Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill in 'Wednesday.'

‘Wednesday’: What Happened to Marilyn Thornhill After the Events of the Finale?

Christina Ricci returns to the Addams Family universe in 'Wednesday' as Ms. Thornhill. As the storyline progresses, the character's final outcome is somewhat of a vague mystery that could lead to a new season.

by Gabriela Silva

Published on November 25, 2022

3 min read

Ms. Thornhill tries to become friends with Wednesday and gives her a few clues

Fans first meet Ricci as Ms. Thornhill when she introduces herself to Wednesday in her new dorm room. She has bright red hair and cat-eye glasses and wears fun and colorful clothing. But unlike the others at Nevermore, she is a normie and the school’s first normie teacher. Despite being a normie, she thoroughly understands outcasts, and fans later learn why.

Throughout the series, she is one of the few people Wednesday begins to feel a form of bond. As Wednesday begins her hunt for answers, she tries to uncover why she was prophesized to destroy Nevermore. In the school library, Ms. Thornhill offers her some help when explaining the watermark on the image is from a secret society called the Nightshades. She later has a heart-to-heart with Wednesday and the macabre teen’s ability not to let others define her.

By all means, Ms. Thornhill appears to be a kind and sweet character. But her story turns exciting when she seems to know the secret passage to the Nightshade secret hideout. It is only the beginning of Ms. Thornhill’s story when Wednesday learns the shocking truth.

While getting clues from Goody Addams and uncovering the truth about her parents and the Gates family, Wednesday learns more about the Hyde killing people. While believing the Hyde was Xavier (Percy Hynes White), it is revealed the real killer is Tyler (Hunter Doohan). But who is his master?

Ms. Thornhill is the grand mastermind in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’

The Netflix series takes a turn when Eugene reveals that the woman who torched the Hyde’s lair wore red boots. Wednesday soon realizes there is only one person who wears those boots. She confronts Ms. Thornhill and says that she is the Hyde’s master, commanding him to kill. But why?

In reality, Ms. Thornhill is Laurel Gates, the supposed young daughter of the Gates family who died at sea. Inheriting her father’s bigotry toward outcasts, she hatched a detailed plan to get rid of Nevermore, activate Tyler’s Hyde, and resurrect her ancestor, Crackstone. In the events of the grand Wednesday finale, Ms. Thornhill successfully uses Goody’s book of spells to resurrect Crackstone. He ventures to Nevermore with the help of Ms. Thornhill to destroy the outcasts.

In the end, after a near-death experience, Wednesday kills Crackstone (William Houston) with the help of her newfound Nevermore friends. But what happens to Ms. Thornhill? Eugene returns from the hospital to save his friend by controlling his bees to attack Ms. Thornhill. Wednesday calls them off, and the last fans see Ms. Thornhill is when the goth teen stomps her unconscious.

But Wednesday does not dive into what happened to Ms. Thornhill or if she was arrested. The finale shows that Tyler was taken into custody in a straight jacket. But someone activates his Hyde while in the armored vehicle. Ms. Thornhill’s whereabouts are unknown. But the cliffhanger leaves a new mystery.

‘Wednesday’ Season 2 teases Ms. Thornhill was not the only master of Tyler’s Hyde

Wednesday uncovers with the help of Faulkner’s journal how the Hyde works. Its monstrous nature must activate through trauma, hypnosis, or chemically induced. Wednesday discovers that Ms. Thornhill told Tyler about his mother being an outcast and a Hyde. Her postpartum depression activated the gene.

Using his pain, Ms. Thornhill made him her servant and used the cave in the woods to go through the Hyde transition. In return, Tyler becomes loyal to his master. But, as the cliffhanger reveals, someone activated Tyler’s Hyde while he was in custody.

At the same time, Wednesday received mysterious texts from an unknown person. The texts include stalker photos of her with Xavier and Tyler. There is also a gif of her head getting chopped off. If Ms. Thornhill is the supposed master of the Hyde, how did Tyler transform? As Wednesday said, it could be that Ms. Thornhill was only a pawn in a larger game for Wednesday Season 2.

Wednesday is available to stream on Netflix.