Lost Girl ‘Waves’ review: The Nutty Mermaids

OK, I’m just going to say it: What? Right? Like I’m not the only person who is at all confused about all this, am I? Before we get into all of that, let’s talk about the mermaids and merman first.

That was a lot of fun! But what a coincidence that in my review of the previous episode, which you can read on mehlsbells, I mentioned that Kenzi had a complete Little Mermaid moment. In this episode, it’s no surprise that she’s a huge fan of the movie. Something tells me it might be more than just mere happenstance that she brushed her hair with a fork in one episode, and then had a total fangirl moment about The Little Mermaid in the next. Kenzi just really identifies with wanting to me “part of your world.” Plus, you know, mermaids are supposed to be cute and awe-inducing. (These mermaids were not.) If nothing else, season four of Lost Girl has really struck gold with its willingness to pair or group unlikely characters together. In this episode, it’s Kenzi, Dyson, and Lauren — and what a group they made. I’d be totally fine with more B-plots of them solving cases. They play off each other quite well. I thought the B-plot in this episode was perfect Lost Girl.

It’s the other half of the episode that I’m a bit miffed about. Here’s what we know about the Fae mythology (or at least what I know): Many years ago, the Fae were fighting against each other to the point of near extinction, so Trick (the Blood King) forced a truce between them, which created the Dark and the Light. But, as is always the case when the Blood King changes destiny, there were consequences. A group of rebels fought against the divide, and one of them happened to be Aife, Bo’s mother. Another one of the rebels happened to be Rayner. This group of rebels killed a Dark Elder, which is why Trick handed Aife over to the Dark for execution. Instead of executing her, however, Bo’s father, who happened to be a Dark King, repeatedly tortured and raped her. Rayner, however, was subjected to being on Train Limbo for eternity with no recollection of who he was or why he was on the train; as far as I can tell, the reason for that kind of punishment is because Rayner had the power to predict how his opponents would attack, so it was maybe impossible to capture and execute him. We also know that someone hired Tamsin to find Bo, who was not supposed to exist, who was both Light and Dark, which makes sense given that she’s the product of Aife, who was Light, and a king of the Dark. Supposedly, the one pictured on the tarot card of The Wanderer is who captured and kidnapped Bo, but Rayner, who is The Wanderer, says he doesn’t know why she was captured and put on Train Limbo.

Now, in this episode, it appears Rayner can tell what’s happening on other planes; he mentions that the gang is close to regaining their memories. So if Rayner says he didn’t capture Bo, then I’m going to assume that’s the truth. And it doesn’t seem like Rayner wasn’t the one who hired Tamsin to find Bo, since he didn’t even want her to come on the train. Besides, Tamsin said that the person who hired her was evil personified. The Dark King has been referred to as a monster several times, he tortured and raped Aife, and Bo has been constantly scared that she retains a piece of him inside her being, that she might be just as much of a monster as he is. So that leaves space for speculation.

And this is pretty simple speculation, but could it be that Bo’s father is still the one who captured her and sent her to Rayner? We know that Aife escaped from Bo’s father and then returned and took Bo, subsequently leaving her with others so that she could be safe. Neither Aife nor the Dark King knew where Bo was. I guess Aife had the advantage of being a succubus and thinking alike, but the Dark King was relegated to hiring someone, especially to create the elixir to capture Bo. Someone spoke to Bo and said that both of them would rule the Fae together. That could have been Rayner, but I think it’s more likely still Bo’s father, who perhaps needed Rayner for part of his plan, as well as he needed the child that would come from him and Aife procreating, Bo. This was the only way that the Dark King could kill the Una Mens, who were created to enforce the laws Trick wrote. With them dead, their souls/power enters this one seed, that someone could use to enforce the laws whichever way they choose, I’m assuming. For whatever reason, whoever captured Bo, couldn’t do that on his or her own. I’m guessing that person is Bo’s father, and that he was after fighting against the Divide as well, but not for the altruistic reasons maybe Aife and Rayner wanted to fight against the Divide, but for an ultimate dictatorship with him on the throne, and it seems he wants to rule with his daughter. Bo hates the divide too, but we’ve also had glimpses that show she wants to rule them all, too.

So I think that kind of checks out. Maybe I’m not as confused as I was before writing this. However, I am just not buying Bo and Rayner’s insta-connection. What? You can’t just show us a few scenes of them bantering and then show that Bo was willing to go through a million and two obstacles to get Rayner off the train. I can’t be the only person who is like no.

And if it’s true that Bo is under some sort of spell, then that makes it very creepy. For the most part, Lost Girl has shied away from committing to how creepy all of this really is, ever since the “I can make you” moment of season one, even though we had a bit of that this season, too. But let’s face it, a main character who can basically convince people to sleep with her is… dot dot dot. We’ve even brushed past Aife raping Dyson. For now, it doesn’t seem like Lost Girl wants to introduce an incubus (though I’m still confused about what Rayner is), and the truth is that the lines aren’t as blurry if an incubus acted the same way Aife did or how Bo does sometimes. I don’t know if Lost Girl is ever going to explore those themes, or if it cares to, but I would be quite interested. If you’ve been reading my reviews for some time, it should come to no surprise that I was glued to my screen when Bo killed the last of the Una Mens.

Was it too dark for Bo? Yes, definitely. I give credit to season four for going there. It only makes me think we’re getting closer and closer to the reveal of Bo’s father. Now that’s something Lost Girl has earned. Bo saying Rayner is her destiny after touching a butterfly? Not so much.

As for the mythological aspect, we’re done waiting. Show your hand, Lost Girl! This episode was fun for the mermaid half, but I’m still scratching my head about how anything makes sense on Train Limbo.