Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Wynonna Earp, Season 3, Episode 11: Daddy Lessons




That was rather unexpected - did not see a lot of that coming - well done Wynonna Earp for being most unpredictable

So, Nicole and Waverly are dealing with the super awfulness of Charlie being dead by Doc’s fangs and wondering how they tell Wynonna. Nicole has to leave because as a precaution she’s having the town evacuated in case Bulshar causes badness to happen (and can I say how much I love Nedry calling her Sheriff?). Alone, a very upset Waverley touches Charlie

And he comes back from the dead.

Now I thought Charlie as rival love interest and all was perfectly placed to be a sacrificial pathos character. Did not expect resurrection.

This throws another spanner in the works because Waverly is rethinking the whole sacrifice thing. I mean it’s one thing to think you have a magic ring doing weird stuff and kind of dodging the whole specialness of that. But when you start bringing the dead back to life it kind of makes your reassess things. Wynonna catches on to this and, after walking past Charlie walking around in a daze (which nearly pole axes Nicole) she goes and tracks Waverly down by the Eden stairs that Wynonna can’t see. Waverly is determined to sacrifice herself and Wynonna can’t stop her

So Wynonna knocks her out. And plans to have someone drive her out of Purgatory. She can’t do it, she has Bulshar to fight. Nicole can’t do it because she’s sheriff and also she can’t tell Waverly no because awwwwwwwww. So they enlist an extremely confused Charlie to do it. While Nicole continues to be dumbstruck by the whole being alive thing

Waverley and Charlie have a few sacrificial conversations, she doesn’t want to die but she will sacrifice herself as a last resort. And he takes her to her mother’s greenhouse… which he shouldn’t know about. More on this later

Because Wynonna has another problem - without Peacemaker she is vulnerable and is kidnapped by some Revenants who want to offer her to Bulshar as tribute as one of his bridges. This comes with witty banter, creepy guy making her wear his dead wife’s dress and gay Revanant doing her hair (Wynonna Earp, look Nicole and Waverly are awesome but you’ve still only just started treating Jeremy as a character and he and Robin are still largely comic relief. Basically you don’t have nearly enough banked to get away with this throwaway stereotyped bullshit).

She’s presented to Bulshar to find that Mercedes is already there. Voluntarily. And she makes a passionate defence of cowardice, survival and how she’s totally going to survive this and if this means being team Bulshar then so be it. And I kind of applaud Mercedes for this - sorry, I love her and I love her unabashed, unashamed willingness to look after herself, to protect herself, to resist her martyrdom without the slightest hint of shame.

Also her take on the Titanic is absolutely awesome. I worship Mercedes

Oooh oooh, who wants a tv show that somehow manages to connect Delle Sayah from Killjoys and Mercedes just going out there and being gloriously terrible people together? You’d watch it. You’d know you would.

Bulshar wants a lieutenant - and Wynonna seems to listen to Mercedes because she offers herself. She wants her family to live. She wants Waverley to live. And to do that she will serve Bulshar, she even offers to beg, she even kneels before him offering service… until she nearly touches him and he recoils in actual terror from her touch and has her locked in a cage


Oooooh yes Wynonna and Mercedes both notice that. And yes Mercedes is onside again because Wynonna always pulls her in and they’re just fun together. They notice Bulshar was afraid of her touch and the hairstyling revenant theorises it could be because of the curse. The cost of the curse that he put on the Earps to keep killing Revenants could make her touch terrible for him

This also leads to another point - after Wynonna escapes she manages to recruit the Revenants - yes it sounds way out there that the Revenants, doomed to be killed by the Earp heir every generation and constantly sent back to hell would ever help and Earp - but as Wynonna points out, they’re both cursed. The Earp curse makes them suffer as much - or more - than they do. And if they want to fight the curse they need to oppose Bulshar, not Wynonna

And yes, this leads to Wynonna leading an army of Revenants against Bulshar who flees. Yes did not see this coming but it’s kinds of awesome.

Now for a bad point - to my great surprise, Kate returns to find Doc who is seriously struggling with his blood lust despite having snacked on Charlie. He lures two more people, having learned to glamour and he and Kate drain them dry. He complains about her breaking his toys but she seems to actually disapprove of the idea that they’re toys and puts it down to his own hunger -- which is unnatural. Even for a vampire. He should be sated but he’s obsessed with hunting down Charlie and drinking his blood.

He and Kate try to track him down at the fire station in a confrontation which has the chief try to quick draw Doc which… well… never goes well. The chief ends up shot despite co-operating - and so does Kate. Doc doesn’t even hang around to see if she’s ok, he continues to hunt Charlie.

This leaves Kate to call Nicole for help for both her and the chief. And I love this - because I was so sure that Kate was put on the bus last episode and was gone for good. But here she is - not only is she here but Nicole is helping her and even talking to her about how she should completely dump Doc for clearly being waaaay more into Wynonna than he is into her. Nicole and Kate are bonding, becoming friends! Make this happen! Keep Kate around

Kate is also doing tarot over and over showing endless Death Death Death Death. Which isn’t reassuring.

At Waverly’s mother’s greenhouse we learn something of Charlie’s past: he’s an amnesiac. He remembers stumbling into town and just knowing he wanted to help people - no family, no memories.

Until Waverley touches him with her ring and he remembers that moment, sharing it with Waverley. He freaks out at this and freaks out still more as he notices flowers bloom in the greenhouse. Yes it’s becoming increasingly obvious who Charlie is even as he runs and hides from his memories despite Waverley’s pushing and finding another memory: of Charlie saying goodbye to his love, Michelle. Waverley and Wynonna’s mother. Yes, Charlie is Waverley’s angelic father. And Waverley realises he’s slept with her mother and her sister because Wynonna Earp

And then Doc arrives with his unnatural hunger craving Angel blood. They try to hide but Doc won’t stop and he threatens Waverley. Until he’s thrown across the room and knocked out by Julian who reclaims his ring. Yes, a memory restored angel is not to be trifled with. But those wing effects are POOR. Wynonna Earp, do better! I demand better wings!





Juan Carlos could have pulled this earlier, just saying

Kate’s death tarot now shows hope…

Julian encourages Waverley to come with him - which is good and clearly they’re heading to Eden but there’s definitely an edge of contempt to humanity - and even more towards vampires - there

Robin and Jeremy do exist. And Jeremy may have a plan. This concludes their involvement in the episode

And Bulshar finds his lieutenant: Bobo