If you're watching Wednesday on Netflix, you might have noticed that Jenna Ortega's titular character doesn't seem to ever blink. That's no accident as Ortega intentionally avoided blinking when in character as Wednesday, but that's not to say that it never happens at any point in the series. On social media, some fans have commented on how Ortega never blinks in the series, while others have disagreed by pointing out some of the very rare moments when it happens. However, it's also pointed out that Wednesday only blinks in these moments to express shock or similar emotions.
Ortega recently told Teen Vogue that Wednesday's lack of blinking came from keeping her eyes open for a take early on into filming. One Burton observed that, he told Ortega to keep it up. She went on to explain that she hadn't even refrained from blinking on purpose, but observed that doing so had really seemed to make the director excited.
"At some point during the first couple weeks of shooting, I did a take where I did not blink at all. And Tim said, I don't want you to blink anymore," she said. "The thing about the blinking is, I didn't realize that I was doing it. It just kind of happened because every time we started to take, I would reset my face. I would drop all the muscles in my face and to really like the Kubrick stare where I stared through my eyebrows. It's just a bit intimidating. I think something like that is not blinking."
She added, "Clearly it struck something with him and I trust his opinion so much because he's, Tim Burton. It's funny watching him work. When he genuinely appreciates something, he gets excited like a kid."
Wednesday's Lack of Blinking Isn't New for Tim Burton
It's a bit of a staple for Tim Burton movies to feature characters that don't blink. It's something some fans have observed in the past, and at one point, Dark Shadows and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children star Eva Green revealed how she was also instructed by the director to keep her eyes open. In a joint interview with Burton in 2016, Green said that Burton just "doesn't like blinking in general," to which the Wednesday co-director agreed.
“I don’t,” Burton confirmed, via Yahoo. “I don’t know why. Even when you’re mentioning it now, it freaks me out.”
​​​Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix. You can see some of the posts from fans searching for the moments where Wednesday Addams blinks below.