Wynonna Earp – Holy War Part II

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

The episode begins in a flashback that shows Nicole (Katherine Barrell) submerging herself into the ice bath of death while Jeremy (Varun Saranga) and Nedley (Greg Lawson) prepare to perform her exorcism. The rules of the exorcism are that Nicole drowns, the hourglass is turned and when the last grain of sand drops the spell is reversed. Nicole’s soul will temporarily be transferred into the body of a frog. Nicole goes under the water, but Jeremy is forced to hold her down when her survival instincts kick in. Just as she flatlines, Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) enters the room and…we’re all caught up. Waverly goes on a minor rampage before realizing that Nicole is technically dead – but Jeremy assures her that she’s not dead – she’s a frog! Elsewhere, Margot (Paula Boudreau) has a jar containing a frog of her own, one representative of Nicole. When she spots that her pet frog is near death she understands that Nicole is trying to loophole her way out of the deal and decides to put a mark out on Waverly as retribution. She summons Reaper!Billy (Billy Bryk) to kill Waverly while a sneaky Rachel (Martina Ortiz-Luis) watches from behind a stack of junk.

Rosita (Tamara Duarte), Doc (Tim Rozon) and Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) continue their union at Steve Gulch – where Wynonna flirts with Rosita through clenched teeth. Rosita explains to them that after she slept with a Revenant’s wife they cornered her there just before an earthquake struck. The earthquake somehow made the revenants that weren’t standing on the rock in Steve’s Gulch to disappear. Rosita, afraid to get swallowed up like her revenant brethren, remained standing on the protected rock until discovered by Doc and Wynonna. After a few moments of observation Wynonna realizes that there is ammolite present. And with the Earp curse now broken, ammolite should protect revenants instead of harming them. They create an ammolite path for Rosita and exchange forgiveness, which Doc dishes out far more freely than Wynonna. Then, the Celtic Sisters’ Knot appears inviting Wynonna and Rosita into the world of women scorned.

Jeremy tells Waverly that the entire drowning ordeal was Nicole’s choice and asks her to watch the amphibious version of Nicole while they wait. The hourglass finally runs empty and the spell reversal begins – but it is interrupted by Reaper!Billy. In the commotion Frog Nicole is set loose. Unable to see the Reaper, Jeremy and Nedley watch as Waverly tries to escape from his cursed clutches. With Waverly in danger, Nicole wills herself to ascend from the frog and manages to push Reaper!Billy into the basement. Now non-corporeal, Nicole looks down at her dead body and tries to make her presence known. The signs she tries to send to her friends don’t seem to get through to them, so Waverly decides to kiss frogs until Nicole comes back. Nicole manages to flicker the lights in Morse code to alert them that she is no longer in a frog. Nicole tells them to go into the basement where she will be able to communicate through the Reaper.

Nicole takes control over Reaper!Billy, who explains that he was given the rage of a thousand ancestors and a little insight on the deal she made with Margot. Nicole, through Billy, explains that Nicole traded a soul for a soul, and that she technically belongs to Margot unless the spell is truly broken. The only way to break the spell is to kill both actors. With Nicole dead, Margot is the only outlier. Waverly resolves to make it two-for-two and leaves Shorty’s to kill Margot.

In the Sanctuary of Scorned Women, Rosita realizes that Wynonna is trying to trade her in exchange for Peacemaker. Their grievances now out in the air, the nuns order Rosita and Wynonna for a fight to the death, which Wynonna doesn’t necessarily deserve to win. The two women fight with Wynonna making her self-serving desire to get Peacemaker at anyone’s expense known. Rosita gets a few good shots in, but the more the women grapple the more they realize that there’s an easier way. The head nun Medea (Heather Lea MacCallum), growing angry with the delays, reveals herself as a demon – a revelation that pushes Wynonna and Rosita to work together. They distract the nuns and flee to the weapons room, but the nuns are doing their best to break down the door. Wynonna, in a desperate attempt to appeal to her beloved Peacemaker, calls it names until a sword begins to glow blue. Like an alcoholic Jedi, Wynonna uses the force to call Peacemaker to her and the sword transforms back into the trust Buntline Special. Wynonna shoots the head nun, killing her, and the rest of the nuns are released from their hypnosis – now ready to plead allegiance to the women.

Doc gets a call from Sheriff Holt (Ty Olsson), letting him know that Rachel was picked up trespassing on Magpie Ranch. When Doc gets to the station, the men discuss their unique situations – each surrounded by women who are willing to let them fight to the death. Holt offers to reason with his mother about ending the feud and Doc agrees to reason with Wynonna and the Earps. Doc grabs Rachel and they leave, but not before Rachel tells Doc that Margot put a mark out on Waverly. He decides to take matters into his own hands, not completely trusting the Earps to squash the centuries-old feud, and heads to the Ranch.

Wynonna and Rosita are getting ready to pack it up and leave the Sanctuary, but Rosita recognizes a few of the nuns and takes a liking to some others. With the haze of Medea’s glamour gone, Rosita recognizes the remaining nuns as Wyatt Earp’s victims. She has found her people. Rosita decides to stay with the nuns. As they part ways, Rosita drops a bomb. Margot was the one who wanted to buy Alice from her. Wynonna leaves the Sanctuary and arrives in Shorty’s with murder on her mind. Jeremy and Nedley tell Wynonna about Waverly’s plan and the eldest Earp makes her way to the ranch to settle the score. When she arrives she finds Waverly stumbling out of the barn. Waverly, as it seems, beat everyone to Mam Clanton and used her angel powers to kill the Swamp Witch with nothing more than the grasping of her head.

This is where we see a convergence of our heroes and villains, some who (at this point) have switched sides. Holt is at the ranch too and finds his mother’s dead body. Grief overcomes him and he accosts Wynonna, telling her that their chance at squashing the family feud died with his mother. Doc approaches before they can kill each other and gets both Wynonna and Holt to lower their guns. Doc grabs Holt and offers to get a drink with him, but the second they turn around Wynonna shoots Holt in the back, dishonorably killing the man. A clear line drawn in the sand, everyone parts ways to reconvenes at the Homestead. Wynonna and Doc talk outside, but things have changed. Doc, ready to move on from the past and evolve from his sins, knows that what Wynonna did was wrong. After leaving a Sanctuary full of innocent victims of Wyatt Earp, Wynonna learned nothing. Wynonna tries to reason with him, letting him know that the Clantons wanted to buy Alice – but he doesn’t react.

Waverly calls them into the house to celebrate their victory and Nicole’s resurrection. There is a somber note in the air as Doc and Wynonna distance themselves from one another – but Waverly and Nicole fill the home up with enough warmth to get them all through the night. In the episode (and maybe the entire season’s most tender moment) Nicole and Waverly fumble through mutual proposals until Waverly asks to take the lead. In front of all their family and friends, Nicole officially accepts Waverly’s proposal. They exchange “I love yous” while their family watch. Wynonna sobs. Doc watches the moment conclude before slipping away from the group – and we’re left with new divisions, strengthened unions and one long hiatus.