DISCLAIMER: This recap of Wynonna Earp episode “Better Dig Two” is laden with spoilers. You’ve been warned. Proceed at your own peril.
Welcome back, Earpers! We’ve reached penultimate episode territory with “Better Dig Two”! As per Wynonna Earp‘s usual, this outing was absolute bonkers. Not to mention, immensely emotional. Have your tissues at the ready — you’ll need them. Dark Waverly mapped out her objective to return to the Garden with her book, effectively closing the door between realms for all eternity. Wynonna went toe-to-toe against Cleo Clanton. Doc was inadvertently sired as the Clanton heir after he did some siring of his own. Mercedes is now a vampire! Vamping does look good on her.
Ready to delve into “Better Dig Two”? Let’s get to it.
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Now, we open with Graham (Stafford Perry) dragging Mercedes (Dani Kind) into the same cell as Doc (Tim Rozon) and Jeremy (Varun Saranga). He reveals that “The Ark” will leave Purgatory the following day. Of course, Doc kicks into full-on vamp mode. Mercedes is bleeding profusely and Doc must control his urges. Meanwhile, Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) is gazing upon Dark Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley). She notes that Waverly is “beautiful and terrible.” Also, Waverly isn’t home right now. Please leave a message after the beep. Dark Waverly mentions that Jolene helped facilitate her transformation.
Then, Wynonna confesses that she doesn’t want to see Waverly in this state. So, Dark Waverly does what she deems to be the sensible thing — she takes away Wynonna’s eyesight. We see that the fog has dissipated. Supposedly, it was meant to be a placeholder until Dark Waverly, the “failsafe,” made her appearance. Dark Waverly flees the scene to complete her mission. Now’s not the time for a Goth phase, Waves.
Next, we see Rachel (Martina Ortiz-Luis) brandishing a gun at Cleo (Savannah Basley). They’re waiting for Wynonna to hopefully emerge with Waverly. Cleo reveals that she sent Reaper Billy into the fog with Wynonna. They notice that the clump of Jolene’s hair has burst into flames. That means Reaper Billy’s “target” is dead. Now, he’ll turn on his worst enemy … Wynonna.
Later, Jeremy is tending to Mercedes’ wound. She’s losing a significant amount of blood. Freddy (Orin McCusker), Purgatory’s resident werewolf, acts as a barrier between Doc and Mercedes. He tries to convince our favorite cowboy vamp that eating Mercedes = bad. Very bad. Doc proceeds to battle Freddy instead.
Meanwhile, Wynonna is stumbling through the woods while bereft of her sight. She hears a strange noise and chalks it up to falling tree branches. However, we see Reaper Billy (Billy Bryk) looming before her. Rachel is squeezing blood from her hand over a rock at Cleo’s behest. Why? Because this spell will un-Reap Billy. He’ll be human again. In addition, he won’t attack Wynonna. Cleo surreptitiously reaches for Rachel’s gun while the latter is preoccupied with the spell. Sneaky…
Next, Wynonna is still wandering in the dark. Billy calls out to her. He hands her Peacemaker. Oh, and he’s totally human again. No more Reaper! Billy offers to help Wynonna find her way back to Rachel. At the BBD headquarters, Freddy is recovering post-fight with Doc. Jeremy attempts to talk some sense into his favorite mustachioed friend. If Doc must feed, Jeremy offers himself as food. His reasons are enough to tear my heart asunder. Thankfully, Doc snaps out of his bloodlust.
Then, Mercedes asks Doc to turn her into a vampire. She won’t survive otherwise — she’s lost too much blood. After ensuring he has her consent (what a gentleman), Doc sires Mercedes. Now, Doc has assistance from Baby Vamp Mercedes as they proceed to open the bars of the cell. After stepping out of said cell, our heroes free the rest of the trapped demons and humans. Mercedes also manages to squeeze in some feeding time courtesy of a BBD agent’s neck. She was born for this!
Meanwhile, Nicole (Kat Barrell) is still lost in the forest. She picks up a signal on her walkie-talkie. She overhears BBD enacting orders to destroy all of Purgatory. Decimate everyone and everything that resides within. Not on Sheriff Haught’s watch! She’s about to kick some government ass.
Later, Wynonna and Billy return to where Rachel was. Wynonna’s sight makes a welcome comeback. She sees the tree branch that’s coated in Rachel’s blood. Billy reveals that Clantons cannot un-Reap someone. There’s a good chance that Cleo kidnapped Rachel and has nefarious plans in store for her. He convinces Wynonna to return to the Clanton Ranch.
Unfortunately, Billy cannot go back, otherwise, he’ll be Reaped again. He decides to ask for assistance with transferring the Clanton heir responsibilities to him instead of Cleo. I love seeing an Earp and a Clanton helping each other out! Just cast your age-old blood-soaked feud aside, people!
Then, we see Dark Waverly standing before the BBD building as it’s partially engulfed in flames. Hordes of people are fleeing the scene in terror. Waverly rummages through the pocket of a prone body for a cigarette and a lighter. She proceeds to light said cigarette. “Humans. There’s always a crisis,” she mutters. This moment is a mood. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Earper fandom collectively combusted with that bit.
Meanwhile, Doc, Mercedes and Jeremy are still in the very much blocked-off prison area. BBD emits a gas to, presumably, incapacitate everyone therein. Doc and co. try to convince the Powers That Be to free the innocent people trapped inside. The doors open. We see Graham on the other side. However, he’s not alone. Sheriff Haught is right there with him, pointing a gun at his head. Our hero! She helps everyone evacuate the building without interference from the BBD Head Arsehole.
Next, Doc feels an inexplicable pull from an invisible force. He decides to head back inside to see if there are any stragglers in need of assistance. Nicole continues to facilitate the evacuation process. Wynonna is back on the Clanton Ranch. She spots the Reaper prison, firstly through the putrid stench permeating the air and then the flailing zombie arms.
Now, Wynonna finds Cleo and Rachel in Mam Clanton’s workshop area. Or spell room. Who knows? She hoarded a lot of random stuff. Rachel was clearly serving as bait in this situation. She was meant to lure Wynonna to the ranch. Rachel is the master baiter! Cleo’s joke doesn’t really land here, though. Cleo plans on transferring the Clanton heir responsibilities over to Wynonna.
So, she’ll be the Earp heir and the Clanton heir! Cleo delves into the trauma and pain she feels while carrying the heir burden. The Reapers follow her everywhere. They’re in her head. It’s torturous. “Legacy’s a b*tch,” Wynonna replies. We see Holt (Ty Olsson) make a grand, and very slow, entrance. He is a Reaper, after all. Wynonna urges Rachel to take Peacemaker and run. Holt gives chase. Cleo holds a branding iron in her hand. She commences a spell that’ll bestow the Clanton mantle upon Wynonna. How nice of her.
Meanwhile, Doc retrieves his guns and refills them with bullets. He encounters Dark Waverly as he’s leaving the building. She only wants one thing from him: her book. She’s the scion of Julian. Doc refuses to hand it over. He only wants to protect Waverly — the real Waverly. However, Dark Waverly doesn’t concern herself with the affairs of humankind. Doc notices the “C” sigil for Clanton is slowly taking shape on the palm of his hand. He’s been marked. He vanishes before Dark Waverly can take the book.
Later, Cleo is under the impression that the spell didn’t work. Oh, but it did! Just not on the right person. We see Doc appear with his gun at the ready. He’s now the Clanton heir. He forces Wynonna outside. Cleo utilizes the moment to flee since she’s no longer bound to Purgatory by familial duties. Reaper Holt has Rachel in his clutches. Doc leads Wynonna into an area that’s cordoned off with those peculiar rock piles. Wynonna tries to leave, but a force field prevents her from doing so. It’s the Clanton way.
Now, Doc wants to duel with Wynonna. Time to right the wrongs of the O.K. Corral shootout! He wants it to be a fair fight and for the Clantons to triumphantly rise above the fray. Wynonna pleads for the real Doc to make a resurgence. She notes that fair fights are an inherently Doc thing. He orders her to brandish Peacemaker.
Meanwhile, Nicole is ushering everyone into a van. Her plan is to whisk them away to Shorty’s. Jeremy’s crotch is on fire, y’all. His Groin Senses are tingling. He tells Nicole that she must go to the stairs. He doesn’t mention Dark Waverly by name, but that “she’ll” only listen to Nicole. Nicole quickly makes a break for the stairs.
Next, Billy finds Nedley (Greg Lawson) drinking banana liqueur all by his lonesome. I love that the sh*tty banana liqueur is a running joke on Wynonna Earp. Billy asks for Nedley’s aid in transferring the Clanton heir role to him. He has the tooth that he extracted to save Rachel from being marked way back when. He inquires whether Nedley has a knack for incantations. Nedley wordlessly procures his trusty ancient tome and accompanying wolf head hat. God, I love one Randy Nedley.
Wynonna has a few conditions, one of which includes Rachel’s safety. Doc must ensure that she’ll leave the ranch unscathed. Wynonna turns her back, hoping that Doc’s aversion to shooting someone in the back will kick in. She apologizes for shooting Holt in the same manner, which led to the downward spiral in her relationship with Doc. However, Doc’s now a Clanton. Clantons fight dirty. Suddenly, Wynonna fires Peacemaker. The bullet ricochets off a pole and enters Holt’s Reaper skull. Holt drops Rachel. At the same time, Doc also shoots his gun.
Unfortunately, it backfires on him. He collapses from the impact of the bullet. Wynonna rushes to his side. She notices that he filled his gun with silver bullets. You know, the thing that can kill a vampire. Somehow, he knew it would come to this. We see he’s bleeding from his nose.
Meanwhile, Nedley is reciting the incantation. Amid the spell-work, the tooth finds its way back into Billy’s mouth as the Clanton heir title is bestowed upon him. Wynonna is sobbing over Doc. And I, in turn, am also weeping. Scrofano is so damn brilliant here. She doesn’t want Doc to die. He wants Wynonna to go on living. Dark Waverly appears. She can save him!
Doc passes out. Dark Waverly wants the book. Wynonna vows to give it to her, but only if she saves Doc first. Dark Waverly puts her hands on Doc’s head and fully heals him. After he’s safe, Wynonna reticently hands over the book. She believes this may be the last time she’ll see her sister. This episode is a tearjerker, Earpers. As Dark Waverly leaves, she turns Holt into a bird. In fact, she transforms all of the Reapers into birds. It’s quite beautiful, actually.
Later, Nicole finds Dark Waverly ascending the stairs to the Garden. She must return and resume her place on her father’s throne. She must protect the Ghost River Triangle. Nicole persuades Dark Waverly to make her the protector of the GRT. She’s the sheriff of Purgatory, so she need only extend her watch over all of the Ghost River Triangle. Dark Waverly already broke the rules by healing Doc. What’s one more? She hereby declares that Nicole is the shield. The angel’s shield. She’ll stand guard over the GRT for the rest of her life. In fact, she can no longer leave the GRT.
Next, after Nicole recites a vow to guard her new domain, she’s knocked unconscious. Dark Waverly reverts back to our regular half-angel Waverly. She quickly tosses her book into the opening of the Garden. Then, she rushes to the side of her future wife. Thankfully, Nicole wakes after Waverly plants a smooch on her. We see an angelic symbol is carved into the back of Nicole’s neck. A stark reminder of her new role.
Then, Graham approaches Jeremy outside the BBD building. Jeremy puts his foot down. He refuses to let BBD fork with Purgatory any longer. As Nicole mentioned earlier, Purgatory’s an accepting, arms-wide-open type of town. They wholeheartedly invite folks of all kinds — human and otherwise. Jeremy leaves Graham to Freddy who goes into werewolf mode and, presumably, eats the BBD Head Arsehole for supper.
Later, we see Nicole, Waverly, Wynonna, Doc and Jeremy at Shorty’s recovering from the day’s hectic antics. Wynonna keeps draping blankets over Doc. He can now see his reflection. It would appear that Dark Waverly de-vamped him! Jeremy reveals that Nedley took Rachel and Billy out for burgers in the big city. Now that BBD is gone, everyone can travel beyond the county lines. Well, except for Nicole. Nicole eagerly wants to dive into more wedding planning. That’s how the episode ends. This makes me hopeful that we’ll get a WayHaught wedding in the season finale!
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Holy guacamole, Batman! Wynonna Earp goes big or goes home! “Better Dig Two” was the perfect penultimate episode as far as I’m concerned. Those scenes with Wynonna and Doc were utterly devastating. I just want them to be happy! Scrofano is a force to be reckoned with. I sincerely hope she gets the recognition she so deserves. I’m curious to see the repercussions of Nicole’s decision to become the shield of the GRT. Not to mention, whether we’ll see BBD again. I loved that Dark Waverly turned Doc human again. Now, he’s a mortal just like the rest of them. He can grow old with Wynonna as planned. There’s too much to dissect here, but stay tuned for Wynonna Wednesday!
Do you think we’ll get the WayHaught wedding we all want in the season finale? Where the hell is Eve? Can we get a WayHaught interruptus scene wherein they walk in on WynDoc? Join me next week as I recap Wynonna Earp, here on Geek Girl Authority.
Wynonna Earp airs Fridays at 10 pm on your Syfy affiliate.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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