Wynonna Earp: Leavin’ On Your Mind Recap

Synopsis of 1×03: Wynonna realizes a Revenant killing spree has a more sinister purpose; Waverly sets out to unearth Henry’s past.

Rating: ★★★★☆

With the revenants itching to get out of the Ghost River Triangle, a violent murder comes across the table of the Black Badge Division. After looking at the tapes around one of the murders, Wynonna recognizes that one of the revenants in the group that’s gone rogue is one of the seven that attacked her home and took Willa.

As Wynonna and Dolls go after the rogue revenants, Waverly discovers the truth that Henry is actually Doc Holliday. I’m glad this happened in the most realistic way, given how much Waverly has studied the family history, she was bound to find a picture of Doc sooner rather than later. When he approaches her as Henry initially, she tests the waters with him, but she doesn’t get much.

After telling her that he is living on Bobo del Rey’s property, Waverly follows him to see him talking with Bobo. Although Doc now owes Bobo nothing, Bobo has the name of the Stone Witch who seems to have a hold over Doc. This is the same Stone Witch that the rogue revenants are trying to appease this episode, by the way. In order for Doc to get the name of the witch, Bobo asks him to get closer to Wynonna and to seduce her. It’s too bad that Waverly doesn’t hear much of this, because she’s caught by Bobo and Doc when her phone goes off, and Doc fires a warning shot near her head that sends her running.

Can we talk about how bizarre it is for me to write Bobo del Rey every week? Like, that’s never not going to be a completely hilarious name.

When Doc confronts Waverly at Shorty’s, the two have it out with Waverly asking how he could betray his best friend and work with the bad guys. This seems to strike a nerve, it definitely doesn’t seem like old Henry is enjoying the idea of falling in with the revenants, even less so on the prospect of using his connection with Wynonna for Bobo’s sake. He blows up at Waverly, targeting her deep-seeded desire to be the one to break the curse and her insecurities as Wynonna’s younger sister. Low blow, Henry.

Meanwhile, Wynonna comes across Marty, one of the seven, grave robbing at the cemetary where she’s visiting Willa and her Dad. Marty is able to escape but not without Wynonna grabbing the piece of paper he was digging for. She and Dolls track the revenants to a surplus store that used to be the bank where they suspect the revenants are going to try and break into the old security deposit.

Before they can make a move on the revenants they are spotted, the revenants take the people inside the surplus store hostage, the hostages include Shorty and Champ, Waverly’s pretty-but-simple boyfriend. Despite the plan to trade herself for the hostages, the revenants take Wynonna and only free half of them, leaving her and Shorty and Champ to be kept as hostages. With Wynonna’s help they unlock the vault and get the final piece they need for a ritual that will summon the Stone Witch and help them leave the triangle.

Dragging the three of them out to the ritual site, the police and Dolls are forced to just watch them drive off as they hold the hostages still. Good thing Dolls artfully planted a tracker on Wynonna and tails them to their destination. The episode plays out in a rather predictable fashion, with Wynonna losing another person that she really cares about to the hand of the revenants. Shorty gets badly injured, and after Champ leaves Wynonna realizes that the ritual is a possession and offers up her own body to the revenant in hopes that Dolls will kill her right after.

Of course Shorty doesn’t let it get that far and takes the figurative bullet for her, since he’s already fatally wounded. Forced to shoot Shorty, it’s another crushing loss for Wynonna. She may have sent the revenants back to hell, but the price feels too high for her. At Shorty’s funeral, Dolls picks the monstrously inopportune time to drop the line of “to make an omlette, you gotta crack some eggs.” Well okay, not literally, but he as much as says that sometimes people have to die. It does not help the conversation at all, and it leaves her feeling worse about herself and about the Black Badge Division.

Heading home, she finds Henry/Doc at her house. He dances around the subject a little, though her sour mood leads him straight to the point. He reveals his identity to her, admitting that Waverly was correct. The two of them danced around some flirtation in the first few scenes of the episode, and despite his apprehension of Bobo’s request, it seems he’s decided that it’s worth it to get the name of the Stone Witch.

It wasn’t a perfect episode, but I like the direction the show is taking with this episode. With Doc’s identity revealed, we can start seeing the team work together. Although Dolls’ lesson is a tough pill to swallow, Shorty’s death was unavoidable and ultimately it meant another revenant back to hell. His knowledge of the ritual just speaks to more of his past demon fighting, so far his character has been a little too guarded, it’ll be intriguing to see him open up as the episodes progress. And who can ignore the great moments from Officer Haught this episode, especially in reference to Champ. Here’s hoping the WayHaught ship doesn’t take too long to sail.