Wednesday: The significance of the word ‘woe’ in every episode title, explained

Wednesday is a show that grabbed everyone’s attention the moment it dropped. The gothic school setting, the mysteries, the monsters, and of course, Wednesday Addams herself with her wit and stare. She became a fan favorite in no time. But apart from the storyline and the spooky vibe, there’s another detail that’s right there in the episode titles.

We are talking about “woe.” From the first episode to the last one, this word shows up in every title. You Reap What You Woe, Friend or Woe, and Here We Woe Again make fans wonder if it's just a funny gag. Or could there be something deeper going on?

That’s the best part of Wednesday. It never gives you anything straight away. Just like the mysteries in the show, even the titles might be hiding something.

Let's know a bit more.

Wednesday: The “woe” puzzle

The first thing you need to know is that Wednesday Addams is not just a cool and spooky name. It actually comes from an old nursery rhyme called Monday’s Child. The rhyme says,

"Wednesday’s child is full of woe."

That line inspired her name, her mood, and pretty much her whole personality. So when you notice “woe” popping up in every title, it’s not random at all. The writers are paying homage to the very rhyme that gave Wednesday her identity.

Every episode title is also a pun. The writers took a familiar saying and gave it a little twist by swapping in “woe.” For example, Woe Is the Loneliest Number comes from the song “One Is the Loneliest Number.” If You Don’t Woe Me By Now comes from the song “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” Once you spot the pattern, it becomes a fun game to figure out what each episode is really referencing.

Still, fans on Reddit and other forums were not ready to believe it’s only about wordplay. Some of them were convinced there was more. They wondered if the titles hold clues about the titular character's journey or future storylines. One Redditor, UpstreamDetention66, had written before Season 2 aired:

"So obviously every episode has the word woe in it. And i noticed ep 3 and 5 are sayings that changed one word to include "woe". What if we're supposed to make a list in order of the words that are supposed to be instead of woe to get a clue for the next season. Like when Wednesday figured out how to open the secret library by answering each line and geting a new riddle out of the answers(first letters in her case). So 2ep would be One Is the Loneliest Number, Ep 3 Friend or Foe. This could mean one of Wednesdays friends could play a big role in the next season. Ep 4 oh, Ep 5 sow, Ep 6 what, Ep 7 know, Ep 8 not sure if this is correct but maybe crows. As they appeared in the intro of ep 1 which name draws attention to the fact that the episode names are full of the word woe. I search for a quote: "a murder of"... and I only found "a murder of crows". It seems to specific to be a coincidence since there was a scene where the car Wednesday was in killed some birds while on the way to the new school. If you know about crows you should know that there afraid of reflective surfaces-mirrors. The only person who was afraid of them was Ajax(Since he can turn to stone)."

Turns out, he was not wrong.

To make it easier, here’s a list of all the episode titles and the phrases they play on. You can see how much thought went into twisting each one into something that fits the world:

Season 1

• Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe is from the nursery rhyme line itself
• Woe Is the Loneliest Number is from “One Is the Loneliest Number”
• Friend or Woe is from “Friend or Foe”
• Woe What a Night is from “Oh, What a Night”
• You Reap What You Woe is from “You Reap What You Sow”
• Quid Pro Woe is from “Quid Pro Quo”
• If You Don’t Woe Me by Now is from “If You Don’t Know Me by Now”
• A Murder of Woes is from “A Murder of Crows”

Season 2

• Here We Woe Again is from “Here We Go Again”
• The Devil You Woe is from “The Devil You Know”
• Call of the Woe is from “Call of the Wild”
• If These Woes Could Talk is from “If These Walls Could Talk”
• Hyde and Woe Seek is from “Hide and Go Seek”
• Woe Thyself is from “Know Thyself”
• Woe Me the Money is from “Show Me the Money”
• This Means Woe is from “This Means War”

So, it doesn't matter if you think the titles are a clever wink or just a silly running joke, the effect is the same. Fans are hooked. And can Wednesday even be Wednesday without a little extra woe?

Trending

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more updates and detailed coverage.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback