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"You don't think I want the truth? Of course I do. But the world isn't always black and white. There are shades of gray." |
Larissa Weems was a shapeshifter and a main character of the Netflix series Wednesday. She was the roommate of Morticia Addams when they were at school and later the principal of Nevermore Academy.[5]
She was highly passionate about Nevermore Academy and devoted all of her time to the faculty and students. She put all of her effort into keeping the school a sanctuary for outcasts and making sure that the school's reputation wasn't tainted in any way.
She appeared in the Netflix TV show Wednesday (2022), but she likely appeared in The New Yorker as "Miss Weems," the nanny of Pugsley and Wednesday Addams, likely the origins of Larissa.
Biography[]
Background[]
Larissa was in the Nevermore Academy graduating class of 1991, alongside Morticia.
During her school years, Larissa performed a duet alongside Morticia at the Solstice Talent Show, where she shapeshifted into and did an impression of Judy Garland.
Season 1[]
Larissa is first introduced as the principal of Nevermore Academy in "Chapter I: Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe." She tells Wednesday that she and her mother, Morticia, used to be roommates. When Mortcicia asks about Wednesday's therapy sessions, Larissa informs her that she can meet twice a week with Valerie Kinbott, the local therapist.
After leaving her office, she takes Wednesday and her parents to see Wednesday's dorm, which coincidentally was in the same dorm hall as the one that she and Morticia lived in when they were students. She introduces Wednesday to Enid and informs her that a special uniform has been ordered for her to accommodate her allergy to color.
Larissa is later seen driving Wednesday to her first therapy appointment. After Wednesday goes up to her appointment, Larissa is seen talking on the phone with someone, ultimately distracting her from seeing Wednesday escape from the building. She is only made aware of the situation when Valerie comes out of the building looking for Wednesday.
Moments later, Larissa finds Wednesday in Weathervane and three boys on the ground. She apologizes to Sheriff Galpin, who arrived moments before her and left with Wednesday.
On the ride back to Nevermore, she and Wednesday see a car wreck on the side of the road. Larissa says out loud that she hopes everyone is okay, only to be told by Wednesday that the driver was dead.
In her office, Larissa types away at her laptop, only stopping when she hears Wednesday play her cello.
During the Harvest Festival, Larissa keeps an eye on Wednesday to ensure that she doesn't run away. When Wednesday wins a stuffed animal as a prize, she bribes the booth worker to give the panda to Larissa, providing her with a distraction long enough for her to slip away.
Walking to her office with Wednesday and Sheriff Galpin in "Chapter II: Woe Is the Loneliest Number," Larissa defends her students from Galpin's accusation that it was one of them that killed Rowan. Once in her office, Wednesday requests that she have a couple of minutes alone with Donovan Galpin. To avoid Wednesday being taken to the station for an official statement, Larissa agrees and leaves the room. Moments later, Deputy Santiago enters the room with Larissa, shapeshifted as Rowan.
After finding out that Rowan had been expelled, she confronts Larissa, asking for the reason why. Larissa dodges the question and instead confronts Wednesday's about her visions, citing that she witnessed Morticia going through the same thing at her age. Before Wednesday was able to leave the office, Larissa gave her a list of extracurricular activities to pick from, as they are mandatory. One of these activities was the Pitch Slaps Club. When Wednesday sang, her voice cracked some glass that was in Larissa's office.
When Marilyn was driving Rowan to Burlington Station, Thing followed. When Rowan went into the bathroom, he shifted into a tall white-haired man, and once that man exited the bathroom, he shifted into Larissa. Thing, having not seen this change, lost Rowan.
During the Poe Cup, Larissa is heard giving a speech about the competition. While the race is happening, she can be seen looking through binoculars to watch the students. After the Black Cats won, she congratulated them and later tells Wednesday that the last time Ophelia Hall won was when she and Morticia were co-pilots.
Before the students and staff left to go to Jericho for Outreach Day in "Chapter III: Friend or Woe," Larissa explains what the day is about and what they will be doing. She then approaches Wednesday and tells her that she has taken Wednesday's cello and had it moved so Wednesday could play an uplifting Fleetwood melody during the celebration.
Noble Walker gives Nevermore students a speech on how he is thankful for them volunteering to help around Jericho, with Larissa accompanying him.
At Weathervane, she introduces Noble to Nevermore's first normie teacher, Marilyn Thornhill.
During the ceremony, she and Noble press the button to reveal Joseph Crackstone's statue, only for it to be blown up moments later. She then sees Wednesday play her cello with the fire blazing.
In her office, she scolds Wednesday, accusing her of destroying the statue. Wednesday defends herself, saying that her hands are clean and that there is no evidence that Wednesday was the one to destroy the statue. Wednesday then begins to question if Larissa knew the true history between outcasts and normies, to which Larissa tells her that she does. Larissa then dismissed Wednesday from her office. She is seen sitting on a chair in front of her lit fireplace, ripping out a page in the 1991 yearbook that had Morticia's photo and tossing it into the fire.
During the Rave'N in "Chapter IV: Woe What a Night," Larissa is seen greeting students alongside Marilyn Thornhill. When Thornhill prompted Larissa to talk about her past experience of the Rave'N, she explained to her that she had asked a boy to the dance, and he turned her down for another girl, that girl being Morticia Addams.
After Jonah, Carter, and Lucas pump red paint into the sprinklers and pull the fire alarm, Larissa is drenched in red paint and screams in the middle of panicked students.
Larissa is seen giving a speech about Parent's Day in "Chapter V: You Reap What You Woe." She later hosts Gomez, Wednesday, and Morticia in her office, where Morticia finds the 1991 yearbook. She notes that her picture was missing and then asks Larissa if she could borrow the yearbook to reminisce about the past. In the yearbook is an image of Larissa Weems shapeshifted as Judy Garland, as she and Morticia had done a duet for the Solstice Talent Show. Larissa then suggests that the Addams family try group therapy, which they accept.
After Wednesday's family left, she realized that Larissa was a shapeshifter and that she took on Rowan's shape to give the illusion that he was alive. Wednesday confronted Larissa, who defended her actions, stating that she did it to protect the school. Soon after, both of them heard screams from outside. They go onto a balcony and see that words have been burned into Nevermore's lawn.
Noble and Larissa are seen conversing in "Chapter VI: Quid Pro Woe" about the dance and the part his son played in it. She also suspects that his son is the one who burned the words into Nevermore's lawn. After insisting that the matter will be investigated after Eugene's attacker is found, he states that he thinks the attacker is one of her students. Larissa warns him that, while she has been charitable so far, he should not take it for granted as it has limits.
When Wednesday returns to the school after having witnessed Noble being run over, Larissa places Nevermore on lockdown to keep the students safe. Wednesday leaves the school anyway and goes to the Gates mansion, where Tyler is injured. The sheriff returns Wednesday to a very angry Larissa, who doesn't expel her solely because she explained why Rowan was trying to kill her and how she's trying to save the school. Larissa lets her know that another incident like this will result in her being expelled. She then storms off.
Larissa is seen attending Noble Walker's funeral in "Chapter VII: If You Don't Woe Me By Now". Larissa later reveals that she knew that the monster Wednesday was looking for was a hyde. She then tells Wednesday that, because of a hyde's nature, they were banned from Nevermore 30 years ago.
Valerie calls Larissa after Wednesday accused her of being Laurel Gates. Larissa then heard Valerie being attacked and killed.
At the hospital, she and Wednesday were both told by Sheriff Galpin that Valerie was dead.
In "Chapter VIII: A Murder of Woes" she was unaware that Donovan's son, Tyler, was the Hyde and that he inherited his genetics from his late mother, Francoise, a former Nevermore student whom Weems once knew. She was also unaware that her friend and colleague Marilyn Thornhill was the mastermind in control of Tyler and the Hyde. She only finds out about Thornhill's intentions when Wednesday convinces her to shapeshift into Tyler and go see for herself. Appearing as Tyler, she stands in the room with Wednesday and listens to her and Marilyn's conversation. After hearing enough, and at the green light of Wednesday, she shapeshifts back into herself and speaks to Marilyn, who was petrified of seeing Larissa. While talking to Larissa, Thornhill reaches into her pocket and pulls out a needle full of nightshade. She promptly stabs Larissa in the neck with the needle, poisoning her with the nightshade, and she drops to the ground, later confirmed dead by Wednesday.
Description[]
Larissa was a remarkably tall (6'3" / 190.5 cm / 1.905 m) and beautiful woman with blonde (almost white) hair and blue eyes. Her hair was always styled to perfection, and she wore makeup, most notably her red lipstick. She often wore long coats with exaggerated collars in various colors. She color-coordinated her outfits with her coats and maintained a proper and professional appearance.
At the Rave'N, she swapped her eccentric trench coat for a glittery silver dress. She wore silver jewelry rather than gold, and she wore silver gloves to match.
At the funeral for Noble Walker, she wore a black coat and huge black sunglasses.
Personality[]
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"You won't tell a soul, Miss Addams. And it wouldn't matter much if you did. Rowan's father already knows what happened, and he fully supports my decision not to involve the authorities. Rowan was not in his right mind. […] His tragic death allowed us to rectify the situation without casting the school or Rowan in an unflattering light." |
Larissa always appeared to be a pleasant, yet serious and professional woman, taking her duties as principal of Nevermore really seriously. She has a certain sense of humor, can be sometimes ironic, but is also very friendly. She always showed that Nevermore represented everything for her and swore to protect it; at a point, she had no hesitation to require some questionable schemes or decisions to protect the academy and the outcast community every way she could. If the school or the students' reputation happened to be threatened, Larissa could be very calculating and intransigent; she once asked a parent not to involve the authorities in his son's murder by a monster because it would have damaged the outcasts' reputation permanently, including his son's, and, at worst, could have entailed the end of Nevermore. Larissa also made connections in the local politics, keeping in touch with Jericho's mayor to have an ally in the normie community by financing his electoral campaign at every municipal election, which was likely a huge support for both him and the city. She also hired Marilyn Thornhill as the first normie teacher at Nevermore.
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"I'm sorry Nevermore didn't work out for you, Wednesday. I'm sure your mother will be very disappointed… [whisper] and so am I." |
Behind her professional face, Larissa was an extremely passionate and caring person, optimistic and idealistic, firmly believing in the possibility of creating a world in which outcasts and normies could coexist in peace and harmony. For example, she was always seen participating in activities that helped promote this idea and taking charge of making various charitable donations to the city to be seen as a model citizen or organizing Outreach Day with the mayor. Wednesday blowing up Crackstone's fountain made her furious and hysterical, the mayor being really mad and former students and parents calling and writing to her to demand answers. Larissa deeply cared for the well-being of her students and was also intransigent on anyone doubting the school; she even threatened the mayor to stop her donations or call him on the sheriff if he was ever abusive in his interrogation of Wednesday, or call out his offensive remark on the students. Larissa also displayed jealousy and resentment towards Morticia Addams, but interest and curiosity in her daughter. Every time Wednesday broke the rules or endangered herself, her fellow students, or the school, she warned her several times and had finally no choice but to expel her, to which she seemed really disappointed and sad. Larissa was also brave, shapeshifting into Tyler Galpin to force Marilyn Thornhill to betray herself and being revealed as the culprit behind the murders, sabotage, and attacks around the region.
Powers / Abilities / Weaknesses[]
Powers[]
- Shapeshifting: Larissa Weems was a shapeshifter, meaning she had the ability to transform into any person or being. The specifics of how her powers worked are vague, but it appeared she could only transform into people. In the series, she was seen taking on the appearances of Rowan Laslow, Tyler Galpin, an unnamed gray-haired man, and, in the past, Judy Garland.
Abilities[]
- Intelligence: Larissa was an intelligent woman. In order to protect Nevermore, she was capable of orchestrating detailed plans. To cover up the death of Rowan, she made up a plan that consisted of shapeshifting into him and simulating that he was expelled from the academy, while also attempting to confuse Wednesday.
- Singing: According to herself in the Nevermore Academy acceptance letter, Larissa has an excellent singing voice.[6]
Weaknesses[]
- Poison: After being injected with nightshade, Larissa died.
Relationships[]
Morticia Addams[]
Larissa and Morticia were roommates when they both attended Nevermore and have a complicated relationship; aspects of this can be seen when she was trying to teach her daughter, Wednesday.
Morticia constantly excelled at all aspects of school life, leaving Larissa in her shadow, as mentioned throughout the series. Being roommates with Morticia forced Larissa to try to coexist with her. There seemed to be an aspect of hatred on at least Larissa's side of the relationship; however, there are also themes of admiration on Morticia's side seen throughout the relationship. Larissa's feelings towards Morticia seemed to run deeper than just a teenage rivalry; Larissa was seen tearing Morticia's photograph out of the yearbook over 30 years after they were at school together, and she often mentioned Morticia to Wednesday, for example at the Poe Cup, telling Wednesday about how Morticia had captained the team and Larissa had been her co-pilot. Morticia and Larissa were also obviously very close, but in an unknown way. She even mentions her ex-roommate in the Nevermore Academy acceptance letter as a "raven-haired roommate who tried to cloud [her] sun at every turn." Larissa knows that Morticia used to struggle with her visions. Their interactions 30 years later are teasing and familiar: "There's that biting sense of humor I always adored," "stately sequoia tree," and "That must make you the lumberjack."
After Gomez was accused of murdering Garrett Gates, Larissa immediately told the police that it was Morticia's fault, as the two boys had to have been fighting over her.
Gomez Addams[]
Larissa presumably had romantic feelings for Gomez because she invited him to the Rave'N. However, the relationship between them seems to shatter after he turns her down for Morticia. In 2022, when they register Wednesday for Nevermore, Larissa and Gomez don't speak much to each other, but Gomez thanked Larissa for accepting Wednesday in the middle of the year and making an exception.
Wednesday Addams[]
Larissa and Wednesday had a complex relationship throughout the show. Like with everyone else, Wednesday was sarcastic and cold. She says she's impressed that Larissa has not lost her mind with Morticia as her roommate. Curious about her rival's daughter, Larissa kindly questioned Wednesday about her unique name during Wednesday's interview for her application to the school. Regularly, she shows interest in Wednesday, looking at her through binoculars during the Poe Cup and when she is practicing archery with Xavier. She congratulated Wednesday for her performance at the Poe Cup and added that she and Morticia are more alike than Wednesday thinks. But not only an amazing student, Larissa sees Wednesday as a trouble magnet for Nevermore. It was shown that they often disagree, with Wednesday concentrating on her investigation, no matter the consequences, while Larissa worries deeply about what will happen to the academy because of Wednesday's mischief and absolutely wants to protect her students. In addition to that, Larissa and Wednesday were both haunted by Morticia's large presence at Nevermore, even decades after she left the school.
Finally, Larissa had no choice but to expel Wednesday after she captured and tortured Tyler Galpin. When Eugene says that the boots of the arsonist in the cave were not black but red, Wednesday and Larissa confront Thornhill in the Green House, and Larissa transmutes into Tyler. Marilyn fell for the disguise and exposed herself as the master of the hyde, but when it was revealed that it was Larissa disguised as Tyler, she poisoned Larissa, who fell to the ground in Wednesday's arms. She was very worried for Larissa, but was knocked out by Marilyn with a shovel. The next day, after Crackstone was killed, Wednesday was in Larissa's office with Enid. She said that Larissa could be a real pain, but she was strong and ready to die to protect her students and the academy, which she truly loved, and for that, Larissa earns her entire respect from Wednesday. It seems that they developed respect and admiration for each other before Larissa's demise.
Marilyn Thornhill[]
Marilyn was the teacher of botanical sciences at the academy, as well as the dorm mom of Ophelia Hall and Larissa's trusted friend and colleague at Nevermore. Throughout the series, they had many interactions, and Larissa trusted her a lot. During the evening of the Rave'N, she and Larissa talked, and both seemed enthusiastic. In most cases, it would seem that Marilyn also has a certain admiration for Larissa.
Larissa was unaware that Marilyn was Laurel Gates and the Hyde's master. She discovered it thanks to Wednesday. Wednesday and Larissa decided to trap her so that she would confess to her crimes. After that, Larissa transformed and took on the features of Tyler, and Wednesday went to confront Marilyn in the greenhouse. The plan worked, with Marilyn being fooled into believing that Larissa was the real Tyler. Wednesday then gave the green light to Larissa, who had heard enough, and she returned to her original appearance under the horrified eyes of Marilyn. When she realized that she no longer had a cover, she poisoned Larissa, showing that she never cared for her boss and friend.
Noble Walker[]
Noble was the mayor of Jericho and the former sheriff. He and Larissa met on the night of Garrett Gates' murder, and she explained in detail how she left the ball to see the corpse fall in front of her.
In 2022, they maintained a good relationship; she helped his re-election campaign financially; and they also seemed to be working on several projects in order to bring the outcasts and normies together. They inaugurated the Crackstone Fountain together for Outreach Day. After Lucas Walker sabotages the Nevermore Rave'N Ball with two of his accomplices, Noble punishes him. Larissa suspected Lucas after someone wrote a fire letter on the lawn of Nevermore: "Fire will rain." Noble then implied that one of the students could be the Hyde, which Larissa immediately denied, also warning him that her charity has its limits. When Noble was run over by a mysterious driver, Larissa looked shocked and questioned Wednesday, who was on the scene without permission at the time. When Noble died after his assailant disconnected his breathing apparatus, Larissa attended his funeral with a sad expression.
Crimes[]
- Covering up Rowan Laslow's murder
Quotes[]
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"For over 200 years, we have welcomed outcasts of all kinds—werewolves, vampires, sirens, and gorgons. As principal, it is my honor to announce that Nevermore is now accepting applications from everybody. I extend my personal invitation to each and every one of you to apply to our very unique school." |
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"Wednesday is certainly a unique name. I'm guessing it was the day you were born?" |
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"Marilyn: You were a Nevermore student once. Don't you remember being full of hope and excitement about the Rave'N? |
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"I did what I needed to do to shield this school from controversy and protect its students from harm." |
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"How do you manage to end up at the center of every terrible thing that happens here?" |
Appearances[]
Appears In[]
- Season One
Mentioned In[]
TBA
Etymology[]
- Larissa - Means citadel.
- Weems - Means cave.
Trivia[]
- Larissa is the only deceased character in the season whose return was hinted at by both the cast and the crew. Gwendoline Christie herself stated many times that we never saw Larissa buried, nor her corpse, teasing a return in the next season. Jenna Ortega had also been interviewed on the principal’s disappearance and is willing to bring Larissa back alive.[7] On their side, the showrunners themselves said that they would "never say never" to her return.[8] Her possible return was even discussed in a season 2 theories video with Jenna Ortega, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, and Emma Myers.
- If she indeed returns as a ghost, resurrected or having survived, this would make her the second outcast to return as a ghost with Goody Addams being the first case, the first outcast to be resurrected in the second case, or the only known survivor to the Nightshade poison.
- When Larissa faked Rowan Laslow's expulsion from Nevermore, it is unknown if she warned Marilyn Thornhill that it is actually a trick and that Rowan was dead.
- Gwendoline Christie declared that when her character was created, she was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movies for her wardrobe.
- In the original script, Larissa is in her 40s.[9]
External Links[]
- Larissa Weems on the Heroes Wiki
Larissa Weems on the Tim Burton Wiki
Gallery[]
_002.png "Miss Weems (TNY) 002.png (520 KB)")
_001.jpg "Larissa Weems and Noble Walker (2022) 001.jpg (512 KB)")
_013.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 013.png (338 KB)")
_001.jpg "Donovan, Wednesday, and Larissa (2022) 001.jpg (813 KB)")
_001.jpg "Nevermore Academy Principal's Office (2022) 001.jpg (245 KB)")
_005.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 005.jpg (108 KB)")
_014.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 014.jpg (984 KB)")
_015.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 015.jpg (617 KB)")
_010.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 010.jpg (3.46 MB)")
_001.png "Noble Walker and Larissa Weems (2022) 001.png (2.37 MB)")
_004.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 004.png (621 KB)")
_001.png "Marilyn Thornhill and Larissa Weems (2022) 001.png (2.78 MB)")
_002.png "Marilyn Thornhill and Larissa Weems (2022) 002.png (372 KB)")
_011.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 011.jpg (2.3 MB)")
_012.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 012.png (2.04 MB)")
_002.png "Noble Walker and Larissa Weems (2022) 002.png (2.26 MB)")
_001.png "Young Larissa Weems and Young Noble Walker (2022) 001.png (2.96 MB)")
_001.png "Larissa Weems - Judy Garland (2022) 001.png (1.45 MB)")
_009.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 009.png (1.97 MB)")
_008.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 008.png (2.49 MB)")
_006.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 006.png (791 KB)")
_007.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 007.png (1.48 MB)")
_001.png "Divina and Larissa Weems (2022) 001.png (2.45 MB)")
_001.png "Larissa Weems and Wednesday Addams (2022) 001.png (2.4 MB)")
_001.png "Larissa, Wednesday, and Donovan (2022) 001.png (2.7 MB)")
_002.png "Larissa Weems (2022) 002.png (1.48 MB)")
_003.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 003.jpg (47 KB)")
_016.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 016.jpg (467 KB)")
_017.jpg "Larissa Weems (2022) 017.jpg (503 KB)")
_003.png "Marilyn Thornhill and Larissa Weems (2022) 003.png (2.13 MB)")
References[]
- ↑ Chapter V: You Reap What You Woe
- ↑ Chapter II: Woe Is the Loneliest Number
- ↑ Chapter VIII: A Murder of Woes
- ↑ Wait, Who's Dead? All the 'Wednesday' Finale Mysteries, Solved - Netflix
- ↑ Chapter I: Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe
- ↑ Reddit post
- ↑ Wednesday: Jenna Ortega Is Dying To Revive A Vital Character For Season 2
- ↑ 'Wednesday' Season 2 Fan Theories: Clues, Hints, Spoilers
- ↑ Chapter One's Original script