Wednesday Season 2 creators reveal the real importance of Goody’s spell book

In Netflix’s Wednesday Season 2 Part 1, Goody Addams’ spell book is more than an ancient artifact—it symbolizes the clash between Wednesday and her mother, Morticia.

Creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar told Variety the book connects the season’s family drama, Wednesday’s psychic issues, and its generational themes.

By Season 1’s end, Wednesday had mastered her psychic powers via her ancestor, Goody Addams. In Season 2, she uses these visions to fight crime, but they cause black tears and fainting. Morticia warns her she’s pushing herself too hard, connecting these symptoms to their family history.

Wednesday thinks the spell book can restore her powers, but Morticia takes it away to make her rest. This conflict unfolds alongside a bigger mystery involving the L.O.I.S. program, Jericho murders, and a breakout at Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital.

According to Gough, the season’s heart remains rooted in family conflict, and the spell book becomes a physical token of that struggle. Millar added that it

“plays a lot of different functions”

and represents Wednesday’s hope, her recklessness, and the generational power dynamic among the Addams women.

---

The spell book as a symbol of power and control

The dispute over Goody’s spell book directly reflects Wednesday and Morticia’s opposing approaches to psychic power. Wednesday wants to use her abilities as much as possible, while Morticia insists on restraint.

As Millar told Variety,

“She loses it in the sword fight with Morticia. She goes into that thinking she’s going to easily defeat her mother, which she gets wrong, because Morticia is an expert swordmaster.”

The creators said Morticia makes,

“the reckless and impulsive decision to burn it in front of Hester.”

This act transforms the spell book from a possible solution to Wednesday’s psychic block into a symbol of Morticia’s authority and her attempt to protect her daughter from self-destruction. Gough explained that Wednesday’s overuse of her psychic powers mirrors other themes in the season, such as the exploitation of outcasts’ abilities by the L.O.I.S. program.

---

A link between three generations of Addams women

The spell book also connects Wednesday’s story to her ancestor, Goody Addams, and Morticia’s family history. In Season 2, Wednesday’s psychic ability is tied to Goody, while Morticia’s actions reflect her role as both a mother and a daughter. According to Millar, the book becomes,

“this token in the family struggle between three generations of Addams women.”

The interview reveals that the show intentionally designs these multi-generational threads. Gough said,

“At the heart of the show, we’re really a family drama. You have these different families, and it allows you to see the world through their different lenses.”

Morticia’s relationship with her mother, Hester, was also explored. Hester was described as:

“a working mom all about her job,” which shaped Morticia’s own parenting style.

This layered family focus mirrors the Addams family’s larger place in the season’s plot, where relationships and legacy influence how each character responds to challenges.

---

The spell book in the wider Wednesday Season 2 conflict

While the spell book is a family matter, it sits in a broader storyline about the balance between outcasts and normies. The creators tied Wednesday’s loss of psychic powers to the season’s theme of exploitation. Millar explained,

“Wednesday always wants to control everything, so she loses that sense of control because she exploited her own power without fully understanding it.”

The central mystery of Season 2 Part 1 revolves around the L.O.I.S. experiments at Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital. This secret program, run by Judi Stonehurst, involves extracting outcasts’ powers and giving them to normies. Wednesday’s struggle with her abilities reflects the same question faced by other characters: how much power should be used, and who should control it?

By the end of Part 1, her actions lead to the release of all inmates at Willow Hill, including dangerous figures like Tyler Galpin. Gough summed up the season’s turning point:

“At the end of Part 1, she’s literally blown up the world. Once she’s let everyone out, what has she unleashed? And how is she gonna be able to contain it?”

---

Watch Season 2 part on Netflix now!