The Ending Of Wynonna Earp Season 4, Episode 10 Explained

Last week's episode of SYFY's supernatural Western Wynonna Earp continued the fourth season's theme of endlessly upping the zaniness that has made it an (People's Choice) award-winning cult hit. There was a trivia night people literally could not resist, a twisted human killing and eating the brains of those trivia fans with the help of a genie, and a video about a "chicken-kicker."

Regarding the latter, that's a new tidbit we learned about Nicole's time alone in the 18-plus months Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), Doc (Tim Rozon), and Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) were in the garden — when she lost the sheriff's election to Hoyt (Ty Olsson), she got drunk, crashed his celebratory party, cursed out the townspeople, and punted their cooked chicken in frustration. The shame from that incident is why when Wynonna, Waverly, and Nedley (Greg Lawson) try multiple times throughout the episode to convince Nicole (Katherine Barrell) to assume the sheriff's office vacated upon Hoyt's death, Nicole resists. But in the end, she owns the shame, wins over the townspeople, and takes back her role as sheriff. Viewers were left to wonder if, finally, Nicole will have her groove fully back intact, with her career restored and even a bonus of Doc forgiving her for promising him to the Clantons (once she explained why she did it).

Also, on the theme of forgiveness, Nicole learned Rachel (Martina Ortiz-Luis) freed Billy (Billy Bryk) and confronted her about it. Rachel insists Billy won't be a threat to them ... which of course suggests he might end up being a threat again. Another missing-in-action frenemy? Amon (Noam Jenkins).

So, did Billy or Amon come back into play in tonight's episode, entitled "Life Turned Her That Way," and did Nicole get to do her sheriff thing? Well ... some of that kind of happened ... and a whole lot more. Here's the ending of Wynonna Earp season 4, episode 10 explained. Spoilers ahead!

Doc meets Waverly by the garden stairs to talk (to be explained later), but they're interrupted by two demons. In fleeing the demons, Waverly runs into the fog. Then Doc and the demons are shot with tranquilizers by BBD agents who seem a lot better trained than the people Jeremy's been interacting with in the skeleton crew BBD.

At BBD headquarters, agents approach Doc and one of the demons — the other was left behind because he "wasn't on the list" — in their cell. They say they already have one of the demon's kind and brutally kill it. It's clear this is not Jeremy's BBD, though it's unclear what this BBD 2.0 is all about.

Later, when Doc overpowers a guard escorting him somewhere and tries to save Jeremy — who's also been locked up, with several other humans — Jeremy says these unfamiliar agents initiated a protocol he's never heard of: XXX. Then Wynonna arrives at BBD, seeking help to save Waverly (more on that soon). BBD 2.0's leader greets her, introducing himself as General Graham (Stafford Perry), from the highest level of BBD. He explains they're moving "assets" because the fog is about to fully swallow the Ghost River Triangle. Graham implies they're saving demons to study and weaponize them. They've gathered some humans to serve as demon food, and are leaving the rest to their fog fate. 

In another show of ruthlessness, after Wynonna leaves (more on that later), Graham catches Mercedes (Dani Kind) trying to free the prisoners and shoots her (seemingly in the stomach) — much like the old BBD murdered Dolls' (Shamier Anderson) friend Eliza (Rachel Skarsten) when she and the Earp gang freed him. Is Mercedes dead, too? It's possible, since actress Dani Kind has other projects, but considering Mercedes didn't officially die on screen, and she's been a lovable cockroach throughout the series, she'll probably survive.

Regardless, BBD is officially no longer an ally, but once more the shady government agency Wynonna learned about and hated in the series' beginning. It's an unexpectedly renewed threat Wynonna and the gang so don't need.

Another villain who returned for episode 10 is Jolene (Zoie Palmer), the manipulative demon who tried to get Waverly to kill herself in season 3 out of jealousy. Waverly encounters Jolene when she runs into a cabin to escape the fog. Crazier and crueler than ever, Jolene's been trapped there by the fog since Bulshar's (Jean Marchand) death released her from the tree he'd sunk her into. This Waverly-Jolene reunion connects to an image in a Season 4B promo, a dark-haired angel gazing at destruction. That's because fans' theories about the angel's identity included Waverly gone bad, or Jolene — because the hair, ears, and head shape fit Palmer (who's fantastic as ever).

The truth was revealed tonight: Jolene restrains Waverly and proceeds to, as before, manipulate Waverly into dark thoughts, though for a new reason. She accuses Waverly of always being the damsel in distress, and never the hero; a hero would have taken the garden throne, and wouldn't have left Wynonna to fight evil alone instead of using her angel powers to help, planning a wedding while Wynonna bears the weight of committing countless murders to keep Waverly safe. Eventually, Jolene physically digs into Waverly's back and pulls out feathers, revealing her motives: She wants Waverly to embrace her demon-angel self and use her powers to wreak havoc.

Jolene gets her wish after Wynonna finally gets to the cabin, but Jolene quickly throws her out of it, possibly to her death. In fear and anger, Waverly goes creepy demon-faced, rises up, and kills Jolene with a twisted roar. She then steps out of the fog before a not-dead Wynonna, sprouts her wings, and says Wynonna's journey is over, but her own has begun.

What's that mean? What will Waverly do in this new form? Given what she said to Wynonna, it doesn't seem likely she'll just disappear into the garden, as Waverly previously thought was her destiny. Instead, will she simply take up the mantle of savior, or is she evil now — a harbinger of destruction? Given the way she called Wynonna by her full name, signs point to evil; perhaps there's some Eve in her? Also, now that Waverly's secret is exposed, demons and BBD are going to be coming for her. How will that rush unfold?

All that remains to be seen, but one thing's safe to say: The WayHaught wedding is probably postponed ...

As if BBD and the Jolene-created dark angel Waverly aren't problems enough, the Clantons and the garden are still lingering threats — in ways both separate and interconnected.

Regarding the Clantons, the question remains: Is Cleo (Savannah Basley) done with her family's vendetta or not? In the midseason premiere episode, she vowed to destroy Doc and the Earps, but in this recent episode, she seems set on leaving Purgatory (before BBD 2.0 kidnaps her). When Wynonna frees Cleo from BBD, Cleo helps save Waverly by calling on a reaper to guide Wynonna through the fog to Waverly. Afterward, she says goodbye to the reaper, her brother Billy, and in a promo for next episode, says goodbye to Wynonna like she's getting out of dodge. Is she, or does she have something up her sleeve?

Regarding the garden itself, we're still left to wonder if Eve will ever appear. Some fans think Jolene was Eve in disguise, but we don't really know enough about Eve yet to be sure. Another garden-related mystery: the book. Early in the episode, Waverly calls someone and says "meet at our place, bring the thing." She then meets Doc by the stairs to the garden. He presents the book she took from the garden — the book with her own name on it, which she says she chose over the others because she has strong connections with everyone, so she figured it would have the most information about the group. However, the pages are blank. It seems as if they've been unsuccessfully trying to read the book and learn more about the garden ever since they got back.

Perhaps Waverly's dark angel transformation will activate the book. If so, will it say what has happened, or will it be a prophecy of what Waverly will do? Either way, the book, the spreading garden fog, and Cleo's presence all suggest the garden and Clanton grudge are still forces to be reckoned with.

Even before Jolene and BBD, Wynonna was in a bad place. She's been doing nothing but killing demons and drinking herself to sleep. It's not just Doc inciting this melancholy. When she fights with Waverly and calls her a sanctimonious asshole for mentioning what she did to Hoyt Clanton and criticizing her drinking, it's clear that though she's hiding behind indignation and rage over others' judgment, Wynonna does feel guilty.

Jolene's interaction with Waverly suggests Hoyt isn't the only one Wynonna feels guilty about. Waverly thinks Wynonna likes killing too much, but perhaps Wynonna comes off that way because it's easier to keep doing it if she pretends she likes it, then if she lets herself feel any other way about the constant killing — like exhausted or sad. Whatever she is, sociopath or not, the episode title applies even more to Wynonna than Waverly — life turned her that way.

This notion adds nuance to the dark angel Waverly situation. Waverly said her journey is over ... maybe Wynonna won't fight her sister not just because she doesn't want to hurt her, but because she doesn't want to be the hero anymore. Maybe she'll convince herself this new Waverly is a hero, and thus she'll let her guard down long enough for Waverly to go further into darkness. Then what?

And if Waverly is evil, how will Wynonna cope? All she's ever wanted to do is protect Waverly, but now she must face the fact that she couldn't protect Waverly from herself. Will Wynonna prioritize trying to save Waverly from this new form over saving maybe all else she knows and loves? One thing's certain: There's probably no good option for Wynonna. She just can't catch a break.

Tune in next week to see how our heroes fare with all these brutal forces. The end is nigh.