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Lost Girl 3.06 “The Kenzi Scale” TV REVIEW
VERDICT This is an absolutely glorious episode, filled with deliciously juicy plotty moments and wonderful character development – nowhere more touching than when Bo is setting off to rescue Kenzi and tells Tamsin that her friend means so much to her because she is “her heart”. Kenzi, for her part, refuses to give up on Bo and knows she'll rescue her despite the odds. The friendship between the two women is the core of Lost Girl and, after so many weeks of Bo being distracted by her new girlfriend, it's lovely to see that the two BFFs still mean so much to each other. Altogether now: “Awwww!”
There's some great stuff going on with Tamsin, too, as we see her being ordered around by The Morrigan but eventually lying to her – is she moving from Dark Fae to Light Fae, thanks to the influence of her new companions? I hesitate to call them “friends”, but given that Tamsin helped Bo out so much this week, there's no way there'll be so much hate from now onwards. And kudos, too, for the writers and Rachel Skarsten for imbuing what could have been a one-note, bitchy character with so much depth after so few episodes.
The only thing that doesn't quite work, alas, is the episode's final revelation, and the one that's been building for the whole of this season so far: what's wrong with Bo? It turns out that she's, uh, “de-evolving”, and has to go through a trial to stay the Fae she is, rather than becoming the mutated monster like the one living in Trick's cellar (why on Earth is that guy there, by the way, other than for him to show Bo?). It's a bit of a disappointment after such a compelling build-up, and frankly Bo's already gone through enough trials on the show – another one seems a little superfluous. Oh well, let's see how it's handled; perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised!
WHO'S THAT GIRL? This week's “kickin’ ass in the role” award goes to Ksenia Solo for playing Not-Kenzi so brilliantly: she's a twitchy, tormented, primal beast, totally fruit-bat crazy, and shows just how good Solo can be when she's let loose.
FAE OF THE DAY Inari, a fox-Fae otherwise known as a Kitsune. At one point Bo visits a fox-Fae frat house and the girls there wear little fox motifs on their clothing, which is a wonderful throwaway gag.
LOVE TRIANGLE LATEST Bo and Lauren aren’t on very good terms by the end of the episode thanks to Lauren failing to trust her, although you can't really blame Lauren given Bo's recent weird behaviour. You know things are going to hell in a handbasket when Lauren calls Bo “sweetie” and it's like nails going down a blackboard...
KISS COUNT Bo and Tamsin have a smooch so Bo can recharge. Apparently Valkyrie are good meals, although they taste odd. So now we know.
VALKYRIES ARE FUGLY Tamsin's Valkyrie face isn't pretty, and nor are her powers, which can be used to confuse people and leave them befuddled. It's also interesting that she loses a clump of hair right after whammying Dyson – her powers obviously have a detrimental effect on her. Perhaps Valkyrie have short lifespans, and that's why she never bothers making friends with people?
WAS IT JUST ME, OR...? Did anybody else wonder exactly how Tamsin knew it wasn't really Kenzi? Nobody else could spot the difference (aside from Bo, and it took her a while), but Tamsin susses it out so quickly and with such certainty that she even breaks Bo out of prison to rescue the real Kenzi. The little conversation Tamsin and Not-Kenzi have at the start of the episode doesn't seem unreal or forced; they seem to loathe each other quite naturally. Did I miss something?
FULLY CLOTHED Dyson removes his shirt all the time – at work, at the gym, shopping for bog roll in the supermarket (possibly). But when we see him in bed, the one place where he should be shirtless, he's still wearing his vest. He's a strange chap, isn't he?
SEXUAL ATTRACTION Not-Kenzi throws herself at Dyson in some weird, Bizarro-world version of their otherwise platonic relationship, and Dyson – despite being in a mess thanks to just having had his brain fried – reacts with just the kind of shock we'd expect. Hurrah! I'm so glad the writers didn't have him sleep with her and then have weeks of weirdness between him and the real Kenzi... and it's adorable how freaked out Dyson is when he thinks he could have killed her. His hug of relief when Lauren confirms that he hasn't just killed his friend is heart-melting.
ALSO Not-Kenzi licking Dyson like a dog (or fox) is gross and really not sexy. Ugh.
BEST LINES
Bo, to Lauren (who doesn't believe her): “I will never forgive you for this.”
Or
Lauren: “I know the biochemical anatomy of my girlfriend!”
Jayne Nelson
Lost Girl season three will air in the UK on Syfy later in the year
