#dybo

Written by: Jeremy Boxen

Directed by: Steve DiMarco

Original Air Date: December 5, 2010

Almost exactly 10 years ago today, Lost Girl episode 1x08 - Vexed aired for the first time on Showtime.

It’s been a while, but I’m finally back on my Lost Girl bullshit.

The second to last episode of Season 1 has Bo and Dyson being all domestic and nauseatingly square and heterosexual, where they go undercover with Kenzi to a rich country club where illegal immigrant employees have been disappearing.

YIKES! What a loaded episode. 

And you know what, in honor of an evil megalomaniacal racist guilty of countless crimes against humanity being elected out of the office of US president, I’m gonna post my first Lost Girl Rewatch blg post in months. Yee haw!

I’m pretty sure Kenzi and Hale represent the entire Lost Girl fandom at this moment. This screenshot is so memetic, honestly. So accurate.

Kenzi and Hale, like the rest of us, are fed up with all this boring heterosexual nonsense, and make a bet on when Bo and Dyson will break up again.

For the record, I do support heterosexuality on this show. But only when it’s Kenzi and Hale. I adore them.

So some tree monster is nabbing illegal immigrant employees at a rich white people country club.

To be honest, this episode doesn’t ever delve too deeply into the political and social issues it’s nodding to. It never refers to the illegal immigrants as anything other than “illegals” or “foreigners” when referencing discrimination, and so it doesn’t directly address the issue of racism even though it’s clearly at play--most if not all of the illegal immigrants we see are from Latin America, Kenzi goes undercover as a Venezuelan, and all the country club members are rich white people. The show doesn’t directly acknowledge this even though it wants us to make the connection. It also doesn’t make clear what country we are in. Lost Girl tries to keep it’s location ambiguous throughout its run, so we don’t quite know if we’re in the US or Canada. But...I mean, come on. My money is on Canada.

Let me just explain the Fae of the Week up front: it’s called a “landwyght,” and it is bound to a piece of land on which it periodically feeds on the inhabitants to then fertilize said land with their remains. The remaining inhabitants on the land then reap enormous rewards in the form of riches, promotions, abundant plant growth, and so on. In this case, the landwyght periodically feeds off illegal immigrant employees so that the country club members reap riches.

I feel like it’s pretty obvious they were trying to create some kind of bloated metaphor here a la old school Buffy, where the rich white members of the country club are literally feeding off the sacrifices of the immigrant employees and becoming richer and richer while the sacrifices get swept under the table and forgotten.

But to be honest, I feel like it could have been executed better. The whole thing feels pretty half-assed, and the immigrant employees themselves--the actual victims--are never front and center where they should be. The main focus of our concern is Kenzi, who isn’t a real immigrant, only one in disguise. They only get a parting gift at the end of the episode when Bo lets them rise up and kill the monster. It’s lame at best. Feels very much like a white person wrote this in 2010. I do appreciate the effort, though.

Anyway, an old friend of Kenzi’s from her street days asks for help since his cousin Thumper is one of the employees who went missing. Bo cheekily asks if his cousin is a rabbit, to which the guy replies that it’s just a street name.

“This one’s name was Meow Meow,” he says of Kenzi.

So Bo and Dyson go undercover as a ritzy husband and wife while Kenzi goes undercover as an employee.

Bonus screenshot of Dyson teasing Kenzi and Kenzi flipping Dyson off. Later on in the episode, you will see the characters having a serious conversation about the case while Kenzi and Hale tease and swat at each other in the background, and it just feels very organic. One of the things I always liked about this show was how much the characters felt like real friends.

Creepy groundskeeper staring at Kenzi from the trees. Come on, it’s obviously him. They should already be on this guy’s ass. It’s him! Hello! The creepy groundskeeper!

What’s-her-face is the Chair of the Board of something or other, and her rival basically tells her that she’s going to unseat her. She makes this face when she says that she was afraid of that. Oh, dear.

Oh.

This is her whacking the woman in the back of the head with a golf club and knowingly letting the monster eat her, by the way.

So anyway, Saskia randomly shows up at Bo’s door with a charming sassy insult, as she does. God love her. Only Inga Cadranel could make the character this charming and yet this terrifying at the same time. She’s brilliant.

While Kenzi and Hale are searching the director’s office undercover, Hale tries to turn it into a sexy moment, which Kenzi quickly rebuffs with, “This is not a sexy undercover moment!” It’s another early cute moment.  🥺

Dyson is territorial and tells Bo that he doesn’t want to share her. Blah-dy-blah-dy-blah.

He then tells her that since she is a succubus, it is not in her nature to be monogamous. His exact words.

Bo replies, smartly, that she is more than just her species.

Way to go and mansplain to Bo what is and isn’t “in her nature,” Dyson. And good for Bo for basically telling him that that whole line of thinking is dangerous, untrue, and stupid. Like, WAY dangerous, untrue, and stupid.

Dyson admits that he is territorial and dumb. I do appreciate that, at least. He can see his own flaws. Whether or not he will make efforts to change is another story, but at least he recognizes is shortcomings, unlike Lauren.

Bo tells Dyson that the only way their relationship can work is if there are no secrets between them. Dyson guiltily agrees, but he and Trick are still keeping something big from her.

Dyson tells Trick that he is going to tell Bo everything if Trick doesn’t. Obviously, Trick is a prick about it.

So it turns out that it’s actually NOT the groundskeeper. Okay, fair enough. But still, it was driving me nuts all episode that he was the obvious culprit and it took them until the very end to question him. They could have narrowed their options and found out it was this lady a lot sooner.

Aaaand in the end, Saskia walks up to the precinct and assaults Dyson while he’s waiting for Bo. She declares that she is the one Dyson is looking for.

After Bo arrives and Saskia leaves, with Dyson dying on the floor, Bo manages to give Dyson some life energy back, mastering a new succubus skill that she once saw Saskia perform. We learn that Saskia’s real name is Aife, and she’s someone that Dyson knows.

Not Lauren. Not Dyson. Not Tamsin.

Written by: Peter Mohan

Directed by: Robert Lieberman

Original Air Date: November 28, 2010

Oops. I missed a week. Sorry :( I’m back with episode 1x11.

Dyson gets framed for murdering some Dark Fae, and the gang has to prove him innocent.

Hey, remember the club, guys? Remember what that was like? Also Vex is back. Yay.

I wish my kitchen looked that fancy. I can’t keep vegetables that fresh. Their setup only looks like it will produce tasty food, though, because apparently they can’t cook for shit.

I am excited enough to see Hale that I took this screenshot for no reason.

But anyway, Bo and Kenzi are of course investigating the crime, as they do, while Dyson invokes sanctuary back at the Dal. Which basically means that Trick clears the whole bar out and lets Dyson hang out there for some amount of time where the Dark Fae can’t immediately come after him for killing one of their own.

They end up back at the club that Dyson woke up next to, which is Vex’s club. They start to suspect Vex may have something to do with framing Dyson for the murder. I can’t imagine why.

Vex makes a comment about how “another killer in the room (Bo) adds to the excitement,” to which Kenzi fiercely replies that Bo isn’t a killer. Vex is skeptical, considering how many people she has killed over the years, and suggests that he and Bo compare “scores.”

That hit below the belt.

Evony arrives at the Dal to pick up Dyson, in spite of sanctuary, because she has decided that the rules don’t apply to her. “Just think of me as a VIP,” she says. “I do.”

What a queen. Listen, is she wrong? Do the rules apply to Evony? Need they?

She has such queen energy that I love every time she shows up, even if she does absolutely nothing except make snarky comments. You have to appreciate the dominating energy of the woman in charge of the entire darker half of the supernatural underworld. She eventually backs off though.

Meanwhile, to Bo’s surprise, Lauren shows up at the precinct to discuss the case with her and Hale. (Hale invited her, and didn’t think to tell either of them that the other would be there, because he has no idea what’s going on between them.)

Bo is still pissed as fuck. I didn’t bother getting a screenshot, but the glare she gives Lauren is just as withering as it was last time.

So Lauren does...science-y stuff, I guess. I don’t really listen to what she’s saying when she talks about her science shit. I think Lauren is suggesting that Dyson turn himself in to the Dark Fae, though? So they can compare bite marks or something? Okay, I just rewatched the scene. Lauren suggests that Dyson turn himself in and wait while they go through a whole forensics analysis of the scene to determine his innocence (not acknowledging the possibility that evidence against Dyson may have been planted). Bo is like, “fuck no.” Lauren claims that in spite of the fact that she and Dyson “haven’t always been on the best of terms,” she is “actually trying to help here.”

It doesn’t end well. It’s awkward.

Hmm...*narrows eyes* Wait.

Stick around, Lauren fans. You’ll love this. I’m analyzing Lauren.

Lauren’s solutions to problems are always very...clinical. They’re clinical without fail, often to the point of being...not good solutions.

Lauren’s solution to Dyson’s problem--being accused of murder--is to have him turn himself in so that they can run tests and have the evidence prove him innocent. This is such a clearly half-assed idea, I don’t even really know why she suggested it. This idea is like if you could not care less about Dyson or this entire situation at all but you were dragged into being a part of the brainstorming session and you were forced to contribute something. It scans as laziness. Like either Lauren’s brain is too exhausted to put any energy whatsoever into trying to help Dyson, or she actually doesn’t care about him at all and is only there out of obligation and because of Bo. Hm.

Lauren’s solutions to problems don’t just rely on science, I get she’s a scientist and those are the skills she brings to the table. She goes a step farther. Her solutions are always devoid of emotion. Think about why that is.

I mean, turning Dyson in to the Dark Fae is objectively a terrible idea, first of all because they would one hundred percent immediately string him up and torture him for information. (Which is exactly what they do later in the episode!) Lauren is not stupid. She’s a smart gal. She should know this. If she knows that Dyson would be tortured, why would she suggest he turn himself in unless she has absolutely no emotional investment in his physical or mental wellbeing whatsoever? Again, it’s a clinical solution that treats the people involved as though they are pieces in a puzzle.

Second of all, Lauren suggests they run a bunch of tests and rely on forensic evidence to determine whether or not Dyson is innocent. She says, “Hopefully [the animal hairs on the body] won’t match Dyson’s DNA, and hopefully we’ll get [the results] on time.” 

“That’s way too many ‘hopefully’s,” Bo snaps back.

Lauren doesn’t seem that concerned with whether the hairs do or don’t match Dyson’s DNA. I mean, “hopefully” they won’t, but she is content to take the risk, let the situation play out, and let the evidence speak.

But she is also completely ignoring the possibility that even if the evidence incriminates Dyson, it might have been planted there by whoever is trying to frame him. What then? There would be no way to prove that it was planted in time--the Dark Fae would instantly execute him, and no one could stop them because he’d be in their custody. Even a cursory review of Lauren’s half-assed, not-thought-out plan reveals that it’s past risky and more in the realm of stupid.

So you tell me. I’m more interested in hearing what anyone else has to say about her than writing what I think. What is the deal with Lauren? Why is she like this? Is she so cold and unfeeling that she doesn’t have any concern for the physical and emotional wellbeing of others? Does she just not give a fuck about Dyson specifically? Or is she so burnt out and exhausted by the mental strain of her job and her enslavement that she can’t summon any emotional energy whatsoever, and has to completely rely on cold logic to offer anything at all?

I said Lauren fans would like this because I was analyzing her, but I neglected to mention that I would also be dunking on her. Sorry if you were duped. I feel like I offered her a way out at the end there, though. Give me all your pro-Lauren arguments if you feel so inclined.

Anyway, Bo and Hale have a nice little mini-conversation afterwards. Hale confesses that he once thought Bo might be bad for Dyson, that she’d break his heart or he’d destroy himself for her.

He tells her he was wrong, and that she’s “the real deal.” How sweet.

The only witness to the crime is apparently this human girl named Porscha, who reminds Kenzi a lot of herself. Porscha is also young, on the streets, and a runaway from a bad home situation. 

I don’t really care about her or like her as a character, but I do appreciate that her presence prompts Kenzi to drop a few more tidbits of information about her past here and there. For instance, she mentions that she’s been on her own since she was 15, which seems like a long time but is actually only like four years because Kenzi is 19 and therefore a literal baby. 

More interesting is this exchange. Porscha comments that it must be nice that Kenzi and Bo have each other. Kenzi responds a little awkwardly. She agrees that it is nice, but then she says that she’s still getting used to it. She’s still getting used to “being noticed.” Because when she was at home, she says, it was always better to not be noticed. “That’s when things got ugly.”

Yeah. So as if we didn’t already know, Kenzi comes from an abusive home. A home that was so awful that it was better to run away and be on the streets at 15. Then she was completely alone for four years, and homeless for that entire time. 

Think about it. Living with Bo like this must feel so odd. Kenzi has never lived in a house with another person before where it actually felt like a home and she actually felt safe. The way she sort of averts her eyes, tenses a little bit when she says she’s still getting used to it (Ksenia is fantastic as always by the way) is such a realistic portrayal of a response to recovery from trauma.

The way I like to think of it is this. Going from being in a long-term traumatic situation to being in a safe and loving situation is kind of like putting a frostbitten hand in warm water. Warming it up is good, it’s healing, but when your hand is so used to being cold, warming it up is going to hurt like hell. Recovering from trauma is kind of like that. Good things can hurt, especially when you’re not used to them.

But it doesn’t hurt quite so bad for Kenzi that she’s ready to flee and go back to being alone the streets, which is what is familiar to her. It just seems like it’s mildly uncomfortable. And that’s good. Because it means she can get used to being loved and having a family.

Jesus, why am I writing these things every week, they’re so long. LMAO help

So the episode ends with the reveal that it was the bartender all along! GASP! Side note: the whole reason this episode happened is because this bartender, who is clearly an adult man (physically in his 20s or 30s but actually much older since I assume he’s Fae?) was apparently “in love” with the human girl Porscha, who, based on her conversations with Kenzi, is definitely supposed to be a teenager. And also based on her conversations with Kenzi, Porscha has even “stayed over a few times” at his place. Can you say creepy? Adult man taking advantage of a young girl on the street who has no family and nowhere else to go? Grooming her? Just saying.

In a moment that I find somewhat disturbing and rather cold, the main gang all walk out and leave the bartender to be (most likely) brutally tortured and murdered by Vex and the Morrigan. That’s him up there. I mean, I know the Dark Fae are a practically untouchable political powerhouse, and there’s not really anything Bo and the others could do, but still. They totally just left this guy to his death.

But significantly, the episode ends with Bo and Dyson sharing a kiss, as they reaffirm their feelings for one another, and seemingly enter an official romantic relationship.

Oh boy! How cute. :) I wonder what’s next for these two.

Surely not heartbreak and suffering?

Written by: Emily Andras

Directed by: John Fawcett

Original Air Date: October 31, 2010

In which I claim to have nothing to say about this episode but spend a long time ranting about Lauren and Dyson’s pettiness and other things anyway.

Bo and Kenzi begin to have their first little squabbles as roommates. Then a supernatural giant spider gets unleashed in their house, bites them, and turns them into paranoid homicidal maniacs. The house is quarantined so they can’t get out, and their only choices are kill the spider and free themselves from its spell or die in a fire, if they don’t kill each other first.

“It sounds like whispering kids or giggling elves. Did you bring elves home last night? I’m not judging, I just want to know.”

Original Air Date: November 7, 2010

Written by: Michelle Lovretta

Directed by: John Fawcett

Okay, so. Vexed.

This is the original pilot. I don’t think they necessarily presented it as the first episode chronologically—more like, this is what you can expect from our show. Showcase picked it up and it went to series. Vexed became episode 1x08. You can find more info about it in this interview with Michelle Lovretta and Jay Firestone.

Anyway, this episode was shot earlier than the rest, and you can tell. Makeup and styling is different, and they hadn’t quite settled on the tone they eventually went with. As such, this episode is a bit grittier than normal. I find it interesting both for its different tone and for the fact that many of the decisions they made for the episode were made in the interest of selling the concept to Showcase.

This fucking article is great and is a much better review of this episode and why it’s so god damn good than my shit below. It also provides an extremely detailed look into...exactly what I just described above. All of the behind-the-scenes production stuff. Check it out.

The premise: Bo finds a lead on someone who might know about her mother--a falsely accused death row inmate named Lou Ann. Bo vows to prove her innocence in exchange for answers, but her quest leads her into contact with a vicious Dark Fae named Vex.

Hello! I’m Maddie, and I’m a huge fan of the show Lost Girl (2010-2013).

I first watched the show when I was in high school, around the time when Season 3 had just finished airing, and now I’m a few years older than Kenzi! Wild.

I more or less completely fell off the bandwagon and haven’t seen the show at all since probably 2015. But memory is a pretty powerful thing. To this day, I still consider Lost Girl to be one of my favorite shows and have fond memories of it, in spite of how it was tragically, prematurely cancelled after its third season and how they went on to make a couple of horrendous fan seasons. I have been meaning to rewatch it for a while now, and in the interest of sparing my friends my screaming about it, I decided I may as well make a sort of rewatch liveblog in case absolutely anyone out there is interested in hearing the take of an old fan jumping back in after having not seen it for some time.

I don’t have a set schedule at this time, nor am I sure how consistent I will be. Some episodes may draw full essays out of me, while others might not warrant much commenting on. Feel free to ask me anything!

There will probably be spoilers. My intention is to share my thoughts from the perspective of someone who has seen the show before. I will try to limit full-on discussion of late-game events in earlier episodes, but part of the fun for me will be viewing the show through the lens of being quite familiar with the characters and with the many things that eventually happen to them, as well as having a full overview of the show. However, there might be people out there who have not seen the show before but would be interested in watching it while reading this blog, and if there was more interest in a spoiler-free episode-by-episode analysis/thought dump I would definitely be open to that. Lemme know what you think.

I considered waiting until next year to do this since it would be right in time for the tenth anniversary of the pilot airing, but then I figured, eh, fuck it!

Lastly, I want to make clear that this will be an anti-Lauren and anti-Doccubus blog. Having not seen the show in some time, I truly intend on coming in to it ready to have a fresh perspective. However, I vehemently disliked this character and pairing when I was a hardcore fan way back when, and I do not anticipate liking her or it now. If that bothers you, and I totally understand if it does, do not follow.

Written by:  Emily Andras

Directed by: John Fawcett

Original Air Date:  October 17, 2010

It’s Emily Andras’s first episode, and it’s good. Bo gets solicited (kidnapped) for a job by some Dark Fae. They want her to find some guy who cheated at gambling and walked away with their money. Meanwhile, Dyson continues to be gross, the overarching plot progresses, and Kenzi is still the best character.