Ask your average troglodyte American what is Canada’s leading export to The United States and they’ll probably say maple syrup. Or canoes. But those of us with more refined sensibilities can tell you the truth: Canada’s greatest gift to the continent of North America is lesbianism. Undiluted, unfiltered, sexy, sexy lesbianism. Or, well, TV lesbianism, at least. Between Bomb Girls, Lost Girl, and Shay Mitchell over on Pretty Little Liars, gay for pay Canucks are taking over our TVs – and our hearts.
Chief among them, of course, is Anna Silk, who plays bisexual succubus Bo Dennis on Lost Girl. The show is five episodes into its third season in both Canada and the U.S., and is more popular than ever. Silk took a few minutes to chat with her favorite lesbian website about what’s in store for Bo (and Lauren!) over the rest of season three, where she falls in the Team Dyson vs. Team Doccubus battle, and why you should vote for Lost Girl in the final round of E! Online’s TV’s Top Couple Poll. AfterEllen.com: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us again, Anna. We are huge Lost Girl fans at AfterEllen. Anna Silk: I know you are! We love how supportive you guys are of our show!
AE: I have so many things to congratulate you on, don’t I? You’re pregnant with your first child, Lost Girl is more popular than ever around the whole world, and Lauren and Bo are in the finale of E! Online’s Top Couples poll. AS: Oh, thank you so much. It’s such an exciting time. My baby is due in May. And it seems like we’re having really great season so far. People are gravitating to this season even more than the last two, it feels like.
AE: Let’s talk a little bit about season three and about Bo’s evolution as a character. She kind of started out friendless and familyless, and would you look at her now? AS: Yes, you’re exactly right. Bo was basically an orphan when she started out in this world. She had a kind of innocence about her in terms of the Fae world. She kind of figured out who she was in the first season, and why she was so different, yet she still found a place to belong. And in the second season, Bo became more confident in the Fae world, more confident as a succubus, more comfortable with her sexual nature.
AE: And season three? AS: This season is where we really start to see – well, as you know, there’s something going on with Bo. It’s a very interesting season, as a result. I feel like the show and the writers have taken a really natural route for her to come into her own, in terms of her power, in terms of her Succubus nature. And you’ll see more of that evolution as this season continues. Going into the future, if we get future seasons, I think that organic growth will continue. Bo is such a great character to play because she has had so much room for growth from the very beginning. AE: One interesting thing about Bo is that she’s growing into the future, but she’s also growing into her past. Do you know what I mean? Reconciling and understanding them together, in a way. Do think there’s still some unresolved stuff going on there? AS: Oh, I think absolutely there is. That’s one of the other interesting things about Bo. Even though she came into the world so young – like, you know how Dyson is thousands of years old or however old he is – Bo is brand new, in a way. But she’s a woman. She’s not a teenager. So, yes, she has a past, and a lot of stuff in that past is unresolved. And we may see a glimpse of that this season. Actually, it’s one of my favorite episodes where we deal with that a little bit. It’s like real life: You can’t really move forward unless you confront your past.
AE: Let’s talk a little bit about Bo and Lauren’s relationship. Were you surprised when the first script of season three arrived and the writers just went there? AS: I wasn’t really surprised because I think it’s an important relationship to explore – and to explore fully. Because, you know, in the first season, we had the love triangle. Bo was with Dyson for a while. And I feel like this part of the triangle deserves that same exploration and emotional weight. But when Zoie [Palmer] and I first got the script, we were both like, “Oh. OK. OK, wow. So we’re like together now!” I think we were a little surprised that it happened so soon, but very glad, too. The story has worked really well. They have needed this time to explore their feelings for each other, to see what could really happen between them.
AE: Can you compare Bo’s relationship with Dyson to her relationship with Lauren? Obviously, both are very important to her, and it’s actually quite wonderful to see a bisexual character whose relationships with people of both genders are treated equally. AS: I agree. You know, the Dyson relationship, most of that was explored in season one, and then last season Dyson lost his love for Bo, but that relationship still has an impact in Bo’s life. There is a danger about him that is appealing to her, but there’s a trust there too. She trusts that even though there are things Dyson doesn’t tell her, that he has her best interests in mind all the time.
With Lauren, like with Dyson, there was an instant attraction there, which, frankly – it would be hard not to be attracted to both of them, because they’re both appealing people as well as appealing characters. But with Lauren, she and Bo were more equal in terms of who they are and in what they want and in what they have to offer each other. Even though one is human and one is Fae, there is a shared mindset between them. Even when Bo was with Dyson, the appeal of Lauren never wavered. And Lauren is really there for her always, and Bo knows that.
AE: Do you have a favorite Doccubus scene this season? AS: Oh, wow, a favorite? They’re all so good. This season, I really love the scene where I tell Lauren about how I hooked-up with Dyson when I needed to heal. You know, when you break down and open about about who you are or something you did, it can take a relationship to a new place. [Laughs] And, of course, we have had some pretty crazy love scenes this season. AE: Yeah, you have. AS: You know, the one in episode four, with all of the close-ups and stuff. For Zoie and I, it was the quickest and easiest love scene we’ve ever shot. It was set in small little pieces. It was the director’s vision for that episode, and it was interesting and new. I think it worked really well.
AE: You know, the lighting in the Bo/Lauren love scenes, if I could find a room with lighting like that, I would literally never leave. AS: I know! Zoie and I love that lighting!
AE: OK, let’s talk about Bo as a randy teenager. AS: [Laughs] Yeah, that was fun. That was one of those episodes kind of like our body-switching episode. It’s sort of a standalone episode even though it moves the story along. I didn’t realize that playing a character like that, without a care in the world, was so relaxing. I felt like I just showed up and did my thing. I didn’t have to think about being strong or leading. And, you know, it was a really nice way for Bo and Tamsin to connect.
AE: Well, if that was the most relaxing, is that your favorite Bo to play? I mean, because Bo is so many things. She’s a badass and a lover and she’s tortured a little bit too. AS: I really am thankful to be able to play such a multi-faceted character. You know Bo is strong and she is tough, but to me, Anna’s Bo is the one who lets her vulnerability show. I naturally feel most connected when that’s happening, when she’s unsure, when she has to rise to the occasion and put on a brave face. She’s capable. She’s really capable. But I identify mostly with her vulnerability. AE: Speaking of character nuance, when we heard that Lost Girl was getting a new costume designer for season three, everyone was like, “Oh, no! What is she going to do with Bo?!” But then episode one rolled around and – AS: Prison jump suits?
AE: Yes! Prison jump suits! What prison in the world …? AS: I loved those things. Those things were seriously sexy. You know, Anne Dixon, who was our costume designer for the first two season, she was incredible and did amazing things for fashion on the show and for establishing these characters. And then Noreen Landry came in and picked up where Anne left off and gave it her own feel. Noreen has a little more of a fashion background. I loved that purple coat in the beginning, with the raggedy sides on it. That poor coat, there were two of them, and they kept getting ripped up. I’d do one take while the other one was getting sewn up, and then trade out and rip that one up, and on and on. I doubt that coat even exists anymore! But I also really loved those prison jump suits.
AE: You should make it a thing, wear it around Hollywood. AS: I actually should. I’ll put my baby in one too, sort of onesie-style.
AE: That actually reminds me: When you guys get picked up for a fourth season, our recapper Dorothy Snarker is going to sneak up for a set visit. What color do you want the “Team Lauren” onesie to be that we’re sending for your son. AS: Oh! Um, purple! I hope you’re serious. I can’t wait to put it on him.
AE: I don’t joke about lesbian TV shipping, Anna. Which brings me to my last question. Should AfterEllen readers vote for Lost Girl over Glee in the E! Online poll? And if yes, why? AS: Absolutely, they should vote for us! Why? Well, we’re sort of an unlikely show to make it so far, a dark horse. And, you know, while we’ve seen same-sex couples on TV before, we’ve never seen a couple like Bo and Lauren.
Lost Girl airs in Canada on Showcase on Sunday nights, and in The U.S. on Syfy on Monday nights.
