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Lost Girl: End of a Line

“I was going to say yes!”

This was another so-so episode, with more confusing arc hullabaloo, that was saved at the last minute by that real gut-puncher of a final scene. Did you cry? I sure as hell did.

The rest of the episode was a bit of a slog. Despite trying to make peace with her friends, Bo is still irritatingly trusting of Rainer. Even though there’s mounting evidence that he may be up to no good, she refuses to believe it because he’s destiny or whatnot. When the truth does come to light, which I’m sure it will, I hope no one holds back on the “I told you so”. I don’t care if people have died and it would be seem super insensitive, she needs to hear it.

Linda Hamilton’s Acacia was back, very much alive (as Josie’s Law clearly states: “If you don't see the body, don't believe anyone is dead”) and in possession of a new hand, courtesy of cheapskate Massimo (he said he grew it specially, but he really just swiped it off someone else). As nice as it is to see Bo fighting Sarah Connor, this all felt like filler of the worst kind. There was no real reason for there to be zombies in this episode other than the fact that zombies, like Hansel, are so hot right now. Ever since The Walking Dead smashed ratings records everyone has been trying to get in on the undead action. Move aside, vampires, your dominance of pop culture has come to an end.

The best parts of the episode centred around Kenzi, and appear to have been designed specifically to make her suffer. First there was the unpleasant reunion with her unpleasant mother. Galina was a real nasty piece of work. At first she came across as a meek housewife, too afraid to stand up to her abusive boyfriend, even if it meant abandoning her own child. Kenzi (rightfully) resented her for this. That decision forced her from her home and to live on the street where Kenzi was forced to steal and do much worse to survive. It was never explicitly stated, but it was heavily implied that Kenzi may have had to prostitute herself. Exactly how old was she when her mother kicked her out? Was she under-age? I shouldn't think too much about this, it is only making me sad and wish I would leap into the TV and give Kenzi a massive comforting hug.

As horrible as that experience was, at least it had a happy ending. Kenzi eventually found a new family, a better family, a family she knows she can rely on despite their recent ups and downs. She doesn’t need her old one anymore, and yet part of her wanted to reconcile with her mother, to mend those fences and start again as any child would. She wanted to believe that, with Bodgen gone, she and her mother could put the past behind them and begin anew. But it was all a lie. Galina was no victim, she was an accomplice, working with Bodgen to con money out of Kenzi’s rich new boyfriend.

With the truth exposed and Kenzi about to throw her and Dmitri out, Galina’s true colours came shining through as she tried to strike her daughter. I can imagine that she had to endure a lot of physical abuse as a child, from both Bodgen and her alcoholic mother. Those in abusive relationships have been known to lash out at their own children, often blaming them for their partner’s violent behaviour. Galina said that Kenzi should have "not been so defiant", heavily implying that she believes it was Kenzi’s own fault Bodgen was abusive because she wouldn’t just sit there and take it like a good little girl. It was sad to see Kenzi's hopes of reconciliation implode, but I was happy that she finally got to stand up to one of her abusers and show them the incredible young woman she has become, a woman who no longer allows anyone to raise their hand to her.

As bad as that family reunion was, it was nothing compared to what followed it – Massimo killing Hale. My first reaction to Hale’s death was a very Vader-ish “NOOOOOO!!!!!”. He might never have been my favourite character, but I liked Hale and didn’t want to see him die. Certainly not like this. Even though he was on my list of potential corpses, I had my doubts that Hale would be the one to die. The Leviathan said that someone Bo loved would die. Hale, although a close friend, never really fit that description. He was more someone Dyson and Kenzi loved, not Bo.

What affected me most was not his death itself, but Kenzi’s reaction to it. It goes without saying that Ksenia Solo was once again magnificent throughout this episode. This has really been her season to shine. The script went out of its way to make Hale’s death as unbearable for Kenzi as it could possibly be. It wasn’t enough that Hale had to die, he had to die because of one of her mistakes. Massimo is only alive because she gave him the Twig of Zamora, Hale’s gift to her to keep her safe, to pay for her Fae powers. It allowed him to survive both the lava and Hale’s attack. Seriously? The proposal was bad enough, but did you really need to add guilt to all her heartbreak?

Fae of the Week

Trick described the demon horse in that illustration he keeps looking at as the Priapus. In Greek mythology, Priapus was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia.

Notes and Quotes

--Based on his burned appearance, I bet Massimo is the one who has the Origin Seed. Did he hire Vex to steal it for him?

--We finally have confirmation that Rainer is not the one who hired Tamsin and therefore not the real Wanderer. I pray that this revelation will snap some sense into Bo and she’ll sit Rainer down and demand some serious answers from him.

--The writers are continuing to try to turn Vex into this show’s version of Spike. As much as I appreciate the guy’s sense of fashion, he is no Spike, lacking the depth of character and tolerable fake accent.

--I did not see the Dyson/Tamsin hook up coming. Which is odd, because I expected Tamsin to be a love interest for Dyson when she was first introduced.

--Kenzi told Bo about giving Massimo the twig in ‘Turn to Stones’, which explains why he jumped into the lava. He knew the twig would keep him alive, although not unharmed.

Kenzi: "We called him Mopey Dick."

Kenzi: "No. You don't know. Before I met Bo I lived off what I could steal and I... I was in some situations not only that I am ashamed of, but I can't even believe that I survived."

Acacia: "Hands off the leather."
Bo: "That's my line."
Harvey: "Catfight!"

Kenzi: "Seriously, would I leave a dead body on the floor if her boyfriend was coming over?"

Kenzi: "You know, I always thought you were a victim. I always thought you were scared, but you aren't scared. You're just a coward who doesn't value herself so you cannot value your own children. Goodbye."

Three out of four shelves for all the awards Ksenia Solo justly deserves.
---
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.

3 comments:

  1. Great thoughts, Mark. You know, I did not cry. And I'm a crazy easy crier, so that's saying a fair amount about the place this show has me in these days. Sigh. I am sad for Kenzie, because I hate to see her in so much pain. And Ksenia Solo definitely brought the pain in those closing moments. But I'm not sad that Hale is dead.

    If Hale from seasons past was dead, I'd be a hell of a lot sadder. But this season really diminished his character for me. He used to be an interesting guy with numerous facets, but this season the writers pretty much reduced him to "Kenzie's love interest" and that's all. They took away the things that were great about him, and what initially made his potential pairing with Kenzie have potency, and threw it out the window. By they time they finally got together, I didn't even care. They no longer worked for me as a couple, and so his big death did almost nothing for me. In a strange way, that makes me a lot sadder than losing Hale.

    My hubby groaned loudly when the zombies showed up. Really? Do we have to do zombies? Nothing else about that side plot worked either. Erg.

    Best development: Rainer is not the Wanderer. Yea! This could go in some intriguing directions.

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  2. I did cry. Ksenia Solo rocks.

    What a relief that Bo is under some sort of spell or something. She had to be.

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  3. Jess, I agree with you about how badly the writers have handle Hale's character. For the past two seasons they've had no idea what to do with him. They made him the Ash only to forget about him while this season, as you said, he has existed mainly as a love interest for Kenzi. I'm sad to see him go, but at least Tamsin won't be fighting with him for screentime now.

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