Lost Girl review – 3×02: ‘SubterrFaenean’

Courtesy of Showcase / Syfy

Yikes. Has any character ever been introduced in such a prickly manner as Dyson’s (Kris Holden-Ried) new partner, Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten)?

Let’s bitch it out…Around the time that Bo (Anna Silk) is dragged in for questioning about last week’s Dark Fae’s attack (he’s fine – just comatose), all I could think of was “why did Lost Girl and Skarsten make this character so. thoroughly. unlikable?” Let’s face it, folks, Tamsin is a huge, uppity bitch. The problem is that she’s not a fun bitch that we can cheer for, or even a well-intentioned bitch. No, she’s the worst of all TV tropes: the undeveloped bitch. We have no idea what crawled up her butt and died, but she is spreading the haterade all over the place, including slamming Bo against walls, and – in a moment of WTF – pouring coffee all over Dyson’s desk like a jilted lover.

I think that last piece is the key element – and the most problematic. Throughout most of “SubterrFaenean” I couldn’t figure out whether Tamsin was hitting on Dyson and jealous of Bo and that was contributing to her mood swings. It doesn’t help that Dyson is like a nonchalant boyfriend with a crazy bitch girlfriend: comments about how she’s attractive and minor growls about not wanting a partner are not an appropriate response to someone who enters the scene with an obvious vendetta. It’s a poorly written mess, and one hell of a botched character introduction. If Tamsin is intended to be a polarizing figure or simply the new “bitch” that shakes up the show, I guess she succeeded, but it seems to me that the writers didn’t quite know how to bring her in or what to do with her once they had.

Not a promising start and I can’t say that I’m excited to see where she goes from here.

Other Observations:

• The case of the week wasn’t the most exciting. Something about the Pied Piper who has been feeding on Fae for nearly a hundred years after locking them underground by spreading lies that they’re sick. It got confusing because he locked them down, but then apparently couldn’t find where they were living and then later it was revealed he was feeding on humans locked in a container ship. And then near the end it seemed that you had to be able to see him and his stretchy long arms to fall under his trance, but then why the reference to Pied Piper and the flute if it’s the visual and not the aural that matter? Another miss in the writing department (aka fire Steve Cochrane, who has written far better episodes and should know better)
• It’s mildly interesting to see how Hale (K.C. Collins) is adjusting to life as the Ash. More amusing is the lie he told to his precinct co-workers: he won the lottery and that’s why he’s no longer a detective (makes sense!)
• How about some positives? I do like that Vex (Paul Amos) is apparently now a member of the gang. The new running gag appears to be his lack of shame when it comes to clothes (hence wearing Bo’s kimono) and his casual sexuality (love the jabs about Bo and Ksenia Solo’s Kenzi sleeping together). Also: pillow fights are always welcome
• Speaking of pillows, DIRTY! Usually I’d say that an episode that features some Doccubus heavy action with Lauren (Zoie Palmer) early on is a winner. Alas that’s one of the few highlights
• Finally, Bo’s descent into evil continues, albeit slooooowly. Turns out that she’s unaware that she drained the guy last week, but her subconscious isn’t. This is an interesting route to take since she’ll clearly continue to slip. With that said, having the Weaver that Trick (Rick Howlands) procures see what’s happening and randomly leave because she’s scared/upset is a total cop-out in order to drag this plot out. With only 13 episodes this season instead of last season’s 22, it would have been nice to pursue this story a little more quickly

Best Lines:

• Actor (after Vex chokes him): “I peed my friggin’ costume”
• Dyson (to Tamsin when she asks if he caught her drift): “No that was a little subtle. Maybe you could do it again with sound effects?”
• Vex (commenting on Kenzi and Bo in bed together): “Well, go on then. How was it to finally consummate your marriage?”
• Succubi’d Officer (after Bo touches him): “I love her. She’s just so…pretty”
• Eunice (about Kenzi’s friend Aussie, a human): “Because he’s dirty and he smells”

What did you think of the episode: did Tamsin come off poorly in your eyes, or do you think she was well introduced? Were you at all invested in the plight of the SubterrFaeneans (I liked Alistair, but there was nothing to him!) And what do you hope Vex wears next week?

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST on Showcase (Canada) and the same episode airs a week later Mondays at 10pm EST on Syfy (US)