Lost Girl: Dark Horse

Well, Lost Girl, you totally ripped my heart out with “Dark Horse.” Heck, I’d even say you stomped all over it with Kenzi-style stilettos. You have been unpredictable and tumultuous this entire season, and now I must add cruel to the list. Just when I thought that I had figured out your game plan, you changed the game. So allow me to wipe the tears from my face and get right into this.

Being the Queen Ain’t All That
This episode pretty much confirmed that Bo is the Dark Queen, and Bo lets Trick know that the horsey priestesses claimed that her father is the Pyrippus. Bo’s father is trying to force Bo to give into the darkness by throwing challenge after challenge her way. Trick says that the identity of Bo’s father has been shrouded from him, but the Trickopedia does share this with Bo and Rainer: when his wife, Isabeau, died at the hands of the Dark Fae, his daughter Aoife attacked the Dark to avenge her mother’s death. As Blood King, Trick had to set an example, “to prove that his blood laws were infallible,” and he had no choice but to hand Aoife over to the Dark Fae. (Side note: Rainer didn’t know that Aoife was Bo’s mother until this point.) Trick had hoped that the Dark would execute his daughter, but they kept her imprisoned which eventually created the Aoife that we’ve all met. Trick goes on to say that his daughter has his Light Fae blood, the blood of a “Mage,” that drains life for nourishment and survival. The blood of Bo’s father, on the other hand, allows Bo to draw life from many victims and transfer that life force to someone else (which we saw as early as Season 3 when she brought Dyson back to life by taking chi from everyone else in the room). So basically, Bo is a hybrid.

Massimo interrupts and although Bo tries to fight him, he has all kinds of Fae powers that he just can’t control. Rainer’s foresight kicks into full gear and he tells Bo to let Tamsin know she can have his soul. Uh oh. With that, Massimo snaps Rainer’s neck.

Rainer’s death means that Tamsin is no longer on her last life, and she may have a chance to end her banishment from Valhalla for failing to deliver him the first time around. Speaking of Tamsin, she gives Bo a bit of tough love, which is Tamsin’s way of forcing Bo to stop wallowing and get things done. With Rainer’s demise, Bo believes she is now free of her Dark Fae contract, but I am pretty sure that being Dark is so much more than just a piece of paper, and ripping it up really is pointless. Dyson seems to agree with me, too. He swears fealty to Bo, and says that he wants to be by her side forever, no matter where her power comes from, and Bo responds that she wants him to serve with her, not for her, because he loves her. Tamsin walks in and hears the end of the conversation, and you can see the sadness / disappointment on her face.

Bo and Dyson head to the portal as an onslaught of Revenants begin to emerge. Bo takes their chi and goes all blue-eyed Dark Fae. Controlling the Dark Queen within her is going to be a challenge, and as I mentioned before, Dark or Light may not actually be a choice for Bo. Both exist within her.

The Heart of the Matter
Kenzi has struggled with her place in the Fae world and not quite fitting in. She even went to far as to make a deal with the vile Druid Massimo to become Fae, which ended up being a deadly snake oil scheme. After losing Hale and asking Bo to unclaim her, it almost looked as if Kenzi was walking away from it all. But Kenzi is loyal and good and could never truly walk away from this makeshift family. Her realization about her role in this world was liberating and sad and heroic all at the same time.

If you had told me at the start of this season that Kenzi would sacrifice herself to prevent the Apocalypse, I would have said, “She’s capable of it, but if anyone is going to step in and try to save the world, it’s going to be Dyson or Lauren.” In hindsight, there were some hints dropped that should have tipped me off that when it came down to Armageddon, it would be Kenzi that saves the world. One instance that comes to mind is in Episode 7 “La Fae Epoque.” The Una Mens have imprisoned Kenzi and Dyson for a crime that Dyson supposedly committed more than a century ago. For a few moments, Kenzi thinks she is near her end, and says that she always pictured herself going out hotel poolside somewhere like a rock star (I believe she mentioned Twizzlers and Liam Neeson in the mix as well). I think that you’d agree Kenzi went out in a much more spectacular fashion than she ever would have imagined.

Kenzi and Tamsin have a book that belonged to Rosette, Rainer’s soldier that was in collusion with Bo’s daddy. After a funny dig at Ikea, they come across these words: “The daughter’s heart will close the portal.” Kenzi’s immediately thinks that this means Bo will have to rip her own heart out to save everyone, but it’s not a literal “heart” in this case. She rips that page out of the book and holds on to it.

Although the exact words are never said, Kenzi does forgive Bo, and gives the Succubus the sword that killed Hale. Bo will do anything for Kenzi, including avenging the death of her bestie’s beau. Which brings me to …

Arrivederci Massimo, Part 2
Last episode, we learned that Massimo is Evony’s son, and Evony reveals that he was born from a dalliance she had with a human Wall Street type in the 80s. He is still trying to win over his mommy and wants to bring her Bo’s head, but as we already know, Evony has joined forces with Trick against forces that are much bigger than Dark or Light.

Long story short, Massimo continues his Gollum / Incredible Hulk struggle as he holds Lauren prisoner, and Bo arrives with some tricks up her sleeve – the power that Trick told her about earlier, and Evony. Massimo tries to use Hale’s Siren power on Bo, but Bo retaliates with a little Chi boomerang between Evony and Massimo. Massimo breaks the stream of chi and Bo ends up using his energy to save Evony. Bo slaps him for taking Hale’s life, and stabs him with the sword that Kenzi gave her, saying that was for breaking her best friend’s heart. Although Bo took Massimo’s life, she is shaken by it, which means the good in her is still strong. And of course I’m thrilled that Bo rescued Lauren!

Doc has Changed the Fae Landscape
Although she doesn’t have a ton of screen time in this episode, Lauren’s presence / influence is important. First, Bo puts on the necklace that she found in Lauren’s old apartment. I seem to think that there was more to this than just a gesture of Bo’s love for Lauren. Is there some type of power in that necklace? Oh, and that kiss before Bo heads into the battle at the portal is swoonworthy IMO! I think that their love will be one of the things that keeps Bo grounded.

Let’s also remember that Lauren has managed to make a Fae human – i.e. Evony. This is a huge threat to the Fae and they are going to have it in for her. Bo knows this, and Lauren knows this. I predict that Lauren’s ability to turn Fae into human is going to cause a lot of trouble, but I’m also wondering if there may be some Fae who would want to be human and would seek the Doc out.

Mackenzie “Kenzi” Malikov. Friend. Warrior. Heart.
On to the epic battle near the end of the episode. As Tamsin and Dyson are battling the Revenants, Trick joins them and says, “Time to stop dwelling on the past, and get to fixing the future.” The trio fight valiantly side by side, but the “good guys” are losing. Enter Kenzi – a gal who still manages to look fab although she’s about to face down the Apocalypse. Kenzi has searched for her purpose and realized that she is Bo’s “heart.” Her role is to keep Bo’s humanity in check. Kenzi is the one who keeps Bo in touch with her feelings, reminds her about the importance of love, and that family comes above all else. Kenzi has concluded that she must sacrifice herself to save the world. She wants to die fighting, a “warrior in battle,” and maybe she’ll even get to see Hale again on the other side. Kenzi also has complete faith that Bo will come to Valhalla and bring her back. Dyson tries to stop her, but it’s no use. She makes her way to the portal – noble, proud – and looks back for a moment before entering. Bo has arrived just in time to witness it all. At this point, Dyson’s reaction to it all has already started a lump in my throat. Bo is crying and yelling for Kenzi to stop, and when Kenzi looks at Bo and smiles despite the tears, I freakin’ LOST IT (and I didn’t stop crying until an hour later). Kenzi steps through the portal and after an explosion of light, the Revenants all collapse and the portal has closed. Tamsin runs to the rubble and finds Kenzi’s body. Tamsin goes into full on Valkyrie mode – the eyes go black, the wings are unleashed, and she leans over Kenzi. Tamsin’s wings wrap around Kenzi and they disappear.

Dyson later finds Tamsin outside of what I think are the Gates of Valhalla (there’s Runic writing), and Tamsin is distraught. Dyson seems to think that Tamsin will be able to guide Bo and Co. to Kenzi and bring her back from Valhalla, but Tamsin says no – Kenzi is gone, and they cannot allow Bo to find the “second hell shoe.” Hell shoe, you say? And here we get another reference to “La Fae Epoque” – a hell shoe was what had caused all of the trouble then and nearly got Dyson executed for the crime. It is also what helped create the Fae colony that Trick founded with Dyson’s help. Dyson carries Tamsin away from the gate.

The episode ends with Bo going to Kenzi’s grave with sunflowers. In a voiceover that turns into a monologue, Bo says there has been too much death, but she has to be strong. Bo vows that no one else will die on her watch. Kenzi is Bo’s courage and strength, and although there are forces that will challenge Bo, she will do whatever it takes to get Kenzi back. Oh, and the song that plays throughout this scene, “You” by Keaton Henson, couldn’t have been more perfect, and kudos to whoever made that choice. These lyrics have been haunting me since:

“If you must die, sweetheart
Die knowing your life was my life’s best part.”

I don’t think Bo could have said it better. OK, the tears are starting again …

Despite all of the tears and pain, I guess you can call me a masochist when it comes to Lost Girl, and you can be sure I’ll be back for more. But for now, I just need a hug!

Final thoughts:

• If there was one thing I was certain of in Season 4 is that we’d meet Bo’s father, but I’ve been proven wrong. Although the portal has been closed, I wonder if he may have escaped.
• How will Bo try to bring Kenzi back? Oh, and as sad as Hale’s death was, I’m now certain that Kenzi’s death was what the Leviathan was referring to.
• I refuse to accept that Kenzi is gone for good. Heck, if the Buffyverse’s Spike could sacrifice himself and still come back into play, anything is possible when it comes to Kenzi!
• One final thought that goes back to “La Fae Epoque” – what happened with the “Shadow Thief” training that Dyson promised Kenzi. Did this happen off camera and will this come into play?

What did you think of the Season 4 finale? I know there are several points that I didn’t even get a chance to address, but I’d love to discuss those – and everything else in this episode – with all of you in the comments below.

Photo Courtesy of Showcase