‘Wynonna Earp’ creator didn’t know the end was near
Showrunner wanted Season 4 finale to be ‘emotionally satisfying’
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the finale of “Wynonna Earp.”
The heart of “Wynonna Earp” has always been the relationships between its characters, so it was only fitting that the series ended its run with a beautiful wedding.
Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Nicole Haught (Katherine Barrell) finally tied the knot in the Season 4 finale, which aired Friday on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and on Syfy in the U.S., but theirs was not the only relationship to reach a happy, well-deserved milestone. Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) and Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) have also taken a solid step forward in their relationship.
“I wanted to leave these characters in a place where they saw that happiness and joy is worth fighting for,” said showrunner Emily Andras. “Even if it’s just a moment in time.”
Whether or not this episode marks the conclusion of the series remains uncertain, as the series still searches for a U.S. distributor for a potential fifth season.
Andras and Scrofano discussed the finale, Wynonna’s Season 4 struggles and more with the L.A. Times. The conversation has edited for clarity and condensed.
Before the midseason premiere, there was an announcement that these would be the last episodes on Syfy. Had you already known this when you started the season? Did this influence the arc?
Andras: I did not know. I 100 per cent did not know and it’s been a real roller-coaster. But my gut told me that I had to make sure Season 4 was satisfying for the fans, our Earpers who had worked so hard to bring us back after our financial troubles after Season 3. I was determined one way or another to make sure that it was emotionally fulfilling in a way I hadn’t been in previous seasons where I was like, “I am 100 per cent ending on 116 cliffhangers and I dare you to cancel us. Good luck.” I felt like that wouldn’t be fair this time given how hard the fans had rallied for us, so I just wasn’t willing to take the same chance.
At what point did you know that the wedding was how you wanted to end this season?
Andras: I will be honest, I think if I had known for sure that we were going to have another season, I might have risked delaying the wedding. I might have drawn out the suspense, drawn out the drama. But in my heart, I just felt like we couldn’t risk it for the audience. And weirdly, I hoped it was a gift for the cast: both the wedding and the Doc-Wynonna story. I wanted to leave these characters in a place where they saw that happiness and joy is worth fighting for. Even if it’s just a moment in time.
Wynonna and Doc’s relationship also hit a milestone in the finale. Melanie, how was it to have Wynonna finally say the words “I love you”? Scrofano: Man, I was so stressed about it. It had to be the most weighty thing she’s ever said. Because it is really a moment of “I’m going to stop f---ing around (and) I’m going to start maybe giving myself the life I deserve.” … It’s just (Wynonna) finally stopping the selfsabotage and taking a chance on something that’s scarier to her than all the demons in the world. But I think watching her sister fearlessly devote herself to someone else kind of inspired her to take a chance.
Why was it important in Season 4 to see Wynonna confront some more difficult things about herself, like her drinking and whether (her gun) Peacemaker really is good for her?
Andras: Wynonna the character had earned those conversations. As you grow up, a lot of those destructive behaviours are a lot less cute. That sounds kind of disparaging and I don’t mean it like that. I just mean it’s hard to justify drinking and partying and being reckless as you get older and you get more responsibilities. I trusted that we — meaning us and the audience — loved Melanie and loved Wynonna so much that we could really delve into those darker corners of herself in the same way I thought it was OK that Wynonna made a bad choice and shot someone in the back … Nobody else has to carry the burden that Wynonna has to carry. She does it so that no one else has to. But for people to say, “Well, we don’t approve of the way you’re doing it and we don’t like that you drink yourself to death,” if I was Wynonna, I would be like, “I do that because I just shot someone in the face today.” Like, this is what it takes to be a hero and I feel like sometimes that’s a story that isn’t always explored, especially with women.
Melanie, what did you think about engaging with those themes through Wynonna? Scrofano: I was riveted by what Em is saying, with women having to take on more than they usually do, because it is just really timely, that episode of “Wynonna.” Anybody who’s dealt with any type of addiction knows that the first thing you do when you get stressed or anxious or whatever is you turn to your comfort, right? And for her, that’s drinking — and for a lot of people right now, that’s drinking.
Emily, did how you envision Wynonna and her story change from when you first pitched the show to now? Andras: It changed for me in the sense that it has exceeded all my wildest, most arrogant expectations for the show. I just think I have never worked with a performer of the calibre that is Melanie Scrofano. I have never felt like I shared a brain so closely with an actress who knew exactly what I was trying to do with the jokes and the dialogue and hopefully mostly trusted me. And her craft, just her ability to turn on a dime from vulnerable to mercenary to hilarious to messy, it let me write anything I wanted, in a weird way. It freed me. When I think of Season 1, it was a struggle. It was a struggle to get to it really being the best show under the circumstances I wanted it to be and I feel triumphant. I feel like we didn’t compromise about the female characters, we didn’t compromise about the LGBTQ representation, we didn’t compromise about making the male heroes relentless feminists, we didn’t compromise on the humour, we didn’t compromise on the super-duper cheesy heart of it.
For better, for worse, it has arrived as something that people fell in love with and nobody loved it more than I did.