Welcome to my first review of the TV show Lost Girl, which ran from 2010 to 2016. It’s about a woman named Bo, who finds out the reason she keeps waking up next to dead lovers is because she’s a succubus who needs to drain energy from the living in order to survive. And that’s just the start; this series takes Bo (and us) on a wild ride to uncover her past and fight the ultimate evil. Sounds a bit like Buffy, you say? Well, there are similarities; both shows have kick-ass (but flawed) female protagonists, both are what you might call “sex-positive”, and both are adept in the use of snark. But I wouldn’t say Lost Girl is a Buffy clone … more of a natural successor. You may disagree, of course, but I look at Buffy and Lost Girl as two separate entities, both of which are great shows in their own right. So I hope you’ll join me every Wednesday as I review Lost Girl episodes. If you’re already a fan, I hope these reviews will bring back some fond memories, and if you’re new to the show, maybe you’ll become a fan. Okay, enough talk, on with the show!
Episode 1 (It’s a Fae Fae Fae Fae World)
We meet Bo right away, working as a bartender and getting hit on by a sleazy dude. Of course, bartenders get hit on all the time (especially the good-looking ones), but this guy is extra scummy; he Roofies a drink and offers it to Bo. I’m not sure how he thought that would work…was he gonna jump behind the bar and fuck her when she passed out? It doesn’t matter, since Bo refuses the drink. But Mr. Scuzzbag isn’t done yet. He spots another likely “candidate” (Kenzi) who’s lifting wallets from unsuspecting patrons. She takes the free drink, then leaves. Of course, Mr. Roofie follows her, but Bo’s been watching and is obviously suspicious. In the elevator, Kenzi starts to feel the Roofie and Mr. Sleaze puts the moves on her. But the elevator door opens and Bo is waiting. She gets on and tells the dude she was playing hard to get and that she wants a kiss. Naturally, Mr. Horny goes for it and Bo drains his life force, killing him.
Kenzi’s pretty out of it by this time, but she manages to record it on her cellphone. Bo’s ready to take off, but goes back to get Kenzi.
Two cops (Dyson and Hale) show up to investigate the dead guy in the elevator, but we soon realize these are no ordinary cops. They seem to know the guy was killed by supernatural means—though they aren’t sure exactly how—and they make reference to keeping the murder secret from “humans”, which makes us think these guys aren’t human. They talk to the manager at the bar and get a line on Bo.
Back at Bo’s place she’s packing all her shit (including a bunch of fake IDs) and burning the clothes she was wearing. The methodical way she’s going about it makes it plain that this ain’t the first time she’s had to do this. Kenzi wakes up and Bo tries to convince her she hallucinated the whole scene in the elevator (“eating some dude’s face” as Kenzi puts it), but Kenzi checks her phone and knows it really happened.
Kenzi freaks but tries to understand what’s up with Bo; unfortunately, Bo doesn’t even know what her deal is. When Kenzi suggests they try to talk like normal people, Bo reminds her that she ain’t exactly normal. Kenzi agrees, saying that normal people don’t help strangers. This gives us an early clue to Bo’s personality; in spite of not knowing what she is, thinking herself a freak, and being afraid of getting caught, she has an altruistic streak that always comes through.
At the police station, Dyson and Hale check out the video from the parking garage and see Bo leaving the elevator, then going back for Kenzi. Dyson correctly guesses she was helping Kenzi, and probably saved her from getting raped. They put a trace on Bo’s license plate. At a restaurant, Bo and Kenzi bond over milkshakes. Kenzi gives Bo one of those quizzes like
kids used to hand each other in school (Bo’s answer is to call Kenzi a tool); Kenzi then wonders if Bo’s a vampire (you’re getting warmer Kenz). Bo tells her about the hunger that consumes her. She’s driven to drain people’s life force and, although she’s tried to fight it, she always ends up giving in…after which she has to run away again. Bo then demonstrates a side-effect of her power by “charming” the waitress into letting them go without paying. I say charm, but it’s more of a “love potion” type thing, as the waitress looks like she’s ready to bang Bo right then and there.
Dyson and Hale are hanging out in a bar and Dyson tells Hale one of the waitresses is hot for him. As soon as Hale goes to hit on her, Dyson has a very cryptic conversation with Trick, the bar owner. They seem to have some suspicions about who (or what) Bo might be. Going by what’s revealed in later episodes, I’m wondering just how much each of them 
knows; at the very least, Trick probably has a pretty good idea who Bo is, but I’m not sure how much Dyson knows at this point. Trick says they just have to wait and see what happens and that they can’t fight fate, but Dyson says Trick can fight fate. Another telling remark! That makes me think the creators had Trick’s background worked out pretty well already.
Back on the street, Bo is explaining her “love potion” power to Kenzi, who offers to be her manager. I’m not sure what Kenzi has in mind…travelling around fleecing rubes? Hitting Vegas? Going into politics? (Nah, too sleazy.) Bo’s not really down with Kenzi being her shill and we get one of those great dialogue exchanges that’ll be a hallmark of this series: “Oh my God, you are so emo!” Bo: “Excuse me?” Kenzi: “Learn to enjoy your shit already. You can frickin’ control people by touch…and not in a creepy handjob way.” Yeah, the first time I saw this, I was already loving Kenzi. Bo seems ready to change her mind, but they get jumped by Dyson and Hale. Kenzi’s knocked down (but not out) by Hale’s “whistling” power and Bo is stunned. They bundle her into a van and take off, but Kenzi records the license plate on her cellphone.
Dyson and Hale take Bo to see their boss, The Ash, who interrogates her, trying to figure out what Fae clan she’s from and which side she’s aligned to. He soon realizes she has no idea about the Fae and has no clan or allegiances. They’re interrupted by his opposite number, The Morrigan.
She’s played (perfectly) by Emmanuelle Vaugier, who usually plays “good guys”, but is great as the self-centered, snotty Morrigan, leader of the Dark Fae. She almost starts some shit and Bo finally sees that Dyson isn’t really human when he grows fangs and almost bites a dude’s face off. A doctor named Lauren, who arrived with The Morrigan, tries to defuse the tension by saying she needs to examine Bo. Meanwhile, Kenzi is calling her mobbed-up cousin to trace the license plate of the van that took Bo. It’s interesting to see Kenzi’s loyalty to Bo already; she hardly knows her, and is kinda scared of her, but she’ll do her damnedest to rescue her. That loyalty is another long-running feature of the series.
Lauren examines Bo (very closely!) and we get the first hint of sexual tension between them. I’ve always leaned more toward “team Lauren” than “team Dyson”, so it’s interesting to see the genesis of their relationship here. Frankly, Lauren comes off as a bit of a nerd here (maybe that’s why I like her), acting all flustered around Bo.
That aspect of Lauren’s personality lessened (or disappeared) later, but I kinda like it, and I don’t think it’s all due to Bo’s “love potion” power either; there’s a genuine attraction there. Lauren explains to Bo (and to the viewers) about the Fae, how each of them is allied to either the Light or Dark side, and tells Bo that she can drain people’s life because she’s a succubus. She also says she might be able to help Bo control her hunger so she can feed without killing. Meanwhile, The Ash and The Morrigan are discussing what to do with Bo; both of them seem to think killing her would be the best option. (When I first watched this show, I expected The Ash to act like a “good guy” since he’s the head of the Light Fae, but most of the time he’s almost as big an asshole as The Morrigan.) Lauren tells Bo she’ll have to pick a side to belong to, and that she’s going to be tested. Bo tries to “charm” Lauren and escape, but doesn’t get far.
Kenzi’s cousin comes through with the info on the van; it’s registered to the glass factory where Bo’s “test” is going to take place. I’m not sure why Dyson and Hale would drive a van from the glass factory…do they spend a lot of time there? It almost seems like plot convenience. At the factory, The Morrigan tries to convince Bo to join the Dark Fae (apparently, it includes dental), if she survives the test. We get another great line from Bo: “Not to interrupt your, um…crazy, but who are you?” The Morrigan tries to appeal to Bo’s desire to stop running and belong somewhere. Kenzi finds the factory and looks for a way inside.
As Bo’s being taken to fight, Dyson tells her he doesn’t think she has a chance. He’s being all surly and terse (which is kinda his thing) and Bo asks what his problem is. He says, “Kiss me.” and she replies, “Wow, are you bad at reading women.” But he’s just offering her some of his power to strengthen her for the fight; since he’s not human, she can feed off him without killing him. She sucks some life energy out of him and apparently it’s some goooood shit, cause she says, “It’s like the 4th of July in my mouth!” (notice she didn’t say “…and everyone’s coming.”) I’m not sure why Dyson offered to help Bo here; I don’t think he has the hots for her yet, so I’m assuming he’s doing it as a favour to Trick. When Bo walks into the main testing area, the catwalks above are crowded with jeering Fae.
As Bo fights a big, trollish-looking guy (and kills him), Kenzi finds a way into the factory. Bo’s next opponent takes her by surprise. It’s a pain-eater and it takes her away to a nice, peaceful place and offers to end all her troubles. Kenzi makes her way toward the fight, unseen by anyone except Trick; he does nothing to stop her…in fact, he seems happy she’s there. But how would Trick even know who Kenzi was? Did he guess she was there to save Bo, and that’s why he’s happy? Bo is considering the pain-eater’s offer of eternal sleep after it tells her she’s an abomination and that no one needs her. Of course, that’s when Kenzi shows up and gets captured. She yells for Bo to wake up and it gets through, shaking Bo out of the pain-eater’s trance. Bo rescues Kenzi (and is really good at throwing a knife, considering she’s never been trained). When asked which side she wants to join, Bo says she’ll stick with the humans. The Ash and The Morrigan seem ready to kill her, but Trick convinces them to hold off for the time being. This makes me think Trick knew exactly who Bo was right from the start.
Dyson lets Bo and Kenzi go but tells Bo she can’t leave evidence of her kills, get involved in Fae business, or leave town. Of course, she’ll break all those rules at some point. Dyson also says she can call him if she needs anything. After he leaves, Bo tells Kenzi they’re partners now and have to figure out what to do with their lives. Kenzi’s cool with that, but makes it clear she’s only into dudes. I remember reading an interview with Michelle Lovretta where she said that line (about Kenzi only liking guys) was very important, as it let everyone know that Bo and Kenzi would be friends with no romantic/sexual connotations. As it turns out, they end up being almost like sisters, but I’m sure there’s plenty of Bo/Kenzi slashfic out there. I kinda like them as just friends though; they complement each other perfectly.
So, that’s the first episode. A wild ride, but they managed to introduce a bunch of characters (many of whom will be around for the whole series) and set up the conflict between the Light and Dark Fae without having to delve to deeply into a bunch of esoteric bullshit. Bo’s decision not to join either side wasn’t exactly shocking (I think I called it the first time I saw this episode), but it was a good decision. Bo’s used to being on her own, and both sides are treating her like a chess pawn, so it makes sense she wouldn’t be eager to join either one. And it makes sense from a dramatic standpoint too, since it gives the writers more leeway to explore Bo’s relationships with both sides. As I mentioned before, it’s sometimes hard to tell who the “good guys” are supposed to be, so maybe by joining neither side, Bo’s choosing the greater good? We’ll see what happens in the next episode.