Syfy’s Wynonna Earp showed up in a big way at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Hours ahead of time, fans packed into the show’s Saturday evening panel to get a look at the cast and showrunner Emily Andras, and they were not disappointed: Not only did we find out that Wynonna Funkos are happening, but we got the announcement that season four is a go.
This was a huge and wonderful surprise for fans, seeing as season three has only aired one episode, but it’s also a testament to the greatness of the show and the amazing passion of its fanbase, the Earpers. Before the panel, we sat down with the cast and Andras to discuss this seasons themes of motherhood, forgiveness, and licking root vegetables.
Last season saw Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) dealing with a surprise pregnancy and ended with her making the heartbreaking decision to send her daughter, Alice, away from the dangers of Purgatory. Then, there was the shocking revelation that Wynonna knew the whereabouts of Mama Earp (played this season by Canadian television veteran Megan Follows), who left her family behind years ago.
Andras explained that both these elements will be important this year: “The theme of motherhood is always one we’re exploring on Wynonna Earp,” and it also ties into another season theme of dealing with the past. Andras wants the audience to ask, “Are you responsible for the crimes of your own family? Are you responsible for the legacy of your ancestors? Wynonna and Wavery have this burden because of Wyatt Earp, but why should they have to fight for things that happened hundreds of years ago.”
For Wynonna’s part, she’s dealing with the loss of her daughter in the most Wynonna way: by not dealing with it—or, at least, staying busy. This was true for Scrofano as a mother, as well, whose real-life pregnancy was worked into the show. “It was and is really important to stay busy, because when we stay busy, Wynonna and I, we can’t think too much. And Wynonna really was in a lot of pain last season, and in such a dark place,” Scrofano said.
Andras further elaborated on where Wynonna is this season, emotionally: “I think it’s really about Wynonna and coming to terms with who she is and what she’s good at, and that’s killing,” Andras said. “She’s a hero, but in the eyes of a lot of people, she’s not.”
It remains to be seen if one of those people is Mama Earp, but Wynonna’s own actions last season do sound like they’ll change her perspective on what her mother did. “The story we’ve heard about mama Earp,” Andras told me, “is that this is a woman that abandoned three young kids with an alcoholic demon hunter. There’s a lot of judgment and baggage that comes when you hear about that type of mother. At the same time, obviously, she would have had to have been an extraordinary woman to raise independent, strong-willed daughters like Wynonna and Waverly. There’s a lot of expectations and contradictory information about Mama Earp.” One thing for sure Andras said is that “Mama Earp is going to shake things up.”
The person who may be most upset about Wynonna keeping Mama secret is Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley). However, according to Provost-Chalkley, she might not be angry for long. “Waverly, she’s so forgiving. She’s one of the most forgiving people I know,” Provost-Chalkley said, “and I think that she would forgive most things because she puts people before herself.”
Mama Earp’s return may also mean we learn who Waverly’s real father is. “We are finally going to get some answers about Waverly’s parentage and kind of origin,” Andras shared.
But Waverly will always be Waverly, someone who Provost-Chalkley says “Always puts herself out there to protect the people she loves.” And as we all know, one of those people is Officer Nicole Haught.
The WayHaught ship is sailing in smooth waters so far this season (though anything can change). Said Provost-Chalkley, “I really love where Nicole and Waverly are this year. I feel like they’re in such a comfortable and domestic place that’s really love to see … We really know each other, we know exactly what we want from the relationship.” Provost-Chalkley is particularly excited to see more equity in the relationship, with Waverly supporting Nicole as much as Nicole supported Waverly in the past.
Nicole is going to need that support as she deals with the revelation that she has a past she barely remembers with the cult of Bulshar. Katherine Barrell, who plays Nicole, is particularly excited about the backstory she’ll get into this season. “She’s more connected to purgatory than I think she really thought,” Said Barrell. “It may not be such a coincidence that she’s there.” She also added, “I think it’s also very scary for her because she’s getting these memories in fragments and it’s not a full memory for her, so she obviously has something that’s so traumatic and so repressed in her that she’s just getting it in these little bits.”
According to Andras, we’ll get backstory and revelations this season for a whole host of characters. “We’re gonna hear more about Dolls’ backstory and how he became what he is,” Andras shared. That’s something Shamier Anderson is happy to see, and he warned that episode two will be a big one for Dolls. According to Varun Saranga (Jeremy), “Episode two changes the rules for everything.”
We’ll also see more of Doc Holiday’s (Tim Rozon) past in the character of Kate, played by newcomer Chantal Riley, which is just one of many problems Doc has to deal with this year—the others being the loss of his daughter with Wynonna, the fact he’s mortal now, and that he briefly went to hell. “Doc definitely brings in the gravity of what happened at the ends of season two. He sent his little girl away, and he’s not going to deal with it very well,” Rozon said. “But we know, sometimes selfishly, doc looks out for himself, and he might do that again in season three. And, in some ways, he’s doing it for Alice, which is more beautiful.”
Overall, according to Andras, “We’re really getting answers this season on a lot of pipe we’ve laid down in the first three seasons, but as always, with me, there’s going to be new questions and new surprises.” One such surprise, to the cast and creatives, was how the fandom latched on to a single clip of someone licking a potato in the season three trailer. “Who licked the potato?” is a question that will be answered, but in the meantime, there is a lot to look forward to.
“We have a Christmas episode this year!” Andras shared, “Which is so freaking fun. It’s not going to air anywhere near December, but kudos to Syfy; they loved the idea. What the hell is Christmas going to look like at the Earp homestead in Purgatory?”
And Andras promises to keep making the show as gay as possible. “It’s super gay. It’s gay in the sense that it’s fun and inclusive and people fall in love and support each other. There’s some new characters for sure that are LGBTQ.” Said Andras, “I just keep introducing LGBTQ characters, and that’s all I want to do until the entire town of purgatory is just one big pride parade.”
Until then, we’re bracing ourselves for episode two. Rozon summed it up: “There’s gonna be romance, demon killing, whiskey drinking, donut throwing, and most importantly: potatoes.” We can’t wait.
(image: Syfy)
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