Wynona Earp

This is one of the more entertaining and comedic shows on TV right now. I don't know what the comic books are like but they've done a good job of taking a very unlikely premise and making a good TV series.

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I'm beginning to understand the underlying 'physics'. The Demons are called Revenants, there are 77 of them, all the people that Wyatt Earp killed during his 'career'. I haven't explored his bio enough to determine if 77 is a real number. But they are confined into one small area of Purgatory, Wyoming and can't cross an invisible line without beginning to 'smoke', rather like a vampire on True Blood when it stepped into sunlight. But on Wynona, they don't burn up but just continue smoking and writhing in pain. How long this goes on before they expire or recover isn't clear yet.

But their leader pontificates to the 77 within their confines about how he will kill Wynona and in some process that I haven't yet deduced they can venture out of their confined area and attempt to do that. During those times they either appear as a 'ghost' type figure in long black robes, with glowing eyes, or even as 'normal' appearing cowboys but with pointed teeth and the requisite glowing eyes.

When Wynona shoots one with her .45 cal. Buntline Special she must hit them between the eyes in order to kill them. This is of course similar to the requirements for killing Walkers on TWD and FTWD. But on Wynona no knives or swords are used, only her Buntline.  

In the latest episode an agent in the top secret Black Badge division of the U.S. Marshals Service, who has been in Purgatory since ep 1 and is tasked with keeping paranormal events under control nationwide, tries to tell Wynona that her Buntline is 'old fashioned' and tries to get her to use a modern 9mm semi-auto pistol.  Of course these prove ineffective against the Demons and Wynona must save his bacon.

There is a lot of quasi-historic backstory to learn and see the interesting and amusing special effects that they use. For example, when Wynona shoots a Demon at night, other than in the head, the rounds appear as 3-4 ft. long, glowing, two pointed 'spears' that protrude from their bodies fore and aft. Although this slows them down she must always walk around in front of them, make some sort of cynical, smart-alecky remark in their face (one of her enduring characteristics) and finish them off with a shot between the eyes.

This is the best place to go to keep track of what's going on:

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Considering that she gave birth 4 days after the S2 season filming wrapped, that's pretty impressive. Melanie must have done all her scenes as the reporter on Designated Survivor much earlier. One difference between S1 and S2, which of course geeks notice, is that in S1 when Wynonna shot a demon with her Buntline Special, the ground, outside, or the floor , inside, would open up in a swirling whirlpool of fire and suck the demon back to Hell. But in S2 when she shoots, the demon just disappears in a flash of fire, and no whirlpool.  I guess that gives the special effects guys less to do, but we liked the whirlpool better.



'Wynonna Earp' Interviews: Melanie Scrofano and Emily Andras Talk Creating a Pregnant Heroine
Friday, July 28, 2017

Morgan Glennon
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

Wynonna's Earp's second season has been a rollercoaster ride, but no surprise has been more shocking than the revelation that titular heroine, Wynonna, is pregnant. Except perhaps for the fact that not only was actress Melanie Scrofano actually pregnant, she also gave birth shortly after Wynonna Earp's second season wrapped!

At San Diego Comic Con, BuddyTV was able to sit down with both Melanie Scrofano and showrunner Emily Andras to chat about the challenges and unexpected gifts of creating a badass pregnant heroine.

Stunts Were a Bit More Challenging, But Wynonna Might Have Some New Skills in Season 3

Doing some of the action scenes pregnant was a bit of a challenge for actress Melanie Scrofano, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"We have Steven McMichael, who is an amazing stunt coordinator and is always on hand to sort of fix us," Scrofano said. "In Wynonna's case, what's nice is I don't have to be perfect because I'm just shooting things and hoping for the best."

Still, there were definite challenges with doing an action-heavy show like Wynonna Earp with a bun in the oven.

"Last season, because I was pregnant I felt like, this sounds horrible, but I felt stifled in a way by my body. I couldn't move as well. I would have loved to have gone crazy but I had to be careful because at the end of the day, this is more important than a TV show," Scrofano said.

Scrofano raves about stunt coordinator Steven McMichael, who helped see her through and made sure that she felt comfortable with all the stunts in the show's second season. With season 3 now a sure thing, it's also great to learn that Scrofano and McMichael started plotting for some fun new abilities for Wynonna, although Scrofano was tight-lipped about what those new skills might be.

"He was very generous and gave me some online lessons so I'll have a new skill. I don't want to talk about it because if we don't use it or if I suck, I don't want to tell you what it is!"

Wynonna Will Remain Defiant

Just because Wynonna is pregnant doesn't mean she's taking a backseat from the action. One of the great things about this character is how flawed but determined she is. Scrofano hints that this combo is unlikely to change in the second season.

"We see a woman that's like, 'Don't tell me what I can and can't do. I will let you know what I can and can't do,'" Scrofano said. "I think you get to see that from me, Melanie, but also from Wynonna. She's like 'I will tell you when I'm done, don't take this away from me. I've got this.'"

Scrofano praised SyFy, IDW, and SEVEN24 films for taking the same approach with her, allowing her to set the timelines and tell them when she couldn't work anymore. Seeing a tough, capable, pregnant woman, both onscreen and off, has certainly been inspiring to fans of the show. Scrofano thinks the experience will also change Wynonna in interesting ways.

"I think what motherhood does, a lot like Wynonna in season 1, it forces you to become somebody's hero. You're either ready for it or you're not," Scrofano said. "It's just grounded her more into her role."

It's what Scrofano likes most about the show, that it deals with everyday issues in an interesting way.

"Yes there are supernatural things that you don't see everyday," Scrofano said. "But it's also incorporated with things you do see everyday, like struggling with identity, whether it's sexuality or your place in your family or the world."


The Show Really Had to Learn to Roll With the Punches

Finding out that your lead actress will be heavily pregnant while filming your show's second season can never be easy.

"It was terrifying when we did the math," showrunner Emily Andras said. "She literally gave birth four days after our last day of shooting. You want to talk about a real life superhero, that's it."

There was always the option to hide Wynonna behind ever-larger coats and houseplants, but the show didn't want to go in that direction. Instead, they worked the pregnancy into the storyline, giving the show a badass pregnant heroine who has to grapple with a whole new set of issues and challenges.

"We didn't have an option, so it was kind of like balls to the wall. It was kind of like driving the Titanic. 'We're going right into that iceberg!' Not to call Melanie an iceberg," Andras joked. "So I feel like I'm really proud of how it worked out."

People Are Craving Strong Female Characters Like Wynonna

Right now seems like the perfect time for a cool, pregnant heroine who makes her own rules and Andras agrees.

"What a year though! 2017, political landscape aside, there seems to be a bit of a rebelling in pop culture with Wonder Woman and what have you," Andras said. "People are demanding greater representation and women in particular are driving a lot of that."

Many of the people demanding better representation, whether it's representation of women or LGBT characters, are super fans of Wynonna Earp called Earpers. Andras gushes about the fandom that has grown up around her show and how the show has survived because of its passionate fanbase.

"We filmed the first season and we were like, 'Here you go: Wynonna Earp, the weirdest title in the world!' So just seeing people get it and fall in love with it has been incredible," Andras said. "Those Earpers, it is a success story because of them. Also the cast is fine too."


What do you think of how the show is presenting Wynonna's pregnancy? What are you hoping to see from Wynonna Earp's second season? Sound off in the comments!