By now, you have seen Wynonna Earp: Vengeance on Tubi, and you know this special is much more than a fun detour in Purgatory.
This is a story with real consequences, and we caught up with creator Emily Andras to get her take on it.
Like all things Earp, Emily is passionate and filled with life. Don’t be alarmed when it appears as if the claws come out. The conversation was lighthearted and emotional and packed a punch. It’s exactly what you’d expect from the woman who brought Wynonna, Waverly, Doc, and Nicole to life!
Warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD! Don’t proceed if you haven’t already watched Vengeance!
Well, what a fantastic, if somewhat jarring, return to Wynonna!
I know. How mad are you? How mad are you? There’s not enough of you yelling at me.
Yeah, I’m not mad because I know there’s no way this is over.
You know what? From your lips to Tubi‘s ears, that sounds like a binding contract.
I think so.
I think so. Good talk. Good point.
I don’t want to have to sing Tubi’s praises and then have to give a caveat.
Ooh, I like this.
Except for…
I’m glad you’re on my team. You’re hardcore. That’s good. Okay, good. Yeah.
So, how long have you wanted to tell this particular story?
I mean, I’ll be honest, Carissa, I really kind of went for broke at the end of season four, right? I think it was so unusual to be able to give a series a satisfying ending. I was really proud of that. So, I always had more Earp stories to tell, but you try not to get too arrogant.
So when Tubi approached me and said, “Look, we want you to do a special, but we really want it to be a standalone, its own story. We want new fans to be able to understand it, as well as the Earpers who will come no matter what,” I kind of panicked.
I was like, “Well, I’m going to pull on these threads about happy marriage and Doc and Wynonna riding off literally into the sunset.” But then I realized, “Look, Earp has never played by the rules.”
We’ve had a pregnant heroine in season two. We shut down production because of financial stuff that was out of our control. I felt like, well, that’s okay. We can play outside the rules here, too.
We can really tell a story about what happens afterward, what happens when you have to face what is good, but also what is challenging in your relationship when you have to grow up when you maybe have to give up things you thought were special or ask for what you want even from the person who you love the most.
Once we got going, I understood the story. The big shocking ending felt like a natural culmination of that particular character’s journey, Doc’s journey.
I felt like he’s been on so many adventures over 175 years, so why not go on the ultimate adventure, which is death, and do it in a way that felt very Doc?
Well, and it wasn’t just him. I mean, Waverly is also leaving the canvas. She’s going elsewhere to pursue her dreams, which is going to be interesting for their marriage.
Obviously, Wynonna has something that she’s got to sort out now. She wants her man back. But it’s an entirely different story with Waverly and Nicole. Why did you send her off?
Because I think women shouldn’t have to apologize for their ambition.
I think that it’s okay for someone like Waverly, who’s always been the smartest in town, to actually have something she would never even allow herself to wish for, which is roots in someone who loves her no matter what, that she can now be brave enough to pursue a dream for a few months.
Look, people have long-distance relationships. People have to go take care of aging parents. And I actually think that was a really mature part of a love story you don’t get to tell, which is I know Nicole and Waverly are golden.
We had to do something to pull a thread on their relationship. I was never going to fall into the trope of doing a cheating story or what have you. So, this felt very true to the characters. And I actually found it quite romantic, if I may, that I think they both know they’re okay.
Nicole will be waiting, but she’ll have Wynonna, and Waverly gets to use her brain and try something new. But this is her home, this is her life, and this is her wife.
Although it might be bittersweet, I also have every confidence that they’ll be back together soon enough. Waverly will probably have to separate Wynonna and Nicole, who have been working together, so God knows what that’s going to look like. But I thought it was bittersweet but still romantic, yeah.
And it also fits in the theme of going home. You can always go home again.
You can always go home. And thank you for saying that. I even think that since season one, when Wynonna came home in the pilot, she’s coming back to a place of judgment and kind of dread in a small town that never had any kindness for her and only saw her a certain way.
And now, through sheer kind of heroism, all these characters have redefined Purgatory and redefined their home so that it is a better place, a place of comfort, a place of love, a place of family, and that’s really moving. They will always have that. They’ll always have the homestead.
And you also, in this story, gave us a little bit more color on Wynonna’s past and what she had gone through. Why did you decide to include that now?
I think it was really important to have a personal demon because it was not going to be 12 episodes; it was 90 minutes. You really wanted the stakes to be emotional for Wynonna, so we understand how it played to her character.
But I don’t know if you feel like this, Carissa. I feel like we all have those things from grade seven that when we lie down in bed, we remember, right? Like, oh my God, why did I say that thing to my best friend? Or why didn’t I come back with this comeback?
But the other truth is what haunts me is the mistakes I’ve made that I don’t even know about, right? The person I’ve hurt without even meaning to, or when I hit reply all and shouldn’t have, but don’t even know what’s out there. And now someone is mad at me.
So the idea of when you’re a teenager, Wynonna, being responsible for the creation of the demon of Mina, but also not being responsible, that it’s kind of part of her legacy and her family curse and the cycle of trauma that she’s been through generationally. I was really intrigued by that idea.
And I think also that’s a story that could only happen now. Season one Wynonna would not have been able to make the mature, wise decisions she does to defeat Mina, to give up what she thinks is special, what makes her special, and choose her family.
So it just felt very timely about where we’re going to meet these characters in Vengeance.
Okay. And why did we kill off Mercedes?
Mercedes is a bad bitch, but we needed something phenomenal and shocking as a catalyst to get Wynonna home. Look, this is a special, this is not a series. We needed a big blowout. Now Dani Kind is game for anything. Nobody was tricked.
I was like, look, we’re bringing you back. She’s like, I’m just so happy I get to come back and play with everybody. And Mercedes has been through a lot. She’s gotten her face ripped off. She’s been having to dress as a widow with rotting clothing. She’s been a vampire. She’s had different hairdos.
I think Mercedes felt right because it was a tragic death, but also, you see her maturity. She has a friendship with Nedley, and she makes the choice.
She really sticks her neck out to protect him. She goes out fighting, which I think is great. And again, I don’t think the Mercedes we first met would’ve done that.
At the same time, and don’t hate me, Mercedes did live a rich life and was not so close to the core group that we couldn’t have fun along the way. If we had done something too tragic off the top, it wouldn’t have been Wynonna Earp.
I don’t think it would’ve been a rollicking journey. But when you have a death like Mercedes, you can do things like a drunken brawl at her wake because it really is kind of what Mercedes would’ve wanted.
So we needed a good catalyst that was shocking, but we also needed permission for everybody to be happy to be together and to celebrate her in a way that wasn’t just grief-stricken but kind of full of joy and mess, which is Wynonna. So that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Oh, gosh. I was shocked that you literally pulled her apart limb by limb.
Yeah, that one’s going to be hard to check.
Oh, my gosh. He’s not fooling around.
Yeah, no. Well, I wanted you to know this demon was it, baby. This is the real deal. This is going to be a… Yeah, that was pretty fun.
We did a lot of tests on the Earp side to see how it would look, and it was pretty hilarious to see the art department very seriously putting the leg warmer leg like should it be here? Should it be here? My job is weird; let me put it that way.
Yeah. Well, what fun.
Yeah, so fun.
And especially taking a character that you’ve nurtured over the years. And then just, you know what we’re going to do? We’re just going to rip her apart.
We’re going to rip her apart. But you understand why Wynonna immediately steals a limo and comes home, no questions asked. Right? Nobody deserves that indignity.
We don’t see what happens between Wynonna and Doc in the three years they’ve been gone. We kind of get an idea that they’ve been out there being a little on the edge and…
Bonnie and Clyde-ing it a little bit.
Yeah, that’s exactly it. They’re Bonnie and Clyde-ing it. Is there anything that we missed? Is there any other color that you want to share about what might have happened in your mind that didn’t make it on screen?
I mean, here’s the thing about Wynonna and Doc, which I really figured out: they loved one another, but they were dysfunctional. They are almost too alike. They are not WayHaught. They are not domestic creatures.
They are wild stallions, and their borderline personalities attract them to one another.
I think that it would be disingenuous to pretend that they weren’t addicted to all the things that make them one of the hottest couples on TV, which is like they’re addicted to sex and fighting and crime and riding motorbikes without a helmet.
And I think they are more likely to get in trouble when they stop and have to have a conversation. It’s not their style.
And listen, these people have lived life with so much shading and so much betrayal, both of them, that I think it’s fair to say they would still have trouble trusting one another to have a real honest conversation sometimes about what they want.
But regardless of what happens in Vengeance, I am so glad they have a conversation on the porch, on the homestead, before Doc goes, where they finally say what they want. They want to bring Alice home. This is what they really want.
I feel like they really did connect on the next level, and that’s okay. Some relationships are like that, right? Some relationships are chaos from tip to tail, but it doesn’t mean they’re lacking in love.
So, I don’t know if there was more to Doc and Wynonna. I would say, yeah, I would certainly love to write the tales of what they were. Did they make it to Dollywood? I sure hoped so when they left. Let’s say yes.
Let’s say yes. Let’s say yes. So the Vengeance ends obviously with him going underground with Wynonna kind of vowing to fix that wrong.
With her donning a badge and partnering with Nicole, how do you see those two working together? Would that help her get Alice back? because she has a job.
I know. I think on day three, Wynonna’s going to be in the drunk tank. I would just watch an entire series of those two together, just buddy cop comedy. They’re going to drive each other crazy. But again, I think it speaks to a level of maturity that Wynonna is even willing to work for Nicole.
I think in a million years, she would never have become a cop. And in a way, I do think that’s pushing her towards being a more responsible mother. Look, sometimes we have to get a job at McDonald’s because our kids got to eat. There’s no shame in that.
And Wynonna’s kind of letting go of some of the trappings of the glamour of being the superhero, but also the despair that the one thing she’s ever been good at is killing. I think that speaks to another step towards maybe being able to be a mother in the sense that it is more present.
And look, Wynonna is vowing to get Doc back. I hope she can do it, but I’m sure it’s going to be tricky, and there will be consequences. I sure hope we have the chance to pursue that story.
And the other thing I always want to say about Alice, because I think it speaks to a lot of people, is I don’t want to take away ever from Wynonna’s choice to give her up. I think that was a really brave choice. And a lot of the fans really want to see Wynonna be maternal and bring her home.
But I want to be careful we’re not saying that Wynonna, at the time, giving up this thing she loved more than anything for a better life was the wrong choice. Does that make sense?
Absolutely.
I really think that was the best choice. And so many people are adopted or have that story. My little feminist heart could never take it if people thought I was saying that was a mistake. I think you can mature into a different decision, but that was the bravest, best choice Wynonna could make at the time.
It has ensured that Alice has thrived and survived. So baby steps, baby steps towards getting an adorable kid running around the homestead. But isn’t it going to interfere with WayHaught stairs time? Think about it, fans. Think about it.
Well, yeah, and I think that you wouldn’t want to rip a child away from its parents, the only parents that it knows, but incorporating the birth mother into the story is something entirely different.
It doesn’t negate the choice she makes. And it doesn’t say that you can’t find a loving family with somebody else. It’s just that the more people in this world who love you, the better.
That’s an amazing point, and I just got chills. That’s so Earp, right? That it really just takes a village. It takes a posse. And even that’s why I think Waverly can leave because Wynonna is not alone. Nicole’s not alone. Nobody is alone.
That’s kind of the lesson; they all have one another. So well done. You summarized it perfectly.
And I don’t think that Wynonna could work for somebody else in her first outing in a real job if it wasn’t Nicole. She trusts Nicole.
No, she gets fired. She’d get fired in five seconds. She doesn’t do well with authority. She doesn’t do well with rules. She drinks too much, and she’s barely responsible with a gun. But I also think, again, maturity.
It is Nicole knowing Wynonna’s strengths and weaknesses, and also Wynonna knowing that maybe she does have something left to learn. Shedding some of that pride and being like, “Maybe it is good for me to walk a beat and get to know these people of the town.”
Not when I was 14, and I hated them, and they hated me, but through a new lens. It just speaks to growing up a little bit while still being incredibly sexy.
So imagine that this is the last time we ever see them, God forbid.
Okay.
How do you feel about this ending?
I feel good. I feel that death is the greatest journey and the greatest adventure for all of us. I feel that we’re all going to have to face it, whether it’s people we love or ourselves.
I feel like Wynonna’s strength has always been that despite the fact that she lives in the realm of the supernatural, we deal with real human elements and emotions.
I think losing a loved one while also knowing they lived a full life, gave it their all, and went out on their own terms is almost the best we can hope for everyone. Knowing that those who remain have one another and will always have one another makes me feel pretty good.
That being said, yes, I accept your suggestion to do three more sequels. Fine.
Well, here’s my last question for you. You basically killed two people and broke up two relationships. So, is the next special going to be called Atonement? [laughs]
No. And I can see where you’re going with your agenda, but I don’t think I broke up two relationships. I absolutely refuse!
Well, you split the people. You didn’t break up the relationships, but you split the people.
I didn’t break them up. Grow up. It’s been three months. Did you never go away for three months, leaving your cat in a kennel? Come on. No, I refuse to say Atonement. I’m sorry that you didn’t like it, but it’s the story!
Oh, no, that’s not it at all. I’m teasing you!
[laughs] This is canceled.
Anything we can do to get another special out of it, and you atone for your misdeeds, I’m going to put you out there.
Fine. If my saying I have to atone is what gets me the next special filmed in Italy, fine. Let’s do that.
Yes, absolutely.
And listen, I am always playing both sides. If outrage is what gets me more Earp and you guys more Earp, sure. Yeah, I’ll be your bad guy. That’s fine.
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance is now playing on Tubi. Watch it again and again!
This interview has been edited for clarity.