“Wynonna Earp” Episode 311 & 312 Recap: The Battle’s Done and We Kinda Won

Hello and welcome to my last Wynonna Earp recap of Season Three! I’m not crying, you’re crying! This season has been quite the adventure and I’ve had a great time discussing it with you all. I will say, based on the way it ended, I’m VERY GLAD we already know we’re getting a season four. But we’ll get there! First:

Episode 311, “Daddy Lessons”

We open on Waverly and Nicole looking down at Charlie Fire Service’s dead body, marveling over how you can hardly tell Doc chomped at his jugular, worrying over how the hell they are going to tell Wynonna what happened.

WayHaught stands over CFS body

“Maybe we should spell it out in shot glasses filled with whiskey.”

Nicole gets a call from Nedley so she has to go help with evacuation, leaving Waverly to ponder this dilemma on her own for now. Waverly seems a little off so Nicole gives her a wee kiss on her forehead before she leaves. It’s really fucking sweet, y’all.

Nicole kisses waverly's forehead

We found love in a hopeless place (aka a room with a dead body in it).

After Nicole leaves, Waverly places her ringed hand gently on Charlie’s bitten neck, gently, like she put her hand on Mercedes’ face the other day. And much to Waverly’s surprise… he wakes up.

Back at the Homestead, Wynonna yells at the Blood Moon for making it look like High Noon even though it’s the middle of the night. She looks sadly at the photo Dolls left her and apologizes to him because she feels like she’s letting him down. And as she does, a black horse trots by. Maybe it’s a coincidence, since all the animals, humanoid or not, are fleeing town. But maybe, just maybe, it was a little sign from Dolls that she’s on the right track.

Wynonna heads into town and runs into Sheriff Haught and emergency deputy Robin evacuating the town. Wynonna is looking for Waverly since she wasn’t at the BBD, and when she realizes she knows where she is, she mutters about Kevin and speeds off, leaving Nicole wondering who the hell this guy Kevin is.

Nicole frustratedly watches Wynonna drive away

“Don’t… don’t let me be the last to know.”

Wynonna heads into the woods to the general area she knows the stairs to be, and while she still can’t see them, she knows what her sister is doing, and she’s pissed.

Waverly looks like she has a halo in the woods talking to Wynonna

“Baby I can feel your halo (halo).”

Waverly says she feels compelled to climb the stairs, to help people, so Wynonna helps her quell her craving by knocking her the fuck out, putting her in the box in the bed of her truck.

Wynonna goes back into town to talk to Nicole, obviously not telling the Sheriff where she shoved her little sister, otherwise there’s no way Haught would just be sitting criss-cross applesauce on the sidewalk all calm. Wynonna begs Nicole to take Waverly outside the Ghost River Triangle, but a) Sheriff can’t leave Purgatory in a time of crisis and b) as soon as Waverly said “take me back” Haught would have no choice but to oblige because she would do anything Waverly asked her to. (Including, Wynonna discovers, getting a flaming phoenix butt tattoo.)

Wynonna and Haught sit and chat

“Go to Timbuktu?” “And back again.”

Their conversation is interrupted when Charlie Fire Services comes meandering down the street, a little dazed and a lot barefoot. Nicole is stammering and Wynonna knows it’s not because of Charlie’s chiseled abs, but before she can get to the bottom of it, she realizes Charlie is the answer to her prayer. She tells Charlie to take Waverly far, far away and also to apologize to Waverly on her behalf because of the whole sisternapping thing.

Wynonna reveals Waverly tied up in a box

This whole exchange, Waverly popping up like an angry meerkat and Wynonna face-palming her back in the box, was such a sibling moment, I loved it so much.

On their way out of Purgatory, a local couple wander into Shorty’s half-heartedly looking for their dog, and full-heartedly stealing booze. Unfortunately it’s not their pup they hear growling from the shadows, but Doc, who lures them down to the basement and calls Kate to join them.

Doc shows off his new glamour skills and Kate isn’t all that impressed until the strangers bear their necks and then Kate decides to party with her husband for a bit.

Kate looks at a woman's neck hungrily

tfw you know you should leave your ex’s place but then a pizza arrives.

At the office formerly known as the BBD, some Revenants find Bobo’s BoxBox and he begs for them to let him out but he’s not the leader of this gang anymore. They think he’s working for Team Earp, so he offers them intel, tells them that the heir doesn’t have Peacemaker anymore, trying to prove he’s on their side. But the Revenants take the keys and the intel and leave Bobo to rot.

Those Revenants take that intel right to Wynonna, suddenly cockier than ever, and poor Wynonna realizes she’s outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned. And as a result, she’s going to be fealty.

Wynonna is taken to Bulshar’s arboretum and tied up while Jarvis the Revenant does her hair and reminisces about how his sister married the man he loved.

Wynonna is tied up but her arms are TITE

Wynonna might not have Peacemaker but she’s still got GUNS.

She tries to reason with him, saying they should work together, that he doesn’t want to be one of Bulshar’s buds, just look at the mindless minions around them. But she’s put in a fancy dress anyway.

Eventually Waverly is let out of her box and goes somewhat willingly with Charlie, and Charlie instinctively gets them to the Gibson Greenhouse. Waverly thinks maybe they were guided here by the fog, but Charlie is walking around like he’s just seen a ghost. Or realized he was a ghost. He is spooked by a stone angel and is generally just acting weird. Sweet Waverly is doing her best to act casual while her sister’s ex-fuck buddy she just raised from the dead weirdly walks around the Greenhouse where she recently almost killed herself at the demon who possessed her mother’s behest.

Charlie ties Waverly up in a way that makes me wonder if he’s ever even tied his shoelaces before. She tries to snap him out of his weird funk by asking him questions about himself but he wants to hear about Nicole instead, which lights Waverly’s face right up.

Waverly beams while talking about Nicole

Coincidentally, this is MY face when I’m talking about Waverly.

Waverly says that Nicole is brave, loyal, good. And that she likes Waverly even when she’s not (or feels like she’s not) any of those things. When Waverly turns the question back to Charlie again he admits he doesn’t know much before about a year ago. (Approximately as many days have passed in Purgatory since Baby Alice’s birthday.) While he’s recounting this, Waverly puts a supportive hand on his and they both get to watch a clip of his memory like this is an episode of Black Mirror. It’s tres weird, especially the part where he says he wants to help people almost exactly the same way as Waverly had said it moments before.

In Shorty’s basement, Doc is still coughy and grumpy and hungry and Kate is getting the impression that there’s more going on with him than just new vamp jitters. He’s craving something in particular and he’s craving it bad. So badly, in fact, that he attacks a fire chief to get Charlie’s location. Actually, scratch that, he gets Charlie’s location from the fire chief THEN shoots him. Confusing both Kate and myself. Also hitting Kate with the bullet.

Kate looks horrified up at Doc

Kate, bb girl, I know you love him but I think you can do better. I hear there’s a bisexual Revenant running around…

Which is BEYOND RUDE. Sir, I would like to keep Kate around, and I know that a regular bullet can’t kill her, but she might up and leave if you don’t cut the bullshit and be nicer to her!! Hmph.

After they finish trussing her up, the Revenants present Wynonna to Bulshar as their fealty. And at Bulshar’s right hand, dressed in a color that practically glows in this dark and dingy basement, is none other than Mercedes Gardner.

Mercedes looks at home at this demon dinner

This is truly Peak Mercedes. We were all worried about her and she’s snacking on truffle mashed potatoes.

While she’s making drinks, Wynonna asks what the fuck is going on, and Mercedes says that she’s just playing the part of Bulshar’s arm candy as a survival tactic.

Wynonna makes drinks while talking to Mercedes

Cotton candy, specifically, by the look of it.

But Wynonna is a fighter and calls Mercedes a coward. Mercedes will be a coward or chickenshit or whatever animal-based word Wynonna wants to call her if it means never ending up crawling around her basement bleeding out from the face ever again.

Bulshar announces to the room that he needs a new second in command since Dolls killed his first guy, and Wynonna volunteers as tribute.

Wynonna volunteers herslef

Though the Wynonna/Waverly story better not end like Katniss/Primrose or I will have to throw my TV like I threw my book when I finished Mockingjay.

She’ll do anything to keep her sister safe, even get on her knees and beg, but when she reaches out to Bulshar to shake on it, he recoils and panics and hisses that Wynonna should be put in a cage.

Charlie has been freaking out in the Greenhouse ever since Waverly touched him with that ring and luckily when he hears a car roll up he snaps out of it long enough to untie Waverly. The two of them get in the world’s worst hiding spot and Charlie is still twitching so Waverly touches him again and Charlie recovers a memory of himself with a young Michelle Gibson in this very Greenhouse. And the truth is revealed: Charlie is Julian, Julian is Charlie.

Waverly immediately thinks about how her mom and Wynonna now share more in common than ever and Charlie is mid-meltdown with the memory overload as his two existences try to take up the same space in his brain when Doc comes busting in. Seeing it’s her favorite vampire, Waverly scoots out to see if she can talk to him, but he craves that sweet, sweet angel dust and doesn’t even care when Waverly tells him that Charlie is Julian, and her father.

Waverly tries to get through to Doc

“There is hardly a household in Puragtory that is not connected to every other by blood or marriage.”

Waverly tries to tell Doc that Wynonna loves him but he doesn’t feel love, only hunger. He grabs her and throws her to the ground, and Waverly doesn’t look angry, just sad. Julian takes the ring from her finger and puts it on, and stands up tall, remembering who he really is. He easily tosses Doc across the room and into the angel statue and spreads his wings out wide.

Waverly looks at Julian's wings in wonder

I guess this makes her Charlie’s Angel?

Julian explains that he was just wandering, lost, until he sensed his daughter step out of the Ghost River Triangle, however many days ago Alice was born. Waverly is worried about Doc, but Julian doesn’t care about anyone but her. Because while Charlie was bland and annoying sometimes, Julian is a straight-up self-righteous dick. I don’t care if he’s an angel, I don’t like him. If he really cared about his daughter, he would care about the people she cared about, vampire or not.

Waverly ignores this strange winged man who happened to provide her some DNA and runs to Doc, crying over him, saying they loved the man he was. She kisses his cheek and leaves him there for now.

Waverly cries upon Doc

Maybe Angel Tears are more satiating than Angel Blood, the way laughter worked better than screams in Monsters Inc.

After Kate has made her way to the fire chief’s walkie talkie to call for help, Nicole takes her back to the Gardner house to patch her up, since she can’t heal as quickly as usual because of the Blood Eclipse.

Nicole patches Kate up

Any! Combination! Of! Characters! On! This! Show! Is! Gold!

Kate’s also doing some tarot readings and at first things look bleak, but finally one time she does it and she sees a card she hadn’t seen the first few times: Hope.

And that hope is because Mercedes and Jarvis let Wynonna out of her cage. When Bulshar appears no one moves to follow his orders and Wynonna tells him his time is up.

Wynonna and Mercedes stand up to Bulshar

As a wise scholar once said, “Boy, bye.”

Bulshar bamfs out but Wynonna hops onto a table and rallies the troops. They’ve been pitted against each other when really they could work together to end this curse that affects all of them. She needs their help, because it’s time for a revolution. The Revenants cheer in support and for the first time in a long time, Wynonna smiles.

Wynonna looks down at her Revenant army and smiles

Smash that demon lizard patriarchy, girl.

In the Greenhouse, Doc wakes up with Waverly’s name on his lips, because it seems while her sister was tasked with taking lives, Waverly was blessed with saving them. Doc sees a sword in the rubble and picks it up while growling Charlie’s name.

The episode ends with Bulshar going to Bobo and asking him if he wants a job. And honestly, Bobo would probably have fought on the side of the first person who let him out of that damn box, and since Jeremy wouldn’t let Robin do it earlier, looks like Bobo is Team Bulshar.

Episode 312, “War Paint”

The official finale episode opens with Wynonna saying the word, “Fucking.”

We’re officially at 10pm, bitches.

Wynonna's hair whips around her

It’s funny, the first time I watched this, it didn’t even register as different, because it felt so RIGHT.

Wynonna tells the Revenants that even though she really liked killed them, and actually being the Earp Heir might have been the only thing she was ever good at, she’s willing to go back to being just Wynonna if it means ending this curse together. She has no idea what will happen to any of them once it’s over, but she knows they’ll be free. She buries some ammolite in the ground, the same talisman Bobo tricked baby Waverly into burying once, and pulls Jarvis over the threshold. The truce has officially begun.

Meanwhile Bulshar is back on his shady bullshit, hanging out by the stairs, turning Peacemaker into a sword, you know, the usual stuff. He sticks the sword into the stone steps and a door appears at the top. A Beekeeper goes in but is immediately beheaded, apparently because they weren’t mortal or righteous. So he sends his Beekeepers out to get what he needs to become those things: all of Wynonna’s friends to be out of the way, and Wynonna’s blood.

Waverly shows up at the Homestead just then and Wynonna is one part pissed that Waverly is not out of harm’s way but two parts happy to see her baby girl.

Waverly holds Wynonna

Stronger together.

Wynonna tells her that she has an army of Revenants milling around the Homestead, she’s surprised to see Waverly barely bat an eyelash at the news. And it’s because Waverly’s news is weirder: Charlie is Julian and and angel and her father.

The girls head into the barn to talk this out out of earshot of one of the protectors of the Garden of Eden and Wynonna is having a hard time wrapping her head around this, so Waverly does her best to comfort her.

Waverly comforts Wynonna again but htis time in the barn

THE EARP SISTERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT—oh, you know the drill.

But also has to warn her that Doc is… not okay. She gives her the rundown and all Wynonna can do is laugh at how ridiculous her circumstance is. Her vampire baby daddy tried to kill her friend-with-benefits who also happens to be her mother’s lover and her sister’s father. Also she doesn’t have her magic gun.

Wynonna laughs in disbelief

See also: Me trying to explain this show to someone who hasn’t seen it.

They split up then, because Wynonna has to find Doc, and Waverly has to find Nicole.

Nicole is still with Kate, being lightly mocked for giving Kate shit about being so tied up in Doc while also incessantly checking her phone for Waverly updates. But Kate just smiles at her and tells her never to apologize for her heart.

Nicole smirks at Kate

She’s wrapped around Waverly’s finger and she likes it that way.

Just then, Beekeepers bust in and the two women spring to action, fighting side by side like they’ve been doing it their whole lives. In the fight, Nicole gets cleaved in the side, but they take them all down anyway. Mercedes, in a classic Mercedes move, busts in just in time to… see the aftermath.

Mercedes makes an ENTRANCE

Not that I imagine her being much help in the fight anyway since these Beekeepers don’t seem to be vulnerable to snark.

She sees Nicole is bleeding, which Kate says smells like vanilla-dipped donuts, but Nicole insists it’s just a flesh wound and she can walk the TEN MILES to town. Even though surely she drove Kate there in the first place?? Or maybe she just parked really far away? It’s truly unclear why she’s hoofing it, but it’s probably for the best because she passes out after not too long and shadowy figure appears by her side.

Jeremy and Robin have been sciencing, and after Beekeepers charge in but weirdly don’t attack and Vacation Nedley swoops in to save their butts, Jeremy realizes he knows how to keep themselves hidden from Bulshar’s minions.

Wynonna talks to Julian and tries to make sense of everything and she’s about to tell him that his job is to make sure Waverly doesn’t have to turn into a gargoyle when Julian’s spidey senses tingle and he knows Nicole is in danger.

Waverly might have an inkling too because she’s desperately trying to call her girlfriend.

But she’s interrupted by Bobo in her room, coughing up dirt and saying he couldn’t help her now if he wanted to. He does need her help though, and asks her to set him free when the time comes.

Doc has brought Nicole to Wynonna for help, because she is bleeding out on the barn floor and Julian offers to save her and Wynonna tells him he better, because she’s the love of his daughter’s life. He heals her, and it looks like it cost him something, but it seems worth it since Nicole sputters back to life, asking if they’ve won yet.

Nicole is alive!

Do they make Kevlar bodysuits or…

Doc gives Julian the sword he found in the Greenhouse, apparently cured of his desperate thirst. And while he still has a lot to atone for, I reckon managing to carry Nicole vanilla-dipped-donuts Haught all the way to the Homestead without taking so much as a nibble is a pretty okay start.

With Nedley in his corner, Jeremy seems to science even better than ever, and uses a blender and some ingenuity to create a liquid that will hide anyone wearing it from the Beekeepers.

Julian goes up to Waverly’s room to tell her that Nicole is hurt but okay and is surprised to find Bobo there, and notes he’s lacking free will. Bobo is annoyed with him, telling him that he can’t take credit for the woman Waverly has become all on her own. Julian credits Michelle, which proves he knows nothing. I think they’re both wrong. Waverly is Waverly because of a combination of yes, herself, but also because of Gus, because of Shorty, because of Wynonna.

Julian assures Waverly that Nicole is okay even though Waverly didn’t know Nicole was NOT okay and gives Waverly the ring; he’ll be too weak to fight now.

Waverly looks up at Julian/charlie

FINE I guess Charlie Fire Services finally proved his worth, saving Nicole.

A war horn sounds and everyone on the Homestead comes outside to see that Bulshar’s army is here and extremely overprepared. They are highly organized and have grenades and machine guns and frankly it feels mean.

But Team Earp is scrappy so they hold their own. Doc goes to the barn to be with Nicole, who at first is wary but he promises not to hurt her so she focuses on the fight and shoots some baddies from her hidey haystack.

Nicole peeps out from behind a haystack to fight

You can take the fight out of the girl but you can’t take the girl out of the fight.

It’s a good old-fashioned Western shootout until Bobo grabs Wynonna and throws her down on a stump like he’s going to cut her head off. Bulshar cuts her hand with an axe and motions for his minions to kill her while Waverly does that sisterly scream that cuts me down to my bones.

Waverly looks worriedly out the window

I KNOW SHE’S REALLY GOOD AT IT BUT IF WE COULD STOP GIVING DOM REASONS TO SCREAM THAT’D BE SWELL

Julian sees his daughter’s distress and heads out to save Wynonna, which succeeds for a minute until Bobo stabs him but good with his own sword. Waverly watches this happens, and screams, “Dad,” out the window.

Which is really heartbreaking. Ward Earp was barely a father to her; she only knew him until she was six and he was horrible to her if he paid attention to her at all. Shorty was the closest thing to a father figure she had after that, but he’s gone now too. Even her imaginary paternal figure turned out to be Bobo the Revenant. So this was her do-over. This was her chance to have a guaranteed good, theoretically immortal father in her life. But Bobo took that from her, and if you think about it, Bobo kind of had a hand in killing her father and Shorty, too.

Doc stops Bobo from cutting off Wynonna’s head himself, but it’s Waverly who is fed up with Bobo’s bullshit, his back and forth of helping them and hurting them, and decides to do him his favor. She grabs his face, tells him that she wishes he would have found his way back to Robert Svain, and sets him free.

Waverly kills Bobo but good

This is all he’s wanted since the Season One finale if we’re being honest.

But Bulshar doesn’t care because he already has what he needs, so he heads back to the stairs and burns his stolen tarot cards and stolen blood. Wynonna runs up but the Revenants who were following her disappear. She lunges after Bulshar but he bamfs out again, leaving her on the ground, and her pupils dilate like they did that midnight of her 27th birthday. When Waverly catches up her sister fills her in: the Earp Curse is broken.

earp sisters look at each other in shock

“But… how? We already got renewed for Season Four.”

Wynonna heads back to the barn to talk to Doc, and Doc says that Charlie Angel Services died to save his daughter, a notion he can relate to. But Wynonna tells him he might not have to because Bulshar broke the Earp Curse so he could be mortal and go into the Garden. Doc pledges to fight by Wynonna’s side, but she can’t trust him so she traps him with a holy water rope and bids him adieu.

Waverly finds Nicole on the porch and she seems so tired. Nicole is sorry about Charlie and holds her girlfriend as close as possible while teetering on a banister.

WayHaught touch foreheads

“Wuv, twoo wuv.”

Waverly says she doesn’t want to lose anyone else she loves today, and then looks at Nicole and says something she’s never said directly to her before: “I really, really love you.”

And listen, I get it. I know 100% why Waverly Earp has never told Nicole she loves her to her face. Look how she grew up. Who do you think ever said “I love you” to her? I feel like it wasn’t a phrase thrown around very liberally, and while Nicole has said it over and over and over again, Waverly had to wait until it meant something. Until it meant everything.

Waverly and Nicole look at each otehr intensely

In the arms of an angel.

Waverly slips her ring off her finger and onto Nicole’s and Nicole jokes about hating the ring, not having really been asked a question, but Waverly asks without asking, “Is that a yes?”

Waverly and nicole look at the ring being proffered

I think Nicole was as surprised as we were that Waverly was the one to propose.

But Wynonnus Interruptus strikes again and before we even get so much as a kiss, let alone an answer, it’s time to get back to the war at hand. (Which is fair because APOCALYPSE.)

Team Earp makes the kitchen a war room of sorts and Jeremy tells them about the solution he made that will make them invisible to Beekeepers. Wynonna gives them shots and says that theoretically she would be telling them they could leave if they wanted to, and that she’s so afraid of losing this family she built.

Wynonna looks at her sister lovingly

Kind of uncool but very understandable. Gotta protect the gays.

But she doesn’t have to ask them if they’ll stay behind or come with because she knows they’ll all say they’re coming. So instead she drugs them all, refusing to risk their lives.

Waverly marches into the woods after her sister, pissed, boasting about how she didn’t drink her roofies, but Waverly’s shot was never drugged. Wynonna says there are two swords, two angel guardians, two sisters. They’re going to do this together.

Wynonna waves the sword around

Two swords, two sisters, so many abs.

They press their foreheads together, hoping it’s not for the last time.

Waverly and Wynonna press their heads together

I wonder how these girls aren’t constantly breaking out on their foreheads with all the pressing together they do.

Wynonna puts Jeremy’s bug juice all over them and they tip toe like cartoon cats past the Beekeepers, who do indeed to be oblivious to their presence.

They find Bulshar by the stairs, looking hella scaly. Wynonna fights him, and while she does, Waverly sneaks around to the stairs, climbs them, and pulls the sword from the stone. (One hilarious beat here was that Wynonna, still unable to see the stairs, thinks she’s levitating.)

Waverly holds the sword

90% sure this means Waverly’s the king.

Waverly uses the powers vested in her by the angels to name Wynonna a hero and toss her the sword. Wynonna immediately recognizes it as Peacemaker, and it lights up and glows blue in response.

As Wynonna and Bulshar fight more, Waverly realizes that she can’t climb down from the stairs. Some kind of barrier has appeared and she is trapped.

Wynonna bests Bulshar, though he gets one last bite out of her before he dies. She falls down, seemingly paralyzed, and Waverly can’t get down the stairs to help her, to heal her.

Waverly looks down, helpless

“You look back at me and suddenly I’m helpless.”

Doc appears just then and latches onto Wynonna’s throat, causing Waverly to scream even more, but then he spits; he was just using his super-sucker to get the venom out of her.

The doors at the top of the stairs open and vines creep out, grabbing Waverly and pulling her in. She begs her sister to give a message to Nicole, to come and get her, to not leave her alone, and despite Wynonna’s last surge of energy she uses to launch herself at the stairs she can finally see, there’s nothing Waverly or her sister can do as she’s pulled beyond the threshold.

As soon as she disappears, a horrible noise resounds, like Earth itself can’t bear to be without Waverly Earp.

Doc looks around and knows what he has to do. He takes off his ammo belt and climbs the stairs, somehow not stopped by the wobbly wall. Is it because he’s already dead? Is it because the stairs actually lead to hell and he’s been there already? Who knows. But Doc is going in for Waverly.

There’s a flash of light and Wynonna finds herself coming to again, with no stairs around her, no sign of her sister, just Doc’s discarded belt, his guns and knife still attached.

wYNONNA LOOKS SO SAD SEND HELP

She also utters this VERY UPSETTING little, “Bye” and it HURT MY FEELINGS.

Wynonna makes her way back to the Homestead, looking for Nicole, Jeremy and Robin, but all she finds is “VALDEZ” scratched into the wood along the staircase. And I don’t know much about Valdez but I know she’s in the comics and I know I’m excited to see how she fits into things.

Wynonna’s second stop is Shorty’s, finding only Nedley left. He says that Chrissy and everyone else who was left in town is gone too, so Wynonna thinks maybe whatever took Waverly got everyone else, that maybe everyone who was still in Purgatory, except her and Nedley, maybe ended up in this Garden of “Eden” that is starting to sound not-very-paradisey.

They’re not sure entirely what to do, but they do know one thing: they have a family to save.

And the season ends with Nedley saying, and I quote, “Fuck yeah,” and Wynonna smiling that mischievous, ready-to-fuck-things-up smile.

Wynonna smiles

Love that shit-kicking grin.

Last week was hard. This year was hard. The past TWO years have been hard. And they’re only getting harder. But we can’t give up. We have to stay strong. And watching Wynonna fight and defeat an old, entitled, sexist white man was very, very satisfying. Watching Waverly Earp come into her powers and demolish the man who has been tormenting her since she was a child was very, very satisfying. Watching the women of this show come together in so many combinations and fight alongside each other and quip and heal and love each other… it was important. It was necessary. And I am sad to lose this particular happy place, but so relieved to know we have another year of mayhem. Rumor has it Rosita will be back (Somehow? Even though the Revenants all disappeared?), Valdez should provide some fun and excitement, and you never know what else this crew will get up to.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this season as much as I have, and that it has provided a much needed escape from the chaos and provided a light in darkness of the world. I know I’ll carry that light with me into the hiatus, and I hope you will, too.

See you in Season Four!

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Valerie Anne

Just a TV-loving, Twitter-addicted nerd who loves reading, watching, and writing about stories. One part Kara Danvers, two parts Waverly Earp, a dash of Cosima and an extra helping of my own brand of weirdo.

Valerie has written 543 articles for us.

36 Comments

  1. And I’ll spend the rest day singing “The battle’s done. And we kind of won. So we sound our victory cheer. Where do we go from here? Why is the path unclear? When we know home is near. Understand. We’ll go hand in hand. But we’ll walk alone in fear”…

  2. Top (shelf) question is indeed WHERE THE HELL IS ROSITA

    (Personally, I hope the whole ‘Peacemaker glowing blue’ thing was a Rev-cure and that she’s mortal now. But also, didn’t someone else get shot w/a blue Peacemaker? Was it Bobo?)

    • [scurries off, checks Netflix]

      Peacemaker glowed *orange* when the gay revenant couple was mercy-killed, *orange* when Bobo was mercy-killed, *blue* when Willa was shot and *blue*when Rosita was shot.

      Of that group, Bobo and the gay revenants seemed *accepting* but Rosita seemed truly, truly *remorseful* for her actions and Willa did as well. So maybe blue is absolution? Forgiveness? If Peacemaker is also the sword at the gates of Eden, stands to reason it could judge people and maybe even mark them as forgiven.

  3. Omg I’m only halfway through reading this recap but came down here to HARD AGREE with “Any! Combination! Of! Characters! On! This! Show! Is! Gold!” I was thinking that all ep!! We got so many good new combos this time!

  4. Hey quick question, how do I send Emily Andras a bill for all the ice cream and whiskey I’m going to need to deal with this finale???

    It’s been a long time since a season finale left me genuinely breathless like that. My hearty congrats to the writers for pulling this off. To see Wynonna almost alone at the end, after knowing that’s her greatest fear…it was heartbreaking. Thank god she has Nedley, though (I’m so happy Nedley isn’t going anywhere).

    Looking forward to potentially having two (maybe three?) women of color on the show next year.

    Last but not least, Jarvis! You may be a Revenant, but I still love you. “Stop trying to make women wear your dead wife’s dress” is maybe one of the best lines of the season. It means a lot when the show casually makes a side character gay, especially when it’s a character from the 1800s. People have always been gay!

  5. Oh also, my first thought after finishing the finale (after I caught my breath) was “I cannot WAIT to see what Valerie Anne has to say about this wild ride of an episode!”

  6. It was Waverly, Gus, Shorty, and Wynonna that helped Waverly be who she is. That may be one of the truest things you’ve ever written, Valerie Anne.

    Also, thanks for putting a Kate/Rosita ship in my head. It’s a very good idea.

    • I’d also argue that Nicole does as well. She helps Waverly find get courage and is just that steady rock.

      Most importantly, Waverly can assert her boundaries and agency to Nicole and know they’re respected, despite Nicole’s overprotectiveness. In terms of training oneself to get over an overly-appeasing personality, learning to be assertive with your loved ones is a great start.

  7. I had a thought that Julian’s comment about Michelle was, perhaps, less about the woman herself and more about what she gave Waverly- her humanity.

    In the scene in the greenhouse, he pays no mind to Doc, because he’s an angel. He’s above beings like Doc; Waverly only matters because she’s kin and she’s part angel and she’s his. But seeing Waverly go to him, being reminded through her and Wynonna and through Wynonna pleading with him to save the woman Waverly loves, perhaps the part of him that once fell in love too woke up. It’s hard to pretend you care not when you once cared a lot. But even his caring was solely because of Michelle. Love is a human emotion, and while Waverly’s powers might come from him, he’s already learning that Waverly’s strength comes not from those powers but from the human emotions she relies on. Unfortunately for him, that’s also what ends up getting him killed.

  8. Huh, Wait, Wha…?

    I wanted to love it, but the pacing was so weird. The story editing didn’t really make sense.
    I could not suspend my disbelief with so many inconsistencies with the elaborate mythologies flying off in all directions.

    Sliced into bit and gifs, the acting and look of the episode great. As always, the quips win.

    But at the end of the day, the finale didn’t work for me.

    • Same. I hate how they explain major plot points in really quick conversations. If I were watching this live on Sci-Fi I would be frustrated because I find myself pausing it on youtube and replaying important scenes. They tried to cram wayyyy too much into the finale.

  9. After last season’s heart-wrenching finale and this season’s hit and miss (mainly Doll’s demise and Kate playing a weird part in the whole Doc-Wynonna saga), I am glad we got a good ol’ showdown at the end.

    First of all, Mercedes in her pretty in pink survival dress for the apocalypse was amazing. Hope DFK will bless this show again next year. Hm, I wonder whether Kate and her hit / snarked it off together.

    Doc’s journey was mind-boggling– He was equal parts saviour (thanks for saving Nicole, Wynonna and possibly Waverly), idiot (blaming Kate for ‘making him’), and heartbreaking to watch (especially in 310). Just to say he was many things, and you couldn’t really tell which Doc you would get in any given episode.

    Wynonna has been through A LOT. Losing Dolls, ‘losing’ Doc when he became a vampire, ‘losing’ Waverly (just a hiatus long, I hope), being bitten by and surviving the wrath of the patriarchy (aka Bulshar the snake)… She was doing her best to keep the gang together with or without peacemaker– And now, the show went down the [SPOILERS] Avenger’s Infinity War route, zapping (almost) everyone away. Ugh, give the woman a break! Anyhow, may I suggest for Carol Danvers to stop by…? ?

    Waverly and Nicole. Happily ever after postponed, but already looking forward to them tying the knot or two.

    Was hoping Mama G would show up again in the finale, but maybe it’s for the better that she didn’t see Bobo kill the love of her life. And about the other complication, I think, it would make her laugh. Probably not the most absurd thing that has ever happened in the history of the Earp women.

    So who is Valdez?! (Haven’t read the comics, so a bit clueless.)

    Thanks again Valerie Anne for the brilliant recapping. Almost time for another super heroine to return, yesss!

      • Thanks for the heads-up. No sleeves Valdez (not sure why that makes me immediately think of B99’s Rosa Diaz…)

        Small correction for my post: Doc was heartbreaking to watch in 309 not 310.

    • All agreed. I loved Mercedes. Please more Dani Fkn Kind.

      And also thanks to Valerie Anne for the great recaps!

  10. I enjoyed every episode this season except for the finale. There were so many continuity issues that it was hard for my brain to shut them out in order to enjoy the good. Still, love the Velma gang though.

    Valerie, you’ve been amazing as always.

  11. I never knew I could hold my breath while screaming for two hours straight.

    ——–

    “So that’s it then? No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take that all away, and what’s left?”

    Her.

    …and her Nedley.

  12. Yes ok that last paragraph made me cry!!!

    I will miss this crazy show so much. But I’m so glad it’s coming back! And thank god they usually resolve huge plot things in like .5 to 3 episodes, so I’m hoping that we will get Waverly (and everyone else!) back soon. A premiere with just Wynonna and Nedley sounds p fun though too.

    I feel bad for Waverly for losing her father (although even though it made me tear up, him calling him Dad was like…a little fast for me), but honestly good riddance to Charlie Fire Services. He made himself worthwhile by saving Nicole, but even/especially as an angel he just kinda annoyed me. I mean, good character work, because I for sure believe that an angel would be that self-righteous and condescending, but I’m good without more of him, thanks.

    I’m very excited for next season!! So cool that they broke the curse, and I loved Wynonna as queen/sort of boozy mother figure for the revenants — it kinda was a foil to last season’s AU where Doc was leading them, much more evily. I’m excited for whoever this Valdez is! And wherever they go next. This being the 2018 Buffy, I kinda hope we see WE’s answer to what gods are like in this universe (can’t you see them doing an amazing nod to Glory?).

    Wait ok this is already v long (sorry) but: do we really think that was for real the first time Waverly said “I love you” to Nicole?? I can sort of see that for the same reasons you said, but also idk how I feel about a proposal being the very first time you tell someone you love them. But I AM very excited for the wedding, it’ll be the cutest thing since [redacted]’s on Steven Universe!!

    • darn mobile, obviously didn’t finish that thought.

      try again: I am watching on Google Play (my only choice and only possible as I bought the S3 pass when I was home and my GooglePlay apps still act like I’m in the US) and even though both eps already aired I only got one this week.

      SO I have had to squint at my screen constantly to avoid spoilers (getting to the comment form here wasn’t easy) and I’m having some serious FOMO that everyone is processing WHATEVER happened without me.

      So now that I’ve cried my little river:

      UGGGGH Charlie/Julian. I remember people guessing that and then we were like, “Nah, this show is weird but they do have some boundaries right?” Welp, guess not! It’s so tempting to spoil the last ep for myself just to find out if he gets turned to stone.

      I really, really miss Dolls. He added such an important counterbalance to the show and damn I miss it.

      I love Mercedes. Please tell me that the finale is kind to her.

      I love that Nicole tells everyone they are fleeing a fire and they’re like, “I don’t see smoke and there’s nothing on the teevee about that but I’ve lived here long enough to just leave and not ask questions. Bye.”

      Robin wanting to let Bobo out was the sweetest. I really want Bobo to be a Snape-ish character and play the dark side in the end.

      I look forward to reading all your thoughts when the Google Gods deem me worthy of the finale. A+

  13. 1. I really didn’t like Charlie FS/Julian either. It didn’t help that the actor had less charisma than Nedley’s shirt. Yes, they were going for humble/amnesia, but still.

    2. The whole Wynonna-Charlie-schtupping thing is the one plot point I really dislike from Emily Andras. Ok, they want us to get emotionally invested in Charlie to a degree, and give him a motivation for hanging around Wynonna/the homestead. I think they could have played it like he was drawn to them and kept helping Wynonna/doing favours, and maybe she thinks he has a crush on her, and that’s all. I really don’t think Wynonna needs to feel any more guilt or have difficulties in that way with Mama. And I’m super relaxed about sexual complications in general (I thought Waverly’s kiss with Rosita was NBD in the circs, and I thought it was handled well subsequently). So yeah, meh to this reveal – at least they got rid of him quickly.

    3. So true with ANYONE on this cast able to have great scenes with each other. Kate and Nicole were funny and sweet with each other.

    4. Rosita + Kate: I ship it.

    5. Nicole walking all the way back into town? Yeah, glaring plot hole. Surely she could have tried driving and then passed out on the way or something.

    6. Loved Waverly fully declaring her love and initiating the proposal. She’s pretty much initiated everything except their first meeting I’m sure Nicole was shocked because she already had the whole getting down on one knee thing mapped out in her mind. Maybe she’ll still get to do it.

    7. Waverly is now in full control of that ring – no problem taking it off now. And I’m pretty sure she deliberately left it with Nicole before the big showdown.

    • Re: Rosita and Kate …. does Rosita even still exist? Since all the revenants around seemed to just evaporate when Bulshar broke the curse?

  14. Oh, and I’m not sure if I’ve said this earlier, Valerie Anne, but the only reason I’m watching this show is because of your recaps. Thank you.

    The delay in becoming a fan is because we didn’t get the show at all for ages in Australia – I binged the first season on Netflix and downloaded the rest to catch up with the recaps. I’d enjoy it even more if I didn’t have to keep up via illegal downloads, but I’ll catch it up in Netflix and DVDs. What particularly gripes me is all the region-blocking of BTS, fanvids and other content on YouTube. I’m not sure how they expect to engage an audience a year behind everyone else (S2 was only released a few weeks ago in Oz).

    (And none of that latter rant is about Valerie Anne – maybe for any PTBs from SyFy or IDW that happen to read.)

    • My workaround was to create a US iTunes account and buying an American gift card online in order to be able to purchase the season pass. The whole thing ended up costing me around $35AUD because I had to get a US$25 gift card (the pass costs US$19.99). I thought it was fair enough for 12 episodes and all the BTS stuff. If you don’t mind waiting for it to drop on Netflix, you can still watch all the youtube videos by getting some free VPN and setting the region to Canada or US : )

      • Thanks for that.

        Yeah, I know the workarounds (I won’t do iTunes, but I’m pretty sure it works similarly with Google Play), but I just wanted to do my whinge about stupid region restrictions/licensing in one more venue. :-)

        It was particularly annoying to me that certain fanvids that were ok prior to S2 release in AU (and are perfectly legal under US “fair use” laws) were blocked within a week by the AU rights-holder because of course copyright law here doesn’t have the same kind of fair use provision. Gah.

        I’m definitely happy to pay, because I do want this sh*tshow to continue. I’m going to spend my main $$ for the DVDs/Blu-ray.

  15. When Kate is reading cards to Nicole she says that Waverly “is with Wyononna” but Nicole says “she’s supposed to be with Charlie” and the very next card Kate says “the one with the sweet blood” and finally that Waverly is “not with him, but of him”……and then shortly thereafter, when Nicole is bleeding, describes Nicole’s blood as “vanilla dipped donuts”. That seems awfully ‘sweet’ to me…what could be the significance of Charley’s ‘sweet’ blood and her blood??

    • Nah, Waverly comments in the alternate universe episode in S2 when they’re in Nicole’s cruiser that she smells like vanilla-dipped donuts, and it’s her favourite smell.

      It’s just how Nicole is, apparently. :-)

  16. I was very satisfied with the way things ended. A little confused as to where we go now that the curse ended but I will leave that in the hands of Emily for season 4.

    I still don’t get what Nicole surviving the cult of Bulshar had to do with anything and I really want Mama to come back in season 4.

    Oh and Aliyah O’Brien for Valdez (you’re welcome). I’ve only seen a few pictures of the character from the comics and she’s a tatted up raven haired badass and I remembered a post Rookie Blue guest spot that Aliyah did as a tatted up badass and it just stuck in my mind.

  17. Oh, 1 more thing. Nicole totally accepted the proposal, her and Waverly were holding hands at the table and she was still wearing the ring, so yeah just like they had the secret wife/kissing Rosita off screen I am sure Nicole’s reply was a yes to Waverly’s not really asking the question.

    And I am not surprised Waverly was the one to ask, I always thought it should be her. It was definitely a favorite scene this season.

  18. Great recap to another great season! However, there are two questions that I thought would linger and then go away, but haven’t:

    One, why was Nicole eating baby carrots on the porch? With everything going on she somehow found time for a snack? And chooses as that snack the most flavorless, unnecessarily pared down, bastardized version of a vegetable? I find this decision both poor and confusing.

    Second, why was Waverly (who is half angle) able to use the ring multiple times for both healing and hurting (including raising the dead) with apparently no ill effects and Julian (who is a full angel) uses it once and is totally spent? Another confusing moment for me.

    Oh, one more thing – was Doc able to climb the stairs because Waverly had “cured” him from being a vampire when she touched him in the greenhouse, thus turning him back to mortal?

    Any insight anyone can provide would be great. Or I’ll just continue to obsess on this until Season 4.

    • I didn’t understand the baby carrot thing (that it was so specific) but I’m assuming that she got a snack because she needed to get her strength up kind of like you drink juice or eat a cookie after giving blood. My question was when did Waverly have time to get her hair done between 310 and 311 since they seemingly happened right after.

      The Waverly and the ring thing is an interesting point. Maybe because Nicole’s injury was severe and he had to use more strength to heal her whereas touching Mercedes was light. I don’t think she brought Charlie back from the dead I think the ring zapped its owner kind of like Peacemaker would zap Wynonna.

  19. I love this show but this finale was a flaming hot mess. Too many unanswered questions for a finale. It was just…not good.

  20. Now that I’ve finally watched the finale and digested it for a while…

    I just really didn’t love this season. It DEFINITELY had its top shelf moments, but overall… the mythology felt incomplete and rushed, Doc’s entire story line was inconsistent and obnoxious, Kate was under-used, the importance of Nicole being a survivor was underdeveloped, the engagement felt awkwardly timed, and oh the inconsistencies and pacing of the finale. Also, as I’ve complained about before, I wish Dolls’s death had a more obvious influence throughout the season. And last but certainly not least, the whole Charlie/Julian thing (Whyyyyy?).

    The acting is still stellar, I love most of the characters, and the quips are hilarious. So I am still super looking forward to S4, but I’ll probably skip over most of this season when I do my re-watching between now and then.

    • I agree with pretty much all of your comments. Even with their needing to do a little more digesting over Dolls (despite the fact, while I think Shamier Anderson seems like a lovely guy, I’m not into his acting. So I wasn’t that invested in the Dolls storyline, and thought that the “romance” with Wynonna completely unnecessary.)

      I wonder if it was too do with their shuffling around the writers this season. There was a lot of really good stuff, but a lot of confusion and dangling plotlines. Obviously the stories aren’t told in a totally linear fashion, but I like the plotlines to at least feel they’re advancing in an understandable way. The Cult of Bulshar stuff with Nicole being indeed a really notable one.

      I’m sure some of it will be resolved next season, but even if some of it is ongoing storyline, that plot progress is less muddled and better paced.

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