Before the season finale aired Emily Andras ( Showrunner and writer) , Melanie Scorfano( Wynonna Earp) and Natalie Krill (Willa Earp) answered questions about the upcoming finale , the cliff-hanger ending and the importance of LGBT characters.
Warning for those who have not seen the season 1 finale this article contains spoilers.
When I heard about the premise of this new show I was intrigued and was lucky enough each week to preview this series for Spoiler TV.
You have the Great, Great Granddaughter of Wyatt Earp that is the heir on her 27th Birthday, well cursed in this case to put down all the demons with the aid of Wyatt's gun known as Peacemaker. These were once criminals in Wyatt's time, 77 to be exact and if you don’t get them all then they rise again. However, they are all stuck in Purgatory, the Earp’s hometown.
Wynonna is a reluctant Heroine who grows throughout the 13 episodes, though loses faith in herself when her older sister, Willa, returns whom she believed was killed by the 7 but has no memory of her past. Once Willa’s memories return so do her intentions and that has she allied herself with the head demon, Bobo Del Rey, seems Wynonna’s dad had struck a deal with the devil so to speak.
As expected a showdown between the two sisters is inevitable and no surprises when I asked the question of the hardest scene to film both actresses stated this particular scene. The finale was everything you could hope from for a season-ending including a cliff-hanger.
Here is what the stars and showrunner had to say
Emily Andras and Natalie Krill answered the question about Bobo and Willa’s relationship.
Natalie Krill: Well, Emily can help me out with this, but I'll say my perspective on it. I think that it starts out as a, you know, a Stockholm syndrome type of relationship, you know, falling in love with your captor. But then I think as their relationship grows on, it actually kind of reverses dynamic and Bobo is more at the mercy of Willa towards the end of it, I would say. What do you think, Emily?
Emily Andras: Oh, yes, I think that's perfect. I think she definitely is the power player by the end.
Natalie Krill: Yes.
Emily Andras: It's kind of a good question and I'm actually a little loath to commit. I think that's one of the things that makes Willa such a delicious character and Natalie did such an amazing job portraying her. She remains a mystery. There are hints that when she was younger, she wasn’t necessarily the nicest kid. She was kind of a bully to Waverly. But at the same time, we've also seen that she was kind of, you know, subject to her own kind of psychological trials vis-à-vis her dad, who was training her to basically be a killer and he's kind of a mean drunk. So, you know, it's kind of a question we ask ourselves a lot about villains, is like, were they born or were they made? And with Willa...
Natalie Krill: Yes.
Emily Andras: ...I would argue that it's a little bit of both. You know, if I'm Wynonna though, I think the important thing is, this is someone that I love and she was clearly broken along the way and I did the right thing, which is I maybe put her out of her misery. But I think there's still some story to explore in exactly what happened to Willa and why she went bad, so to speak.
Next, they were asked about the emotional turmoil and struggle between Willa and Wynonna in their final scene.
Natalie Krill: Well, I'll just say from Willa's perspective I think she does love Wynonna deeply but what's driving her is she thinks she's doing something that's for the greater good. So she's a martyr. She thinks, you know, like nothing else matters because she's going to save everyone, this -- and this is what she has to do. You know, it doesn’t matter about her relationships and this and that, it's just that she has to do this.
Melanie Scrofano: Yes, and the same thing for Wynonna, like, I think they're both -- they both really believe that their way is going to be the thing that saves the world so to speak. And -- but it's also that tricky thing of like for Wynonna, this her big sister who was her best friend and, you know, besides her father, this is who she idolized. And to have -- to be able to see her for what she is now is really difficult and really -- it's just sort of a -- you know, there's that block that happens when you love somebody and you don’t want see them honestly, which was really sad. And I hope I sort of answered the question.
Melanie apologized as she was in public, I wonder where? I can imagine people looking over as she was answering questions. She even made a joke about it.
Emily Andras: When you guys were talking about it you made me realize you girls are so smart. When you were talking about, you made me realize like, oh, my God, Willa and Wynonna kind of want the same thing. They both think they’re saving the world. And now that that's what I intended. I'm going to be like yes, that's what they want. That's totally what I wrote but it's not. You guys are way smarter. So see? Yes.
Emily Andras has often commented this show was her baby others might look at it as ugly but she loves it cause it's hers and is she surprised by how well it has been received.
Emily Andras: Right. Well, I'm so glad the end of your question wasn’t, "And you're right, nobody likes your baby. Bye." And that would have been -- that would have been weird for you to call in and to specifically say that. To say I hate your baby and then hang up. That would have been so odd. But -- oh, I honestly, like I know people say this all the time, but I am completely blown away by the response. And so delighted. Like I wanted people to like it. You know, you just want people to like it. You just want to make people feel something and then to enjoy it. But I feel like the fact that people have just fallen in love and really understood how talented this cast is and how once in a lifetime this cast is, has made me so happy. And so just the fact that people are sometimes looking it through a lens of like -- it's a really strong feminist show or it has really good representation or we're trying to talk about themes that are kind of interesting even though it’s the demon cowgirl show. I think that little piece of it that people think it's kind of -- for lack of a better term, sometimes it's smart is something I wouldn’t have even dared to let myself think. So it's like we put glasses on the smushed baby face to make it look smart and people are like hey, this is good. So I honest could not be more thrilled. I feel like just completely delighted and proud. So proud. I'm so proud of these guys on the line. I just think they're so exceptional and we were so lucky to have them. So there you go.
There were a few questions regarding comic con and plans for future cons.
Melanie is terrified for SDCC as doesn’t like crowds but excited to meet fans . They have no plans for any future cons so far but as they are tied to IDW publishing I am sure they may be appearing at some in the future.
When Melanie was asked about how Wynonna feels about Haught dating her sister
Unfortunately, some of Melanie’s answer was lost to interference but basically, she said her interpretation is she wants Waverly to be happy and ok and Nicole seems like a good person who makes her happy so Wynonna is good with that.
There was also talk of the dress in episode 12 , and agreement it was very ‘plungey’ insisted on my Melanie .
On to a more serious note as we are all aware of the recent death toll of LGBT characters in a lot of TV shows. Emily was asked about this and I really respected her answer.
Emily Andras: Right. Well, first of all, I would never speak to the thought process of another show or another show runner or another writing room. I don’t know what excuse is given there. Yes, I just would never know. And like as a show runner, I always am careful to say there are a thousand, thousand things that go into any decision on a show, especially when you're killing off a character. I do -- I'm incredibly aware of the Bury Your Gays trope and was quite astonished at what happened in 2016 where we were basically losing lesbians left, right, and center. Like to be completely honest, it was pretty crazy. I'm hoping it was just a terrible, terrible coincidence and if nothing else, I think that there's one good thing that came out of the destruction so to speak is that the Bury Your Gays trope really became front and center in the media.
It became something that we were talking about as a group and that is a good way to start making change. One thing I'm really proud about and that I really want to emphasize is that our show was written in its entirety and shot before of this went down. We've been finished since January 2016, so what may or may not have happened on the -- no, it's fine. I'm just like what may or may not have happened on other shows had no bearing on our shows. That being said, I'm lucky enough that I am a woman writing a genre who was involved with another show called Lost Girl amazing things with LGBT. Which did amazing things with LGBT representation. We were really proud that we had a bisexual lead who ultimately ended up with her female love interest and that was really important to us. And the well-versed in representation of the LGBT community on screen and also how passionate and dedicated and lovely that community is as fan base and how, dare I say, desperate to see themselves represented on screen in a way that feels fully fleshed out. They want to see themselves as three-dimensional characters. They want to see them as different characters. Not every lesbian is the same. It's the same way not every straight guy is the same. Although sometimes it feels like it. Whoa. As far as portrayal on screen.
So I just feel like that I am lucky enough or I know what I want and I what I really like is to write three-dimensional female characters, that is very much I think what makes Wynonna Earp work. We have a variety of women on the show who -- from villains to straights, to lesbians, what have you, to cops, to sisters. So I think if you are just writing a variety of women on the screen, no one woman has to represent all women. And part of that is just want to give satisfying storylines that don’t necessarily end in destruction, because of who they are or who they love. So yes, I'm very aware of the trope. I know it's a trope that's very dangerous and needs to be addressed on television so it's something that I'm very conscious of when I'm writing.
And I hope more people are aware of it after this year. I really truly think you would have to be crazy not to know that this is something that we maybe should discuss and maybe do better at.
As there seems to be a few demon-hunting show out there they were asked who would you team Wynonna up with no surprises that Buffy was the answer.
Emily Andras: I'm just going to back to the well for me personally and just go for Buffy. I would just rank -- I would love to see Buffy at the age she would be now, so like 40 years old, late 30s, well past high school. I would love for her to land in purgatory and have to team up -- team up with Wynonna Earp. That, to me, would be the ultimate. So if you could ask Joss Whedon and he's cool with that. Not sure he is going to be super cool with it but that would be -- that would be my fangirl dream.
Melanie Scorfano: I was not going to say the same thing just because you said it, like I actually was going to say Buffy. But your answer was better because you made her like present day and -- yes, and I would -- but Wynonna would -- we could do a training scene like she did with Dolls but with Buffy. That would be amazing.
Finally I got to my turn to ask the questions but as it came round I was crossing questions on the list so I asked the one most people always like to know the hardest scene to film , maybe this is we need to know its tough for actors .I imagined the challenges of filming in the Canada in the winter and the emotional turmoil of the finale .
Oh, I know. I know. This is Melanie speaking. Natalie and I did a scene together that I think we shot it over two -- like at least two days. Like...
Natalie Krill: Yes, that's what I was going to say, too.
Melanie Scrofano: Yes. Because we needed different times of day and we needed -- we needed to be reacting to things that weren't there and it was just really physically demanding even though it -- like it was really cold, which is we're used to that but it was cold as well as like we had a lot of dialogue and we were reacting to things that were not happening at all. In fact, the complete opposite was happening.
And I think Natalie and I were just sort of going, "Was I OK?" Like, "Was -- did that -- was that -- did that -- was that good?" Like it was really difficult as an actor to do it, but sometimes it's really hard as an actor to be able to see what it's all going to look like in the end because the special effects are, you know, they're nowhere to be found obviously.
And -- so yes, you just -- you just are scared you're overreacting or under-reacting. And that was something we're constantly sort of battling. But in the end, it ended up being really a fun scene to shoot and I think I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anybody else. Nat?
Natalie Krill: Me neither. Me neither. I think that scene, too, was also -- like there is all the -- you know, the special effects elements and the physicality of it but then also it was a really heartbreaking scene. It was like this moment where the two sisters are standing off with each other and like having it out, and like it was also emotionally draining to do that for two days as well on top of all the cold and the physicality and everything. It was -- it was like mind, body, soul, that scene.
Melanie Scrofano: Yes. Yes, that's a good way of putting it.
I did comment I was on the edge of my seat and loved it
Melanie Scorfano : Oh, good. Yay.
Emily Andras: That's good. You're trying to put it together. You're like, oh God, is it all going to add up but they're both fabulous in that scene. I will tell you, girls. I don’t know if you've actually seen the finished scene. You were both wonderful
Emily Andras : I mean the tentacle is going to win an Emmy but you guys...
Emily went on to point out the technical problems due to the cold and fear for her actors.
The next questions addressed the towns apprehension of Wynonna as they don’t really know her and her past hasn’t been the best.
Melanie Scrofano: Absolutely. I think -- well, I think -- first of all, Waverly -- it's that thing, right, of -- yes, you look at her and she looks a certain way but it's like Emily says, you -- not every girl is one thing. Like Waverly looks like she would be sweet and meek and she's fucking not like she's bad ass. And that's one of the things I love about the writing. Yes, and Wynonna was never supposed to do this. She didn’t want this. So every day, like every morning, she wakes up and has to go -- fuck, like, am I brave enough to do this today? And the answer has to be yes. But that takes a toll and I think -- and I think part of Wynonna's strength and part of her weakness is the same thing, which is that she just sort of -- she doesn’t over think -- like she just sort of does things like a bit blindly because I think if she thinks too much about it, it'll topple her.
I -- and so she drinks. And she makes jokes. And so she doesn’t -- she doesn’t really think hard about what it is that she has to do. Waverly, on the other hand, has -- and then Willa, when she comes back, they both like -- they both are primed and ready. They're like chomping at the bit. And Wynonna is facing something that she has been working her whole life to not only avoid but to convince herself wasn’t real. So I think -- I think -- I think this little lifetime she's lived in this season -- you know, it's just -- it's heavy. It weighs heavily upon her for those reasons and just the fact that she is just a human who like probably doesn’t get enough sleep and who just wants to be loved. You know, I don’t know. Like it's just -- it's just -- like she's just a girl. A woman, a person, a human, who goes up against something she's scared of and tries to win every day. And some days, she wins better. And some days, things knock her on her ass. And the fun in playing is to see her get back up.
In the finale when Wynonna shoots Willa the peacemaker doesn’t glow orange like it does when Wynonna shoots a revenant but ice blue.
Emily Andras: Sure. It had to do with her, no, it had nothing to do with her. I think that it's really -- I love the effects on the gun when Wynonna gets to shoot Willa. I think it's absolutely beautiful. As we've seen in the past, when Wynonna goes to take down a revenant or a demon, it glows orange and we have these satanic runes on the barrel. When Wynonna goes to shoot Willa, it grew -- it glows a beautiful frosty blue and kind of this gorgeous filigree that travels up the barrel. The gun even makes a different sound. I think this is a mystery we want to explore with Peacemaker going into the next season but I think it has everything to do with the fact that Wynonna is willingly putting down a human and it's kind of mercy killing.
She is really doing something good and something different. And something hard. She is not taking down a demon necessarily. So I think rather than asking a question about why it glows blue, I think it raises more interest in question about how does Peacemaker decide what color to glow. Why does it have these different settings? How aware is it of the intent of the wielder? Does it know what's in Wynonna's heart and what does that mean? Particularly going forward, what does that mean for Wynonna's relationship with the gun, with her job as the heir? You know, we're going to have to get different colored shirts to match the gun, I don’t know.
I just think it speaks to the fact that Peacemaker may have more ability that we've seen thus far and that would be a really interesting thing to explore.
On Wynonna becoming a heroine and kind of embracing it in the finale scene
Melanie Scrofano: Yes. It's funny because I never ever -- I love how differently we all interpret it. Like I never thought of her as doing something heroic. I just -- I just thought of her as -- but yes, obviously it is heroic, I never even thought of it. But yes, it's like -- it was just -- it was just -- I think for Wynonna it was like and again, total (inaudible) use accordingly. But it was like please don’t -- please be the person you were before. Like for Wynonna, it was just like prove to me I don’t have to do this. Just prove to me that you're who I -- you know, who... I left -- I know, right? And -- so for her, that's her batter. It's not -- it's not like I've got to do this to be a hero, it's like prove to me -- and then in that moment when she realizes that that's not going to happen, it's like that decision of what has to happen next. And it -- and for me, that's what that moment represented and like the heart -- I remember just shooting it and -- as in shooting the -- just shooting that moment and just being like what else can I do to make you come back to me, and there's nothing. I don’t know, like, it was just -- that's what that moment was I think to Wynonna if that answers your question.
The last question was to them all about favorite scene or storyline
Emily Andras: Oh my God. I have so many and like I'm honestly that fangirl nerd when I'm writing one scene, I'm like well, this is the best ever. Like I'm writing like Doc Holiday ……. and I'm like, "Well, this is the best." And then I'll write the scene with Dolls and Wynonna kissing and I'll be like, "Oh, well, this is my favorite." I have so many favorites and I have so many favorites that my writers have written for me. Like I am always almost more impressed when someone else kind of like delivers something that I'm like oh, I just got chills. But since we're talking about the finale, it's a quiet moment. I really like the speech that Doc gives to Wynonna telling the story about his dog, Bucky and the way that speech gets delivered and the way it's kind of portended.
But at the end of the day, honestly, I think about the sisters is really what made my heart sing. I really like the scene between Will, Wynonna, and Waverly in the coffee shop where Waverly tells Wynonna that she loves Nicole so Wynonna gives Peacemaker to Willa. There's something about all that understanding and that moment between the sisters that I think is lovely. And I really like even the scene at the end of episode two where the girls are sitting around the campfire and Doc is replacing their mailbox and it's just a beautiful sister scene and you see them like kind of busting each other's butts but also like comforting each other.
It just felt so real to me and it's the first time I realized that I had cast like a brilliant person. Just to make it about me, no, how amazing Dominique and Melanie were. So really my favorite scenes are the sister scene and there's many of them because I feel like that is the true romance of the series. The true heart of the series so for me, that's what really makes me happy at the end of the day.
Melanie Scrofano: This is Melanie speaking. Like for me -- yes, anything with the sisters, like, anything with around the struggle to like find my sisters again. Like to find the Willa that I had once to -- you know, like to make amends with them. Waverly -- Dominique is very open and giving actor so it was like whenever we approached those -- and same Natalie obviously, which came later but it's the same idea that was just so honest and like real people -- just broken people coming together. Those were really fun to shoot. But then also anything with a harness was a favorite.
Natalie Krill: For me, I don’t -- I don’t know if I could really pick a favorite because -- I mean this stuff went before Willa knows she's Willa, when she's in the cult and she's Eve, that stuff was so much fun to shoot. And then as she's discovering who she is, that was fun to shoot. And then when she's just a bad ass bitch, that was like so much fun to shoot as well. So I -- it was just -- I mean playing Willa was honestly a rollercoaster ride that was -- it's like just the best.
Despite some missing dialogue due to interference, it was a pleasure speaking to these three lovely ladies.
Wynonna Earp is female driven show and I have seen it grow from strength to strength. Let's hope it gets the renewal it rightly deserves.
I also spoke with Katherine Barrell( Nicole Haught) which is also available on Spoiler TV
