Sunday's flashback of an episode inspires talk of Bo and Lauren's past and future together, Dyson's manhood, Zoie Palmer's singing voice and next week's Tamsin-tinged holiday treat!
Emily Gagne, December 22, 2013 11:00:17 PM
Talk about a blast from the past! That’s what we’re doing with this week’s Lost Girl Talk, as Emily Andras (the Lost Girl showrunner) and Emily Gagne (the TV Guide Canada writer) memorialize this Sunday’s episode, the time travelganza that was “La Fae Époque.”
A lot went down in this episode — a semi Bo/Dyson/Lauren threesome, Kenzi with blonde hair and angel wings, Zoie Palmer singing!— so let’s put on our “hell shoes” and get to moving!
TV Guide Canada: First off, a great episode. Perhaps my favourite since the premiere, “In Memoriam”! I just want to know how the cast reacted when you told them the concept of the episode, and that they’d be playing off-the-wall, ancient version of themselves.
EA: Obviously I have a slight reputation as a bit a troll, and the cast is not immune to being ‘Andrased,’ as I sometimes call it. So ever since the second season when they had to do the body swap episode, every year they sort of know that the writers have one, spectacular, insane, ambitious, high-comedy episodes in our back pockets. They brace themselves, but they’re still shocked, which I love.
I’ve had the privilege of working with Zoie on three different shows and I actually worked with her on Instant Star, the show a long time ago where she played this rocker character Patsy Sewer, who was named after my lovely aunt, one of my mentors. So, I knew Zoie could sing, but it’s been a while and it was such a departure from Lauren. But she was really game.
We had a director who we’ve used a lot, Steve DiMarco, who was really supportive of the cast too. But I was really just proud of everybody. Even Kris I thought was great. Like when he had to do the scenes in the reflections. And obviously, Rick was amazing [as] Trick. He had actually secretly been training with a bo staff with our stunt guys for a few months and hadn’t really told anyone. So, our lovely stunt coordinator, Paul Rapovski, brought in this video of Rick training and he was genuinely so good. That just gave this element to Trick that we were really excited about. He’s obviously got these secret talents up his sleeve.
(TVG: You sort touched on the Kris stuff briefly, but he just looked so good this episode! Whether he was wearing the white pajamas or hiding his junk behind a gargoyle or doing the Bo reflection thing, he was rockin’ it!
(EA: He was really good! And he was so game. He’s so gracious too.
Even though it was sort of Dyson’s story, it’s true that he sort of took a backseat. But he was there to guide Anna, as he was with Ksenia in “Original Skin,” about how he might play something. You know, just to give her some help with the physicality as the wolf and as Dyson.
And you know, hiding your junk behind a gargoyle is the new black.So, Merry Christmas, Dyson fans! For a certain price I can give you the outtakes! Maybe they weren’t so well-hidden…. [Laughs]
(TVG: I’m guessing it was a flesh sock situation.
EA: No comment! [Laughs]
But some of our actors are shier than others. Some of them have no problem just rockin’ it as nature intended!
EA: That’s going to be part of the trick if we ever go that route. Because when Bo went into Dyson’s memory, she saw the angel as Kenzi. She brought the familiar to Dyson’s memory. But if we meet the real angel, she’s not necessarily going to look exactly like Kenzi. If she’s still living or whatever.
That is to say, we thought Ksenia looked so beautiful in that outfit. And I loved her make-up. I just think she’s such a chameleon — we’ve tried some different looks on Kenzi, on Ksenia, this year and she just looks so gorgeous. I have quite a beautiful picture I sent her of herself lying on the bar. She was really shy about it, but I was like, ‘This is your Christmas card! Please put this up!’ [Laughs]
TVG: It sounds like everyone was a bit nervous going into this episode
EA: They were. But I think it’s good to be nervous. I think it’s good to remember that feeling of fear. As a writer, actor, whatever, it’s good to challenge yourself versus it just being static. I think that’s why people really love working on the show — every week it’s something new, something fresh, something unexpected.
TVG: Speaking of the unexpected, we got the first Zoie/Kris sex scene and then we got the first on-screen Zoie/Anna sex scene of the season all at once! How was it conceptualizing that scene? I just loved when she looked in the mirror and sees Dyson!
EA: It was really fun! I mean, I’m sure a lot of people are screaming now, ‘That’ll be the last Zoie/Kris sex scene we ever see!’ I hear you, babies. I hear ya!
We just really thought it was a funny nod to the threesome, but very carefully done. We knew it was going to take some really heavy coordination with the mirror. But one thing that’s really amazing is that Kris and Zoie have worked together on multiple projects and they’ve actually played lovers before. So, they’re actually the biggest goofballs and really comfortable with each other — as comfortable as Anna and Zoie are, or Anna and Kris.
The three of them had a lot of fun coordinating it. Kris was kind of teasing Anna about how to do the thrusting. [Laughs] And then I think he improvised the line, ‘I guess this happening,’ and then Anna did it, which was great. And again, I have to say there were some really hilarious outtakes. I’m kinda sad we had to lose for time because there were a couple where Zoie had her head down low and then her head kept popping up everytime she said, ‘Who is it?’ It was just so hilarious to me!
TVG: On a more serious note, there was a lot of subtext to be had in the scenes between Bo as Dyson and Flora in terms of Lauren and Bo’s relationship. How much should we read into Flora’s dying words, “I have a feeling your love is left to come”?
EA: Well, she was technically speaking to Dyson as Flora. And I think we know that Dyson has implied that he only has ever loved Bo. I think there’s potential for that to change, obviously, but I think that’s something that Dyson has convinced himself is impossible for him. But as he’s learning to challenge rules and the way things are done, there’s lots of different ways for you to love somebody.
But it was supposed to be very subtextual about Bo and Lauren. And one of the things I loved was when Michael Grassi, the writer of the episode, and I were talking about it, we said. ‘It would be awesome to have an excuse for Anna and Zoie to have a fight scene.’ We thought, ‘That’s the promo for sure!’ And Zoie’s very physical — she’s done Nikita and stuff like that — so it was fun to highlight that stuff.
So, I guess when Flora says that it can mean all sorts of things. It is interesting that she says it to Bo as Lauren. Let me say it was a deliberate choice. There are many, many different ways to take that statement going forward.
EA: [Laughs] They ARE the travelling pants of the Fae world!
They’re like Cinderella’s slipper. They’re only going to fit Cinderella’s dainty, dainty foot. They kind of shrink to fit, but the point is, if you’re not the person that’s intended to wear the hell shoes, if you’re not the true hero, obviously they bring out the darkest parts of yourself. We’ve all bought shoes like that, to be honest. You know, where they look good in the store, but you go to the party and you’re dying and crying but you can’t wear flip-flops?
Yeah, I think they are kind of the travelling pants of the Fae world. With slightly more hellish tendencies.
TVG: I imagine we’ll see a lot more of them as the season goes on?
EA: Maybe! We have a lot for Bo to do and some really interesting twists and turns….
EA: It could be a really handy tool! But everybody was yanking them off left, right and centre!
The Red String of Destiny, or Red String of Fate, is actually very common in Chinese culture. There’s lots of literature written about it and about meeting someone as a young person who is destined to be your partner and whatnot. There are really fabulous mythological stories about it if you’re bored over the holidays and want to read some good stuff. [Laughs]
But I would say, yeah, it’s very handy. But, like all things Lost Girl, there are so many times we come up with a device, or a Fae, that’s so amazing — I’m still waiting for my Brownie to arrive and clean up grease off my stove! — and there’s always potential to bring these things back. That being said, I think it was implied that Lauren had gotten it from the Dark Fae archives. Is there a whole room of Red Strings of Destiny? Did she just take three? Who can say….
TVG: Next week we get our last Lost Girl episode of 2013 before a brief, one-week hiatus. Which section of fans will it be the biggest Christmas treat for?
EA: Uh, VAL-KU-BUS. Tamsin fans.
But, I think there is a little stocking stuffer for every portion of the Lost Girl fandom. I feel like there’s some fun Lauren stuff and some fun Dyson stuff. And Vex makes a reappearance. And Kenzi and Hale have an interesting storyline. And Bo is super fun. She has a super fun journey.
TVG: Do you have any plans to do more flashbacks with Dyson and Trick and them developing the colony?
EA: I would love that! There are so many characters whose flashbacks I’d love to see!
I had a really funny idea for one the other day about The Morrigan. I think lots of these characters have interesting pasts — even Lauren, even Kenzi — and it’s always an opportunity to explore the characters we know and love. If Showcase wants to fly me to France so we can continue to do flashbacks, that would be amazing. But we can always make it work [here]. [Laughs]
TVG: Finally, is there any way fans can download the song Lauren sang?
EA: I believe we will be posting it on iTunes. I will do my darndest to make it happen!
Lost Girl airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.
Thoughts? Questions about “La Fae Époque”? Leave ‘em below and be sure to check in this time next week for our postmortem on “Groundhog Fae”!
SOURCES: 1 | 2(crappy screencaps by moi minus 2, gif sources next to the gifs)
I know some of you might have some rants about this episode; I'll just hope some of the initial rantiness has worn off. XD But feel free to talk/squee/rant about whatever you want, per usual.