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LostGirlPoster 836

Lost Girl is a 2010- Showcase television series that revolves around Bo, a young woman with the ability to control men and women through her touch and suck the life from them with a kiss. She is a succubus, and one of the Fae, a group made up of several races of supernatural entities separated into two sides: Light and Dark. Rather than choosing a side, Bo decides to strike out on her own and learn about her past with the help of a streetwise sidekick named Kenzi, and a Fae police detective named Dyson. Now being shown on Sy Fy.

Tropes used in Lost Girl include:
  • Absurdly Spacious Sewer: In the webcomic at least.
  • Abusive Parents: Kenzi's stepfather is said to have locked her in a closet for as little as laughing too loud, and generally made her childhood miserable enough that she came close on several occasions to summoning Baba Yaga to kill him.
  • Action Girl: Bo has graduated to this status by the start of season 2.
  • Adorkable: Lauren. Murmuring "isotopes" in her sleep? D'awwwwwww.
    • In-universe as well. Bo even states, while smiling, that she loves it when Lauren "totally geeks out".
  • All Myths Are True: All myths are fae. Including Phoenixes and Unicorns.
  • Alter Kocker: Mayer, Yiddish as a Second Language and all. Oddly enough, his base of operations is a Chinese restaurant, and his niece has more of a Chinese theme to her style.
  • Amateur Sleuth: Bo and Kenzi
  • The Artful Dodger: Kenzi
  • The Atoner: Bo. She does feel extreme guilt for her murder spree, in the past, and making up for it is likely her motivation for becoming a detective.
  • Aura Vision: Bo, according to "I Fought the Fae (And The Fae Won)". This is how she's able to detect a character with Invisibility.
    • Well she can see sexual aura's at least, which she claimed to be able to do back in Season 1 on her Not a Date with Lauren.
  • Auto Cannibalism: Gary, a Fae butcher, from "Death Didn't Become Her":
Cquote1

 Gary: You know what they say-- sometimes a flesh-eater is just too tired to get out of bed, go to the fridge, know what I mean? [bites off his own index finger]

Cquote2
    • In his defense, the fingers do grow back.
  • Axe Crazy: Reynard, a Dark Fae who wants to restart the war between the Dark and the Light
  • Baba Yaga: Kenzi drunkenly invokes her to put a curse on Dyson.
  • Badass Normal:
    • Kenzi. In a series of supernaturals who can break her physically without trying and mentally with a glance, she manages to hold her own and repeatedly save Bo from other Fae.
    • Although the fae tend to dismiss humans as a threat, a determined human can seriously hurt and/or kill a fae.
  • Bad Powers, Good People:
    • Corpse-eaters and harpies are numbered among the Light fae. The corpse-eaters, known as Aswang, are portrayed as saintly old women who consume the unloved and diseased dead.
    • Also Bo herself, with the supernaturally seductive touch and life draining kiss of death is one of the most moral characters in the show.
  • Batman Gambit: The Morrigan's assistant.
  • Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Bo's mother.
  • Berserk Button: Threatening to kill and eat Lauren is not a good idea around Bo.
    • Bo also loses it when The Ash refers to Lauren as his property.
  • Better to Die Than Be Killed: Or worse. So The Morrigan's assistant graphically commits suicide when discovered.
  • Betty and Veronica: Dyson and Lauren. Initially with safe, helpful Lauren as Betty and dangerous, smouldering Dyson as Veronica. As their motivations are uncovered over the course of the season, things become more blurry.
  • Bi the Way: Bo.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Bo and Kenzi to Vex of all people. And then moments later he has to save Bo from being killed.
  • Bikini Bar: Bo goes undercover in a high-class strip club during a job.
  • Black and Gray Morality: The Fae world is divided between the Light Fae, who make some token efforts to avoid being completely Selfish Evil, and the Dark Fae, who... really, really don't. The more heroic characters try to hold themselves to a higher standard, but even they are all a bit morally ambiguous.
    • Discussed by The Blackthorn in "I Fought the Fae (And The Fae Won)", who comments that some of the Light Fae don't think that "Light" is a proper term for them. He acknowledges that Light Fae hunt humans for food, but Dark Fae do it for food and pleasure.
  • Black Best Friend: Hale to both Dyson and Kenzi.
  • Blessed with Suck: Baku have incredible powers to cure disease. Unfortunately, obtaining this curative property requires killing and skinning them.
  • Blood Knight: Dyson's old pack seemed to have been composed of those. They loved to fight and did not care who their king sent them against or why.
  • Blood Magic: The Blood King is able to alter reality through inscriptions written in his own blood.
  • Blood Sport: A fae running a MMA gym starts running underground fights that he broadcasts over the internet to paying spectators. When his human champion proves to be too good for other human fighters, he starts pitting him against fae fighters like Ogres and Obsidians. None of the fae seem too concerned that a human could easily be killed in such a matchup.
  • Blue Blood: The noble families: five for the humans, and five for the fae. And then there's the mythic Blood King himself.
  • Bondage Is Bad: Vex, one of the darkest characters in the show, is shown in indulging in it.
    • The Morrigan also keeps handcuffs already cuffed to her bed frame. This bites her in the ass. She also uses Pepper Spray for... something.
  • Bounty Hunter: One shows up in "Original Skin" hunting an escaped Dark Fae mental patient.
  • Bow Chicka Wow Wow: (One of) Kenzi's way(s) to describe Bo's side activities.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: Kenzi, who absolutely refuses to have a proper job.
  • By the Eyes of the Blind: Lightning birds can only be seen by human females.
  • Cain and Abel: Liam takes out a hit on his brother due to a childhood grudge. Subverted when he calls off the hit after his Dad admits he was the one who wronged him.
  • Canada, Eh?:
    • Averted. It's not explicitly stated that the series takes place in Toronto (where it is filmed), but there are a few hints. Check the currency...
      • And the flag in the trailer park in the second episode...
    • When street intersections are mentioned, we get things like "University and Dunkirk"
    • The one cop-shop we hear mentioned is not "39th Precinct", but rather "39 Division".
    • One episode showed a realtor's sign on the lawn of a house; the phone number had a 416 (Toronto) area code.
    • The Canadian Accents are a bit of a giveaway.
    • The CN Tower is clearly visible in several shots.
    • A sign in a restaurant window in the first episode reads "LLBO", which means the Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario (advertising that the restaurant sells alcohol.)
    • After a joke about a fae black market, Kenzi complains that Cherry Coke is hard to find, which is true in Canada.
  • Cartwright Curse: Bo's power is to suck the life out of her partners.
  • The Casanova: Dyson. Unless cursed.
  • Chained to a Bondage Rack: Vex in "It's Better to Burn Out Than Fae Away." Since his Game Breaker powers requires the use of his hands, this renders him completely helpless.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: When Bo and Dyson first visit Liam at his office in "Fae Day," they pass a couple of security guards dragging an angry investor out of the office. At the end of the episode, just when it appears that the banshee was wrong to wail for Liam's brother Sean and Sean is going to survive, the angry investor shows up and pulls out a gun. He tries to kill Liam, but Sean takes the bullet for him, thus proving the banshee right.
  • Chewing the Scenery: The escaped mental patient, but especially once he's in Lauren's body. Zoie Palmer looked like she was having a lot of fun.
    • The Norn goes from calm, collected, and elderly to devouring the scenery like flipping a switch.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Bo has a case of it, as when she won't give up on a investigation simple once she's found the person she's looking for- she also has to ensure they aren't it/don't get into any more trouble.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: Light fae tend to wear white grey or beige. Dark fae tend to wear black. Lampshaded by Lachlan when he points out how good Bo looks in dark colors as succubi are dark fae.
  • Conversed Trope: from the season 2 premiere:
Cquote1

 Bo:Guy disappears for 3 weeks and leaves you hanging, usually the girl gets to be the pissy one, yes?

Kenzi:That is how I've come to understand things from my education in romantic comedies, yes. Also, girls with glasses are way smart and being klutzy is adorable.

Cquote2
  • Cool Old Guy: Trick.
  • Cop Boyfriend: Dyson
  • Creepy Child: The little girl who keeps appearing to Bo in the season 2 premiere. She later reveals herself as the Nain Rouge, a harbinger of doom.
  • Cultural Posturing: All the Fae (except Bo, Trick, Hale, and Dyson) seem to look down on humans. Underfae don't get much respect either.
  • Curse: Used a few times such as when Kenzi invokes the Baba Yaga to inflict one on Dyson. Lauren's girlfriend Nadia turns out to be under one, hence her coma.
  • Cursed with Awesome: Kenzi certainly thinks Bo's powers are cool. Bo's not so sure.
  • Damsel in Distress: Kenzi when captured by the Baba Yaga.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Dark Fae definitely have worse policies when it comes to humans, and they are the blacker morality compared to the Light, but, just as we see rather evil-acting Light Fae, some Dark Fae are rather pleasant and don't really show any "evil" traits.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Kenzi, regularly. Other characters also chip in.
  • Deus Sex Machina:
    • Sexual contact can heal a succubus, at the expense of her partner. She can also inject a partner with "sexual chi", partially healing them.
    • The BOH-see ahn Ta-LAHV, a mystical ritual binding the Light Fae to a piece of land, requires the Ash to have sex with the Anthropomorphic Personification of the land, thereby consummating a mystical "marriage" to it. Furthermore, the ritual is powered by sexual energy siphoned from the surrounding crowd. This is apparently a common feature of Fae and pagan rituals.
  • Dirty Cop: Dyson and Hale play with this. While they take the "to serve and protect" part of their jobs seriously, they are primarily concerned with covering up evidence of fae activities.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Effectively Bo's superpower. Bo herself falls victim to it in the Season 2 premier, when she enters a club with where the people have a very high sexual energy.
    • Not Distracted by the Sexy: It doesn't work on Lachlan.
      • Another Fae in episode 5 is immune to Bo's powers, but only because she's still young. He openly states that if she had more power or control, he wouldn't be able to resist her.
  • Domino Revelation
  • Dream Stealer: The baku (from Japanese mythology), a heroic version who eat bad dreams.
  • Dream Weaver: The mares, who purposefully give people and fae nightmares in order to feed off their fear.
  • Dutch Angle: Done in the episode "Arachnofaebia" to show the fear and increasing insanity of the victims of the Monster of the Week.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Invoked by Kenzi when she tells Bo to fight for Dyson, Lauren and her overall happiness.
  • Easily Forgiven: Averted, Bo is deeply hurt when its revealed Lauren was ordered to sleep with her and ignores her apologies and attempts to explain. The revelation that Trick and Dyson were also lying to her, seems to be what motivates Bo into forgiving her. Kenzi is seemingly still holding a grudge in Season 2.
  • Eating the Eye Candy: Kenzi when Hale takes off his shirt.
  • Eleventh-Hour Superpower: When Lauren is threatened by the lich and his minions, combined with a side order of The Power of Love. Bo doesn't remember what she did or how she did it but there were elements of God Save Us From the Queen at that point.
  • Embarrassing Middle Name: Det. Hale. His full name & title: Baronet William Haley Francoise Santiago.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Kenzi used to be known as "Meow Meow" on the street. One of her friends was "Thumper".
  • Emotion Eater:
    • The Djieiene "psychically feeds off the flood of adrenalized pheremones" of the people it drives into homicidal paranoia.
    • Morraghs feed on rage.
    • Mares feed on the fear generated by nightmares.
  • The End - or Is It?: At the end of "Mirror, Mirror", Baba Yaga's burned hand is shown reaching through a mirror, despite her apparent death.
  • Enthralling Siren: Det. Hale.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Dyson, what with the whole shapeshifters don't need shirts thing. Hale's not bad looking either.
  • Even the Girls Want Her: Everyone's hot for Bo. It probably comes with being a Succubus.
    • Same with Sherri and her fellow selkie strippers in "Fae Gone Wild", who have Kenzi questioning her sexuality.
  • Evil Brit: Vex.
  • The Fair Folk: The Light and the Dark Fae.
  • False Friend: Cayden turns out to be one for Dyson.
  • Fantastic Racism/Puny Humans: Nearly every Fae in the series has a very low opinion on humans. Kenzi is only barely tolerated, because they see her as Bo's property.
    • Lauren is also treated this way, as they see her as the property of the Ash.
  • Film Noir: The entire series is dark lit, and often takes place in underground bars and abandoned buildings or an Abandoned Warehouse. The protaganist is an Badass Longcoat Anti-Hero Femme Fatale Private Detective who deals with The Mafia, fae style. It even comes with Flash Forward and Flash Back.
  • Fingore:
    • Vex forces Siegfried to stick his hand down a sink trash disposal.
    • Bo and Dyson question a Fae who recently lost a finger. When they ask how he lost it, he bites off another of his fingers to demonstrate. He likes to snack and the fingers apparently grow back.
  • Five-Man Band: Generally the crew that gets together to solve the Mystery of the Week.
  • Flowers for Algernon Syndrome: When a fae father drugs his son to become smarter, he starts infecting others at his school causing serious damage to humans. The son returns back to being dumb by the end of the episode.
  • Forced Prize Fight: The pilot episode
  • For Science!: Lauren's reason for working with the Fae. Well, that's the reason she gives anyway. The real reason is her girlfriend was stricken ill, and then lapsed into a coma, by a disease that was supposed to only affect Fae. The Ash offered Lauren all the resources she wanted to finding a cure, in exchange for becoming a slave to the Light Fae.
  • Freaky Friday Flip: Most of the main characters in "Original Skin" switch bodies. Kenzi in Dyson is probably the Crowning Moment of Funny. Similar to Farscape, they have name tags to distinguish everyone.
  • Freaky Is Cool: Kenzi sure seems to think so.
  • Friends with Benefits: Bo and Dyson tried to be this in the first season.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Lambert.
  • Genki Girl: Mayer's niece, Cassie, an oracle. She becomes quite serious when using her powers, though.
  • Giggling Villain: Bo's mother, and later Reynard, the mental patient Dark Fae who steals Lauren's body.
  • Green Thumb: Landwights.
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck: Averted. Kenzi's has no problem swearing, and Showcase has no problem airing it, nor does Sy Fy.
  • Good Powers, Bad People: The landwights are nature Fae who bring amazing good fortune to anyone who eats the plants that grow on their land. The Dark Fae landwight seen in the show, however, is happy to use humans as plant food.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Part of the reason Lauren and Dyson don't get along. Though he also seems dismissive of her because she's human, and a slave.
    • Lauren also accuses Kenzi of this, in that Kenzi wants to be the only human in Bo's life.
  • Guns Are Useless: Averted. Fae aren't much more immune to bullets than the typical human, and Dyson coup-de-graces several with his service piece.
  • Guttural Growler: The Ash. It's almost "Christian Bale"-esque Narm.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Averted. Offspring of human and Fae are totally human.
  • Happiness in Slavery:
    • Lauren is the property of the Ash, leader of the light fae, but is generally content with her lot in life. She finds her scientific research into fae physiology to be intellectually rewarding, and her medical expertise, and the fact that she is owned by the leader of the light fae, gives her a fair amount of prestige and influence among the light fae. She is unmistakably a slave, however. The happiness part of the trope may be in decline under the new Ash. The Ash also never openly refers to Lauren as his slave. However, Lachlan, the new Ash, refers to Lauren as "chattel" and his property, to Bo's fury.
      • Possibly being deconstructed in the later seasons when we find out that she actually joined the Ash to keep her girlfriend alive and to have a chance at curing the girlfriend's mysterious ailment, and it's later revealed that the Ash ordered her cursed to obtain Lauren as his slave in the first place. She also later admits to Bo that the five years she spent as slave have been rather bleak for her; and considering how reserved she is, that probably means horrible.
    • Most Fae think that Kenzi also falls into this category since they consider her to be Bo's property. It does not cross their minds that Bo considers Kenzi to be an equal.
  • Harping on About Harpies: Played for Laughs in episode 7, when Bo is trying to apologize for being insensitive.
Cquote1

 Lauren: Well, physically you're fine.

Bo: But emotionally I'm a level 10 harpy. (One of Lauren's medical staff slams something down and storms off, giving Bo a dirty look). Is she...?

Lauren: Of the Boston harpies.

Bo: Great.

Cquote2
  • Hate Plague: Spread by the Djieiene.
  • Headless Horseman: Two show up as antagonists in "Where There's a Will, There's a Fae". One is defeated when Kenzi drops his head in a bonfire, killing him.
  • Healing Factor: Dyson. What makes him suitable feeding material for Bo. Also the reason she uses his friend Cayden, also a werewolf.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Bo and Kenzi, in an example of what could ironically be called "playing it extra straight". Sure, Bo is not exactly heterosexual, but they manage to subvert the Les Yay precisely because of that: If there was anything more than friendship between Bo and Kenzi, on this show it would be main text. Nevertheless, the "Same Gender, Always Together" catchphrase certainly applies.
  • Hoist By Her Own Petard: Baba Yaga is knocked into the very furnace she uses to cook nubile young girls. This is simultaneously an instance of The Dog Bites Back, as the one who knocks her in is her mistreated pet domovoi.
  • Hope Spot: After Sean manages to make peace with his brother in "Fae Day," his brother calls off the hit on Sean and it appears that the banshee was wrong when she wailed for him. Unfortunately, You Can't Fight Fate and an angry investor who Liam had ripped off tries to kill Liam and Sean takes the bullet for him.
  • Horny Devils: The protagonist and other succubi, including her biological mother.
  • Hot Scientist/ Hospital Hottie: Lauren, doctor/scientist for the Light Fae.
  • Humiliation Conga: Inverted. In "Into The Dark", a series of antagonistic characters from previous episodes show up and each endure some kind of humiliation.
    • Vex is captured by thugs and beaten with soccer balls.
    • The Nain Rouge is chewed out by Bo and forced to drop her Creepy Child routine and admit her fear.
    • The Norn is forced to surrender to a mere human, because said human was brandishing a chainsaw and cutting down her sacred tree.
    • The Morrigan's humiliation could be considered Humiliation Conga played straight, as she is forced to dance in her underwear to MC Hammer, made to feel old, tricked by Bo into letting herself be handcuffed to a bed, then finally revealed to have need for magical Fae Viagra.
  • Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: the Stag Hunt.
  • Kappa: The villain Fae of episode 3.
  • I Ate What?: Kenzi does not take it well when she find out that she ate foot soup.
  • I'm a Humanitarian:
    • Kenzi, but it was an accident.
    • Baba Yaga
    • Lichs
    • Aswangs but they only eat dead humans. Seeing as they can also destroy any diseases that the body had they make for effective plague control.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Kenzi's aunt Ludmilla claims that there's no such thing as an honest Ukrainian (Kenzi admits her family is a bit racist) after we see her making a living as a "psychic."
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Justification for many villains including the one in the season 2 opener.
  • Invisibility: Hamish's ability. Manifests as type 2 Visible Invisibility when fading in and out.
  • It Tastes Like Feet: Averted. Foot soup actually tastes pretty good. So good in fact, Kenzi didn't know it was foot soup until she was told.
  • Jerkass: the first Ash. The Blackthorn and Lachlan (the second Ash) manage to top him effortlessly, however
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Kenzi tends to carry one.
  • Kill It with Fire: Bo when hunting an underfae in season 2. Hale however prefers a minigun.
  • King Incognito: Trick is the Blood King of the Fae.
  • A Load of Bull: In the second webcomic Hale and Dyson track a Minotaur in the sewers.
  • Life Energy: What Bo feeds on.
  • Light Is Not Good: The Light Fae seem just as dangerous and manipulative as the Dark ones.
    • The Blackthorn even acknowledges that "Light" isn't an entirely proper term for them, but notes that they are still better than the Dark. He compares the Light Fae to Native American hunters, they respect the kill, don't over-hunt (or do it for pleasure), and don't hurt children.
  • Lipstick Lesbian: Lauren.
  • Little People Are Surreal: Averted. Trick's being much smaller than the rest of the cast is unremarked upon, and when another little person figures into the plot, it turns out he's related to Trick. It seems to be just another Fae marker for that particular species. Kenzi doesn't let it go without note though:
Cquote1
Cquote2
Cquote1

 Bo: I love you…all, so much

Cquote2
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Trick is Aife's father, and Bo's grandfather.
  • Lzherusskie: Averted. Ksenia Solo is from Latvia.
  • Magic Pants: Aversion with Dyson. Kenzi actually picks up his pants post-transformation, explaining where he recovers them from. I guess he didn't have time to put the rest of his clothes on...
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: Sirens like Detective Hale.
  • Marionette Master: Lichs, of dead people raised back to life.
  • Masquerade: The Fae have been manipulating - and been a part of - human civilization since the beginning, but usually have kept themselves hidden, and have worked hard to make humanity believe that they are just myths.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • "Bo" sounds like "Beau", which means beauty.
    • It may also be intended to be a backhanded reference to Little Bo Peep, only in this case Bo has lost her family and not her sheep.
    • A title rather than a name, but the leader of the Dark Fae is given the title of "The Morrigan" which refers to the Celtic Goddess of war and strife. It translates as "phantom queen" or "great queen".
    • When a fae reach a high enough political position, they assume the traditional title of the position as their name. So if a fae is only refered by his/her title, it means that you are dealing with someone really powerful.
  • Mind Control: Several types of Fae have some form of this power. The character Vex, who is a type of Fae called a Mesmer, can turn pretty much anyone into one of his People Puppets. Bo can do this at a Charm Person level using her succubus powers of attraction, while older, more experienced succubi such as Saskia/Aoife can enslave people to the point of creating a small army of enthralled humans who are willing to die for them.
    • There seems to be a wide variety of ways for the Fae to manipulate humans. The Seniatta is a type of Fae that can change a human's inner motivations by touch. It is implied that some Fae know how to make potions that can cause different effects, such as erasing or rewriting memories.
  • The Missus and the Ex: Kiara and Bo have reached a level of friendship as of "Can't See the Fae-rest".
  • Ms. Fanservice:
    • Again, the protagonist.
    • And the Sidekick. And the Hot Doctor. And The Dragon of the Dark Fae. Almost every female character we see has cleavage... the whole show runs on Fan Service.
  • Monster of the Week
  • More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: Morraghs.
  • Mugging the Monster:
    • Any human trying to attack fae will usually end up in this situation.
    • A rapist going after Bo in the pilot episode did not stand a chance and was not really mourned.
    • Even fae tend to underestimate Bo's power.
  • Muggle Best Friend: Kenzi, the only non-fae in the main cast. Until Lauren joins the main cast in Season 2.
  • The Muse: The Morrigan is a type of muse-fae who feeds on driving artists she gets involved with insane.
  • My Beloved Smother: The Glaive has very strict instructions on what her daughter cannot do when she is out. They eliminate any 'fun' activities a young woman might want to to indulge in. Turns out some of them are actually quite reasonable considering the fae's nature. Drinking coffee stops her heart.
  • Mystery of the Week
  • New Old Flame:
    • Kiara, for Dyson. Or at least someone he cared deeply for in a romantic sense even if they weren't in a relationship in the past.
    • Nadia for Lauren.
  • Nice Hat: Hale has one.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: If you don't do anything after invoking Baba Yaga to curse your ex, you'll be fine. If you have second thoughts and want the curse removed, Baba Yaga will take you as a slave and eventually eat you.
  • No Ontological Inertia: The Djieine's venom instantly disappears from its victims' bodies as soon as its heart is destroyed. Lauren starts to give a perfectly rational and sensible explanation (something to do with magnetic fields) for why it stopped instantly but trails off she sees that Bo doesn't understand any of it.
  • Not a Date: In Food For Thought, Bo insists that she and Lauren are meeting so that Lauren can help her learn control, and that it's not a date. Despite their clear mutual attraction, Bo fretting about what to wear for it, and that they are meeting in a bar. Kenzi doesn't buy it.
  • Occult Detective: Bo is one of the few female versions of this trope.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Dyson during the flashbacks in "Brotherfae of the Wolves". Line by line it swings between normal Dyson, Irish, and somewhere in between.
    • Made even worse when on the Pre-show for the season 2 finale he claims it was supposed to have been Scottish.
  • Our Fairies Are Different: All supernatural beings in this world, even vampires, succubi, and werewolves, are subtypes of Fae. There are also more traditional types of Fae such as banshees, will-o-the-wisps, etc. Most types of Fae prey on humans in some way, whether by feeding on emotions, Life Force, body parts/fluids, or even by draining the luck from humans.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: They can only be killed by having their heart cut out. They are also fairly low in the fae power structure and considered to be bottom-feeders.
  • Our Werewolves Are Different: Dyson.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: Eddie's a Hsien, who can posess recently killed bodies.
  • Out with a Bang: Occasionally. Sex doesn't always equal death, and Bo can kill with just a kiss, but it happens.
  • Orphan's Ordeal: Bo's biological (Fae) parents abandoned her, for reasons unknown. She then had to leave home as a teen after her powers awakened. Kenzi has been on the street since she was 10. The thief in the second episode is stealing from his father as revenge for abandoning him and his mother.
  • Paranoia Fuel: Literally caused by the Djieiene's venom.
  • Parental Abandonment: Bo.
  • People Puppets: Mesmers and lichs, the latter for dead people raised back to life.
  • Perky Goth: Kenzi
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Velma, the Mongolian Death Worm. She might be senile but don't take away her portable TV for too long or you will regret it.
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray: Bo suspects that a lich keeps his soul in a pictures of himself and even mentions the story as her inspiration. She is wrong.
  • Playing with Fire: Serena.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Kenzi.
  • Prophecy Twist: This being a TV show all about Fae in the modern world,it seems like there are always prophecies and fortunes waiting to trip characters up.
  • Protagonist-Centered Morality: The show conveniently expects you to forget that Bo went on a spree of murder and arguable rape for about ten years, valuing her own survival over the lives of others in the process, every time she gets mad about Fae killing humans, getting away with murder and gives a speech about right and wrong. However, in "Raging Fae" she is confronted by the sister of the first person she ever killed and is shown to be still very guilty over that. She also refers to herself as a serial killer in the early episodes, and is haunted by the people she's killed.
  • Punny Name: The episode titles
  • Psychic Nosebleed: The Oracle in episode 5, but only for really intense visions.
  • Rape Is OK When It Is Female On Male: Bo's power is basically magical sexual harassment, and most of her past partners would probably not have consented if they knew she was going to eat them during sex. Granted, she's bi, but she's mostly only shown interacting with males. To be fair, most of her killings are implied to be accidental.
    • Averted when Saskia rapes Dyson. It's creepy as hell and almost kills him. Notably Bo catches them, and is furious with Saskia.
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Fae age a lot slower than humans, so this is true for most of the cast outside of Bo and Kenzi. Dyson talks about his past in terms of centuries, and Shawn in "Fae Day" talks about a dispute he had with his brother in the 1900s. These characters dating the traditionally-aged Bo and Kenzi isn't seen as very unusual by the rest of the cast.
  • Reality Writing Book: The Blood King has one, and can use it to write the future. He needs to write in it with his own blood, and it never quite turns out as he intends it to.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Furies. If you look into their eyes you go insane, then die.
  • Red Herring: While investigating the disappearances of girls from a college in episode 3, Bo and Kenzi suspect the sorority and the uptight dean to be involved. It's really a security guard feeding girls to his kappa.
  • Rescue Introduction: How Bo meets Dyson's New Old Flame Kiara. And how Dyson re-connects with her after several centuries of separation.
  • Rescue Romance: After Dyson and Bo rescue Kiara from Cayden, romance ensues. Or re-ensues.
  • The Reveal:
    • At the end of "Fae Day," we find out that Trick is the Blood King, an ancient fae with Reality Warper powers who could have been the ruler of all the fae if he wanted.
    • Saskia is actually Aoife, Bo's mother.
    • Trick is Aoife's father, making him Bo's grandfather.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Hale is the heir to one of the three most powerful fae noble clans but chose to become a police officer and interact with humans on a daily basis.
  • Running Gag: "Toothpaste?" "Foot locker."
  • Sassy Black Woman: Clorice the Thunder Bird.
  • Scary Black Man: The Blackthorn and the original Ash.
  • Sex for Solace: Kenzi suggests this to Bo a few times in regards to her being rejected by Dyson. The first time in Faetal Attraction Bo has a threesome with a married couple. In Scream a Little Dream Kenzi even says "the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else", but Bo ignores her this time.
    • In Lachlan’s Gambit Lauren grieving over Nadia's death even gives a scientific reason for this, but ultimately subverts it.
Cquote1

 Lauren: It's just that the doctor part of me never shuts off, and I know that I’m merely acting out of transference of grief onto you. Wanting to have sex is a very common response to grief. Biologically speaking, the transference often helps move the pain. Sort of use it as something else. Turn it into something different. Something better...

Bo: (grinning) I love it when you totally geek out.

Lauren: Can I sleep with you?

Bo: Yes.

Lauren: I just mean sleep. (Bo's face falls a little) In your arms?

Bo:...Yeah exactly.

Cquote2
  • Sex Slave: Played with. No one ever uses the word "slave" to refer to Lauren, but she does refer to herself as the "property" of the Ash, and for all the influence and prestige she enjoys among the light fae, she is clearly a slave. This trope comes into play when the Ash orders her to seduce and sleep with Bo. Granted, she very much liked and wanted Bo, but it's still the case that she didn't have a choice in the matter. Bo still holds it against her for awhile.
  • Ship Tease: Kenzi and Hale when she has to pretend to be his girlfriend.
  • Shirtless Scene: Hale in "Death Didn't Become Her". The sight of his six pack is enough to make Kenzi forget about her disgust at having had to remove his vomit-stained shirt.
  • Shown Their Work: Every fairy, fae, and legendary creature they actually got right.....Sirens to Furies, Frost Giants to Thunder Birds. Someone REALLY knew their mythologies.
  • Shock and Awe: Lightning Birds.
  • Slave Collar: The pendant Lauren wears marks her as the Ash's property.
  • Speak of the Devil: Invoking Baba Yaga involves, among other things, saying her name three times into a mirror.
  • Spell My Name with a "The": The Ash and The Morrigan, respective leaders of the Light and Dark Fae, though it should be noted that those, like other high-ranking Fae, are their titles and not their names.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Jenny in "Faetal Attraction".
  • Sticky Fingers:
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 Bo: And Kenzi?

Kenzi: Yeah?

Bo: Stop stealing shit.

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  • Super-Powered Evil Side: Bo displays one when Lauren is threatened. She doesn't remember how or what she did afterwards though.
  • Take a Third Option:
    • Bo chooses to side with neither Light nor Dark Fae. It's made clear that this may not be the best idea.
    • In addition to the Light and Dark sides, some people (like Dyson) are more closely allied with Trick, AKA The Blood King and ancient ruler of the fae.
  • Taking the Bullet: At the end of "Fae Day," Sean takes a bullet meant for his brother Liam.
  • A Threesome Is Hot: Bo with a married Fae couple, then later with Lambert and another female playmate.
    • The wife from the first couple later reveals that she and her husband have threesomes fairly often, as it keeps their century old marriage interesting.
  • Tears of Blood: All the sick people in episode 6.
  • This Is Gonna Suck: The only way to get a banshee to reveal who they've wailed for and when the person will die is to force it out of them since the information is hidden in their unconscious mind. Bo has to force-feed the banshee pureed liver (the iron causes the necessary reaction) and though the banshee is willing to go along with it, she's not too happy.
  • To Serve Man: Certain types of Fae are carrion eaters. Kenzi accidentally has some dead guy soup in episode 6. Yummy.
  • Took a Level In Badass: Bo has. Dyson points it out after returning in season 2 opener, and she seems far more competent and comfortable in a fight.
  • Two Words: Obvious Trope: When Trick is wondering how to attract more people to his bar, after Bingo failed, all Lauren has to say is:
Cquote1

 Lauren: Two words Trick. Mechanical Bull.

Cquote2
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: Lachlan manages to make himself look worse than the old guy pretty quickly. He even gives a variation of the "there will be changes" line!
  • Undying Loyalty: Wolf-fae are extremely loyal to their pack and their king. It took a massive betrayal by his king for Dyson to leave his service and the other members of the pack still protected the king even though they knew what happened.
  • Uriah Gambit: The king of Dyson's old pack sent Dyson's best friend to be killed so he could have the friend's lover for himself.
  • Urban Fantasy
  • The Watcher: The Nain Rouge.
  • The Watson: Inverted. Bo doesn't have a clue about the Fae or how Fae Society works, and frequently needs things explained to her.
  • Voice of the Legion: Bo after draining the life force from a room full of people, all at once, to save Lauren.
  • What Beautiful Eyes!: Ksenia Solo, who plays Kenzi, has very striking eyes, which are particularly noticeable due to the heavy eyeshadow she wears.
  • What Did I Do Last Night?: Well, Kenzi, you invoked Baba Yaga and cursed Dyson.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: What happened to The First Ash?
    • He either never woke up from his coma, or was thrown into dishonor
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Why did it have to be Baba Yaga, in Kenzi's case.
  • Win Your Freedom: The stag of the hunt to decide the new Ash can win his or her freedom by ringing the bell, with all prior crimes being wiped away by their participation. The contestants for the title need to kill them before that.
    • Condemned Contestant: Trick states the game is designed so that the stag wont win, and no stag ever has. They try to make it easier by having Hale, who wont hurt her, be one of the hunters. They also have her lover, who can turn invisible be there to help. Ultimately, she is still shot right before she ring the bell, so they have Lauren revive her in a Loophole Abuse.
  • Written in Absence: Kenzi is on a road trip with her new boyfriend in "Midnight Lamp" and that is made clear right at the start of the episode to explain her absence (and was set up in the episode before).
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Bo deduces that a lich stored his soul in a portrait and just like in The Picture of Dorian Gray she has to destroy it to kill the lich. When she cuts the picture up with a knife the lich merely laughs at her.
    • Bo laughs off Kenzi's initial belief that she is a vampire, explaining that she feeds on life force, not blood. Somehow, in the ten years she's been on the run, she never considered to simply search the words "Sex-vampire" on the internet, which would have told her that she was a succubus a long time ago.
  • Yandere: In the episode "Faetal Attraction", sweet, innocent, victimized Jenny turns out to be a chainsaw-wielding psycho. Anyone else notice the Bluebeard shoutout? Except of course she has her previous objects-of-obsessions' skulls in her "secret" cupboard.
  • Yiddish as a Second Language: Mayer is an Alter Kocker and peppers his dialogue with a lot of Yiddish.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: No matter what you do, if a banshee wails for you, then you're as good as dead.
  • You're Not My Type: When Kenzi wonders if Saskia (another succubus and later revealed to really be Aoife, Bo's mother) and Bo are going to go at it, Saskia mentions that she's not attracted to other succubi.
  • Your Worst Nightmare: What the mare does to the people or fae it's feeding off. Unsurprisingly, given her orphaned background, Bo's tend to revolve around being abandoned and alone.