Lucifer - Sweet Kicks - Review: “Partners”
Feb 28, 2016
AM Lucifer ReviewsThe last episode proved eye opening for Lucifer as he discovered the changes that have been happening to him may have wider implications. After encouraging Chloe to shoot him and subsequently being injured by the bullet he and those closest to him are left to wonder what is going on. How can an immortal being bleed for a mortal weapon? It is puzzling and intriguing to fans and just worrisome to the likes of Maze and Amenadiel. The events of that episode have made Maze extra protective of her boss especially when gunfire erupts at the fashion show they are both attending. Speaking of that fashion show I did love seeing Maze and Lucifer together outside of LUX. It doesn’t happen nearly enough and to see Maze getting excited over shoes was an interesting insight into who she is as a character. She may despise humans but she does love some aspects of humanity.
It is the death at the fashion show that launches the case of the week and encourages Lucifer to take drastic action to get closer to Chloe. Lucifer uses his influence on Chloe’s boss and lands himself a position as a police liaison with Chloe as his partner. Unfortunately for Chloe there is little she can do given the blackmail Lucifer has on her after the shooting. Even Dan finds his hands tied as all he can do is ask Lucifer to look over Chloe and watch her back. I’m glad Dan’s involvement in this episode was limited. I really like Kevin Alejandro as an actor but sometimes even a good actor can’t make a character likable. I’m still holding out hope that Dan will be evolved to a point where I can either like the guy or love to hate him. Right now he’s not really either which is why I’m okay he isn’t in the episode much.
I’m not sure why anyone still doubts Lucifer as he does consistently get results. We also got to see a different side to him as he put himself in the line of fire to create a diversion long enough for Viper and the kids he was mentoring to get clear of the fire fight that was about to ensue. He may be the Devil but the only time he permits justice to be enacted is when he is confident the right people are being punished. In that way working with Chloe is the perfect hobby for him as it allows him to ensure the right people receive the appropriate punishment. It is also clear that this partnership has some great potential especially given how fast Lucifer was to stand up for Chloe against that jerk detective at the bar. She has gotten to him and the only person that is going to be permitted to mess with her is him and anyone else trying to do so had better watch out because it looks like Lucifer has a mean right hook on top of all his devilish gifts.
The gang encounter also led to one of my favorite scenes of the episode as Maze swooped in and took down the gun wielding gang without even breaking a sweat. What was equally as brilliant was Chloe’s reaction to finding out Maze the bartender is also a “ninja”. If Chloe only knew what Maze was really capable of she’d realize this was probably Maze actually going easy. I know Chloe and Maze will likely never be friends but I really want to see an episode thrust these two warrior women together on a case or to save Lucifer or something. I believe that these two would make a fearsome duo.
Everything in Lucifer’s life is changing and Chloe seems to be a big catalyst for that. Change isn’t always welcome and when a person begins to change it is not always met with welcome arms. With each change in Lucifer those around him have begun to grow more and more concerned. Somewhere along the way they’ve stopped caring about what he wants and are more concerned with what they believe these changes mean for them. Obviously I’m referring to Maze and Amenadiel and neither is happy about the changes occurring in Lucifer. After weeks of Maze shutting down Amenadiel’s efforts to help him she has finally been recruited to his side. In her mind they both just want the same thing which is to get Lucifer back to Hell. While that may be Maze’s plan I can’t help but wonder exactly what Amenadiel’s plan is. It is obvious to everyone that their father favors Lucifer and Amenadiel has done a very poor job of hiding his jealousy over that. Is he actually trying to help get Lucifer home or does he have a more sinister plan in mind? I fully trust Maze as his right hand demon but I absolutely don’t trust Amenadiel’s intentions. Part of that distrust is why I like the character of Amenadiel so much. Of the two brothers he is definitely the more sinister and less trustworthy which is truly impressive given that his brother is the Devil. I can’t help but wonder how upset Lucifer is going to be with Maze when he finds out she told Amenadiel about Dr. Linda.
This brings me to the fun new dynamic between Dr. Linda and Amenadiel as he weaseled his way into her professional life. I also got the distinct impression that the two brothers have a very similar taste in women. After Amenadiel’s interesting encounter with Maze last week he seems to have regained his composure as he sets out to charm Dr. Linda. I had been hoping that the show would give Dr. Linda someone in addition to Lucifer to interact with and this was a brilliant choice on the part of the writers. While Rachael Harris and Tom Ellis have great chemistry I was really impressed by the chemistry that D.B. Woodside and Harris share. It is a very similar chemistry but Woodside definitely turns up the charm as Amenadiel tries to find a place as Dr. Linda’s friend and confidant. I’m very happy that Amenadiel has found a place in the human side of the story and I hope that it means he’ll be more involved in the stories from week to week.
I never get tired of seeing Lucifer reveal himself to the bad guys. The reaction is always the same because they finally realize that the man they’ve either been insulting or trying to kill is the Devil himself. Maze on the other hand is a little more subtle and that final scene with her creepily poised above a sleeping Chloe screams of bad times to come for Chloe. I really think these two can be a powerful duo if ever forced to work together but first Maze has to stop trying to get rid of Chloe. For right now her methods are relatively benign but if forced into a corner I am curious to see exactly how far Maze will go to eliminate the threat Chloe poses to Lucifer. More importantly will Lucifer ever forgive Maze if her actions lead Chloe to harm? It’s always fun to see the characters reveal their true faces but I have to say that I think Maze’s true self may even be a bit scarier than Lucifer’s true self. Either way I wouldn’t want to be on the bad side of either of them as no good would come from it. Maze did promise to protect Lucifer from threats even those he doesn’t see coming and it’s obvious she sees Chloe as a threat. I think there are some interesting times ahead for these two characters.
The case of the week was fairly predictable but after so many years of watching cop shows it is hard to surprise me. The real meat of the story is everything that happens while Lucifer and Chloe investigate the case of the week. That is where we get to see their relationship grow and see Chloe’s influence begin to change Lucifer. It is that in between area where we get to see Dr. Linda engage with Lucifer and now Amenadiel. I know some people are disappointed in the cases of the week but consider them a means to the end. We have to get through them to get to all the truly magical parts of this show. Hopefully as the show grows and evolves the show will start to become a bit more serialized and start to shed some of the heavy case focus. Until that time enjoy all the amazing moments that happen while the characters investigate the crimes each week. It may not be the best part of the show but it is still entertaining.
The episode was a winner for me and I see the evolution of the show happening one episode at a time. While I don’t know where the show is heading I do know that by the time it is revealed to the audience we will enjoy it all the more because of the wait. The show is evolving the characters and building interesting dynamics and that’s a critical part of any first season. This is the time where storylines are built up so they can have big payoffs later on. A lot of things have been setup and I predict that will lead to one explosive and intense back half of the season. My biggest hope is that somewhere in that back half Chloe will finally accept the truth about Lucifer and we’ll learn more about the power she has over him. Chloe is the key to Lucifer’s changes and I believe she is also the key to the show taking the next step towards embracing its supernatural side. Once the show starts to dissect her and get into how she’s special things will inevitably have to ramp up. So enjoy the ride and the sarcasm and buckle up because I think things are about to take off.
Tune to FOX on Monday, February 29th at 9/8C to see what further changes are coming to Lucifer’s life. If you want to know more about the next episode check out my preview here.
Hit the comments with your thoughts regarding this episode. Did you enjoy the case of the week? Do you wish the show was less procedural and more supernatural or do like this hybrid blend? Did you enjoy the first meeting between Dr. Linda and Amenadiel? Do you want Chloe to accept Lucifer’s secret sooner or later? What do you think of Maze’s creepy visit to Chloe?
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