A mysterious woman who knows a little too much about the Earps arrives on the Homestead with a special mission for Wynonna and Waverly. The rest of the team must wrangle a deadly fire witch.
Wynonna has always been billed as the Earp heir tasked with saving the world from all demonic threats and sending the revenants back to Hell with peacemaker. It's the responsibility handed down to her through the generations of the Earp family. It wasn't an honor she wanted in her life. Over the course of the series though, she has embraced her identity as the savior that Purgatory needs. She took up the mantel of protecting humanity from these threats who wish to destroy the world. And now, the stakes have grown more extreme than ever before. She has surrendered peacemaker in order to protect her friends and family. She was tormented by Bulshar for so long in that fantasy world. However, not a whole lot of time has actually passed in this world. Things have just gotten more dire because Bulshar now has the key to unlocking the Garden of Eden. All hope seems lost. That's what makes it so miraculous when a guardian named Kevin comes down to interact with the affairs of humans. She presents herself as this savior who can point the Earp heir in the direction of the weapon that can be used to defeat Bulshar. He isn't indestructible even though he now has peacemaker. Wynonna isn't powerless in this fight. It's just going to be incredibly difficult for her to get her hands on this new weapon that is buried where Bulshar was entombed for a century. She is willing to take on that risk because she understands that their fates are linked. The destinies for the Earp heir and the demon who started this curse have forever been connected. The only way of breaking the curse is to defeat Bulshar. As such, there is so much at stake for Wynonna. And that's what makes it so surprising when she realizes that she really isn't the savior everyone needs in this moment. She's not the one who can actually save the world. Instead, that honor belongs to Waverly. She has the key to unlocking the weapon and saving humanity from complete destruction. It's just bound to come at such a high cost.When Kevin first presents herself and this mission, she informs the Earp sisters that this weapon is going to come at a price. Her fellow guardians didn't even see the benefit of making their presence known and presenting this option to them. They believe that humanity is in its final days. Bulshar has won. He will finally be able to achieve his ultimate goals. Wynonna isn't willing to accept that. She is completely willing to push everything else in her life away in order to accept the responsibilities of being the Earp heir. This is her battle to fight. It's the honor bestowed onto her by her family. She is the only person capable of stopping Bulshar. As such, she doesn't want to sort out her personal feelings for Doc or Charlie. It's only been a couple of days since Charlie fought the Stone Witch. But it's been much longer for Wynonna because of her imprisonment. She was broken down peace by peace by Bulshar until she handed over peacemaker. And now, she doesn't have any clarity in her life. She just has to count on Waverly in order to make it through all of this chaos and destruction. She is the only beacon in her life that keeps her sane. She did everything it took to keep her friends and family safe. It still feels like she lost because Bulshar will still ultimately destroy them when he wipes out the rest of humanity. As such, she can't devote this time to Charlie and actually talking about what their relationship actually is. That turns out to be incredible tragic because this is the last interaction that the two of them will ever have. Yet another love interest for Wynonna has been tragically killed this season all because of the monstrous threats she faces in Purgatory.
Wynonna is once again betrayed by a close ally. Dolls didn't tell anyone on the team that he was dying. He sacrificed himself for them. He died so that they could live. What Doc does in this episode isn't anything like that. He is essentially succumbing to the temptations of his new reality as a vampire. He has hurt the team already because of his new immortality. He attacked Robin right after Jeremy got him back into his life. Doc doesn't want to hurt any more of his friends. But that temptation is still real because he is constantly hungry. He has always presented himself as an ally in this fight. He wanted to ensure his survival so that he could always be there for Wynonna. And yet, Waverly is the one fighting by her side this week. Doc is on a completely different journey. One that will also inform what's going on with Bulshar and what he is capable of doing in the garden. It's very informational because it reveals that Bulshar was actually created in the Garden of Eden. He was the symbol of temptation that presented itself to Adam and Eve that made them betray God. As such, he has always been alive in the world. He has just been locked out of the garden. Doc getting his hands on this book from Juan Carlo could hold the key to sentencing Bulshar back to the fate he experienced for the past century. Instead, it's a story of profound sacrifice. One where he has to kill someone in order to make amends with someone he killed in the past. Maeve is now a witch and very angry. She requests a new body. She wants it to be Nicole. Instead, the tragic death is Charlie. He is dead because Doc was too powerless to avoid that temptation of drinking his blood. It's an action that should never be forgiven. Wynonna may not know what this relationship was. But she also wanted the time to peacefully figure it out. And now, that is brutally taken away from her.
However, this is also a twist that could irrevocably harm the audience's perception of Doc. This action could make him into a literal monster. He killed someone with a close personal connection to the team. He didn't want to kill one of his friends. He and Charlie were never that close. But they did share time together and respected the relationship they each had with Wynonna. It's in the heat of the moment when Doc strikes. Maeve sets her house on fire which leads to Doc passing out and devouring the fireman who comes to save his life. It just reads as a massive betrayal because Nicole is now no longer willing to help him. Doc was on such thin ice with the rest of the team. And now, he doesn't have any of their trust. Nor should he. Of course, that comes with the reveal that Maeve hasn't actually moved into Charlie's body. She doesn't get her wish in that way. An opportunity presents itself for her to get what she wants. The team steals the book from her without having to give in to her demands. Instead, she stows away in Doc's body. As such, she is really the person in charge when it comes to killing Charlie. That offers a path towards possible redemption for Doc. Sure, it's a twist happening late in the season when there has already been a fair amount of melodrama between him and the team. This could easily redeem him if he is given the opportunity to explain. But it also seems somewhat foolish of Maeve. It appears as if she is acting out of personal revenge instead of trying to thrive in a body once more. She wants Doc to feel this pain of betrayal after she has spent a lifetime carrying that same kind of pain. It just presents as a way for him to be distracted as the team heads into this final conflict with Bulshar.
And right now, Waverly carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is the one called upon to rescue Wynonna when the mission goes awry. It's up to her to use the powers of the ring to complete this test. That's all that this mission is as well. Kevin just wants to see that Waverly is worthy of this power and responsibility. Waverly spent a lifetime feeling like she didn't belong in this family. Those feelings were only exasperated when she discovered that her mother tried to kill her multiple times. She never felt like an Earp because she wasn't related by blood. And now, she is learning that she has a completely new fate. Her father was an angel. Julian was actually one of the guardians of the garden. He served in that post alongside Juan Carlo. With one of them dead and the other missing, Bulshar has the opportunity to walk into that holy ground once more and complete his mission. Waverly has powers as a half-angel. They have to be enough. Kevin details that all Waverly has to do is still on the throne of the angels in order to lock the world out of the garden once more. It seems simple until she also shares that Waverly will turn into stone as a result. As such, it leaves the family already begging for another way to solve this. There has to be another way to defeat Bulshar. But right now, there is no other option. The blood moon is coming and Bulshar is putting his plan into motion. Waverly is now the only one who can save the world. It's a significant role reversal and yet one that is bound to carry some major consequences as the show heads into the final two episodes of the season.
Some more thoughts:
- "The Other Woman" was written by Noelle Carbone and directed by April Mullen.
- It really is such a blast to have Mercedes back in Purgatory. She is back and looking better than ever before. Waverly performed a miracle and didn't even realize it. She saw the ring as only being the bearer of destruction. She burned a demon's face off. But now, it's the tool necessary to save the world. Mercedes proved that Waverly was capable of these grand miracles. But it's also just amusing to watch as Mercedes wants to catch up with the Earp sisters even though they don't have time for it.
- Maeve jumps into Nicole's body the moment the sheriff gets down to the fire to try to negotiate with it. It's a body that Maeve really appreciates as well. However, it's much more telling and mysterious when she jumps to Jeremy's body for a second but is rejected much more quickly. She says she wants a body that is fully human. As such, it's clear that there is still so much going on with Jeremy that the audience doesn't know about.
- Wynonna is the Earp heir. Waverly is a half-angel. Doc is an immortal vampire. Dolls was a dragon creature. And now, Jeremy is some new creature altogether. So, it really does seem like Nicole is the only normal human on the show. She still has so much importance to the team and the town though. In fact, she is bound to play a role in the decision Waverly has to make especially considering her own past with the Cult of Bulshar. It's just fascinating that the show has embraced more types of creatures as it has aged.
- Robin is stuck guarding Bobo while Jeremy goes to help Nicole and Doc. It's a fascinating character pairing. One that doesn't immediately present with anything in common. Robin still doesn't know a ton about this supernatural world. Meanwhile, Bobo has lost his mind because of Bulshar's tricks. And yet, that moment of connection happens when they share an appreciation of jazz. Of course, Robin doesn't let his guard down either.
- Nicole rightfully questions why Kate isn't just helping Doc with his needs as a vampire. She could help him fight off these impulses while giving him the blood that he needs to survive. But Doc confirms that Kate has mysteriously vanished. She has walked away from this life after Doc made his choice. However, her continuing to be mentioned probably means that she could show up again sometime in the future - perhaps with a way to restore Doc to a human.
