Wynonna Earp is back!
It’s a little bittersweet sitting down to watch Wynonna Earp Season 4 Episode 7, “Love’s All Over,” because, at least for now, it is not only the first of the last six episodes of Season 4, it’s the first of the last six episodes of the series all together.
It’s hard not to be a little frustrated because, at one point in time, Wynonna Earp was renewed for five seasons and then almost didn’t even get its fourth. While it’s never a smart move to count Eapers out, and I am hopeful the series will find a new US home, for right now, we have to savor these last six Fridays in Purgatory because they may be all we get.
“Love’s All Over” wasn’t intended to be a midseason premiere, but because COVID shut down production after Wynonna Earp Season 4 Episode 6, “Holy War Part 2” was completed, it ended up being one.
That’s worth noting because it changes how the episode functions as part of the season’s larger narrative. As a midseason premiere it works to reorient us and remind us where we left things. As the next episode in a 12 episode seasons it serves to bring down the pace just for a minute while we get ready for the next drop of the rollercoaster.
“Holy War Part 2” was a lot to take in. The joy of the WayHaught engagement, the shock about Wynonna’s choice to shoot Holt, the devastation of Wynonna and Doc’s falling out. There were a lot of feelings to feel. I at least, needed a minute to sit with everything that happened on that episode and absorb it all.
Had this episode come a week after “Holy War Part 2,” it would have been an episode that let us breathe so that our heads could catch up with our hearts. It gives us time to see where the dust has settled and how the characters are responding to what happened with some distance from the more heightened emotions of the moment.
Things are relatively low stakes from a plot perspective until the very end of the episode. That’s a little unusual for any type of premiere, but it makes perfect sense for an episode following one as consequential and climactic as “Holy War Part 2.”
In between the silliness and glitter, the episode works to establishes the headspace each character is currently in and how some of their relationship dynamics have shifted since we saw them last. It also foreshadows the likely emotional drama they are heading towards over the next five weeks, particularly for Waverly, Wynonna, and Doc.
I have a whole section below devoted to Waverly, so we’ll get to her in a bit. For now, let’s focus on Wynonna and Doc.
The tragic thing about Doc and Wynonna is that even as they seem to walk different paths, their experiences are similar. From the start, the thing that drew these two together was that they recognized something of themselves in the other. It wasn’t always pretty or healthy, but they were kindred spirits that understood things about the other that no one else did.
They are still more alike than not. Doc and Wynonna are both haunted by past choices, choices they felt they had to make for one reason or another. They are both outcasts and loners that feel stuck in the shadow of someone or something else.
They are still the ones that should understand each other, but as Waverly says at the end of the episode, their pain and pride blinds them, and they can’t recognize what they once saw. That makes everything all the more painful. They need each other more than they ever have before, but the distance between them has never been further.
Doc wants to forgive Wynonna, but she is doubling down on the violence of being the heir. She’s grasping at the sense of purpose and release being the heir gives her.
She has always used the curse as an outlet for her rage. That rage sustained her when she was at the end of her rope and helped her push through impossible and unfair situations. Without that outlet, that rage has no constructive place to go and Doc can no longer follow her to that dark place.
Doc has finally broken from his past, but he is still lost. He spent decades building his sense of self around this idea of the Western hero and defining himself through Wyatt Earp’s lens. That narrative, that myth, has been shattered, and Doc is figuring out where that leaves him.
Once again, not too different from how Wynonna is struggling. They are facing similar existential crises, but they are responding in different ways.
Doc may be struggling to redefine himself as he cuts ties with his past, but he is trying and finally being honest with himself. Wynonna, on the other hand, is another much scarier story.
When Wynonna tells Amon that, “It’s just good to remember that I can kill you anytime I want,” it gave me chills. And not the kind you get when Wynonna is a badass about to save the day. That showdown in the woods is about power and feeling strong because you hold it over someone.
She’s running from what makes her vulnerable and shutting down parts of herself that make her question her choices or feel guilt. I use the word guilt very specifically here because, despite her bravado, Wynonna feels a lot of shame. To be clear, not in the way women are typically shamed, but in the way Brene Brown distinguishes between guilt and shame.
Guilt is the thing you feel about a bad choice. Shame is the feeling that something is wrong with you. When you feel you are not worthy.
You can see it in some of her interactions with Waverly as Wynonna and Waverly have almost reversed where they were during Season 1.
In Season 1, Waverly was the one jealous of Wynonna despite herself. On “Love’s All Over,” it’s Wynonna with those feelings.
Wynonna loves her sister more than anyone, but it’s obvious she resents her a little too. Maybe it’s because Waverly can walk away from her legacy, maybe because Waverly seems comfortable in her skin these days and Wynonna is not, or because Waverly has this beautiful relationship while hers seems unrepairable.
Most likely all of the above. And, just like with Waverly in Season 1, those feelings are more about Wynonna’s demons and insecurities than they are about how she actually feels about her sister.
It’s also clear that part of Wynonna’s current state stems from unexamined trauma and the damage of having to push all that down to do her job as the heir for years. Her PTSD manifests as rage that instinctively puts her in a defensive fight or flight mode.
Before coming back to Purgatory, she responded with flight. Since she returned, it’s been non-stop fight mode so that she can protect her family.
That must be exhausting, but she is holding on tightly to that coil of rage that was assets before the curse ended. Who is she, and how does she make sense of the world if she lets go?
She is self-destructively looking for distractions because acknowledging what she feels, having to sit with herself and come to terms with what the curse has turned her into is scarier than any demon.
I can’t pretend to know how you come back from shooting a man in the back in cold blood. I know Wynonna will, but right now, she is embracing the idea that she is a necessary monster who makes the choices others can’t, and it’s terrifying.
Higgins’ Musical Moment: Stranger in Town by Ron Higgins and Have You Seen My Girl Today by The Bulgers
There are a few fun musical moments on “Love’s All Over,” including Jann Arden singing one of her own songs as Bunny Loblaw trying woo Waverly.
I ended up choosing two songs to highlight this week. The song that starts the episode and the one that ends it.
“Love’s All Over” opens with a montage that sets the stage and hints at a time jump since the last episode. The song playing over the montage is Ron Higgins’s “Stranger In Town.”
The song works in two ways. First, it feels like a welcome home. I’d never heard the song before, but it felt familiar. I don’t know if it would have played the same without the midseason hiatus, but hearing that song over the scenes of Wynonna, Nicole, and Waverly felt sort of comforting.
I wouldn’t say it felt nostalgic, but there was an “and we’re back baby, let’s go!” moment when those first notes and images filled my living room.
The second thing I liked about the song is something Andrea Higgins does quite often and is very good at. She uses the music in a way that has multiple, sometimes conflicting, interpretations.
The song is lighthearted and happy. It’s a song about freedom. For Waverly and Nicole, that does seem to be an accurate reflection of how they are feeling. For them, the angst from the first half of the season has been resolved. They likely do have an upbeat carefree song in their hearts.
For Wynonna, though, that’s a facade. It’s a lie she might get herself to believe when she’s drinking, hunting demons, or both at the same time, but a lie nonetheless. We know free and unburdened is the furthest thing from what Wynonna feels. That knowledge makes the song feel almost sarcastic, and the scenes of Wynonna in the woods feel dangerous.
The other musical moment that stood out to me is the one from the end of the episode, starting with Wynonna and Amon’s scene and ending with Cleo welcoming Billy home.
The song is “Have You Seen My Girl Today” by the Buglers. An obscure track you won’t find easily on the internet. The song has a cool combination of foreboding and acceleration that helps the episode transition the season from the low stakes of “Love’s All Over” to the rest of the season’s higher stakes.
It keeps building pressure and starts the march towards an inevitable confrontation. Wynonna and Cleo are both digging in and ready to collide. By the end of the episode, we can feel things starting to escalate and the future beginning to solidify. It is an effectively way to end on exciting note and get us pumped for the next episode.
Episode MVP: Tim Rozon
What a season Tim Rozon is having. For the second time this season, I’m picking Tim as my episode MVP. Doc’s story this season has been stellar and, without a doubt, his best of the series.
No one can convey more hurt and pain with less than Tim can. This season Tim has been a one-person masterclass on the idea that less is more. Tim takes the simplest line and imbues it with emotion and meaning. Not a syllable wasted nor a breath without weight.
The lines, “I’m a damn good sidekick” or “I understand, unfortunately,” have no right to be as devastating as they are coming from Tim Rozon.
Tim is an old soul. His expressive eyes hold multitudes every time he is on screen. We’ve always been able to feel the burden of Doc’s years in his body language and the physical presence Tim creates for him. That burden has never been heavier than it is this season when Doc is finally facing some truths about himself and the world/people he idolized.
Tim manages to give Doc that extra bit of depth and complexity in part because Tim roots for Doc to make good choices as much as we do. He roots for him to be the man we know he can be, and it comes through in beautiful and heartbreaking ways.
What About Waverly
“Love’s All Over” is a great episode for Waverly fans (sooo everyone, right?). As someone who adores Waverly, I certainly relate to everybody falling in love with her.
First things first though, we need to give some props to Dominique Provost-Chalkley for what she does on this episode. Being the straight man in a farce is difficult and often under-appreciated. The straight man in a comedy, especially the more broad, ridiculous ones like this episode, is essential for the rest of the humor to work.
The straight man keeps things from flying off the rails and acts as our surrogate so we don’t lose the plot in the mayhem. Dom did an excellent job wrangling the chaos around her. The episode quite frankly wouldn’t have worked without Waverly and Doc grounding it.
In addition to doing an admirable job as this episode’s straight man, I’d like to add that we don’t talk enough about Dom’s physical comic timing. Typically, when people think about physical comedy, they think about slapstick or more exaggerated things like pratfalls, but that’s not exactly what I mean here.
I’m referring to the smaller physical choices that support the timing and pace of the scene. Things that are just part of her physical presence. Like when she’s in the sheriff’s office with an extra handsy Nicole or her sisterly interactions with Wynonna. They are small choices, but they just make everything funnier.
I was particularly fond of the mild irritation she has with Wynonna throughout the episode. It was that unique combination of annoyance and love that only siblings can have for each other. Waverly is a bit exasperated with Wynonna right now, and the way Dom plays that is delightful.
As for Waverly herself, despite seeming to be in a good place and happily engaged to Nicole, I’m worried about our resident half-angel. She doesn’t seem to remember what happened with Mam. She suspects, but she doesn’t actually remember killing her.
To be honest, that’s the only way it would make sense for her not to be struggling more. Killing Margo was arguably justifiable since it was in defense of someone else. That might be enough to keep her from spiraling in whatever Waverly’s version of a Wynonna spiral is.
I’d bet money, though, that memory will come back, and the sheer brutality of what she did is bound to be pretty upsetting for her.
I also have to wonder how much of Wynonna shooting Holt she remembers. She seems rather flippant about the whole thing, even telling Doc it’s just a blip they have to move past.
Waverly’s a sensitive person. Even if she doesn’t blame Wynonna for her choice the way Doc does, she would at least be worried about the impact something like this would have on her sister.
She’s not making the connection between what happened with Holt and her sister’s increased recklessness yet. Or at least it doesn’t seem like she is. If it’s not that she doesn’t have a clear memory of what happened with Holt, there has to be another reason why she appears so unbothered by the whole thing. I’m curious to know what it is.
The episode also foreshadows some looming angst for Waverly connected to her angelic power and, more specifically, the destiny she refused when she left the Garden on Wynonna Earp Season 4 Episode 2, “Friends in Low Places.” I’m worried for her but still incredibly excited to see where her story goes over the next five episodes.
We should also stop and take a minute to appreciate just how much Waverly has grown since we met her in Season 1. Back then, she wanted nothing more than to be the heir and the hero that saves Purgatory. On “Love’s All Over,” Doc tells her she is powerful, and her answer is she just wants to be happy. It’s a response Season 1 Waverly could never have given. Babygirl, you’ve come a long way.
Five Favorite Quotes
- Demitri: Love is like the Tooth Fairy.
Wynonna: Never pays as well as you think. - Waverly: Are you possessed again?
- Waverly: How, why am I suddenly everybody’s thing?
Wynonna: Because it’s a day that ends in Y? - Bunny: Well, have a nice evening, lesbians.
Nicole: Uh, Waverly’s Bisexual.
Bunny: Yeah, well, just say horny.
Nicole: And, she’s back. - Wynonna: All I want is to stop feeling guilty for what I am when what I am is necessary.
Pop Culture References
- Bambi
- Band of Brothers
- Bend it Like Beckham
- The Bachelorette
- Zoey Kravitz
- Jann Arden
Stray Thoughts
- How adorable is Nicole finding Nedley’s couch for her turn at proposing to Waverly?
- I loved the callback to Waverly’s Christmas dance from Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 6, “If We Make it Through December,” by having Nicole sing Adeline’s “Let’s Stay Inside” which Waverly sang when she danced for Nicole,
- I truly appreciate them again saying that Waverly is bisexual. I also appreciate that it’s other characters saying it too. There is something nice about Waverly not having to be the one to clarify but still getting clarity that avoids bi-erasure, which can happen even unintentionally, by having her loved ones affirm who she is.
- I missed Jeremy this episode. It would have been fun to see Varun Saranga’s take on being love bombed.
- Poor Calamity Jane! But also, poor Nedley. He loved that damn cat.
- One thing to remember about Nicole trading Doc to get Waverly out of the Garden is that her last interaction with him, when her brain wasn’t foggy after just coming back from the brink of death, was when he murdered Charlie/Julian. She knew he went into the Garden to save Waverly. I’m sure that went a long way towards her forgiving him, so I’m not suggesting it was an easy decision. She did feel genuinely guilty about what she did, but the Doc she remembered at that time was not the Doc we saw in the Garden or the one now striving to be a better man.
- Doc was clearly not just talking about Cleo when he told her to be her own legacy, but was he also talking to himself, or is it what he wants to say to Wynonna. It might be a little of both.
- Oh man, did Savannah Baseley just go straight for the feels in the scene where Doc first finds Cleo, or what?
- Bunny may be moving beyond homophobia, but as far as I can tell, she is still racist and xenophobic, so Randy Nedley is still way too good for her. That said, Jann Arden is always a delightful addition to any episode.
- Wynonna tells Amon that “What she is, is necessary.” But is that true anymore? She’s holding to being the heir, perhaps proclaiming a little too loudly that she “is necessary,” but truth be told, that might not be the case right now (or yet). They might have been able to work with Holt to end the feud with the Clantons without violence. There is no curse. Nothing has happened yet that suggests it has to be her as the heir. I think the world and her family might need Wynonna a lot more than they need the heir.
- Relatedly, it is a common Western trope that the hero cannot fit into the safe world they helped create or protect. They become someone out of step with the times. I think that’s an interesting theme to explore with Wynonna. She’s different than the traditional Western hero. She doesn’t have to share their fate, but she still has to find a way to exist in a world that doesn’t need her to be the heir. Incidentally, that is another way she and Doc are similar.
- Kudos to everyone who did the glam cam shots. I can’t even imagine how odd it must be to film something like that. I hope it was fun, but I’m sure it felt weird.
- It’s odd not to see snow in the backdrop of a Wynonna Earp episode, but Calgary remains as beautiful as ever.
- Still very much a fan of the bisexual lighting of the Glory Hole.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Wynonna Earp? How worried are you about Wynonna? Let me know in the comments and on Twitter.
Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.
But Here's The Thing 
2 thoughts on “Wynonna Earp Review: Love’s All Over (4×07)”