Wynonna Earp Review: When You Call My Name (Season 3 Episode 2)

On Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 2, “When You Call My Name,” things go from worse to downright awful for our favorite demon-hunting crew. Seriously, you think the crash has to be the worst of it, but nope, by the end of the hour, everyone’s in tears.

Let’s get the hard part out of the way: Dolls is dead.

It’s only fitting that he goes out in an actual blaze of glory (perks of being part dragon), saving the people he cares out. Dolls deserves nothing less.

Doc: That is the rub, Dolls. That is what they do not tell you about turning the hero. It turns you into a killer too. So you face it, Xavier. We are murders, you and I. Destined for the dark.

However, his death is upsetting and not just in a “my heart hurts” kind of way.

He’s Dolls. He’s the leader of the team. We already saw Wynonna handle him being gone during the beginning of Wynonna Earp Season 2 when he was on the run for a bit.

We know she can step up and get the job done. What exactly do we gain, story-wise, by killing him off?

It would have been better to let the question of what’s exactly wrong with Dolls linger for a bit.

This is the first we are hearing about an instability, and it’s unclear if it is due to the meds Rosita and Jeremy cooked up, or if Dolls was always a ticking time bomb due to what Black Badge Division did to him.

Speaking of which, we never really got to explore Dolls’ past and find out what BBD did to him. We’ve had the lizard and dragon jokes for a while, which have been fun, but we’ve never had answers.

There’s still so much to explore with Dolls, and by diving into his past, we could’ve uncovered a lot about BBD. It’s a shame that we never will, and it is a wasted opportunity. What are your thoughts on the decision to kill off Dolls?

Now on to happier-ish parts of the hour: Mama Earp is delightful to watch, even in hallucination form.

There are serious questions about what exactly is going on with Wynonna’s hallucinations. Now, it could be from whatever trauma she endured during the crash and her weird teleportation to the edge of a cliff (how did she get there?!).

Mama Earp: Wynonna Earp, don’t you date take a nap. YOU ARE STUCK ON THE SIDE OF A CLIFF!

Wynonna: Mama? What are you doing up there?

Mama Earp: Oh, I’m just sunbathing. I just love to get a bronze on.

Would it be weird if there’s something more to it than that? This is Purgatory, after all. Stranger things have happened.

It would be a lot more interesting if what we saw was more than a simple hallucination of Mama Earp. Do you have any theories?

However, during Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 1, Mama Earp wasn’t all there, mentally. Either she has some very lucid days, or this strengthens the hallucination argument.

Whatever form she’s in, Mama Earp is delightful and absolutely hilarious. The sarcasm is on point. She’s the bright spot we needed in this dark hour.

She also keeps Wynonna focused and calm during the search for Waverly. Wynonna wouldn’t have made it there without the help of her mom.

It’s also the first time we’ve gotten some insight into Wynonna’s relationship with her mom.

It’s curious that Wynonna got special treatment — not that survival camping trips are something to envy — from her mom. Willa got it from their dad through heir training, and then there’s Waverly.

There’s a lot of Earp family dynamics and dysfunction to unpack, that’s for sure.

This trip down memory lane is fascinating, as is watching Wynonna interact with her mom. Hopefully, this is the first of many mother-daughter moments between the two of them.

Wynonna: Waverly needed her mother. I needed my mother.

Mama Earp: And Alice doesn’t?

Stray Thoughts:

• It was actually nice to see Doc mention his time in hell. It’s not good to keep that all bottled up.
• Nicole will always be able to tell when something’s off with Waverly, even when no one else can. #TrueLove
• The trees moving is a tidbit the Yarn texts mentioned, and it is deeply unsettling.
• Wynonna and Waverly are definitely the team to beat during charades.
• What exactly happens on craft night?

What did you think of this episode of Wynonna Earp? Share your thoughts and favorite memories of Dolls in the comments below!

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Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 9/8c on Syfy.

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