Wynonna Earp Finale Recap: Just Call Me Angel
|Hello, friends, and welcome to the my recap of the two-hour season finale of Wynonna Earp, Season Bulshar! It’s the last time we’ll be hanging out together for a while, so let’s get cozy and enjoy it, eh? Grab a vanilla-dipped doughnut, make sure you have your favorite animal-print shirt, and maybe also grab an annotated copy of The Holy Bible, because you’re gonna need it. Let’s get through this together, shall we, friends?
Previously on Wynonna Earp, Waverly’s the champion daughter of an angel, Charlie is boring but also dead at the hands of Doc (who seems a little more off than usual), there’s a blood eclipse, Mercedes got kidnapped, and being an Earp is basically the worst.
Waverly and Nicole are in the morgue, I assume, with Charlie’s dead body. Nicole doesn’t want to tell Wynonna, but Waverly knows they have to be honest and tell her the truth — that Doc chomped down on her side piece and made a meat stick out of him. Just regular Purgatory stuff. Sheriff Haught is summoned by Sheriff Nedley to help with the town evacuation, because we all know what happens when Purgatory is full of crazy hicks off their rockers. NOTHING GOOD, THAT’S WHAT.
Nicole can tell something is on Waverly’s mind, and that thing is the stairway to Heaven. But Nicole takes her at her word and kisses her goodbye, while Waverly stays in the room with Charlie’s dead body, because that’s a normal thing people do. She touches him with her ring hand, and he wakes up. Whoa.
There’ll be no strings to bind your hands
At the Homestead, Wynonna curses the blood eclipse and sadly tells the picture of Dolls that she failed and he bet on the wrong horse…and then a horse walks through her yard. Not a euphemism, but maybe a sign? Maybe it represented Dolls, or the Lover of All Horses, Willa? The sirens go off go off in town, where Nicole and SuddenDeputy!Robin are policing the streets to make sure everyone has left. Wynonna pulls up and Nicole sends Robin on a pointless task so she can have some WynHaught time, which I assume he knows. Wy asks Nicole if she’s seen her best baby, but she hasn’t. She leaves, muttering about how she doesn’t think Waverly “would do it,” leaving a confused Nicole behind. Wynonna finds Waves by the staircase — I mean, technically, since she still can’t see it — and Waverly tries to explain that this is her purpose in life — to save humanity. So of course Wynonna knocks her out and locks her in the storage chest in the truck to keep her from sacrificing herself.
Not if my love can’t bind your heart
Two strangers walk into Shorty’s under the guise of looking for their dog Penny, but instead they find a hungry Doc.
Wynonna tries to convince Sheriff Haught to take Unconscious!Waverly out of the Ghost River Triangle, but Nicole is the sheriff of a town that’s being attacked. She can’t just leave to take Waverly to IKEA to pick out a new cover for their POÄNG. Plus, Nicole can’t tell her gal pal no, so she’s not the best for keeping her out of trouble. But shoeless Charlie chooses that minute to wander by, and he agrees to take Waverly to safety. Problem is, Waverly feels compelled to climb the invisible stairs, so she tells Charlie she has to tie her up to stop her.
Doc has summoned Kate to Shorty’s basement, where he’s glamoured Penny’s owners. He invites Kate to feast with him, and she seems reluctant at first but agrees. A girl’s gotta eat. But whatever they eat, it’s not enough for Doc.
A group of Revenants , including his former bartender Hui, find Bobo locked in his terrarium. Bobo asks them to let him go, but they still haven’t forgiven Bobo for screwing them over. He tries to bribe them with knowledge and tells them Wynonna doesn’t have her gun, but it doesn’t work, and they leave him behind, banging on the glass.
And there’s no need to take a stand
Wynonna’s packing all the essentials to fight a big bad — including a golf club, a lacrosse stick, whiskey, a cooler, and a wrench — when the Revenants find her. Without her gun, she can’t stop her own kidnapping. She’s their fealty for Bulshar. They pretty her up, so at least she gets something out of the deal with some sweet ringlets from Jarvis.
Wynonna tries to reason with the Revenants — Bulshar’s treating them like slaves, and if they teamed up, maybe they could beat him together.
For it was I who chose to start
Charlie and Waverly find themselves at the Gibson Greenhouse, though neither of them really know how they ended up there. Charlie stares at the stone statue, amazed, but he doesn’t say why. Just plays it off as a greenhouse fetish or whatever, like you do. They try to make small talk, and she rambles about her love for Nicole, while Charlie tries to deflect talking about where he’s from. When Waverly presses, we find out that the thing is, he doesn’t know. All he remembers is walking into Purgatory with no memory of anything beforehand. All he remembered is that he wanted to help people. And when Waverly touches his hand with her ring, well, she sees said memory for herself. Curious.
I see no need to take me home
Doc has made his way to the fire station and asks the chief where Charlie is. Faced with a gun-wielding Doc and Kate, the chief gives up Charlie’s location, and Doc shoots him and Kate, then just…leaves. Kate realizes something is wrong with him, and Doc blames her, but she knows this isn’t just regular vampire side effects.
I’m old enough to face the dawn
At Bulshar’s Last supper, the Revenants present their fealty of Wynonna. Bulshar gives the demons a slow clap, but Wynonna is transfixed by the site before her — it’s Mercedes, sitting at the right hand of the Bulshar. She’s apparently his “wife” now, but like not in all of the rooms of the house, if you get what I’m saying. She’s done with fighting. She’s just gotten her perfect, perfect face back, and she wants to keep it. She’ll be a coward if it means she gets to stay alive and encourages her friend to do the same, but Wynonna can’t play ball with the nut sack who cursed her family. She’s gonna keep fighting and refuses to give up, but Mercedes tries to reason with her. The fight is already over. She may as well come out alive at the end of it — for Waverly. For Alice.
Just call me angel of the morning
Flowers are suddenly growing in the greenhouse, the fog has brought them there, and Charlie is losing his mind a little bit. All of it is suddenly just a bit too weird for him. He knows the greenhouse, and he knows the ring. But before they can make a run for it, a vehicle approaches, and Charlie says they need to hide. It’s Doc.
Angel
Nicole tries to raise the chief — on the radio; she’s not Waverly — and Kate crawls over to it and says she and the chief need help.
Bulshar addresses his minions and says he’s looking for a lieutenant to replace the one that died at the hands of Dolls. Two Revenants nominate themselves before Wynonna volunteers as tribute. She may be defeated, she may be fealty, but she was a formidable opponent. He says he can’t trust her, but all she wants is to keep her family safe. She’d do anything to save Waverly from her fate. She grovels and tries to grab his arm, but he recoils in terror and angrily demands she be put in a cell. Throughout it all, though, Mercedes seems affected by Wynonna’s willingness to do anything for her family.
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby
Charlie grabs Waverly’s hand as they hide and is met with another memory. It’s Charlie with a pregnant Michelle. Charlie is Julian, and Julian is Charlie. He seems to be having trouble wrapping his head around all of that, which is okay because Doc is there now and he’s got a thirst for some angel blood. Waverly is afraid that Doc will kill her angel dad, so she confronts Doc herself. Inhaling deeply, Doc realizes that Waverly smells just like Charlie; just like an angel. Waverly tries to talk some sense into Doc, but it isn’t working. Wynonna may love him, but he insists he feels nothing now but hunger.
Just call me angel of the morning
Mercedes is talking to a locked-up Wynonna, and she and Mercedes try to puzzle out what’s going on with old Bullie. Mercedes wants Wynonna to win, and she says that her advantage is that she can’t touch Bulshar or something bad will happen. Jarvis comes over and joins the cell-and-bitch, saying that the Revenants are cursed because the Earps are…and then unlocks her cage. She goes all Wynonna on her fancy dress, and then she, Jarvis, and Mercedes take the fight to Bulshar.
Nicole is patching Kate up while Kate draws Tarot cards, and the outlook isn’t good. But she pretends the answer is “try again later,” and keeps drawing and drawing. She wants to go after Doc and Nicole doesn’t understand why she doesn’t give up on him, but Kate feels responsible — she made him, and he’s very clearly had some bad blood. “Like he fed on something inhuman?” Nicole asks, as she realizes Charlie isn’t quite what they all thought.
Waverly realizes Charlian’s blood has given Doc the vampire wheezies, and she tries to reason with the man she believes is still inside, but he attacks her. Charlian takes his ring back and throws Doc into the stone statue, breaking it. Waverly turns around, and it’s Charlian in full angel.
Angel
He wandered outside the boundary for years until he saw a light that was “his daughter crosseth over,” which had to have been when she crossed the border of the Ghost River Triangle with Alice. (Bonus points to my friend Heidi for puzzling that one out!) He says they have to leave and she shouldn’t waste time with Doc, but Waverly can’t just leave the man she’s loved as family for so long. She hovers over him, wiping her tear that falls onto his face, and tells him she’s sorry. Doc wakes up in the greenhouse and finds a sword wrapped in cloth in the rubble of the stone statue.
Then slowly turn away from me
Suddenly, the Tarot predicts something other than death — hope.
Wynonna tussles with the Revenants at the Last Supper, somehow managing to convince some of them to join her. If they defeat Bulshar, they could break the curse, and the people who were once her mortal enemies are now fighting beside her. Bulshar disappears behind a cloud of beekeepers, and Wynonna gives a rousing speech to rally the Revenants together. Together, they can break the curse. This scrappy group of misfits march through the streets of Purgatory, determined to do just that.
Maybe the sun’s light will be dim
Robin and Bobo are puzzling through some crosswords, and their casual, relaxed friendship makes me happy. But Jeremy feels hopeless. Bobo tells him not to give up, so Jeremy decides to run home for supplies. Bobo wants to go on a field trip, but Jeremy refuses to take their resident lizard to his home. Bulshar takes advantage of Bobo’s solitude, though, and offers him the most recent job listing in Purgatory — his lieutenant. Desperate to get out of his terrarium, Bobo accepts.
Wynonna’s at the Homestead, and she’s invited the Revenants to come bourbon with her as a sign of good faith. Being the heir is the only thing she’s ever been good at, but she’s ready to give it all up to break the damn curse.
Bulshar’s at the staircase, holding Peacemaker, and, in what looks like a cloud of Calamity Jane, it turns into a sword. He places the sword into the staircase and sends one of his minions into the door that’s appeared. We hear a slice, and, reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, his head topples down the steps. Bulshar said he was rejected because he wasn’t mortal or righteous, and he needs to become one of those things to enter the Garden. He tells Bobo to fetch Earp blood so he can ascend. Okay, The Mayor. Shut up and ascend already.
And it won’t matter anyhow
Waverly comes running up to the Homestead, and Wynonna is too happy to see her there to be mad that she’s returned. Waves is a bit confused, though, by the sudden appearance of Revenant Keith, and Wynonna explains that they’re all in this together now. Waverly doesn’t freak out at all, but she thinks her “your ex-boyfriend is Mama’s baby daddy” reveal is a bit of a bigger deal, and she’s right. Wynonna kind of starts to freak out a bit. Oh, also Doc killed Charlie, who Waverly resurrected, and then Doc tried to kill him again. And it’s all honestly just so much for Wynonna that she kind of starts to giggle. All of that combined with the fact that she gave her weapon to the big bad and her mortal enemies are in the kitchen? They’re just all seriously fucked. Like, if you can’t laugh your way through an apocalypse, why even bother?
If morning’s echo says we’ve sinned
Jeremy’s coming up empty and had no idea on how to (Bulshar’s) arm himself for the fight. Robin supportive-boyfriends him so he can think more clearly, and Jeremy wonders if he can science up some sort of anti-Bulshar-potion.
It was what I wanted now
Thanks to Nicole’s nursemaiding, Kate is feeling much better, thank you. Nicole gives her a bit of a hard time about her “bad boy” fixation, and Kate (correctly) points out that Nicole is just as pussy-whipped as Kate is mustache-whipped. She can’t find her best baby, and she’s worried. Kate does a reading and tells Nicole that Waves is with Wynonna and not with Charlie…but of Charlie. And then they’re set upon by beekeepers. Good thing these two are some of the baddest bitches in Purgatory, except Nicole gets caught by one of the beekeepers who brought a sword to a gunfight.
And if we’re victims of the night
Mercedes enters her house to find a pile of bodies, a sassy Kate, and a bleeding Nicole. And Selfless!Nicole, of course, has Mercedes stay behind and take care of Kate while she stumbles to the road and tries to make her way to the Homestead. It’s eventually too much for her, and she falls by the side of the road. She’s found by…someone and promptly passes out.
The beekeepers enter the lab, but they don’t attack JereTree. Our boys are confused and a bit scared, but it’s okay, because a savior has arrived. A savior by the name of Randy Nedley, who quickly dispatches them after a one-armed shotgun pump, Linda Hamilton-style.
I won’t be blinded by the light
Wynonna confronts Charlian about the whole “you’re my sister’s dad and also an angel” thing, and he tells her his story. He was a protector who watched humanity get tempted and fall because of Bulshar. Charlian doesn’t actually know what the Garden is like — he was an outtie, not an innie. When Bulshar returned to the Ghost River Triangle, Juan Carlo took the flaming sword used to guard the entrance and gave it to their human champion, Wyatt Earp. But he didn’t quite finish the job, possibly due to him wanting to see his boyfriend best friend before he died of the tuberculosis. They’re interrupted by said best friend carrying a bleeding Nicole, and they all head to the barn, which is obviously the most sterile place to take a bleeding ginger cop.
Just call me angel of the morning
Waverly’s alone in the house, so she thinks, and is trying to get ahold of Nicole when she’s started by Bobo, who’s just creepily hanging out in her bedroom in his military gear. She asks if he’s there to help them, but he’s with Bulshar now. He asks for one final favor from his angel — when the time comes, he wants her to end it.
Angel
Charlie examines a dying Nicole, and he says he can heal her. He places his hands over her wound, and her skin becomes whole again. It takes a lot out of him, though, and it seems like the price that had to be paid for her life was the weakening of his. “Did we get him?” she groggily asks. Charlie leaves to check on Waverly, and Doc hands him the sword he found in the greenhouse. Charlie points out Doc wouldn’t have been able to handle that sword if he was truly a demon.
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby
At the sheriff’s department, the boys are gloating about their beekeeper slaying, but Jeremy is ready to throw in the headphones. Nedley gives a rousing speech about Lou Bega and Mambo No. 5, and Jeremy’s inspired — all they need is a little Monica, and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. That’s been the answer staring them in the face all along. They need a little of Bulshar and a little of Robin’s blood and maybe — just maybe — this Mambo No. 6 is all they need.
Charlian heads upstairs to find his daughter on her bed with a boy, which I guess is a rite of passage that a lot of fathers (not mine) have had to go through. When he realizes Bobo gave himself up to Bulshar, he says he can’t help him, but Bobo is unaffected. It was always Waverly who was going to be his savior. Julian gives his ring back to Waverly, saying she’ll need it more than him, because Bulshar has brought the fight to them.
Just call me angel of the morning
The Scoobies and the Revenants are under siege from Bulshar and his minions. Grenades and a machine gun rain destruction over the Homestead as everyone tries to fire back and stay alive. Or, you know, as alive as they were when it started. The Revenants cover her as Wynonna makes it into the house and gets a gun from her baby sister.
Angel
Doc, who seems to be back to the old Doc that we knew and loved, runs to protect Nicole, who’s alone in the barn. She helps defend against the beekeepers in the barn, but Bobo manages to sneak into the Homestead and grab Wynonna. Waverly and her shotgun pick off the rest of the beekeepers and heads out to the chopping block, where Bulshar cuts Wynonna’s hand to collect her blood. She’s about to get her head chainsawed off, but Charlian stabs the beekeeper tasked with killing her. Bobo grabs the sword (you know, with his mind), Bulshar forces him to his knees, and Bobo stabs Charlian, who’s not wearing his ring anymore and is weakened from saving Nicole.
Then slowly turn away
So Doc takes out the rest of the beekeepers, Waverly returns the favor to Bobo. She kills him…and sets him free. Just like he wanted.
I won’t beg you to stay with me
At the staircase, Bulshar is about to make some s’mores, probably, and is burning a pile of skulls, on which he throws his Tarot cards and the handkerchief with Wynonna’s blood. Wynonna and the Revenants show up to bust some bees, but she’s too late. He’s ended the curse, and the Revenants have disappeared…and then so does he. Wynonna’s just a girl with good hair now. She’s not the heir of anything.
Through the tears of the day, of the years
At the Homestead, Jeremy and Robin find Waverly hunched over her father’s body. She’s tried to revive him, but it didn’t work this time. Jeremy has something that’s gonna let them fight Bulshar.
Wynonna finds Doc in the barn, who tells her he’s sorry about Charlian. She tells him that Bulshar broke the Earp curse, and their daughter is free. He used her blood to break the curse, and now he can enter the Garden. Doc pledges to fight Bulshar alongside Wynonna, but she feels like she can’t trust him. She handcuffs him to a ladder and surrounds him with a rope soaked in holy water.
Waverly finds Nicole on the front porch eating some baby carrots. They’re both just so exhausted. Almost dying and raising people from the dead and finding out your dad is an angel and then losing him and killing your childhood imaginary friend — it’s all just made them so bone-tired. But Waverly needs Nicole to know something — she loves her girlfriend, so much. She slips Bulshar’s ring off of her finger and puts it on Nicole’s and says those words we haven’t heard in three seasons — “I really, really love you.” Nicole hates that damn ring (really, Waverly, you didn’t have another one available?) and is just sort of in shock. But before she can answer, Wynonna interrupts them and calls the team inside.
Baby, baby, baby
Jeremy shows the team the crypsis he whipped up that will allow them to pass by Bulshar’s minions undetected. So now they know how to get to Bulshar but still no idea of how to defeat him. Wynonna brings over a plate of shots and says that he did give her one gift — showing her what she was most afraid of, and that’s losing her faimly. So one by one, Jeremy, Robin, and Nicole hit the floor from their drugged liquor. She can’t bear to have them see her fail.
Just call me angel of the morning
Waverly chases Wynonna down at the stairs and yells at her for drugging everyone. Waverly knows all of Wynonna’s tricks, so she didn’t do the shot, but joke’s on her — she didn’t drug Waverly’s. There are supposed to be two guardians — an HBIC and her backup. And Wynonna knows she herself is the backup this time. They dab themselves with CrypsisOne and make their way past the beekeepers undetected.
Angel
They find Bulshar, who is apparently mortal now and also has come down with a bad case of snakeskin head. Wynonna tries to fight him, and he keeps maneuvering past her and disappearing. Waverly pulls the Peacemaker sword out of the staircase, and Bulshar says “only a hero can wield the flaming sword.” So Angel Pants tosses Bacon Donut the sword and names her a hero…though we all knew that she was already. Wynonna catches the sword, which has started to flame, and can finally — finally — see the stairs.
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby
Bulshar and Wynonna have a sword fight, and Waverly goes to help…but is trapped on the staircase.
He tries to convince her to join him so they can enter the Garden together, and when she refuses, he says she’ll die. She stabs him with the flaming sword, but he manages to bite her neck before he disintegrates into a flaming pile of garbage.
Just call me angel of the morning
Waverly pounds on the wall of the Garden as Wynonna has fallen to the ground, muttering that they’ll all be fine. She’s dying. Slowly. Doc runs toward her and falls to the ground, mouth attached to her neck as Waverly screams for him to stop. But joke’s on us — he’s not feasting on her. He’s saving her. He spits the snake venom to the side as Wynonna slowly gathers her strength.
Angel
The door at the top of the staircase slowly opens and some tree roots make their way down the stairs to Waverly. Waverly calls Wynonna her hero as the roots take her inside the door. Waverly’s so tired of fighting, but I don’t think there would be any stopping them anyway. Waverly’s last thoughts are of Nicole and her sister — tell Nicole she loves her, and Wynonna will rescue her, right? Because she doesn’t want to be left alone with…whatever that is. Wynonna tries to go up the now-visible staircase, but the barrier won’t let her in.
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, darling
A harsh noise fills the air (her angel scream, perhaps?), and Doc and Wynonna lay there, stunned. As the slow version of the theme song plays, Doc stands up, drops his gunbelt, and slowly walks to the stairs. He’ll be Waverly’s weapon. Wynonna says he can’t because he’s not mortal, but he just looks at her. He manages to break through the barrier, but Wynonna can’t enter because Waverly named her the guardian, and guardians can’t enter the Garden, you see. Wynonna picks up Doc’s gunbelt and softly says goodbye.
Just call me angel of the morning
Wynonna enters the Homestead, but the remaining Unkillable Gays are nowhere to be found. She’s greeted with an empty house and a name scratched into the wall — Valdez.
Angel
There’s no one in town, so Wynonna wanders into Shorty’s. She hears bottles clinking and draws Doc’s gun on…an olive-wielding Vacation Randy Nedley. They appear to be the only ones left in town, including my girl Chrissy Nedley. She tells him something in the Garden was coming for Doc and Waverly, and Nedley wonders if they’re even still alive by now. But even more dead family is something that Wynonna can’t wrap her head around just yet. “Just tell me what we do,” he says, and Wynonna tells him that they’re going to get them back. “Fuck, yeah,” Nedley agrees.
Just touch my cheek before you leave me, darling
Fuck yeah, indeed.
Monica’s random points of randomness:
- The look on Waverly’s face when Wynonna says she can’t see the stairs really stuck out to me. Like it really pushed Waverly over the edge thinking that she was special, that she had a place in all of this…and it almost looked like she pitied her older sister.
- Never trust an undead vampire dentist in an animal-print blouse. That shirt is very Juice Newton.
- Wynonna’s face at the thought of holding down Jack Dawson’s face to survive the Titanic was priceless.
- I really wanted there to only be 12
apostlesRevenants plusMary MagdaleneMercedes, but alas. Maybe they’ll tackle the sequel to this season’s book in Season 4. - “Stitch and bitch club” where they “mostly embroider”? Sounds familiar and like one of handful of fan shoutouts that filled me with joy. Thank you, writers. A little bit of you is all we need.
- I very much liked the detail of the snakeskin tie that Bulshar wore.
- I love that Jarvis hated Malcolm, too.
- “The best parts of Waverly came from her mother.” I hope this is something we learn more about in Season 4.
- Wynonna just has passing-out drugs laying around the kitchen?
I really think it’s too bad these two episodes weren’t given to us as separate hours of television. I think it would have been really nice to be able to sit with the reveal that Charlie is Julian (and Julian is Charlie), Doc’s found a magic sword, and Bobo is about to commit a Bobo no-no for a week before jumping into the craziness of the finale.
I do not think any one character on this show is perfect. I think that’s the appeal of the characters to me — that they’re so real. But Nicole Haught, though flawed, is just…a good person. She asks about Robin’s dad. She volunteers to go fact-finding with Doc when no one else will talk to him. She developed a relationship with Charlie. She bandages up Kate and helps her heal. She loves her girlfriend. She eats baby carrots when she’s hungry. She’s a good person, though still a flawed one who makes mistakes, and I enjoyed learning more about her this season.
Kate is such a fascinating character. She kills people and drinks their blood, sure — but she is dismissive of Doc’s glamouring (and we haven’t seen her glamour anyone), and she genuinely seems to want to help the gang. It’s almost like she only became a vampire so she’d be alive long enough to find Doc, and she doesn’t care much for the extra content. I really, really hope we see her again in Season 4, or maybe in a spinoff with Mercedes — VampGardner, an HGTV show where she and Mercedes redesign people’s greenhouses at night.
Why is Waverly trapped? Is it because she threw Wynonna the sword, effectively locking the door behind her? Is it because she is without protection of the sword or the ring? Is it because once you step foot on the staircase, you’re trapped, no matter what? I’m sure we’ll find out eventually, but until then it’s one of the things I’m going to love to speculate about.
I know that mythology isn’t everyone’s jam — and certainly not all mythology is mine — but I cannot say how much I enjoyed this season’s walk on the biblical side. I find the creation story fascinating, and I’ve always thought this show had hints of the bible everywhere you looked. It was super fun for me to keep guessing as to what all of it meant, who was who, and all that jazz, and though I was only right (so far) about like 3% of it, I still had an amazing time. That being said…I hope that Kevin and her one-off comment about Eve isn’t just a red herring and we’ll go back to that in Season 4, and I definitely think an argument can be made that Wynonna and all of her suffering make her a modern-day supernatural lady Job.
I very much liked the shot as Wynonna was dying outside of the Garden, and I thought it very reminiscent to the beginning of the series as she lay on the ground and felt the power of being the Heir take her over. It almost seems like they’re rebooting the mythology and the fight for Season 4, so this was a nice throwback to that for me, showing that we’re sort of starting all over.
We had a season that, more than any other season, represented what the women of today felt like they were fighting against (and fighting for). Two sisters, who no one expected to win, who everyone constantly underestimated, took on an old white guy who thought that he should be in charge JUST BECAUSE HE SAID SO. He thought that if he shouted things loud enough and long enough — “That’s my ring!” “You’re worthless!” “You’ll never win!” “I want to be married to Mercedes!” — that they’d just happen. But he didn’t count on the Earp sisters figuring out a way to beat him. The worked together, trusting the strength of each other and relying on the help of their friends, to send that motherfucker back to the pit he crawled out of, which is something I daydream about doing daily.
I know Emily Andras said before the season started that it was the gayest season ever, and she definitely delivered. We have Doc Holliday, whom the Fire Witch said was Wyatt Earp’s boyfriend (and he didn’t deny), and ostensibly the reason Wyatt Earp didn’t defeat Bulshar the first time around…and just being besties with someone doesn’t seem like enough to distract you from defeating the ultimate evil. And we had gay Jarvis in the finale, a surprisingly layered Revenant we didn’t get to know for long before he disappeared because of the curse. And I’m sorry, but there were definite vibes in every single scene with Mercedes and Wynonna in the finale. And, of course, we have four current canon main queer characters, each paired off in a happy relationship. Jeremy and Robin, a groundbreaking male/male couple with one of the men being a POC, were charmingly sweet in their awkward first stages. And Waverly and Nicole, comfortably settled into being in love but still making heart eyes (and…sounds) at each other whenever their multiple life-and-death situations allowed.
Like…so gay.
I do want to take minute and thank everyone for allowing me to entertain you (hopefully) this season, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I’ve learned a lot from this whole experience, and who knows — perhaps I’ll see you back here again next year to shout about how the Earp sisters are very important to me. But until then, stay Earpy and don’t get Peacemakered!
Wynonna Earp returns for Season 4 in 2019 to SYFY and Space Channel.
“Nicole doesn’t want to tell Wynonna” – this was SO out of character to Nicole I felt, she is the sheriff – she should warn people about Doc especially as if something did go wrong he could take out the heir! I get asking Waverly how she should tell her but if absolutely not, that was weird writing. Nicole owes Doc nothing so the fact she wants to hide something he did when last week she said she’d kill him if she saw him again it’s just inconsistent!
“So of course Wynonna knocks her out and locks her in the storage chest in the truck to keep her from sacrificing herself.” – that was a good moment.
“Kate realizes something is wrong with him, and Doc blames her, but she knows this isn’t just regular vampire side effects.” – it wouldn’t surprise me if they did, but I do hope Doc doesn’t get a pass for his actions under “angel blood” because no one told him to bite Charlie to start with and two he wasn’t after blood when he shot the fire chief (that was straight murder) so he definitely deserves caution at the very least given he’s now killed 4 townspeople (Waverly bringing back Charlie/Julian doesn’t erase the fact Doc killed him to start with) and bit at least one so all he did in these final episodes doesn’t equal that, but it’s Doc so again sadly I won’t be surprised if he’s excused for everything because he did like 2 decent things these episodes (not kill Nicole when he found her and help Waverly, I only give him partial credit for Wynonna as that one is a little self serving).
In regards to how Doc treated Kate these episodes, blaming her for his choices, I know the show can’t help when these episodes came out but man did they get some poor timing for these kind of scenes in relation to real life events. I’ve always had problems with Doc but the way he continued to make what he did seemingly Kate’s fault even though she never forced him into anything just really rubbed me the wrong way this week! It definitely upped the ick factor of those scenes watching these episodes when they aired.
I don’t agree with Mercedes giving up but I also can’t fault her for what she said to Wynonna after all she’s been through.
“Charlie is Julian, and Julian is Charlie. He seems to be having trouble wrapping his head around all of that” – he’s not the only one! Again I get how it saves them casting wise but story wise that twist just did not work for me at all given everything that happened leading up to it. I think had they not had Wynonna sleep with him and he just been a friendly guy to her it may have gone better but when you add that in and the fact Julian comes back only to die again it just felt empty. As one Youtuber, Alex Shillington, asked how can half angel Waverly seemingly be more powerful than full angel Julian; I know Nicole’s wound was bad so I get him being tired after using so much power to heal her but even though she was passed out it didn’t seem like “I have to give myself to save this person” level bad yet. Had they not killed Charlie to start with with Doc in that previous episode the Julian death might not have felt so “seen it”, you just as easily could have had Doc bite him to get a taste for the blood and Nicole warn him off and Charlie is tasked with protecting Waverly this episode so you still have them touching to unlock Julian (this also removes that OOC Nicole moment mentioned at the top) and then have him be tired from saving Nicole or even mortal almost if her wound is shown being even worse than it seems so when Bobo stabs him because of maybe dark Bulshar magic flowing through him it taints the sword thus taking Julian down and really nothing about the final changes. This twist makes me kind of wish they never did the Julian reveal this season and just bump him to season 4 to help get Waverly out of the garden; again budget wise I totally get why they may have done it but story wise it just didn’t work for me.
“but Kate feels responsible” – which she shouldn’t! Kate did not force Doc to become a vampire, he chose that to feel important for himself not Wynonna despite what the writers try to say (if you believe that line okay, but I personally can’t because I saw him change to spite Wynonna not for her in those scene exchanges); Kate offered to help him learn to hunt because she knows what it’s like to be a newbie but Doc told her he didn’t want her help. Kate can go after him because she cares for him but she is not responsible for him in that manner, yes she changed him but it’s because he asked not because she pushed it on him or attacked him to do so; again the real world timing of this episode did not go well with some of the actions of Doc.
I didn’t like Nicole leaving Mercedes and Kate alone because it clearly felt like a set up for what came with Doc finding her to earn points for his actions and to have Julian use his powers, it just felt like a manufactured sequence to get these other things versus being an organic scene progression of Mercedes and Kate saying “No, we’ll go with you” and or taking Nicole to the hospital. Yes Kate was injured also but not as bad as Nicole was, she could have made the walk easier or again they could have drove given Nicole’s cruiser should have been there as she got Kate back somehow from the fire station! For me I think things like this are why the final episodes failed so hard to me – it’s weird character choices that disconnect you from the moment; add that to not really enjoying the Garden Of Eden connection for me and issues with certain character handlings of the season and these episode just felt frustrating to watch.
To be fair the second half of the season for season 3 has felt more like work to watch to me than fun and that’s a bummer. I’ll be honest and say I’m going to watch season four for Kat and Nicole and to enjoy the others’ acting also because that’s the one thing you can always give them plus points for, but I’m not really as excited by what could go down in season four as I’ve been with previous seasons and that’s a bummer.
“Charlie points out Doc wouldn’t have been able to handle that sword if he was truly a demon.” – to be fair the sword was in a tarp so maybe that helped, but that said it’s things like this and the stairs that just make me groan because it feels like “pass for “good guy” Doc” even though he hasn’t really earned it. If they want Doc to be a good guy ok but just show it already don’t say it left, right and center yet show me him killing 4 people needlessly and biting one because he didn’t take help that was offered to him; show him going to get Waverly like Wynonna asked when she checked on Nicole instead of standing around in the barn doing nothing. If they’re not going to show him as a good guy because it would bring down the drama then embrace his anti hero side because it’s way more fun to watch than him getting pass upon pass upon pass when no other character on the series would have those chances or be given the opportunity to explain and thus forgiven after one episode. Can Doc be a good guy? Yes. Is he a good guy? Not completely at this moment in time. Him doing good deeds helps his case for good guy but it doesn’t make him a good guy completely again when he’s killing for no reason and you can’t give me a legitimate reason for him to shoot the fire chief; I am willing to give you the two townspeople at Shorty’s as a power up to a degree but I also can’t fully commit to it because he didn’t need a meal at that point arguably so it was just murder for the sake of his pleasure, but there’s no justifying the fire chief. I know this show wants to do Wynonna/Doc which is fine, I don’t ship it but if she wants to arguably settle because no one better is currently in town that’s on her, but if he has to be a good guy to do that then show it don’t say it! If you can’t make Wynonna/Doc work with him being the anti hero he frequently comes off as then maybe they shouldn’t be the pair together as it just hurts both characters; Doc would be so much more interesting to watch if they embraced his anti hero side instead of saying he’s good but showing he’s gray. It would make watching the episodes more enjoyable also because it’s a bummer to me as a viewer to have to sit through Doc being fanned over by characters and billed as a good guy when I saw him not be just so I can watch a complete episode; I know I’m not going to enjoy every plot or scene with him but I’m just asking he be handled better because I don’t understand how you can write Bobo as grey so well and Wynonna with anti hero moments well but Doc isn’t written like that, it’s tell not show with him sadly.
I very much have an image of someone holding up an elementary math homework sheet when it comes to Doc and saying “Show your work!” because again show me why you feel he’s a good guy if he’s just that don’t tell me he is because what’s on screen doesn’t equal that answer for me as a viewer. I’m just so frustrated when it comes to this character because I feel Doc could be more entertaining than he is if they just embraced his anti hero side and worked towards a believable change as they have with Wynonna growing from E1 of S1.
Nedly taking about pop culture was amazing! Easily the best part of the episodes for me!
“Doc stands up, drops his gunbelt, and slowly walks to the stairs.” – again I have to ask why; why couldn’t Nicole have come to from the liquor (she’s really good at managing it), freed Doc for backup because while she doesn’t trust him personally she does trust he’ll protect Wynonna while she’s got Waverly, they gone to the stairs and since Nicole is wearing the ring and good and human and great marksman she goes to be Waverly’s weapon instead of it being Doc because Doc? It would have given some pay off to Nicole and the ring which was basically all just hype it turns out sadly given she didn’t get to do another with it personally even though it kept coming to her and it would have kind of worked to explain how she beats Bulshar at times as we still don’t know how she escaped that cult attack! They had a chance to connect things this season but they didn’t and I’m left asking why. I’ll give the writers they may come back and explain cliffhangers with Nicole but will it have the same impact hearing it in a different season instead of hearing it in this season where Bulshar is there for added effect? For some maybe not.
“Wynonna’s face at the thought of holding down Jack Dawson’s face to survive the Titanic was priceless.” – lol Mercedes; clearly she didn’t see the “Mythbusters” special that showed they both could have survived on the door.
Here’s hoping we actually learn more on Nicole in season four Monica and it’s not just another season of hype for that then no pay off. Yes we learned Nedly saved her when she was young and she doesn’t talk to her parents (which we knew from S2) but we still don’t know how she got to the canoe and why the ring kept coming to her versus Waverly even though it could have gone to Waverly easily in the season too. Bring on the actual answers for Nicole in S4 and not just set up plots!
“It’s almost like she only became a vampire so she’d be alive long enough to find Doc” – according to her backstory she did, she found out from Wyatt that he was still alive so she became a vampire to find him; she actually became one for her love instead of to spite him, unlike Doc’s move. I’m for more Kate as overall she’s a really fun character.
“We have Doc Holliday, whom the Fire Witch said was Wyatt Earp’s boyfriend (and he didn’t deny)” – I wouldn’t count this as true he didn’t deny it but the way he said it was more dismissive of being tired of hearing the joke than agreeing to it so I personally don’t feel this is a good example of why this season is gayer. From a numbers standpoint this is definitely the gayest season of “Wynonna Earp” with the increase of queer characters and queer seeming themes, but I also think it’s fair to question the quality of each “gay moment” and I think that’s where the concept falls flat for some fans – yes by the numbers it is the gayest season but it’s quantity over quality for some and that makes them feel the tag doesn’t live up to the hype.
It’s like the whole when “Lost Girl” went hard on the “Live Evil” tag for season three but it ended up being dropped after the first episode really if you even consider it starting because they copped out on a darker Bo for the whole Dawning thing. Quantity doesn’t always equal quality so gayest by number is nice but is it better in regards to this show than a smaller amount of queer content which is amazing? I can certainly see both sides in this debate over the tag for the season.
For me hearing “Wynonna Earp” say “gayest season ever” I immediately think 1) everyone in town is going to be gay basically (which quickly gets dismissed because there are straight people there too) or 2) we’re going to finally see a queer pairing have a sex scene equivalent to the Wynonna/Charlie in the fire truck scene because “Representation and equality y’all!”, ideally for me this would be WayHaught but had it been Jeremy/Robin even it would have been a start, but it didn’t happen so I’m left going “gayest season ever by the numbers” versus feeling “See other shows people will watch queer content when it’s well done also”. Domestic WayHaught is important do not mistake that as sex should never be all there is to a good relationship, but that said do I think it would be great to see them have a scene like Charlie and Wynonna? Absolutely! It can always be gayer Emily! 🙂 I know it’s harder to shoot sex scenes with two women but we’ve all seen “Lost Girl” too and know it’s not impossible to do so it would be a nice way to show equality amongst couples handling; yes WayHaught has had more intimate scene arguably but they haven’t had equal intensity arguably…I don’t mean intensity as passion either because they certainly have that but just how far we’ve seen Wynonna go in scenes we haven’t really seen that with them and it feels unfair. If Kat and Dom don’t want to do a fire truck like scene ok, but if they’re up for it why not? Why are they limited to clothed foreplay and after care but Wynonna can show abs and bras and tops of underwear when she’s with guys?
I’d say S3 is more equal to S2 in terms of queer quality but by the numbers S3 is the gayest for quantity reasons. Here’s to an even gayer S4 that’s focused on the quality side not just quantity! 🙂
That ending was kind of vague Monica, it sounds like you might not recap S4 for whatever reasons but also depending on how it goes you might…why the debate might I ask?
It’s a year away. Seems kind of far out to be making solid plans. 🙂
I hope you recap season 4!!!!!! and i hope there are more seasons after for you to recap! you are the best!!!!
Agree with both posters, first, show, don’t tell, This started off with the first episode, when so many lines of dialogue served to recap the storyline for new viewers or cover things the characters should have discussed last year, like Wayhaught’s talk. Four months later they’re discussing Rosita and Shay? All this expository dialogue was off-putting. And it continued throughout the season. How do they know all these things? Oh, they discussed it off screen. That is lazy, sloppy writing. And to say this season is gayer is laughable. Agreed with the first guest poster, it’s quantity over quality. Sidelining the main romance of the show, which happens to be lesbian, is not positive or equal representation. Showing straight characters in sexual scenarios while the lesbian lovers moan behind closed doors is not equal or positive representation. I suppose skipping ahead four months for no reason means you can end their honeymoon period (Andras said as much, an early red flag) but guess what? You can still be passionate and we just didn’t see that anymore. Only ten minutes in the last three episodes for this beloved couple and none of these moments involved kissing on the lips? Well, guess what else? We can look for representation elsewhere now so a dismissive attitude is not the one to have. I won’t even get into the many plot holes and contrivances the second half of the season suffered from, the others covered it better than I can. What I care about is a pledge to be fair when representing those of us who have gone without for years. If you make a commitment to do that, you need to own up to it or else we are going to feel neglected again. And right now, that is how I feel.
Monica, thanks for the awesome recap. LOve the Juice Newton reference. Now i’ll Be singing the song all day in my head!
I agree it would have been better to view the two episodes separately. Together, they made the whole proceedings a little overwhelming.
I went back and re-watched the final episode, and on it’s own, it’s really great. Earp sisters broke the curse with the help of the revenants (didn’t see that team-up coming). Waverly helped Bobo find his peace. Waverly declared her love … and her desire to always be together with Nicole. After years of feeling second-fiddle to Wynonna, Waverly came into her own power. And Wynonna shrugged off the curse and instead became “the chosen.”
I know there was a lot more that got tied up st the end… but so many new open-ended things happened, too:
It’s torture having the Earp sisters apart. And having Waverly and Nicole apart. I can’t wait to see what it takes to reunite them!
I ‘m glad Mercedes is back and hope she continues to bring the sass in Season 4.
Hope Kate sticks around… she’s awesome.
Hope Rosita comes back!
Excited to see Valdez
Want more Mama Earp, too.
Worst season finale ever! Too much toxic Doc and almost non existent Nicole and Wayhaught! Good job on using the lesbians for ratings in the early days and then later not giving a shit about them at all. *slow clap*
As recaps go, this actually came across better than what was shown on tv!!
It was messy, flabby and borrows too much from other shows trying to mash several themes together that just didn’t quite all gel together. Coupled with completely irrelevant and unfunny ‘humour’ lines from unpopular characters made for painful viewing at time. The self-proclaimed feminist vibe has sailed off long ago. The fact that characters has to recap their own show demonstrates the group of writers clearly didn’t know what each other was writing and demonstrates unhinged, incoherent writing. Was the writing literally being done before the show started filming as it came across as literally being written on the day of the shoot!
Tbh, it seems that Emily and the writers are disjointed with their ideas and throw anything and everything into the mix in trying to write a scene round one (unfunny? unnecessary? unwanted?) line which the writer tries to big themselves up on for being ‘clever’. Example – Nicole is shot (again), survives (again) and is tired so eats carrots outside because in real life Dom is vegan.. and isn’t that funny clever…and fnar fnar…and WTF????
The storyline and overall arc(?) didn’t flow and what was promised as important lines – Nicole survives massacre, Mama Earp is back, trees pull characters underground and they burp up dirt, and so on – are dropped without explanation or resolution.
Even the cast have started to appear disappointed in how their characters have developed or been written, both Kat and Dom have mentioned their not liking writing for WH (see con footage) and Shamier clearly wanted out as saw how messy it was becoming. Tim is more enthused about the comic. Yes, they act positive at cons, but they are also paid to do so. The only person who believes her own hype is Emily and you know – pride cometh before the fall. I have nothing against Emily, but as showrunner she needs to get that the fans will quickly drop off and the only reason it got a S2 or S3 was the WH fans championing the show. It wasn’t her funny, quirky, lets suck off every other show idea and present it as one big new, writing. It wasn’t her online interactions with suck-up fans (she is well known not just to disagree but block people who raise mild criticism). It wasn’t her BTS or online platforms that had to fill in huge gaping wholes in the whole series plots. Emily, it was the WH fans and normal sci-fi fans what got you your show and now you’ve just crapped all over them!
Of course, Emily or the other writes may read this and take small hints and let S4 go out with a bang (I doubt it tbh, they don’t like constructive criticism) They may be working on new projects and hope fans will follow them. They will be pitching to current and new networks. The cast are looking to branch out and work on new projects in tv or film, in front or behind the camera. But after this messy mess, this shit show has just failed to deliver and remember, in this industry you are only as good as your last success and it’s just possible that the success bubble of this show has burst.
Come on Emily, writers and cast – lets work on this and make the show a damn good SHOW again!
CatB NAILED IT!!!! I’m not the only one who agrees but they will continue to only listen to those like Tales of the Black Badge (a “piece of art”) and those who describe it as a “masterpiece” (I used this word for episode 5 but it is hardly the word for the show as a whole.) So true, they no longer need to court Wayhaught fans so they get the back burner. Wayhaught is still my ship but it’s Dom and Kat who are keeping it afloat.