“Wynonna Earp:” “The Blade” has a murderous straight-razor wielding revenant whose guttural uttering of “Tick Tock” is creepy (sounding a little like a humorless Freddie Kruger in tonal quality) and pretty difficult to dispatch. The elder Earp learns that “Hank” is really “the” Doc Holiday and that he shot at Waverly. Wynonna has her first “face-to-face” with Bobo.
Wynonna: “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just walk in there and shoot Bobo in the face.”
The major plot line is the destruction of the “invisible” revenant who is killing the guilty who have not been forgiven. Purgatory’s denizens are getting their throats slit by the demon who has a connection with Doc Holiday.
“The Blade” is all about guilt, Wynonna’s and the rest of the population’s in Purgatory. Like most small towns this one has its fair share of personal misery and sins committed against neighbors. The judgmental demon works his way pretty quickly through a number of citizens and he soon reaches Wynonna.
Doc is arrested on suspicion of murder and Dolls learns that “Hank” is the real Holiday. Now all the black badges know that the former friend of Wyatt is the real deal. As the body count rises, Wynonna, Dolls and Waverly learn that the revenant must be made corporeal. Shooting the demon in the mirror will not send it back to Hell.
Dolls comes up with a plan. Waverly comes to an agreement with Doc and the two “make up” in order to get a line on the killer. Holiday identifies the revenant as one “August Hamilton” and the younger Earp gets Doc out of jail.
Needless to say, Wynonna defeats the revenant.
There are some great scenes in this episode. There is a possession (a’la “Drag Me to Hell” but without the dancing) that is impressive and not a little scary. The scene is done via wire-work and Dolls (Shamier Anderson) floats forcibly into the air.
Hamilton exploding out of his watery grave, where Doc put him, is also impressive and these two moments are indicative of the quality of wire-work in the show thus far.
Standout Moments:
The revenant whistling “Shave and a Haircut Two-Bits” while removing the final screws to the toilet stall.
Doc proving his prowess at shooting and Wynonna’s reaction to it.
Gus (Natascha Girgis) refusing service to Doc and calling him a jackass.
Wynonna muttering “Gross” when Hamilton licks the bloody razor.
The use of mirrors in the episode. Many cultures believe the dead can communicate, possess or even travel through these reflectors of image, it was a nice touch.
Overall Thoughts:
We learn a lot about the characters this week. Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) speaks dead languages, for example, and the split between Doc and Wyatt is explained. Holiday also lied when he told Wynonna that he had no idea about the curse.
It is still not quite clear where Holiday stands. Just who does he really want revenge against? The Earp clan or the devil he made the deal with?
Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) is particularly funny in this episode, it works well against the poignancy of her Purgatory backstory.
Wynonna: “Any idea where this guy is so I can shoot him in the dong?”
Tim Rozon is killing it as Doc Holiday but he is in good company. Provost-Chalkley, Scrofano and Anderson all convince brilliantly.
If there is any complaint about this episode it would be the “Tick tock” rhyme, which is annoying and misplaced. Having a revenant punish the “guilty” is a stretch already, after all these demons are from Hell, the rhyme just does not fit.
Final Verdict:
“Wynonna Earp” is still striking all the right notes. Imaginative and funny with just enough action to make the time zoom by. The relationships between Doc, Dolls, Wynonna and Waverly work well and are evolving in a way that makes sense.
Still worth watching and a great mix of “Hollywood” legend, about Wyatt Earp and a world of demons and witches. It is also a series that features not just one, but two strong female protagonists.
“Wynonna Earp” airs Fridays on SyFy.
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