Lost Girl review – 5×05: ‘It’s Your Lucky Fae’

Courtesy of Showcase

It’s Bo’s (Anna Silk) birthday, which in genre television, means bad news and wacky hijinks.

Let’s bitch it out…

Case of the Week: After getting a birthday gift from daddy dearest, Bo freaks and calls Oracle Cassie (Vanessa Matsui) to find out what it means. Unfortunately Cassie is immediately attacked and held hostage, leaving Bo to lead the charge to recover her. She and Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten) begin by investigating Fae-Date, the online dating site that Cassie used to meet Heratio (Noam Jenkins) – also known as Kevin, one of the dead men who up and left the morgue back in episode three. When Cassie is eventually found (with two other Oracles), they are sans eyes, having gouged them out to stop seeing visions of the end of the world. Naturally the coda reveals that Heratio/Kevin has them, as well as Trick’s (Rick Howland) ledger, which contains all of the Fae signatures, including Bo’s. So much for good luck…

Family Drama: Mark (Luke Bilyk) turns out to be not just a nuisance teen; he’s a petulant teen. Last week there was daddy drama with Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) and that continues this week as he refuses Dyson’s help. As a character Mark remains whiny and annoying; as a plot device, he’s actually kinda instrumental since his stupidity (both in getting mixed up with Paul Amos’ Vex and the slutty girls he brings to Trick’s lair) enables the theft of the ledger.

Cat Scratch Fever: In the most amusing storyline of the night, Tamsin gets Bo a last minute birthday gift: a good luck cat, that saps Lauren’s (Zoie Palmer) luck and slowly turns Bo into a literal cat. Not only is the taxidermied cat that they carry around amusing (in a Sabrina the Teenage Witch kinda way), Bo’s physical transformation produces some pretty silly visual gags including lapping at her drink, growing a tail and sleeping in a cardboard box (the less said about the purring, stress panting and the salt shaker batting, the better).

Alas, Lauren’s streak of bad luck is less enjoyable: Palmer is either less adept at the physical comedy or the writing is too obvious (the minute you see balloons, it’s clear they’ll pop; the minute you see cake, it’s clear it’ll be destroyed). This continues a strange trend I’ve noticed in the last few episodes. Thus far Lauren has been greatly diminished as both a character and a love-interest (see below). It’s a strange situation considering this final season is the time I would have expected Lost Girl to amplify the love triangle storyline. Instead, it’s as thought it’s been completely shelved. Very odd.

Other Observations:

• In place of Lauren as a love interest is Tamsin. The Amazonian blonde wraps herself up in a bow as a gift, which Bo fairly eagerly unwraps. It’s both sexy and stripper-y (though not Yeti stripper-y).
• Ask and you shall receive: last week I requested more dramatic bits from Tamsin and this week it apears. After their birthday sex, Tamsin reveals a few details about her upbringing and how she moved from blaming fate to becoming empowered. Again, this isn’t revelatory, but it’s key to turning Tamsin into something more than just the silly comic relief character.
• Strange inquiry: The girl who gives Mark head has a forked tongue. Should we assume that this is on par with a tongue piercing? Mark certainly seems to enjoy it.
• Critical bitch: Mark’s body is okay, but it certainly does not have the “ripples” that the girl compliments him on. Compare those abs to Dyson’s – there’s no contest. Unless he’s gearing up to shift into a panda, as the one girl suggests?
• I wasn’t sure if we were meant to recognize Cassie’s cousin Seymour (Dax Ravina) – looking him up, the last time he appeared on the show was 1×05 ‘Dead Lucky.’ That’s a looong time ago.
• Finally, Elizabeth Helm (Amanda Walsh) gets a credit online, but fails to make an appearance. I call bollocks!

Best Lines:

• Cassie (about her date): “Please god, let the peen check out.”
• Bo (when Trick gets her Alexander the Fae’s finger): “You totally gave me the finger.”
• Bo (after being presented Tamsin’s taxidermied cat): “It’s very roadkill chic.”
• Tamsin (after Seymour talks about the disadvantages of sucking spirits): “Sucking things made me popular.”
• Vex (questioning the bar patrons): “Who has a weak drink courtesy of Abercrombie?”
• Heratio (when Bo suggests his picture doesn’t do him justice): “Well bathroom selfies are always a risk.”

Your turn: did Bo’s cat-escapades entertain you? Has Lauren’s role on the show been diminished? Is Mark is a bit insufferable? Why is Elizabeth (and her henchman Kevin) collecting Oracle eyeballs? Finally, missing Kenzi (an unseen Ksenia Solo)? Sound off below.

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST on Showcase. If you missed the Bitch Awards last week (celebrating the best and worst TV of 2014), you can find them here.