There are only two episodes left in this fourth and possibly final season of Wynonna Earp, and with so much left to resolve at the end of episode 10, “Life Turned Her That Way,” the resolutions are coming to come so fast that I expect viewer whiplash. (A not unfamiliar feeling when watching this show.)
First and foremost among the problems, there is the transformation of Waverly toward evil, a change which was instantly dubbed “Dark Waverly” by Wynonna Earp viewers.
But everyone’s fates are up in the air. What’s in store for them?
1. Will Purgatory even exist after this?
In the original Wynonna Earp comics, creator Beau Smith envisioned Wynonna as older and a veteran member of the Black Badge division. The Wynonna Earp show started with Wynonna at the beginning of her career, placed the setting in Purgatory, created the Earp curse, and added many original new characters.
But in “Life Turned Her That Way,” it appears Purgatory may be abandoned for good, perhaps leaving Wynonna at loose ends. Will her journey end as it began in the comics, as a veteran member of the Black Badge Division investigating supernatural phenomena?
And what of everyone else? Let’s assume we’ll get Waverly back in non-evil form. (I’m going with that because I refuse to see her ending as a tragedy.) That leaves the fates of the others up in the air.
What will Nicole Haught do if she’s the sheriff of a town that no longer exists? What about Rachel and her interest in having Wynonna mentor her as a demon hunter? Will Doc be lost without needing to protect the Earp sisters? Will Rachel lose her new family? What will Nedley become without Shorty’s?
Will Jeremy regain his place in the BBD? Will Cleo give up her vengeance? Is Mercedes going to be okay after being shot?
Gah. Cliffhangers are so stressful.
2. “Life Turned Her That Way” is about Wynonna and Waverly.
The lyrics of “Life Turned Her That Way” are about how troubles and tragedy can change a person for the worse. This episode opened with a montage of Wynonna struggling to keep it together while demon-hunting and drinking but failing at this so badly that Nicole and Waverly staged an intervention.
The title song has to refer to Wynonna, then, right? But then Jolene, Waverly’s dark mirror twin, kidnaps Waverly in an attempt to turn our angel to the bad side. It works after Jolene reveals to Waverly the number of people Wynonna’s killed to keep her sister safe. The final blow? Jolene attacking Wynonna.
And, so, a ‘turn’ to Dark Waverly. Purgatory has been rough on the Earps.
3. This show does so much with less.
This show includes demons, angels, vampires, genies, and assorted and sundry battles between good and evil. Yet it’s also a series that relies most strongly on acting, writing, costumes, and make-up rather than fancy special effects to tell the story.
The fog seeping in Purgatory is a terrific example, as it’s a visual trick with the film, as are the mostly invisible revenants. The use of certain repeated settings to showcase the mood of characters is perfect, no more so than in “Life Turned Her That Way.”
As the episode begins, Wynonna’s sleeping in the barn. She’s literally exiled herself from her own family. Meanwhile, Rachel has become part of the family. In the opening kitchen scene, the “Valdez” scratched into the staircase at the end of season three is visible with one notable addition: it’s now “Chez Valdez.”
Rachel has to be responsible for that addition and it breaks my heart that her new home might be destroyed. Another setting choice, Jolene’s sparsely furnished cabin, showcases just how empty Jolene is without her good twin. There’s nothing of Jolene there, save maybe a knife or two.
4. Wayhaught is iconic.
After almost four seasons of ups and downs in the relationship between Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp, it’s time to recognize and applaud what this show has done with an LGBTQA+ relationship. The relationship started at the time when so many LGBTQA+ characters were being killed on television, so much so that when WayHaught first become a thing, showrunner Emily Andras had to reassure fans that she wouldn’t kill one of them.
Continued belowNow, in this fourth season, Nicole and Waverly are more in love than ever, and that love is so well recognized by those around them that Wynonna actually steps aside to let Nicole make the first attempt to rescue Waverly from Jolene. “It’s my turn,” Nicole, heartsick, tells Wynonna. Nicole won’t be left behind again.
Here we have a show that portrays not only a great LGBTQA+ relationship but one that portrays one fully accepted and applauded by their friends and family.
And if Nicole doesn’t have something to do with Waverly’s rejection of her evil side, I will eat my Purgatory t-shirt.
5.About that hyper-speed pacing….
One of the delights of this show is that it moves so fast that missing a single minute might cause a viewer to miss an important plot point. But there are times when I wish the show would stop a moment and let things breathe a bit.
Doc’s turn to the vampiric side, for instance happened abruptly and while it was explained as wanting to stay immortal to provide protection to the Earps and his daughter, Alice, it’s also something that was never fully explored. Doc struggled with killing and drinking blood, yes, but there hasn’t been a deep dive into how he feels about becoming one of the demons rather than being cursed by one.
The plot point in “Life Turned Her That Way” that’s of utmost importance is the book about herself that Waverly stole from the Garden of Eden back four/five episodes ago. That’s great the book reappears but it’s been mostly forgotten about until this latest episode. It would have been nice to see Waverly attempting to unravel the book’s secret all along, rather than spring it on the viewer after so much time has passed without focusing on it. (As for why it’s important, I suspect Wynonna, Nicole, and Doc will write in the book to bring Waverly back to herself but that’s a guess and, well, I’m rarely right about which way this show will go.)
What I’m hoping for at the end of the season is that the show slows down and focuses on the relationships between the characters and spotlights them living with the choices they’ve made, for good or ill.
But we’ll find out soon enough.
