apathy, which makes her first-ever tear-shedding moment shocking. In a rare display of emotion, she is seen distraught after finding Thing stabbed in her room. While our favorite Addams has witnessed many deaths around her, the idea of losing her closest confidante proves to be too much. For a brief moment, Wednesday appears vulnerable.

At the end of episode two’s “Woe is the Loneliest Number,” Wednesday is seen being abducted by cloaked figures. The next episode, “Friend or Woe,” reveals that her abductors are members of The Nightshade, the school’s secret society. Despite hiding their faces behind masks, Wednesday immediately recognizes them and turns down their offer to join their ranks. She effortlessly frees herself from her bonds and lambasts their feeble attempt at kidnapping, saying, “It’s amateurs like you who give kidnapping a bad name,” before turning around and leaving.

Wednesday's ancestor, Goody, is an outcast in Nevermore and is also prone to receiving visions. Joseph Crackstone, the founder of Jericho, gathers all the outcasts inside a barn to burn them alive, including Goody's mother. Goody manages to escape and has been seeking justice ever since. Meanwhile, Goody appears to Wednesday to help her figure out who is behind the scheme to resurrect Crackstone and destroy Nevermore. The dual role enabled Ortega to shed her goth girl persona for something softer.

One of the things that made the original Addams Family memorable was its theme song. The song incorporates the trademark Addams snap, making it extra-catchy. For his version of Wednesday, director Tim Burton turned the iconic snap into proof of Wednesday’s sharp intellect- after solving a rather tricky riddle, she is asked to snap twice to reveal an entrance to a secret library in Nevermore’s walls.

While the modern depiction of Wednesday Addams is synonymous with Cristina Ricci’s iconic sarcasm delivered in a deadpan manner, Jenna Ortega takes the ice-queen affectation to its logical conclusion. Any social interaction involving Ortega’s Wednesday is like watching a black hole suck the life out of everything nearby.

Burton’s Wednesday has a more adversarial relationship with her parents, particularly her mother, Morticia. An unresolved murder at the school’s dance 30 years ago has Wednesday trying to solve the mystery- even if it means turning her father in to the authorities. Further investigation and an exhumation bring to light the true culprits behind the death, and Wednesday soon discovers the real mastermind behind Crackstone’s resurrection. In one scene, Morticia explains more about Wednesday’s psychic abilities as the two reconcile. 

While Burton’s Wednesday has been criticized as nothing more than a mediocre supernatural teen drama, no one can deny Jenna Ortega’s brilliant and strong performance. The new Wednesday is fiercer, more impenitent, and definitely more badass.