TV Review: Wynonna Earp (1×03) “Leavin’ on Your Mind”

Leavin' on Your Mind

Who is Doc Holliday? This episode of Wynonna Earp delved a little more into the life of this character. It turns out that he is on the lookout for a woman in his past, but it’s unclear what he wants with her and what she means to him. He also got found out by Waverly. The confrontation between the two of them was interesting. He clearly has no love for her or her family, but it hasn’t been explained why that happens to be the case. Holliday also doesn’t care about Bobo and his rules. The only reason he’s doing his bidding is because of the information that he needs from him. What he didn’t need this episode was the visit from that female revenant. It felt like an unnecessary scene that was simply put in there for sex. It didn’t propel the story that much or make Doc Holliday more interesting.

The Revenants in this episode held a decent amount of attention. As short as Bobo’s time was on screen he continues to be intriguing. He knows information that only a boss would know, but it turns out that he might already be losing control of his demons, and last episode showed what he does to people that fall out of line. His wrath might be coming sooner rather than later. The three other Revenants also held a good amount of the focus. They were the typical type of bunch that clearly didn’t know what they were doing and weren’t that close to begin with. They easily turned on each other when the moment arose. Gary was a loose canon and it didn’t help the team because he was unpredictable, but it also made him interesting because Marty said he was like that due to the fact that he had been sent to Hell so many times. Unfortunately for Gary the part about him being one of the seven didn’t pan out. It felt like useless information because it didn’t change anything and it felt too convenient.

A part of the narrative that did change things up was the introduction of the Stone Witch. Although she wasn’t directly revealed her presence was noted. Apparently she is helping the Revenants in their attempts to escape their prison. Her magic clearly works because it helped Marty swap bodies with Shorty. It is unclear what her motives are and why she is helping them out specifically.

On the topic of Shorty, his death felt completely underrated. Killing off someone that was suppose to be important to Wynonna didn’t work out because it is only the third episode. It wasn’t even clear what he meant to her at all. His death felt like the death of an extra. In that regard, if they wanted it to be more they should’ve waited and made Shorty seem more important.

Just like the show, Wynonna needs to figure out her tone. She wants to be a sarcastic and funny character, but it doesn’t work. Her jokes fall flat and her sarcastic moments make her feel immature. It made her heroic moments feel weird and lose traction. It was nice to see that she was ready to sacrifice herself for others, but based on the last two episodes those moments felt odd. She seemed way too eager in those scenes for someone who didn’t want to embrace her destiny or return to town. Those moments did serve to showcase her heroic side, but they need to be better executed in the future.

Another character that needs to change is Dolls. Once again he comes off as too cold. For a split second it was strange but nice when it looked like he was caressing Wynonna’s face, but it turned out that was only a tactical move. He needs to at least smile if he wants to make any impression. Shorty’s death also didn’t help his case because he told Wynonna that he was simply a casualty of war. A statement that might be true, but still was way too insensitive.

“Leavin’ on Your Mind” wasn’t a bad episode. Both Doc Holliday and the Revenants got a little more substance to their characters. They seem to grow with the season. The people that need to change are the protagonists and the people in their lives. If the show wants us to care about them then they need to make them worth watching. If they continue on their path then the season won’t get any better.

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7/10

Wynonna Earp airs Fridays @ 10/9c on Syfy

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