In 2016, Syfy had a sleeper hit on its hands, as critics and audience members loudly voiced their praise for the new series Wynonna Earp. Inspired by the IDW comic of the same name, the series followed the title character as the heir to the Earp curse.
As the legend goes, every generation a new heir was responsible for using the magical gun Peacemaker to send demons packing. Those demons used to be people when Wyatt Earp lived in the small town of Purgatory. It’s Wyatt’s actions that resulted in the curse, but it’s the rest of his family line that has to pay for it.
Now three seasons into the show, with a fourth season on the way in 2020, Wynonna Earp hasn’t lost steam with the fans. On IMDb, nine of its top rated episodes come from the first two seasons of the show. With ratings ranging from 9.0 to 9.2 out of 10 stars for those episodes, there’s clearly not huge dips in quality. In combing the database’s ratings, we’ve assembled the 10 best episodes of the series (so far).
House Of Memories S1E12 (9.0)
In early season one of Wynonna Earp, the title character believed she was the heir to Wyatt Earp’s mission. As the middle sister, she was only the heir because her older sibling Willa was believed dead.
“House Of Memories” was smack in the middle of the arc that brought Willa back into Wynonna’s life. With Willa as the heir, Wynonna had to deal with feelings of jealousy, family drama, and the usual save-the-town issues in Purgatory. This episode provided a near perfect balance of family backstory and supernatural drama.
Bury Me With My Guns On S1E09 (9.0)
There were a lot of separate stories going on in this episode. Nicole tried to prove there was something weird going on in Purgatory. Wynonna took a psychiatric evaluation. Bobo bought Shorty’s Saloon. The Stone Witch tried to get out of town. “Bury Me With My Guns On” isn’t remembered for a lot of those moving pieces though.
Instead, this episode is remembered as the one to launch WayHaught. Waverly Earp, previously engaged to a local boy, finally acted on her feelings for Nicole Haught. The feelings were mutual and the two started dating right away, creating one of the most beloved relationships in the series.
Walking After Midnight S1E07 (9.0)
Much like the previous entry, “Walking After Midnight” was an episode focused on stopping the Stone Witch and researching a particular group of Revenants. It also, however, launched another interesting partnership for the series.
This marked the first time Nicole and Wynonna teamed up to work a mystery. While Wynonna was interested in finding the last member of the Revenant group that took her father from her, Nicole was interested in tracking a serial killer. Nicole didn’t yet have all the details, but it’s a glimpse at how well the two would come to work together in the future.
Let’s Pretend We’re Strangers S2E05 (9.1)
If fans wanted to see Waverly or Wynonna not completely in their right minds, this was a good episode for it. Both sisters ended up possessed by demon goo over the course of the hour. Wynonna was really only slightly more unhinged than her usual self. Points go to Doc though for realizing something was off and locking her in his trunk to prevent her from hurting anyone.
This episode also featured a few more clues to the mysterious order made of firefighters who were intent on protecting the town of Purgatory. The coat of arms for the firefighters shared an insignia with the hidden symbol on Edwin Earp’s plate. Wynonna Earp has been great at doling out bits and pieces of a mystery. Of course, this episode also had the bombshell that Wynonna was pregnant.
No Future In The Past S2E08 (9.1)
You can’t have a supernatural series without addressing some weird time travel at some point, right? That’s just what “No Future In The Past” did.
Wynonna got the chance to discover more about her family curse, the Stone Witch, Bobo del Ray, the Widows, and even Doc. After completing a strange ritual, her spirit ended up in Wyatt Earp’s time - far into her family past. This vision quest of sorts allowed Wynonna to have the answers to a lot of questions, like why the Stone Witch was after Doc, but it also opened up a whole lot of new questions for the audience.
She Ain’t Right S2E04 (9.1)
As its title suggests, “She Ain’t Right” was the first big hint that something was off with Waverly. Though she admitted to feeling off since touching the “black goo,” the audience got to see just what that might mean for her.
While Waverly helped Black Badge track down a missing briefcase, a bit of torture from the enemy meant she lost a hand. By the end of the episode, the hand had completely grown back on its own thanks to the black goo. It was a bit of mystery to make fans think until the next episode. Of course, this also marked the first time on the show that Waverly had to do a little entertaining. While on her mission, she had to sing. No sweat since she’s got a pretty good voice. Meanwhile, Dolls slowly devolved into a dragon, and the audience saw him breathe fire for the first time! While very cool, it hinted at more trouble to come
War Paint S3E12 (9.1)
It’s a good thing that SyFy came through with plans for a fourth season of the series because season three’s “War Paint” ended on a massive cliffhanger.
The episode provided a lot of big moments for the audience. Wynonna managed to rally her former Revenant enemies to help her fight Bulshar’s followers. Waverly not only tried to propose to Nicole, but she also embraced her half angel side to help Wynonna defeat Bulshar. Bulshar also used Wynonna to break the Earp curse, causing all of the Revenants to vanish from Purgatory.
If that weren’t enough, something from the Garden of Eden dragged Waverly inside. While Doc could follow to help her, Wynonna couldn’t. As everyone left in town vanished, Wynonna turned to the one person left for help: Nedley, back in town on a break from his retirement. With so many huge changes to the fabric of the series at once, fans were left wanting more immediately.
I Walk The Line S1E13 (9.2)
Like any good finale, the last episode of season one closed several plot threads, but opened up whole new ones to leave the audience primed for the next season. “I Walk The Line” was full of action and angst.
Doc and Dolls spent the episode teamed up searching for an antidote to help the Purgatory citizens. They also finally gave Nicole the whole scoop on Black Badge and drafted her to help them find the Earp sisters in all of the madness.
Waverly and Wynonna each had their own problems to deal with in the episode. Chief among them for both sisters ended up being dealing with Willa. Willa wanted to leave town with Bobo. When she didn’t get the chance, she left the Ghost River Triangle on her own. She also unleashed a massive demon - the same one that provided the demon goo that would kick off season two. Ultimately, Wynonna had to take her big sister’s life to save the town, just adding to the character’s thinly masked guilty conscience.
I See A Darkness S2E10 (9.2)
A more emotional episode than most Wynonna Earp fans were used to, this particular episode of the series saw one of the team in grave danger.
Nicole ended up with a bite from one of the Widows. The poison in her system meant, despite Waverly getting her to a hospital right away, she wouldn’t have much time. A magical poison isn’t exactly the same as a snakebite. Everyone split up to find their own way to save Nicole. While Wynonna forced Rosita to be a test subject for Jeremy to find a cure, Waverly made a deal with the Blacksmith’s sister. The end result was that Waverly’s way won. Wynonna vanished from everyone’s memory as a result of the deal. Doc also ended up back in his well, causing a bit of a snag in the next few episodes.
I Hope You Dance S2E12 (9.2)
Like the previous entry, this episode combines as much action as it did emotional punch. The storyline with the Widows and the seals to awaken their dead husband came to a head.
The Widows found themselves in conflict with one another about their husband. Wynonna also found herself with a bit of a problem when the heirloom plate only created a single bullet for them. She and Doc found a creative solution to that problem which provided a really fun visual. It looked like they were about to shoot one another, but instead, their bullets collided to create two pieces to end the Widows.
Wynonna made the decision to hand her baby off to someone who could keep her safe away from Purgatory. Being able to leave Purgatory meant Doc was the baby’s father instead of a Revenant. That was a welcome bit of news for a lot of fans.