Wednesday season 2 part 1 ending explained: Who is the Avian, who dies, and how does it set up part 2?

School is back in session at Nevermore Academy as Wednesday season 2 part 1 is here. The first four episodes of season 2 are now available to watch on Netflix, but in true Addams Family style, part 1 is not at all straightforward. With a whole band of new characters to keep track of and plenty of subplots woven into the sophomore season, it can be difficult to know what’s really going on before we dive into part 2 next month.

That’s why we have created this guide to answer your burning questions and get you up to speed on where part 1 leaves off before it’s time to head back to Jericho and really get to the bottom of what is going down at Nevermore. So what are you waiting for? Grab your purple blazer and dive into our guide to Wednesday season 2 part 1 ending explained. Make sure to read our Wednesday season 2 release schedule too.

Warning, this article contains major spoilers for Wednesday season 2 part 1, so make sure you are all caught up before reading on. But first, make sure to read our Wednesday season 2 part 1 review.

Wednesday season 2 part 1 ending explained

Season 2 picks up the next school year following Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday, saving the students of Nevermore Academy from the Hyde, aka Tyler, and twisted teacher Marilyn Thornhill (read our Wednesday season 1 ending explained guide for more on that). But the new year brings new faces. Upon arriving back at school, Wednesday finds that she has become a bit of a celebrity, with fangirls like Agnes (who later becomes her stalker) falling at her feet. There is also a new, overly Outcast-positive headteacher in charge, Principal Dort (Steve Buscemi), and a music teacher, Isadora Capri (Billie Piper).

Pugsley is also a Nevermore student now, and quickly causes havoc by resurrecting a flesh-eating Zombie, whom he calls Slurp. Elsewhere, Bianca uses her siren powers at the request of Principal Dort to convince Morticia to head the gala committee and ask her long-lost mother, Hester Frump (Joanna Lumley), for a sizable donation. At Willow Hill Asylum, new character Dr. Rachael Fairburn (Thandiwe Newton) is in charge, and Tyler is being held under maximum security.

However, things start to get weird when Wednesday finds that Tyler’s dad, Donovan Galpin, and his PI partner have been murdered by birds controlled by a hoodie figure known as the Avian. This leads Wednesday to find out that there have been many unexplained Outcast deaths over the years, and when she has a strange dream about her roommate, Enid, being killed in the same way, she tries to get to the bottom of the disappearances. After doing some top investigative work with the help of her stalker-turned-friend Agnes, Wednesday finds out that Gaplin had linked someone called Lois to the murders.

Everything comes to a head in episode 4 titled ‘If These Woes Could Talk,’ which begins with Marilyn Thornhill being transferred to Willow Hill, where she comes face to face with her evil creation, Tyler, under Fairburn’s supervision. Over at Nevermore, Hester Frump, aka Grandmama, tells Wednesday that the remains of the missing Outcasts from Willow Hill are not actually human, meaning their deaths were faked, and that she needs to find someone called Augustus Stonehurst. This angers Morticia, so she throws Goody’s book into the fire.

In a bid to infiltrate Willow Hill, Wednesday instructs her uncle Fester Addams to act unusually, so he is thrown into the asylum, where he can find Stonehurst and Lois. Fester finds the man, but he is mute, sitting in a room full of colorful birds. Later, Wednesday finds out that Stonehurst was a normie who worked at Nevermore but ended up at the asylum and sent his daughter to live in an aviary. However, Fester is then captured, so Wednesday, Agnes, and Enid hatch a plan to break him out.

Wednesday breaks Fester out, and, using his intel from earlier, Fester tracks down Lois, who is not a person, but a testing facility under Willow Hill, which stands for Long-term Outcast Integration Study. This leads the duo to the missing and presumed dead Outcast patients who are being kept chained up underground and tested on. The Avian then appears and reveals herself as Fairburn’s assistant Judi (Heather Matarazzo), aka Stonehurst's daughter.

Fester tries to electrocute Judi, but instead trips the electricity at Willow Hill, which unlocks all of the cells and frees all of the patients, both upstairs and down in LOIS. The test subjects chase and seemingly kill Judi, and upstairs, Slurp kills Fairburn and Stonehurst. Thornhill then frees Tyler, but he turns into the Hyde and kills her, before setting his sights on Wednesday. The beast throws Wednesday out of a window, where she falls to the ground, bloody and unconscious.

Wednesday season 2 part 1 ends with Wednesday lying lifeless on the ground while her voice narrates, "I’ve always dreamed of looking death in the face. But in my final moments, all I can hear is my mother's words ringing in my ears. Maybe I have made everything worse. Much worse."

Is Wednesday dead?

Wednesday season 2 part 1 ends with Tyler, aka the Hyde, throwing Wednesday out of a three-story window at Willow Hill, where she lands with a thud on the ground outside, with blood on her face. As she lies unconscious, it sure does look like she is dead. Over the top of the scene, we hear Wednesday’s words, “I’ve always dreamed of looking death in the face. But in my final moments, all I can hear is my mother's words ringing in my ears,” which sounds like the last thoughts of a dying person.

However, although Netflix wants us to think Wednesday is dead, we highly doubt it. We still have half of season 2 to get through, and the series has already been renewed for a third season, and there is no Wednesday season 3 without Wednesday Addams. Although she may be hurt and will surely get a scolding from her mother, Morticia, we are sure we’ll see Wednesday alive and well again.

Who is the Avian?

Throughout the series, we see a hooded figure known as the Avian stalking Wednesday and using birds to murder people such as Gaplin. There are a few peculiar people who could have turned out to be the Avian, such as Principal Dort, Isadora Capri, and even Grandmama. However, in season 2 episode 4, it is revealed that Dr. Fairburn’s assistant Judi is in fact the Avian, and is actually the daughter of Augustus Stonehurst.

Earlier in the episode, we learn that Stonehurst was a normie who worked at Nevermore and became infatuated by Outcasts, so much so, he studied them and went as far as to lock his daughter in an Aviary in a tower and turned her into an Outcast who could wield the power of birds.

What is LOIS?

In season 2 episode 3, Wednesday finds out that Gaplin has linked a ‘Lois’ to the Outcast disappearances, and sends Fester to Willow Hill to find her. However, we later learn that Lois is not a person at all, but is actually an underground testing facility known as L.O.I.S., which stands for Long-term Outcast Integration Study. Down in Lois, the Avian has been imprisoning and testing on Outcast patients underneath Willow Hill.

Is Marilyn Thornhill dead?

Wednesday’s ex-mentor Marilyn Thornhill, who was revealed as the evil creator of the Hyde last season, returns to the series in season 2 episode 3, where she is transferred to Willow Hill in order to help Dr. Fairburn understand Tyler, aka the Hyde. However, it becomes apparent that Tyler hates his maker, and so when Thornhill releases him, he rips his claws into her chest and leaves her dead on the floor at Willow Hill. However, although Thornhill sure does look dead, we wouldn't put it past her to show up unannounced again.

Where is Bianca's mother?

One interesting subplot running through the second season is Nevermore student Bianca’s mother, who has been hiding out at the Apple Hollow hotel. It is revealed that Bianca saved her mother from a dangerous cult and has been using her Siren powers to keep her hidden at the hotel. However, when Fester caused a scene at the hotel, which led to his arrest, the whole place was searched by police, who then found and arrested Bianca’s mother.

Bianca uses her powers once again to free her mother from police custody and looks to hide her at Nevermore Academy, but is interrupted by Principal Dort. We don’t know for sure where exactly Bianca's mother is right now, but we expect that storyline to wrap up in part 2.

What is Principal Dort up to?

For the longest time, we were sure that Principal Dort was the Avian, due to his strange behaviour, his mutilation of Bianca, and his eagerness to get Hester Frump to the school. Plus, when Bianca is trying to hide her mother, she overhears Dort on the phone panicking, saying he will try and ‘cover it up’ – what he is referring to, we have no idea. However, now Judi is revealed to be the Avian, we are not sure what exactly Dort is up to, but we have a feeling it is not good.

What happens to the Zombie?

Earlier in the season, Pugsley Addams accidentally resurrects a corpse when he goes looking for the body of the boy with a clock heart, who he heard about from a ghost story told by his roommates. However, when Pugsley zaps the ground with electricity, a random Zombie crawls out. Pugsley decides to keep him, feed him, and name him Slurp. However, Slurp later breaks free and starts to attack people, so he is captured and sent to Willow Hill.

But the monster isn't held captive for long, as he once again breaks his chains and starts to feast on anyone he can get his hands on, including Dr. Fairburn and Augustus Stonehurst. However, before he starts to eat Stonehurst's head, he says, “Hello, old friend,” as if he knows him. Could Slurp be one of Stonehurst's first Outcast test subjects? We’ll have to wait and see.

Where is Tyler / the Hyde?

At the end of season 2, part 1, Marilyn Thornhill frees Tyker, aka the Hyde, from Willow Hill. He then murders Thornhill and throws Wednesday out of a window. The creature then jumps down from the building, where he is shot repeatedly by police, but the bullets don't seem to affect him. The monster then runs off into the darkness. We are not sure where the Hyde has gotten to, but it looks like Wednesday and the whole of Nevermore are going to be in danger until he is caught.

Is Enid still in danger?

The driving force pushing Wednesday to unmask the Avian is so she can protect Enid. After her strange dream where Enid was murdered by the Avian’s birds, Wednesday has been trying to save her roommate. Now the Avian is dead (we think), Enid should be safe, right? We are not so sure, as the Avian could still be alive. Plus, with the Hyde on the loose, we expect Tyler to be out for revenge on anyone close to Wednesday, including Enid.

Wednesday season 2, part 1 is available to stream on Netflix now, with Wednesday season 2 part 2 landing on the streamer on September 3, 2025. For more, check out our picks of the best TV shows on Netflix, and upcoming shows heading your way.