In Wynonna Earp, our heroine discovers her family legacy: the Earp curse. As the Earp heir, she has to kill all the revenants, the resurrected outlaws killed by the legendary Wyatt Earp. She kills them with the gun, the Peacemaker, and sends them back to hell. However, once sent back to hell, the revenants will always come back, and the next heir will have to do the same work.
Wynonna is the second female Earp heir, acknowledged to be one of the stronger heirs. In addition, the show features many interesting and strong female characters. While some may be heroines, others may be the villains, and yet others exist in the murky in-between. However, all show amazing strength.
Rosita
Initially, we know Rosita as Doc Holliday's girlfriend. She tries to connect with the two Earp sisters, Wynonna and Waverly. She is incredibly smart and talented. It is due to her abilities that Doc and she are able to help Deputy Dolls with a concoction that keeps his more animal-half in check.
However, we find out that Rosita is a revenant, and she escapes. Unlike other revenants, she wants to make the most of her life, further advancing her degrees and knowledge. It's too bad that Doc pulled her back in his world, but she was one revenant we were happy to see escape Wynonna's Peacemaker.
Kate
We don't meet Kate until Season 3, when it is revealed that she is Doc's wife. On top of being Doc's wife, we also find that she is a vampire. Initially posed as a villain that Wynonna has to take down, we learn more about her when she tells Wynonna about her life.
Kate had been European royalty and came to the United States with her family. Shortly after arriving, her parents died. She was pretty much on her own and fell in love in Doc. When Doc disappeared, Kate found out that the Stone Witch had gifted Doc with immortality and also hid him. Kate decided to become immortal, too, transforming into a vampire so that she could find Doc again. So while we don't know as much about her full character and story, it is clear that Kate is a survivor and that when she loves someone, she loves them with a fiercity.
The Widow Sisters
The widow sisters escape from their crates and take the faces of two living sisters, Beth and Mercedes. Their touch is poison, and they appear pretty unstoppable, much harder to kill than the standard revenant. Their sole plan is to free their husband, the dangerous Bulshar Clootie, former Sheriff of Purgatory.
However, one of the sisters embraces her inner badass, and tries to be in power, rather than allowing her husband to be. Her reign is brief, taken down by Doc and Wynonna. Regardless, both sisters are dangerous, easily killing most who get in their way.
Jolene
Jolene is an odd character, being only present in one episode in Season 3. We find out that Michelle, Wynonna and Waverly's mother, has been trying to protect Waverly from Jolene. In fact, Michelle has been constantly plagued by Jolene, a demon that hates Waverly.
We find out that on the day that Waverly is born, half human and half angel, the universe had to create balance. It created that balance in the form of Jolene, a demon. Jolene shadows Waverly, constantly jealous of her. While we barely meet Jolene, Jolene's magic is strong. She is able to create a reality that includes her, and through magical pastries, influence those around her. She also is able to get Waverly alone, but lucky for us, Waverly is stronger than Jolene and survives.
The Stone Witch/Constance Clootie
Constance came across as both a dangerous, powerful woman and a sympathetic figure. It was she who gave Doc immortality and imprisoned him in the well. She also got her fellow sister-wives, the widow sisters, to be locked away. She helped in her husband's demise. Although she was a foe to the Earp family most of the time, we had to begrudgingly respect her.
She removed Willa Earp from Bobo's influence, removing Willa's memories (unfortunately, the memories came back). Above all else, Constance wanted her sons back. She resurrected one, although it wasn't a very successful resurrection and didn't last since Bobo killed him easily. She was one crazy character, but one with an extraordinary amount of strength and power. Cleverly, she had linked her life with Doc's. This calls into question what will happen to Doc now that she is completely dead. While he wasn't as linked as before, he still felt her death in Season 3. Perhaps more will come of this in Season 4.
Willa Earp
All of the Earp women are strong, albeit in different ways. Willa was trained to be the heir, but kidnapped by the revenant at a young age. Bobo thought he kept her safe, not wanting to see a young girl killed by the other revenant, he kept her away from them. We find out later that Willa was visited by other revenants, showing that she was never safe.
While Willa became a villain in the show, she was strong. She didn't break under the abuse she received, even if she was ultimately influenced by it. When she became the villain, she still loved Wynonna, and in the end asked Wynonna to end her suffering. All of this points to strength, even if Willa proved a disappointing heir.
Michelle Gibson-Earp
While we wish we knew Michelle more, we can see that she is one of the reasons why Wynonna developed into such a strong woman. Michelle took young Wynonna under her wing and taught her survival skills. In addition, she stayed honest with Wynonna, which helped Wynonna be more prepared when Bulshar was freed.
Also, Michelle lived for decades as an inmate, so that she could protect Wynonna from Jolene. Michelle sacrificed a lot for her daughters. In the end, she left them in order to find her only real love, the angel called Julian (Waverly's father). She was one tough lady, seldom one to show fear. Wynonna is who she is because Michelle was who she was. She inherited Michelle's wit and steel.
Nicole/Sheriff Haught
Nicole, Waverly's sweetheart, merits respect for the strength that she demonstrates. When Deputy Dolls told her the reason behind the strange things going on in Purgatory, she was nonchalant, responding with a simple--makes sense. She is trusted in the inner circle and learns to help out. In addition, she is an excellent shot, helping out in fights.
She had been to Purgatory before and was the lone survivor of a horrible mass death. Even after she starts to remember what happened to her as a young girl, she decides to stay and thrive in Purgatory where it happened. Many would have left, but Nicole stayed. She is a great partner to Waverly, and a great friend to Wynonna. Additionally, she is willing to give Doc a second chance. Empathetic, strong, and practical are Nicole's super powers. Purgatory is lucky to have her.
Waverly Earp
The kind younger sister is strong for many reasons. She is empathetic, caring about other characters. She is nearly everyone's friend, and she is willing to risk everything to save those that she loves. In the end, she risks her life to save Wynonna and those important to her.
In addition, when she was possessed, the demon that possessed her said that she was hard to stay in since she was so strong. Other strengths include her intelligence. Naturally curious, Waverly is a key researcher. If Wynonna's toughness comes partially from Michelle, her compassion comes partially from Waverly. Without Waverly, Wynonna would lose her grounding and could become untethered.
Wynonna Earp
Wynonna's strengths are many. From being made into the Earp heir to having to shoot her sister, Willa, to having to send her baby daughter away, Wynonna has survived many struggles and come out ahead. She often is pushed to the limit, but becomes even stronger by these experiences.
There have been times when Wynonna has had to think outside of the box like she did when she allied with the revenants against Bulshar. She also doesn't give up on situations or people. She never gave up on Doc. We hope that she doesn't give up on getting Waverly and Doc back, as Season 3 ended with both disappearing into what was supposedly the Garden of Eden.
We have many adventures left for us, and we are excited to see even more representations of strength in our female characters. While we will love to see what Wynonna does in her attempt to save her sister and Doc, we also would love to see the strong villains like the Stone Witch come back somehow, someway.