WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Wednesday season 1!Wednesday’s flashbacks to 1990 feature different actors playing young Gomez Addams and Morticia Frump. Tim Burton’s Wednesday marks one of the first occasions in which Gomez and Morticia aren’t leading an Addams Family adaptation, although the characters do play significant roles in Nevermore Academy’s 30-year-old murder mystery. As Wednesday Addams investigates how Garrett Gates’ death really happened at Nevermore’s 1990 Rave’N Dance, her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán) explain their sides of the story in the “murder.”

The flashbacks to teenage Gomez and Morticia Addams as outcast students at Nevermore Academy in Wednesday season 1, episode 5 show a new era of the family’s life as the young lovers become swept up in murder, jealousy, and revenge. In the dramatic episode, young Morticia is portrayed by Gwen Jones, while young Gomez is played by Lucius Hoyos. Jones and Hoyos are also often seen throughout the series in photos of young Morticia and Gomez around Nevermore Academy, much to the annoyance of Wednesday, who loathes being in the shadow of her parents. Although Netflix has yet to confirm Wednesday season 2, the young Morticia and Gomez Addams actors will likely return for more flashbacks to their time at Nevermore.

What Else Wednesday’s Young Gomez & Morticia Actors Have Been In

Wednesday is the first acting credit for Gwen Jones, which makes her incredible performance as young Morticia Frump all the more impressive. Before joining Wednesday season 1’s cast as young Gomez Addams, Lucius Hoyos appeared in numerous TV shows and a few movies. In addition to voicing Carlos on PAW Patrol, Hoyos played Parsley on Little Charmers, Jose Gutierrez on Heroes Reborn, McCalister on Netflix’s Between, Felix in What If, and Noah in the Netflix film Awake.

Why Wednesday’s Young Gomez & Morticia Castings Were So Good

The pair does an excellent job of depicting the youthful passion and undying love that teenage Morticia and Gomez had for one another, which still shows in the adult portrayals by Zeta-Jones and Guzmán. Not only is Wednesday’s casting of young Gomez and Morticia realistic when compared to Zeta-Jones and Guzmán, but they also brilliantly capture the dark charisma, sensuality, and eerie appearances that have defined the iconic Addams Family characters for nearly a century. The chemistry between Jones and Hoyos is palpable on screen, which truly leaves audiences with no doubt that Morticia and Gomez would still be together and as equally in love 30 years later.

Considering how well-received the performances of young Gomez and Morticia Addams were, it seems The Addams Family is due for a spinoff focusing on the teenage years of the matriarch and patriarch. The casting of Gwen Jones and Lucius Hoyos is already perfect for an extended look at the young characters, with Wednesday season 1 already revealing various other characters, like Larissa Weems and Noble Walker, who could appear in a Morticia and Gomez spinoff. Nevertheless, if The Addams Family has a young Morticia and Gomez spinoff after Wednesday, the superb casting of Jones and Hoyos needs to be the template they use in the future.