Wynonna Earp Season 3, Episode 10 Review: The Other Woman

This Wynonna Earp review contains spoilers.

Wynonna Earp Season 3, Episode 10

Wynonna Earp has sacrificed a lot in her fight against supernatural evil: her father, her sister Willa, years with her mother, and a chance to watch Alice grow, but there is one cost that is too high even for the end of the world as we know it: Waverly Earp.

The relationship between Wynonna and Waverly has always been the heart of the show. Sure, it’s called Wynonna Earp, but this is a show about sisterhood, a form of relationship that is often so, so important in real life, but doesn’t often get represented centrally on the screen. (For another great example, see Orphan Black.) Wynonna Earp is filled with love stories of all kinds, but the love between Wynonna and Waverly will always be the foundation upon which this found family—and this narrative—rests.

This is why it’s so damn high-stakes when Kevin (aka the wonderful Anna Silk, who shows up in this episode to give some much-needed mythological context) tells Wynonna and Waverly that Waverly is the one person standing between Bulshar and the end of the world. Fine print: Waverly will be turned to stone in the process.

There’s a lot to dissect about this reveal. First of all, it’s a blow to Wynonna’s clearly-defined role. She, if we’re using the terminology laid down by Kevin, is usually “The Champion.” She might not be able to sort out her personal life, but you better believe that, when supernatural shit hits the fan, Wynonna Earp will be there with gumption and one-liners and maybe some whiskey, too. Waverly usurping that role is not Wynonna’s chief concern here, but it has got to be a bit disorienting for someone who has built so much of her identity on being the Heir to suddenly have that role taken away from her, in some sense. It’s also got to be a relief, on some visceral level—a burden lifted.

Of course, the larger issue is the potential cost of Waverly’s life. Wynonna is not someone who is ever selfish—at least not when it comes to saving the world. She gave up her own child for the sake of keeping Alice safe and so she could keep fighting this fight, even though it broke her heart (not to mention Doc’s heart) to do so. So when Wynonna admits to Waverly that she can’t lose her, that it will break, it is a big deal. She is also effectively asking: If you can’t do this for yourself, do this for me.

Not that Wynonna is the only person Waverly has to think of. So many people love her, not least of all Nicole, who would be devastated should anything happen to her love. You know who else loves Waverly? Waverly herself, and I kind of love that Waverly, in the moment that Kevin told her she would have to sacrifice herself to save the world, admitted that she didn’t know if she could do it.

We all like to think we would make that sacrifice, should the situation call for it, but Waverly loves life. She finds such joy and wonder in living. She values the love she gives and receives from those around her. She doesn’t want to let that go, and that’s actually not a complication we often see in sacrificial Chosen One storylines. At this point in the Chosen One narrative, all of the wonder and joy has mostly been tortured out of them, and they are just tired (example: Frodo, Harry Potter, Wynonna herself); but Waverly Earp is remarkably resilient. Maybe it’s her half-angel-ness? Or maybe she’s just a peach. Either way, she doesn’t want to die. She hasn’t tired of life yet.

Waverly may have hesitated when Kevin told her the cost (and bless Wynonna for getting that detail out of her), but she also didn’t make Wynonna any promises when her sister asked her not to sacrifice herself. At this point in the episode, Waverly has had a bit more of an opportunity to think things over, to think about all of those people she loves and who love her and what not sacrificing herself might mean for their lives.

It’s also interesting to think about this in the context of the tragedy that began and has shaped so much of this season: the loss of Dolls, who made the choice to sacrifice himself for his friends in the fight for Bulshar. You better believe this is something Waverly is thinking about when she is faced with a similar option.

Of course, we’re also running out of time. The blood moon is tomorrow (thanks, Astronomer Robin!) and night is not falling on Purgatory, implying that there might be an angel in town. Was that Julian who showed up at Mercedes door at the end of the episode? Where has Waverly’s father been this whole time? And, if he is back in Purgatory, is Michelle with him?

This show moves through plot fast and there’s a lot to process in this episode, even with the helpful Game of Thrones-style recap that allows Waverly and Jeremy the chance to catch the audience up on everything that’s happened so far. The basic gist? Julian and Juan Carlo (I still can’t believe they’re not the same person) were two angels tasked with keeping Bulshar inside The Garden, aka The Ghost River Triangle. Now that Bulshar has the Tower (aka Peacemaker), he has everything he needs to escape The Garden and wreak havoc across the world. Also, he is the snake from the Garden of Eden. #Slytherin

Has Team Earp ever been in more over their heads? Probably not, especially given that our family is fractured at the moment. In what was a freaking amazing twist, Maeve, a former teen witch from Wyatt’s time jumped into Doc’s body and killed Charlie the Firefighter, vampire-style. Doc has been struggling with his bloodlust pretty much since he turned vampire, notably biting Robin that one time, so Nicole and Jeremy easily believe that he succumbed to his vampiric side. Nicole pulls her gun on her friend and tells him, if she ever sees him again, she will kill him. (I’m calling her bluff… Though she does have wooden bullets.)

I’ll admit it: I, too, believed that Doc had lost control of his bloodlust and done the unthinkable. I was all ready to begin my review “poor, stupid Doc…” Thankfully, I didn’t have to. Obviously, Doc is still an idiot for having willingly turned vampire, but thank Waverly he didn’t actually murder Wynonna’s fuck buddy moments after said firefighter pulled Doc from a burning building. That’s a lot of guilt to come back from and you know Doc is going to be hard on himself even in the knowledge that he was possessed at the time.

The question is: How long will it take for Nicole and the others to realize that Maeve is inside of Doc? Nicole seemed to be on track to figure it out at the end of the episode, but there are a lot of distractions right now, and she doesn’t even know that her girlfriend might have to sacrifice herself to save the world yet. I’m also not sure what Maeve’s goal is. She was BFFs with Juan Carlo and seemed to believe in the cause, but that was before she was trapped as fire for more than a century. But she doesn’t seem quite as pious when we see her in the modern day, and is a real wild card heading into the fight for the future of the planet.

Speaking of wild cards, Bobo is delightful as ever in this episode, even from inside his own personal terrarium. Still reeling from the one-two punch of first being stuck down a well and then being stuck in Bulshar’s arboreal hallucinations, Robert is not in his right mind. He’s seemingly stuck in the past, remembering his conversations with Juan Carlo and Maeve in the days leading up to Sheriff Clootie’s implementation of the curse. He’s also very into jazz? Whatever is going on inside of Bobo’s head, his confinement gives Wynonna Earp the opportunity for some very beautiful shots involving reflections, wireless headphones, and musings about whether Bobo is good or evil. 

Heading into the final two episodes of the season, things look grim for Team Earp. Wynonna’s new boyfriend is dead, seemingly at the hands of the love of her life, who is possessed by a teenaged witch with an unknown agenda. Wynonna is poised to lose the other love of her life, aka her sister, for the sake of the world. Bulshar has everything he needs to get into The Garden of Eden and ruin the world. And, to cap it all off, Mercedes’ Tinder date seems to be going horribly! God, I love this show.

Additional thoughts.

How did Mercedes know to contact Kevin to let the higher ups know about Waverly’s miracle? Or are they just always listneing and heard Mercedes bless Waverly?

Do we think Julian is someone we’ve already met?

Charlie was nice and all and I didn’t want him to die, but he wasn’t around long enough for his death to truly hit past my initial horror that Doc had seemingly killed him and what that would mean for Doc’s character. Up until his death, I still kind of thought Charlie was secretly evil? So I guess I am pleasantly surprised that he wasn’t. 

Um… will Wynonna have any lingering side effects from Radioactive Rick?

Kat Barrell kills it comedically in this episode as a possessed Nicole. But she also breaks my heart when she is telling Doc to leave and never come back. 🙁

Did anyone else get Moaning Myrtle vibes from Maeve?

There were a lot of comments about the swoleness Jeremy’s body in this episode. It was basically a theme of this episode. 

Whoa. Melanie Scrofano is, like, really good at crying.

OK, but were Wyatt and Doc boyfriends? This is a question I have had for a long time and had the chance to ask Tim Rozon about at the ATX TV Festival over the summer. I’ve been saving his response for the right moment, and I think that moment may be now…

I like Waverly’s bangs!

Kate’s M.I.A. Thoughts? Theories?

If you’ve never watched Lost Girl, and have enjoyed Anna Silk (aka Kevin) and Zoie Palmer’s (aka Jolene) appearances on the show, you should really check it out during the Wynonna Earp hiatus. It’s delightful and shares much of Wynonna Earp‘s DNA.

Don’t die, Waverly.

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.