“Wynonna Earp” doesn’t waste any time in its season two premiere. “Steel Bars and Stone Walls” picks up right where the season one finale left off with Wynonna, Waverly, and Doc in the woods outside of town and Dolls in Black Badge custody. When Wynonna discovers that Dolls is missing though, the group has to spring into action to rescue him. Waverly is different since the events that ended season one.
The hunt for Dolls is on
As soon as Wynonna discovers that Black Badge swooped in, took Dolls, and began cleaning out their office in the Purgatory Police Station of any supernatural evidence, she began her search for him, which led her to his hotel room and a woman named Eliza who put up one heck of a fight.
Eliza is also Black Badge, but as a “friend” of Dolls, she’s a little more willing to break the rules and tell Wynonna everything she knows about the group and their secret facilities to get Dolls back. That means, of course, that much of the episode is spent breaking into a top secret facility and the group having to get themselves out of one sticky situation after another.
Waverly is different
On the surface, Waverly Earp doesn’t seem all that different than she was last season, but a few moments in the episode prove that Wavery isn’t just Waverly. We get our first hint that the black goo she came into contact with last season changed her when Nicole tells her she tastes different after a kiss.
Waverly brushes it off, but her darkening eyes paint a different picture later.
Waverly also manages to stare down a demon that harvests souls without it even attacking her once they’re in Black Rock, the Black Badge facility. Just what did that black goo do to her? It seems like there’s a bit of darkness in her now, which should make Waverly, who was always the sunnier member of the cast of characters, very different moving forward.
What is up with Dolls?
It’s pointed out that Dolls isn’t exactly a man, and we see him dosed with more of the mysterious medicine he was taking injections of in season one. He doesn’t even get a full dose after it’s been wearing off, causing him to be a little more violent and a little less in control.
Interestingly, the same glowing eyes Dolls exhibits can be seen in Eliza right before she’s shot by the higher-ups at the Black Rock facility.
Has Black Badge been messing with all of their agents? She does warn the group not to sign anything because Black Badge lies. But once she’s been shot and the rest of the group is threatened, they all leave a fingerprint in blood on a contract with Black Badge that we don’t get to read.
Is anyone else in danger of becoming whatever it is that Dolls is? Or can an even more sinister fate be waiting for Wynonna, Waverly, and Doc? Additionally, does this mean we won’t be seeing Eliza anymore? Because her team up with Wynonna was too fun! Is it too much to ask for her to become a zombie or something?
Meet Jeremy
Team Wynonna gets a new addition in “Steel Bars and Stone Walls,” thanks to an encounter with Waverly.
When Waverly pretends to be a scientist getting into Black Rock, she tries to trick a scientist into helping her. That scientist ends up on the run with them when security and a couple of creatures are after them.
Jeremy is with the group when Eliza is shot, and Wynonna, Waverly, and Doc leave their bloody fingerprints on a contract. Jeremy, too, has his finger pricked and his mark left behind on the contract. Even though we don’t see what happens with him, it’s safe to say he’ll be the new Black Badge representative in Purgatory since Dolls isn’t in the organization’s good graces.
The verdict and what’s next
Now that the friends (minus Nicole Haught, who Waverly tried to protect from Black Badge) are all officially hunting demons and monsters in Purgatory for Black Badge, things are sure to get a little more complicated.
It’s no longer just about breaking the Earp curse for these sisters, but about staying a step ahead of the shady organization.
The season premiere was fast paced, fun, and teased a whole lot of interesting stories to come.
4 out of 5 stars
In next week’s “Change Your Skin,” Waverly’s changes will become even more apparent. Will Wynonna notice when she has to take on spider-like creatures though? We’ll have to wait and find out.
