Lady Gaga has finally made her debut on Wednesday. Fans of the Jenna Ortega Netflix series went gaga, for lack of a better term, when they found out that the mega pop star would be making a cameo appearance in Season 2. And the Grammy and Academy Award winner finally received her applause when she appeared in the second batch of episodes, which premiered on Sept. 3.
Episode 6, “Woe Thyself,” is perhaps the brightest spot in Wednesday Season 2. And that’s incredibly appropriate, since the installment focuses on the colorful Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers) and her strained relationship with Wednesday (Ortega). Looking for a way to return her lost psychic powers, the titular teen goes to her grandama Hester (Joanna Lumley) for advice. Always looking to help a fellow “Raven,” the matriarch tells the story of Rosaline Rotwood, a former teacher of hers who possessed powerful psychic abilities.
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At the instruction of Hester, Wednesday travels into the Nevermore cemetary to Rotwood’s grave. After reciting the Latin inscription on the headstone, she’s transported into the spiritual plane, a ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere. And there, in the middle of it, is Rotwood, played by Gaga. Glowing a ghastly pale and shrouded in a veil, she instructs the young girl to keep her hand on the headstone, lest there be (literally) grave consequences.
Unfortunately, all of that is not communicated to Enid. The werewolf chases after her roommate, not wanting her to get in trouble for breaking a newly-instated curfew. But her actions cause them to get in a very different kind of trouble, severing Wednesday’s connection to Rotwood. And so the spirit plays a naughty trick on the two girls, swapping them into each other’s bodies.
The rest of “Woe Thyself” is Wednesday‘s take on the classic Freaky Friday tropes (freaky Wednesday, anyone?). It’s a great display for both Ortega and Myers, who completely switch dispositions in their new roles. Of course, the two attempt to try to act like the other to not flag anything’s wrong, though eventually they grow to purposely sabotage the person whose body they’re inhabiting. Time is of the essence, though, as after 24 hours, both girls will die. And the mega popstar returns soon in the episode to offer a solution, saying they have until dawn “to discover the innermost secrets of the life you stepped into.”
Related: Lady Gaga Drops Haunting Music Video Directed By Tim Burton—And Fans Say It’s ‘Absolute Cinema’
Indeed, those secrets all come to life, as both Wednesday and Enid learn what the other has been harboring all of Season 2. For Wednesday, it’s the loss of her powers, and her desire to stop the premonition she had in the premiere of Enid’s death. For Enid, it’s the recent discovery that she is an “Alpha” wolf, and what danger that could put her in. As light crests over the graveyard, their greatest worries had been brought to life. And so, after each roomie lavishes praise onto the other, Rotwood returns them from whence they came, re-establishing the status quo.
For fans of Lady Gaga expecting to see more of her in Wednesday, unfortunately, that is the only cameo she makes in the entirety of Season 2. However, her time on the show is well-remembered with a new piece of music. The morning of Sept. 3, the same day of her on-screen appearance, she released the music video to “The Dead Dance,” directed by Tim Burton. The legendary filmmaker is an executive producer on Wednesday, having also directed many of its episodes.
Related: ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Ending Explained
