| “ | I did what I needed to do to shield this school from controversy and protect its students from harm. | „ |
| ~ Larissa to Wednesday. |
| “ | Please don't make this more difficult than it already is, Marilyn. | „ |
| ~ Larissa to Laurel Gates after the latter was unmasked. |
| “ | 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 grey. | „ |
| ~ Larissa about Normies-Outcasts relationship. |
| “ | That's a fascinating theory. | „ |
| ~ Larissa on Wednesday's theory on her shapeshifting power. |
Larissa Weems, also known as Principal Weems, is a major character in the Netflix series Wednesday. She was a former student who was roommates with Morticia Addams, the mother of Wednesday Addams.
Because Morticia was her popular roommate and married to her love interest, Gomez Addams, Larissa became jealous of her. Later, she became the strict but protective principal of the Nevermore Academy. When Wednesday Addams arrived at Nevermore, she started to watch and keep an eye on her after Wednesday was expelled from 8 schools in 5 years.
She was portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, who also played Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones and Lucifer Morningstar in Sandman.
Biography
Background
In the past, Larissa was a student at Nevermore. She was Morticia Addams' roommate. They participated in several events and worked together, such as the Solstice Talent Show, where Morticia sang and Larissa, thanks to her shapeshifting, took on the appearance of Judy Garland. At the Edgar Allan Poe Cup, Larissa is on the team of her dormitory, Ophelia Hall, and was Morticia's co-pilot, who was the team leader. She invited Gomez to the Raven but he turned her down in favor of Morticia. So she leaves the ball, and crosses the quad with an umbrella because of a storm. At this moment, a body fell from the roof in front of her. She screamed out and looked at the roof, where the body had fallen. She saw Gomez with a sword covered in blood. Immediately she warned the police, who arrived on the scene. The sheriff, Noble Walker (the future mayor of Jericho), questioned her about what she saw, and she told him that all this was Morticia’s fault because the two boys were fighting for her and had both fallen in love with Morticia. Having lived in the shadow of her roommate and lost her love interest, Morticia will become Larissa's rival.
Larissa succeeded in her studies, and at an unknown time, she became the principal of Nevermore. She decided to make it a haven of peace and a refuge for the outcasts, who at the time were still the subject of all kinds of prejudice on the part of the normies. She also tries to promote the idea of coexistence between the outcasts and the normies, even hiring a normie, Marilyn Thornhill, to promote this idea. She also finances the election campaigns of Noble Walker, who became the mayor of Jericho; he had become her friend and could count on her support. At this time, all kinds of outcasts, except the Hydes, could study at Nevermore.
In 2022
The murders of Jericho and mysteries of Nevermore
In 2022, Larissa hosts Wednesday at school. After the incidents caused by Wednesday in eight schools in five years, she will monitor her personally, especially during her sessions with the therapist. That day, she introduced Enid Sinclair to Wednesday. The next day, she drives Wednesday to Valerie Kinbott’s office, her new psychiatric. During the annual Outreach Day, the Outcasts of Nevermore and the Normies of Jericho meet, as is traditional, so that the two communities can bond more. At the bar, the principal talks with the mayor and asks Marilyn Thornhill to watch Wednesday for her. She and her friend Noble inaugurated a fountain dedicated to Joseph Crackstone, the founder of Jericho, in the main square of the town just before the fountain was blown up by Wednesday. Noble was furious, and Jericho's inhabitants suspected Nevermore. For that, Larissa scolded Wednesday. A little later, the Rave'N Ball is held at Nevermore, and it is watched by Larissa, who discusses it with Marilyn, who organized the ball, before she leaves. During the party, she seemed to enjoy the Wednesday dance. When Lucas Walker and his friends sabotage the party by throwing red paint from the sprinklers, it terrifies Larissa, who screams. Meanwhile, Eugene Ottinger is attacked by the Monster after a cave exploded in the forest, a cave that he and Wednesday investigates earlier.
When Wednesday investigates Garrett Gates murder, Larissa is seen repeatedly in flashbacks and how she mistakenly believed Gomez had killed Garrett Gates. Eventually, Wednesday's leads help the mayor of Jericho attempt to reveal vital information about the monster killings to her, Larissa, and the town sheriff. But the murderer, fearing that he (or she) would get caught and her plans derailed, ran him over with a blue Cadillac, put him in a coma, and killed him, pulling his life support. After his funerals, Valerie Kinbott is attacked too. Larissa and Wednesday went to the hospital after hearing Valerie scream on the phone, but she didn’t make it.
The next day, Wednesday investigates the murders and the monster, but she is repeatedly intercepted and scolded by Larissa, who refuses to let her out of the school, because Wednesday's acts put Nevermore in danger and raised the suspicion of the normies in Jericho. After an attack with her friends, Larissa summons Wednesday again and threatens to fire her, though she gives her one last chance. Actually, Larissa is worrying about the consequences of Wednesday’s actions on the Academy and absolutely wants to protect her students, including Wednesday.
Trapping Laurel Gates and apparent demise
But later, Bianca Barclay and her gang warn Larissa that she's torturing Tyler after finding out he's the Hyde. Actually, they helped Wednesday to trap Tyler with Bianca’s siren song, but soon as she wanted to torture him for the interrogations, Bianca’s gang left her for not get in troubles later. The police then arrive at Xavier's workshop to arrest Wednesday, and she ends up at the police station with Larissa. When Wednesday scolds Larissa for saying that Sheriff Galpin knew about his son, she angrily urges her to leave the office. The sheriff agreed to not press charges in exchange for Wednesday’s immediate expulsion. The next day, Larissa tells Wednesday that she’s personally escort her to her train. But before leaving, Wednesday has one final favor : pay a visit to Eugene. Larissa agreed. While she’s talking to Eugene’s mothers, Wednesday talks with Eugene in his room. They discuss about the recent events and Eugene declares that he was surprised that Dr. Kinbott was actually Laurel Gates. He says he don’t really remember, but when the cave exploded, there were an explosion of light and he saw that the arsonist’s boots were not black, but red. Wednesday then realizes that Marilyn Thornhill is actually Laurel Gates and the mastermind behind the murders.
Off screen, she warns Larissa and together they decided to trap her. To do this, Larissa tricks the botanist by transforming into Tyler, and indeed, Marilyn is the mastermind of the plot. She thens orders “Tyler” to kill Wednesday but Larissa shape-shifts back into herself. Before she can do anything, Larissa is wounded by a syringe filled with Nightshade poison that is stuck in her throat by a panicked Marilyn. After that, she collapses to the ground, poisoned, which seemingly kills her. At the end, after all the bloodshed and both Crackstone and Laurel defeated, Wednesday and Enid goes to Larissa' office and honor her by saying that she actually loved Nevermore and would have done anything to protect it.
Personality
In the eyes of many people, Larissa appears as a pleasant woman who takes her duties as principal of Nevermore very seriously. She has a certain sense of humor and is very friendly. However, if someone ever happens to put the academy in jeopardy, she will come across as cold and calculating, such as when she covers up the murder of Rowan Laslow by impersonating himself and pretending to be expelled from the academy because the revelation of his murder would have marked the end of Nevermore. When Noble Walker insinuates that Hyde is one of her students, Larissa coldly warns him that her charity has its limits. She is also jealous of her former school roommate Morticia Addams, having lived in her shadow throughout her schooling.
Under the surface, however, she is a passionate and loving woman, willing to break the rules to protect her students. She’s also an optimistic and idealistic woman, firmly believing in the possibility of creating a world in which outcasts and normies can coexist in peace and harmony. For example, she is always seen participating in activities that help promote this idea and taking charge of making various charitable donations to the city to be seen as a model citizen. She is also incredibly intelligent, knowing what the monster is, how to cover up murders, and how to persuade people.
Gallery
Trivia
- Given numerous interviews, statements and theories, Larissa's fate remains contradictory:
- Wednesday's producers later confirmed that she was indeed dead, stating that they liked the fact that Wednesday lost a close ally and see what this loss would entail.
- Despite this, Gwendoline Christie has expressed her hopes that Larissa hasn't died because of her pleasure of keep working with Tim Burton and Jenna Ortega. Actually, Christie declared that the role was the first time of her career when she felted to be beautiful on screen. Besides, she was the first to say that Season 2 was coming before Netflix confirmed it and teased her return in many interviews, saying that “we haven’t see her put in the ground, have we ?“ or that she will never be dominated by “something as common place as death”. Jenna Ortega herself answered the question “Should the audience believe that Principal Weems is dead ?” and said that she don’t even believe that one and she can’t work without Christie in season two. Also, Jenna Ortega was confirmed as the producer of season two and that she was dying to revive a vital character [[Weems]] for the incoming season. [1]
- Indeed, after the premiere and their first interview about it, Miles Millar declared in another interview that they’re actually open on the idea of bringing her back because it’s a supernatural show and there is many ways to come back. As of this writing, it's unknown whether Larissa will return or will stay dead in the second season.
- Her possible return in the second season is one of the most teased theories and was discussed between Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair), Joy Sunday (Bianca Barclay) and Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin).
- Because of her mysterious nature at the beginning of the first season, some fans thought in the first place that she will be revealed as the villain, rather than Marilyn Thornhill, who was the nicest to Wednesday out of Enid and Tyler, who was actually pretending to be nice for Marilyn's plans.
External Links
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The Addams Family Nevermore Academy Others | ||