Lucifer is this odd yet perfect blend of supernatural and procedural but unfortunately this episode veered away from that perfect balance and was far more procedural than supernatural. This isn’t a bad thing it’s just not what I was expecting from the show so early on. They showed off the darkness that Lucifer is precariously holding in check and they showed us Chloe’s struggle to understand what she’s seen over the past few weeks but the incorporation of supernatural elements was confined to those two small bits of the story. The main focus of this episode was the case of the week which involved a young woman turning up murdered at a party thrown by a virgin quarterback where Lucifer just happened to be a guest. Oh and Lucifer’s reputation took a serious blow as someone was running around pretending to be him which Maze thought was hilarious.
What was interesting about this episode is that it delved into how hard Lucifer has to work to keep his dark side in check. Both during the confrontation with his imposter and the take down of the agent he almost lost control and in the case of the agent I think it’s safe to say he did actually lose control as he sent the guy flying through the glass. Maze’s giddiness to see her boss embrace his inner Devil brought him back once and Chloe’s pleas pulled him back the second time but in both cases without intervention I fear he would have given into his dark impulses to enact vengeance. In both situations he was prepared to dispense justice in a way only the Devil could. It is in moments like this that I think he actually misses being the Devil but being his own individual is enough to keep him rebelling against his father. Thankfully he has Chloe who can at least help him ensure human justice befalls these evil doers.
We got to know Maze’s personality quite well this week and it gave Lesley-Ann Brandt an opportunity to shine. She expresses an almost childlike joy in watching Lucifer almost punish his imposter and was completely let down when he took no action against the man. She was even denied the opportunity to remove one of the impostor’s fingers as punishment and she was none too happy about that. She’s being held in check for now but it really is only a matter of time before her desire to punish humans boils over and she goes rogue. I look forward to that moment so that Maze can show us what she is truly capable of and because I can’t wait to see how Brandt portrays Maze in full on demon mode. The writers gave Maze some hilarious stuff in this episode and Brandt really embraced it and through her performance full of evil laughs and giddiness she nailed it. When Maze is let loose watch out world because I have a feeling she isn’t one to grant mercy like Lucifer is.
Meanwhile Chloe spent the episode trying to make sense of what she saw last week. She has great instincts but she is a practical person and she can’t make herself believe the truth. Now she is on a quest to find any logical reason she can to explain Lucifer’s actions. It’s too early in the series for her to accept the truth so I’m confident something will happen to deter her for now but when she finally comes to terms with the truth it promises to be quite a massive revelation for her. She is already quite drawn to him and no matter how hard she tries to deny him he keeps worming his way into her investigations and he does seems to stay one step ahead most of the time.
Trixie called Lucifer a magician this week so I believe there is a very good possibility she will accept the truth long before her mom does. To be honest I hope she does because it would be fun to see Trixie and Lucifer share this little secret especially how much Lucifer claims to hate kids. She is already willing to consider him as a magical being which is far closer to the truth than Chloe is willing to go so anything is possible.
Speaking of Trixie it would appear that her father isn’t going to be winning any father of the year awards anytime soon. I’m starting to understand why Chloe left Dan in the first place if he can’t even remember to pick his daughter up. Since Trixie is wise beyond her young years it doesn’t seem to faze her that much. In fact this forgetfulness seems like a common occurrence that is so normal it doesn’t even bother her. Maybe Dan was once a good guy but for the life of me I cannot see what Chloe ever saw in him. At every opportunity he doubts her ability as a Detective and forgets about their daughter. Lucifer’s nicknames for him actually seem too nice at times. I like Kevin Alejandro as an actor but boy does he like to play characters that are really hard to root for. I hope that at some point Dan proves himself but as of right now he’s probably easily the most unlikeable character which says a lot given this is a show about the Devil.
After saying that it should be no surprise that I was happy to see Lucifer go against Dan’s plan and hire Ronnie (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) to take care of his impostor problem instead. In the grand scheme of things a character like Ronnie could come in quite handy and I liked O’Keefe’s portrayal of the Hollywood fixer. I hope she’ll popup in the story again one day and help Lucifer dispense some justice in a way Chloe won’t allow him to. Granted she would have to get out of jail and forgive him first but he’s Lucifer so both could be easily accomplished.
While Maze is trying to get her boss to embrace his inner Devil and Chloe is trying to find reasons why Lucifer isn’t actually the Devil he finds solace with Dr. Martin. She certainly has her hands full with him and trying to reign him in should be an interesting task for her. This dynamic promises to deliver many funny moments but it also gives us some great insight into Lucifer’s mind. He is always honest and in his mind he is fair but he has massive daddy issues and an intense desire to be his own being outside of his father’s reach. By striking up this deal with her he can at least seek out professional advice. When demons inevitably start to invade Los Angeles she will be well poised to open a practice to counsel them. It is definitely a specialty niche that she would be able to corner the market on. After all she’s done for Lucifer he at least owes it to her to send some extra supernatural business her way. Besides, I can’t be the only fan who wants to see the brilliant Rachael Harris interact with other actors besides Tom Ellis. Ellis and Harris are great together but I do hope they start to branch Dr. Martin out a bit more and allow her more time with other characters.
One great big omission from this episode was Amenadiel. I really like the edge he brings to the episodes he’s in and the back and forth he has with Lucifer so for him to be missing from this episode was disappointing. But I guess after Lucifer declined Amenadiel’s deal last week he’s busy trying to figure out his next move. I hope he will return with a vengeance in the next episode and is never missing from another episode ever again. Until then I can only imagine the conversations Amenadiel is having with his father as they try to figure out how to entice Lucifer home.
I remember being in college taking film classes and one of my professors gave an entire lecture about how when you create television everything is fair game except religious establishments. I remember even having to pitch a story for a class project and my group pitched a story that involved the Vatican and the only note we got was “they have to be good guys”. I would love to go back and inquire if that same professor still feels the same way almost a decade later. Religion has become quite a big theme in so many shows now that the environment is perfect for a show like
Lucifer to thrive as it questions religious figures in unexpected ways. I like how they are handling Lucifer’s strained relationship with his father and how this rebellion isn’t because he hates his father but because he doesn’t feel like he’s being respected by him. In defense of his father Lucifer feels this way because his father expected much from him because he believed his son was capable of handling the responsibility bestowed upon him. It is bold for the show to tackle this relationship in this way and I have great respect for them showing this strained relationship between father and son as something very relatable. Parents and their children don’t always get along but the love between them never truly disappears. I believe Lucifer’s father has immense love for his son but trying to force him back home isn’t going to help fix their strained relationship. And using Amenadiel as a go between is definitely not going to help the situation seeing as these brothers themselves have a strained relationship. What I’m really curious to see is if the show or the network for that matter will ever take the big leap and cast Lucifer’s father or will he just remain an omniscient being?
I liked this episode but it wasn’t my favorite. Something seemed to be lacking and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It almost felt too human, if that makes sense, and we didn’t really get to see much of the supernatural side of the show. I think this show is at its best when it finds that perfect blend between supernatural and procedural and this week I think it went a tad too far to the procedural side of the spectrum. Don’t get me wrong, this was a fun episode, but it wasn’t everything I was hoping for. I hope Amenadiel returns next week, Maze gets to get her demon on, and we get deeper into Chloe’s quest for answers because I think those things will help tip the show back to the neutral balance that makes it so special and awesome. Overall this was a good episode with terrific acting but the plot of the episode just didn’t do it for me. Every show is entitled to one just okay episode and I think this was it for Lucifer.
Tune in to
Lucifer on
Monday at 9/10c on FOX.
Hit the comments with your thoughts regarding this episode. Did you love the more procedural tone this week or were you a bit disappointed by the lack of supernatural like I was? Do you want to see Ronnie return one day? How long do you think it will take for Chloe to accept the truth? What is your opinion on Dan?
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.
