‘Wynonna Earp: Vengeance’ Review: A Little Too Much Reboot

As an Earper, part of me wishes Wynonna Earp: Vengeance didn’t happen. This is coming from someone who has interviewed the cast and showrunner for years, reviewed the show, and loved the queer representation we got in this because it made me feel seen in a way I’ve never experienced before. But I’m having some trouble equating what we knew of these characters over four seasons with the characters that I saw in Vengeance. 

At the same time, I’m glad to be back in Purgatory. I’m glad that we’re exploring these different sides of characters we’ve come to grow with and love. Because healing and getting things right isn’t linear. Life isn’t like that. Life is messy and we slide backwards sometimes. That’s Vengeance‘s strongest aspect and also its weakness. But I do think it leaned a little bit too much into the reboot of it all, and left me feeling like I don’t know if I need to watch this again. And that hurts. 

Let’s discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of Wynonna Earp: Vengeance.

The Good

Wynonna Earp: Vengeance made me realize that the titular character never stopped running after season 4. As much as I wanted her to go and find Alice and be living happily ever after with Doc, she ran and she kept going for 2 years. She was chasing the high. One where she was in control of her destiny, where she was a little bit more sure about where she stood in life, and who was there for the ride. So it was really important to see Wynonna choose to stay in Purgatory for herself. Waverly wasn’t there and she no longer had Doc. But she chose to stay there because she wanted to. So much has been not her choice throughout her life, that this choice defines her character arc and shows that growth continues to happen in life after a kid, after death, and after saving the world. 

Outside of Wynonna herself, my favorite character in Vengeance was Doc Holliday. I never really cared for him as much as I did Dolls, for example, when it comes to male characters in this world. Even Jeremy was more endearing (to me) than Doc. But he was the one character in Vengeance who never forgot who he was. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he has been alive longer. But he did spend a long time in that well, plotting his revenge, so I don’t think he’s that far ahead from everyone else. He just was Doc Holliday. He was a supportive partner, friend, father, and hero. And I did not expect to cry as much as I did when he died, even though I had been spoiled and knew that his death was coming. It felt too soon, in my opinion, and like we were saying goodbye forever to him just as the show was trying to bring in new viewers. 

That doesn’t mean everything is lost in the romance department. We still have Waverly and Nicole aka Wayhaught. And even though I have a multitude of problems with their storyline, I do like that Nicole has settled into being a sheriff. I also like that Waverly is heading out to explore the world in a way she’s never done before. She always fit in well with the investigation of it all and from the very beginning of Wynonna Earp, she had bigger dreams than anybody in this entire town. So I’m glad she can spread her wings while knowing that she has a home to come back to. 

We can’t end this good section without talking about the showdown in hell. Wynonna was throwing down some really good quotes and just looked so in control of the situation in a way that reminded me of the Wynonna we knew at the end of season 4. It was like she was facing her fears, the demons that came with it, and her own insecurities in a way that felt liberating to her. Powerful. And sure, she made a mistake that ended up with this lady going to hell for 20 years. But she took a stand, and faced her mistakes because she’s the heir. And heirs keep getting up, even when it gets hard.

This is where the good of Wynonna Earp:Vengeance ends. And I’m sorry for that.

The Bad

Selling Wynonna Earp: Vengeance as a reboot was the wrong decision. This show already has an amazing fan base. They didn’t need to sell it as a reboot to get people to watch. If anything, having it for free on Tubi was going to make people curious anyway. And if Tubi is really worried about views, they just have to look at the 9-1-1 fandom, where newbies have started watching in season 7 because the two men kissed (despite the show already having queer representation for years but that’s another conversation for another time.) The point is, as long as you have queer things around, don’t you worry. People will come and people will watch. And maybe I’m the fool because I thought it was going to be a super soft reboot, but Vengeance feels like a canon divergence fanfiction with characters we know and love in a different alternate universe. If I think of Vengeance as a fanfiction, it’s fine. But this is not fanfiction. 

Keystone point, the way that the town treated Wynonna and how she thought they thought of her. I’m sorry, did I not watch four seasons of Wynonna saving this small town over and over again? There is no way that these people don’t know that she’s the hero of the story. She earned her place in Purgatory over and over, shed blood for them, and lost people to save them. And unless I am misremembering some sort of mind wipe on the town, I thought they would be a little bit more welcoming. People in general are stupid and ignorant, I’ll give Vengeance that. They are also petty. But that tidbit combined with how excited Wynonna was for continuous danger, felt like it clashed with the journey we saw over four seasons when the show was still on Syfy. 

Then there were the mean things that our favorite characters were saying to each other. Again, I know that healing isn’t linear. But I really did not like it when Wynonna accused Nicole of “keeping Waverly on the hook” as if she was holding her back. Waverly is a grown woman who can do what she wants. And if there’s anything that Nicole would not do, is hold her wife back. Maybe inadvertently if there was miscommunication and all of that jazz. But there was this narrative that Nicole was holding back Waverly from achieving her dreams and that Nicole thought that Wynonna was a bad sister who just brought heaps of danger and destruction with her. Are we forgetting the years that they fought side by side and how much they love each other? 

I know they remembered later on in the special how much they loved each other, but some of the things that my favorite characters said to each other made me feel like they were strangers to each and to me as a viewer.

The Ugly

Doc’s death was unnecessary. He was the only character that felt grounded and like he remembered the four seasons of development that he had. And it was interesting to watch him grapple with being on the road and trying to build something for his little family. Most importantly, he still had problems without forgetting who he was. Everyone else practically felt like they were AU versions of themselves, except Mercedes, and felt like a mishmash of season 1 problems with a soft reboot coat of paint set two years after the series finale. And even though I knew his death was coming, it hurt to watch him comfort Wynonna while he was dying and tell her that she had already saved him. 

That was great writing on Emily Andra’s part and Tim Rozon acted that scene like nothing I’ve seen on the show before. But I’m still angry. I’m still disappointed. It was made even worse by the fake outs at him possibly dying. We got one when he fell off the train, when he had a shootout on the road, and then when he and Wynonna were walking towards each other at the end before he collapsed. Not only did Doc deserve better, Wynonna deserved better. It comes down to me being tired of watching one person have major character development or be pushed in a specific direction because of the death of their loved one. I wanted to see Wynonna and Doc continue taking on this world together with no doubts about the love that they carry for each other and for their daughter. And I know he can come back because this is Wynonna Earp. But I can still be mad about it.

I can also be mad about the mismanagement of Wayhaught. After interviewing the cast, I was so excited about Vengeance exploring how it’s not all happily ever after. There are problems in every relationship. But I feel like Vengeance regressed these characters or they felt like an AU canon divergence version of themselves with how Waverly and Nicole were treating each other. For Nicole, it was the way that she spoke to Wynonna about her influence on Waverly. That was out of pocket. And for Waverly, when she said “Shelf it haught, I know when I’m being managed.” Excuse me? This is your wife. She literally brought you hot chocolate while you’re doing research. It felt ungrateful and like they weren’t on the same page when it came to their relationship. Because you can have different opinions about a situation. But you don’t treat your partner like a nuisance in the middle of all that. 

Then there is Waverly, the final aspect of Wynonna Earp: Vengeance that disappointed me. In other interviews I saw, the actor said that we’d see a more mature Waverly. Where was the more mature? Because Waves is a pillar of strength and this person was giving OOC. I understand feeling stir crazy in a town that feels too small for your ambitions. But I didn’t recognize the Waverly that was partying that hard or emulating Wynonna and getting into trouble with a broken bottle in her hand threatening a human while drunk. I did see her when she was excited to hear from Wynonna, when she was in research mode, when she was taking down those hellhounds, or when she was leaving with Jeremy (who we didn’t get to see enough and is a tragedy in itself). And I understand that being a human is complex. But we’ve seen Waverly go through worse things in her life across four seasons without being OOC.

Conclusion

Wynonna Earp: Vengeance and everything that comes afterwards in the form of an Audible Original and possible future specials, it has potential. And yes, there will be new viewers and I will probably be there right alongside everyone else. Because even if I’m disappointed with Vengeance, I’m an Earper. That’s not going to change. But being an Earper, and loving something like this so much, I have to be honest. And I feel like I was honest in this review even if it hurt me to write this. At the end of the day, Wynonna Earp always pushes the boundaries of storytelling. And I hope it comes back for more movies, seasons, books, etc. to redefine the storytelling landscape once more.

Wynonna Earp: Vengeance is now available on Tubi.

What did you think of Wynonna Earp: Vengeance? Let us know in the comments below!