With Lost Girl having just been renewed for a fifth season – as well as it’s fourth season having wrapped up both locally and abroad – it’s time to review the fourth season as a whole and see what was good, what was bad, and what made us want to drink heavily. Though despite the overwhelming sloppiness of Lost Girl’s fourth season, there were some hidden gems. Sadly, these were lost in season that seemed like two completely different shows.

Flashbacks:

Flashbacks were one thing that Lost Girl never had that much of. Even though not every show needs flashback, they were a welcome addition for this season. With lost memories and demons from the past resurfacing, flashbacks were very necessary; however, problems arose when some of these flashbacks blatantly contradicted each other.

The Good

There were basically two types of flashbacks this season: historical and death train. The historical flashbacks – whether showing Trick as Blood King or Dyson as a wild womanizer – gave us tremendous insight into just how far these characters have come. Moments like these not only fit into past storylines – Trick’s dark past, Dyson after leaving the battlefield, etc – but also explain huge lingering questions dating all the way back to season one, such as why was Dyson solely trusted with the knowledge that Trick was the Blood King.

The other type of flashback was meant to reveal Bo’s time on the Wanderer’s train. When she heard Ianka’s song and began to remember the train, we saw how she was going to accept a menacing black tiara with her full name on it, Isabeau. We also saw her in pain and about to break down from the shock of what she was being made to do. It was a moment that made us instantly feel for Bo and want more than ever to have this Wanderer silenced.

The Bad

 Despite how good the historical flashbacks were, some things were a little off. For example, the Dyson-centered flashback episode “La Fae Epoque” should have been solely of Dyson’s past and not Bo reliving his memories as Dyson. It felt almost as though the writers didn’t want to waste the time or money casting these roles and decided instead to have people in Bo’s present life ‘bleed’ into the memories. Or maybe it was just an excuse to see Dyson and Lauren hook up. Who knows? Either way, this is just a personal preference and is nowhere near the biggest offense of flashbacks this season.

Remember how that initial death train flashback went? Well, later after reuniting with Rainer, Bo was ‘given’ another flashback of her time on the death train. This flashback made little sense and made it seem as though they were in bed the whole time. Then in the final moments of it, it was revealed that everything that happened this season thus far was Bo’s plan to get back and break Rainer’s curse. Some problems with that were:

1. What about all her pain and horror of the last flashback?
2. If she knew about the curse why couldn’t she just break it then?
3. If you lose your memory when leaving the death train, how come Ianka and the crow brothers didn’t?

All in all, this was the beginning of the lovesick, annoying-as-hell version of Bo that caused almost every problem this season. We find her in bed with Rainer upset that her friends regaining their memories will ‘cause her to lose hers?’. That makes no sense. That could mean someone cursed her friends, and Bo’s happiness with Rainer was at the expense of creating a huge empty pit in the heart of all those she cared about. The other possibility – and what we all thought – was that this flashback was fabricated as a flimsy excuse in case lovesick Bo ever asked a question.

Sadly, the writers never flush out what this actually was, nor show any sign that they intend to explain it. As such, we are left with two accounts of Bo’s time on the train: One leaves us with the horrific feelings of manipulation we were expecting. The other makes no sense – even in its own right – and casts our heroine as an incredibly dumb and selfish brat.

The Wanderer/ Pyrippus/ Rainer:

As Season Three closed, we were faced with Bo’s Father, The Wanderer simultaneously abducting Bo while also launching an attack on Dyson and Tamsin. This season introduced us to Rainer and the Pyrippus. All compelling characters in their own right, but problems quickly arose when the lines started to blur between who was who.

The Bad

That’s right! There’s nothing good about this part. Whereas Rainer was a compelling character due to his history with Trick, a lot of his story didn’t make sense. If the Blood King wrote that Rainer never existed, then why steal his soul? Why trap him on a train? If he was erased from existence . . . he would cease to be. Also, if he were erased or trapped, how can he still keep in contact with those who serve him?

His effect on Bo was quite possibly the worst thing about Rainer, but the overall writing for him was just as bad. If Rainer fought against Trick during the Fae uprising, he would have been banished before the Una Mens were created. So why was he so set on their death/know about them? In fact, how was he aware of anything off of his train? Whatever the answers to these questions are, we may never know. Either way, as Rainer started to reappear in the history books again, we finally started to see the vile and horrific version of him.

Just when it seemed as though Dyson, Lauren, everyone else in Bo’s life, and everyone watching at home was right about Rainer being a manipulative monster, he was killed – in quite possible the most uneventful way ever. He and Bo took down all of the Una Mens together with his foresight, so he knew how Mossimo’s powers would work. But instead he bull rushed him and got killed in less than 3 seconds. Even stranger was how Bo didn’t even shed a tear for him – even though she had whined about how he was ‘her destiny’ for half the season. In the end, Rainer was like Calypso from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. After spending the majority of the time building them up, they disappear in a pointless poof of plot – I’m copywriting that phrase – without having contributed anything.

Bo’s father being revealed as the Pyrippus makes sense in a way, but there’s also a ton of holes with that. For starters, if Bo’s father is the demon lord of darkness and has been forced to reign in Hel, how did he meet and impregnate Bo’s Mom Aife? If he could visit this world to get a girl pregnant, then he’d had already returned. There was no need for a ‘dead will rise/end of the world style resurrection. Further more, when we saw Bo’s father during her dawning, he seemed sort of . . . caring. It was a very different picture than ‘demon lord of darkness’ or the ‘monster’ Tamsin described him as when he hired her. Come to think of it, if he was busy being trapped in hell, HOW did he even hire Tamsin? See, none of this makes sense!

Although the worst … WORST part of all of this was when they couldn’t keep track of who was who. All of Season 3 and most of 4 mentioned The Wanderer as Bo’s father. This was even confirmed during the dawning when his funky music played: ‘The Wanderer’ s Bo’s father. Then they had to start saying Rainer was ‘The Wanderer’. Now prior to the Pyrippus’s arrival, maybe Rainer was Bo’s father, but then we got that twisted flashback episode where it was said Bo and Rainer basically had nonstop sex for six months. If Rainer is ‘The Wanderer’, and ‘The Wanderer’ is Bo’s father, then I don’t even have to begin to explain how wrong and incestuous that is.

In the end, maybe that’s why they killed off Rainer so fast. The writers probably noticed much of a mess they made out of one character’s identity and thought killing him off quickly would fix their problems. SURPRISE . . . it didn’t.

Kenzi:

Okay, the last subject got me really depressed about this season. So it’s time to perk up with something that was all around amazing this season – the acting abilities of Ksenia Solo.

The Good

From her ballroom dancing in episode one, to her selfless sacrifice in the final moments of this season, Kenzi was the star of this season. She truly got to showcase all of her talents beautifully, but none cemented it better than when she had dinner with her mother. That was literally some of the painfully beautiful acting I have ever heard. In that moment, I just wanted to give Kenzi a hug for all that she’s been through and turning out as amazing as she did. The only thing that got me through it was knowing that Hale would do anything to make her happy; and he did by proposing to her.

The Bad

As great was Kenzi was this season, I did not agree with two of the writers choices. The first was killing off Hale right after they got together and were about to become engaged. Since when did this show take the Joss Whedon approach to TV: kill of a happy couple. We forgive Joss because everything he writes is self contained and beautiful, but when a show has as much sloppy writing as Lost Girl had this season, you at least have to give fans a happy ending. Sadly, this ending involved the killing off the only good things in this season of horrors. Will Bo fight to get Zenzi – and hopefully Hale – back? Hopefully, because Kensia Solo was the most consistently good thing about this season, and killing both her and her love off is a horrible way to thank her. Also, was Tamsin crying because Kenzi was ‘gone’ – as in Valhalla – or because she LITERALLY lost her soul and someone stole it? Add this to the growing list of things never made clear.

Dyson and Lauren:

So I’m sure you’re wondering why I just said ‘only good thingS’. That is because the other great thing about this season was Dyson and Lauren. We’ve always just seen them as parts of the love triangle, but this season made them grow into their own powerful characters that didn’t need to be defined by Bo . . . that is, until they killed off that character growth in the finale.

The Good

Since Season 1, Dyson and Lauren have always been competitors. One the charming wolf, the other the sexy doctor. This season with Bo’s absence – both when missing and with Rainer – these two got incredibly close. They began to acknowledge each other because no one else could really understand what they were going through – to give everything to one person and still feel like it wouldn’t be enough for her.

Both had their highlight moments. For Dyson, seeing his past was great, but seeing him put Bo in her place was even better. When Bo tried to dump Dyson by saying Rainer was her destiny and you can’t fight it, Dyson coldly pointed out that she used to – for 3 and a half seasons she did. He then said he’d always be there for her – honorable – but when the Rainer thing blew up in her face, it was her problem. It was the definitive moment that Dyson started to be defined by himself rather than his relationship with Bo. Add in a little romance with Tamsin and things started getting very interesting with the wolf man.

Lauren on the other hand, I was never a fan of until this season. Seeing her hold her own as well as her interactions with Dyson was fantastic. My favorite moment was when she turned the tables on Evony and turned her human – okay, bad timing, but still. Lauren proved that she isn’t someone to mess with. Though the greatest moments of these two came when they were together. From ogling Bo washing a car to their drunken antics with Vex – whom I always love. This was truly their season to be them, and not just some part of a triangle.

The Bad

The downside for all this brilliant character development was in the finale. Between Dyson swearing loyalty to Bo as his Queen to things between Bo and Lauren magically getting fixed, it was almost as though a new group of writers came in and were too afraid to continue moving away from the love-triangle dynamic this show has had from its start. Bo walked all over Dyson and Lauren since she got back from her train-vacation. Whether using one when the other wasn’t around, or dumping both for some guy she just met. Yes, the love-triangle was a central part of the show – in its early years – but people and characters change over time. To go back to the love-triangle and ignore all the character development you just put a whole season worth of effort into is to commit the same sin that the How I Met Your Mother series finale committed – and you know how many people that pissed off.

Further more, by making Dyson and Lauren return to Bo’s side in a matter of seconds after all she put them through doesn’t make it a love story. All it does is reveal how selfish and Bo-blind you are. Bo used to be an amazing strong female character; but now none of that remains. The way these scene were written shows that Bo is only a strong lead IF you dumb down all those around her and make them completely subservient. A strong female lead character can stand on her own and rises above those around her – not have them all shot in the knees so she can stand taller.

Everything Else:

If I talked about everything wrong with this season, I could be here for hours. Those were the biggest good and bad moments of this season. For a more complete feel ,check out my episode recaps, but to sum up, here are some final bullets of what this season did well, and what was just . . . you know.

The Good

• Vex: Paul Amos is a fantastic actor and just overall hilarious person. As a rule of thumb, the more Vex, the better. Whether making sexual innuendos or having a deep personal moment about his family, he never disappoints.
• Tamsin: I love the new version of Tamsin and her child/mother relationship with Kenzi. Her possible budding relationship with Dyson is also an amazing fit and I hope it continues – if the writers ever decide to go back to character development
• The Una Mens And Their Connection To Trick: Despite their quick demise, they actually added depth to Trick’s story and explained why he, The Blood King, went into hiding. The Una Mens themselves represented the blind adherence to the old ways and their immense power made them formidable. Why they were written away so easily, I’ll never know.
• George Takei’s Cameo: Oh my . . . . need I say more?

The Bad

• The Una Mens Black Sludge: At the end of episode 1, we saw a box spill over with a strange black ooze. So . . . what was it? Are we just going to pretend that didn’t happen?
• The Sacred Seed: One minute it’s another one of the seeds of the sacred papyrus plant that Trick must ingest to make the Una Mens complete; the next it’s the special one of a kind Origin Seed that becomes the holding items for all the Una Mens powers.
• Shadow Thief: So what was the point of Dyson training Kenzi to become a Shadow Thief? The powers never came in handy. And why did decide to start training her several episodes after he already proclaimed he was going to start teaching her.
• Possessed Kiss: Really? Dyson kissing Bo snapped her out of her possessed self? This is Lost Girl, not Once Upon A Time. True love’s kiss won’t work here.
• Mossimo: Everything about his personality and his incestuous relationship with his biological mother Evony was just awful. The writers went out of their way to explain that they’re indeed mother and son, but couldn’t deal with any of the other problems this season? Good job you guys. Also, he talked way too much and caused way too much damage for someone who has to be the most pathetic villain in TV history.
• The Una Mens Powers: While the Una Mens had it, their powers were always reactionary – Dyson went wolf, they went wolf. Bo chi drained them, they chi drained Bo. Once Mossimo had their powers, his powers were completely different. Bo could Chi drain him without repercussion. Also, him chi-draining Evony made no sense. It wasn’t a bad reaction, nor bad aim. He didn’t even breath. So how that drain started was again just bad writing – or bad editing.
• Opening Credits: It’s Season 4. HOW do we still have the same voice over intro? Add some new scenes, incorporate new characters, do something!

Once everything is said and done, this season truly felt like two teams of writers creating different pieces of the puzzle for this season’s story. One team wanted to add depth and character development, and the other wanted to do everything possible to screw the first team over. Although it’s not just the contradictions that made this season bad, but rather the overwhelming disregard the writers showed for the audience. There were so many times things popped up out of no where and then were repeated over and over again within a few short minutes to make it seem like we missed something. But we didn’t miss anything.

Honestly, it seemed very insulting at times. Lost Girl has a very intelligent audience. It’s the reason we loved the first 2 seasons as much as we did. The third was a little less awesome, but we kept with it because we love the show and how well the tales are woven together. To have a show with so many non-sequitor moments and then repeat it as if the audience is slow is just downright insulting.

I say this with love, but get your act together Lost Girl. I’m honestly amazed that you even got renewed, but don’t expect it to happen again unless these problems are fixed. You tried to make everything that happened this season require tons of thought, but the more we thought about it, the less sense it made. You were the series I fell in love with back in Season 1; and you’ve neither moved forward nor stayed where you were. Season 3 was a dip, but Season 4 was a complete nosedive; and I’m sadly not alone here. So the pressure is on for Season 5. Even if every mistake in continuity this season was to be explained perfectly in Season 5, NEVER make a season’s only purpose to cause questions for the next and leave everything unanswered. In that case, then this should have been a 2o-something episode season. There has to be some kind of closure at the end of a season, but we got none.

It’s funny. During the first episode of this Season, Vex and the others wondered what life would be like if they regained their memories. This world was good, so why mess with it? Oddly enough, I wish they never got their memories back. In the end, that twisted alternate reality was much better than the Pyrippus-droppings we got for the second half of the season.

PS: Be sure that Showcase and SyFy air Season 5 at the same time, and not months apart like Season 4. Although this might be more of a complaint with SyFy then the Lost Girl team.