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Five Thoughts on Wynonna Earp‘s “Better Dig Two”

By | April 5th, 2021
Posted in Television | % Comments

Better Dig Two” is possibly the next to last episode of Wynonna Earp (at least for now: #bringwynonnahome), and I approached watching it with trepidation, as next-to-last episodes of television shows generally are when things become very, very dark.

But the show pulled a swerve, resolving the mess that I expected would take two full episodes and thus reserving the last episode for the WayHaught wedding.

Presumably, the wedding will not be without drama.

But let’s take a look at how we got here.

1. Dig two graves. But for who? 

For an episode that I thought would feature the dead, it instead features the undead.

First, Mercedes is saved from imminent death by happily consenting to Doc to make her a vampire. (“Get over here and suck me off!”). Then Rachel, working with Cleo, restores Billy Clanton to human form.

The big resurrection, however, is Doc himself. As he lays dying from the confrontation between the Clanton and Earp heirs, Dark Waverly arrives to witness his demise. Wynonna tearfully begs for his life and what’s left of real Waverly inside her not only restores Doc to the land of the living, she restores him to full humanity, wiping away his vampirism. Things are looking up in #WynDoc land.

Wynonna and Doc: Happy Ending?
We all need someone who looks at us the way Wynonna looks at Doc. image copyright Syfy.

It seems the graves are metaphorical ones, for Dark Waverly, for Nicole’s free will, for Doc’s vampire self, for Mercedes’s unlamented humanity.

2. Jeremy takes on the Black Badge Division and wins.

Jeremy’s had a tough time this season trying to play intermediary between the BBD and his found family, with Purgatory’s fate at stake, all the while mourning the loss of Robin in his life.

BBD eventually turned on Jeremy too. No matter. Jeremy still saved Doc from succumbing to his vampiric urges, helped everyone escape from the BBD, and, finally, took out the man who’d seen Purgatory residents as either an experiment to be studied and used as food.

The moment where Jeremy sics the resident werewolf on BBD’s “head” man is one of the most satisfying notes in “Dig Two Graves.”

3. Who lives, who dies, who tells the story? 

I was convinced the book of Waverly’s story that she stole from Eden would play a huge part in overcoming Dark Waverly, with those who loved her writing in that book to restore her.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. (Note: I am usually wrong about the show’s plot twists.)

Dark Waverly’s speech to Nicole seemed to indicate the younger sister transformed to take on the responsibilities of Eden to spare Wynonna from being the guardian, reasoning that her elder sister had done enough. It wasn’t some appeal to the good side that won over Dark Waverly, it was Nicole’s willing sacrifice in taking on the role of the guardian of the Ghost River Triangle that did it.

In the very first episode of this fourth season, Wynonna called Nicole Haught “Daddy.” A funny line. But a true one in “Better Dig Two,” as Sheriff Haught first rescues the prisoners of the Black Badge Division and then takes on the ultimate Daddy role of guardian.

The catch? She can never leave. Sheriff Haught is all right with that: “I only committed to a permanent staycation with my girl.”

4. Okay, but I have questions.
The emotional notes of Wynonna Earp are always what brings me back. I am #rideordie for these characters, always, and I’m following the #bringwynonnahome hashtag eagerly for news of the show being picked up by another network or streaming service.

However, the plot notes don’t always make perfect sense, as I’ve mentioned previously. I wanted to love this episode unreservedly. I do love the moments between the characters: Wynonna crying as Doc is dying, Jeremy being the moral center for Doc, Nicole sacrificing her freedom to save Waverly from a heartless destiny, Mercedes embracing her vampire self, and Nedley helping Billy.

And yet…I’m not entirely certain how we got here. What was Waverly’s transformation, exactly? It wasn’t entirely toward evil. Rather, it was more Waverly being drained of humanity and emotion. She still saves Doc. She still attacks the BBD, albeit casually while smoking a cigarette. She still manages to wear thigh-high boots and look super-sexy. (C’mon, one could hardly not notice that!)

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But how exactly did Nicole taking on Guardian of the Ghost River Triangle transform Waverly back to herself? Wynonna was the Guardian of the triangle and yet Eden was still seeping into Purgatory. Wynonna being Guardian didn’t prevent Waverly’s transformation. Nicole accepts this role with an oath but she’s not in Eden, holding it together, as Eve was, as Dark Waverly planned to do.

But the restored Waverly closes the door to Eden by tossing in her book. I’m scratching my head about how that all worked.

Other questions: Why did Doc get transported to the Clanton land once he was magically made the heir? How come he lost most of his free will? Cleo didn’t seem to do that. She had enough free will to swap her curse to Doc.

I liked how we got there. But I can’t follow exactly how we did.

5. A true farewell episode?

Next week promises the event of Wynonna Earp, Season 4: the WayHaught wedding!

Last week, I complained that sometimes the plot moves too fast sometimes on this show to let the characters take a moment and absorb the impact of events. This final episode of season 4 promises to be all about the emotional impact of what the Earps and their found family have done to save each other and to save Purgatory. Maybe there will be party crashers to add a little suspense but I hope that Waverly and Nicole’s wedding goes without a hitch.

However, we have not seen Eve since she left the Garden of Eden. There’s a lingering plot element that definitely could make an appearance.

I’m also expecting most of the tears to come from Wynonna finally leaving Purgatory. There aren’t many demons left to fight there and, besides, between the Sheriff, Waverly, and vampire Mercedes, they can handle most threats. The show began with Wynonna coming to town to accept her destiny as the Earp heir.

I expect the show will end with Wynonna accepting her destiny as the Earp heir to fighting to protect those who need it most, with Doc at her side.

We’ll see. I’ve been wrong before. Maybe Peacemaker is given to Nicole instead and Doc and Wynonna walk into the sunset.

But, most of all, I’m rooting for Doc and Wynonna to finally find some happiness.

One week to go.


//TAGS | Wynonna Earp

Corrina Lawson

Corrina Lawson is a writer, mom, geek, and superhero with the power of multitasking. She's an award-winning newspaper reporter, a former contributor to the late lamented B&N SF/F blog, and the author of ten fiction novels combining romance, adventure, and fantasy.

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