The Fun of Switching Bodies

Last night I caught up with last week's episode of Lost Girl, "Original Skin." It was a body-switch story, with all of the main characters (including Dyson's new girlfriend). The cause of the switch was beer spiked with gorgon's blood. Part of the fun of this type of episode is that actors can act like other characters, often to comic effect (as well as realizing the desires of some of the audiece to have certain pairs of characters kiss who wouldn't normally). "Original Skin" certainly took advantage of these elements.

In the body-switch episode in Utena, after an encounter with some explosive curry, Utena and Anthy switch bodies. Seeing Utena submissive and passive, while Anthy is playing sports and active is a fun contrast (even a number of characters comment on it). Likewise, in "Original Skin" characters who have opposite traits inhabit eachother's bodies. Über-masculine Dyson posseses the body of party girl Kenzie, and Kenzie, Dyson's body. Unlike some other body-switch episodes though, the body switch isn't just for laughs -- the characters realize new things about eachother. Kenzie detects what Dyson lost at the end of season one and Dyson realizes just how frail yet awesome Kenzie is. (Oh, and it turns out that she should be wearing glasses.)

This added element to the story speaks to the show's development of characters for its viewers. While there are certainly story elements that are included (such as the return of the Nain Rouge), Dyson's observations about Kenzie go more towards adding interesting traits that probably won't have a sigificant role in the story, and adds more information about her that we didn't know before. I can guarantee though that from last week on, fans will add the fact that Kenzie is near-sighted when desiring her to new viewers in the same way that they will note what Dyson gave up to the Norn to viewers coming in a the beginning or middle of season two.