This review contains spoilers.
2.4 She Ain’t Right
Wynonna Earp is one of the rare shows on TV that is both a quasi-prodedural and isn’t afraid to pull the trigger when it comes to stakes. It reminds me of The Vampire Diaries when the CW show was in its prime — a supernatural show that churns through plot faster than most else on television, while still making us care about the characters and their lives.
In episode four, we get some major developments in both the Waverly and Dolls storylines. While the latter lacked some suspense in its climax (flames aside, did anyone think Dolls wouldn’t get the dose he needed?), the former continues to make for some pretty anxiety-inducing, emotional drama.
Whn Wynonna finds Waverly sleepwalking through the Canadian wilderness in only her nightgown, she admits to herself — and Nicole — that something might be going on with Waverly, who we can see is stealing the town’s shiny utensils faster than the local Walmart can sell them. It all comes to a head when Waverly convinces Lucado to go undercover to help find a mysterious briefcase two demons have liberated (hand and all) from a BBD agent.
First of all, can we talk about Waverly’s performance? That dress! That voice! That spycraft! Sydney Bristow would be proud. Second of all, can we talk about how uncool it was for Lucado to send in an untrained Waverly without any back-up whatsoever. This woman may not be straight-up evil, but she is cowardly, weak, and desperate for BBD’s approval — which may be even worse.
By the time Wynonna shows up on the scene, Waverly has already been captured by the demons trying to make a briefcase deal. Aware that the two work for BBD, the head demon tortures Waverly in an attempt to get Wynonna to give up the code to open up the briefcase. But Wynonna can’t give up information she doesn’t have, which means a desperate Wynonna can only watch as the demon cuts off Waverly’s hand.
Yep. That happened. This is what I am talking about when I mention stakes and plot-churning. How many shows would chop off the hand of arguably their cutest character? Sure, Waverly’s inner demon grows it back, but they really had me wondering for a few scenes if Waverly would have to get a Luke Skywalker appendage. That’s how unexpected and committed to its insane plot twists Wynonna Earp can be.
While I am a little disappointed the show backed off on its consequences, the true consequence of Wynonna and Waverly’s kidnap-and-torture session was not the temporary loss of Waverly’s hand, but rather Waverly’s admission to Wynonna that everything is not okay with her. It was a much more touching and unexpected reveal, having Waverly be the one to admit it, and only solidified the bond between these two sisterly characters. It remains the most important relationship on the show.
Of course, because Wynonna loves her little sister so much and would do anything to protect her, she chooses not to tell Doc what’s happening. Instead, she tries to deal with the situation in the privacy of the Earp home. It does not go well. The demon inside Waverly jumps ship into Wynonna. While it seems to think that it will have an easier time inside the older Earp sister, I’m not so sure. Waverly may have resisted the pull of the demon, but Wynonna is strong, too. Never bet against an Earp. You’d think demons would know that by now.
Dolls’ own demonic posession (one that is, admittedly, of a more inner, werewolf-y nature) also took a turn in tonight’s episode. After Wynonna found Dolls’ dogtags in the coat of the jacket she had loaned to a sleepwalking Waverly, she realizes he is on the Earp farm. She rushes to him, only to find a Dolls actively fighting with the animal inside. She manages to knock him out and bring him to Doc’s chemistry lab, but have they found him in time?
This seems like a good time to discuss new Season 2 character Rosita, Doc’s random friend who just happens to have an advanced degree in biochemistry. Thus far, I’m into how subversive Rosita is — Wynonna gets called out at one point for assuming Rosita is an idiot when, really, she’s probably smarter than all of them — but she’s also still a big question mark. Most of what we know about her is relatively on the surface. That being said: I trust this show to reveal her character moving forward.
It’s Rosita who inevitably (and reluctantly) ends up giving Dolls the cure, having perfected the concoction (or at least its dosage) with a little help from Jeremy, who so wants to be part of the team, it’s adorable. While Dolls’ recovery may have seemed inevitable, the fire he breathes out of his mouth to take out the head evil demon from the episode is less expected. Fire-breathing werewolves? Yeah, Wynonna Earp always keeps us guessing.
Speaking of keeping us guessing, what the eff is going on with the Gardner family? While Mercedes and Beth may not be dead, they are possessed (seemingly by the figures in black) and ready to nurture Tucker’s gross side. (He doesn’t need to be possessed to be a total creep.)
Are these figures in black related to the black goo currently possessing Wynonna? Is this The Thing that is coming that Team Wynonna could never be prepared for that the head demon mentioned just before he was taken out by Peacemaker? So many questions.
Including the following: What’s with the plate? Wynonna and Waverly eventually hacked the code on the mysterious BBD briefcase to discover an Earp plate. Why was it so prized by BBD?
We got another mention of the mysterious Juan Carlos, the man who helped Doc last season and who made promises to Willa. He was the one who brought Dolls back to the Earp ranch. Is he good or is he bad? Or is that the wrong question altogether? Could he be the thing that is coming?
Read Kayti’s review of the previous episode, Gonna Getcha Good, here.