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As an Earper, a part of me wished Wynonna Earp: Vengeance didn’t exist. This is from the perspective of someone who has for years talked to the cast and showrunner, reviewed the show, and appreciated the queer representation that was done because it has never been done in the way it was done in this particular show. But the issue I am facing is trying to match what we knew of these characters over four seasons with the characters I saw in Vengeance.
I, too, rejoice in being taken back to Purgatory. I am excited about the fact that we are getting to see these different sides of Purgatory we have grown to love because there is so much healing that happens and getting things right is not linear. Life is not like that. Life is messy and we do slip backward at times. That is Vengeance’s strongest aspect and also its weakest. But I do think it leaned a little bit too much into the reboot of it all which leaves me wondering whether I will watch this again. And that sucks.
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance has opened my eyes to the fact that the titular character never stopped running after season 4. She did what I wished for her to do the most, which was to go and find Alice and live happily ever after with Doc. Instead, she ran. And ran. For two years.
She was searching for a high – the kind where she would be in complete control of her life. That is why it was crucial to her to witness Wynonna choose to stay in Purgatory for herself. So much of her life has frequently been dictated by others, making this decision Wynonna’s life-changing choice showcases the fact that growth constantly occurs in one’s life after being a child, after dying, and even after saving the world.
From the Vengeance series, other than Wynonna, my favorite character has to be Doc Holliday. I never really cared for him as much as I did other male characters like Dolls. Even Jeremy was more appealing than Doc. But he was the one character in Vengeance who never forgot who he was and what he wanted. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he has been alive longer.
Nevertheless, he did spend a lot of time in that well, planning out his revenge, so I don’t think he is that far ahead of everyone else. He really was Doc Holliday. He was a loving spouse, friend, father, and also a savior. And even though I had been told of his death beforehand, I did not expect to shed as many tears as I did. To me, it felt like we started bidding adieu way too soon alongside new viewers being bored into the show on new seasons.
However, that does not mean that all hope is lost in terms of romance. There is still Waverly and Nicole, or as “Wayhaught”. Even though I have a million feelings towards their storyline and regardless of the slew of issues I have with their story, I appreciate that Nicole has matured into a sheriff role. And I appreciate that Waverly is now venturing out into the world like she has never before. With all her skills in the investigative line of work, she had always stood out and right from the start of Wynonna Earp, I feel that she had the most potential out of everyone in her entire town.
I’m happy for her that she is able to soar with the knowledge that there is always a place she can return to.
We can’t end this particular good part without mentioning the battle royal in the Underworld. Wynonna was sure to deliver some memorable lines and appeared to be so in control of the situation which reminds me of the Wynonna we saw at the end of season 4. It was as if Wynonna was confronting her very own fears alongside the demons that accompanied those fears and her deep-rooted insecurities. It’s exhilarating, in a word, and yes she made a blunder that in the end condemned this woman to twenty years of hell, but it led her to face the situation head-on. In the end, she took a stand because she chose to and accepted the consequences. Heirs always keep getting up, no matter how tough the situation is, because they know the world is a minefield.
Selling “Wynonna Earp: Vengeance” as a reboot was completely misguided. This show comes alongside an impressive fan base as is. They did not need to market it as a reboot in order for people to watch. Put it this way having it for free on Tubi was bound to make people curious regardless. And if Tubi really does care about views, all they have to do is look at the 9-1-1 fandom where new people started watching in season 7 just because the two men kissed. The show already had a queer rep for years, but that’s another topic for a different day. The bottom line is: if there are queer things in the vicinity, do not be concerned people will come and people will watch. Perhaps maybe I am the fool for thinking it was going to be a super soft reboot, but Vengeance feels like a canon divergence fanfiction with characters we know and love in a different alternate universe. It’s fine if I have to think of Vengeance as a fanfiction. But this is not fanfiction.
There are keystone points, the way in which the town treated Wynonna and the way Wynonna believed they treated her.
Did I watch four seasons of this small town being saved over and over again by Wynonna? Am I missing something? There is no way these people do not know that she is the hero. She earned her place there over and over, shed blood for them, and lost people to save them. And unless I am misremembering some sort of mind wipe on the town, I thought they would be a little bit more warm. People in general are stupid and ignorant, I’ll give Vengeance that. But that tidbit mixed with how excited Wynonna was for constant peril for some reason felt like it clashed with the journey we saw over four seasons after the show moved from Syfy.
Then there were the more mean things that the best characters we love were saying to one another. I know that healing is not a straight line but….why was Wynonna claiming Nicole was “keeping Waverly on the hook,” as if she was holding her back? Does she not understand Waverly is a grown woman who can do what she wants? Nicole certainly would not do that to her wife.
Perhaps, if there was miscommunication, it was done unintentionally. However, there was this narrative that Nicole was preventing Waverly from going after her goals, and that Nicole thought that Wynonna was a terrible sister who only came in with an abundance of chaos and troubles. Are we really forgetting all the years that they fought together as a family and how much they care for each other?
I know they remembered later on in the special how much they loved each other, but from some lines, my favorite characters spoke to each other, it felt like they were complete strangers not only to each other but also to me as a viewer.
Doc’s death was completely uncalled for. Doc was a very unique character who was well established and it was fascinating to follow him along as he tried to balance his new family life and career. Most importantly, he had a well-established identity without heaving all of his issues overboard. Everyone else other than Mercedes felt like a mashup of trained versions of themselves stuck in the problems of season one, but set two years after the series finale. While I knew his death was inevitable, it pained me to watch him dying and watching comfort Wynonna saying that she had already saved him.
And while I’m still angry, and disappointed, that was brilliant writing from Emily Andra. And Tim Rozon performed that scene completely unlike anyone else I have seen on the show. It was further worsened by the fake outs at him possibly dying. We were shown one of these fake outs when he fell off the train, had a shoot-out on the road, and then when he started collapsing to the ground after walking toward Wynona.
Wynonna also deserved better and Doc deserved better Wynonna. For me personally, I grew tired of watching everyone fu**ing develop character out of grief and loss over someone they cared about. I wanted to watch Wynonna and Doc face the world together without any ambiguity or doubts about the love they share for each other and their child. He can come back because it is Wynonna Earp. But I can still be mad about it.
I can definitely be frustrated with Wayhaught’s treatment in the show. From the cast interviews, I looked forward to how Vengeance would tackle the idea that it is not all roses. Every relationship has its challenges. However, it seems like for many of them, Vengeance did regress these characters or they felt like an AU canon divergence version of themselves in how Waverly and Nicole were treating each other. For Nicole, it was the manner in which she talked to Wynonna regarding how she has influenced Waverly. That was distasteful. And for Waverly, what about when she said “Shelf it haught, I know when I’m being managed?” Pardon? This is your wife. While doing research, she literally brought you hot chocolate. It felt dismissive and like they were not in sync with their relationship. Because it is okay to have differing viewpoints about a situation. But you do not treat your partner with such disdain in the middle of all that nonsense.
Then there is Waverly, the last nail in the coffin for me for Wynonna Earp: Vengeance. The actress claimed in other interviews I have seen that we would get to see a more grown up Waverly.
Where was the more mature? Because Waves is a pillar of strength and this person summary says OOC. But I didn’t recognize the Waverly that was partying that hard or emulating Wynonna and getting into trouble with a broken bottle in her hand threatening a human and drunk. I did see her excited to hear from Wynonna, in research mode, when she was taking down those hellhounds or when she was after with Jeremy who we didn’t get to see enough and is a tragedy in itself. And I understand that being a human is complex. But we have seen Waverly go through a lot tougher things in her life across four seasons without being OOC.
In the form of an Audible Original and potential further specials, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance and everything that comes after it has potential. And yes, I believe there are going to be new viewers and I will probably be there right along with everyone else. Because even if I’m not satisfied with Vengeance, I’m an Earper and that’s not going to change. But being an Earper and loving something like this so much, I need to be truthful. And to an extent, this review was honest, and I hate the fact that it had to be written. At the end of the day, Wynonna Earp cannot be pigeonholed and that is why I am always confident that it will continue to expand the scope of its narrative. I would like it very much if the franchise were to develop more movies, seasons, books and etc, and change the narrative world once again.
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