A Bulletproof Vision

An in-depth analysis of a series of Wayhaught scenes starting at the Wainwright Hotel party to the traumatic occurrence at the Sheriff’s Department. Katherine Barrell and Dominique Provost-Chalkley bring this to life in ways we never thought any actor could. The micro-expressions, the small gestures and hesitation are all on point with what a genuine pair of lovers would look like when facing trauma and the outing of their relationship. A phenomenal performance that helps us all connect with the characters that they are.
Screenshot essay written & captured by @Umachica
Image editing & story formatting by @JaymieSarner

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: Belles of the Ball

Chapter Text

Brace yourselves, this is a lengthy one! It has 228 images, over 11K words and is about a 45-minute read. It rolls six scenes onto one between Episodes 112 & 113. A labour of love this has been. For the sake of sanity, we have sliced this up into four chapters. We don’t want to overload mobile readers with image rendering.

Grab some snacks (perhaps a Beaver Buzz and some Twizzlers), sit back and enjoy!

Chapter One

The lovely Wainwright Hotel.

The sun has just set in the background leaving a faint evening glow. Since we are most likely the middle of winter, it's early evening. Though let’s be honest...it’s always winter in Purgatory.

We open with Waverly descending the Wainwright’s stairs at Bobo's party in a gorgeous turquoise/robin's egg blue & eggshell dress. She's scanning the faces of everyone attending. It's probably safe to assume Waverly has done a once over for Nicole already and hadn't spotted her. We know from a later comment she’s already counted the vents.

( Record Scratch : It took me like...ten watches to realize this dress wasn't actually freaking transparent. -Umachica)

But now Waverly sees the red-head and her face lights up! She gives a small shake of her head because Nicole is too pretty to stand, and Waverly can't believe she got this damn lucky.

Funnily enough, that's exactly what Nicole thinks when she spots Waverly. Look at the adoration on that face! This is probably the closest we ever see Nicole to squealing internally. Ominously, she's holding a cup of the dreaded champagne! Let's uh..ignore that for now.

Look at her all flustered! Puppy Nicole.

Nicole remembers she's charming though and sends Waverly her best charming smile.

( Record Scratch : Backroom convo alert…

Jaymie: I'm still convinced she wouldn't have dressed like this unless it had been made a requirement by the Sheriff’s Office or the Town Council on top of the black-tie attire Bobo called for. After all...Nedley looks insanely well dressed too. Otherwise...I think she would have pant-suited it like in 301.

Umachica: I agree, Jaymie. Kat agrees too! She has mentioned the dress really didn't feel like Nicole. She said she's become comfortable enough in her role now that she's told the crew she doesn’t think Nicole should be in dresses anymore. Which is awesome! And since Nicole is now Sheriff, yeah, she’d tell them to stick it.

Anyway! Moving on…)

Waverly's internal squee face!

You are a vision.

Waverly blushes and looks away at this because gosh can her girlfriend be any more enchanting and Waverly gets easily flustered at compliments like that. Nicole’s popping dimple is definitely not helping in the mix.

Oh please. I didn't even have time to accessorize.

Important to note, while she is flustered, Waverly is also trying to remember to look around the party. She's still scanning for whatever Bobo is up to.

Nicole: I'll be accessory to your little death, later tonight.

Fortunately, Nicole, the Girl Scout Minded, is prepared and brought a gift!

Ah, see, I knew I wore this bracelet for a reason.

Note the wink. This is an actual gift. Not an "oh sure, borrow my bracelet."

Waverly gives off a small chuckle as Nicole hands the small item over.

Here…

Nicole’s smile says it all. She’s falling hard for this girl and is relishing in the fact that she can give Waverly things. It’s just a bracelet, but it means so much more than that.

Thanks.

We don’t actually see Waverly’s expression as Nicole passes the item over. Still, the movement of Waverly’s head suggests she’s a bit flustered and very touched.

Waverly’s eyes travel south as she starts to speak. For three seconds, she goes all the wayyyyyy down on Nicole. She can’t believe this beautiful woman is in front of her is looking at her the same way and is giving her gifts.

Hey, if we get out of here, we are getting dressed up WAY more often.

Oops! Waverly, let the situation slip. It seems like she just gets so relaxed in Nicole's presence and feels so connected to her that she kind of...presumes Nicole already knows what's going on. This, as we know, is an ongoing issue for them.

What do you mean, “ IF we get outta here?”

Nicole catches the slip and looks confused, but at the same time, she’s enchanted by Waverly.

Nicole’s change of expression at the end of her sentence says something else. She's trying to turn it into hot flirting. There are many looks Nicole Haught can give that instantly melt hearts for 250 miles around...this is just one of them.

Nicole: We could get out of here right now...?

Yes...they would have left instantly if Waverly didn't have a job to do.

Waverly misses it, sadly, because she just realized she let the pussy out of the bag.

(Yes...that was a joke)

Um…

Waverly tries to think quickly.

Waverly: Tell her? Don't tell her? She deserves to know. She needs to know. How much should I tell her? She could be in danger if I don’t! Or worse if I do…

This journey happens in a split second all over Waverly’s face. Her lips work a little as she decides what to say. The problem is, one cannot think straight with a beautiful Haught lady standing so close. Puns (plural) intended.

Just stay by the exits, okay?

This is what it looks like when a chill runs up Nicole's spine. Shit, there's trouble. She knows it's Earp-related trouble, which means it's big.

It adds fuel to the "this place is weird" fire. Nicole already is aware of strange happenings in the town, and a lot of them seem to revolve around the Earp sister.

One of these occurrences had already hospitalized her once. She can put two and two together and get four.

Then, Nicole spots someone she'd really REALLY rather not see on the stairs.

Willa.

Nicole’s voice is a dark murmur.

Yeah. Nicole is still quite sore over the last time she and the elder Earp came face to face.

Willa's smile is overly sweet. Like...painful, almost sour sort of sweet. Like when you dump ten Sour Peaches into your mouth at once, sweet.

( Record Scratch : Dang, Natalie can play a bitch! Credit to her skill.)

Willa gives a sweet sister smile and beckoning hand wave to Waverly like they're best buds, and she's excited to see her. ...Bitch.

Waverly shakes her head just a fraction as if to warn Willa not to start anything here. Nicole keeps a wary eye. Willa being present in the room signals that Nicole and Waverly will continue to hide their relationship in public.

Nicole glances at Waverly in a quick check-in as if to say, "are you ok?"

Waverly gives a quick nod and a smile to reassure Nicole that Willa's not the problem. At least not yet.

She spares one last glance towards Nicole to keep the image of the vision she sees fresh in her mind before she has to go underwater to deal with dear sister.

Waverly's exit from the scene is the perfect moment for the camera to catch the lurking jerk in the background and shift focus to him.

Oh look, he's chugging his champagne!

Champ Hardy is not even actually dressed up. He has a jacket, but his shirt is just one of those novelty shirts that looks like a tux. He's already been hitting the bubbly a bit hard. The rodeo clown watches Waverly leave. She's too preoccupied to notice her ex-boyfriend making a move towards her girlfriend.

Definitely hammered…

( Record Scratch : I applaud your performance, Mr. Dylan Koroll. Like Natalie Krill, you do SUCH a great job at portraying your character’s mean streaks. -Jaymie

Anybody remember in old cartoons when there would be a dude all ready for some fisticuffs and they would look like this? Lemme see if I can find an example...

There we go! -Umachica)

Nicole watches Waverly go.

Then catches sight of Champ.

The eye-roll Nicole fires off is on the level of epic. There is no way a sober Champ would have missed it. Drunk Champ, though…?

( Record Scratch : There is literally NO WAY to screencap this eyeroll attractively in a still image.)

Nicole: Oh, great. Here we go.

Nicole: I'm gonna need something stronger than champagne if this is how my evening is going to go.

Nicole: I was REALLY hoping to avoid this conflict.

Champ, the trapper. He puts his hand on the door that Nicole is leaning on and gets way up in her face. His breath stinks of booze and peaches, and it makes this whole scenario even less pleasant. If it weren’t a party inside a private establishment, Nicole would likely be putting Champ in the drunk tank instead of dealing with...this.

Nicole's dealt with his type before. She lifts her chin, locks her jaw, unfocuses her eyes, and does her best to tune him out. Interestingly, this is her defence. Lock down and go blank.Not a challenging stare back at him. She could've met Champ chin down and aggressively glaring into his eyes. Nicole has learned to withstand treatment like this. She's been bullied before, quite likely, for this reason. This is her waiting out the hurtful words. This is Haught walling herself off.

( Record Scratch : Kat has been vocal about bullying in the past and has openly spoken about being a victim. She may very well be pulling on prior experience to perform her series of amazing facial expressions and reactions to Dylan’s character. Please, if you ever see someone getting bullied, don’t stand aside and watch. Make sure the person knows that someone out there cares, no matter if you know them personally or not. Experience from being bullied talking here. -Jaymie)

I saw ALL that, you know?

Nicole's lip tugs in a smirk.

Nicole: Yup. Here we go. Been here before.

Not now, Champ.

Nicole’s face has a curious expression. She's fighting between her urge to get into this. She knows she can have a bit of a temper, but she’s drawing on her cop training and her own personal life knowledge to de-escalate the situation. Seriously, this is not the place for this bullshit. In front of the whole town at a black-tie event. Especially when her girlfriend just told her something big might happen.

Still, this is really pissing her off. Behold, Nicole "Give Me A Reason" Haught™

So you two are, like, together now, eh?

( Record Scratch : Let’s play a quick round of “Spot the Canada!” Oh, look! A real, live, Canadian "eh?!")

That's disgusting. DISGUSTING !

Dear audience, how many of you cringed, then groaned at Champ’s behaviour here? Better yet, who remembers having to deal with that one person who was EXACTLY like this?

Nicole shuts her eyes. She’s internally seething.

Nicole: Remember your training, Haught. Both personal and cop.

Then we get the look of steel.

Nicole: You're better than him, Nicole. You're better than this. Don't do it. Don't bite.

Nicole: Annnd, what did Waves see in this guy?

***

Skipping a few scenes ahead now. In those scenes, we attempt to figure out what Bobo is up to and the way Willa is really nonchalant about this whole thing except specifically when mentioning Peacemaker.

Through-out all those scenes, it's incredible to follow the champagne glasses. How many times characters pick them up and then set them down again. It's an impressive display of prop wrangling. By sheer stupid chance never once do certain characters actually drink them.

Especially Nicole, who is currently dealing with Champ and has had a full glass in her hand the entire time. She endures at least six minutes of torture with the boy-man and never once takes a sip.

Either more has been said since we cut away, or Champ has been silently trapping Nicole against the doorframe in attempts to intimidate.

Champ's been on bubbly all night, and we see him set his now empty glass down. Nicole is still holding hers. She's trying to leave this unpleasant conversation with as much grace, poise, and rationality as she can muster.

Meanwhile, Champ trails behind her, half accusatory, half whining like he's not sure whether he wants her to apologize or, weirdly, show him sympathy.

You know assoonaswe break-up, you just swoopin and steal muhgirl?

Champ’s sentence is heavily slurred.

Oh Champ, Nicole was stealing Waverly's heart way before that. Or more accurately, Waverly had slowly begun to give her heart to someone that saw her as more than just a small-town waitress and cared for her over themselves.

OK, lower your voice. Waverly doesn't belong to anyone.

Nicole: I'm gonna hit him. I’m gonna hit him…

Champ: buhrhuhhurhurhur SO SAD. I mean MAD. SMAD! Tremble before my manly rage or give me a hug! ;_;

Waverly: Whaaat is happening here...

She looks back to double-check that no one is really paying attention to the unfolding drama. Or because Nedley is coming down the stairs not too far behind her.

Right here, Champ snatches Nicole's glass of champagne and starts drinking again, inadvertently saving Nicole's ass.

We WOULD have owed him one (just a little), but that's cancelled out by his next ramble.

Oh, yeah. Blah blah blah feminism blah.

Nicole’s face saying precisely what we all were thinking or, more likely, speaking to our TVs.

Nicole: Dick…

Nicole: Little shit stole my drink too?

She hikes up the front of her dress and rewards Champ with another earth rattling eye roll because, oh no! He did NOT just shit on feminism as a whole on top of everything else.

Nicole is about to follow him up the stairs. She was just trying to get away from him, but now she's about to go after him because Haught has WORDS , my friends.

Fortunately, Waverly is ahead of them on the stairs, likely preventing some kind of shouting match or brawl.

It's pretty clear that while Waverly isn't owned by or belongs to Nicole...she willingly gives herself. Nicole’s gift shines proudly on her wrist. And that makes all the difference.

Champ! You're drunk. And apparently a raging homophobe!

She’s is pissed.

This is interesting because Waverly also gets really pissed at Nicole when she gets drunk. The youngest Earp accepts Wynonna's alcoholic tendencies, but she does NOT like it in anyone else. Waverly doesn't care if someone is tipsy. It's full-on drunkenness she dislikes. Sloshed and out of control of one's self. This is really not surprising, considering her childhood with Ward Earp as a father figure.

In a slightly adorable way, Waverly looks like she's halfway into scolding mom mode. She looks at Champ like she expects him to explain himself right now, Mr. Boy-man. Again, it's the same attitude she will later adopt with drunk Nicole.

Oyou think thishis cuz she'sa girl?

Nicole: Target Locked.

Waverly gives a panicked look at Nicole over Champ's shoulder while she nervously plays with the banister.

OK, Champ. I think you’ve had enough.

Sheriff Nedley (looking so dapper that now we can be pretty sure there was an extra dress code for Purgatory Civil Servants) steps in.

Waverly doesn't like this at all. It's Nicole's boss!

Waverly: Shit!

Chrissy looks not surprised in the least to see Champ behaving this way. Still, she does look a little curious about the situation before her.

Of course you're gonna take her side. You know…

Champ looks at Nicole as if she'd be interested to hear this.

Every time I failed that preliminary law enforcement exam…

Nicole: Oh, OF COURSE , this is about your past failures.

She would say, “It’s OK, Champ. You have nothing to prove.” But apparently that was a lie.

She’s dating a cop.

Wayhaught, internally, in union: Fuck…

There it is. The couple has been outed. Nicole looks up at her boss.Then to Waverly, as she gasps slightly.

Nicole: Shit! Shit! Shit! How's he gonna react? He's a small-town cop.

Nicole hasn't had this job very long, and she likes being here. The Sheriff has probably already suspected Nicole’s sexuality,

She doesn’t really like men.

Well...who does?

but that doesn’t stop her from being suddenly terrified.

A lot is happening behind the Sheriff’s eyes. Nedley is mulling over the news and choosing his reaction. He doesn't disapprove, but he can tell that this is a moment Nicole didn't want. He knows his response will matter.

Nedley is kind of a pseudo father figure for Nicole. That would also make his reaction all the more important to her.

This moment may explain why Nicole never wears a dress again. She no longer has to pretend to live to an expectation. While she would never ask Waverly to be someone she is not, it’s clear that Nicole would go to great lengths to help her ‘hide,’ so to speak until Waverly was ready to come out.

Also, what an awkward "Hi Dad. I brought a girl home. Do you like her?" moment.

Nedley: The youngest Earp, huh?

Waverly’s sexuality, on the other hand...seems to have caught him completely off guard. Nedley has known the girl for her whole life and hoped that one day she would finally spread her wings and shed her shell. Perhaps not quite like this.

Champ: Pointsh to me!

Attractive, Champ...

Well, I guess that would be their own private business.

A diplomatic answer overall, which accomplishes several things;

It acknowledges that Nicole and Waverly being a couple is not the point of this conversation and refocuses the discussion.
It lets Nicole know the Sheriff has her back, and;
In a way, it sort of approves the match up (or at least acknowledges that he doesn't think it's his place to step in regarding 'Nicole's Pick,' so to speak.)

Waverly appears to let out a breath she’s been holding.

Come on, son, let's get you out of here.

Waverly looks up at Nedley with a relieved expression.

Waverly: Thank God...

Champ, having just had one more sip of champagne, suddenly looks very sick. When he opens his mouth to shout, we see he's started foaming like a rabid albino squirrel.

No!

His hand flexes with such strength that it breaks the glass.

( Record Scratch : Sugar glass is always impressive that way. Along with blood packets.)

We hear someone shriek. Likely Waverly, as it sounds similar to her shriek later.

Nicole: Waverly...was this what you warned me about?

Nicole: Holy shit! That drink was in my hand thirty seconds ago!

Champ, are you on something OTHER than bubbly?

Great thing to ask in front of not one, but TWO cops.

Remember kids, if you see a stray Champ that looks like this, do not approach. It's very dangerous, okay? Just call animal control and let them sort it out.