Wynonna Earp Finale Review: Daddy Lessons / War Paint (Season 3 Episodes 11 and 12)

Like the rest of Season 3, Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 11, “Daddy Lessons,” and Wynonna Earp Season 3 Episode 12, “War Paint,” has a bit too much going on.

Let’s be honest, this has been a bit of a mess of a season — a multitude of storylines including a love rectangle that popped up rather soon after Dolls’ death, Mama Earp appearing only to leave as quickly as she arrived, the introduction of vampires and angels, and the reveal that Nicole’s a survivor of a Cult of Bulshar attack which ended up not being super important in the grand scheme of things.

There’s been a ton going on, and “War Paint” wraps things up way too quickly, giving us even more questions than answers.

Mercedes: If being a coward is what it takes to get through to the end of the world, then chicken shit me up.

Let’s tackle the big moments/questions/problems of the final two episodes one at a time, shall we?

We have to discuss Mr. John Henry Holliday.

He started off Season 3 fearful of his hellish fate, and then he became a vampire. He was mostly in control of himself until “Daddy Lessons.” At that point, he is so far gone.

There’s never an explanation as to why Doc loses his mind and apparently his whole sense of self. The implication is that drinking Charlie/Julian’s angel blood drove him insane, but there’s never any actual clarification on that.

To make matters worse, he’s suddenly sane again after Julian knocks him unconscious. Before that, he was willing to hurt Waverly for a taste of the angel blood, but afterward, he’s able to carry a bleeding out Nicole without even a glimpse of temptation.

This change happens way too quickly, and it’s glossed over as if we aren’t supposed to notice or care. Doc’s done a lot of changing this season, and none of it has been handled well.

There’s always hope that things will suddenly click, or Doc will get a chance to explain himself a bit better, but that moment still hasn’t come.

Does anyone have a theory as to why he’s able to climb the stairs? Because that’s another thing that deserves an explanation.

Charlie actually being Julian becomes obvious as he and Waverly spend time together, but this twist allows Waverly to get to know her angelic powers a bit better.

While it makes sense that Julian would need to be introduced in such a way that would earn him airtime but not suspicion, the whole “I slept with my sister’s dad” aspect is a bit too much, even for Wynonna Earp.

At first, there was a gnawing fear that Julian’s return would get Waverly out of her obligation to sacrifice herself and guard the Garden of Eden, so it’s nice that things do not go that route.

However, there’s a lot to process with Julian over the course of these two episodes. While we’re still comprehending and reacting to him being Waverly’s father, he’s killed at the hands of Bobo, who is then killed by Waverly.

What are your thoughts on the Julian reveal?

The breaking of the Earp curse is completely unexpected, and it sets the series into new, uncharted territory.

Going into a supernatural show like this, you expect that for the entirety of its run, the Earp heir would be sending revenants back to hell. It’s the DNA of the series, like Buffy killing vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness.

Ending this curse is a bold move, and hopefully, it will pay off. It definitely injects some new blood into the show as Wynonna won’t be up against the same of revenants week after week.

Wynonna still has peacemaker, except now in the form of a sword, which is cool. If she doesn’t hum the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song while sword fighting someone, then I’ll expect a refund.

Bulshar mentions that the guardian has to be a hero to fight demons, so odds are Wynonna’s demon-slaying days aren’t behind her just yet. But that’s all we know about what’s to come on the Wynonna front.

Wynonna: The only thing I’ve ever been any good at is killing, but I’m willing to give it up. I’m willing to go back to being not much of anything. A woman with stellar hair — shoutout to Jarvis for the ringlets — a tired liver, a loaded last name, and this land.

Things happen rather quickly in those final scenes, and it would have been nice if some things were a bit clearer.

While Wynonna appears to have been unconscious for a bit, there’s no indication that a lot of time has passed between her being in the forest and walking into town. And yet, whoever was left in the town is gone, and Nedley seems to be totally aware of everything that’s happened.

Things aren’t adding up.

While it’s never clear, the implication seems to be that everyone is in the Garden of Eden, and Valdez may or may not have anything to do with it.

There’s a thin line between giving the audience enough questions to keep them intrigued and giving them too many and leaving everyone confused, and unfortunately, this finale does the latter.

So, while we wait until next season, please share all your theories as to what the hell is going on.

What did you think of this episode of Wynonna Earp? Are you excited to see Nedley and Wynonna team up to save everyone next season? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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