Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 6 Review: If We Make It Through December

This Wynonna Earp review contains spoilers.

Wynonna Earp Season 3, Episode 6

Oh, Doc. Must you make such dramatic decisions, you big dope? After being emotionally rejected by Wynonna, Doc takes his provider issues to Kate, who is ready and waiting. She turns him into a vampire in a closing scene that changes everything for this family. Sure, maybe this is part of Doc’s master plan to take out Bulshar—we’ve seen him make quite a few moves on his own in the last few episodes—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dumb. It also doesn’t mean that it isn’t entirely tied to his desire to be needed by someone. If it can’t be by the woman he loves, then, apparently, the woman who loves him (or who at least once loved him) is an adequate runner up.

Does Kate love Doc? Or does she just want him? It’s unclear, especially given that they never seemed to be on the same page about Kate’s vampirism even back in the day. Though Kate apparently told Doc she was a vampire, he never remembered through the haze of opium. While Doc and Wynonna may have trouble being honest with one another about their feelings, their choices never feel like power plays in the same way that Kate’s do. Wynonna goes to Charlie at the end of the episode not because she wants Doc to chase her, but because she wants to drive him away. As she confesses to Michelle, she doesn’t think she deserves him. 

Now that Doc is a vampire, he has his immortality back, which could come in handy against Bulshar. It’s also a pretty understandable choice following his recent trip to hell. Still, immortality and some kind of allegiance to Kate’s vampire clan may prove a different kind of hell for an independent Doc who has loyalties to the family he has made in Purgatory.

And what a family it is! There’s nothing like a holiday to test the mettle of a family, and the larger Earp clan comes off looking pretty good. While it may be a bit awkward to have Michelle home after so long, the Earp women lean into the joyousness of the season. They haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate a holiday together in far too long. That was taken from them by the supernatural, by the demon that haunted Michelle, and they are not wasting anytime reveling in the togetherness. Which is probably good given that things at the homestead never stay quiet for long.

Purgatory has a relatively quiet Christmas, save for the kidnapping of one kid right in from of a Nedley-dressed-as-Santa. The kid is one of the descendants of the original families that betrayed Bulshar. The Big Bad has been gathering them up, caging them, then filling them with some kind of seed and green goo. Is he turning them into evil trees? Seriously, what the heck is up with this dude?

Presumably, Waverly’s half-angel status, or at least her mysterious angel father, Julian, will come into play in some way in the fight against Bulshar. Michelle’s recounting of her romance with Waverly’s father is frustratingly light on the details, but she claims they loved one another and he left the day Waverly was born. Where could he have gone? (Where do angels live in this show world?) And why does Bobo claim to know where it is? Was he friends with Julian? 

We may find out soon enough. Michelle lets Bobo out of the well in exchange for information about Julian’s whereabouts. Michelle may be happy to be an active part of the Earp family again, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to toe the line. She has always been an independent woman who does what she thinks she needs to do to ensure her family is safe. Presumably, finding Julian is in line with that goal. The big question is: Is she finding Julian because she still considers him family, or is he necessary to keep Waverly and Wynonna safe?

Wynonna Earp manages to pack a massive amount of plot into an episode that also moonlights as a delightful Christmas-in-August hour of television. Shows that churn through so much plot without losing emotional resonance or internal logic tend not to get recognized for it. Vampire Diairies, at its height, was the same way. Less competent series would not be able to turn one of its main characters into a vampire, stage a Christmas day child kidnapping, and feature a elf love serenade all one episode. It should be tonal whiplash, but somehow this show pulls it off. Let’s take a moment to appreciate that… and then go yell at Doc some more.

Additional thoughts.

It says a lot about the quality of Wynonna Earp Season 3 that this show is able to pull off a Christmas episode in August. I’m definitely going to rewatch this one during the Christmas season.

Doc dragging that damn tree around Purgatory looking for someone to give it to? We should have known this wonderful dope of a man would do something self-destructive and needy by episode’s end.

Little Waverly was pretty crafty. The Menstrual Angel is not only well-designed, but has help up all of these years. Color me impressed.

Nedley watches Pretty Little Liars. This is canon.

If you needed further proof that Ward Earp was the worst, Bobo had to threaten him into taking care of cute, helpless Baby Waverly.

The Jeremy/Doc scene was so wonderful. Especially because it implied that they had already had at least one conversation about Jeremy’s feelings surrounding the apparent Robin ghosting. Now if only Doc could have taken his own advice about telling the person you like/love how you feel and what you want.

Why was Zoie Palmer credited in this episode? Was she hidden somewhere and we missed her?

I don’t trust Charlie. He may not be supernatural, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have ulterior motives.

Why did Robin have green goo around his mouth when he was rescued? Did Bulshar do something to him? Did Wynonna and Charlie not get to him in time?

It was nice to get some nice, light, love-y Wayhaught action after last week’s drama. We all deserved the fluffiness of not one, but two elf costume scenes and Waverly singing.

I am already a million percent invested in the Jeremy/Robin relationship. Like, so much.

Nedley retires in this episode, which is understandable, but also feels a bit premature. Like, maybe try taking a week or two off, go see a therapist for a few months, and see if the PTSD gets any better? Either way, I really hope Purgatory has some good mental health professionals within its borders.

I know we’re supposed to be annoyed with Michelle making the decision to free Bobo, but I was actually kind of appalled the gang kept Bobo in the well that long. This is like next level torture.

If you were a character looking to make a bad decision, this was the one to do it in. Pretty much everyone came out looking like a good decision-maker next to Doc.

The family leaves a place at the Christmas table for Dolls. 🙁

Oh, Doc.

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.