My reaction to the pilot of Wynonna Earp is similar to many of the other light hearted, tongue in cheek Syfy fare, meh. Z Nation, for example, premiered on Syfy with a rather unimpressive episode. However, the B-movie inspired zombie show slowly grew on me over its first two seasons; it had a certain charm and a self-awareness about it that made it one of my favourite guilty pleasures on television as it now heads into its third season. Based on its characters alone, Wynonna Earp has great potential to follow suit.
We are introduced to a cast of eclectic supporting characters. Among them, Wynonna's spunky and curious sister Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkey), who first appears barging into a room where Wynonna is interrogating her boyfriend, shooting one round off. An emphatic and humorous intro to quite the dynamic character.
There is also Xavier Dolls (Shamier Anderson), a special agent who recruits Earp, and who they already teased as being a future love interest. Lastly, there is the mysterious and apparently immortal Doc Holliday, who may or may not be an ally to Wynonna.
There were some strong emotional beats too. The scene where Waverly calls out her sister as a coward, after Wynonna decides to run away again from Purgatory and thus her destiny, was a memorable moment. The fact Wynonna is aware of her flaws and just accepts it and doesn't try to change makes her a compelling character.
Overall, 'Purgatory' introduced Wynonna Earp with some clunky and generic storytelling, however, this did not hold down the show too much. A strong cast and the fact the show is aware of how fun it can be provides plenty of promise and intrigue to keep tuning in.
7/10
What did you guys think? Will you continue to watch? Leave your thoughts below!
