Lost Girl review – 3×04: ‘Fae-de To Black’

Courtesy of Showcase / Syfy

Lost Girl‘s hot streak continues by keeping the focus on our central cast. Oh, and there’s some conflict a-brewin’.

Let’s bitch it out…Last week marked Lost Girl‘s best episode in a good long while. ‘Fae-de To Black’ gives us more of the same as Bo (Anna Silk) and Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) get a little closer, Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten) starts to thaw and poor Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) gets the shaft from the one person who was always been there for her. It’s a solid hour that’s all about setting up the show’s conflicts like dynamos. Pretty soon it’ll be time to knock ’em all down.

The case of the week is admittedly a little half baked: the hilariously named “Better Way Clinic for Health and Wellness” is a regular quack establishment whose patients keep dying under mysterious circumstances. All signs point to the regression hypnotherapist Dr. Palmer or vacuous front desk attendant Tabitha (Meghan Heffern), but it’s actually one of the office mascots, Dr. Bob – the cat. Scratch the surface and Dr. Bob’s actually a shapeshifter, which is a pretty obvious metaphor for the secret identities most of our core cast carry: Dyson’s love is back, Kenzi’s rash is problematic, Bo is unable to live solely on her monogamous Doccubus relationship and Tamsin is…well we don’t know what the hell Tamsin is.

Ultimately the case of the week is less important than throwing ex-lovahs Dyson and Bo back into each other’s hemisphere. It’s also helpful for breaking the ice around Tamsin’s bitchy exterior as the Dark Fae blonde came off far too tough in the first few episodes. Now it seems that the show has figured out how to make her stand-offish without making viewers want to smash their TV screens whenever she appears, even if her flirtatious banter with Dyson remains a wee bit forced. It’s all good fun to watch the three of them try to work together without stepping on each other. In my perfect vision of the show Tamsin becomes a reluctant hero ala Vex (an unseen Paul Amos) who foils our heroes as often as she helps them.

Courtesy of Showcase / Syfy

On the flip side, there’s very little progress on the Kenzi side of the show. Lost Girl continues to slooooowly repair the damage done to this character in the latter half of S2 while also exploring the heap of responsibility that’s been thrown on Hale (K.C. Collins) in his new role as The Ash. Thankfully the latter is beginning to pay off, because the former is moving at a snail’s pace. It was always clear that Kenzi and Hale’s relationship would need to change after Hale took over the highest office in the city, but it initially seems like the writers won’t allow this when Hale takes Kenzi on as his personal stylist. I’ll admit, I balked because it felt like the same kind of half-baked storyline that was being served in S2. In hindsight, however, it’s this frustrating that makes the final (albeit predictable) scene effective: Hale not only bans Kenzi from entering his chambers, but he’s already super-stylishly decked-out and looking fab. It’s a double smack down!

Poor Kenzi…now go to a goddamn doctor!

Other Observations:

• I want to like the scene when Trick (Rick Howland) lays down the law with Hale about Kenzi, but it just doesn’t work for me. Something about Howland’s delivery feels off and I just don’t buy the anger
• I get that it’s meant to produce better television, but if you had a super serious rash, I don’t think you would just let people blow you off every time you try to tell them. Also, this seems like the perfect opportunity for Lost Girl to make Trick Kenzi’s confidant, so the fact that he’s still doing jack all and she can’t find someone to talk to? It’s becoming unrealistic
• Early in the episode my notes read “God I hate Tamsin” but many of my favourite quotes come from her (Dilemma!). I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to remember that Tamsin acts the way she does because she’s Dark Fae, even if the show isn’t doing a particularly good job of reminding us of the fact
• Which identifier better demonstrates how scarily inept the Wellness Center is: that the second mascot is a fish named Dr. Nemo (ugh) or that Bo somehow manages to sneak onto the staff as – of all things – a couples counselor?
• Good action for Doccubus fans as Bo and Lauren (Zoie Palmer) get some very hot and heavy footage early on and then some real relationship fighting later. P.S. cinephilactic’s relationship advice for all your readers out there: it is never okay to use the “you didn’t finish high school / so you stoopid” argument, no matter how angry you are. That’s way harsh, Tai
• Oh yeah. Bo “cheated” on Lauren with Dyson and clearly that’s going to come back and totally everything up. So…that happened. Conflict is coming – #toldyaso

Best Lines:

• Bo (describing Lauren to Kenzi): “Good, she’s super lurv-able.” So saccharine and couple-y, it’s perfect!
• Tamsin (describing Lloyd, the tightrope walker who goes splat to cold-open the show): “Tox screen on the street pasta?”
• Bo (sarcastically describing Tamsin): “I don’t know what I like about her more: her warmth or her charm”
• Bo (to Dyson when he indicates that he couldn’t use his wolf sense): “Your kryptonite is kitty litter?”
• Tamsin (charging Bo with talking Dyson off a ledge while she deals with Mr. Bob): “Well, thank goodness you’re here. This one wants to be half lion, half eagle and full asshole. Here kitty kitty”

What did you think of the episode: did it continue Lost Girl‘s streak of good episodes or were you bored by the case of the week? Do you think Kenzi would really stay silent about the rash? Are you peeved that Hale dissed her? Are you warming up to Tamsin? Finally, how long do you give Bo & Lauren as a couple? I think they’ll make it to mid-season (so two more episodes). Hit the comments below

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST on Showcase (in Canada) & a week the following Monday at 10pm EST on Syfy (in the US)