Wednesday – Season 1 Episode 5 “You Reap What You Woe” Recap & Review

You Reap What You Woe

Episode 5 of Wednesday starts with questions around how well Wednesday knows her parents.  She is trying to figure out what happened the night her dad was accused of killing someone back when he was a student at Nevermore. In a flashback, we see a young Larissa giving a statement to the police blaming Morticia while Gomez is being taken away in handcuffs.

At present time, it is the official parent’s weekend at the school and most parents have started arriving to spend the weekend with their children. The Addam family is in attendance and Morticia worries that Wednesday is not looking forward to seeing them.

At the assembly, the principal gives an update on Eugene and tells the parents and the students that he is on the mend and is expected to make a full recovery. Enid asks Wednesday if she has gone to see him and she tells her that he is in a coma and she feels guilty for what happened to him.

Enid is also not excited to see her family, she is dreading her mother’s judgmental personality because she is yet to wolf out. She and Wednesday hope to get through the weekend and be done with the forced family togetherness. They are not the only ones who find the weekend a bit taxing, Xavier’s dad is a no-show and Bianca’s mom showed up to create more problems. She is threatening Bianca to come back home and help her and swindle people using their powers.

The principal calls Wednesday’s parents for a meeting and tells them about the issues she has been having with Wednesday. She explains it has been rocky at best and asks them to attend a family therapy session with Dr Kinbott over the weekend. Morticia is against the idea but Gomez is up for it.

They drive to town for the session and they are spotted by the sheriff who thinks that Gomez is a murderer who got free using underhand methods. Tyler tells him that at least Gomez cares enough to go to therapy with Wednesday and they get into an argument. The sheriff doesn’t want to go for a family therapy session with Tyler and it is causing friction between them. As he leaves the cafe, the sheriff gets a call that the coroner has committed suicide.

At the family therapy session, Dr Kinbott and the family talk about how they have been coping since Wednesday left for Nevermore. They all agree her absence has been tough on them. Wednesday, however, is not feeling inclined to talk about her emotions she wants to discuss her father’s criminal records.

She wants to know who  Garrets Gates was and why Gomez was accused of killing him. Morticia ends the session and refuses to tell Wednesday the truth. Wednesday tells her that she will still get to the bottom of the issue but she drops by the hospital to visit Eugene first.

At the coroner’s office, officers discover a suicide note in which the doctor states that he felt guilty for writing a fake coroner’s report in an old case. The sheriff is pleased to hear that the fake report involves Garrett Gates’ case and thinks he can finally put Gomez behind bars. With the new evidence, he goes to Nevermore and arrests Gomez.

Wednesday visits her dad in the holding cell and asks for an explanation. Her dad tells her that Garret was obsessed with Morticia when they were young. On that fateful night, he attacked Gomez after finding him kissing Morticia and one thing led to another and he accidentally killed him. Wednesday doesn’t believe her dad as she knows all his tell-tale signs when he is lying.

She goes to confront the sheriff and asks him to open his eyes as the case against her dad is too much to be a coincidence.  She thinks this is a distraction to her investigation of the monster. The sheriff on the other hand thinks it is delayed justice and is sad none of the Gates’ family members is around to see it. Wednesday is curious about what happened to the family and the sheriff tells her they all died. The mother committed suicide, the father drank himself to an early grave and the sister drowned overseas.

Wednesday confronts her mom and asks her why she sent her to a school that can only allow her to exist in her shadow.  She also asks her mom to tell her the truth about what happened to Garrett. Morticia confesses that she accidentally stabbed him while trying to save Gomez. As she narrates the ordeal, Wednesday realizes that maybe Garrett was acting irrationally because he was poisoned.

They decide to visit his grave and dig him out.  They find traces of poison in his body but before they can report it, they get arrested. In the holding cell, as Gomez and Morticia get reunited, Wednesday has a vision and sees what happened to Garrett. His father gave him nightshade poison to kill the students at Nevermore but during his fight with Gomez the vial broke and the poison was absorbed into his body.

The next morning, armed with this information and the evidence, Wednesday and Morticia demand to meet with the mayor. They threaten to out his participation in the cover-up if he doesn’t drop the charges on Gomez. The mayor has no choice but to agree and Gomez is set free and the sheriff apologizes to him.

After the issue is settled, Morticia asks Wednesday about her visions and assures her that she is always there for her. Wednesday asks her to teach her to control her powers but Morticia tells her only the dead from their bloodline can train her. Wednesday tells her about Goody and Morticia asks her to be careful as Goody was a powerful witch pushed by vengeance.

As the family weekend wraps up, Enid finds the strength to tell her mother that she won’t be going to the conversion camps her mom suggested. She stands up for herself and says she will transition in her own time and hopes her mom can accept her even when she doesn’t. Her dad is proud of her and tells her to do as she wishes but her mom is disappointed.

Morticia asks Wednesday to confide in her more as she doesn’t want them to be strangers. She leaves Wednesday with her old yearbook and she discovers that the principal is a shapeshifter. She confronts her and confirms her theory that Rowan is dead and that Larissa pretended to be him after his death.

Wednesday threatens to go to the sheriff but the principal stops her and tells her that Rowan’s dad will back her up. She also tells her going to the sheriff will be the end of Nevermore. As they argue they hear a ruckus outside; someone has left a burning message on the school’s lawn. The message reads “Fire will rain.”

The Episode Review

It seems as if the Garret case is linked to the current killings that are happening in town. This episode showed us a softer side to Wednesday, especially while she was talking to her brother about the love their parents have for each other.

Enid standing up for herself was also a proud moment, sometimes parents don’t really know what is good for their kids. It is up to the child to protect herself from her parents and Enid did exactly that.

On the other hand, Bianca is being threatened by her own mother to do shady business for her stepfather. She is unable to protect herself from her mother and that is sad but hopefully, she will find her freedom.