Well, after a rather lackluster episode last week, Wynonna Earp delivered its best episode yet with 'Blade.' We finally got to see our core team of four work together, featuring some great character dynamics. To boot, the villain of the week was darn tootin' creepy.
'Blade' introduces another one of the seven revenants involved with ruining Wynonna's life that fateful night. This one, August Hamilton, is a creature who feeds on his victims sins. If they can't seek forgiveness, he ends their life. The interesting aspect about him is that he travels between mirrors. He's like a bloody Mary who needs no summoning.
In my last review I wrote how I hope to see a better balance between humor and drama, as sometimes the quirkiness felt a little overboard and it felt forced. 'Blade' offered that balance. The theme of forgiveness at this episode's core led to some very revealing and tender character moments. In particular, Doc telling Earp how he wishes her to have a life full of more than just memories and regret was very touching.
We also learn more about our two male leads. It is revealed in a flashback that Doc was abandoned by his best friend, Wyatt Earp, after the gunman found out Doc made a deal with a demon to have immortality in order to outlive his tuberculosis. The cowboy never got to apologize to his best friend, which he reveals as the one regret that had hung over his head like a black cloud.
With regards to Dolls, not much of his past is revealed, but we do find out he was in Kandahar in his past and committed some sins he did not seem to be too fond about. It would have been nice to flesh that out more in this episode, but there is only so much you can fit in 45-minutes and this episode was, at its heart, Doc's story. There are still many more episodes down the road to explore Doll's past, as well.
Both Dolls and Doc had their first interaction and it was fun to watch. Doc even made our straight faced Dolls laugh hysterically. The two male leads look like they could play well off each other and this love/hate relationship brewing between them could make for some very entertaining interactions in episodes to come.
One last essential storyline of this episode was of course, Wynonna and her sins, after the titular character is targeted by Hamilton. It was funny to see her running around the town seeking forgiveness - everyone has some kind of beef with her. However, the forgiveness she needed was right in front of her - Waverly.
The younger Earp reveals to Wynonna that she spent four years of university learning ancient languages and cultures, committing her life to hopefully breaking the curse and yet, the sibling who is always running away ends up to be the special one. Essentially, the forgiveness Wynonna needed was for being a disappointment to her younger sister. The heart to heart scene between the siblings at the end of the episode was another emotional high point in this fantastic episode.
The highlight of the episode though was seeing the sisters, Dolls and Doc working together to destroy the creature. We had seen enough of Doc and Bobo in the first three episodes, let's see him working with team Earp for once and it was great. The immortal cowboy fit in perfectly with the protagonists. The scene also provided some tense thrills, like when Dolls got possessed.
Seeing the four together makes me wonder how Haught will fit into all this, if at all, as she did not make an appearance in 'Blade.' There is still so much more to explore with these four characters both individually and as a group, and so far Haught seems to be unnecessary. Do we really need to involve Waverly in a relationship right now?
Overall, Wynonna Earp has taken that next step in improvement with 'Blade.' Characters were fleshed out more and the chemistry between everyone is spot on. Doc in particular continues to be quite the enigmatic character; his story provided a lot of heart to an episode full of some very touching moments.
10/10
What did you guys think? Were you impressed with 'Blade' as much as this review? Leave your comments below!
