Mercedes cast a spell last episode using rings (her dead husband’s I think) to try and find the 3rd seal. It told her that the seal is held by a member of law enforcement
Which is why Mercedes shows up on Nicole’s doorstep demanding the seal. Waverley also shows up and they both desperately fight to defend each other. In the battle, Nicole is bitten - and Mercedes leaves realising her spell got it a bit wrong
The Widows have a terrible, awful venom - and she is hurried into hospital. Wynonna and Doc are already there with the real Mercedes (who had her face removed by the Widows for their disguise). Nedry is also there to be awesome, because he is.
There Waverley babbles in horror about what has happened to Nicole - and along the way she also spills just about everything in her classic babble fashion: including that Rosita is a revenant. Waverley also realises that Wynonna knows where the seal is - and hasn’t told them; which puts a bit of a shakiness in the Earp relationship.
Nicole is facing inevitable death due to widow venom - a death that human medicine can’t cure. And is going to be extra awful as well. Nicole also has a deeply painful and traumatic conversation with Wynonna about how she wants to be killed rather than end terribly: because only Wynonna is ruthless enough and she’s the only one Waverley will forgive
This is all confirmed by Shae: Nicole’s ex-wife who is a doctor
Yup, Nicole has an ex-wife who she married in Vegas after rock climbing and it didn’t exactly last. And I have absolutely no idea why this is even here, to be honest. I mean we get a bit of Waverley’s jealousy and fear that she doesn’t know Nicole well enough so she can have lots and lots of angst about what a terrible partner she is because in TVlandia this is enquired for every loved one at a hospital bed. Honestly unless we do a whole lot with Shae in the future I just don’t really see the point of her presence - especially since we have only 2 episodes left and already everything is full.
Of course, Wynonna determinedly insists she will solve this, because this is what the heroes do and she will have the adorkably inept Jeremy to try and manufacture a cure. For that they will need more venom and someone to test it on.
Dolls tries to get venom from the bodies of Juan-Carlo and over Widow victims but those pesky order people have burned them all. They also offer to raise Wynonna’s child so it isn’t snatched by creepy cults (like Black badge who did, after all, snatch Dolls). This would be more reassuring if, y’know, the Order wasn’t a creepy cult. Just saying
They do give Dolls the decorative plate of Earpness which is apparently an anti-Widow weapon. I guess they hate tacky interior design - you should see how they react to three plaster ducks.
She recruits Doc to help with tracking down the Widow (he is very very snarky and pouty over his ring but the minute Wynonna tells him Nicole is dying he drops it all entirely and gets right on board).
Wynonna also confronts Rosita, threatening her with peacemaker and demanding she volunteer to be a guinea pig for the cure because it can’t kill her. Though it can severely hurt her. She concedes she likes Roista and will totally shoot her last… yeah...
Rosita agrees to help - but points out that as a friend there was absolutely no damn reason for Wynonna to threaten her.
She does go to Jeremy and Jeremy is really unhappy about this, testing on Rosita. When Dolls shows up to use his own super metabolism for testing as well: again no death but a whole lot of agony. Jeremy is still very very not happy
Meanwhile Waverley has been offered a deal by Beth - the other Widow. She has the cure and will give it to Waverley so long as Waverley gives up the seal - which she has to find yet
Obviously she’s very very very conflicted about betraying Wynonna obviously but at the same time Nicole is dying. She also sees the experiments and vetoes that right away, she is definitely not tolerating that
She also runs into Gretta at the hospital. Gretta is the twin sister of the Blacksmith - and has the same woo-woo as an Iron Witch - she agrees to give Waverley the cure in exchange for an open promise for ANYTHING. Oh that is never a good thing.
She does direct Waverley to… Nedry’s coffee cup. Inside which is Doc’s ring… the seal.
Back to Mercedes, Wynonna and Doc - Mercedes has kidnapped Nedry, the next member of law enforcement. And he spends his captivity reminding us he’s awesome and snarky under torture until Wynonna and Doc arrive to rescue him (Doc tries to make Wynonna sit this out due to pregnancy. No that’s not going to happen)
Mercedes is duly captured, Nedly rescued (“no-one tortures the sheriff but me!”) and we learn Wynonna trusted him with the ring because he is, indeed, awesome.
With the Widow captured, they can make a cure - and Wynonna goes to Waverley with the good news - to find that Nicole is fine. And ten she finds out why - and that the Widows have the third seal
She is not happy.
Waverley goes to the bar and is joined by Gretta. Waverley is super pissed that the deal for the cure was so bad but hey that’s what you get for not demanding fine print. And Gretta claims, as her reward the trophy of evil demon-ness. She uses the wishes it get her revenge on the Earps - because she blames the sisters for her sister’s death. So she’s going to use this to make one sister disappear and the other sister live with that
Also Dolls gets banished to a well as well as collateral damage.
Wynonna has just had inspiration on how to use the decorative plate in battle - and she vanishes.
And I kind of think this is a weird twist to throw in with only 2 episodes left. A new antagonist, the seals ready to be broken, a vanishing Earp, the baby still ready to be born, Shae, Rosita, conflict between Waverley and Wynonna - there’s a lot here. And there was already a lot here even before this episode.
