Lucifer. This is a name that no matter your religious beliefs you are familiar with and whom has a counterpart in almost every major religion. We all have our beliefs regarding this name and some even fear the mention of it while some honor it. From the opening seconds it is made abundantly clear that this Lucifer is not cut from the same cloth as the one we all know. This Lucifer is no more than a rebellious teenager stuck in the body of an immortal angel. He was thrust into the family business seemingly against his will and forced to rule over hell when all he really cared about was having some fun. The first opportunity he got he walked away from his family business and high tailed it to the city of angels to carve his own immortal path in the world. He likes to mess around with humans and at the same time he seems to have a soft spot for some of them. Essentially this Lucifer is a playboy with a bigger heart than he cares to acknowledge.
Every pilot has only one chance to capture the network and earn a season order which sometimes results in rushed and overly crammed pilots. This pilot checked off all the usual pilot requirements of world establishment, exposition to bring the audience up to speed on the lives of each character, and introduction to the story catalyst event that will propel the story forward. It checked all those boxes while maintaining a steady even pace that kept the stakes high for the characters and never once let the story stall.
The cast led by Tom Ellis (Lucifer) and Lauren German (Chloe) are a well meshed together group who all have great chemistry. Ellis has amazing chemistry with his two primary scene partners of German and Lesley-Ann Brandt (Mazikeen “Maze”). Surprisingly Ellis also has an amazing dynamic with Scarlett Estevez who plays Trixie the daughter of German’s Chloe. The established veteran actors had better be wary of Scarlett because she is poised to be a scene stealer as the series moves forward. She may be a young actress but when in scenes with her well established co-stars she easily pulled attention away from them. Rachael Harris is hilarious as psychologist Linda and D.B. Woodside is brilliant as Lucifer’s big brother Amenadiel.
As of the pilot the only weak link in the story is Dan who is played by veteran actor Kevin Alejandro. This wasn’t a performance issue by the actor but it seemed to be more of an uncertainty on the part of the show regarding what to do with the character in the pilot. Dan had to be introduced because of his ties to Chloe and Trixie but overall I felt like the episode could have done without him. Sometimes secondary characters don’t play well in pilots because so much story time is spent on establishing the leads. Hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll get more into his story and find out exactly how he now fits into the lives of his daughter and ex. He could be an interesting character and the potential was setup, but something prevented the character from reaching his full potential. Since the character of Dan underwent a casting change after the original pilot was shot I’ll attribute some of the lack of play of this character to the fact all of his scenes had to be reshot after the fact. Kevin Alejandro is a great actor and this part is right up his alley so I hope the show brings Dan more into the story and gives him some much needed development in the coming weeks.
I would have liked to see more of Maze and Amenadiel but what they did have to do was brilliant. They each have a critical role to play in Lucifer’s narrative and I would love it if we get to see bits and pieces of their lives from before Lucifer left Hell. One thing is abundantly clear from the pilot and that is the fact that neither character is happy about the choices Lucifer has made and continues to make. Amenadiel wants to be the good son and bring his rogue brother back home while Maze wants to go home but is bound to this world by her boss and friend. The back and forth between Lucifer and Amenadiel promises to be full of frustration and rebellion and for Amenadiel’s sake I hope he was blessed with patience because he’s going to need it. Maze may be loyal to Lucifer but she has no such obligations to Chloe and their dynamic also promises some fun tension and animosity as Chloe gets more involved in Lucifer’s life.
While Lucifer is a comic book based show it has a very procedural tone that required extraordinary chemistry between its leads and they definitely found that in Ellis and German. They trade banter like an old married couple and their timing is spot on. I’m sure the procedural cop portion of the show will be prominent but the show also made it very clear that it is not straying from its supernatural roots. Maze and Amenadiel seem poised to ensure Lucifer doesn’t soon forget whom he truly is and that element alone promises plenty of supernatural goodness to incorporate into the procedural part of the show.
Most intriguing about the pilot is that we learned Chloe is somehow immune to Lucifer’s abilities. Something tells me she has some sort of supernatural background that even she is unaware of. Personally I’m as intrigued by this discovery as Lucifer is and I can’t wait to follow the clues to her origins. Based off the fact she was very seriously injured by the bullet it’s obvious she isn’t immortal but the show made a point to tell us there is something different about her so let the speculation begin. A truly intriguing mystery and a brilliant story point to setup in the premiere.
The writing for this show is sharp, on point, and very smart. The writers clearly enjoy writing the sarcasm and that is a big part of the characters but they also took great care to write these characters as strong and savvy. They’ve crafted smart multidimensional characters and developed storylines that can carry this show for many seasons. With brilliant writing, strong performances, and a big supernatural universe to explore this show is the very definition of a recipe for success.
Lucifer’s pilot was a brilliant example of a well executed series launce with very few flaws. Many devilishly good things await us as we delve into this world with Chloe, Lucifer and company.
We are only beginning this journey with this amazing show and many twists and turns surely await us fans. What do you think makes Chloe so special? Is Amenadiel a good angel or is he destined to cross lines to try and bring Lucifer back to Hell? Can Maze be trusted or will her drive to go back to Hell cause her to betray Lucifer? Hit the comments with your thoughts and theories regarding the pilot.
About the Author - Aimee Hicks
Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was. She has a long list of shows that she loves to watch and can be found on twitter (@ahicks83) live tweeting about each new episode whenever she can. If the show is sci-fi, fantasy, comic book based, drama, or action the odds are good she watches it or has at least watched a few episodes of it. She also has a love for comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mom. She was the original creator and co-founder of LOST Video Island (lostvideo.net) which is still operating under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to.
You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com.
