“Wynonna Earp” Delves Deep in “The Blade” and “Diggin’ Up Bones”
One of the things that I admire the most about Syfy’s supernatural Western Wynonna Earp is its ability to blend humor and horror in such a way as to keep the audience engaged at every moment. Whether it’s hunting Revenants or bickering in the briefing room, Wynonna Earp manages to maintain that air of delightful playfulness that drew me to it in the first place. More so, with each subsequent episode, I’ve grown to appreciate not only the show’s exceptional balance of hilarity and suspense but also the finesse with which it handles difficult emotional scenes. Cases in point: its fourth and fifth episodes, respectively titled “The Blade” and “Diggin’ Up Bones.”
Let’s start with “The Blade,” which was arguably the show’s creepiest episode to date. Seriously, that barber haunted my dreams for a couple of nights afterward, and I was glad to see him put down by Wynonna for that reason alone. However, I can’t deny that his presence helped unearth some profound confrontations and revelations—the most notable of which was Doc’s surprising backstory.
We all knew that Doc had some demons with which he was struggling and “The Blade” helped shed some light on what those demons looked like. Through an exciting sequence of flashbacks, we learned that Doc had made a deal with the Stone Witch to avoid his imminent death, a decision that caused a rift between him and Wyatt. We also learned that Doc was working against Wyatt while Wyatt was alive, even going so far as to murder a potential witness for one of Wyatt’s cases. Obviously, the guilt has been eating him alive ever since. Surprisingly, Wynonna forgave him fairly quickly—but did she really? Only time will tell if Wynonna’s trust in Doc has been altered.
The second scene worth mentioning was the one in which Waverly confessed that she resents Wynonna for “stealing her thunder,” so to speak. According to Waverly, she deserved to be the Heir because of all the time and effort that she’s put into learning everything she can about the curse and family legacy. Meanwhile, Wynonna just showed up and had the responsibility handed to her. To be honest, this scene felt a bit premature; it could’ve waited for a few more episodes, giving the writers more time to flesh out Wynonna and Waverly’s relationship so that this scene would be able to carry the emotional punch that it was intended to carry. Nevertheless, it was an important milestone in their relationship and can only make them stronger down the line.
The fifth episode, “Diggin’ Up Bones,” continued to unearth buried issues, with a few added bonuses. Desperate to finally get her revenge against all the Revenants who killed her father and sister, Wynonna spends most of this episode at odds with Dolls, who urges her to be more cautious so as to prevent the public from finding out the truth about the supernatural. However, Wynonna’s patience has started to wear thin. Taking matters into her own hands, she pressures BoBo—unsuccessfully, I might add—and then another informant to reveal the names of the Seven who came to the family Homestead the night that her father and sister were killed. Ultimately, this leads to a heated discussion between her and Doc, which apparently gets them both so hot under the collar that they have to grind out their frustrations on the forest floor—literally.
Sexcapades aside, this episode was a lot slower than the previous ones. Even the few strong points, such as Dolls’s shirtless training scene and the introduction of the Stone Witch, weren’t enough to make this episode a stand-out. Nevertheless, it was still a vital piece of the season puzzle, furthering the main plot while also adding depth to its characters, especially Waverly. She is rapidly becoming the character to watch out for because I feel that her storyline could become the most complex of the series. Let’s hope I’m right!
New episodes of Wynonna Earp air Friday nights at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Syfy.