Dominique Provost-Chalkley and Melanie Scrofano—every single scene they had together in this episode was gold. The final scene will stay with me for a long time.
Wynonna decking Lucado for putting her baby girl at risk.
The revelation that Waverly's been resisting the demon so strongly. It begs the question: what happens if Wynonna is not as strong as Waverly? Will it consume her?
THAT CLIFFHANGER!
Waverly's safe word. I can't. Also, Waverly SINGING THAT SONG. Just. WAVERLY.
Dani Kind's excellent, but that's about it for Beth, Tucker and Mercedes. I just can't get into their set-up as the obvious big-bad trio.
Tucker in particular is flat: his threats, his dialogue, and his acting. He lacks the bad-guy panache of Bobo del Rey where you just hate him but you love Eklund's portrayal of it. It's dynamic from every pore.
“Wynonna Earp” says “she ain’t right” but this episode is definitely right as we bolt into television hyperspace with this screamer of an episode. Wow.
‘Wynonna Earp’ has been blatantly telling us for some time: there’s something wrong with Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley). It’s this episode that has Nicole (Katherine Barrell), Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) and eventually Dolls (Shamier Anderson) tuned into that. ‘She ain’t right’ sure shows just how ain’t right Waverly is, and it kicks off with a blast. Demon!Waverly slow-motion walks across the homestead in just her night-gown, when it’s obviously freezing. She finds Dolls’ name-tag and wields a knife-until Wynonna finds her and hastily wraps her up in her coat. Confused, an emotional Waverly shoves her newfound toys into Wynonna’s pockets as they hurry inside.
Eager to please, a feisty Waverly volunteers for Agent Lucado’s (Kate Drummond) shady mission. It’s her imperative to retrieve a briefcase that’s in the possession of a demonic dastardly duo. Meanwhile, Wynonna finally concedes: she goes to Nicole for help. And she finds out what Waverly’s been concealing. A knife and Dolls’ tags.
The strange duo of Mercedes (Dani Kind) and Tucker just gets even weirder when it’s revealed they’re some sort of incestuous Addams family—and they’re spelling out trouble.
RELATED l ‘Wynonna Earp’ [2×03] “Gonna Getcha Good” Review
As Doc (Tim Rozon) and Rosita (Tamara Duante) team up with Jeremy (Varun Saranga) to save Dolls, Wynonna and Waverly are captured. It’s a race against time as Wynonna throws out all sorts of possible combinations (she really doesn’t know) to unlock the briefcase otherwise Waverly loses her hand. And ultimately, she does.
Except…she doesn’t.
Episode four finally reveals to everyone what we’ve all known. Waverly quietly confesses to Wynonna that she touched the demonic goo in the season one finale and it’s killing her inside. And there are two shockers lying in wait for us. Firstly, Dolls is some sort of fire-breathing dragon (it’s an upgrade from gecko-lizard which we’d guessed…). Secondly, Waverly’s too strong for the demon inside her. And because ‘Wynonna Earp’ likes kicking us in the teeth, the demon knocks Waverly out—and inserts herself into Wynonna instead. Wynonna, who now can’t touch Peacemaker.
Who wants to start? We’re not sure how to start.
…Let’s try!
Okay, so Dominique Provost-Chalkley just stole the goddamn episode.
Did we just fall for Dominique Provost-Chalkley’s Waverly all over again?
Yes. We did, and it felt so good.
Enraptured by her sultry singing voice, that was only one component of Provost-Chalkey’s insatiably addictive performance as Waverly. A rule of thumb for writers: when your actress has a voice like that, show it off! And ‘Wynonna Earp’ did exactly that.
The exhaustion depicted by Provost-Chalkley is just so heartbreaking. Moreover, in the middle of an episode where there are massive plot twists and shockers, we hope nobody forgets the talk between Wynonna and Waverly as they are tied up and left alone. Waverly nearly breaking down in the beginning scene, and then finally revealing all to Wynonna was perfectly done by Provost-Chalkley. Somehow, she broke hearts internationally just by uttering “I wanted to be more like Wynonna for once“.
We can’t quite believe we’re saying this, but Provost-Chalkley has simply elevated herself from last season. And it’s a darn near impossible job considering she was our scene-stealer by miles, but she does it again.
Undoubtedly, she’s been the shining light in this dazzling season. Everyone has upped their game. But Provost-Chalkley owned this episode by far. It felt as if she just couldn’t put a foot wrong. And she didn’t. Bravo, Ms. Provost-Chalkley: bravo.
‘Wynonna Earp’ needed sheer talent to sink their teeth into by far their juiciest plot arc. Dominique Provost-Chalkley is exactly that…and far, far more.
Dolls is finally back—and he’s as fiery (literally) as they come.
Shamier Anderson’s Dolls is so often overlooked when it comes to performances. But he’s captured our hearts over the past couple of episodes. As he struggled with his (in)humanity, he called out for one person and one person only: Wynonna. So what will he do when he figures out that Wynonna Earp is now possessed by a demon and can no longer hold Peacemaker?
Anderson’s depiction of a seizing Dolls and his severe withdrawal symptoms from his lack of medication was perfect. So often, Dolls was sent in to save the day in season one. Now it’s everyone else’s turn to save him when he’s at his weakest. Now Wynonna’s in trouble and Dolls is back—is it time for Dolls to kick some royal ass?
Finally, Dolls’ hysterical laughter when he realised he could burn a man to crisp was hilarious. You wouldn’t think that half-consciously, breathing fire to an extent George R.R. Martin would be impressed with would be funny, but what this episode did with Dolls was excellent. It was sheer relief that swept across our souls as Dolls returned to us, and hilarity too. But there was also a sense of real gratitude and integrity when he shook Doc’s hand and thanked him.
The men may have been at odds in the beginning, but after their demon-busting finale and the way Doc looked after him, sacrificed his life to save him, we’re eager to see how Doc and Dolls further their relationship. Especially when Wynonna’s in such deep trouble.
With Waverly back to her true self, the role-reversal is obvious. Wynonna saved Purgatory in season one. It’s about time Purgatory and everyone in it saved her.
Demons are all around us…and ‘Wynonna Earp’ just lifted from procedural into ‘holy balls’ territory.
It speaks volumes about Waverly’s character that when the demon possesses it just can’t get through to her. Waverly’s always been strong. Forever the brains of the operation, she is constantly dismissed when it comes to physicality.
The heartbreak wide in Scrofano’s devastated eyes when she points Peacemaker at her sister—another sister to be put down by herself—is so powerful it reaches out directly to us.
We can’t do it. It’s too much; it hurts too much. That’s how good Scrofano is in that scene. Unbelievable.
Wynonna’s conflicted soul in prying the demon from her sister but potentially killing her destroys her internally. And as the demon advances on Wynonna, she confesses Waverly’s been impossible to break. She’s been resisting the demon for as long and as much as she can. But in Wynonna, she senses weakness. And she pounces on it.
Waverly (as the demon): “You’d be so easy…”
What is this demon? Who is this demon? Is it leftover from Willa (Natalie Krill) somehow? Or is it something else entirely? Is it related to Mercedes’ creepy family? Whatever it is, it enters Wynonna’s body and we’re rooted to our seats as Wynonna drops Peacemaker. She’s the full embodiment of the demon—she can’t even hold Peacemaker. Her Peacemaker.
And we wonder—just what kind of trouble is she going to cause in Purgatory if the heir of Wyatt Earp is now a demon? Andras & co have thrown us in the deep end—and we’re drowning. Pleasurably. If you could ‘drown pleasurably’.
FINAL VERDICT: ‘Wynonna Earp’ kicked off with a killer premiere episode, but somehow, somehow, it topped itself in episode four.
‘She Ain’t Right’ marked a new chapter for the second season of ‘Wynonna Earp’. Gone was the pure procedural element we found weakened the first season so much, and a chunk of the first three episodes in this season. Ushered in was the continuation of some heavy story arcs and expansion on excellent characterisation. That has to be credited to fellow writers and co-producers too, such as Emily Andras, Brendon Yorke and Alexandra Zarowny.
We know what works for ‘Wynonna Earp’ for us. Though there may always be a ‘Revenant of the week’ element to the story, ‘Wynonna Earp’ was built on a steady foundation. Its world-building has been great; its characterisation of everyone has been phenomenal. There’s still the mysterious Juan Carlo to crack. There are so many potential questions out there that can be answered without your typical ‘villain of the week’ format.
The fact that Barckert’s episode has shot right up there with Andras’ slick premiere just proves to us that ‘Wynonna Earp’ already has a winning formula. The show just needs to exploit it more. And we suspect it will, rather gleefully. Ron Murphy’s direction was spot-on (his ‘Wynonna Earp’ credits include ‘Two-Faced Jack’, which was beautifully done). ‘Wynonna Earp’ has bagged a dream-team. And they’re utilising them wonderfully.
We’re already begging for the fifth episode. It’s safe to say we need this show just like Dolls needs his juice.
We just can’t breathe fire, unfortunately…
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS:
- I can’t believe Dolls just breathed fire. He was legit a dragon. Dolls is a dragon.
- I can’t believe the demon is now in Wynonna! Seriously! This show!
- Does this mean Waverly would be the one to handle Peacemaker now? Willa’s gone (well, she must be, right?) and Wynonna can’t touch it…
- Standing ovation for Ramona Barckert—writing two of possibly the best ‘Wynonna Earp’ episodes can’t be easy. Let’s hope she features more as part of the writing team this season.
- “Now…what…are we going to do…with you?” Nothing, you horrible demon! Get—away—from—Waverly!
- What if this all leads to everyone versus Wynonna!Demon for a finale showdown? I think I might have a myocardial infarction, but it’d be worth it.
- “You short circuiting, BB-8?”
- Please can we get more scenes between Jeremy and Rosita? Please? It was hysterical!
- I’m pretty sure everyone needs to send Dominique Provost-Chalkley their hearts after that musical number, because if she didn’t pry yours from your hands, rewatch that scene. I think Ms. Provost-Chalkley’s agent would be somewhat bemused by the sudden vital-organ mass-fanmail, but that’s what agents are for, right?
- Mind you, was that an original song for Waverly? Or is that my narrow knowledge of music? Provost-Chalkley killed it.
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