The unaligned one will be the champion, but only if she can bind both sides together in common cause. Sometimes under the sheets, too.
What They Say:
Bo is back, and she’s ready for action! As always, her mortal bestie Kenzi is along for the ride, eager to add a human touch to Bo’s supernatural existence. The new season gets off to a bang as the succubus finds herself navigating a web of seduction between Dyson, Lauren, and a dark fae she just can’t resist.
As if Bo’s hands weren’t already full, there is a new Ash in town and he has his own agenda for Bo. Throw in some shocking revelations by Trick, a new boytoy for Kenzi, a fae-devouring beast with fiery wings, and it’s enough to make any girl head straight for the spa. But Bo’s not just any girl. She’s a succubus to be reckoned with, and juggling the romantic entanglements of a modern woman while saving the fae world from fire and brimstone is what she does best.
Contains episodes 14-35.
The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release comes with the original English language track with a 5.1 mix using the lossless Dolby TrueHD codec. Like most broadcast shows that have an original 5.1 mix, it doesn’t utilize the rear channels all that much overall and is primarily focused on making an engaging forward soundstage experience. The series has a decent mix of action and dialogue material with a few scenes really delving into ambiance as that’s not really it’s thing. It either wants to be full of action or it wants to have a lot of fast paced talking going on. Both of these are rather well handled across the front channels with some good placement and decent depth where appropriate. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout and we didn’t have any problems with dropouts or distortions during regular playback.
Video:
Originally airing in 2011, the transfer for this TV series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The show has twenty-two episodes spread across five discs with five on each and just one on the fifth one it has the final two as well as the extras. The show has a pretty good look about it and definitely is sharper and clearer than the first season that we saw on DVD, having better color definition and the darker scenes are stronger in general. The series has a pretty natural look to it for a TV series and there’s just a bit of grain here and there in some of the backgrounds that is lightly distracting once in awhile. The show deals with a number of dark sequences and shadows, but they’re generally well handled and without noteworthy problems. Detail is decent but what you’d expected for a standard definition release. This isn’t a show that’s radically different from the broadcast version in HD since it’s not a bright and colorful work, but it’s definitely better compressed and handled here with more room to work with and far better tools.
Packaging:
The packaging for this release comes in a standard size Blu-ray case with an O-Card slipcover to it that uses the same design for both. The front cover does a good black and white piece that’s certainly mood and atmospheric as it presents the three lead romantic characters together with a dash of blue light filtering around them to give it that little extra oomph while tying to the logo itself. The logo is the standard one used for the series and it looks good here with its mix of black and white and the nod towards the lead characters curves. The back cover is an all black affair for the background where the left side has a good strip of colorful shots from the slow going from top to bottom and the rest of it is given over the general concept of the series. It covers the episode count, and that they’re uncut, as well as the extras that are on it in a very clean fashion. The technical grid is tiny and very hard to read unfortunately but it does list everything accurately. The keepcase is clear and has artwork on the reverse side, with the left showing a black and white shot of the title character alongside a breakdown of episodes by title and number for each disc. The right panel has a good full length shot of Bo in the same black, white and blue style. No show related inserts are included with this release.
Menu:
The menu design for this release is pretty decent overall though it goes with the usual layout that FUNimation works with in that it’s mostly just clips from the show playing out. It’s not tied to any particular set of episodes but covers the series as a whole and goes for both the action and the sex to make it clear what it is. It’s all done through some yellow filters which is an interesting choice, but it works overall even if it is a touch washed out. The navigation is kept to the lower left and it has some of the wisps from the logo there while blue smoke plays through it to give it some motion. With mots of the discs the only real option is turning on the subtitles or choosing the episodes, so navigation is a breeze. The final disc has the extras and those are laid out cleanly and without problem.
Extras:
Similar to the first season, all the extras are kept to the fifth and final disc of the series. The behind the scenes material runs a bit longer this time around as the six segments average about five minutes each as it goes through the process of how the show is made. The set also includes a fun seven minute blooper reel that is unfortunately a bit lower in volume than the main show, making some of it harder to hear. We also get three interview segments with Anna Silk, Rick Howland and Zoie Palmer that all run different lengths. Silk’s runs just over two minutes while Howland’s hits almost seven minutes. Palmer’s also runs just ovrr seven minutes and gives us a good bit of background on how she got onto the show and more.
After the first season of the series, which ran for thirteen episodes, Lost Girl came back in its original Canadian run with a second season that ramped it up to twenty-two episodes. The first season had been likable enough in its own way, made me smile at times, ignored numerous things that were just gaping plot holes in order to “go with it” and generally had fun with its saucy nature. The cast clicked well, eccentric natures and all and it had a pretty expansive look at the Fae themselves across both the Light and Dark aspects along with some Underfae as well. The only real complaint I had with it was that it felt like too much material in some forms within a sprawling city like this that would just trip over itself far too often. And I really wanted to get more history on how all these Fae ended up where they are (presumably Ontario, where the series is shot).
One of the big pushes of the first season was that Bo doesn’t know who she is because of her lack of family and how she came to learn what she really is. Thankfully, the mother issue was resolved within that season, but it leaves us some mystery with a father and any further relatives that may exist. But while that may be a fun mystery to play at, and it does with too much of a coincidence to really click well, it’s not the focal point. And thank goodness for that. Instead, the show runs the gamut of a few different stories along the way, some episodic material and an overall arc that ties it all together in the second half. Though the show may be just a little too drawn out at times because of its twenty-two episode run, it does manage to work all of it together fairly well. But it continues to hit that uncomfortable point for me where there’s just so much variety and so many factions and types of Fae that are introduced that it gets to be too much. Especially when some of them just feel gimmicky.
This season works through some relationship issues which definitely become front and center pieces as it progresses with the main arc. The main arc being that, to keep things relatively light of spoilers, a really big ancient evil out there that wants to finish what it was trying to do a thousand years ago before the Blood King wrote the rules. It feeds on conflict and with the Light and Dark not in severe war conflict like before, something we do get just a sample of in a creative flashback sequence, it’s been sleeping ever since. But now it’s woken up and is starting to manipulate things across both sides of the aisle in order to bring a real honest to goodness war to the Fae world so that it can feed on all of them. Which of course will destroy them all. It’s a decent arc, doesn’t dominate every episode once it comes to light and it has all the hallmarks of a season finale that you’d expect, complete with it feeling like just a little bit of a cheat in how it’s resolved. It reminded me of how good the buildup was in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series was with its arcs while not being able to fully complete them story in a truly satisfying way.
One of the bigger arcs running through the season involves Dyson and the way he sacrificed his love for Bo in order to save her at the end of the previous season. That’s put an obvious crimp in the relationship and the two have completely separated, though she’s not understanding what’s going on since he’s being manly and hiding it. What helps to soften the blow for him though is the death of the Faerie King that happened recently and the introduction of an old pack mate from hundreds of years ago that he used to go to war with. That encounter brings in a woman he loved back in the day but was committed elsewhere, but the two can now be together as all those commitments have died off, quite literally. Ciara is a really fun character and addition to the show since she brings a different kind of nobility, wealth and power to it but also a really fun sense of sensuality and sexuality as the two of them get closer and closer. Yet it’s not without its problems, Bo being a big one, but also some deeper ones that go back to the Norn. The Norn is dealt with in a great way later in the season by Kenzi who continues to prove she’s a real rule breaker.
With Dyson out of the picture, Bo’s kind of hopping from place to place to get what she needs. She gets closer to Lauren for awhile, but this season gives us a good bit of Lauren’s back story. And unfortunately, it’s a back story that saddles her with a really terrible subplot. We get to understand why she became affiliated with the Ash (or rather, the old Ash, as he’s dead from the start here after last season). Learning of her time in the Congo where she helped to save the Fae from a virus is intriguing and makes sense that they’d bring her in, but it’s layered in twists and turns. Which aren’t bad. The saddled part is that her lover and girlfriend from that time five years prior, Nadia, was infected with the Fae disease as well and is now in a coma as Lauren tries to research it.
It’s… just bad. And Nadia, who of course is awoken in this season, has all the personality of dirt. It’s a complicated piece in its own way to be sure as Lauren has grown and changed in the five years since Nadia went into the coma and she’s certainly conflicted about Bo. With Bo now more available due to Dyson being on the outs, it’s like perfect timing for her. But Bo, upon learning about the existence of Nadia, does a whole lot to help Lauren bring her back into the realm of the awake. Unfortunately, Nadia never really develops as a character and I’m hard pressed to find the relationship between the two women to have much if any chemistry. It really left me bland. Lauren definitely works far better with Bo, but that’s the only time she gets to act human. Lauren’s stuck with bad subplots throughout the season, from this to push back against the new Ash, who himself is just a jerk in some ways but often because of the larger story going on, so it’s on purpose. With Lauren more of a regular character than the supporting/guest character of the first season, I had hoped to see her fleshed out more here and given more time with Bo to see if they can really develop something. Sadly, it just doesn’t happen.
While the shows marketing material tends to focus on the whole Bo/Dyson/Lauren angle, it’s at a disservice to the other lead character with Kenzi. She had an awkward role in the first season as she was supporting Bo and trying to keep it real within the world of the Fae. Here, she’s more grounded, still uncertain at times about her relationship with Bo as BFF’s and her standing within all the world of Fae material. She’s definitely made stronger friendships with many of them and it doesn’t feel forced with Trick any longer either. She’s not quite “Scooby” material in a way but she’s not trying to fill that role. While Kenzi has some good playful time with Bo as well as being good emotional support, she also gets herself a little action as a childhood friend named Nate comes back into her life. It’s a fairly predictable subplot but it’s a nice way to see Kenzi compared to her usual biting and sharp tongue. And not only does her relationship with Trick change, you can also see a lot of potential with Hale as well as even Vex talks openly about how good they look together. That’s something I hope we see more of.
In Summary:
Lost Girl definitely took advantage of the second season with its increased episode count to twenty-two. The relationships get a bit more involved, the cast grows with some solid guest stars such as Ciara, the new Ash and expanded use of Vex in some fun ways that surprised me. Even The Morrigan has some pretty fine scenes. The larger story here with the ancient evil that predates the Fae coming into play definitely puts a lot of things in motion and really uses Bo as a central character in her unaligned aspect to work between both sides in order to try and save everyone. Because that’s her nature. The show builds off of what came before but doesn’t try and harp on it or overanalyze it when it comes to Bo’s mother. That helps it a lot, but they stuff far too many Fae throughout the show at the same time. The series expands its sexuality a bit, still feels somewhat restrained at times and handles the action about as you’d expect from the first season and a series of this nature. It’s fun, simple and does some good stuff along the way and is certainly worth spending the time with if you enjoyed the first season.
Features:
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Language, English Subtitles, Interview Clips, Behind The Scenes Clips, Bloopers
Content Grade: B
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B-
Released By: FUNimation
Release Date: November 13th, 2012
MSRP: $74.98
Running Time: 968 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
