Wednesday season 2 has unleashed chaos, but the twist with Judi has shocked me the most

I thought I was ready for anything Wednesday season 2 could throw at me. After the gothic madness of season 1, Hydes, secret societies, and family secrets, I approached this new chapter with my guard up. Every character, no matter how charming or odd, became a suspect.

Dr. Fairburn's smile felt too polished. Isadora Capri’s calmness was unsettling. Even Agnes de Mille, the girl secretly stalking Wednesday, felt like she had something darker brewing. But no, she was just an overly obsessed fan desperate for attention and validation, a surprisingly tame twist in a show like this.

What truly caught me off guard wasn’t the stalker reveal, or even the misdirections baked into every episode. It was Judi (portrayed by Heather Matarazzo), the chipper, unnervingly cheerful assistant at Willowhill Psychiatric Facility.

With her soft pastels, her perfect posture, and her voice that sounded ripped from a '90s instructional video, Judi seemed harmless. Forgettable, even. I wrote her off as filler. A background character to fill the space between plot points.

And maybe that was exactly the point.

Because when the truth was revealed in episode 4, that Judi wasn’t just the elusive Avian, but a normie who chose to become one, it redefined everything we thought we knew about monsters in the Wednesday universe.

Who is Judi Spannegel in Wednesday season 2?

Heather Matarazzo stars as Judi Spannegel in Wednesday season 2 (Image via Netflix)

I can’t stop thinking about the moment we learn who the Avian really is in Wednesday season 2. Not because of the feathers, crows, or chaos she brings, though all of that is haunting enough, but because of what it says about her.

Judi wasn’t born an Outcast. She wasn’t gifted with power, cursed with magic, or struggling to suppress anything dark and mysterious. She was just a normie. That’s where her father comes in.

Judi’s father, Augustus Stonehurst, had once been a science teacher at Nevermore. But underneath the intelligence and credentials was a man obsessed with crossing the boundary between normie and Outcast. He founded the LOIS program (Long-Term Outcast Integration Study) in secret, with one goal: to steal the powers of Outcasts and implant them into normies.

It was, quite literally, scientific colonization. A desire to own what he could never naturally have.

His body couldn’t handle the transformations, and eventually, he broke physically and mentally. He was institutionalized for his failed experiments. Most people would have buried that shame, shut the door on that legacy, and moved on.

But Judi didn’t. She opened the door wider.

She wanted to be a subject

Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday season 2 (Image via Netflix)

Judi wasn’t coerced into the LOIS program. That's the part I couldn't get over. She chose it. She volunteered to undergo the same grotesque trials that ruined her father. And unlike him, she succeeded. She became the Avian.

A human weapon with the ability to command crows and hide in plain sight. While the world saw Judi as a harmless assistant, she was running a torture lab beneath the very asylum where she filed paperwork. Outcasts believed to be dead were locked away below, their gifts harvested like organs.

And she did it all with a smile. Realizing all these now gives chills to my bones.

But what haunts me more than the crows and the experiments is that no one was pulling her strings. No Marilyn Thornhill whispering in her ear. No ancient curse. No revenge arc. Just ambition.

Judi didn’t become a monster because she was desperate. She became one because she wanted to. And Wednesday was a threat to her plans.

The new face of villainy in Wednesday season 2

Heather Matarazzo stars as Judi Spannegel in Wednesday season 2 (Image via Instagram/heathermatarazzo)

There’s something far more terrifying about a villain who wasn’t born into darkness but walked into it willingly. In season 1, we watched as Tyler battled his Hyde identity, manipulated and groomed by Thornhill. There was an undercurrent of tragedy to his story, a question of how much of it was really him.

With Judi, there is no question. Every step she took into the LOIS program, every Outcast she imprisoned, every scream muffled in those underground labs was all hers. She didn’t want to understand the Outcasts. She wanted to own what made them special. And somehow, that hits so much harder than any ghost or ghoul.

Rewriting the power struggle between normies and outcasts

Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams (Image via Netflix)

Wednesday season 2 always hinted at the tension between normies and Outcasts. However, with the revelation of LOIS and Judi’s real goal, that tension becomes terrifyingly literal. It’s no longer just fear or hatred.

Normies aren’t just pushing Outcasts to the margins. Now they’re trying to become them, ripping away what was once mocked and feared so they can weaponize it.

It makes you rewatch every scene in a different light. Every microaggression. Every suspicious look. Every attempt at assimilation. You start to wonder: how many others knew? How many more are out there?

Judi's escape

When Wednesday and Uncle Fester discover the underground lab, they free the victims. Willow Hill descends into chaos. Inmates riot. Tyler breaks loose and kills his former master, Marilyn Thornhill, before hurling Wednesday out a window, leaving her bloody and broken on the pavement.

But while all that’s happening, Judi vanishes into the chaos. She disappears, cloak and all, leaving behind only questions and trauma. The show leaves us hanging on the biggest question of all: what’s next?

The bigger mystery still unfolds

We’re only halfway through Wednesday season 2. Four episodes remain. And while the Judi twist is behind us, its consequences are just beginning to unfold.

Is she acting alone? Could other normies be part of the LOIS program? Was the woman Wednesday saved, who bore a striking resemblance to her mother, actually her Aunt Ophelia? And how does all of this connect to the zombie Slurp that Pugsley accidentally brought to life? And of course, we still haven’t seen Lady Gaga yet.

But as much as I’m looking forward to what happens next, part of me will always see Judi’s reveal as the moment that changed everything.

Something is horrifying about a villain who could’ve chosen peace but went with power instead. Wednesday season 2 doesn’t just explore darkness; it shows how seductive it can be, especially when it comes with legacy, obsession, and the quiet pressure of wanting to be extraordinary.

Judi Spannegel was once ordinary. Then she chose to become something else. Something worse. And for me, that was the most shocking and unforgettable moment of the season.

Because the monsters that choose themselves are the ones you never see coming, and they're the hardest ones to stop.

About the author

With over five years of work experience, Bea Melisse Ibañez is a seasoned writer covering K-pop, K-dramas, and the latest trends in the entertainment industry at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism, Bea combines her academic background with her fascination for Hallyu culture, creating insightful and accurate content.

In her career, Bea has had the opportunity to interview prominent figures in the K-pop industry, including groups like TWICE and artists such as GOT7's BamBam, Lee Seung-gi, and Hwang Min-hyun.

As a pop-culture enthusiast, her love for Korean dramas and music began in high school, where she discovered 2nd and 3rd-generation K-pop groups. She also admires actors like Eddie Redmayne, Lee Joon-gi, and Park Eun-bin, and her favorite celebrity is Miley Cyrus.

In her free time, Bea likes to rewatch her favorite shows. If given a chance, she would like to be a part of the dazzling world of Hazbin Hotel.

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Edited by Bea Melisse Ibañez