Lost Girl review – 3×09: ‘Ceremony’

Bo’s (Anna Silk) moment of truth has arrived and The Dawning is at hand. Will she survive the process or devolve and die? Spoiler: She lives (it’s not a huge surprise)

Let’s bitch it out…Okay, so Lost Girl is a Canadian show that clearly had its budget slashed when Showcase renewed it for a third season. We’ve seen the reduced funds in the dearth of new sets and the scarcity of episodes that involve all of our core cast (paging KC Collins…has anyone seen Hale? Anyone?).Now this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’m actually of the mindset that being forced to work with a smaller budget can make the storytelling more interesting because you have to get creative.

Unfortunately this is not the case with ‘Ceremony’. After spending the majority of the third season foreshadowing and threatening Bo’s biggest battle ever (the most dangerous thing she’ll ever do; there’s a good chance she won’t survive; she’s not ready, etc) we finally get to the The Dawning.

And it blows.

I’m sorry, but it is weak. From a storytelling perspective, the only reason we will ever discuss this episode – besides complaining about it – is because the whole Bo/Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) love affair is reintroduced when Bo is forced to confess to herself – and others – that she still loves him. Here’s the thing: we already knew this, so It’s not a surprise. In fact, it’s really obvious. And that could have been okay; nay, it could have been perfectly acceptable if the episode has something else going for it. Something like, say, it felt epic?

Instead ‘Ceremony’ feels like a lukewarm version of last week’s trippy episode, only this time we don’t even get the benefits of new sets of characters (literally all of the everyday sets are being reused). It’s like the writers don’t so much oversell the idea as they completely miss the mark. I wonder if they submitted an episode filled with a grand series of challenges (I’m thinking of something akin to Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire) and then were told they had to make do with a pack of chewing gum and a used shoelace. Thus far the financial restrictions on the shoe have been evident, but they haven’t compromised the level of storytelling. Here, you can practically see the duct tape holding things together. Colour me very disappointed.

Le boo…

Other Observations:

• Sooo…I know that Ksenia Solo has always been skinny, but that girl seriously needs a cheeseburger. She’s approaching “unhealthy” levels of skinny
• Just in case you thought that the spell last week would result in a more open and communicative Doccubus coupling, think again. Not only has Lauren (Zoie Palmer) been hard at work in the lab – and avoiding Bo’s texts – she ends up getting chi-sucked to bring Dyson back to life so that Bo can cry about how much she loves him. Talk about a lady-boner killer
• Stella (Deborah Odell) wears out her welcome pretty quickly. First she tries to convince Bo to murder a “model buffet” to fuel-up for The Dawning and then she warns Kenzi that she’ll be kicked to the curb should anything happen to Bo during the test. Not cool, lady. No wonder Trick doesn’t want to hang out with you in Scotland for a few months
• If anyone is holding their breath waiting for the appearance of Bo’s evil father, you can begin to release. One of the few memorable elements of the episode is Bo’s vision of her father in the dream state, which means we’re likely just a few episodes away from a formal introduction
• A single quick cameo from Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten) is pretty revealing: the chipper Valkyrie is a perfect Stepford Wife witnessed pruning roses with hands covered in blood. This is both a reference to her dirty work for The Morrigan, as well as a prediction for her role to come (remember she’ll do something to Bo, as foretold by the Tarot cards last week). But who’s dream is this: Bo’s or Dyson’s? Do they know how dangerous Tamsin is?
• Finally, anyone want to take bets that Kenzi will eventually be revealed as Fae? At this point, they keep hinting at it and the odds seem likelier than Bo and Lauren’s relationship surviving until the end of the season

Best Lines:

• Bo (confessing to and running from Kenzi): “And a kiss”
• Kenzi (when they learn that Stella has arranged a model buffet): “So that’s Victoria’s Secret!”
• Kenzi (refuting Stella’s claim that Bo will die if she isn’t fully fed for the Dawning): “She will surprise the shit out of you. And you would think that I would get tired of watching. And I never do, Stell.”
• Kenzi (insisting the Dawning will not affect their friendship): “You’ll always be my girl…even if you come out of there with a dong.”
• Kenzi (when Stella observes that there’s never been a human at the Dawning): “Chill Stell…I won’t tweet.”
• Bo (after Dyson takes a hit for her): “I appreciate the help, but stop cock-blocking me!”

Am I off-base being disappointed with The Dawning? Are you happy that the air has been cleared regarding Dyson’s love for Bo returning? Are you still holding out hope for a Doccubus happy ending? And how does Bo’s father play into Trick’s (Rick Howland) image in the chest at episode’s end? Comment away below

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST on Showcase in Canada & Mondays at 10pm EST on Syfy in the US