Lost Girl review – 4×01: ‘In Memoriam’

After what feels like forever, Lost Girl returns to debut season four. And just in case you can’t remember where we last left off in the S3 finale, you’re in luck because none of the characters do, either!

Let’s bitch it out…‘In Memoriam’ proves to be an interesting way to deal with the pregnancy of your lead actress: simply cut her out of the episode. Anna Silk was noticeably pregnant in the last few episodes of season three (and then presumably took a maternity leave), which explains why Bo is absent from the majority of the fourth season premiere. Her absence means that there’s a large gap at the center of the show, so it’s a clever twist to acknowledge the void by literally exorcising Bo from her friends’ memory.

The episode plays with a familiar generic twist – memory loss – in a mostly traditional fashion. I am reminded of Buffy (as I often am with Lost Girl) because the loss of relevant memories is used as an opportunity to let characters play up different personalities and reconfigure how they interact. On Buffy 6×08 ‘Tabula Rasa’ this meant characters who hated each other assumed they were related and several characters assumed romantic unions outside of their traditional partners, even as kernels of truth hinted at their true identities.

Lost Girl isn’t quite as ambitious, using Bo’s absence as an opportunity to explore how the group functions in her absence, only partially aware that there’s a void where she would normally be. The most dramatic iteration of this is that the natural chemistry between Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) and Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) has blossomed into a secret love affair, despite Hale’s (K.C. Collins) continued affection for the pint-sized human. In other areas the shift is more dramatic, as Vex’s (Paul Amos) return has prompted him to fake The Morrigan’s (Emmanuelle Vaugier) death to seize her office. These kinds of alterations in the traditional fabric of the show are a novel way to deal with the time required to accommodate Silk’s pregnancy, but tonally it makes for a bit of a scattered episode with the occasional mood-swing, such as the film noir-esque vibe when Aoife (Inga Cadranel) hires Kenzi to find Bo that is completely absent from the rest of ‘In Memoriam’.

The result is an episode that tosses a lot of balls up into the air and doesn’t quite manage to catch them all. This fourth season premiere lays out the groundwork for the new season via the introduction of a variety of new conflicts and at least one prominent new character, all while dealing with the absence of not only its charismatic lead actresses, but two other core cast members as well. It’s not nearly as much fun as the faux-lesbian prison drama of last season’s opener, but it’s a reminder of the strange, unusual, amusing concoction that Lost Girl seems to specialize in. Plus it proves that should anything ever happen to Anna Silk, the show could hypothetically employ Ksenia Solo as a stand-in because she proves herself more than capable of filling in here.

Other Observations:

• As much as I love Kenzi and her one-liners, I am not psyched to see that she’s on the hook to some flunky for fake Fae sparkler powers (she’s basically Jubilee from X-Men). Didn’t we already go through a “Kenzi’s keeping secrets, trying to become Fae” storyline last season that sucked?
• I think someone mistakenly believed that the endless dance routine at the party was “hotter” than it actually was. Obviously the dance was about Kenzi’s coveted position between the two men who “love” her (and Solo’s dance skills are superb), but holy moly did that ever feel like filler after a while
• The series’ ability to attract high profile guest stars continues as George Takei guests as the Collector. Arguably he’s barely playing a character; it seems he’s there more for the shock value of having his upper body stuck on a serpent. Regardless, it certainly made me laugh in confused glee
• The only new character of significance is Cleo, a nymph with the hots for Dyson played by genre vet Mia Kirshner. It’s safe to say that we can expect her to be lots of trouble moving forward (and why wouldn’t she be? She is nearly naked Mandy from 24, after all!)
• I usually try to review the show on its own merits, but when one missing character – Zoie Palmer’s Lauren – is revealed to be hiding out as a diner waitress under a pseudonym, it’s really hard not to make comparisons to Buffy (in this case, the 3×01 opener ‘Anne’ when Buffy does the exact same thing)
• Also absent (though referenced rather frequently) is Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten). Since the actress remains a regular on S4, it’s a safe bet that Dyson will eventually find her, though how she survived and what happened to her remains a mystery.
• Ditto for Bo, of whom we see nothing more than the blue of her eyes. Please god do not let her have amnesia!
• Faux cliffhanger of the episode: Aoife attacking Trick with a knife. I mean, come on – do the writers honestly expect us to believe they would ever kill Trick?
• An ominous new organization called the Council is on the horizon, intent on moving into town to deliver something called “the moratorium”. Sounds like our new Big Bad, no?
• Finally, could anyone other than Paul Amos have pulled off that ringmaster meets leather fetish get-up? Total Rocky Horror Goes To The Circus. LOVE IT

Best Lines:

• Kenzi (insulting a henchman): “Your breath smells like the anus of a yeti”
• Kenzi (complimenting Aoife): “Suede in this weather? You beautiful badass”
• Kenzi (when Aoife asks Dyson to check her body): “Scanning for stretch marks? Pass”
• Dyson (montone): “This is very disturbing” Way to understate it, bud
• Vex (when Dyson requests tickets to the ball): “Since when do you like balls?”

Are you excited for the return of Lost Girl? Did you find the premiere a little scattered, though still enjoyable? Were you missing the bevy of ladies – Tamsin, Lauren & Bo? Do you think Kenzi carried the show well? Who is Cleo? What is the Council? And where has Bo been?! Spin your theories below in the comments

Lost Girl airs Sundays at 9pm EST in Canada on Showcase