Keep Me From The Chasm of Sleep
WYNONNA EARP – Episode 206 – Whiskey Lullaby – SPOILERS ⁓
Moody
Moody (Kevin Hanchard) confirms that Black Badge has abandoned the Ghost River Triangle because “the powers that be don’t want to spend money on a war they can’t win.” After handing Dolls (Shamier Anderson) an incomplete file on something that was released when Dolls was rescued from the Black Badge safehouse in “Steel Bars and Stone Walls” (episode 2.1). Moody also asserts that Black Badge is ‘not a government agency’, and ‘never was’.
Wynonna, Waverly, and the nun.
‘Powers That Be’ might be a reference to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel, which mentioned them frequently. According to the Buffyverse Wiki, the Powers That Be were “the first beings to exist in the Earth after the schism that created them and the Old Ones.” Bobo Del Rey (Michael Eklund) mentioned “The Old One” in “I Walk the Line” (episode 1.13). The title of this post is from “Hypnos“, by H.P. Lovecraft.
Moody’s file was about The Widows, who have taken over the identities of the Gardner sisters and are still searching for the second seal. The Widow Beth (Meghan Heffern) begins to interrogate a priest (Stuart Bentley), gets overly enthused, and eats him. A nun (Meg Farhall) witnesses this, and reports it the Sheriff’s Office. Nuns from a different Order will make an appearance in “Holy War” (episodes 4.5 & 4.6).
Wynonna and Waverly move some of the shiny things Waverly collected when she was possessed by the demon Mikshun.
After Dolls brings everyone up to speed on the departure of Black Badge and the file on The Widows, he asks Wynonna out for lunch. Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Nicole (Kat Barrell) take a long lunch, leaving Jeremy (Varun Saranga) alone in the office trying to figure out where the seal is.
The Widow Mercedes (Dani Kind) stops by Beau’s Diner and speaks briefly to Wynonna and Dolls. (They don’t know it is not really Mercedes.) Then Wynonna collapses on the way to the restroom. A shock from Peacemaker wakes her, and she realizes that she is much more pregnant than she was when she went to sleep.
Wynonna has told no one but Waverly about her pregnancy.
Hypnos and Poppy
Everyone in town, except for Wynonna, is asleep. This is because Tucker Gardner (Caleb Ellsworth-Clark) was sent by The Widows to visit a powerful demon named Hypnos (Andreas Apergis). Protected by one of The Widow’s rings, Tucker threatened Hypnos’ daughter Poppy (Kiana Madeira) and forced the demon to cast a spell sedating the entire population of Purgatory. Once that was done, The Widows could search for the second seal unimpeded.
Caffeine counters the spell, and Wynonna uses coffee and energy drinks to wake Dolls and recruit Waverly and Nicole to help find the source of the mass unconsciousness. Pregnant Wynonna can’t have caffeine, but an occasional shock from Peacemaker keeps her awake.
Hypnos wakes up and explains that he can’t keep everyone asleep.
HYPNOS: “The Heir’s too strong.”
WIDOW BETH: “The heir. What heir?”
HYPNOS: “The heir of Wyatt Earp.”
WIDOW MERCEDES: “Never say that name to us.”
HYPNOS: “You haven’t been paying attention. Too caught up in your fruitless mission. Run. Run while you still can.”
WIDOW MERCEDES: “I think we can handle it. Besides, Beth’s hungry, aren’t you? Lets get you someone to chew on.”
The Widows know about Wyatt Earp, but not about the curse.
Widow Mercedes stops to chat with Wynonna and Dolls, just before everyone falls asleep.
Wynonna is at the Sheriff’s Office when The Widows arrive. They still smell like Willa’s favourite perfume Shaladelle just one of them did in “Shed Your Skin” (episode 2.2). Wynonna is tossed over a desk, and the widows make off with Jeremy’s research.
At Shorty’s, Waverly finds Doc (Tim Rozon) asleep in bed with Rosita, and the two of them find Jeremy unconscious in the basement. (Rosita is allowed to remain unconscious.) After they wake him, Jeremy explains that the second seal is in Shorty’s basement because “Shorty’s was built in the same year that they renovated the church basement [where the priest was killed earlier] and it sits on top of what used to be a Masonic Temple.” Jeremy also mentions that he owns a 2017 Baywatch poster, and, when deciding whether or not to reach into the seal’s hiding place, he asks himself: “What would The Rock do?”
The Clockmaker’s Mansion where Hypnos lives which looks a lot like the Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant in Calgary.
Their method of entry is uncertain, but The Widows appear in the basement and grab the seal, which Jeremy had removed from its hiding place. “It Works,” says one of them, after they drop the seal and it breaks. Wynonna arrives and wounds one of the Widows in the shoulder, but they escape. Later, Widow Mercedes shows her sister the wound and says: “it will heal”.
Hypnos tells Wynonna and Dolls that “the Widows’ human familiar [meaning Tucker] took my Poppy” and agrees to cooperate if they rescue her. In the process of doing that, Nicole shoots Tucker, who must still be protected by the Widow’s ring around his neck, because he jumps out a window and escapes. Poppy survives and is relatively unharmed.
Officer Haught at her desk.
Despite Hypnos’ cooperation, Dolls orders Wynonna to shoot the demon, and though she seems conflicted about it she shoots him anyway. Dolls is no longer Wynonna’s boss, so one wonders why she is still taking orders from him. Doll’s response to Wynonna’s pregnancy is to kiss her, tell her she’s a great agent, and walk away, symbolically withdrawing from any possible intimate relationship. Doc, on the other hand, sends her a note (via Waverly) that says “I’m all in.”
WYNONNA EARP: TALES FROM PURGATORY, is available from Audible.com.