Contributor: Bronzethumb
Can the fifth episode of a show be called a “return to form”? Regardless, that’s exactly what this installment feels like, as the melodrama of the previous episode gets toned down considerably and the fun storytelling and wordbuilding are brought back to the fore.
In “Dead Lucky”, Bo’s neutrality is a story point again as she’s hired by a Dark Fae named Mayer with luck-based abilities who wants to know how an ordinary human has been winning bets. The investigation takes a sharp left turn into meat-suit and body-snatcher territory, and as usual, Bo, Kenzi and Dyson are in moral peril, but hanging over the whole case is Mayer’s promise of payment: a chance for Bo to visit a real-life oracle and find out about her family.
This particular case has even more interesting twists and turns than those of previous episodes. Beyond the usual tropes of consulting Dyson for police backup and putting the succubus mojo on a few potential suspects, Bo and Kenzi get the chance to consult with different species of Fae, visit the bad guy bar (well, Chinese restaurant) a few times, launch an undercover operation and uncover a good old fashioned man-behind-the-man. It’s not that previous cases were boring, but this one just seemed so much more interesting and engaging: the audience is inching closer to the edge of their seat, genuinely wanting to know how it’s all gonna play out. Part of that is due to there being a different kind of stake involved in the outcome.
This episode was also a fun new opportunity to explore Fae-world by getting Bo in the employ of the Dark Fae. Mayer comes across as opportunistic and greedy, much as you’d expect a bookie to be, but there isn’t the “evil” vibe that the audience would expect after several episodes of hearing about the Dark Fae. He’s definitely interesting, and as well-rounded as a one-shot guest character can be, and subverts – without anyone having to preach or monolog – the notion that Light vs. Dark is a simple conflict. We also get a nice introduction to a new type of Fae in the shinn, whose first appearance involved dancing around a morgue in the cadaver of an attractive young blonde, an image where the amusing thankfully outweighs the creepy. And the reveal that oracles exist within the “Lost Girl” universe – accurate ones, mind you – provides a great MacGuffin for the episode and will hopefully factor into stories further down the line.
There was also a great deal of good, solid character beats scattered throughout the episode, spread out between enough characters that it avoids the melodramatic feel of the previous episode. Bo and Dyson are trying to feel out the limits of their new friendship-with-benefits, both transparently falling for the other in their own way but with a genuine story-based obstacle in their path (or at least, every hint seems to indicate this). In a fun, light-hearted show, it’s a surprisingly mature take on the Official Couple’s relationship. What makes it even more interesting are the tiny, throwaway moments where the audience can see what kind of toll this is taking on Dyson, physically and emotionally. It’s far more effective than some anguished declaration of unrequited love.
This was also a solid Kenzi episode, as she grapples with the realities of being a human in the Fae world and the sidekick to a badass succubus private eye. And despite the downer notes these moments tend to end on, Kenzi acquits herself very well by proving several times – during the poker game being a hilarious and well-done example – that supernatural superpowers are no match for brains. Her moments with Hale are also great, as he subtly gives us clues to his own character and journey by helping Kenzi deal with playing second-fiddle to an alpha dog personality.
On the whole, what the previous episode did to squander a cast of fun characters, this episode managed to reverse in spades with a slew of great beats and moments, mixed into the most engaging case-of-the-week yet and an interesting new glimpse into the Fae world. “Lost Girl” is definitely picking up the pace and proving itself a worthy addition to the Syfy stable.
Rating: 8/10
