Bo’s (Anna Silk) time aboard the interdimensional train between S3 and S4 is finally revealed and the truth is not so much unexpected as it is rushed and unsatisfying.
Let’s bitch it out…
I enjoyed ‘Waves’. It’s a fun episode, with an unexpected Fae of the week villain and it’s got a healthy dose of mythology. Double bonus points for delivering a solid cliffhanger that’s going to have huge implications for the remaining episodes of the season.
I don’t, however, think that ‘Waves’ worked. In fact, I think it messed up big time.
Let’s set aside the procedural case of the week at the mermaid institute and focus solely on the important stuff: the hows and whys Bo appeared in the Dhal holding hands with Rainer (Kyle Schmid) at the end of the last episode. Going in I figured that, at long last, this would be the episode that would reveal why the Wanderer kidnapped Bo and what he’s done with her to make her side with him.
Unfortunately that’s not what we get.
What we get instead is a few flirtatious banter scenes (which obviously means they have sexual chemistry) and we learn that Rainer is a wounded soul who has lost his powers of foresight. He doesn’t truly understand why he’s imprisoned on the train and he’s a bit of a wounded puppy dog. So far, so Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried). But instead of digging deeper to explore how Bo and Rainer’s relationship develops, they simply end up in bed. Suddenly she’s pledging to come back to him after she gets off the train like she’s under a spell (umm…maybe he has a magical dick?). We even get a really insulting recap of the elements Bo engineers to ensure that even if she doesn’t remember their time together, she would seek him out, including the imprisoned opera singer from 4×06 and, of course, Bo’s shocking alignment with the dark.
This is all well and good, but it happens so quickly and in such a cursory fashion that we still have no insight about what is going on. We know that Bo and Rainer shared a significant love affair, but it feels like we are told that, not shown it. We still have no idea who Rainer is, why Bo likes him, why she’s willing to dismiss her friends for him or why she’s willing to kill for him (as she does in the climax when they slay the Una Mens).
As it stands, killing the rulers of the Fae world is going to dramatically alter the balance of power moving forward, so I’m interested to see where we go for here. I’d like to applaud the writers for moving the story forward, but considering how much time we’ve spent building up to Rainer, it feels like they’ve forgotten that we need to know about him before we can invest in him as a character and believe in his influence on Bo. As it stands, ‘Waves’ doesn’t help me to do any of this and it makes Bo seem dumb and impulsive, which I don’t like…
Other Observations:
- Word of advice to the Keeper (Christine Horne): when a vengeful person has you at knifepoint, you might want to refrain from calling them a spawn of hell and referring to their mother as a whore. I mean, unless you want to die.
- Everyone like how Trick shows up after the murders to warn Bo? Man, his timing this season has completely sucked!
- Although the entire B-plot with Dyson, Lauren (Zoie Palmer) and Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) is completely disposable, I did laugh a ton at Kenzi’s excitement for mermaids, including her repeated references to Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Best Lines:
- Kenzi (announcing that they’ve taken a case): “Can I get a wha wha?” Dyson: “What?” Lauren: “What?” Kenzi: “Not what I had in mind”
- Kenzi (when Lauren asks what they see): “Well we’re basically in a yogurt commercial”
- Kenzi (interviewing Todd): “Wham-a-lam-a-ding-dong, you’re not an ass-sistant, you’re an sass-istant”
Your turn: do you think the romantic backstory between Rainer and Bo was covered too quickly? Did you like Kenzi’s enthusiasm? What happens now that the Una Mens are dead? And if you’re a shipper, how unexcited are you about a new challenger for Bo’s heart? Comment away below
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John Hall says
Agree completely on all counts.
Arrow Transcripts says
I agree with you on the Bo/Rainer backstory. I don’t even think it was covered at all. They meet and then all of a sudden they are in love; and she is murdering Fae elders at his behest. That is quite the progression.
Trick has really sucked this season with his delivery of PERTINENT information (too little, too late)
Man, I will miss that Keeper (such much soullessness), even when facing death she wasted NO TIME in telling BO that she was s@%& so to speak.
Good, you’re here being creepy – Favourite line of the night.
Melanie says
Both plots have some holes (really, the mermaid didn’t realize it was her long-abandoned sister? And even if she thought it was her brother, couldn’t she have taken him out? Why hire outside detectives, and going first to a human at that? / Why do Bo and Rainer just suddenly show up at the Una Mens lair? How do they let Rainer waltz in? Why is Trick so careless with his possessions AND telling people Important Things?) but they were fairly adept at covering them with the acting and the humor and the pretty sets and colors. The A plot, though, had far less to cover with than the B plot. (I go into a lot more detail here, if you’re interested – http://bit.ly/19W1Iuf )
The Bo/Rainer plotline, besides being a little crammed, mixes its fairytales the way 4.03 mixed its metaphors, all the while trying to extend, drag out, painfully protract, etc. etc., the reveal as to what’s actually going on with Rainer and The Wanderer and Bo’s father, and the result comes off muddled. I’m unsure exactly how we’re supposed to be taking this whole thing, but if it doesn’t end up being enchantment on some if not all levels, I’m going to be vastly disappointed . . . and I’m going to have to retroactively reanalyze the whole storyline.