In celebration of Nevermore S2, I feel the need to explain why Iām hoping for more Ada page time/development and why sheās my absolute favorite character, despite the series being absolutely stuffed with quality.
Oh and also why MorellAda is peak. I WILL TAKE NO ARGUMENTS ON THIS POINT.
So yeah, MAJOR SPOILERS YāALL
Okay, so when weāre first introduced Ada, sheās a minor antagonist, not just in the sense that sheās not the main villain, but that literally, sheās just kind of an annoyance to both Lenore and Prospero. That being said, shortly after the Labyrinth arc, we see her genuinely impressed with Lenore and trying to make amends.
Now at that point, thereās no real reason for us to believe that Ada is telling the truth. Yeah, she seems like sheās being genuine, but so far, we also know that sheās been playing some social games to get ahead.
Thatās where we get this first piece of insight into her character (not actually the first piece but whatever):
Ada chooses caviar as her last meal, despite not liking it, or ever having had it before. She is the only student who doesnāt enjoy her final meal, and that tells us that one, Ada doesnāt know whatās good for her; two, that she probably comes from a lower class background that never would have had access to caviar; and three, that she aspires to that upper class position. She is exactly what Morella would call a āphonyā but while her phoniness impacts her social behavior in the ways that Morella criticizes, sheās also lying to herself without even realizing it.
Okay, but thatās a bit of subtle character development, so Red and Flynn hit us with this:
(In case you didnāt hate Montressor already)
This moment is so critical to understanding Ada because it shows that she has absolutely no limits when it comes to proving her worth to other people. Why? Because Ada has no sense of self-worth. She is completely dependent on other peopleās thoughts to feel adequate. Thatās why she clings so hard to Prospero and Annabel Lee, which makes this preceding exchange even more brutal.
Ada reaches out to Annabel for support, and Annabel ignores her.
Annabel BETRAYS her, and this is going to become something of a running theme for Ada.
Now, of course, Annabel has problems, but this is COLD.
So cold even Prospero is surprised, and this sets up why Ada crumbles so easily, because the one person she thought was her friend at this school, literally her roommate (and we know what happens when youāre not on good terms with your roommate), the person who gave her (fake) love advice, just left her out in the rain.
No one is on her side, not Annabel whoās ignoring her, not Prospero (who is rightly) annoyed with her clinginess, not Will who is supporting Montresor, and certainly not Montresor who is verbally abusing her.
The only person by Adaās side is Morella, partly because sheās being targeted too, but also because Morella is trying to protect Ada.
(Look at that hug. That is a small puppy trying to cheer up her depressed friend.)
Chapter 39-40 firmly cemented Ada as my favorite character because we get a deconstruction of this preppy, pompous, phony personality into someone with crippling self-worth issues, and I donāt know about anyone else, but I relate HARD to those feelings of inadequacy and needing external validation. Will might be the doppelgƤnger, but Ada is the one with Imposter Syndrome.
Anyway, now weāre going to have to skip a few chapters, because while the haunted house arc is great, it doesnāt really do much with Adaās character. We do learn that Ada was almost definitely a servant in her past life because sheās able to navigate the houseās secret passages, and we learn that yes, sheās a romantic who clearly doesnāt understand TPO (time, place, and occasion).
Those details are important to understanding Ada, because they help contextualize why her confidence is so abysmal (servants arenāt to be seen or heard) and why she clings so strongly to ideas of ladyhood and romance (the women she served would certainly have appeared to be more comfortable than her, though Iām sure Lenore and Annabel would disagree).
We also get this feast for the MorellAda shippers:
At this point, itās implied that Morella has stonewalled dozens of students into Prosperoās death trap, but she makes one exception that she will not stand for, and itās Ada.
At first, I thought this was a little weird, because why wouldnāt Morella protect Lenore? I mean, sheās the protagonist and clearly treats Morella better, but looking back, itās telling that Ada is the one who Morella chooses.
Morellaās whole deal is that she wants to protect people, and Lenore isnāt vulnerable, Ada is.
Red and Flynn do a lot of excellent foil work in Nevermore, most prominently with Lenore and Annabel, but the contrast between Adaās dependence on what other people think of her and Morellaās dependence on what she can do for other people is just another reason why I think MorellAda is so good.
But the real interesting events happen post-house.
Now, was Ada being clingy? Yes.
Was she being totally oblivious to all of Prosperoās signals? Yes.
Did she deserve to be told directly that Prospero was just not that into her? Hell. Yes.
But did she deserve THAT much of a verbal beat down? Probably not, especially keeping in mind that Annabel told her this:
So now that Iāve thrown Annabel under the bus for her hand in this disaster, I want to look at one line from Prospero in particular:
āNothing you say will make you good enough.ā
Itās not the final line of Prosperoās diatribe, but itās definitely the one that hits the hardest for Ada. She is trying SO hard to play the part of a lady in order to be loved, and she is being told that at a fundamental level, she is inadequate.
And she takes that about as well as someone whoās had this happen to them could:
A hatchet to the stomachās going to ruin anyoneās day, but we can reasonably infer that the person who axeād Ada was probably the young master she was serving and was having an affair with, and that he aimed for her stomach to abort any kind of child she might have carried.
Again, we see this theme of betrayal and rejection. Ada might not have been able to be a lady, but in an affair, she might been able to pretend that she genuinely had her masterās affection, even though she was just there at his convenience.
This was foreshadowed all the way back with Adaās first confrontation with Montressor and itās a great example of how thoroughly planned Red and Flynnās writing is (Annabel Leeās panic attack at Lenoreās death in the Labyrinth and the House Fire is another amazing example).
But, itās also super traumatic which means we finally get Adaās Spectre!
First, let me gush about how AMAZING this design is. Just aesthetically, itās great. But itās also amazing because of how it showcases so much of Adaās identity. If you look at the spectreās skirt, youāll notice it has two distinct parts, a larger back that mimics a ladyās hoop skirt, and a pleated miniskirt, which wouldnāt be out of place in a skimpy maid costume. In her spectre form, we can clearly see Ada attempting to match a ladyās silhouette but upon closer inspection, we can also see the part of Ada that might have sparked her fatal affair, this symbol of risquĆ© servantile behavior.
Itās also worth mentioning what ISNāT in the Bansheeās design, her abdomen. Obviously, this might be a reference to the fact that she was killed by a hatchet to the gut, but if we get dark with it (and itās Nevermore, we canāt not get dark with it), what men traditionally (and unfortunately still do if the 2024 US elections are anything to go byā¦) value in a woman, her reproductive ability, is absent.
Ada, who places so much importance on what others think of her, is literally is worthless to them. (I want to clarify, I DONāT personally believe that, but from a 19th-20th century male perspective, that tracks.)
We could also read her abdomenās absence as another attempt for Ada to play into feminine expectations. Because sheās missing her stomach, she has a tight hourglass figure. I donāt personally believe Ada has an eating disorder, but as the last dinner scene clearly indicates, she has a complicated relationship with food and what stigmas are attached to specific cuisines, and unfortunately many people do metaphorically throw away their stomachs to pursue beauty goals like Adaās spectre does literally.
Stepping away from design, I also love how Ada acts immediately after getting the slightest bit of power.
She taunts Prospero (and letās face it, you cheered. Donāt lie to me!), which I find so interesting because suddenly, Ada is the one giving opinions.
Ada is finally allowed to express herself.
Here, she takes it out on Annabel, which makes total sense. Annabel abandoned her and is the embodiment of what Ada craves outwardly. But Ada also recognizes that she herself is a servant who was forced to serve people like Annabel and denied their comforts because of her status. If Ada hadnāt been a maid, if maybe she had been a noble or a ātrue ladyā, maybe should would have been allowed a romance or allowed to keep her child or at least allowed to live.
The Banshee is such a perfect moment, because until this scene, Ada has bottled up her insecurities and played the part of a loyal lackey and been this āphonyā. As a servant, her entire livelihood would have revolved around keeping up appearances (or disappearances) around her masters, but as a ghost, Ada is more genuine than she has ever been.
And thatās so wonderfully displayed by how Annabel defuses the situation:
To the very end, we see Ada being vulnerable. Annabel takes advantage of her insecurities, and as the Banshee, Ada doesnāt try to hide the fact that it devastates her.
If the Montressor moment didnāt guarantee a place in my heart for Ada, Episode 71 definitely did. Iām not going to argue that characters in Nevermore havenāt experienced worse, but I will argue that no character in season one ever gets close to how pathetic and distraught Ada is here.
And whatās so heart-wrenching about this for me is that Ada is aware of how pathetic she is. She knows sheās been acting like an idiot and throwing a tantrum like a child, which is a surprising amount of insight and maturity for someone we have been led to believe is quite frankly an idiot. And yeah, I relate to those feelings of self-loathing and not knowing what to do or even where to start triaging a disaster I made myself.
Now, Montressor takes advantage of this like the abuser he is by swooping in and wooing Ada, but before that, Iām going to rewind like the shipper I am to replay this:
Again, we see Morella trying to help Ada! And obviously, thatās not what Ada needs at that moment, but itās worth keeping in mind that out of everyone in the lecture hall then, Morella is the first and really only one to reach out to Ada. (Montressor is a manipulator. He doesnāt count.)
Last time skip, I promise!
The end of the Wall arc doesnāt quite reach the highs (or is it lows?) of Adaās character development, but Iām so excited for what it sets up in season two.
So, Lenore and the gang find where Montressor has Cask of Amantilladoād Duke and they dig their favorite French man out while beating the shit out of our cowboy(?). Thereās a ton of great moments (hell yeah, Pluto! Get him!) but the battle really swings in the misfitsā favor when Duke hypnotizes Ada to traumatize Montresor.
One, this is just an amazing display of Dukeās spectre, two, it shows that Montressor has reasons (maybe not great reasons but at least theyāre reasons) for being such an asshole, and three, it shows us that mental spectre powers are straight up busted.
We already knew from Prospero that Adaās fear factor could trap a person inside a vision of their own trauma so realistic they can feel the physical effects of it, but she can also send a man with a broken Fibula into a full blown frenzy, AND Dukeās hypnosis is something even he canāt dispel.
(Does this look like the face of a man who has things under control?)
It also sets up this exchange:
Morella is able to break through Dukeās hypnosis, and she does it without attacking Adaās insecurities like Annabel did. Now, Iām a hopeless MorellAda shipper, so of course I reading into this, but even then, it showcases how important Morella is to Ada. After all, Morella is basically the only person who has stuck by Adaās side this whole time.
ā¦At least until this happens:
Morella has had enough of Adaās excuses, and just like Prospero basically tells her to shove off.
But the painfully ironic part about this is, Ada is telling the truth. This ONE time, it really isnāt her fault. Itās Dukeās.
But Morella wonāt let her get a word in and I love how Flynn drew Adaās face. Itās a different kind of fear than when Ada was groveling in front of Montresor or reeling from Prosperoās rejection. Here, she isnāt afraid of being abandoned by Morella; sheās afraid of losing Morella.
I know that difference might sound REALLY contrived to some people, but in this case, Ada has a way to keep Morella in her life that doesnāt involve debasing herself and believes that Morella will listen to her. For the first time ever, Ada thinks she has a little control over the situation together with a friend, not an enemy. They can talk things out, and that really shows how close her connection with Morella is and how that connection can be the catalyst for Ada to start developing some self-respect.
Except Morella totally shuts her down.
Of course, Iām disappointed that thereās this ādivorce arcā but it makes sense in context and itās healthier for Morella to make a clean break from the posh crew (even though Ada clearly needs her wife more than ever, like come on, donāt leave her in Monstresorās clutches!)
Speaking of which, Iām much more disappointed with how Ada immediately crawls back to Montresor and Annabel after being chastised. If thereās one thing I have on my season two checklist, itās Ada learning to have some confidence in herself (and maybe tossing Montresor to the Hunt).
And I really want an apology from Morella and Duke to Ada. Now THATāS delusional, and I might be the only one who thinks Ada deserves those apologies, because letās face it, Ada is a wreck, but it would be nice, especially if she gives out the several dozen apologies she owes the misfit crew too, so that she can hang with them and spend more time with her wife Morella.
And I really like Ada. I think sheās severely underrated.
Of course I love Lenore and Annabel, and Morella is a precious and badass cinnamon roll, and Duke is so SO cool, and Pluto is cute as hell, and Eulalie is basically manga-Orihime (which is amazing), but thereās something so HUMAN about Ada.
I empathize with her in ways that I just canāt with the rest of the cast becauseā¦ theyāre just too awesome. I have difficulty believing Lenore or Annabel will ever feel something as fundamentally devastating as Ada has. At their core, theyāre just stronger people. Ada is someone who needs more support and itās nice to see those weaker characters treated with the same amount of care as a protagonist who we typically see stumble a lot but ultimately succeed. With side characters, thereās a genuine chance that they fail permanently and that adds so much to Adaās stakes.
And honestly? Iāll say it. I think a lot of the students had alright lives or even good lives, they just happened to be cut short traumatically. Exceptions for Lenore (obviously) and Pluto (baby, you deserved so much better than your deadbeat dad), possibly Eulalie for having to live through WWII, but youāre not going to tell me that Montresor didnāt have a good run being awful, Duke didnāt have a successful performance career, and Prospero wasnāt a wealthy bastard. But who knows? We havenāt delved too much into the othersā backstories, so I could be very wrong.
Anyway, I guess this was just a very long-winded way of me saying I love Ada because Iām a total girl-failure and also Iām super excited for season two.
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