Hi guys, How were your holidays? Did you get the hell shoes you asked for? Finally take that trip to the underworld you've been planning? I hope you've made it back because a lot happened in this episode and you'll want to be firmly grounded in one plane of existence to deal with it!
We pick up right in the middle of my worst nightmare - Kenzi awake in her own coffin. The slowest burning match ever offers little comfort as Kenzi questions her decision to leave her candy-rich hell. Dust noises and the yelling of her name signal impending rescue and we jump straight to Kenzi being rolled into a medical room by the most adorable dirt-smudged Lauren (and Dyson is also there).
Lauren examines the reluctant Kenzi, who despite her reservations, proclaims several times how happy she is to see the doctor (and even more when Lauren reveals her vodka stash). Their beaker shots are interrupted by a chilly presence writing the word 'help' on a window and the pair assume Bo is now in ghost form. As any intelligent creature would, the doctor and recently returned Russian drink to that.
Stacey the valkyrie stumbles upon Dyson waiting for Bo at the gates to Valhalla. Dyson thinks girls threatening to kill him is a come on because this is the fae equivalent of a kindergarten punch. Stacey is bad at undercover and immediately tells Dyson her mission is to find one close to Bo's heart. He denies personal familiarity with Bo but offers to assist Stacey in her quest.
At the Dal Dyson attempts to convince the Valkyrie that he has no attachment to Bo. In typical Dyson form, he does the convincing with his tongue. Tamsin is less than thrilled to find her sometimes partner sucking face with her little sister and sends him running back to the gates.
The Hellevator deposits Bo in a darkened maze-like space that kind of resembles Giles's courtyard in Buffy. I guess we know where he ended up after the series finished. In typical Bo fashion (no, for once this isn't a cleavage statement), the succubus calls out her disapproval of the maze challenge rather than attempting to solve it.
When yelling doesn't work, Bo wanders the eerily blue-lit cave maze where she hears the voices of her friends sobbing, laughing and speaking indistinctly. It's kind of like being really drunk. Out of nowhere a small woodland creature bites Bo on her thigh and it is not at all as sexy as you might suspect. She speaks in the voices of Bo's friends and a bird flutters into view and morphs into a hot girl.
The new avian helper says Bo must hear the girl's true voice to escape the maze. Bo responds by kicking the goblin in the knee which works surprisingly well. The maze door opens without them having actually left the central point. I guess this puzzle really was made by someone related to Bo.
In a new, again blue-lit level of the underworld the previously feathered woman tends to Bo's thigh wound until the succubus shows her a more effective and enjoyable way to heal her. This time it is every bit as sexy as you might suspect.
Meanwhile, a freshly showered Lauren lies down for a rest on Bo's bed and is again visited by the ghost, this time with a whole other type of interaction in mind.
Some typically awkward post-healing-sex conversation between Bo and her new friend reveals that she is the actual goddess Persephone, AKA Bo's stepmother. Bo is not down with this Jane the Virgin style step-cest and goes searching for papa Hades. She finds the room she was born in. It's so weird revisiting childhood haunts. Everything is always so much smaller. The rocking horse, the crib, the cage your succubus mother was kept in.
Persephone tells Bo she too was kept from a loving mother by Hades but Bo is a typical stepdaughter, not interested in finding common ground. Persephone assures her she has been a lone captive in this level of hell for many years and as Bo returns to the Hellevator they share some nice words about bravery.
It's neat that this elevator chooses floors for Bo but I wish it was glass-sided like Willy Wonka's. Imagine the things you could see in the many levels of hell! Probably very similar to those seen in that terrifying chocolate factory.
Bo exits into darkness where she makes a speech about not putting up with this deadbeat dad routine before grabbing Persephone's mystical candle. As she returns to hell's favorite form of transportation a hand grabs her around the throat. Bo fights it off bravely, with a few more words about being brave and tough, before collapsing in tears when the doors close.
While preparing to leave the underworld Bo attempts to convince Persephone to join her but this goddess still has so much time left on her 6,000 year sentence. She assures Bo that Hades lost interest in her long ago but implores the succubus to light her candle (no, not like that) when she returns to let Persephone's nearest and dearest know she lives. The two again bond over being brave and Bo shimmers a little as she returns to the mortal world. There's a whole bravery theme this week.
Kenzi and Lauren prepare to séance it up in order to bring ghost Bo back to them. They soon learn that their otherworldly spirit is really just a random pissed off ghost whose urn was broken by Lauren. The doctor doesn't take kindly to predator poltergeists and sets fire to the divination board containing the spirit.
The humans celebrate their success before realising they don't know where Bo actually is. The door opens and they share disappointment when Stacey enters seeking Lauren's soul. Tamsin saves the day by throwing a little valkyrie doubt Stacey's way and it's time for our team to be reunited at last.
At Trick's they share a toast to family, a meal and Lauren and Bo make an excuse to leave for the keg room. As they talk Bo realises that burning a ouija board is perhaps not a recognised ghost-vanquishing move just as the spirit clad in Bo's kimono attacks. Kenzi shoots the newly corporeal creature and everyone moves on.
Speaking of moving on – Kenzi calls it quits on Bo's planned girls night by saying she needs some time away from the fae after losing Hale. Fortunately she also just learned that he left her some land in Santiago so she is off to see the world. Every time these two say goodbye it breaks my heart and I really wish they'd stop doing it so much.
Persephone's advice to let light in is taken a literally by Bo who pulls the boards down from a window to light her step-mom's candle. We see a businesswoman in a crowded elevator first breaking all rules of etiquette by having a loud cell phone conversation then holding the lit candle as her face turns serious. The lights flicker and the episode ends on the screams of her fellow commuters.
