Abhiroop Das
The second season of Netflix’s ‘Wednesday‘ follows its eponymous protagonist’s sophomore year at Nevermore Academy, and the new mysteries that come with it. Before long, Wednesday faces an attack on multiple fronts, with Tyler emerging as the most personal foe of them all. While their dynamic starts out with the hopes of a budding relationship in the first season, it quickly morphs into a struggle for Wednesday’s life, as Tyler’s secrets come out to play. However, despite their enemity, there lies a sympathetic edge to his character that is hard to ignore. As time passes, his story becomes even more entangled with the protagonist’s, and the threat to their lives increases at every turn. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tyler Survives, But Loses Everything He Cares About
Tyler’s long-standing rivalry with Wednesday gears up for a climax in the season finale, with the protagonist finding him strapped to Isaac’s device. Despite having a clear chance of taking his life, as Wednesday herself recalls, she instead frees Tyler from his shackles and then lets him run away. The exact reason for her actions remains ambiguous, but it nonetheless gives him a chance to escape a certain erasure of his abilities. Tyler does not stop there. He immediately transforms into his Hyde form and knocks Isaac out. He then directs his attention to his mother, enraged not only at her betrayal but at her disregard for his agency. With Francoise’s transformation, this heated exchange becomes a battle of Hydes, and Tyler is propelled outside the Iago tower. Although it is a close call, the teen eventually survives the fight, but not without a cost.
Francoise and Tyler’s battle quickly turns into a rampage that risks the lives of everyone at Nevermore. While it is a fight for survival, some part of Tyler is possibly also concerned with paying back Wednesday’s favour and saving her life. However, Francoise appears to be running entirely on instinct, and it is only during the battle that she realizes the futility of it all. To begin with, her intention had been for her son to be freed from his Hyde mutation, thus prolonging his life. However, her way of achieving this merely reiterates the power imbalance that Tyler was subjected to under Laurel Gates. As such, when the police begin surrounding the academy in an attempt to take the two Hydes down, Francoise makes a bold choice, sacrificing herself to let Tyler escape the scene. Her decision is also a way of freeing her son from the burden of saving his mother, and with this, Tyler is on his own once again.
Notably, despite his aggression, deep down, Tyler does not wish for his mother to die. In the moments before her fall, he desperately tries to bring her up, likely for them to escape the police together. However, with his mother choosing to end her life on her own terms, Tyler is left with no choice but to set out on a new path once again. Previously, his hallucinations of his dead father mocked the state of life he had found himself in, with his mother likely being disappointed in him. In the present, the full picture of events reveals that, despite her flaws, Francoise’s love for Tyler was her strongest emotion. Nonetheless, with nobody left to rely on, Tyler prepares to end the season on a solemn and uncertain note, until Ms. Isadora Capri, a former professor at Nevermore, finds him.
The Future Holds Some Promises For Tyler
Throughout his tumultuous journey as a Hyde, Tyler has consistently been abused by some kind of master figure. The reason for this dynamic lies in the very nature of Hydes as described in ‘Wednesday.’ These powerful creatures often lie dormant within people until they are unleashed by a traumatic event, or in some cases, chemical or hypnotic procedures. Typically, Hydes form a special bond with their liberators and often treat them as their masters. In Tylar’s case, Laurel Gates awakened his Hyde form using a special chemical formula. While he initially does treat her as his master, the teen is quick to come to his senses and gradually develops a sense of self strong enough to overpower Gates’s control over him. The subsequent attempts at taming him by Dr. Fairbun also turn out empty, as the real crux of his psyche lies in breaking free of such impositions.
Wednesday’s lack of empathy for Tyler leads her down a similar path as Laurel Gates, and the protagonist goes as far as to recreate the chemical serum used to tame Hyde. However, Tyler manages to overpower her in no time, and is only subdued by his mother, Francoise, who is a Hyde herself. Once they are alone, she voluntarily takes on the mantle of his new master and uses a mix of both violence and affection to ensure that he follows her orders. Here, the internal contradictions of the character come in full display, as Tyler’s taking care of Francoise can be interpreted as both a love for one’s mother and also the pull of serving a master.
Nonetheless, Francoise falls for the same trappings as her predecessor, suffocating Tyler. However, Tyler’s true motivations become increasingly clear with each iteration of the master-servant dynamic. Behind the raging desire to kill and spread harm lies a teen who simply craves a sense of belonging. While he nearly finds it in his relationship with his mother and uncle, their betrayal brings him back to square one. At his lowest point, Capri comes as a shining light, pointing him towards a pack of Hydes that exists outside of the reach of civilisation. She suggests that their mutual cooperation helps them surpass the need for a singular master, which gives Tyler a fair chance at attaining true independence. Although Tyler takes on her offer, he is likely to repeat that negative feedback loop once again, this time with Capri pulling the strings.
Read More: Who is Isaac Night? Who Plays Slurp the Zombie in Wednesday?
