Wynonna Earp Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Shed Your Skin

This Wynonna Earp review contains spoilers.

Wynonna Earp Season 2, Episode 2

In many way, “Shed Your Skin” was the real start to Wynonna Earp‘s second season. While the season premiere had the herculean task of wrapping up the many cliffhangers from the Season 1 finale, tonight’s episode was able to slow down a bit, reflect on what has been lost, and begin some intriguing plot threads new to Season 2…

In the Big Bad department, something big is haunting Purgatory… you know, besides the usual. Wynonna may have thought that it was Willa who was skulking around dressed in ethereal black, but I’m not so sure. Here’s what we know that Wynonna doesn’t: there are more than one of the figures in black. This seems much bigger than a Willa haunting (though Willa could be involved).

When the Woman in Black first turned up, Wynonna only suspected that it was Willa because of the scent of perfume. It was their mother’s favorite — and Willa’s favorite, too. Could the Women in Black be both Willa and Wynonna mom? (We don’t know what happened to the Earp matriarch after she walked out all those years ago.) Or does Wynonna only smell the perfume because she wants it to be Willa, as she tells Waverly later in the episode? All food for thought.

Speaking of both Waverly and food… how about that ending scene, eh? Are spiders now going to have to be the Wynonna Earp viewing party snack of choice? I am enjoying how much of a slow burn Waverly’s posession arc has been thus far in Season 2. It feels like the questions and consequences surrounding Waverly’s posession are going to roll out over the course of the season, slowly building tension as the team deals with the monster-of-the-week.

It’s kind of tragic, really. Wynonna’s self-described only job is to keep her sister safe and her sister is maybe turning into a demon or something right under her nose. What is up with Waverly? Damned if I know, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with the figures in black we saw skulking in the shadows this episode. Perhaps their haunting isn’t tied to Wynonna, but rather Waverly. Did Waverly keep Willa’s journal out of sentiment or was it something else that told her to hold on to a remnant of her sister? Questions to ponder.

Waverly may be periodically falling apart, but she’s still go her head on straight enough to fall even deeper in love with Nicole. While the two begin the episode in a bit of a row — Nicole is made that Waverly didn’t initiate her into Team Black Badge — they end up patching things up. By the end of the episode, they’re closer than ever, sleeping together in Waverly’s newly-decorated room.

I love WayHaught, but I can’t take the stress of knowing Waverly’s secret — especially because I’m not sure if Waverly knows it herself. Waverly tells Wynonna that she wants more than anything to protect Nicole, but her own posession may be putting her girlfriend in danger. In this way, Wynonna and Waverly have similar story arcs right now: both desperate to protect the people they love yet unable to see the danger that is right under their noses. #Drama

Much of this episode was about mourning, a theme I was glad to see given the events of the Season 1 finale and the Season 2 premiere. Wynonna is still, understandably, not over Willa’s death. At one point, she breaks down in tears to Waverly, telling her sister that, after failing to protect Willa when they were kids, she had wanted more than anything to save her this time. Man, this show has some dark themes. You forget sometimes what with all of the quips!

Wynonna (and Waverly, for that matter) are also both mourning the loss of Dolls. Though the secret agent man may be alive, he is seemingly dead to them for all intents and purposes. Unless the situation changes (which, let’s face it: it has to, right?), Dolls can never return to Purgatory and the Earp sisters’ lives. In his absence, Wynonna is trying to step up and be the leader of the team, an effort that is somewhat stymied by Lucado’s presence of the scene.

While Lucado may often be used as a character for Wynonna to snark off of, Doc warns Wynonna not to forget that she is the enemy. Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Doc steals some incriminating files documenting Lucado’s off-book termination attempts on Dolls’ life. Rather than tell Wynonna what he has found, he uses it to blackmail Lucado for some money. (“Oh, and Jeannie? This is what I bring to the team.” *Drops mic and walks away.*)

Now in possession of the bar, Doc sets up a chemistry lab of sorts in the basement, bringing in a mysterious lady friend to assist him in the concoction of something. On most shows, this would probably lead to a subplot involving an illegal drug operation. Here, I think Doc might be working to create the serum Dolls and his fellow agents need to keep him from turning into whatever it is he sometimes turn into. Sound off with your own theories in the comments below!

Whatever Doc is up to, it’s driving a wedge between him and Wynonna. They may be “fine” (for now), but you can see the distance growing between them throughout the episode. They start the episode bantering naked in the decontamination shower, as you do. Then, midway through the episode, Wynonna makes her move: Telling him that she never would have kissed Dolls (in Season 1) if she had known that he was coming back, she goes in for the kiss…

And Doc rejects her. Could Doc’s rejection have something to do with what Dolls whispered in his ear before he escaped into the night? Or is he reluctant to makeout with Wynonna when she is drunk and grief-stricken? And would Wynonna really not have kissed Dolls if Doc hadn’t left town? For me, this emotional confrontation was the best scene of the night, and I don’t even have a strong Wynonna ship preference. I always pay extra close attention with Melanie Scrofano tears up. It’s unusual to see Wynonna get so emotional — though it’s understandably been happening a lot so far in Season 2.

Speaking of Season 2, we’ve got a new character to join Jeremy as fresh blood: Mercedes. This Purgatory High alum was friendly with Wynonna growing up. Not only was Mercedes seemingly pals with Willa, but she and Wynonna bonded over being the two most hated girls in high school. Mercedes is from one of the richest families in Purgatory and is back in town to sort out the mess her siblings’ have made of the old coffers. I don’t know. I think she seems cool, but it is her condo development that the Figures in Black are skulking around. Did she make a deal with the devil to restore her family fortune?

All in all, “Shed Your Skin” was another fun addition to Season 2. (“You wore suede? What is it: your first day?”) It had a lot of work to do simultaneously still dealing with the fall out from Season 1 and setting up the new formula for Season 2. As usual, the show managed to pull off the mounds of plot with an affecting performance from Melanie Scrofano, who was asked to do a lot in this episode.

With Dolls gone, Doc distracted, and Waverly busy with Nicole/her posession, Wynonna arguably hasn’t been this lonely since the beginning of Season 1. Wynonna may still have her team, but fractures are beginning to show. Will the gang be able to hold themselves together with Lucado and Black Badge looming, Waverly in the midst of a mysterious posession, and Wynonna seriously grieving? We’ll have to wait and see…