Continuing our series of in-depth discussions about some of our favorite episodes, we discuss “Vexed.” Even though it is the eighth episode of the first season, “Vexed” is actually the pilot episode of the series. We will talk about some of the inconsistencies in “Vexed,” which are common for pilot episodes, as well as our thoughts about the character development, production design, and direction.

Spoiler Warning: This episode is not spoiler-free. We approach the discussion of this episode with the context of having seen through Season 4 of the series.

Drink Special: Sour Cherry

1½ oz Cherry brandy
1 oz Simple syrup
¾ oz Lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Why We Enjoy This Episode

• Annie: A certain scene with a song called “Madman”! (But she likes the scene with “Sour Cherry,” too.)
• Stephanie: It's a good, solid episode with good relationship dynamics, a colorful villain, and it focuses on a lot of the themes of the show.
• Kris: All that, plus John Fawcett (co-creator of Orphan Black) directed it!

It's the Pilot

• “Vexed” is the pilot episode — not to be confused with the premiere episode, which in this case is “It's a Fae, Fae, Fae, Fae World.”
• This episode is the one that they made to sell the series to networks.
• Drops you right into the middle of the action
• This episode is a great way to sell the series, but not the best introduction to the world. But they do work in a lot of exposition in a pretty subtle way.

Pilot Inconsistencies

• Bo’s hair and makeup are WAY less involved than in the rest of the season. Also, her hair is shorter.
• Scenes with Lauren were re-filmed — Kris Holden-Ried claimed it was because there was a problem with the film, but K.C. and Paul mentioned at Dragon*Con last year that a different actress was originally cast to play Lauren. (Sarah Allen?)
• BIG HAIR BOO-BOO: Bo’s hair changes from when she storms out on Lauren after their sexytimes and when she storms in to Mayer's restaurant.
• Kenzi’s hair is wavy and blonde. Luckily, we can write off the change to Kenzi’s love of wigs, but that was actually what Ksenia's hair looked like at the time.
• Kenzi is also dressed a lot more “street urchin-y” than in any other episode. And her color palate is more earth tones — much less goth
• Bo’s eyes go black instead of blue when she is healing during sex with Dyson (and there’s no chi transfer). We like that they changed it, though. Blue is more distinctive.
• Bo can tell that Lou Ann is Fae, but she does not have Fae-sensing abilities in any other episode.
• The tone is much darker, and Bo is much darker and colder in this episode. We’re glad they shifted the tone of Bo’s character. Bo’s warmth sets her apart from the more stereotypical “kickass chick” type of character.

“Sour Cherry”

• Opening shot was a happy accident: John Fawcett saw the hallway at the location where they were filming and thought it could look really good.
• The initial camera pan down Bo’s body would normally be very sexualized and objectifying, but the focus of the shot is the blood that’s dripping from Bo.
• A fan-favorite song choice for this scene: “Sour Cherry” by The Kills
• Annie describes the sex scene as “feral.” Stephanie points out that Dyson gets to be really vulnerable, both physically and emotionally.
• Nudity! It’s a good thing the actors are so comfortable with each other! Bums!
• It’s hot! (Part of what makes it a good pilot.)

Lou Ann Heidegger

• Siegfried is no Twilight vampire. Both Stephanie and Kris really enjoy him.
• With this storyline, we get more of a focus on the Fae vs. Humans dynamic rather than Light vs. Dark, though there is some of that as well.
• Great demonstration of Bo’s idealism, Lou Ann Heidegger’s story parallels Bo’s
• Big hanging plot thread about Lou Ann — Trick mentions that he helped her escape to Dyson in “Fae Day,” but a lot of people wonder if we’ll ever see/hear of Lou Ann again. Season 5, anyone?

Bo vs. The Moragh

• Stephanie loves the fight scene between Bo and the Moragh!
• Kris loves the way that scene starts, with the Moragh creeping in behind Kenzi.
• Annie misremembers the scene in hopes of more nudity.
• Moragh’s face tattoos — an example of the branding that was referenced in the first episode?
• Intercutting the Bo/Moragh fight scene with Kenzi playing a violent video game in which she “kills robot hookers” — why do we think they did that?

Lauren

• Yes, Annie, we’re going to talk about Lauren now.
• We learn from Trick that Lauren is ward — not employee — of The Ash.
• She’s portrayed as being really subservient to The Ash in this episode.
• Kris’s Big Question/Theory! The Ash tells Lauren about Vex, then sends her to keep Bo preoccupied. Why would he give her that information? The Ash is so manipulative, do we think it’s possible that he wanted Lauren to spill the info to Bo?
• What is Lauren wearing? Does she have business to do when on safari?
• Lauren was tasked with distracting Bo. We think she was obligated to meet with Bo because of being a ward of The Ash, but not to sleep with her. She did that because she wanted to.

The Sex Scene

• Annie thinks the Doccubus sex scene is beautifully shot. And loves it. No one is surprised.
• Lost Girl uses great music for their sex scenes, including “Madman” by Clara Klein for this scene.
• Sex scenes on Lost Girl serve the plot. Yay!
• AFTERMATH: sounds of distress
• It starts off extra sweet, which makes the betrayal and fallout hurt that much more.

Bo vs. Vex

• Bo seeks help from Mayer, and his restaurant set looks particularly awesome in this episode.
• We like that Mayer seems fairly kind to Bo, even though he’s “Dark.”
• Stephanie doesn’t like first season Vex. Too over-the-top. She realizes that she is the only person who thinks so.
• The ending is anti-climactic! Really? Bo doesn’t even get to kick Vex’s ass a little? He SO deserves it.
• Why did Dyson have to be the one to stop Bo? Couldn’t Kenzi have done it?
• Continuing the parallels between Bo and Lou Ann, scenes of Bo strapping on weaponry are intercut with scenes of Lou Ann being strapped to the lethal injection table.
• Dyson says that no one knows anything about Bo's mother. Stephanie calls Dyson a liarface.

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