Since its debut back in April 2016, Wynonna Earp has proven itself to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, uniting female fandoms across the globe.
It would honestly take me pages upon pages upon pages to get you all caught up with what’s happening in the quaint little demonic town of Purgatory, USA so I will attempt to blast through some of the important bits, even though the entire show is important and relevant, so you can get a sense of what you’re dealing with here. I’m honestly hoping that by this point, most of you have hopped onto the Earper Express and are riding Badass Highway with me and the rest of the fandom!
Based on the comic series by Beau Smith, the SyFy hit follows the legend of the Earp curse in Purgatory. Wyatt Earp was one of the most famous lawmen in our history (actual history!) and with him was a curse: that all the outlaws he killed, now called revenants, would come back from hell after each Earp heir died. The only way to stop them from destroying the town, running amuck in every new decade and putting a damper on the quality of life of the Earp family is to shoot them between the eyes with Wyatt’s revolver, Peacemaker.
Jump to present day and we have Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano), the heir to the Earp curse, and town outcast from her troubled past. So this show already wins because, hello, chick with a big ass gun!
In the beginning Wynonna is hesitant and skeptical of her Earp duties. Insert: cute and super smart younger sister, Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Special Agent Dolls (Shamier Anderson) of the Black Badge Division (a super secret government task force dealing with paranormal, demonic and evil/unexplained phenomena), Wynonna begins to hunt down the revenants that raise havoc in their tiny town.
Did I mention Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) also is totally immortal and comes back from living in a well (legit a freaking well, like for water) for the past century to help save the day—while also being super-in-love with Wynonna? No? Well, yes that happens too!
Apart from being an amazingly conceived piece of television, Wynonna Earp brings forth an authentic same-sex relationship between Waverly and the town’s deputy, Nicole Haught (Kat Barrell). We see their feelings for each other completely blossom before our very eyes all throughout season one and two. Thanks to show-runner and writer, Emily Andras, previously of the acclaimed SyFy series Lost Girl, we finally get to see a valid and true relationship without the fear of the “Bury Your Gays” trope that has plagued cable television for decades now.
A lot of these television programs entice LGBTQ viewers into watching their show when they introduce new queer characters only to kill them off after a season or two. But the producers of Wynonna Earp have seen the incredible impact the relationship between Waverly and Nicole (ship name #WayHaught) has sparked.
The #WayHaught relationship starts right in the beginning of season one in episode two when the new deputy in town goes in to get a cup of coffee from Shorty’s, Purgatory’s local watering hole where Wyatt Earp used to drink, where Waverly works. It’s obvious Nicole’s intentions were to flirt with Waverly and get a feel for her. Although Waverly is currently dating, Champ (Dylan Koroll), it’s clear Waverly is smitten with Officer Haught’s adorable dimples and suave and charismatic swagger.
Without giving too much away, season one slowly brings these two gorgeous specimens together in one pivotal scene where Waverly visits Nicole at the sheriff’s station with one thing on her mind. Not that (yet). She confesses her feelings to a bewildered Haught who was under the assumption that this “we’re only friends” thing was actually going to stick. A super endearing speech is given by a nervous Waverly which ends with a steamy little make out session on the boss’ couch. I mean, I didn’t rewind that at all or anything.
The amazing thing about the #WayHaught relationship is that it matters to so many people on the planet. After shows like The 100 or Buffy killed off our representation, Wynonna Earp is creating a safe space for our queer little hearts.
At the ClexaCon convention in Las Vegas, Nevada last March our beloved showrunner spoke to a massive crowd surrounding the #WayHaught panel. She spoke of having a high respect for the LGBTQ community and wanting to do them justice. She also said that writing a same-sex relationship needed to be true and authentic. Every relationship goes through rough patches and struggles so Andras made sure to incorporate these aspects into the #WayHaught scenario without leading to the death of one of them. This April at ClexaCon, Katherine Barrell and Tamara Duarte are both featured guests in a stunning ClexaCon Featured Guests lineup.
In season two we see the relationship of Waverly and Nicole blossom to something incredibly strong. Although they have their bumps (there are bunches) and curve balls thrown at them it’s pretty clear how much they love one another.
 Season two is also just an amazing array of truly remarkable women. Wynonna gets a pregnancy storyline written into the plot because real life Melanie Scrofano had announced she was pregnant before the season even began shooting. Scrofano shot the entirety of season two pregnant, all the way up until the nine month mark, while still playing the ass-kicking Earp heir that she is. This truly showed the incredible power and strength of women.
Season two also brought the introduction of two new characters to the gang, both of which happen to be on Team Queer and both of which happen to be super adorable. Jeremy (Varun Saranga) is a super brain who works for the Black Badge Division as a lab rat. His main purpose is to be wicked smarter than everyone else. Rosita (Tamara Duarte) is the sexy bar matron at the now Doc Holliday owned Shorty’s who also happens to be a super brain and bad ass (good) revenant. Are you keeping up?
This season has proved to be a rollercoaster ride of emotions for everyone in the cast. Each character had their own storyline which, in some way, complimented everyone else’s. It ended with so many questions to be answered and, HOORAY, we have a season three coming in mid-2018 (I’m not sure I can wait that long).
So, what did we learn from this rant of mine?
- Emily Andras knows her sh*t
- #WayHaught is endgame
- Women KICK ass
- Wynonna Earp creates a platform for strong and positive representation.
