Season 5 Review

Since I wrote a review for the previous 4 seasons, I figured I might as well write one for this one as well. I actually meant to write this back in November, shortly after the series finale aired in Canada, but then I got too busy and put it off. Eventually I decided it was better to wait until Lost Girl ended its run in the U.S before writing this. Like all my others I will first go through the individual episodes, then talk about my thoughts on the season as a whole. There will be spoilers in this post, by the way.

5x01: Like Hell Pt. 1.The season premiere started out rocky. The first half was rushed and choppy, but once Bo got to Valhalla, things evened out and I found the rest of the episode rather enjoyable. Another flaw was that characters like Dyson and Lauren had very little to do, but I did think that Tamsin having her “The Shining” moment was fun. Grade: B

5x02: Like Hell Pt. 2. The 2nd half of the premiere was more consistent than the previous episode, and gave more for all the characters to do. Was a little irritated by this episode continuing the trend of dragging out the reveal of Bo’s Dad, but this bothers me less in retrospect. Kenzi blasting a fae was a long time coming, but her leaving scene didn’t have near the emotional weight it should have. Grade: B+

5x03: Big in Japan. While a return to the “Fae of the Week” was welcome, and Dyson and Lauren continued to be great together, I found this episode to be quite sub-par. Bo’s impotence came and went much too suddenly, and the fact The Triangle was still a thing at this point was a travesty. Sort of boring too. Grade: C

5x04: When God Opens a Window. Very eventful episode. I like the idea to give Dyson a son, since it had been a while since he had any character development. Didn’t care for Mark himself though (and never grew too). The slow development of what would be revealed the Ancients had been effective, but this episode got me really intrigued. I enjoyed this fairly Dyson-centric episode and thought it was the season’s best yet. Grade: A-

5x05: It's Your Lucky Fae. One of Lost Girl’s light-hearted type episodes, like “Confaegion” or “Original Skin”. While not on par with those 2 episodes, this one was pretty amusing in its own right. Lauren’s bad luck was funny, and her use as comic relief since Kenzi’s departure was actually quite effective. Bo turning into a cat was quite funny too. Bringing back Cassie, and the bad guy from “Dead Lucky”, was a nice throw-back to the 1st season. The build-up of the Ancients continued to be effective as well. Bo and Tamsin getting together at the end irked me quite a bit though. Grade: B+

5x06: Clear Eyes, Fae Hearts. This football-centric (though not very football literate) episode made large strides in the main story, and revealed the Ancients for who they were. Not a bad episode, but aside from the progress in the main story, there wasn’t much notable here. Dyson and Mark were better together in this episode than they were previously though. Grade: B-

5x07: Here Comes the Night. At this point Lost Girl was at its best since the 1st half of Season 3. Evony and Vex were in solid form in this episode, and the Ancients showed they were cunning adversaries with their using of the Oracles. Bringing back the blood bonding thing from the Season 2 finale was another nice call-back to earlier times too. Really enjoyed this episode, might be this season’s very best, and fits in among the better ones from the show overall too. Grade: A+

5x08: End of Faes. Solid mid-season finale with a nice multi-cliffhanger ending. Bo willingly letting out her father was a little unexpected, and I enjoyed the ambiguity with the Ancients. It was hard to tell what their ultimate goal really was. Tamsin getting zapped by Zee was another one of the cliffhangers, along with Mark’s injury, but I never really expected either one to die. Not as good as the previous episode, as this one felt like it lasted longer than it needed, but it was still fairly good. Grade: B+

5x09: 44 Minutes to Save the World. After a ridiculous 8 month long gap, the 5th season resumed with this 2nd half premiere. I found it to be quite good, Hades made a good first impression and Zee continued to be a pretty great villain. The reveal with Lauren at the end was intriguing as well. While perhaps a little too subdued after the previous 2 episodes, I thought it was a very good start to the 2nd half of the season. Grade: A

5x10: Like Father, Like Daughter. The last of the Bo/Kenzi caper episodes, this one had its moments, but wasn’t a special episode. While her presence was largely unnecessary to the story, it was nice to see my favorite character again. Kenzi’s attempt at a tour guide was funny, as was Bo dealing with the OCD lady. Nice to see Trick get some screen time here too, as he was vastly underused throughout this season. Hades continued to look like a good villain in the making. Mark continued to irritate me. Grade: B

5x11: Sweet Valkyrie High. While it was good to have a Tamsin-centric episode, I didn’t think this one was especially good. I was particularly underwhelmed by the flashbacks, which I thought weren’t consistent with what had been said before during the show. Seeing Acacia again was nice, but her as the unconventional teacher in the flashbacks was ridiculously clichéd. Grade: C

5x12: Judgement Fae. An eventful episode, this episode got the main story moving forward quite a bit. Zee was entertaining as always in her final episode, and Hades continued to get more sinister. Didn’t like Lauren and Bo breaking up yet again though. I was hoping Dyson had found a new love in Alycia as well, but it was nice to see him be his honorable self when her husband came back. Overall it was good, not great. Grade: B

5x13: Family Portrait. Hades finally shows his true evil in this episode. I admit to being surprised at his killing of Aife and Trick, didn’t think the writers had the guts to do something so big. It was good to see Aife again in this episode, she was always entertaining in her appearances, and her character came full circle here. Trick was always a flawed character, but I always liked him anyway, so I was quite sad to see him go. This was a rather dark episode, but I thought it was very good and I appreciated its bold moves. Grade: A

5x14: Follow the Yellow Trick Road. This episode reminds me of the episode "Across the Sea" from the final season of Lost, not because of what happens in it, but because of how it feels in relation to where it is in the season. Feels like a big pause on the story right when the big stuff starts to happen. With that said I enjoyed this one as an individual episode. The “Wizard of Oz” dream sequence was quite well done, and very funny at times. Kenzi being back was a plus too. Negatives were the moth explanation for Bo’s coma, and a couple of very forced scenes (Dyson’s guilt and Lauren’s frustration most prominently) that just weren’t well done at all. Grade: B-

5x15: Let Them Burn. The series penultimate episode was quite a letdown in my opinion. Didn’t find the reveal as Bo as the Pyripuss all that impressive, and to be honest just found this episode to be rather boring. Getting to see Lou Ann was another good call-back to earlier seasons though. Dyson being the one to get the Light and Dark together was a nice touch, and Evony was entertaining in her final appearance too. Grade: C

5x16: Rise. The series finale pretty much checked all the boxes of things that had to be done in my opinion. Wrapped up the Triangle, defeated Hades, and showed a generally positive ending for all the characters. With the noticeable exception of Tamsin, but her death added the drama the finale needed. Dyson being the new Trick was good, as was Kenzi going off to enjoy a much earned normal human life. Not a brilliant ending, but certainly satisfactory to me. Grade: A

Since this is already a long post, I’ll try to keep my overall thoughts short. While not nearly as good as Seasons 1 and 2, I enjoyed the final season quite a bit. It was certainly a strong improvement over the 4th season, and the second half of the 3rd season. The storytelling was the best in this season since the 2nd season. First the nice build up for the Ancients, adding a little more to them with every episode, before the full reveal of who they were in 5x06. The Hades part of the story was similar, started out slow but steady, before moving into full throttle with 5x13. Michael Grassi did a good job as both showrunner and writer during this season, in my opinion.

A couple of criticisms though. First, the Triangle continued to be dragged out, even into the final few episodes. I never liked the Triangle (not a big fan of love triangles in general), and still maintain it should have ended back in Season 3. The insistence of keeping it around was very unhealthy for the show as a whole, and it didn’t help this season either. Another criticism is that I think adding Tamsin into Bo’s love life was a poor idea, just don’t think it was good for Tamsin’s character. A final criticism (or maybe just a thought) has to do with the premiere episodes. It was quite obvious to me that Grassi was trying to wrap up all of Season 4’s storylines in these 2 episodes so he could tell his own for the final season. I don’t really blame him, as Season 4 was a mess, but it felt rushed and forced at times. This was especially noticeable regarding Kenzi. At the end of Season 4, it made quite clear Tamsin was upset over what had happened in Valhalla regarding Kenzi, but that was outright ignored here. I now think it would have been better if Kenzi had not been rescued till the final few episodes. Like I wrote earlier I understand what Grassi was trying to do (Ksenia Solo leaving the show didn’t help his position either), but it just didn’t seem to fit.

So, what did you think of the final season? I look forward to your thoughts.