Lost Girl "Food For Thought" Review

Lost Girl accomplished two things in "Food For Thought." One accomplishment involved Bo's slow progression into a fae who can control her power and not kill any human who kisses her on the mouth. The second accomplishment is, hopefully, getting the audience to like and embrace Kenzi. I don't know what other US viewers think of Kenzi, but I read the opinions of our friends north of the border would struggled to tolerate Kenzi, let alone like her. Whether or not Michelle Lovretta anticipated negative feelings towards Bo's side-kick is something I do not know. Whether there was widespread dislike for Kenzi is also something I'm unsure of. Anyway, Kenzi's reduced to a vulnerable, near-death mess, and it made the audience want to hug her just as Dyson did on the bench in the cemetery.

The action began as Bo and Kenzi followed Lauren to the home of an Aswang, a species of fae who consume carrion. The Aswang fae is bleeding from the eyes. The bleeding began hours after she ate a human foot stew. Kenzi didn't actually follow Lauren into the room because the situation freaked her out. Instead, she ate cookies in the kitchen, as well as the stew. Shortly thereafter, Kenzi bled from the eyes. The investigation of the cause of eye bleeding became more immediate. Also, the reason for Bo following Lauren to the crime scene is related to the work Lauren's done to help Bo's succubus self-control when feeding on humans.

The investigation itself is fun. Bo and Lauren have sexual tension and chemistry that adds a little spice to their interactions. Anytime Anna Silk is allowed to play dress up and adopt a role in her investigation is also fun. The investigation followed the usual beats. A red herring led to a more substantial clue, followed by a period of undercover work, and then concluding with the truth. In this case, Bo dressed as a sexy doctor's assistant, because Bo learned the cause of the sickness came from the hospital. Honestly, I thought I missed something during the hospital scenes. Bo and Lauren found a toxic creature in the hospital lab. I missed how the creature affected the soup, or stew, that the Aswang and Kenzi ate. I doubt that the back story really matters. What's important is Lauren creates an anti-toxin that saves Kenzi's life. The Aswang dies mid-episode, which sets Kenzi off on a crisis in which she literally confronts death.

Kenzi is the heart and soul of the episode. Characters act for her, and, because of her. Kenzi talked about her role within their supernatural community, and how people overlook her or ignore her because she's not one of them. But she sees what goes on around her, more clearly than anyone; an argument could be constructed comparing Kenzi and Xander Harris. She genuinely cares about her. We've seen Kenzi wander into dangerous situations for Bo. Kenzi tried to protect Bo from being hurt by Dyson until she realized that it was Dyson who'd been hurt by Bo. The faes care about Kenzi too. Trick is sweet with her as is Dyson. Perhaps they care about her because she truly is an innocent. She's someone caught up in this strange world of faes with rules that aren't entirely clear and motivations that can be shady. Dyson finds Kenzi sitting in a cemetery, contemplating her imminent death if Bo can't figure out the problem and get a cure. Kenzi doesn't deliver a multi-page monologue on death; she simply asks Dyson to stay with her, and so he does and hugs her tightly, like a comforting big brother. It's the sweetest scene in the series.

"Food For Thought" kept their stories simple. The title of the episode is a pun on the fatal meat consumed by two characters, but it's also taken from a commonly used phrase to tell people to think about something or someone more deeply than before. There were instances when characters expressed stuff that was 'food for thought' such as Dyson's ambiguity as it relates to the Light, and the murky side of the Light, specifically how and why they choose to help certain faes over others. Lauren doesn't have an answer for this question. Simply, she says, it's about what The Ash wants. Additionally, the tenderness shown towards Kenzi is another 'food for thought' item considering the faes complicated history with humans. Faes like Dyson and Trick break the rules for human which should have consequences of some sort in the future.

Overall, it was a fun yet sweet 41 minutes of Lost Girl. There were differences in tone throughout the episode, but the tonal differences weren't a distraction; in fact, they were balanced well. Plus, no one actually thought Kenzi would die. I'm more interested in the complicate fae world than I was in the "Pilot" when it was presented with such dullness. Also, Lauren and Bo will probably hook up, and the self-control tests were more for Lauren than any poor bastard who kisses Bo. So, in sum, good episode.

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