Upon its conception, Lost Girl has been a show that had prompted a few eye rolls due to its admittedly silly premise, but over the years, the fanbase grew and the show proved that it had strong legs, even if its fourth season was wobbly at best. There are so many aspects to like about the show, that it was always going to be somewhat inevitable that it would all end rather anti-climactically. In truth, this final season felt more like your typical solid season, rather than going out with a bang in an epic swansong that everyone was promised from the beginning. However, what’s impressive is that it never sells out its remarkable roster of distinguishable characters, nor does it sideline its core themes and messages.
This season still manages to convey the emotional core of our characters and certainly put them through the ringer this time around. It’s still a little silly and cheesy here and there, but that is what was always part of the show’s charm. It relishes the craziness, with a slick and stylish flare and bouts of humour, and we still get that here. Even though the production side of things can be somewhat awkward (a long-standing niggle), it was always the beating heart in its lead character and elements, as to why Bo and her stories resonated so much with its target audience.
With this season in particular, we get to see almost every character flex their muscles and add a bit more weight and gravitas to their overall performances. It’s a testament to Anna Silk for still managing to make Bo the fully-rounded character she is, and it’s thanks to her that we are invested in Bo’s final journey here. Other standouts include Zoie Palmer for still making the character of Lauren strong, due to her nuanced strength and resilience, and Rachel Skarsten who brilliantly captures the playful, yet vulnerable sides of Tamsin and has really come into her own in this series.
However, you do get the sense here that things are getting a little rushed, which is evident in its breakneck pacing. It’s far too quick and slapdash for its own good, so much so that the entire season doesn’t end up generating the kind of impact it set out to achieve. What we have is Bo and everyone else moving from one crisis to the next, with plenty of deus ex machina thrown, in order to get things in place for the conclusion, whilst doing it all at a terrific speed. Kenzi has always been a firm fan-favourite for a very good reason (Ksenia Solo is freakin’ hilarious!), but this season suffers from having Kenzi in it, but not using her very much, essentially reducing her to a guest star role, with each appearance being very sporadic and confusing in execution and that’s a real shame. It also can’t really decide who its actual main villain is (was it Zee or Hades?), and even though the entire show has sort of been building up to this big epic battle between Bo and her father Hades, by the time we do actually get there, it’s all over within a blink of an eye. Really?!
As a whole, there is more good than bad in the way that this fifth season has finished the run of Lost Girl, yet it isn’t quite as impressive as one was hoping. If you are a die-hard fan of the show then, of course, you should check it out, and there definitely is fun to be had, but it just never comes together in a fully satisfying way. It felt like it rushed to its own conclusion and some characters got the short end of the stick (Kenzi especially), however, it never loses its unique off-kilter vibe and emotional core, which actually makes the whole journey sort of worth it in the end. Thank fae for that I guess.
LOST GIRL- THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON / CERT: 15 / DIRECTORS: PAOLO BARZMAN, RON MURPHY, MAIRZEE ALMAS, DAVID GREENE, GAIL HARVEY, BRUCE MCDONALD, LEE ROSE / SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL GRASSI, EMILY ANDRAS, ALEXANDRA ZAROWNY, STEVE COCHRANE, LEY LUKINS, SANDRA CHWIALKOWSKA, LAUREN GOSNELL, LARA AZZOPARDI / STARRING: ANNA SILK, KRIS HOLDEN-RIED, RICK HOWLAND, ZOIE PALMER, KSENIA SOLO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
