The opening of this episode takes us back a bit, to moments before Waverly barged into Shorty’s. Nicole’s getting ready for the ritual that will save her by killing her. Jeremy’s wiring her up so they can monitor her vitals and Nedley is on spell chanting duty. The spell is simple enough: drown Nicole, her consciousness transfers into a frog, they run down a timer, and kick start her heart again. Your usual hex breaking affair.
Unfortunately, Waverly walks in as Nicole’s survival instincts are kicking in and Jeremy has to hold her under the water. Understandably, Waverly’s a lot upset, but Jeremy explains Nicole is in the frog and that’s a good thing. The frog gives some encouraging croaks so things do seem on track.
At Magpie Ranch, Margo notices her own frog in a jar has almost croaked and realizes what they’re up to. She sends Reaper Billy after Waverly. Rachel is hiding nearby. She can’t see Billy, but she does see Margo drip blood onto a picture of Waverly and call her name. As she’s trying to sneak off the ranch, Holt catches her and takes her to the sheriff’s office.
Meanwhile, Wynonna and Doc are catching up with Rosita. While the final showdown with Bulshar was going down, Rosita had her own fight with another revenant, ‘Creepy Phil’, because she slept with his wife. She’d retreated to the rock outcropping she’s on because it hurt revenants. When Bulshar was defeated and the earthquake hit all the revenants vanished, including Phil when she pushed him off the rocks. She figured the rocks were keeping her safe and remained there ever since. Needing her to get Peacemaker back, Wynonna and Doc set to getting more of the rocks so she can step off her island of isolation.
Back at Shorty’s the timer runs down, but the group has a bit of a quandary about how to bring Nicole back. Before they can get into a debate the doors crash open. Jeremy and Nedley think it’s the wind, but Waverly finds a rock in her pocket and can see Billy. In the chaos, frog Nicole gets out and gets mixed up with the other frogs. Nicole astral projects out of the frog to knock Billy into the basement. Waverly uses the moment to lock him in there.
Back with Wynonna, once she and Doc have laid out a path, the Celtic symbol of sisterhood appears. Doc opts out of visiting a convent filled with a bunch of scorned women, but after Rosita and Wynonna vanish through the portal he gets a call from Holt about Rachel. At the convent, Mother Superior wants Wynonna and Rosita to fight to the death. Wynonna’s not having it, but Rosita doesn’t hesitate. They tear into each other, but when Mother Superior reveals herself to be a demon nun, they realize their safety isn’t assured even if they win. They call a truce, distracting the nuns with the promise of shirtless Hemsworths and a Xena reboot. They take cover in the weapons room, searching for Peacemaker with the nuns battering down the door.
Back at Shorty’s, they’ve gathered all the frogs but haven’t realized Nicole’s spirit isn’t in one anymore. Waverly tries the old princess kisses the frog trick, much to ghost Nicole’s disgust. Nicole tries affecting things in the environment, discovering that she can made the lights flicker. She uses Morse code to communicate, asking them to go into the basement with Billy.
With Nedley as her backup, Waverly heads down there. Nicole-possessed-Billy explains she made the deal because she was desperate after 18 months and didn’t know who the Clantons where. Billy divulges that they can’t break the pact unless both parties are dead. With Nicole on ice, that means Margo is the only one left alive, but not for much longer if Waverly has something to say about it.
Nedley’s worried what could happen to Waverly and not just from marching into the enemy’s home. Holt being the sheriff means there’s no one around to protect Waverly if she commits murder in broad daylight. But nothing’s going to stop her now. She grabs the shotgun and heads out with vengeance in her eyes.
Doc, meanwhile, collects Rachel when Holt asks for a word. He wants to end the fighting and proposes a truce. He just wants to be a good sheriff and ask someone out without worrying about his enemies breathing down his neck. If Holiday promises to speak with the Earps, he’ll speak with his mother. They shake on it. Outside Rachel isn’t so sure this feud will end because two people want it too. She tells Doc she suspects the Clantons killed Billy and that Waverly is in trouble.
In the monastery, there’s no luck finding Peacemaker, so Wynonna gears up to use next best thing, the largest axe she can lift. Rosita questions why Wynonna needs Peacemaker if the curse is done. She needs it as long as their enemies are coming after them. She’s not done fighting. If being a hero means blood on her hands, then that’s just want needs to be done.
A sword bursts into flames and Wynonna opens her hand. Peacemaker returns to her, transforming into the familiar Colt pistol when it’s in her hand again. The nuns break down the door, the head nun taunting that weapons can’t hurt them. Wynonna smirks as she shoots it between the eyes.
The other nuns put down their weapons and thank Wynonna for freeing them. They offer themselves in service to Wynonna, but she’s the last person they should be listening too. She tells them to leave, but they can’t leave the sanctuary. Rosita recognises some of the women, others who were put down by Wyatt and became revenants. They may not be able to leave, but with Mother Superior gone this place isn’t a prison anymore. It could be their safe haven. Wynonna and Rosita say goodbye on good terms, although they’re not at the hugging stage yet. Before she leaves, Rosita reveals why she tried to take Alice: Margo was the buyer and had promised her safety.
Wynonna returns to Shorty’s, getting the info on Waverly being marked and on her way to the Clantons. At Magpie Ranch Waverly confronts Mam. She reveals what Nicole traded to get them out of the garden: Doc Holiday. Doc was there at the O.K. Corral, he killed her ancestors and for that she plans to make him suffer.
Waverly doesn’t care about the people who died at the O.K. Corral. She cares about her girlfriend and would rather die than lose her. When Mam threats to reap Nicole, Waverly puts her hands on Mam, using her angel powers. Blood leaks from Mam’s eyes and mouth and she falls to the floor dead. Nicole wakes at Shorty’s alive and well enough to make frog puns with Jeremy.
In the aftermath of the fight, Waverly’s shaken that she killed Margo. Wynonna pulls up with the news that Nicole’s okay. The sisters get a few seconds to be happy before Holt comes towards them, his weapon aimed. He found his mother, murdered—any chance for peace is gone from his mind. Wynonna pushes Waverly behind her, aiming peacemaker when Doc shows up, trying to talk down both sides. Wynonna and Waverly are surprised to learn he made a deal with Holt.
Holt looks more broken than vengeful, this feud finally taking too much from him. Doc gets him to lower his gun and offers a drink. When he turns, a bullet hits his back—Wynonna’s bullet. Holt falls to the ground, dead. In Doc’s eyes there’s nothing but shock and horror.
Later at the Homestead, its clear there’s already distance between Wynonna and Doc before they’ve even said two words to each other. That distance seems to grow unsurmountable as they talk. In Doc’s mind, shooting a man in the back is the lowest thing a person can do. Wynonna can’t be damned about being honourable when her very survival has been tooth and nail. Wynonna finally puts her feelings out there, but it’s too little too late. Doc’s been changed by recent events. The video with Wyatt had him looking at the past in a different light. He doesn’t want to be the man Wyatt saw him as, even if that’s the man Wynonna wants. Doc then explains what happened at the O.K. Corral: Wyatt was the one who shot first, but he ran. Doc was left to clean up after him. Wynonna promises to never run but that’s not enough to fix this.
Waverly opens the door, asking that they come in. Doc tries to politely refuse, but Waverly’s intent in having them all there. There are shots all around, minus Rachel (cause of her age) and Nicole (because of her fighting off hypothermia). Waverly senses the tension between Doc and Wynonna, but her sister brushes it off.
Jeremy just comes out and asks what everyone in the room and everyone watching has been wondering for far too long. Why aren’t Nicole and Waverly engaged yet? The others are mortified for them, but they both nervously admit they had something planned. Nicole starts, but with the happiest tears in her eyes Waverly gently irrupts, getting to one knee. Waverly shares a smile with her sister. Then she asks the love of her life to marry her.
Of course Nicole says yes. ‘Finally’ as Nedley rightfully says. Their friends celebrate as they seal the moment with a kiss. There may always be a new monster to fight. One may come knocking down their door tomorrow. It’s not perfect, but today, right then and there, they’re safe and happy.
Review
So concludes the first half of season four. Thankful, we know the second half won’t take as long as the first to grace our screens. Until then, these six episodes have left us with much to discuss. The moment from this episode most worthy of discussion is perhaps Wynonna’s decision to kill Holt. There wasn’t triumph in his death. In the end, he was tired and had his family curse take too much from him. And maybe Wynonna was right, maybe he wouldn’t have stopped. She did what she’s always done. Protect her friends family in the way she saw best. Sometimes that involved knocking them out with drugs. This time it was shooting a man in the back. It’s messy and a little heart-breaking, but that’s Wynonna Earp.
She did what she thought was best and now she has to live with the consequences of it. This choice cost her her relationship with Doc. It’s hard to say if they’ll be able to find their way back to each other or if this truly marked the end from them. Only time will tell.
What I can say is Doc has changed. Wyatt’s video pushed him to re-examine his past and there are things he no longer wants to hold onto. He’s been in this fight a long time and he’s ready to let go. To heal. To not be so broken. It’s clear he wants Wynonna, and more than the way they’ve just been dancing around each other. Something more stable that than.
So it’s tragic that Wynonna is at a completely different place. More than ever she doesn’t want out of the fight. She said it last time and here again when she called to Peacemaker. ‘Our enemies won’t stop coming just because we want them too. And I know you want what I want, to keep kicking evil ass.’ As she said, she’s the hero of the story. As long as the monsters keep knocking, she’ll answer that call.
But there’s another relationship we have to talk about, and wonderfully there’s not a bit of tragedy to discuss here. Wayhaught are finally, finally, officially engaged. It only took 18 months, six episodes and one of them having to literally die before they made it official. Side note, welcome to the revived queer club Nicole, you’ll be in great company.
Since their first meeting in Shorty’s Waverly and Nicole’s relationship has been a delight in so many ways. It’s rare in media to find a romantic relationship between two women that isn’t plagued with a ticking time bomb hanging over them. Will this next episode be their last? Will one of them die? Will they break up for the sake of drama? Will they be unceremoniously writing off? It all happened before. Too many times. Yet, that’s not a fear with these two. Nicole was dead for most of this episode and yet there wasn’t a moment I feared she’d remain as such. Even dead she still had agency and was pertinent to the plot. Their story isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Best of Earpisms
- “My favourite spice girls’ song. That’s got to be a good sign,” – Nedley is the best.
- “Pinky Swear!” – I missed Rosita.
- Can we appreciate the fabulous look Nicole got as a ghost?
- The only downside to Rosita and Wynonna’s fight is we didn’t get to see more of it. Rosita chucking her boot was top notch.
- “She is a frog! And dead! And also a reaper! Stay with the plot Nedley!”
- They finally got engaged!
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