Check out our preview of Wynonna Earp for some background on the show’s first two episodes.
Purgatory can be a hell of a place. The third episode of Wynonna Earp really brings the fire, and I’m not talking about the smoldering little pits that open up to swallow up unlucky Revenants.
Speaking of those bad guys in serious need of dental insurance, we learn that there’s a bit more to the Revenants territory than we initially thought. They can leave Purgatory as long as they stay within the area called the Ghost River Triangle. (Thanks Waverly!) Three of the Revenants test this out when they attend an unearthing of a hundred-year-old time capsule, and have themselves an impromptu mini-massacre. One of the Revenants, Marty, has been to hell a few too many times, and has come back completely bananapants. He decides to make a snack out of the Mayor as his fellow Revs steal the diary of Shirley Dixon, a mute poet. So why do they need Ms. Dixon’s poetry book so badly? You’ll find out soon enough.
Back at the police station, Waverly has officially joined Dolls, and Wynonna on the case as a Curse Consultant, if you will. She explains that once a Revenant tries to pass the borders of the Ghost River Triangle, it’s curtains for them. She’s been collecting info on the Revenants for years, but that mischievous and possibly super evil Doc Holliday swiped her notes, so she’s kind of back at square one. Damn you Doc and your unwaxed mustache. Wynonna is itching to send a select squad of Revenants to hell. In particular: the seven men who kidnapped and murdered their sister Willa. Melanie Scofano manages to look intimidating and adorable at the time with powdered sugar on her nose.
Officer Haught interrupts the Earps and Dolls to relay a message about some strange activity nearby and shoots Waverly a look that says, “I’ve got an extra ticket to the Tegan and Sara concert with your name on it.” A little flustered, Waverly drops her files and finds herself staring at a century old picture of Doc Holliday. The guy really could have tried to change up his look a little if he didn’t want to be recognized.
Speaking of the devil, while in his trailer reading what I can only assume is a Jane Austen novel (or do you think he’s more of a Bronte man?), he’s greeted by a young woman named Bethany. Bethany was sent by Bobo, who has a job for Doc to tackle. Doc wants his info and money before doing any more favors for Bobo, and after a little crotch grabbing (really Doc?), he and Bethany engage in a little pas de dude ranch.
Wynonna and Dolls go over some footage from a gruesome crime scene where the three renegade Revenants cut off a stranger’s hand. Wynonna recognizes Marty and his twitching as one of the seven who killed Willa. Dolls puts two and two together and realizes these very specific items could be used in a ritual to escape the Triangle. Wynonna storms off to catch her some bad guys before they can wreak havoc on the rest of the world.
Waverly, who now knows Doc is Doc, tries to get the mystery man to fess up but he’s a wily one. He’s looking for info on a woman from back in the day, so Waverly shares her back issues of the local paper. Something spooks Doc and he takes his leave, but not before warning Waverly to not come a knocking on his trailer door.
Wynonna heads to the cemetery to pay respects to her father and Willa, when she comes across Marty digging up a grave like crazy. Hell boy is mumbling about numbers and when Wynonna tries to get him in her gun’s crosshairs, he jets out of there with super-speed. He does leave behind a slip of paper with numbers on it. The grave Marty was digging belonged to the last president of the now defunct bank, so Dolls and Wynonna hop in the Mystery Machine and head to the surplus store where the bank once stood. The Revenants are already inside, and so is bar owner Shorty and Waverly’s beau, Champ.
The Revs take everyone in the store hostage, and Wynonna (without her dang gun!) offers herself up in exchange. Poor Shorty and his bad heart aren’t doing so well, but the Revenants refuse to let him and Champ go, even with Wynonna. Dolls orders Officer Haught to inform Waverly of the situation, and Haught picks up on the fact that Champ is in the store. She sighs the sigh of a million queer girls who are smitten with a girl who already has a boy-man. Great, and now he’s in perilous danger. Oh, Haught, been there, done that. Well, not the perilous danger part.
Bobo Del Rey is pretty menacing. Doc tries to get out from under his thumb, but Bobo has intel that he wants that has to do with the Stone Witch. Ooooh a new player. The Stone Witch is also involved in the three Revenants’ plan to escape the Triangle. Just when things are heating up between the men, Waverly shows up, trying to sneak in to Doc’s trailer. He scares her off with a warning shot.
See, Marty’s not the kind of guy you want at a party and that becomes very clear when he loses it and stabs one of his fellow Revenants in the chest. They pull Wynonna into the mix to try and open the vault, since Marty can’t think straight anymore.
At Shorty’s, Doc rushes in to scare Waverly off his scent. One can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to protect her, or just wants her out of his hair. Disillusioned by the man who was her great great grandfather’s best friend, she runs off crying. Well not before calling him an asshole.
Wynonna uses her mad skills and opens the damn vault, and inside is a locket, the last key needed to perform the ritual. The Revs take Wynonna, Champ and Shorty with them, fleeing the scene. Dolls being Dolls, is hot on their heels. They end up at a ritual spot on the edge of the Triangle boundary, and the most lucid of the Revs, Sam, explains their deal with the Stone Witch. Just then, Wynonna realizes Dolls put a tracking device on her and is on his way. In the chaos of it all, Shorty got stabbed in the gut so putting an end to these Revs is of the utmost importance. Marty loses his cool again, and just as he’s about to stab/eat Champ, Sam shoots him. Sam plans to possess Champ’s body and us it to get across the line, but Wynonna puts herself on the line again. She sends Champ off running, but Shorty stays and jumps in the way of Sam’s spirit, knowing full well he isn’t long for this world.
When evil has a familiar face, it’s a lot harder to just go in guns blazing. Shorty has been a part of Wynonna and Waverly’s lives for a long time. He fights Sam the best he can, but Sam gets the best of him and he and Wynonna start to tussle. Dolls comes upon the scene after watching from a distance, but when he tries to use Wyatt’s gun, it doesn’t work. Dolls, it’s a magic gun, ok. Wynonna takes it from him and shoots both Revenants in the head, but when Sam doesn’t get dragged to hell, it’s obvious that he’s still trapped in Shorty’s body. She tries to find another way, but there isn’t one—she’ll have to shoot Shorty and Sam at the same time. Shorty fights his way back to give Wynonna his blessing and to deliver the terrible news that Willa was tortured for days before she died. With that, a crying Wynonna ends it.
At the bar, remembering Shorty, Haught approaches Waverly to give her condolences, and they share a moment that is quite intimate for two people who have only recently met.
Until Champ comes by and hangs all over like a cheap sweater. Neither Haught nor Waverly is happy about this development. Waverly even reaches out to Haught before Champ deflects their connection. Haught leaves, and Champ may be a few gluten-free sandwiches short of a picnic basket, but he senses enough to not like Haught. Thing is, Waverly sure does.
Waverly escapes Champs kisses to find Wynonna and lament the fact that she wasn’t there and couldn’t help save Shorty. Wynonna wants her sister as far away from danger as possible, so it’s for the best she was busy tangling with Doc. Dolls tries to process the day’s events with Wynonna, and it’s then that she finds out that he stood back and watched while everything unfolded because he had to know if the ritual would work or not. Betrayed and not unlike a sacrificial lamb, Wynonna is more disheartened than ever to be working on this team. Will this affect their palpable sexual chemistry? Probs not.
Wynonna arrives home to find Doc waiting for her. He’s there to deliver a bit of important news. He’s the one, the only Doc Holiday. NOW WHAT?!
Dana Piccoli is a pop culture critic and entertainment writer who lives recently relocated from New York to Greenville, SC. She’s a current writer and former Staff Editor of AfterEllen and covers The 100 for Alloy Entertainment. She’s also written for Curve Magazine, Go Magazine, PopWrapped, and Gaygamer.net. She’s currently writing a lesbian romance novel she’s hoping you will read one day soon. You can follow her on Twitter and Tumblr.
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Published: Apr 20, 2016 12:54 pm