The Huge Giveaway To Who The Killer Is In Wednesday

Warning: Contains general spoilers for "Wednesday"

Unsurprisingly, given its source material, Netflix's "Wednesday" is a show that deals in relatively dark subject matter. This isn't just due to the general disposition of its titular character, but a body count that quickly grows after she arrives at her new school, called Nevermore Academy. Somewhere in and around the premises, a killer is lurking — and he's big, bitey, and has eyes on Wednesday (Jenna Ortega), who's bent on bringing a conspiracy to light that dates back centuries. Eventually, of course, the smart and sardonic eldest child of the Addams Family uncovers the truth about just who the man behind this monster happens to be. In hindsight, this seems like an easy enough case to crack, given the nature of the beast.

All things considered, it shouldn't take a detective or a nosy high schooler with a penchant for the petrifying to figure out which one of the various suspects in "Wednesday" is actually its killer in disguise, thanks to a big clue some viewers might have missed.

"Wednesday" eventually reveals that the creature killing off those with whom Wednesday crosses paths at the Nevermore Academy is known as a Hyde, referencing the horrific other half of the dear old Dr. Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson's book, "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." In "Wednesday," Hyde is a towering force mindlessly mutilating unsuspecting innocents wandering around in the night on their own. As most viewers are likely aware, Stevenson's novella stars a mild-mannered doctor named Jekyll, who develops a murderous alter ego in an experiment gone wrong. When it turns out that the killer in "Wednesday" goes by Hyde, then, viewers should take this as a clue that his secret identity isn't someone with an outwardly violent disposition but perhaps someone kind by all appearances, keeping their murderous intent suppressed and hidden.

Factoring these character traits in and lining them up with Stevenson's book, one of Wednesday's classmates at the Nevermore Academy quickly becomes suspect number one in the search for its serial killer. As the saying goes, it really is always the quiet ones.

Amidst some macabre goings-on and plenty of fellow gloomy teens with whom Wednesday is cooped up, one of the few 'normies' Wednesday becomes attached to is Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), the chatty coffee guy who becomes smitten with the gothic school girl. Tyler is sweet, caring, and feels the sort that wouldn't hurt a fly. With that in mind, of course he's hiding a beastly secret in the form of a seven-foot-tall feral creature he can't contain.

Tyler is a good guy at first glance, just like the good doctor whose time with a chemistry set creates a murderous alter ego in "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The origin of Tyler's dark side is slightly different, however, in that he carries this curse thanks to his family heritage. Nevertheless, this split between man and monster still lines up with its inspiration. The usefulness of the clue contained within his pseudonym likely also explains why Wednesday doesn't uncover the creature's name until late in the series.

Unfortunately, the damage Tyler inflicts leaves its mark, with the potential love interest ultimately leaning into his horrific nature even when he's human. If "Wednesday" gets a second season, expect the love that could've been for our heroine to manifest as an unhinged enemy back for revenge. Honestly, high school romances really are nothing but trouble.