In Wednesday, Nevermore Academy is a bastion for all sorts of outcasts and mythical creatures. Students arrive as they are, whether they’re blue-eyed sirens like Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday), lycanthropes eager to “wolf out” like Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) or psychics that conjure visions like Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) and Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White).

But there is one monster that the students and normies of nearby Jericho alike do not want to mess with –– the Hyde. And yes, that does refer to the dual identities of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

For most of Season 1, the classification of the monster that is murdering students and townsfolk is unknown, and that mystery is at the heart of Wednesday’s investigation during her first term at Nevermore. She questions a number of suspects in her search for the truth, such as Xavier, because his psychic visions of the monster seem to pop out of his artworks. 

But it’s only after Wednesday shows her Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) one of Xavier’s drawings that she can even begin to understand what she’s up against. 

“It’s called a Hyde,” Fester tells his favorite niece. But the last time he’d seen one in the flesh was in 1983 during his “vacay” at the Zurich Institute for the Criminally Insane.

Back then, the Hyde in question was concert pianist Olga Malacova, who had it all: brains, beauty and a penchant for necrophilia. But one night she transformed during the middle of a Chopin sonata, and massacred a dozen audience members (and three music critics).

Fun fact: Wednesday director and executive producer Tim Burton actually drew concepts for the Hyde himself. As Ortega says, “He had a couple sketches on his table and the writers saw it, and they said, ‘That one.’ ”

But that doesn’t explain what causes a Hyde’s transformation, which leads to Fester, Wednesday and the ever-resourceful Thing sneaking into the Nightshades Library to steal the diary of Nevermore’s founder, Nathaniel Faulkner. Faulkner had cataloged every outcast community he encountered on his travels before founding the school, including — you guessed it — the Hyde. 

Together they read how Faulkner described Hydes as “artists by nature, but equally vindictive in temperament.”

He wrote: “Born of mutation, the Hyde lays dormant until unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis. This causes the Hyde to develop an immediate bond with its liberator, who the creature now sees as its master. It becomes the willing instrument of whatever nefarious agenda this new master might propose.

As Fester puts it, “Anyone willing to unlock a Hyde is a next-level sicko.” And that means Wednesday is on the hunt for two killers, the monster and its master. 

Hydes were considered so dangerous and unpredictable that they were officially banned from Nevermore 30 years before the start of the series. After all, Faulkner was killed by one. And crafting the creatures was an opportunity for series creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to find something unique for the show’s Big Bad, as Wednesday is “about people not always showing their true self” — in contrast to Wednesday, who always does. “Even in the outcasts’ world,” Gough explains, “Hydes are something to be feared and, frankly, are not welcome because they are so unstable.”

PHOTO BY VLAD CIOPLEA

Who is the monster in Wednesday?

The idea of having a dual personality, where you could hide behind one thing and become the other, felt right for the story the showrunners wanted to tell. And it all leads to Wednesday’s shocking discovery that her pseudo-boyfriend, local barista Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan), has been the Hyde all along — with her “dorm mom” and science teacher Miss Thornhill (Christina Ricci) manipulating him as his master.

Doohan knew that there was a darkness to his character before he even stepped foot in Romania to begin filming. He first became suspicious of Tyler’s intentions in his final round of auditions for the part. “They told me that Tyler had a dark secret,” Doohan tells Tudum. “And I was like, ‘Does he have the dark secret?’ And they’re like, ‘We can’t tell you, but you might want to play with that.’ ”

But, as we learn, Tyler was never just the sweet boy who remembered Wednesday’s coffee order and tag-teamed her on investigations. He grew up having a strained relationship with his sheriff father, in which they never talked about his absent mother. And remember, he assaulted Xavier with his friends the previous year. 

That dark side is likely what intrigued Wednesday in the first place. When he comes clean at the Rave’N Dance about bullying Xavier during the past year, she tells him she wouldn’t have judged him for it. Rather, she would have taken the prank even further.

“The idea that Wednesday discovers she was attracted to the serial-killing monster is very on-brand for her,” Millar says. “You look back and you think, ‘Why does she like this guy? He seems so milquetoast.’ But actually, she senses something darker in him, which I think really makes sense.”

“Of course the first boy I kiss would turn out to be a psychotic serial killing monster. I guess I have a type.”

Wednesday learns Tyler’s true nature when they share their first kiss in the penultimate episode, only to be interrupted by Wednesday having a vision of Tyler as the Hyde attacking the town therapist. The finale sees her finally putting the pieces together: Tyler’s mother was also a Hyde (and a former Nevermore student, whose postpartum depression triggered her condition). And Miss Thornhill enlisted chemical means to unlock his alter ego, all so that he could help launch her vendetta against the outcasts of the school.

Doohan supposes that his loyalty to his “master” is due to her being the first person to tell him the truth about his mother. “Tyler grew up thinking his mom had died, and that she had a mental illness, and his dad never wants to talk about it,” he says.

Both Doohan and Gough agree that, at first, Tyler was terrified of his abilities, but then grew to “embrace his monster side” as a vessel for his rage. And all his festering resentment feeds into this Hyde’s unfailing loyalty towards his master and their mutual hatred of Nevermore, which no longer accepts Hydes, making them the ultimate kind of outcast. “He blames everyone there for the death of his mom,” Doohan adds. “He feels like that part of his life was stolen and taken from him.”

And who could blame him, when Miss Thornhill continues to whisper in his ear, “I showed you who you really are. What they did to your mother. The outcasts made you a monster.”

While Wednesday ultimately vanquishes Miss Thornhill and Enid takes Tyler down in a werewolf-vs-Hyde battle in the woods, Tyler isn’t gone for good — nor are his Hyde tendencies. Our last shot of him is as he’s whisked away in the back of a truck, chained and medicated, yet still shapeshifting into a Hyde as the credits roll.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN HESSION

Where is Tyler in Wednesday Season 2, Part 1?

Wednesday and Tyler are reunited in Season 2, Episode 2, “The Devil You Woe.” In the aftermath of Sheriff Galpin’s death, Wednesday visits her former flame at the Willow Hill Psychiatric Facility, where he has been incarcerated. The facility is run by Dr. Fairburn (Thandiwe Newton), a self-proclaimed expert in the treatment of outcasts, who allows Wednesday to see Tyler in the hopes of sparking a breakthrough in his treatment. He’s been unforthcoming thus far — could seeing Wednesday unlock something?

One thing’s for sure: The Tyler we see in Season 2 is a far cry from the sweet barista who first stole Wednesday’s dark heart in Season 1. “Wednesday needs to go to Tyler for a clue in her mystery,” Gough says. “You see that the facade of the nice boy, which dropped at the end of last year, is completely gone now. He’s a complete monster, not only physically but psychologically as well.”

“Tyler’s look has definitely evolved this season,” Doohan adds. “It was fun working with the costume and hair and makeup departments to shed the good-boy aesthetic he was hiding behind in Season 1. He’s got the scars from this fight with Enid, and his hair is grown out and unkempt.”

Chained up in a cell that once belonged to “a werewolf who went on a killing spree in ’92,” there’s something almost feral about the way Tyler reacts to seeing his now mortal enemy. “Tyler’s totally unhinged in a way that we haven’t seen him before,” Doohan says. “We talked a little bit about wanting him to feel like a caged animal and unpredictable, especially in the first half of the season. You don’t know what he’s thinking and what he’s planning on doing.”

PHOTO BY HELEN SLOAN

And yet, something still ties these two together. “It’s inevitable your morbid curiosity would bring you here,” Tyler says. “I know you couldn’t resist seeing me again.” Though Wednesday responds with her usual barbed wit, something about him does always get under her skin, Millar says. 

“For Wednesday, it’s always the question of why she was attracted to him,” he explains. “Is it this idea that she could only fall in love with a monster? Was there something about the darkness in him that she saw and liked? There is no love triangle this season, but that relationship is the closest she’s going to get to love. It’s a fascinating push-pull between her emotions. It really unnerves her, being with him. They both play mind games and it’s really fun to see them tap dance around each other. Willow Hill, the psychiatric hospital, is a big environment for us this season, and that plays into the mystery that Wednesday uncovers.”

Wednesday breaks the news to Tyler that his father has been murdered, just one day after his old partner, Carl Bradbury, was also killed. “Two murders in two days,” she says, “both connected to your family.” Tyler denies any involvement, but threatens Enid’s life — could he be the cause of Wednesday’s psychic vision that foretells her death? 

As she leaves, Wednesday dismisses Tyler as unworthy of her time, which angers him so much he starts to shift into his Hyde form. “Tyler’s been spending every waking moment in Willow Hill obsessing over the next chance he’ll get to see Wednesday,” Doohan says. “When she finally comes to see him at Willow Hill, it doesn’t go the way he planned. I think he truly believed she wanted to see him again, and help him. Tyler is holding onto his connection to Wednesday. But Wednesday reveals his father, Sheriff Galpin, has been murdered. And then he finds she’s only there to get information out of him to help her new investigation, which really pisses Tyler off.”

Fortunately, he’s been outfitted with a device that jolts his body with an electric shock and prevents the Hyde from getting out … for now.  

What happens to Tyler at the end of Season 2, Part 1?

In the final moments of Season 2, Episode 3, it’s revealed that Marilyn Thornhill, Tyler’s master, has been transferred to Willow Hill. In Episode 4, Dr. Fairburn explains that she hopes the former Nevermore teacher holds the key to unlocking the elusive Hyde. In a way, she’s right. When Thornhill visits Tyler in his cell, he initially pretends to be reaching out for her — only to violently grab her by the neck, and transform into his Hyde form. Though Thornhill escapes unscathed, it’s clear the dynamic between them has shifted. 

Later in the episode, Thornhill tries to exert control over her charge once more when she frees him during a riot caused by Wednesday and Fester. “I told you Mama would get you out of here,” she tells Tyler as she helps him escape. “I could never abandon you.” But once again, she’s read the situation all wrong. “Wish I could say the same,” he replies. “You’re the reason I’ve been locked away in here, and you’re not my mother; you’re my master. Or, should I say, you were.”

PHOTO BY HELEN SLOAN

Out of a twisted sense of lingering affection, Tyler gives Thornhill a five-second head start to run for her life before transforming into a Hyde. He chases her down the now-abandoned halls of Willow Hill and runs her through with his claws, killing her. 

“I was so excited when I read in the scripts that Dr. Fairburn brings Marilyn Thornhill to come see Tyler,” Doohan says. “They’re hoping that bringing her in can help make Tyler better, but he feels betrayed and abandoned by her. He believes his only chance to be free is to free himself from her control … which, unfortunately for her, does mean murdering her.”

Episode 4 ends with Tyler confronting Wednesday and throwing her out of a window before escaping Willow Hill in Hyde form.  

So what does this all mean for Tyler going forward? “Fans have a lot to look forward to in the second half of the season,” Doohan says. “We get to see Tyler free from Willow Hill. We also get to see him without a master for the first time.”

“Getting more into the Hyde mythology, when you kill off your master, a Hyde will eventually go crazy,” Gough adds. “Thornhill puts him in this position, and he kills her in a fit of rage. What’s going to happen once he’s out without a master?” To find out, you’ll have to tune in to Part 2 of Wednesday Season 2 when it premieres on Sept. 3. 

For a deeper dive into Wednesday Season 2, Episode 4, check out our explainer here. 

So, is Tyler’s mom alive?

In Season 1, we’re told that Tyler’s mom was a Hyde, and that she died when he was a young boy. Season 2, Episode 5 uncovers the truth:  In reality, Francoise Galpin (Frances O’Connor) — otherwise known as Patient 1938 — was being held captive at Willow Hill Psychiatric Facility as part of Dr. Augustus Stonehearst’s mysterious LOIS program. In Episode 4, Wednesday learns that Judi (Heather Matarazzo) is actually Stonehearst’s daughter, who was hell-bent on continuing his legacy and carrying out his experiments. During their confrontation, Wednesday frees the LOIS prisoners, including Francoise, who escapes to reunite with her son, now on the loose as a Hyde. 

“One of the most exciting twists of the season is finding out that Tyler’s mom isn’t dead,” Doohan says. “She’s been kept in the basement level of Willow Hill, where they’d been secretly experimenting on outcasts for years.”

Francoise isn’t Tyler’s only long-lost family member to resurface this season. As it turns out, Pugsley’s pet zombie Slurp (Owen Painter ) is actually Isaac Night, Francoise’s brother and Tyler’s uncle. “Getting to work with Frances O’Connor and Owen Painter was amazing,” Doohan says. “They’re both so talented and just fit right in with all of us. Everyone loved them.”

PHOTO BY HELEN SLOAN

In Episode 5, Wednesday attempts to control Tyler by becoming his master. But Francoise, now free, pays Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) a visit and begs her — mother to mother — to help her find her son. The two strike a deal: Francoise promises to control Tyler and leave Jericho in exchange for Morticia’s help.  But there’s a twist: Francoise is sick, and for Isaac and Tyler to save her, they need access to Nevermore. It seems that being a Hyde means a shorter life span — the pills Francoise was given at Willow Hill suppressed her Hyde gene, which has allowed her to live as long as she has. But without them, she’s fading fast. When she transformed to save Tyler, it exacerbated her condition.

“Tyler’s mom coming to the story changes everything. It changes Tyler’s whole focus, from trying to get Wednesday to love him and then get revenge when she doesn’t reciprocate, to trying to save his mom,” Doohan says. “We learn that being a Hyde comes at a cost and that it will eventually kill you. She’s running out of time.”

To find out how this all plays out, check out our Wednesday Season 2 ending explainer here. 

PHOTO BY BERNARD WALSH

Can a Hyde survive without a master?

In the Season 2 finale, Isaac tries to use Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) as a power source to fuel his machine and save Francoise. At the last minute, however, she switches places with Tyler, hoping to cure him of his Hyde gene and save him from an early death. But Wednesday and the rest of her family thwart this plan, freeing Tyler and causing a rift between him and Francoise as a distraction to rescue Pugsley. “She pits one Hyde against the other,” Doohan says of Wednesday’s plan. “She sees that as a way to cause chaos, which will allow her to free her brother. You’d think she would just kill Tyler the first minute she could, but she doesn’t. And that does speak to their relationship.”

The two Hydes battle it out on the roof of Iago Tower, and the fight ends with Francoise falling to her death, while Tyler escapes, once again without a master. 

We see him once more in the final moments of the episode, standing in front of his parents’ graves. There, he’s approached by Isadora Capri (Billie Piper), who claims she can save him. “I’m done with mothers and masters,” Tyler says. “I’m not interested in being either,” she replies. 

Capri is offering a support system for Hydes in hiding — a pack based on the werewolf model that might transcend the need for a master. As a werewolf herself, Capri’s suggestion strikes Tyler as an odd one, until she drops a major bomb: Her father was a Hyde. Could this really be a way for Tyler to survive? Only time will tell.

“At the end of the season, we see Tyler go off with Professor Capri,” Doohan says. “We’re not sure exactly where they’re going, but it’s potentially a new life without the onus of a master. She offers him a new way to live and survive. And like all things Wednesday, he will definitely be showing up again.”

All The Nevermore Outcasts in Wednesday ExplainedThe Addams Family has always been pretty kooky — but they've got nothing on these students.

Additional reporting by Ariana Romero.

Watch Wednesday Season 2 now on Netflix.