Sound the wedding bells. Or maybe the warning bells would be more appropriate because between the off focused camera and everyone taking the ‘black’ in ‘black-tie’ event far too literally, its instantly clear this ceremony is anything but the happy nuptials Nicole’s and Waverly’s actual wedding will be. The dream/nightmare cuts from Wynonna blowing cigar smoke in Nicole’s face to Nicole waking to a smoke-filled house. Waverly, sleeping next to her, isn’t waking so she hoists her on her shoulders to escape the burning house.
In the barn Doc’s pulling an Edward, watching Wynonna sleep. She pulls a gun on him when she wakes but only until she realizes it just him. Things between are about to get hot for non-flame related reasons when Wynonna smells smoke.
Rachel managed to put out the flames, but they lost a couch (a lot of porn). There are a few terrifying seconds where Waverly remains unconscious but Wynonna Earp isn’t burying its gays anytime soon, or ever. As the team watches the sunrise and waits for the house to de-smoke, there’s some humorous finger-pointing as they try to figure out how the fire started. Couldn’t have been Rachel’s cooking, the fire started in the living room. The fire couldn’t have been caused by Waverly or Nicole either.
They already have their number one suspect, the Clantons, but the real question here is how. There’s no trace of anyone else being on the homestead so the fire must have been started by supernatural means. The Reaper definitely confirms the Clantons have supernatural assets but doesn’t explain how the fire started.
Wynonna and Doc head to the Glory Hole. If anyone would know who or what started their fire, the ‘biggest dong’ would. Amon is happy to see to Wynonna Earp in his club, even if she did shoot a crossbow at him. Wynonna name drops the Clantons which has Amon shushing her. They aren’t a welcome bunch in his books and if they’re making a move against the Earps, he thinks it’s time they make their own moves. Slight issue, if the Clantons are supernatural Wynonna’s still short her supernatural killing gun. Amon just so happens to know where she can find it.
At the Sheriff’s office, Jeremy is heading up their reacquisition of the offices, much to Cleo’s chagrin. Holt’s just watching, quiet and reserved. Cleo’s livid that they’re losing ground in Purgatory but Holt’s more scared of Mam than he is of losing power.
Waverly and Nicole come bearing house warming gifts, excited hugs (from Waverly) and passive-aggressive remarks (from Nicole). Jeremy and Nicole’s reunion is less than heart-warming. Jeremy couldn’t be there for Nicole because he’d had to tiptoe his way around the new BBD.
Back at the Glory Hole, Amon hears a lot of things from the lips of drunk demons. Some of those lips mentioned a place where lost and forgotten things end up, but the people there will need an offering before they give Peacemaker over. Amon writes down just what they’ll need for such an offering and sends them on their way.
At the newly reinstated BBD offices, we have a full team reunion (almost, Jeremy is still cagey about Robin, not saying more than he’s safe) and Wynonna and Doc share their lead on Peacemaker. There’s a healthy amount of suspicion about a demon wanting to help find a demon-killing gun(sword), but it won’t be the first time they’ve trusted a demon. The backfire rate has been mixed, sure, but they don’t have any other leads at the moment. While this discussion happens there’s a moment when Nicole’s eyes grow distant and she holds a drill up towards the others like she’s imagining what it would be like if it went through their heads. But then Wynonna snarks in her direction and she snaps back, no one noticing the moment. Meanwhile, Rachel is staking out the Clantons’ place, Magpie Ranch. When Nicole tries to check-in, she lies about where she is.
Following Amon’s lead, Wynonna and Doc check out the Ghost River Triangle Museum, because apparently the GRT has always had a museum. Doc comes across an old film that captures his attention, it’s an interview of Wyatt Earp.
Jeremy’s and Nicole’s tensions come to a boil again, Jeremy stressing he couldn’t reach out even though he wanted to. They were all left out in the cold after the others vanished into the garden and dealt with it in their own ways. Nicole starts throwing up and has a flashback to asking Mam for help. We don’t hear what she promises, but from Nicole’s reaction, it’s nothing good. She tried to tell Waverly what she did, but a frog has her tongue. Literally. She starts throwing up frogs.
At the museum, Wyatt tells the story of when he met Doc. He saved Wyatt from a man who pulled a gun on his back. Doc never learned the name of the man he killed. ‘Any man that would shoot another man in the back does not deserve to be known’ in his own words. When the interviewer asks about the O.K. Corral, Wyatt says Doc took the first shot which is not the version of events Doc remembers. Wynonna tries to reason that Wyatt in his old age was just misremembering. Doc still looks hurt to hear Wyatt refer to him as a loose cannon. Wynonna wonders what her great-great-grandfather would think if he could see her. Would he be proud? Doc’s of the opinion if anyone shouldn’t be proud, it would be Wynonna. Before they get too lost down memory lane, he returns their attention to the task at hand.
Back to keeping up with the Clantons, Mam comes home, giving a speech about how she dreads one of her children inheriting the Clanton charm after she’s gone. The drive behind her enacting her plan now is to prevent leaving their family legacy and the demise of the Earps in the hands of her kids. Her plan will not only destroy the Earps, they’ll destroy one another.
At Shorty’s Nicole rushes in, grabbing some tequila to wash down the taste of frogs. Nedley does a double-take at the word frogs and Waverly fills him in on the ‘can’t say what she did or she pukes amphibians’ thing. Nicole tries writing, but can only doodle tadpoles. If she can’t get the words out because of the spell on her, they’ll need to find a cure.
At the museum, they’ve found what they needed, a piece of modern art called, “A Woman Scorned.” Wynonna’s planning a heist to make Debby Ocean proud but Doc picks it up and they just waltz out. Outside, they spot a Celtic sisters knot. Bells start ringing and when they stop, Wynonna’s vanished with the painting.
A nun welcomes her to the sanctuary of the scorned woman and knows her name. She explains the women there are cleansed from the judgments they place on themselves. Wynonna’s not drinking the Kool-Aid and just wants to trade for her gun. The nun reveals the true painting is a landscape with a woman in it. Mother Superior wants the woman, not the painting. Still, she lets Wynonna try to take Peacemaker. Peacemaker doesn’t appear to her even as she begs it too. The nun suggests the gun-sword has fulfilled its duty and won’t respond. She suggests that Wynonna try to live a peaceful life. Wynonna scoffs; even if she could, even if she didn’t have monsters banging at her doors, why would she want normal?
Back at the Glory Hole, Doc accuses Amon of setting a trap for Wynonna. He swears he has no sides in this and just wants to see the other side of the war. Doc knows there’s no way to remain neutral in their coming battle. Spying Holt across the bar, Doc goes over to introduce himself. They have a discussion over who’s right or wrong in this and who has the right to even decide that. History paints the Clantons in one light, but Holt has heard his own stories. Holt doesn’t see this as a war, he just sees a town with women ready to use them as weapons aimed at each other.
At the homestead, Waverly has Nicole well-taken care off, spewing frog issue aside. They take another crack at the engagement conversation but don’t get far into before Jeremy comes in with possible cures. Option A might turn Nicole into a demon dog, option B involves being drowned so option c, a soup, with its chance of turning her intestines into snakes, is the winner.
When Nicole goes outside to throw up again, Waverly tries calling Rachel. The littlest of the Earp squad has moved from surveillance to trespassing onto the Clanton ranch. She calls Billy’s phone, hearing it ring in the distance. She follows it to the source and finds the phone but no Billy. Unfortunately (or probably fortunately in this case), she doesn’t know a reaper-ifed Billy is right next to her, invisible to her eyes because she isn’t marked.
Wynonna, back at the homestead, sits down for a beer with Nicole, apologizing for her getting caught in the middle of their fight. For Nicole, no amount of demons or biblical plagues would make her want to leave. Wynonna questions if that’s the case, why haven’t they gotten married already. She admits she’s scared Waverly won’t want to marry her when he learns what she did. Wynonna doesn’t care what she did because she never gave up on them while they were in the garden. Nicole admits she did and Wynonna pieces that the horrible thing she did is probably linked to her trying to get them out. Nicole turns green so she drops the question altogether.
To distract from the frogging, Wynonna tells her about Peacemaker’s rejection and how the only way to get it back is to find the place in the painting. Nicole knows where it is, having recused two naked guys named Steve from it.
Doc returns home just as Nicole starts gagging again. She goes inside to check on the cure, but by the time she’s in the kitchen, her eyes are in that trance-like state again. She picks the pot with her cure and tosses it into the sink. She apologises in a hollow voice, even as she opens the knife drawer.
Doc and Wynonna are discussing Peacemaker and Wyatt when Nicole interrupts by throwing a knife at Wynonna’s head. Doc and Wynonna try to restrain her. There’s an amusing moment when Waverly walks in and doesn’t quite believe at first that Nicole initiated the fight. Wynonna knocks her back to her senses and they all start to realize something very wrong is happening.
Doc finds the clothes Nicole was wearing the previous night, smelling gasoline on them. Nicole’s horrified when she realizes she started the fire and attacked Wynonna. Wynonna’s ready to break down the Clantons’ door but the others convince her to get Peacemaker first.
Waverly ties up Nicole (not for the first time) but is reluctant to do it too tight. Nicole suggests handcuffs, but when Waverly goes for them, she gives Jeremy a look that he doesn’t like. With the same handcuffs meant for her, Nicole cuffs Waverly to the bed, she and Jeremy both apologising as they leave. They go to Shorty’s where Nicole apologises to Nedley for not realizing he was the monster and for giving up. She feels like she failed everyone but now she has a way to change that. Nedley’s ready to help, whatever she needs. She needs him to kill her. Wait. What was that?
Doc and Wynonna head to Steven Gulch to find their woman scorned. The woman in question? Rosita. Yes, season two tried to steal Alice, Doc’s ex-girlfriend Rosita.
Waverly walks into Shorty’s to find Jeremy holding Nicole down in a tub of water and Nedly chanting in a wolf hat. Then, Nicole stops struggling. Her eyes open, but not seeing.
Review
‘I know how this looks, but I’m asking you to trust us.’ Those were Jeremy’s words to Waverly, but they were also Wynonna Earp’s words to its audience. After four seasons I do. They’ve earned that trust. They’ve been earning it since they shot their lesbian but she was in a bulletproof vest. They continued earning it the past four season by having their queer characters be integral parts of the story. By giving them full, compelling arcs both in and out of their romantic lives. Wynonna Earp can ask for our trust because they’ve shown they deserve it. I’m not worried about Nicole. She’s 100% going to pull a Sara Lance.
The real thing I’m worried about is the deal Nicole made with Mam. There’s only one thing Nicole could do that make Waverly reconsider wanting to marry her and that would be if she agreed to hurt/kill someone they cared about. Did Nicole even know who she agreed to target when she made that deal? Did Mam ask her to kill their enemies and Nicole agreed not knowing Clantons’ sworn enemies were the Earps? Or the even more horrifying thought, did Nicole know who it was and rationalized that having Waverly back even if she hated her was better than no Waverly at all?
Speaking of Mam, her parallels and contrasts to Wynonna continue to mount. Her plan stemmed from her not wanting her kids to become the heir. But at the same time, she’s not killing the Earps so her kids won’t have to. She’s doing it because she thinks they won’t be able to do so and doesn’t want to leave that up to chance. That’s day and night from Wynonna, who ended her curse so her family wouldn’t have to hurt anymore. So she and Waverly could start living from themselves. So Alice would never have to spend a day looking over her shoulder wondering if anyone in the crowd was a revenant.
Holt’s line about ‘women who’d have [them] both fight to the death’ to Doc was an interesting one. It shone some light on what he feels his place is. Nothing more than Mam’s tool, to be unleashed when and where she says. He sees Doc as the same. Tragically enough, it seems so did Wyatt, who Doc considered a true friend. But if one thing is true, that’s not how Wynonna sees him. She knows Doc will fight with her, not for her. That’s the difference between the Clantons and the Earps.
There’s a lot of talk of destiny and fate this episode. From the Clantons and Earps both. ‘Destiny is that which we’re drawn toward. And fate is that which we run into it.’ As Wyatt says it.
For once, it’s not Wynonna who’s questioning it. She’s made her peace, ironically, with not making peace. She says she doesn’t want a normal life. After facing the monsters, you can’t go back to a ‘normal’. And like she says, ‘why would you want to?’ She wants a life that’s hers. If there are monsters to come after her, let it be because she pissed them off. Not because her great great grandfather did. Not because of a gunfight that lasted less than a minute yet caused generations of hate to fester.
She’s already ended her curse and parted with Peacemaker, her symbolic tie to that curse. Right now she wants Peacemaker back because it’s the only weapon they know that puts down the things that go bump in the night. Maybe she’ll get it back, maybe she won’t. But regardless if she does or not, she’ll be fighting for herself and for her family that’s with her not a legacy she never asked to uphold.
Best of Earpisms
- ‘That’s what they used to call me last boyfriend…Inappropriate.’ ‘Because he died or because he’s Waverly’s angel dad?’ ‘…Yes’ – Did Nicole give Rachel three seasons of recaps?
- Wynonna’s failure to understand (or lack of a want to understand) how sex between two women works remains hilarious.
- Even Jeremy calls interrupting Waverly and Nicole ‘pulling a Wynonna’.
- ‘Have you tried chicken soup and a One Day at a Time Marathon?’ – the A+ references continue.
- A small detail from the last scene, Waverly still has the cuffs and piece the broken bedframe attached to her hand.
Images courtesy of Syfy
