After 'Let's Pretend We're Strangers' more frantically paced episode, 'Whiskey Lullaby' slowed the proceedings down last Friday with a more personal story revolving around Wynonna and her pregnancy.
The monster of the week was one of the weaker ones this season in terms of threat level, but it set up The Black Widows as serious antagonists and, most importantly, acted as a vehicle to explore and exacerbate Wynonna's pregnancy. And boy, was it an emotional rollercoaster to watch the reactions of Haught, Dolls, and Doc respectively.
First up was Haught who took the surprising news with stride. The deputy sheriff hadn't always agreed with Wynonna's actions throughout the series, but Earp is her girlfriend's sister and, at this crucial moment in her life, Haught gives her full on support. She promises Wynonna, without being asked to, that she won't share the news with anyone. The complex bond between Wynonna and Haught has been one of the strong points of this season, and it feels like progress has been made in their relationship following this very affecting scene.
Meanwhile, it was made clear in 'Lullaby' that Dolls deeply feels for Wynonna, and he was just about to tell her at an oh, so wrong time. While a clearly upset Dolls does not react well to the eventual news of her pregnancy, he does give her a very heartfelt kiss. Him calling her an "amazing 'agent'" was heartbreaking, we know he has so much more to tell her, but with her holding presumably Doc's baby it was just not the right time.
Speaking of which, the shoot first Doc, who has shown throughout the series that expressing his deepest emotions is not his strongpoint, could not tell Wynonna straight up how he felt about her pregnancy. However, actor Tim Rozon did a fabulous job in conveying the shock of the moment. We could see his mind racing, and he gives the avoidant response we expect from his character. His "all in' letter is typical of Doc - a man who struggles to put feelings to words, especially in person, but someone who is a lot more sensitive and sentimental than he puts up to be. Doc clearly cares for Wynonna and supports her, and the letter was a nice and very emotional touch to the closing moments of the episode.
Arguably, the best reaction to the pregnancy was Jeremy though. Apparently he knew all along - his humour being a consistent bright spot each week.
On the opposite side of the coin is, of course, Wynonna's reaction to the pregnancy. We see her at the end of the episode breaking down in her sister's arms. Everything in her life, from being the Earp heir and now to motherhood, is happening without her control. It is also implied that the two are connected - Wynonna is pregnant to continue the Earp line and there was no way of avoiding it. Basically, the Earp curse is completely dictating how Wynonna lives her life and that is a horrifying and shocking thought. Earp's reaction to this all just felt so raw and real and it was most definitely a very defining moment of this season and series as a whole.
I personally am not a big fan of pregnancy storylines, it has ruined some of my favourite shows ala Angel. However, Wynonna Earp has so far started off this storyline tremendously well with some very powerful performances from the entire cast. Hopefully, the writers can keep up the quality of the storyline without making it too soapy and overdramatic.
9.5/10
