Wynonna Earp - S2E10 - I See a Darkness

Previously on Wynonna Earp, “Forever Mine Nevermind”

Immediately beginning after “Forever Mine Nevermind”, Widow Mercedes invited herself in Nicole’s crib seeking the third seal as her “lord” Clootie told her its under the protection of the law. What soon followed was a violent melee between Not-Mercedes, Nicole and Waverly, with the Widow proving to be more than either one could handle. Ever the hangry demon, the Widow nearly made a snack out of Waves but Haught intervened at the last second and bitten for her troubles.

Poisoned and mere hours away from death, Team Wynonna was willing to risk nearly everything they had to reverse Haught’s condition - yet Waverly went a step further and ultimately jeopardized their chances in eliminating The Widows and their master. By episode’s end, it doesn’t entirely matter as John Callaghan penned another heart-wrenching episode capped by Earp’s most mind blowing cliffhanger yet.

Dani Kind has been fantastic from the second she pierced the dirty snow in stilettos as Mercedes Gardner. Once assuming the beastly role of Widow Number One, Kind took it to a whole other level and has been increasingly unnerving with each appearance. Now that Mercedes’ face is practically melting off in frustration, the Widow is determined to retrieve the third seal by any means, which includes the aforementioned biting, as well as kidnapping and torture of local law enforcement.

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen Greg Lawson saunter through a scene and drop a few pearls of wisdom for Haught or Earp, but in “Darkness” we saw full blown Nedley, doling one-liners and hot takes on the Widow’s mug like she was the one being smacked around. The Sheriff wasn’t the only one taking abuse… Rosita was getting pressed hard by Wynonna, who believes the only good revenant is a dead one. Instead of seeing Bustillos as an exception to the rule - especially after witnessing Robert Svane’s unfortunate turn to the dark side - a demon is a demon is a demon. Knowing Earp will never get her a fair shake, Rosita still volunteered to test Jeremy’s antivenom for Haught’s sake, knowing she and the rest of the group are a far more accepting and inclusive bunch.

Though Wynonna and Doc’s love/hate, will-they-or-won’t-they, rock-over-scissors relationship is familiar to Earpers, the stressors of dealing with Nicole’s request, the incessant Widows and the Heir’s accelerated pregnancy have truly begun to fray nerves and shift personal motivations among the group. I hate to use sports analogies, but it’s the fourth quarter and nothing is going right for the gang. They’re down a few points, lost a key bench player, the shot clock is nearing zero and not a single one of them can find the bucket. Basically, the squad formerly known as Black Badge Division Purgatory Office are the anti-Golden State Warriors: they’re shooting themselves in the foot with lots of selfish individual plays, bad shot calling and costly turnovers.

From the jump it was obvious “Darkness” was going to live up to its title, but no one could have suspected that we’d suffer whiplash by episode’s end from all those twists and turns. Many of them are thanks to Waverly and her severely ill-timed dealings with Widow Beth and the Iron Witch’s twin sister, Gretta (Meghan Heffern and Rachael Ancheril, respectively). It’s easy to sit back and say to ourselves “Oh no baby, what is you doing?” to Waves, but let’s be real… if we were in her shoes, there are few of us who wouldn’t risk it all for the one we love.

It’s bad enough that she struck an accord with Beth-Monster to rid the poison from Nicole in exchange for the ring, but Waverly couldn’t have known how salty Gretta was about the Earps being partly responsible for her sister’s death. Plus the sudden revelation that the concerned doctor at Nicole’s bedside (Clark Backo) was once married to her, and Waverly is all kinds of flustered. It was a tough time for everyone seeing as they were so close to nipping all their troubles in the bud. Unaware of the sacrifices Rosita and Xavier were making for Haught’s recovery, Waves let magic take its course and now no one remembers a goddamn thing about Doc or Wynonna!

How’s that for a massive whopper! So Widow Beth got the third seal from Waves, who asked Gretta to whip up a locating spell to find what she needed, and it only cost Lil’ Earp the haunted trophy from “Gonna Getcha Good” that contains a wish-granting demon. Regrettably, when activating the totem with an incantation in High German, Holliday stormed into Shorty’s and attempted to stop the ceremony, only to be transported back into the well sans immortality. While John Henry’s vanishing act was an accident, Gretta achieved her ultimate revenge and wiped any trace of the Heir from our reality. No prints, no DNA, no poor credit rating… pure goose egg!

Man, we thought Wynonna held a grudge but she could learn a thing or twelve from Gretta. Mess with my family and no one on earth will remember you existed? Hot damn! Oddly enough, the situation doesn’t appear to be catastrophic without Wynonna, which could make next week’s installment all the more interesting in regards to the shift in character dynamics - and their success rate in demon killing - now that their big gun is a no show. Not that they remember her or anything. Sad emoji.

Notes from the Ghost River Dispatch

• Wynonna may be gone (for the moment), but everything the team had gone through the last 1.75 seasons remains as is. Which makes one wonder… who is The Heir in this kinda sorta alternate reality?
• If anyone has created a petition to make Calamity Jane a series regular next year, I’ll sign it.
• “What are you, a witch? A Pokemon?” Nedley made a funny… and it was relevant! Now if only he could appreciate the Nolan Batverse as much as he enjoys Schumacher’s.