I'm not going to quote 'Jolene.'


So, after a surprisingly sensitive and thoughtful look at grief and a goodbye to Dolls last week, this week was probably inevitably underwhelming.  Dolls gets a few mentions, but not out of grief, out of practicality.  Nobody's bankrolling them anymore.  But, what about that blood oath that the Earp girls, Doc, and Jeremy signed?  Is that void without Dolls?

The point is, Wynonna and Doc are quite chipper this week considering they just lost Dolls.  Doc, I suppose, is understandable seeing as how he, um, re-connected with Kate last episode.  And I never bought into the Doc and Dolls friendship as much as I feel I was meant to.  But, what's with Wynonna?  She hasn't been this openly flirtatious with Doc since 'I See A Darkness.'  Is it that she lost one man she loved so she's trying extra hard to cling to the other?  They share a somber moment about Alice when it's revealed Doc built her a cradle before Wynonna had decided to give her up.  Even through Wynonna's own guilt about it, I appreciate that Doc (or anyone) has never condemned her for it.  I like the little momens and mentions of what they lost.  Alice hasn't taken over the show, but her parents are not going to forget her and they are going to break this curse for her.  Although, Wynonna may not want to mention her to the revenants.  They may not be able to leave the Ghost River Triangle, but they could hire someone to track down Alice for them.  Just a suggestion.

While I'm on a roll, Nicole, I don't think the best hiding place is just chucking the ring out in the middle of the woods.  The woods that Bulshar hangs out in.

Even though Michelle escaped and we're creeping ever closer to finding out what Waverly's heritage is, a lot of this episode felt unimportant.  Like, Wynonna being locked up.  Just stalling so she can't get back to the homestead in time.  I'm glad Jeremy seems to be getting a love interest.  Perhaps now the show can start treating him more seriously.  His crush on Doc is cute but give the man someone he has a chance with.

I'm concerned about Doc making a deal with Bulshar.  I thought he'd gotten beyond the point of screwing everyone over to help himself.  I'm sure the absolute certainty of knowing you're going to hell is a strong motivator, but maybe making choices like this are why you were sent there in the first place.  I'd rather Bulshar use Alice against him than his fears of damnation.  I will wait and see how the season plays out before I make my final judgments.

I like Zoie Palmer.  I liked her on Lost Girl.  I liked her on Dark Matter.  But, I'm not a fan of these 'outsider tricks/curses/manipulates everyone into thinking they're their best friends and always have been' plots.  I've seen it on other shows and I've always found it obnoxious and tedious.  I don't like plots where I'm just waiting for the protagonists to catch up to things I already know.  But, again, we'll see how it plays out. 

This was a middle of the road episode.  Not bad, but I think anything would have been a letdown after the emotional catharsis of 'Colder Weather.'

Earp Thoughts: Colder Weather

Sometimes, I wonder what the real Doc Holliday would think of this wonderfully stupid show...

Anyway, this week we say goodbye to Xavier Dolls.  I'm not gonna talk about the behind the scenes reasons for this.  I just want to talk about the show and how they handled it.  Badly.  The answer is badly.  In the episode where he died, Dolls barely had any screen time.  We were quickly told that he was dying and he knew it and then he sacrifices himself mostly off screen at the end.  Wynonna doesn't even realize he's dead until the rest of the group brings her attention to it.  Very much an afterthought to the supposed male lead.  Not that he's been treated like the male lead since season 1.  It's strange.  If you look back at the early episodes, a lot of it was Wynonna and Dolls.  He was the main love interest.  Wynonna didn't really form a deep emotional bond with Doc until the end of season 1.  Wynonna and Dolls had classic endgame written all over them.  After a lot of setup for a rich character, Dolls sort of faded into the background and his death was equally half-heartedly done.

The latest episode, Colder Weather, was the most attention Dolls has received since the season 2 premiere.  We got to see in character reactions to his death.  We even got an acoustic version of the theme song, as Katherine Barrell replaced Shamier Anderson in the credits.  This felt like a true tribute to a main character.  It strikes me as too little too late.  Where was this when he was around?  I'm also not a fan of posthumous character development.  Thanks random Black Badge guy for telling us more about Dolls now that he's gone and no longer a factor.  Maybe Anderson will pop up again on the show someday.  At least for a cameo.  But, for now, this seems pretty final. 

As for the rest of it, for a show with such mediocre to terrible writing, they did a surprisingly good job portraying grief here.  They touched on things that many shows skip over, such as what to do with the body?  What kind of funeral/wake would the deceased want?  I appreciated these details.  There was genuine thought and heart put into this episode and to how the characters dealt with it.  They all handled it in different ways.  Anger, sadness, denial, putting a brave face on, and even some laughter.

Wynonna's anger was very in character.  How ironic is it that she condemns Jeremy for doing essentially the same thing she did to Waverly for nearly her entire life?  Wynonna is impulsive and she lashes out and that was turned up to 11 here.  It was a strong reminder that Melanie Scrofano continues to be the best actor on this show. 

Now for some brief thoughts about the non-Dolls portions of the episode.  As someone with a long fascination with Doc Holliday, he has always been my main draw to the show.  I'm always up for hearing more about his past.  Bringing Kate in is appealing.  At the same time, it seems similar to bringing in Rosita last year.  Hopefully, this relationship will feel a bit richer.  I also can't help but fear she won't make it to next season.  She's looked to have ax over her head from her first appearance.  This is Kate.  Presumably Kate Fisher/Elder and she deserves better than to be Rosita 2.0.  Let's save that fate for the obvious Dolls replacement, Quinn.  The solution to losing a corner of your love triangle is not to just shove another random guy in there.  Truly, it isn't.  Don't do it.

I will close by saying this is one of the stronger episodes of the series.  They put put a real effort into a story about loss and grief.  And I think they did it well.  Last week's episode may not stick out in my mind, but years from now, when I'm looking back on the series, Colder Weather will.