Wynonna Earp season 3, episodes 11 and 12 recap: ‘Daddy Lessons’ and ‘War Paint’

We’ve made it to the two-part finale of Wynonna Earp’s third season, Earpers!

On last week’s episode, we learned that it’s Waverly and her fancy ring, not Wynonna, who’s meant to stop Bulshar — but she’ll die in the process. Also, after taking on the angry ghost of a teenage fire witch, Doc accidentally killed Charlie, to Nicole and Jeremy’s horror.

Wynonna Earp season 3, episodes 11 recap: ‘Daddy Lessons’

Wynonna Earp‘s penultimate season three episode, “Daddy Lessons,” begins with Waverly and Nicole discussing whether or not to tell Wynonna that not only is her ex dead, but that Doc killed him.

Waverly seems to feel it’s not a good idea but she needs to think. Nicole is called away. She’s evacuating the town and things are getting chaotic.

With everything going on, Waverly hasn’t told Nicole about her possible role in stopping Bulshar. As she leaves Nicole asks if everything’s alright and Waverly assures her it is.

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Left alone with his body, Waverly touches Charlie’s neck and suddenly he comes back to life. He greets her groggily. Completely shocked, Waverly stumbles out of the room.

Meanwhile, Wynonna is at the Homestead looking at a picture of Dolls. She watches a black horse wander by. She’s still trying to figure out what to do about Bulshar but she’s not feeling optimistic.

At least Nicole and emergency deputy Robin have managed to get the civilians out of town, outside of a few stragglers. Robin comments that the town’s wildlife is also fleeing.

Wynonna drives up but can’t find Waverly, she’s not at the station. Wynonna mutters to herself about her concern that Waverly might actually take the Bulshar matter into her own hands. Nicole doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but it’s Waverly so she’s worried.

Wynonna doesn’t ease her concerns or fill her in, though, she just speeds off in her truck.

She finds Waverly sitting in the woods by the stairs to the Garden of Eden. Waverly claims she just wanted to see them. Wynonna counters that she would too, where are they? Apparently, Wynonna still can’t see the stairs, even when they’re right in front of her.

Wynonna reminds Waverly she promised she wouldn’t go after Bulshar. Waverly nods but tells Wynonna that after raising someone from the dead, she reconsidered. She now knows she’s there to save humanity and if Wynonna won’t let her, she’ll have to make her.

In response, Wynonna punches Waverly in the face, knocking her out. She puts her in a locker in the bed of her truck and drives her away from the woods.

In town, Wynonna tells Nicole what happened to Waverly. She wants Nicole to drive Waverly out of Purgatory and keep her there. Nicole protests that as Sheriff she can’t just leave. But Wynonna can’t leave either — she has to take on Bulshar.

They notice Charlie wondering by. Nicole is shocked to see him. Wynonna can’t understand why Nicole’s so startled.

Charlie asks if there’s something he can do to help. Nicole and Wynonna ask him to get Waverly out of town and he agrees.

Kate goes to see Doc at the bar. Apparently, he summoned her via text claiming it was an emergency. Doc presents her with two humans he’s put the whammy on. They’re acting like the humans who were brainwashed into becoming vampire fans in the season’s first episode.

Kate is fascinated. Doc has completely embraced his vampire nature. He seems to have abandoned his moral qualms. He suggests they drain the humans and enjoy themselves.

At the Sheriff’s station, Bobo is still trapped in his glass cage. A gang of revenants walk in and are surprised to find him there. He tells them where the keys are so they can free him. They take the keys but they don’t free Bobo. After all, he betrayed each of them anytime he got a chance. Instead, they’re after the Sheriff’s guns.

Outside, the revenant gang finds Wynonna loading up her truck with an arsenal. Bobo told them she no longer has Peacemaker so they’re emboldened.

She tries to shoot at them with one of the big guns she took but discovers too late that it’s not loaded. The revenants corner her and inform her she’ll be their fealty to Bulshar.

They tie her up in the facility where Bulshar had kept the kidnapped townspeople in episode 6 and prepare to turn her over to him. Wynonna tries to reason with them but they aren’t interested. They believe that appeasing Bulshar is their only way to ensure their survival.

Elsewhere, Charlie has taken Waverly to her mother’s greenhouse. He thinks they can hunker down there until the fog that’s descended on the area has lifted. He stares at a statue of an angel. Waverly asks him what he sees but he brushes her off.

He ties her up in an effort to prevent her from following her instinct to stop Bulshar. Waverly asks Charlie where he’s from and what his family’s like. He tries to blow off the question but Waverly points out they have lots of time.

Charlie explains he must have had a head injury or something because he doesn’t remember anything before walking into Purgatory starving a few months ago. Waverly grabs his hand and touches it with her ring. It allows her to see his memory of getting his job at the fire station where he told the Fire Chief that the only thing he remembers is that he wants to help people.

At the bar, Doc rouses a sleeping Kate. They drained both of the humans but Doc cryptically laments it still wasn’t enough. He says something about wanting to taste him again. He plans to do so with or without Kate’s help. He stalks off and Kate reluctantly follows.

Doc goes to the fire station. Outside of the Chief, the place is completely abandoned. Doc asks for Charlie but the Chief refuses to help until Kate appears behind him. With both vampires surrounding him, the frightened Chief tells them how to GPS Charlie’s vehicle.

Doc then shoots the Chief, hitting Kate in the process. He tells a confused Kate that he needs Charlie’s blood. Kate declares there’s something seriously wrong with him. Doc claims Kate’ll be fine but if he doesn’t drink from Charlie again he won’t be. He leaves to search for Charlie.

Meanwhile, the revenants have gathered for a dinner with Bulshar as the honored guest. They present Wynonna to him as fealty. He seems pleased. Sitting beside him is Mercedes who was kidnapped at the end of the prior episode. She welcomes Wynonna.

Later, Wynonna and Mercedes talk. Mercedes seems to have gone full team Bulshar, but she just wants to survive. She suggests that since Wynonna’s lost her gun she should get on board with Bulshar too.

In the greenhouse, Charlie’s freaking out. He’s unnerved by the fact that the fog brought them there, by what happened when he touched Waverly’s ring, and that there are now flowers blooming that weren’t when they first got there. Also, somehow he recognizes the greenhouse and he recognizes Waverly’s ring. He wants to leave.

As he starts to untie her, they hear a car pull up. Charlie looks outside and tells Waverly they need to hide.

Waverly questions Charlie from their hiding place under a table. Did he know the Gibsons? Her family? He touches her ring again and Waverly sees a memory of him with her mother. Waverly realizes he’s not really Charlie just as Doc breaks into the greenhouse.

Charlie is having a hard time dealing with his recovered memories so Waverly leaves him hidden and goes to confront Doc. She tells him Charlie’s not there, she stole his truck. Doc calls her a liar. Then he realizes her blood smells like Charlie’s. Waverly and Charlie are the same.

Waverly corrects Doc. He’s not Charlie  He’s Julian, her father.

At the fire station, an injured Kate drags herself to the Fire Chief’s unconscious body. Nicole is trying to get the Chief on his radio. Kate picks it up and tells her she and the Chief need help.

At his dinner, Bulshar gives a rousing speech to his revenant troops. He says he plans to honor one of them by making them his first lieutenant on his journey the next day. Some of the revenants claim they’re worthy.

Then Wynonna throws her hat in the ring. Bulshar wants to know why he’d ever trust her. She tells him all she’s ever wanted was to protect her sister. She’ll do anything to keep Waverly safe so he can count on her. When she tries to take his hand, Bulshar becomes enraged and orders the revenants to put her in a cage.

A bit later, she talks to a Mercedes. Wynonna observes that she thinks Bulshar seemed scared. It’s the first time she’s seen that. Mercedes comments that it’s the first time she’s seen Wynonna scared.

Bulshar yanked his hand away from Wynonna. Is it possible Bulshar can’t touch her without something bad happening to him?

One of the revenants walks over to Wynonna’s cage. He comments that there are no revenants without the Earp curse. The revenants need Wynonna’s family to stay cursed in order for them to keep existing.

Wynonna tells him she thinks if she touches Bulshar she can hurt him. The revenant realizes that it’s because when you curse someone there’s a cost to yourself. Wynonna is Bulshar’s cost.

The revenant unlocks her cage and Wynonna prepares to get to Bulshar.

In the greenhouse, Doc laughs at the news that Charlie’s actually Julian, given what Wynonna had been doing with him. Waverly tells Doc that Wynonna loves Doc. Doc tells her to stop lying.

Waverly insists Doc loves Wynonna too, but he counters he doesn’t feel love. In fact, the only thing he feels is a hunger for her and Charlie’s blood. He grabs her and Waverly fights him off.

Waverly tries to get through to him but he’s completely fixated on the blood. He pushes her away and she falls by Charlie under the table.

Charlie reaches for the ring. Waverly tells him it won’t come off but he says it will for him. He removes it from her finger and puts it on.

Doc approaches them menacingly but Julian easily tosses him away. He breaks an angel statue as he falls.

Charlie unfurls his wings. He explains to Waverly that he wandered outside the Ghost River Triangle for years until she crossed outside of it. Her light led him back in.

Waverly asks if Doc is going to die. But Julian, who’s become very sober, tells her to come with him — there’s no time to deal with petty humanity or beasts like Doc. Waverly bids an unconscious Doc a tearful goodbye.

Meanwhile, Nicole helps bandage Kate up. Kate says she needs to find Doc. Something changed him — as if he fed on something he shouldn’t. She feels responsible.

She reads tarot cards over and over to see what will happen. She’s only coming up with death until suddenly it starts to change. Maybe there’s hope.

At the revenant dinner, a freed Wynonna walks purposefully towards Bulshar. She’s waylaid by a revenant They fight. One of the other revenants steps in and stops the first from continuing to attack Wynonna.

As Wynonna gets up, she’s stopped by Bulshar. He instructs Mercedes to take Wynonna back to her cell but Mercedes refuses. Wynonna approaches him but his soldiers pull ranks around him.

She tells him she’ll see him on the outside. Then she gives a speech to the revenants that Bulshar wants to keep them at odds so they can’t come together and focus on him — their real enemy. The revenants agree to help her.

In the greenhouse, Doc wakes up alone. He finds a wrapped-up sword in the rubble of the angel statue.

At the station, Robin is working on a crossword puzzle with input from Bobo. Jeremy works nearby, but he’s frustrated. He doesn’t know how to save humanity. Bobo tells Jeremy not to give up and Robin backs him up.

Jeremy has an epiphany — he needs to figure out something about Bulshar’s DNA. Jeremy leaves to get more beakers at his place. Robin wants to bring Bobo with them but Jeremy refuses. Robin hesitates but ultimately leaves Bobo behind and follows Jeremy out.

Meanwhile, Wynonna and her revenant army are walking through town preparing for their fight.

As the episode ends, someone approaches Bobo’s cage. It’s Bulshar. Bulshar comments that Bobo’s alone. Bobo said he tried to help but he did too many bad things. Bulshar informs Bobo he isn’t one of them. He offers Bobo a job and Bobo accepts.