Lost Girl 3.13 “Those Who Wander” TV REVIEW
Episode 3.13
Writer: Emily Andras
Director: Ron Murphy
THE ONE WHERE Bo and Tamsin launch a rescue attempt, Kenzi is saved by the Morrigan’s right-hand man, Dyson is a beast (grrrrrr!) and Lauren surprises everybody.
VERDICT What has surely been the best season of Lost Girl to date ends with an absolutely spectacular finale – this show hasn’t merely hit its stride this year, it’s strutting down the catwalk like a supermodel! I could be here all day listing the good stuff: Kenzi daringly calling the Morrigan “Chubs” to her face, Lauren’s sneaky double-cross, Dyson going full wolf again, Vex’s hilarious little cameo, the horrible cliffhanger (although I’m convinced that the Wanderer lifted Tamsin and Dyson out of that car before they crashed). Frankly, “Those Who Wander” could be the best episode of Lost Girl , full stop.
Much of it focuses upon the relationship between Bo and Tamsin, who team up to rescue Dyson before facing off in a bitchfight to end all bitchfights. Anna Silk and Rachel Skarsten are just extraordinary together, throwing their heart and soul into playing characters who are evenly matched in so many ways, and yet forced to be enemies (until Tamsin eventually stands down, as we always suspected she would – for all her badness, we’d been given too many hints that she was actually decent underneath). The tension between them as they spit insults at each other (“Baby Fae!” “Dead woman!”) is frankly astonishing, and the culmination of Tamsin’s plot arc really satisfying to watch. Again, as I’ve said before, it’s hard to remember the show before she became a part of it: she’s Lost Girl family now, whether she wants Bo dead or not.
There’s also a definite X-Men vibe to this episode’s main theme, with Doctor Taft (who we mistakenly called Doctor Felt last week – the IMDb got his name wrong, sorry) experimenting on Fae to make himself one of them; effectively, a human becoming a mutant. Shawn Doyle’s performance is really off the rails this week as his dastardly character nears his goal, turning him from a lab-coated annoyance into a moustache-twirling villain… but it works. At one point he looms over Dyson, tied to a lab table, in a distinctly Baron Frankenstein moment. “You should know better than to get attached to the lab rats,” he also tells Lauren, who’s helping one of his prisoners. Ouch! What a magnificent demise he has, too: ripped apart and presumably eaten by Dyson! That’ll teach him to mess with the Fae.
I’d been wondering if The Wanderer would turn out to be Bo’s mysterious father, and it seems this could be the case. It’s annoying that we have to wait for next season to find out more, though… But in case you haven’t heard, at least there will be a next season, with season four now commissioned. “Bo’s world is going to be turned upside down,” teases executive producer Jay Firestone. “Her beliefs will be challenged and her allegiances will be questioned. Fans can look forward to a roller coaster ride.” …Hang on, doesn’t this happen every year?
LOVE TRIANGLE LATEST Who knows what’s going on with Bo and Lauren now, but Dyson’s just the same as ever. Tune in next year for more exciting love-life developments!
NOT SO SHINY Most shows or films which feature people locked inside glass cages (and there are a lot of them around) make a point of keeping the glass as clean and fingerprint-free as possible, notably so the cages look high-tech and shiny. Not so Lost Girl ; these cages are filthy and grubby, far more in keeping with reality. Which makes them even creepier.
G’DAY, BRUCE Rob Archer has appeared in a few Lost Girl episodes as the hulking Bruce, the Morrigan’s bodyguard, but here he gets to show a softer side when he befriends Kenzi. “I have a PhD in Medieval Fae Verse,” he tells her rather adorably at one point, before getting confused later on when he hands her the keys to the Morrigan’s car. “I love you,” Kenzi exclaims. “I love you too, Kenzi,” Bruce replies. “I was talking to the car,” Kenzi points out. Bruce’s slumped shoulders and mortified expression almost make the entire episode.
HALE AND HEARTY As I suspected last week, Hale did indeed give Kenzi his good luck charm, saving her from torture (although it would have been nice to see it used a bit more; perhaps there were extra scenes that got cut out?). He also rescues Trick and sends him off to Scotland with his beau, Stella (check out this gorgeously framed camera shot!). Go Hale!
SHE’LL BE BACK Bo leaves her dying mother behind, only for Aife to go full succubus and feed off the poor woman nursing her. Her face as she does this is terrifying!
BAD TO THE BONE Dr Taft does lots of evil things, but nothing is quite as unnerving as him poking Lauren in the face with this bone.
BEST LINES (How can we even choose?)
Bo: “She’s dying...”
Amanda: “Also, split ends.”
Or…
Taft: “Hi. I'm Doctor Taft. How’s it hanging?”
Bo: “Judging by your pants, high and to the left.”
Or…
Tamsin: “Juice me.”
Bo: “You really need to learn how to share.”
Jayne Nelson
Lost Girl season three will air in the UK on Syfy from 23 April
