Coming home isn’t always easy, and that’s putting it mildly for the characters in Wynonna Earp, Season 4: Episode 4, “Afraid.” Heck, home isn’t really home with Purgatory suffering from a series demon infestation.
Tonight, there are answers to the mastermind behind the worst of the mess. It’s an unexpected but entirely appropriate answer that takes us back to the fabled Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
1. Title Song Breakdown: “Afraid”
“Afraid” has an interesting history. It’s a country song by Aaron Lewis which is a cover of a Motley Crüe song written by Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. “Afraid” was written by Sixx about a relationship in which he thought the woman scared of emotional attachement. The song appears on the Nashville Sounds: A Tribute to Motley Crüe album from 2014.
The original song is great, as is the country version. “Afraid” works as a theme for this episode, as Wynonna is truly terrified of the reaper stalking her, while Nicole is afraid to tell Waverly the truth, and new character Billy had plenty of fears of his own. (All realized.)
2. Behind the Scenes: Written and Directed By
This is the first episode directed by Ron Murphy since 2018’s Season 3, episode 4, “No Cure For Crazy.” That episode had our cast in mourning for Dolls. There’s little time for grieving this episode but plenty of horror-movie pacing, as Wynonna is stalked by the reaper that only she can see. Those screams in the background at the end of the episode were truly terrifying.
Matt Doyle, the writer of credit for “Afraid,” has only one other writing credit for the show besides “Afraid,” and that’s a co-writing credit with showrunner Emily Andras on “If We Make It Through December.” (That’s information all according to the Wynonna Earp Fandom Wiki.) “If We Make it Through December” is notable for being the episode where Doc Holliday becomes a vampire, acquiring immortality to protect those he loves.
Billy makes a similar sacrifice this episode, going against his family to save Rachel. (Or so he thinks.) More on that family later.
3. On Rachel Valdez
New to season 4 is Rachel Valdez, played by Martina Ortiz-Luis. With everything else going on, I haven’t talked about Rachel much, save as someone in the background. The show has made it easy to love her, with her tough exterior that hides caring and hurt.
Rachel’s parallels to a younger Wynonna are evident in this episode, as she falls for Billy and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer when she needs to know what he’s hiding from her. And, after Billy’s sacrifice, Rachel’s determined to help him. Given she’s now an honorary Earp and Billy is a Clanton, there’s more than a whiff of Romeo & Juliet to their budding romance.
4. Surprise: The Clantons Are Back!
No, we haven’t seen the Clantons as part of the lore of Wynonna Earp, the show, but they’re a huge part of the history surrounding the very real historical career of Wyatt Earp. Ike Clanton was one of the participants in the fabled Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Sorta. He asked for a confrontation all that day but before the shooting started, he ran up to Wyatt, asked to leave, and Wyatt let him run away.
In doing so, Ike left his little brother Billy, only 19, to be killed. So much for family loyalty. The Clantons in this episode don’t seem to much care about the fate of their family members either.
Ike lived until six years after the gunfight, shot for cattle-rustling.
I had thought the connection to Wynonna Earp the show would be that Wyatt had killed them with Peacemaker. But Ike didn’t die at Earp hands and wouldn’t be part of the original curse that created revenants. That tells me that the reapers being created by the Clan Matriarch are something different than the revenants we’ve seen in previous seasons.
In the meantime, Ma’am has some seriously nefarious plans for Nicole. What did you do in desperation, Nicole?
5. The Whole Gang is Back Together
The beginning of Wynonna Earp, Season 4, episode 4, picks up where the last episode left off: with Wynonna being abducted. Happily, it’s a recon team sent by the new-school Black Badge Division. Why happily? Because that leads to a Wynonna/Jeremy reunion that features a genuine hug between them. Wynonna has been very huggy this season. (Perhaps Doc would say she’s not being huggy enough…)
Jeremy wants to keep Wynonna’s identity hidden because he doesn’t trust the new BBD. But after facing the reaper, Wynonna knows she needs her full team, and Jeremy ends up back at the homestead. (Jeremy’s boyfriend, Robin, is revealed to be safe but not around.)
“All I have is my people,” Wynonna says to Jeremy. But fine people they are, and Wynonna’s love for them this episode is in stark contrast to how Ma’am treats her family, especially Billy.
Now all we need is Peacemaker. And for Doc and Wynonna to find that box of condoms in the truck.
