Lost Girl episode 11 of season 5 is “Sweet Valkyrie High.” As you might guess from the title, this episode is Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten) all the way. Also back after a very long hiatus is Evony (Emmanuelle Vaugier) in all her human weakness.
There are spoilers everywhere.
Bo (Anna Silk) and Lauren (Zoie Palmer) are smooching on the couch while discussing the whole Lauren the chi sucker and the Lauren & Jack medical team thing that’s going on.
Tamsin comes in to pick up a letter. She won’t tell Bo what’s in it. She heads for the clinic where she tears up the contents in front of Jack. It was a check from Jack for bringing him Bo.
Tamsin picks up Stacey (Kate Corbett). Stacey is selling burritos now, but stealing Hades’ soul sounds like more fun. She climbs out the take out window and off she goes off with Tamsin.
They go see Trick (Rick Howland), who tells them about Brísingamen, the necklace of seduction that previously lured Hades into Tartarus. The minute the two Valkyrie buddies see the necklace, they know it belongs to Freyja (Michelle Nolden). Off they go.
Bo and Lauren are at the Dal when Evony charges in complaining about age spots and not feeling well. However, she won’t let Lauren run any tests on her until Bo charms her into doing it.
Tamsin and Stacey can’t find the gate to Valhalla to get Freyja. How can you lose a gate? They think Freyja can lure Hades back into Tartarus. Who shows up but my favorite Valkyrie of all time, Acacia (Linda Hamilton). Acacia reminds them of their days at Sweet Valkyrie High. Tamsin and Stacey think they can find a portal there. Off they go.
While we are in the old high school, there are a series of flashbacks showing the girls as eager teens. Tamsin is head girl in the school where everything is sweetness and light and speaking about doubt is forbidden. Freyja is the head teacher.
Flashback to Acacia, with her hair in a bun and wearing high heels and a suit with a brooch, as a teacher at the school. She’s going to tell the girls, especially Tamsin who she senses is a rebel, about what a Valkyrie is really meant to do.
Lauren has Evony’s test results and they aren’t good. She’s very sick. Turning her Fae could kill her instantly. Lauren admits that she didn’t do it earlier because she wanted to test the serum to be sure it was safe. Seeing Evony respond to this news as a human, not as the cold hearted Morrigan, was a treat – a type of acting we don’t normally see from Emmanuelle Vaugier in Lost Girl.
Acacia followed Tamsin and Stacey to the school. She tells them Freyja is dead.
Evony tells Bo and Lauren that she’s so sick because she was cursed by Arianrhod. According to Lauren, Arianrhod is the keeper of time and karma. When Evony was The Morrigan she was evil – now karma is a bitch.
Bo and Lauren get the brainstorm that a handprint from Hades (Eric Roberts) could save Evony.
Evony hits up Jack for a healing handprint, but it’s more bad news. His touch only melds with Fae. He encourages her to fight and never give up.
At the school, Tamsin and Acacia overpower a tracker. When Tamsin looks at the wanted poster in his pocket, she finds he’s looking for Freyja. Not so dead after all. She uses her doubt powers to get Acacia to reveal Freyja’s hiding place.
Freyja was hiding in a closet in a terrible outfit that looks like Scarlet O’Hara made it out of drapery fabric. Was Scarlet O’Hara Fae? I’ll think about it tomorrow.
Flashback to when Acacia is sacked as a teacher for telling the girls that Valkyries can lead armies. Tamsin rebels. She talks back to Freyja. Big change for the former Miss Goody Two Shoes. Her reward is expulsion. She and Acacia both flunked out of Sweet Vakyrie High.
In the current reality, it takes all 3 Valkyries – Tamsin, Acacia and Stacey – to work enough doubt on Freyja to get a confession out of her.
When Hades escaped from Tartarus, Freyja became a wanted person in need of protection because everyone thinks she can lure Hades back into Tartarus. Freyja confresses that Hades went to Tartarus by choice. She found the powerful necklace and people thought she lured him there, but she didn’t. She wants Tamsin to take her soul for being a fraud but Tamsin refuses.
Tamsin has the brilliant idea that Acacia should become Mistress of Valhalla. Freyja should take over the job of overseeing Tartarus. Off go Stacey and Freyja.
Acacia stays behind to give Tamsin a pep talk. She tells Tamsin she was born to lead armies. Tamsin cries because she fell in love with Bo – she fell in love with the target. Acacia tells her that it helped her learn how to open up, be vulnerable. Bo breaking her heart actually made Tamsin a stronger person.
Acacia says, “Don’t let the past determine who you’re going to be next. Love is the key to being a great leader.” She says that’s why Hades picked Tamsin. Tamsin says “But he’s unkillable.” Acacia reminds her that he picked her but he doesn’t know what she’s going to do next. She says Tamsin should figure out what Hades wants. Tamsin says he wants to build an army.
Tamsin goes to see Hades/Jack. At first she tries to convince him she’s ready to be his general, but he knows she’s lying. Then she tells him that she will protect her friends from him.
When Tamsin leaves, Jack touches the glass of his cell and rearranges the molecules or something because he walks out and the glass resumes its former state.
Lauren feels guilty because she didn’t help Evony when she could have. Evony acts like she’s resigned herself to her fate and regards Lauren as her only hope.
Lauren swears to never give up looking for a way to help Evony. Then she says she wants to tell Evony something. We don’t get to hear what it is, because we go off with Bo to talk to Tamsin.
Tamsin tells Bo she tried to send Hades back but couldn’t. She wants to be Bo’s friend.
Bo thinks they need to know more about what Hades is up to. She says she’s been trying to get to know him. Then she does a double take and says, “What if he’s playing the same game?”
Emily Andras wrote this episode.
Some Thoughts
I enjoyed getting Tamsin’s origin story in this episode. She was such an eager teacher’s pet as a kid. Yet even then we saw signs of independent thinking. The snark came later.
I felt the episode was setting Tamsin up to be important in how everything turns out in the final episode. Hades is building an army. Tamsin can lead an army. Yeah. Tamsin will be important.
We had a few moments with Trick and a couple of scenes with Jack, but other than that this was a WOMEN’S episode. Bringing back Freyja, Stacey and Acacia to tell Tamsin’s story probably accounts for the budget restraints that cut out so much of the man power, but I loved all that woman power.
I was complaining last week that we weren’t getting any sexy times with Bo. At least in this episode there was one kiss and a remark about pillow talk when Bo showed up at the clinic with a smoothie for Lauren. Which brings up the question, why is Lauren talking about smoothies while in bed with Bo?
Oh, wow, don’t you love Linda Hamilton in that teacher’s garb? With the neatly controlled hair and the brooch on her lapel? She gets cast in parts where she’s the toughest broad on the planet. Yet here she is, the perfect schoolmarm. Did I mention I love it?
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