Wynonna Earp - S1E11 - Landslide

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Previously on Wynonna Earp, “She Wouldn’t Be Gone”

Wynonna Earp - S1E11 - Landslide | Melanie Scrofano, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Tim Rozon, Shamier Anderson, Michael Eklund, Katherine Barrell, Natascha Girgis | Writers: James Hurst & Ramona Barckert | Director: Peter Stebbings

Well, that escalated quickly.

The honeymoon period between the Earp sisters has come and gone as Willa dives head first into the feud that’s spanned generations. “Landslide” is an apt title for protagonist and villain alike as every lead contends with a major hiccup in their plans. If you enjoy copious amounts of blood, guts, familial strife, and an inordinate amount of automatic weapons fire, then Earp’s eleventh episode was your wonderland.

“You don’t look a miracle in the mouth, Wy. This could heal us all.”

It was expected that Willa’s acclamation with people would be a bit difficult but damn if she wasn’t a little trigger happy. OK, a lot trigger happy. Once Dolls confirmed it was indeed their long lost sister, Wynonna and Waverly had the unenviable duty of explaining why they stopped looking for her.

The newest Earp - played by Natalie Krill - is an odd one to put a bead on. An absolute enigma, Willa was understandably unsure of herself and cautious of these women who took her in so quickly.. However she’s a fast study, picking up gunfighting and the ongoing grudge between her family and the rest of Purgatory. While Wynonna and Gus sort out how to include Willa into their lives, poor Waverly remembers all too well big sister’s cruel ways before her kidnapping.

This tension between the three is thanks to both Melanie Scrofano and Dominique Provost-Chalkley’s knack for crafting uniquely powerful leads with an engaging charisma. In spite of their respective quirks, their sisterly bond has come off as natural development that every fan has adored. So when Willa threw a cog in their well-oiled machine, that old schism between Wynonna and Waverly reemerged. Of course, Wy immediately took to the bottle because of her guilt in accepting her death, rather than keep hope alive. As for Wavs, she appears straight up scared. Apparently Willa was the chief tormentor of the family, poking holes in teddy bears and casually threatening baby sis.

Perhaps it wasn’t in the Earps’ best interest to tell Willa about the “family business” so soon, not when everything is on the line. After a few flashbacks while holding Peacemaker, Willa is more than enthusiastic to assume the responsibilities of the heir. Especially since Wynonna admitted that she never wanted to inherit the curse in the first place.

Even though our reluctant hero revealed her displeasure in taking up the family business, Wynonna hasn’t much else to fall back on. Willa had been trained by their daddy and has the mental fortitude to become a worthy heir, but this show isn’t named after her, is it? Still, the doubt Earp had in the earliest episodes has resurfaced. It must be bad if a typically stoic, highly regimented man like Dolls can recognize Wynonna is off her game. That’s bad news for everyone.

Turbulent sibling relations aside, the most pressing concern for Wynonna and the gang is Willa’s hot-and-cold attitude: compassionate and sisterly one minute, ready to tear off heads the next. After years of being Lou’s prisoner and suddenly discovering her tie to the Earp curse, Willa has no other concern but how soon she can put a hole in the head of every revenant within the Ghost Triangle. And we thought Wynonna was erratic and impulsive! The revhead Willa bumped off in public sort of deserved it (he’s a bad guy, after all), but the girl is becoming a loose cannon after more and more of her memories come back to her.

Don’t forget about that one nugget Willa mentioned: Ward Earp allowed The Seven inside the Homestead? Say whaaa? So did Waverly bury the talisman at Bobo’s insistence because Ward allowed it? All this new info is confounding to the point of bewilderment! If there’s one thing Earpers seem to love, it’s an elaborate web of intrigue!

“Sad Bobo is my least favorite Bobo.”

Never let anyone tell you being the bad guy is a blast. You would think Del Ray would be at the top of the world after the last couple of episodes. The Stone Witch is out of the picture, he bought Shorty’s from under Wynonna’s nose and his chief rival Lou is turning into an extra crispy demon down under.

Why so serious, Roberto?

He remains stuck in Purgatory, for one. Now it appears Cryderman (David LeReaney) is pulling his strings to gain a few hundred thousand more in his personal account. Thanks to the annual “Poker Extravaganza”, Cryderman has Del Ray employ the use of twin vampires (Karissa and Katie Strain) to take the money and run. Not without getting a small bite before leaving. By the way, it’s damn near a certainty every male who watches Earp doubled over in phantom pain after viewing that scene.

Sadly the twins weren’t long in this world but one of them let loose to Dolls that the judge and Bobo were in cahoots. Before either one could do anything with this news, a hit squad ambushed the gang at the Homestead and boy oh boy, did they give them a fight. Wynonna and Xavier didn’t need their flames to be stoked any further, but knowing both men have it in for them gives the agent and his deputy greater motivation to put Cryderman and Del Ray down for good.

“In my experience, driftin’ is another word for runnin’.”

While the Earps are raising holy hell and Bobo’s babes are channeling their inner Lorena Bobbitt, Doc is in need of roadside service and received assistance from an extremely peculiar Good Samaritan (Shaun Johnston). While talking trash about iPhones and Netflix, this Samaritan starts dropping hints about Doc’s life and the struggle within he’s presently fighting. This being who currently dubs himself ‘Juan Carlo’ claims he isn’t an agent for either side, he just is. Cue Twilight Zone theme! JC kept up with the ambiguity in announcing that “she” will be in danger in four days, when a portal along the Ghost River Triangle will open at Winter Solstice. That “she” of course being Wynonna. Whether she survives or not apparently depends on Doc’s presence during Earp’s darkest hour.

Of course, leave it to ol’ bushyface to continue on a path to nowhere in his stylish heap. Maybe he was skidding across the icy road back to the Homestead, but we won’t know anytime soon since he was bushwhacked by an unknown assailant. That Juan Carlo sure can’t take no for an answer. Unless it was someone else. Again. Boy, these twists and turns, I swear…

With the Homestead shot to hell, rapport among the Earps tense at best and someone gunning for Dolls, everything appears to be falling apart at the worst possible time. Speaking of, the countdown has begun for Bobo to enact his final play against the family in “House of Memories”, Friday at 10/9c on Syfy!