Hardware FixRecommendedDevice not working? Your driver may be the problemCheck updates for common hardware issues.Fix DriversOctober DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsSlow PC?RecommendedPC slow today? Run a repair scan before it gets worseResolve common Windows issues and optimize system performance.Scan Now×
Skip to content
DocumentaryTube
Admit one · Blog

How Wednesday Homages Addams Family Values’ Thanksgiving Scene

Wednesday’s pilgrim scene recalls the Thanksgiving pageant in Addams Family Values, then uses the reference to question Jericho’s sanitized history.
Opened Runtime2 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Yes. Wednesday’s Season 1, Episode 3, “Friend or Woe,” deliberately echoes the Thanksgiving pageant in Addams Family Values (1993). The series does not remake the film scene: it shifts the pilgrim imagery into Jericho’s Puritan history and uses it to challenge the town’s celebratory version of its past.

What happens in the original Thanksgiving scene?

In Addams Family Values, Wednesday Addams, played by Christina Ricci, is sent to summer camp and forced to take part in a Thanksgiving pageant. She is cast as Pocahontas opposite Amanda Buckman, played by Mercedes McNab, who plays the “beautiful and kindly pilgrim lady” Sarah Miller.

Wednesday abandons the script to condemn the settlers’ seizure of Indigenous land. She then leads the camp’s misfit children in a revolt against the pilgrim village. The scene turns a school-style celebration into an act of rebellion, making Wednesday’s refusal to play along the comic and dramatic center of the pageant.

TIME’s account of the scene also notes that some of its stereotypes have aged poorly. Its anti-colonial satire is part of its legacy, but that does not make every element of its portrayal uncomplicated.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Addams Family Values
  • Genre: Comedy; Family
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Number of Tracks: 0
  • Playback Duration: 94
  • Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

How does Wednesday echo the film?

The reference appears in “Friend or Woe,” the third episode of Wednesday Season 1. Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday wears a pilgrim costume as the series explores the Puritan-era history of Jericho. Ortega later singled out the costume and scene as memorable, saying, “I think Tim [Burton] thought the whole pilgrim scene was hilarious.” Netflix Tudum, May 3, 2023.

Showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar described the film moment as a recognizable reference and said it felt organic to put Wednesday in a pilgrim idea. That supports calling the episode an homage or inspiration, not a literal recreation of the film’s full pageant and revolt. TIME, November 23, 2022.

What changes when the setting moves to Jericho?

The film’s conflict is immediate: Wednesday is made to perform a cheerful version of history, rejects it, and turns the pageant into a revolt. Wednesday widens the frame. Its fictional town was founded by Joseph Crackstone, a Puritan figure associated with the persecution of outcasts, while the town’s Pilgrim World attraction packages that past as a sanitized celebration.

Gough said the series sought to disrupt that point of view and make Wednesday a key part of doing so. He also described the larger story as “an allegory for racism and prejudice and all those things that we’re dealing with now.” These are the showrunner’s descriptions of the series’ themes; the episode’s historical mystery and town setting give the pilgrim imagery a different role from the film’s camp-pageant uprising. TIME, November 23, 2022.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Why the connection matters

The reference links two versions of Wednesday’s defiance: in the film, she interrupts a staged Thanksgiving story; in the series, she confronts a town whose public attractions flatter its own past. The echo is recognizable, but the episode redirects it toward Jericho’s treatment of outcasts and the way history is presented to visitors.

For viewers revisiting the comparison, the key distinction is that Addams Family Values supplies the pilgrim-pageant inspiration, while Wednesday adapts the idea to its own fictional history and ongoing mystery. Paramount identifies Addams Family Values as a 1993 film. Paramount Pictures.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Addams Family Values
Addams Family Values
Genre: Comedy; Family; Number of Discs: 2; Number of Tracks: 0; Playback Duration: 94; Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
$19.95
Bestseller No. 5

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More from the Screening Room

  1. Does NEON Have a New Horror Movie It Won’t Show Us? What’s VerifiedAdmit one · BlogDoes NEON Have a New Horror Movie It Won't Show Us? What's VerifiedOpened09 OCT 2026Runtime1 min
  2. What the Official NCIS: Origins Trailer Reveals About Young GibbsAdmit one · BlogWhat the Official NCIS: Origins Trailer Reveals About Young GibbsOpened09 OCT 2026Runtime2 min
  3. What Makes a Translation Great? Ten Literary Translators Weigh InAdmit one · BlogWhat Makes a Translation Great? Ten Literary Translators Weigh InOpened09 OCT 2026Runtime3 min
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.