The way both Nicole, Waverly and importantly, the actual show, handled Tucker.
Dani Kind's Mercedes has been a sassy, awesome addition to the cast. Go her!
Nicole and Nedley. It was surprisingly moving, and he really reassured Nicole, I felt. It was so much more than a father/daughter "you matter"--it was a reminder that Nicole's work does benefit the world, and we NEED people like Nicole as our cops.
Are we getting a clash of bulls' horns in Nicole and Wynonna over Waverly?
The. Cheerleading. Scene. Nicole’s face had me laughing so hard. A deer caught in headlights!
I just want more character interactions in that neat spiderweb of connections Andras had so cleverly built in season one, rather than the 'Revenant of the week' theme; The demons I feel have been weaker this season, and it may be because it's not as personal to Wynonna as they were last season—so it loses a lot of heart. If the show focused on what drove it to success—its characters and their bonds—a bit more, then perhaps it'd be better.
‘Wynonna Earp’ and ‘homecoming’ equals ‘bloodbath’. We’re not sure that’s quite how they taught mathematics in school, but that’s the Andras method!
‘Wynonna Earp’ tackles homecoming with Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) stealing the show with her high-kicking, high-pitched cheerleading performance. It’s roleplay the not-so-oblivious-now Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) doesn’t appreciate, though it does leave Nicole (Katherine Barrell) hilariously slack-jawed.
Yep, it’s writer Brendon Yorke’s homecoming, and Nicole’s pissed when Nedley (Greg Lawson) hands a homicide over to the Black Badge. When we say homicide, we mean a demon forcing a jock to jam a hand through his body and yank out an organ, so…
Because ‘Wynonna Earp’ is ‘Wynonna Earp’, Wynonna’s date Perry (Patrick Kwok-Choon) turns out to be a super shady dude with a skinned animal body-of-sorts in his apartment. As Wynonna tracks down the monster, Nicole’s in trouble when a boy named Tucker videos Waverly smooching her at the homecoming party. She arrests the guy for harassment, but more importantly, it confirms Nicole’s suspicions that Waverly’s changed.
RELATED l ‘Wynonna Earp’ [2×02] Review: “Shed Your Skin”
Doc persuades Wynonna to take a U-turn from her usual “kill the demon” mantra. He believes they can exchange a contained demon for Dolls. Wynonna takes the trophy in a glorious, slow-motion sequence as she flips the bird at the school, and an amazed Mercedes gasps, “you crazy, awesome bitch”.
Eventually, Wynonna sucks the demon back into the trophy—after all, it had been conjured by some creepy spell by the boys in question and killed. Nedley convinces Nicole that she’s not inferior to the Black Badge Division. Wynonna finds out about Doc’s drug-cooking operation, and admits that he was the one Dolls could “afford to lose”, whilst condemning him as a fool if he ever came back to Purgatory.
Which he does—and he’s the first unfortunate ‘fool’ to find out that Waverly is possessed when she whips around with her black eyes, and he screams in horror.
What next, we ask hysterically? What next?!
‘Wynonna Earp’ steps into the area of procedural drama again, and we’re not entirely sure it’s a good thing—though it is an improvement on season one.
We’re not too sure if ‘Wynonna Earp’ is headed down a similar path of ‘revenant/demon of the week’ again. What worked so well about the latter half of season one was the piecing together of the jigsaw; the fun serialisation of Willa and Bobo’s long arc. However, as we begin season two, its fun levels are still through the roof but its format is still very much procedural. It had been a downfall for us in season one, and it shouldn’t be necessary in season two. There is no need to world-build, for we’re comfortable in Purgatory.
We don’t need introduction to our cast; we need development. Arguably, Andras & co are doing a wonderful job of that, but what charmed us in season one was that after we were introduced to everyone, the characters could splinter off. Every partnering is watchable, and we don’t want Nicole isolated to Waverly, or Wynonna isolated to Doc and Dolls.
There is potential, though. Waverly’s possession is the key frontrunner in terms of mystery, as is Dolls’ impossible situation. Nicole potentially being an asset or an enemy of the Black Badge Division is something else, too. Waverly strikes again with Bobo’s bombshell that she’s not an Earp, but it’s Wynonna we don’t want trapped in a weekly cycle of killing demons.
Will she have her own arc? Can they at least stick Scrofano out of her comfort zone of the boys and Waverly, and try and have her partner up again with Nicole? And what about Willa? Will that haunt her throughout the season—or did the premiere sap it all out of her?
Nicole Haught, Sheriff-to-be, finally comes to her own.
From the moment she leant casually against the door of Shorty’s in her Stetson, Nicole Haught charmed not only Waverly, but literally every viewer. But on the show she is constantly undermined. Firstly, Wynonna calls her a “flat foot” who wouldn’t know anything. Nedley ridiculed her report on Revenant Jack. Furthermore she was pushed out of the BBD just as she understood. Here, Nedley releases Tucker because he knows his family is good. And it feels, to Nicole, like a slap in the face.
However, Nicole always throws herself 100% into the job. She’s annoyed with Waverly for making a show, and even says as she arrests Tucker:
Nicole: “Don’t tell me how to do my job.”
But as it turns out, Nedley intends for her to be Sheriff when the time comes. Stunned, she listens as Nedley tells her he knows about the demons full well. He has all along. But who’s going to look after the people? And that’s always been what Nicole wants, as badass as BDD may sound.
Just because Nicole isn’t actively hunting down demons, it doesn’t mean she isn’t integral to the safety of Purgatory and its citizens. And this episode, she truly learns that. Thus finally, Nicole gets it.
Nedley: “Just be a good cop. It matters.”
Nicole: “Yeah, Yes, it does.”
Nicole perhaps goes through the most bumpy of rides this episode. She’s rightfully livid, annoyed, disbelieving, romantic, sweet and sharp. And she rocks that hair! But seriously: Katherine Barrell completely got every corner and side to Nicole Haught. She nails it. Kudos to the show for creating such a complex, vivid character. And kudos to Barrell for absolutely stealing the show this episode and being the clear MVP frontrunner.
‘Wynonna Earp’ slyly tackles the themes of anonymous, sad-life trolls hiding behind the screens.
When Nicole spies Tucker’s older sister freely taking the incriminating phone from Nedley, she’s not a happy bunny. The job, as has been shown previously in several episodes, means a lot to Nicole. She is clever, ambitious and sharp—with an open mind and maturity that makes her Nedley’s perfect deputy. But Nicole’s also openly gay. Nedley has no problem with that. However, Nicole knows that professionalism isn’t to be toyed with.
Just because Nedley has no problem with her homosexuality, it doesn’t mean that this video resurfacing in ten years’ time couldn’t seriously damage Nicole’s position if Nedley wasn’t around.
And though Nedley accepts Waverly and Nicole for who they are, he just doesn’t get it:
Nedley: [About Tucker] “Boys will be boys.”
Nicole: “I’m sorry. Did I hit my head and end up in patriarchal bullshit land?”
Even when Tucker hisses she’s a “nasty woman”, and Nedley tells Nicole to take a chunk out of her report, Nedley still dismisses the situation as fine. He simply tells Nicole that it’s the way the town works, and that she should learn of it. But that’s not enough. It isn’t fair, for starters. But the idea that Tucker could just be freed and share the video on the Internet because she’s a lesbian cop is horrible, and yeah, it’s about damn time Nicole stood up for herself. Like she always has.
Tucker even approaches Waverly and creepily tells her:
Tucker: “You’re so pretty when you smile. You should do it more often.”
When Waverly tells him that Nicole’s her girlfriend, he dismisses it as impossible and wrong—and that’s when demon-Waverly strikes. This time, we can’t help but root for her a little. Yeah, he’s that nasty we’re rooting for the demon.
Waverly’s possession is taking a darker, more rapid turn—and the “real” Waverly still seems to be utterly oblivious. Just how far will she go, and how much of her soul will the demon start to gain?
Demon-Waverly is kind of like a pet rabbit gone rogue. Waverly seems to be deteriorating—or so her mind is—at a worryingly rapid pace. She eats Wynonna’s lipstick, and she’s near-intoxicated by the trophy’s demonic pull. It triggers her into recklessly snogging Nicole’s face off. And sometimes it genuinely seems like Waverly can control when she can switch the demon light on and off. She just can’t remember when.
Wynonna: “Look, you’ve come so far. Just don’t let anyone forget you’re an Earp.”
Waverly: “I can be whoever I want to, okay? Take the Jeep. When you stop dating psychos, then you can give me relationship advice.”
With Wynonna or even Nicole, perhaps it’s time to spill her guts. Maybe the demon’s eating her up from the inside because of the very thought she’s not an Earp. There have been clear mentions near every episode of her being one. And the importance of her being one. Nicole even notes she’s the ‘Earpiest’ of them all. But if she’s genetically not an Earp, then is that burden hers to bear alone?
The cruelty she displays at the end towards Dolls is utterly shocking. And we just want to know: is it like some malignant tumour that spreads and attacks? Will it try to consume her? And what will prompt her to inevitably reveal this demonic side of her? Lastly, what will Wynonna Earp, demon-killer, do to her own sister?
FINAL VERDICT: ‘Wynonna Earp’ has had better episodes, but every downhill slope has an uphill climb. Something is on the precipice, and though this episode was disjointed, we get the impression something big is awaiting.
Again, the episode mildly lifts from episode two but still cannot live up to the premiere. There’s something lacking, and we’re thinking perhaps we hoped a little too much that this story would be utterly serialised. But entertainment rarely conforms to your exact wish: we are still glued helplessly to our seats, so the show’s doing something right!
(A lot of things).
There are so many strands we have yet to cover that it seems impossible to explore, deeply enough, in its limited episode order. ‘Wynonna Earp’ proved last year that whilst it wasn’t the singular best drama in the world, it was up there in terms of fun levels and knowing its own identity. But it also wasn’t afraid to transform.
However, “Gonna Getcha Good“ belonged to one person: Katherine Barrell. All of her scenes were played to perfection. When Nicole was livid, we shuddered in fear as she viciously took Tucker away. We see her gobsmacked by Waverly; we see those infamous puppy-love eyes she gives Waverly every time they interact. Her integrity and grit as a character helps massively. Barrell’s had many amusing moments over the past season or so, and many more swoon-worthy ones-but this episode showed all sides of her. The good, the bad, and-well, the really rather pretty, but you get our sentiment.
Oh, and thank you to Yorke and the writing team for having the same-sex couple fight about something other than their sexuality. Like any other couples’ fights: work, exasperation, secrets, etc.
We don’t need the Revenant of the Week theme. The world Andras has built has been brashly fun. And it was always run by her deeply complex jigsaws of characters. That’s what made it so addictive; so beautiful. Let’s go home to that. What do you think, Earpers?
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:
- Waverly! In! The! Cheerleading! Outfit!
- And then Nicole’s dumbfounded “wow” was perfectly snort-worthy by Barrell.
- Waverly not quite being sure if it was Nicole’s ‘thing’ and Nicole’s response was perfect: “Uh, baby, that is everybody’s thing.” You are not wrong, Nicole.
- I didn’t even know legs extended that far up…well…
- And then nearly kicking off Wynonna’s head and the roleplay comment—all in one scene. Hands-up. ‘Wynonna Earp’, you win.
- Wynonna, you do not dissuade a demon by shakily telling it “there’s…no place like home!”
- I’ve really loved Nedley this season, but the day Nicole becomes Sheriff is the day I’ll be dancing triumphantly. I’m so glad Nicole got some validation from someone that she’s damn good at her job. Moreover, it is about time Nicole who just wants to help in any way she can-is assured that being a Sheriff one day is just as crucial, because it is the truth. We have our spies but also we have cops and firefighters and paramedics…
- Tim Rozon’s been playing Doc wonderfully this season. First with the sacrifice at the BBD headquarters, and now helping Dolls—for Wynonna. He is the selfless legend of Southern gentleman Doc Holliday we all know and want to believe in 100%.
- Don’t diss the khakis, Nicole. Not everyone can pull them off! (“We said bitterly…”)
- That end scene! That end scene!
The show’s plotholes sometimes though. Where’s Gus? Champ? Random Juan Carlo name-drop. I’d barely recognize him except I think he wears a baseball cap. Wonder who will mysteriously show up this season… LOL
Decent review. Journalism, not ass licking. I enjoyed Haught’s bit but the rest was just fan service. I probably would’ve been harsher. Rosita chick feels random as well.