Wynonna Earp Review [1×12]: “House of Memories”

Deep-rooted manipulation and a Bubblypocalypse as the prodigal Earp sister unwittingly seals Wynonna, Waverly and everyone’s fates.

We immediately found Willa (Natalie Krill) and Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) confronting Whiskey Jim for answers, using some…enhanced interrogation techniques. Dolls (Shamier Anderson) later used hypnosis to trigger traumatising memories of the fateful day Willa disappeared. Hereon, Wynonna and Dolls dissected who might have ordered the assassination.

We make a pretty good team. – Dolls

We should get T-shirts. – Wynonna

Don’t push it. – Dolls

Bobo (Michael Eklund) continued his streak of, well, Bobo-ish havoc in a gory scene he declared as “a happy day”. Meanwhile, Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), succumbing to exhaustion, to Nicole (Katherine Barrell), truly took that dive into the depths of the ocean as the loved-up duo kissed with growing fervour—until Willa awkwardly interrupted.

As Doc (Tim Rozon) continued to talk himself into buying some time before fatally throwing a knife into his captor, Willa and Waverly found the swan reservoir. In a series of flashbacks, Constance Clootie (the always fabulous Rayisa Kondracki) wiped her memories, as Bobo monitored her. But why?

At the formal gala-of-sorts, it was bow-ties and glamorous dresses galore. Nicole and Waverly made quite the prom-pair, the Earps were convinced Bobo organised this event for his “nefarious plan” and Wynonna showed up in a dress worthy of a breathy “damn…” from Dolls. The gang revealed via a letter Wynonna found that upon the Earp curse settling upon them, the only way the Revenants could cross the Ghost River Triangle was with a willing Earp. On the winter solstice. That was the deal Ward Earp had tried to make with Bobo, until Wynonna shot her own father—albeit by accident—and the Revenants took Willa as “insurance”.

Oh, how Bobo’s grooming had worked upon young impressionable Willa, as the pair walked off together. If being eternally cursed as a family wasn’t bad enough…that just happened.

The “true heir” is here, and it isn’t Wynonna—and the true reveal is here about Bobo del Rey and Willa.

Something wasn’t right about Willa. Everyone knew it—but she was an Earp, and if Wynonna and Waverly showed anything, it was that Earps stuck together. It was with immense credit to Natalie Krill this episode in depicting a young woman gaining traumatising memories back at a horrid rate—almost too much to handle—until the Swan Reservoir flashbacks, and Willa’s demeanour changed drastically. It was enough to raise suspicion, but Krill was convincing enough as an Earp to make us just doubt her, but not quite enough. And sometimes, that ‘not quite’ is infinitely scarier than a definite answer.

With Wynonna somewhat sidelined by her elder sister’s return and growing spunkiness, and utterly unable to do anything about it, it may have been perhaps some bonding time between Waverly and Willa. Last episode, Waverly had quite obviously felt shunted out of the Earp dynamic, but in this episode, Waverly—her tiredness and exhaustion so exquisitely captured by Dominique Provost-Chalkley—stood her ground when Willa confronted her.

Sorry. Wynonna never said anything about you…being…a gay. Jeez—you haven’t told her. Wynonna’d probably be pretty pissed if she found out you didn’t tell her something like this, wouldn’t she? – Willa

There it is. Remember that beam? When I was four, you caught me going through daddy’s drawer and you promised not to tell if I walked across that beam. – Waverly

Though Willa boldly claimed that “nothing outnumbers three Earps”, it was ultimately a heartbreaking tale of how a sisterly trio could be torn apart by patient, clever, scheming forces like Bobo. All along, the Wynonna/Waverly relationship had been hands-down the best one, but for once, this wasn’t a story of sisterly unity. This was a storm coming; this was cold manipulation of a child that would fracture everything, and for all the sisterly love in Purgatory, for all the sisterly love the audience has enjoyed so much—that proved, horrifyingly, to be the Earp sisters’ downfall.

Wynonna and Dolls prove that they may stick you with a grim lab partner, but that lab partner might end up being a pleasant, ass-kicking surprise.

From the moment Wynonna couldn’t fire Peacemaker, she knew something was wrong—just like her gut told her ‘Eve’ from the cult was indeed Willa.

[About Wynonna’s misfire with Peacemaker] Hey, look, it doesn’t matter, okay? – Dolls

Except I go back to being a plain old human. No offence. I just…I never wanted this…but after a while, I just felt—felt like it fit. Like I was meant to be—but I’m not special, I’m just some girl. – Wynonna

Hey. You are never just anything. – Dolls

Though they may have gotten off to an unpleasant start (as you do), Dolls and Wynonna have become an inseparable force—affirmed by Dolls when he told her, honestly, that he needed her. Throughout the episode, Wynonna’s emotions had been through the rapids; her restrained exasperation at Willa’s recklessness; her rough-kicking, tumble-with-a-Revenant self; and her reluctant acceptance that she wasn’t the heir. Melanie Scrofano’s masterful embodiment of Wynonna Earp could be praised every single week, but similarly to ‘Two-Faced Jack’, the vulnerability hidden behind that steely mask of snark and sarcasm cracked, and our hearts broke with her, as maybe did Dolls’ as they shared a tender kiss.

It had been some time coming, with Anderson and Scrofano’s chemistry off-the-charts (amazingly, like every dynamic on this show—romantic or platonic) and a tender capture of some solace Dolls could provide, if any. What it meant for Doc, who witnessed the entire thing, emotionally—but with the horrifying cliff-hanger we were left on, it’s doubtable next episode will be about love triangles. Speaking of which…

Waverly and Nicole go to prom, and—oh dear, Champ—it really is prom…

So it wasn’t a love triangle of any sort, because Champ (Dylan Koroll) was barely a boy-man in the first place, but with him drinking Bobo’s peachy champagne and clearly off-the-rails, sought out Nicole:

Y’know, as soon as we break up, you just swoop in and steal my girl? – Champ

Okay, lower—your—voice—Waverly doesn’t belong to anyone. – Nicole

Yeah, feminism, blah, blah, blah… – Champ

It should’ve been a sweet evening for our fresh lovebirds—if it were not for Champ, Bobo, Willa disappearing—the usual Wynonna Earp trouble. But it was a damning clash of beliefs and a problematic attitude towards homosexuality that exists beyond just small towns like Purgatory. Champ found and outed their relationship as “disgusting”, whereas Neadley firmly argued that it was their “private business”. It was a heavy reminder that whilst some minds remain open, some remain stubbornly narrow, and Champ was a clear example of internalised homophobia. It was why Waverly was taking brave, albeit small, leaps towards the freedom of her sexuality. It was why Nicole was so admired, for her strong morals and confident acceptance of who she was.

Sexuality never defined neither character, nor the relationship. Their chemistry and their charming encounters sure did; Waverly’s intelligence, bravery and commitment is her; Nicole’s unabashed shamelessness for who she is, her clever mind and lack of fear to poke around is her. That was never lost, even as the highly-anticipated ‘WayHaught’ ship sailed. Their individualistic differences—just themselves—would not be lost in Champ’s (albeit heavily drunken) slur. Purgatory may be fictional, but this was a minor point slipped in to form a major one: that people like Champ exist, and so do people like Nicole Haught, who would not stand for that kind of discrimination and prejudice.

Final Verdict: Admittedly, I am outright terrified that this season is ending with the next episode (alas with Johnny Cash lyrics—let me live!) for this was the ultimate set-up to an absolutely fiery bolster of an ending.

Good. Grief.

That was the best way to end act one of a two-part finale by completing frying the audience’s minds. Kudos—massive kudos—to the writer, Alexandra Zarowny for this absolute thriller. The dialogue, the slight shift in regard to Willa, the ever-changing dynamics of the Earp sisters that had proved so charmingly steady over the season was torn apart in the most gut-wrenching way possible.

It ran an extremely terrifying theme. Constance had wiped young Willa’s memories and since then, Bobo had groomed her and manipulated her so that Willa was almost a sleeper agent. So much for “insurance”—they’d fully weaponised her as their chance at the Ghost River Triangle. With Melanie Scrofano’s sturdy, tear-jerking, always powerful performance holding this together and the cast’s acting chops sent walloping through the roof, combined with the haunting music and gorgeous piece of cinematography at the end, by Gavin Smith—this was an episode and a half.

Nostalgically, I don’t want to say goodbye, and I suspect neither do you, #Earpers. Thus may we tip our hats to Ms. Emily Andras, and look forward to an episode thirteen that’ll surely blast us to oblivion and beyond (that is, season two).

Questions and comments

• “I’m sorry I called you a bitch,” Waverly says, and then mumbles, “in my head.” To. Her. Sister. I really think only Waverly would apologise for what she thought…in her head.
• I still don’t trust Neadley (because this show makes me paranoid) and I will not forget Dolls’ suspicion of a mole within the police precinct. Anyone calling anyone but Neadley?!
• “There is something stirring in my veins[…]a storm is coming…oh, a storm is here…” Make of that what you will—and a huge thank you to the brilliant Head of Music Supervision, Ms. Andrea Higgins, for such beautiful music choices each episode. Poignant, and brilliant.
• Question time: does anyone think Constance Clootie will return next episode?
  • Does anyone think we’ll see anything supernatural beyond a Revenant? (I’m going to stop chanting ‘angels’ in my head).
  • Can the gang stop Willa and Bobo breaching the Ghost River Triangle?
  • If there is a ‘WayHaught’, what is Waverly/Shotgun? Mind you, did Nicole call Waverly baby? Did that…is resuscitation needed anywhere?
  • Will we ever see what gecko Dolls is?!
  • Anyone else find it sort of hilarious Wynonna is the only one explicitly not to know about Waverly and Nicole?

WYNONNA EARP’S FINALE, “I Walk The Line”, airs Friday 10l9c on Syfy.