Lost Girl 5×12 review: ‘Judgement Fae’

Bo (Anna Silk) must pass a new test as her relationship with Lauren (Zoie Palmer) falls apart.

Let’s bitch it out…

As Lost Girl inches towards its series finale, we’ve all been waiting for the writers to bite the bullet and reveal Jack’s (Eric Roberts) true intentions. Ever since his appearance in the mid-season finale (and as long as he’s ever been mentioned), it’s clear that he’s Bo’s ultimate villain. Since he arrived on the scene, there have been attempts to persuade us differently, but the casting of Eric Roberts and the continued whispers from all of the Ancients and the texts have held firm that he is the Big Bad of this final season.

‘Judgement Fae’ (which brings back to cutesy Fae-related titles) is the episode the cements our suspicions. The long-gestating story line involving Lauren, who was persuaded by Jack to test the Fae-serum on herself, finally comes to fruition and while it doesn’t pack quite the emotional fireworks the writers might have hoped for, it does what it needs to in order for the truth to come out.

Right off the top, it’s clear that Lauren is ill. Even casual TV viewers can spot the telltale signs when she begins to forget things. It’s the result of her treatment, naturally and she eventually confesses that her condition is exacerbated if she “holds on too long”. Credit the writers for their consistency: when Lauren finally admits to her girlfriend that Jack was involved, Bo gets upset and angrily reminds her that why they can’t trust Jack. Manufactured drama? Sure, but it’s high time that someone called Lauren out for her impulsiveness. Like Kenzi, she’s always been on the outside looking in at the Fae, but her impetuousness in this case has potentially fatal consequences. As a doctor – or healer as she later refers to herself – she really ought to have known better.

A crash a moment later initially suggests the worse: my mind immediately went to a Joss Whedon-y place and feared that Lauren was about to be killed off. Instead Bo discovers Elizabeth (Amanda Walsh) – not Zee – is discovered on the clinic floor. For the immediate interim, Lauren is cast aside as Beth’s sudden reappearance provides the call to adventure. The group seizes on Beth’s memories (or rather what little she remembers when she wasn’t humming Madonna’s discography) to deduce that Zee has traded in Trick’s (Rick Howland) shield for a new weapon. In order to figure out what new danger is coming down the pike, Bo has to undergo a test in order to get an audience with Hephaestus (Christopher Russell). Like some of the best Lost Girl episodes, the test is an unorthodox one: Bo must act as a lawyer. Unfortunately for us, it’s not the most engaging of cases (really, an IP case between bitter former partners? Yawn).

Still, the case does what it needs and brings about the weird final act in which Zee possesses Lauren. It seems like an exciting twist that will force Bo to confront an evil version of her girlfriend. It’s short lived, though; Zee wakes Hera (Noam Jenkins) so that they can escape back to Tartarus with one final warning not to trust Hades. It feels like the writing is all over the place in this encounter – are we meant to be scared for Bo’s safety? Concerned that Hera will turn on Zee and kill her? Things escalate too quickly, which means we skirt over the emotional impact of all of these developments.

I wish I could say that the emotionally heightened denouement in which Lauren admits that she took the cure and can’t be with Bo anymore works for me, but it doesn’t. I simply don’t buy Lauren’s rationale; why does Lauren decide at this moment to be selfless and remove herself so that Bo can be a protector? Again, it’s too sudden. It would have been better to see Lauren struggle with the decision instead of simply dropping the bombshell without any anticipation. Even though Anna Silk and Zoie Palmer act the hell out of it, and the scene is well-directed and the music is appropriately maudlin, the writing lets everything down. This just doesn’t sit well with me and not just because I’m a bit of a closet #Doccubus fan.

Other Observations:

• If we’re going to use the oft-repeated Hepha joke, I totally Hepha’d in my mouth over the whole Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) / Alicia (Lisa Marcos) stuff. I’m sooooo glad that Zee and Hera’s departure means that Alicia’s human husband Kevin wakes up from his coma and Alycia has to go back to him. Let’s all hope that we never see Alicia again because boy did she ever suck.
• The weapon that Hepha creates for Bo is a horseshoe – which Trick reassures will ward off evil and bring good luck. It also continues the episode’s recurring love affair with horse imagery. Should we begin anticipating some kind of equestrian challenge in the remaining episodes?
• In a moment of cruelty, Bo does “something about her wallow” by putting the moves onTamsin (Rachel Skarsten). Initially it is a really frustrating move because we know how much Bo has hurt Tamsin in the past, but then a sly smile creeps over Bo’s face, suggesting that she’s not entirely herself. At this point it’s just a matter of time before we get confirmation that Bo is, in fact, a conduit for Hades. Guess Bo must have held on for too long, too.

Best Lines:

• Lauren (when Bo asks what happens if she holds on too long): “I explode into confetti. It’s really quite impressive.”
• Tamsin (commenting on the Court House sitting on something big): “Lucky Court House.”
• Tamsin (surveying Hephaetus’ ugly image in Trick’s text): “I think I just Hepha’d my lunch.”

Your turn: did you hope for more from Bo’s time as a lawyer? Was the showdown in Hepha’s dungeon reek of bad writing? Did Lauren’s abrupt departure sit well with you? Did you pick up on the horse imagery? And what is going on with Jack possessing his own daughter? Sound off below.

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST on Showcase in Canada