Wynonna Earp Review: Colder Weather (Season 3 Episode 3)

It’s all about Dolls on Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 3, “Colder Weather,” as it should be.

While the fact that he was killed off is still disappointing, at least “Colder Weather” is a stellar hour that pays tribute to our beloved dragon. This is one of Wynonna Earp‘s finest episodes.

Instead of fast forwarding to the burial, Wynonna Earp decides to focus in on the grief in the time immediately following Dolls’ death. We sit in the heartbreak, and we, as viewers, are allowed to grieve alongside of our favorite characters.

There’s no new revenant to fight, no Bulshar mystery to solve — okay there’s a revenant bar fight during the wake, but it still connects to Dolls’ death because they were hopped up on BBD serum. It’s refreshing to focus on the team, and how everyone is coping (or not coping).

There’s no sense of urgency in the hour, and while Wynonna tries to shift gears to Bulshar, she’s reigned back in. There’s no way to escape facing what happened, and there’s no escaping the grief.

Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 3 is an extremely emotional hour, but it’s cathartic. The theme song even takes a more somber tone, which is fitting.

Wynonna: Are you really going to do this right now?

Nicole: Tough love you back to your senses? Feels like that time.

Wynonna: A man I…someone I love is dead.

Nicole: You’re not the only one who lost him. You don’t get a monopoly over the grief we all feel.

“Colder Weather” explores everyone’s relationships with Dolls. Everyone gets to share their grief and their memories of him. Nedley is the first one to bring me to tears. When did they start falling for you?

While there are a lot of fights among the team, the focus really is on this ragtag team that owns our hearts.

It’s sweet hearing Nicole talk about Dolls. We learn just how close the two of them had become, and how Dolls helped Nicole process her trauma.

It’s a shame that we never saw any of this. We saw glimpses, but never any intense conversations like the ones Nicole alludes to. It’s yet another missed opportunity.

One thing that is a little confusing is the timeline of when Nicole figured out that she’s a survivor of a Cult of Bulshar attack.

The way she speaks about it, it sounds like this breakthrough happened a while ago, but on Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 1, it felt like Nicole was just then putting the pieces together.

Nicole: The point is I love you, and if that’s our destiny, then I am pretty darn stoked.

Now, maybe being at the crime scene jarred those traumatic memories loose, so while Nicole knew she was a survivor of a Cult of Bulshar attack, seeing it made everything a lot more real for her. There also could be a bit of time between the events of Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 1 and “Colder Weather.”

“Colder Weather” also makes small attempts to answer some lingering questions about Dolls.

The arrival of Quinn, someone who knew Dolls before and after BBD experimented on him, helps shed some light on Dolls’ life before he walked into Purgatory. It still would have been better to explore this when Dolls was alive, but it’s better than nothing.

Wynonna: If Dolls knew he was dying, then why didn’t he contact BBD or go to a doctor or anything that could help him?

Quinn: Maybe he stuck around for you.

Doc: Ain’t no maybe about it.

Quinn is a nice addition. He comes with an air of mystery, and it’s heartwarming to see him and Doc drinking together while Quinn regales him with stories of Dolls.

Wynonna essentially sees who she could become if she doesn’t let go of all her anger and grief. Like Quinn, Wynonna has a list of names of people she feels responsible for their death, but unlike Quinn, she hasn’t been driven insane by it.

Are you glad that Quinn stopped by?

Waverly: Does anyone around here not have a secret wife?

What did you think of this episode of Wynonna Earp? What do you think of the reveal that Contessa is Doc’s wife? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

6 Things We Learned at the ATX Television Festival’s ‘Women Who Defy’ Panel