This post contains spoilers for the “Wednesday” season 2 finale, “This Means Woe.”
Thing (Victor Dorobantu) might seem like an Addams family pet, but he has always been more of a trusted confidant. This is especially true in Netflix’s “Wednesday,” where he has been loyal to our titular protagonist since her enrollment in Nevermore Academy. But aside from being Wednesday’s (Jenna Ortega) reliable sidekick (one who is very adept at flipping people off and punching them in the face), the series’ version of Thing displays more depth than previous iterations of the character (with his voice-less musings often taking heartwarming and existential turns). He’s definitely in tune with his emotions and is even shown attending a severed body parts support meeting in season 2, part 2. This new development also brings several questions to the forefront, most pointedly Thing’s backstory and how Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) came to make him a part of the family in the first place.
The final leg of season 2 primarily revolves around Nevermore prodigy Isaac Night (Owen Painter), aka the boy with the clockwork heart and, as eventually comes to light, Slurp the Zombie. We learn that Isaac was a tortured genius and his mechanical heart wreaked havoc on his emotions, leaving with naught but a twisted thirst for knowledge. The only tenderness he’s still capable of feeling is for his sister Francoise (Frances O’Connor), a Hyde and the mysterious Patient 1938 whom he tried to cure on the night of his “death” decades ago. (She’s also Tyler’s birth mother.) Now, in the present, Isaac still yearns to fulfill this wish and tries to use a machine at Willow Hill to cure his sister, only to fail after Wednesday and her friends intervene.
In the season 2 finale, “The Means Woe,” Wednesday confronts Isaac near the Skull Tree. Meanwhile, Thing hides in the bushes and fires his crossbow at Isaac, only for the latter to catch the arrow, allowing Tyler (Hunter Doohan) to capture him. In a shocking turn of events, it’s then revealed that Thing was originally a part of Isaac’s body (!!) and somehow managed to survive after his host body’s demise.
Thing’s origin story adds even more layers to his personality
Gomez and Morticia initially claim that they found Thing by accident decades ago, claiming that they aren’t aware of his origins or how he gained sentience as a severed hand. This is revealed to be untrue, though, as both of them were present the night Thing was “born,” so to speak. You see, Gomez and Isaac were roommates, and the latter asked for his friend’s help during his attempt to cure Francoise in a hidden lab inside the Nevermore clock tower. Gomez’s ability to harness electricity would’ve certainly worked in Isaac’s favor, but he took advantage of Gomez’s kindness and siphoned a dangerous amount of it against his will. An enraged Morticia then stopped the machine and cut off Isaac’s hand in retaliation, saving Gomez in the process. After Isaac died in the ensuing clock tower explosion, Morticia and Gomez buried his body and realized that Isaac’s severed hand had gained sentience.
It is interesting how Gomez thinks that Thing (which is essentially an acronym of Isaac’s surname, Night) embodies whatever goodness Isaac had in his heart. As Thing had no memories of his host body, the Addams decided to keep him in the dark, as they didn’t want to burden his conscience. Back to the present, the now-reanimated Isaac reclaims his lost limb, forcefully stitching it back on his hand and using it to hurt Wednesday on more than one occasion.
However, just when Isaac is about to choke Wednesday to death, Morticia appeals to Thing, believing that he is still in their somewhere (despite being forced to serve his host body’s will). Thing, being the legend he is, snaps out of it and repeatedly socks Isaac in the face, ultimately ripping out his clockwork heart and killing him for good.
The Isaac lore-drop certainly weighs on Thing for a while, but he rejects the burden of the past by tossing away the signet ring that Isaac was wearing that fateful night. This also means that Thing doesn’t perceive himself as an incomplete being anymore, as he knows that he is valued as is and will always be treasured by the Addams family. Well, except for when he is asked to run errands or do Wednesday’s bidding during their next morbid adventure.
Season 2 of “Wednesday” is currently streaming on Netflix.
