Things are changing rapidly on this show as deceptions are revealed and secrets threaten to destroy lives. Many storylines setup in previous episodes met with great payoff in this episode. As I theorized in my prior review Dan’s story finally got interesting with a predictable yet fun reveal. Maze’s involvement with Amenadiel will forever change her bond with Lucifer. Dr. Linda’s relationship with Lucifer will never be the same either though I doubt we’ve seen the last of those two together. Chloe finds herself stuck between two dirty cops and it’s the one she is blind to that should concern fans the most. This episode continues on the recent trend of testing established relationships.
Let me lead with talking about Dan because this episode made him instantly more interesting to me. I’ve never got good vibes from him despite his occasional attempts to fix his family and this episode confirmed my suspicions regarding him. He is the one that shot Malcolm and with Malcolm miraculously resurrected by Amenadiel you can rest assured Dan isn’t going to have things easy. We still don’t know for sure what Dan was trying to cover up when he shot Malcolm but whatever it was warranted taking another human life to protect it. Given that Kevin Rankin was listed as a series regular in the credits of this episode it seems like Dan isn’t going to get rid of his own personal demon anytime soon. This goes to show that no matter how inconsequential a character seems with the right writers any character can be made multidimensional and interesting. What happens next for Dan is anyone’s guess at this point but I predict a lot of sneaking around. Given how intuitive Chloe is I don’t think it will take her long to realize that something isn’t right with Dan. Since their relationship has slowly started to mend recently I am quite curious to see how he balances these two very conflicting sides of his life. One thing is for sure, once Chloe learns the truth all bets are off. Anytime even the Devil doesn’t like someone others around should pay attention. I do wonder how Lucifer will react when he learns the truth. Whether he likes to admit it or not he has a soft spot for both Chloe and Trixie and if Dan’s secrets, lies, and evil acts put them in harm’s way I predict Lucifer will bring the full wrath of Hell down on his head.
Chloe may be ignorant to Dan’s diabolical involvement in Malcolm’s almost untimely end but she too is also left dealing with the fallout from Malcolm’s resurrection. As things stand Malcolm thinks he holds all the cards being the only one who knows the truth. In the wake of his return Paloucci is dead at Malcolm’s own hands and Dan is now being blackmailed so I can see where he gets this superior complex from and for the time being he does seem to hold the power. Malcolm’s claim to Chloe is that he was shot because he was searching for a crooked cop within their station and if that holds even a shred of truth it’s obvious he is also a crooked cop so was he looking to find his competition to team up with them or take them out? Whatever his endgame was then he’s got Dan stuck between a rock and a hard place. From a moral standpoint there is nothing to like about Malcolm but what he brings to the story is priceless. For Amenadiel to save Malcolm’s life he quite obviously plays into some bigger picture that we’re not yet privy to. Amenadiel didn’t save this scum of a human life without reason. Did Amenadiel secure himself a one way track to Fallen Angel status by resurrecting Malcolm? Only time will tell but I don’t imagine Amenadiel will be earning any points with his Father after this vial misuse of his God given gifts. Rankin perfectly plays Malcolm so I hope he sticks around for some time so Maclolm can continue to make life hard on Dan.
Author's Note: Yes, I'm aware Lucifer is still Dr. Linda's patient. Just disregard that original and incorrect misinterpretation in the paragraph to follow.
The weakest point of this episode, the case of the weak, did at least allow Dr. Linda to interact with Chloe and Maze which were wonderful scenes. While I love the dynamic she has with Lucifer and even Amenadiel it was a nice change of pace for her to interact with the other women of the show. Now that she’s not officially Lucifer’s doctor anymore I vote for her to be a regular tag along with Chloe and Lucifer. Rachael Harris is to perfect for this show for her involvement to be diminished so I hope that the writers continue to find fun and interesting ways to keep weaving her into the story. At the rate things are going Chloe may need some therapy after she discovers the father of her daughter is a backstabbing life taking douche bag of a dirty cop. For that matter Maze may also need a therapist to figure out how to deal with humans on her own. Dr. Linda already has a head start with Maze seeing as she perfectly analyzed the demon when they met at LUX. Both Chloe and Maze seem to respect Dr. Linda so I can realistically see either of them showing up at her doorstep for therapy but I imagine the payment method may be different than what Lucifer had arranged. I say that but Maze seems the type to not give two flips about gender so she’d likely be more than willing to pick up where Lucifer left off. Now that dynamic would be quite fun and interesting.
The murder of the therapist was the least interesting part about this episode but at least it did allow the jealousy theme to carry throughout the episode. Whether Lucifer wants to admit it or not, and he doesn’t, he is having some feelings of jealousy regarding Dan and Chloe. It was extremely evident when Dan accompanied Chloe for a quick stop at Lucifer’s rebirth birthday party. Hopefully Lucifer will give into his feelings of jealousy and start to look more into Dan and will be able to inflict some Devil style justice before Dan has a chance to get Chloe or Trixie hurt. It says a lot when Chloe would be better off with the Devil than the father of her child. I hope that with Dr. Linda no longer acting as his therapist and Maze banished from his life he’ll have some free time to explore human jealousy. This case also gave us Chloe’s epic takedown of the murderer. I loved it when she questioned if the guy really just bit her. I also love how she wrestled him to the ground and took him down like an expert wrestler. The show could have simply let her shoot him and call it a day but instead they let her go all warrior cop and deliver a takedown worthy of jealousy from her male counterparts. I hope the show gives Lauren German some more in-depth action scenes because she’s more than capable of handling them. If the show is going to continue with these cases of the week at least they are finding creative ways to weave them into the core storyline.
Speaking of creativity, was I the only one who cringed just a tiny bit at the graphics used during the ledge jumper scene? For a show that so perfectly transforms humans into angels and demons this scene was so obviously shot against a green screen or at the very least heavily edited. I was actually surprised at just how bad the background shots were throughout this scene. While the graphics weren’t great in this scene it did provide an interesting moment for Lucifer when he delivered the jab towards his Father regarding suicide. No matter how you swing it suicide is a touchy subject and rarely do shows use it in a sarcastic way. This little jab could have easily backfired on the show but for the character and his sarcastic tendencies it worked perfectly I’m just surprised the line made it past all the different levels of network censorship and legal channels. It was a bold move by the show and I respect bold but I do kind of wish they'd stuck up some suicide helpline info at the end but I guess that's not really in line with the show. With that said I'm glad the network allowed the show to do its own thing. Now, if they can just give a tiny bit more budget to the show for better green screen shots FOX may finally be figuring out how to manage their more successful shows.
Many of the characters this week had encounters that threaten to start unraveling everything they once thought to be true. The lives of those characters are sure to get ever more complicated but none were dealt a blow like Maze was. Her deception in aiding Amenadiel backfired on her royally and has now left her without Lucifer and likely unemployed. Will she try and use the feather from the last episode to cause havoc? Will she try and exact revenge on humans like Chloe or Dr. Linda? Will she try and get employment with Amenadiel in exchange for a ticket home? Maze has always been a favorite character of mine and I can’t wait to see what decisions she makes in the coming weeks. Her life got turned completely upside down but this isn’t her first foray into major life changing events except this time she’s facing the world alone without Lucifer. I predict many interesting things are to come for Maze.
Last week we got no Dr. Linda or Trixie and this week we got no Amenadiel or Trixie. While I can understand both Dr. Linda and Amenadiel being left out of their respective episodes I feel like Trixie’s absence is becoming increasingly obvious. There were multiple places she would have fit into this episode much more organically than in the last episode. She needs to be back in the next episode and back in a big way. With her dad being a dirty bag and her mom teamed up with the Devil surely someone has got to come after her at some point. I don’t want Trixie to get hurt but I definitely want to see how Lucifer reacts if Trixie gets caught in the crossfire of her parents increasingly complicated lives. Maybe Lucifer’s inevitable anger will cause him to reveal his true form in front of Chloe. Perhaps, and hopefully, it will finally allow Chloe to see and accept the truth. I know I say this week after week but I NEED Chloe to accept the truth already. They are getting to a good place in their partnership and have even developed a solid friendship. I think she’s nearing a point where accepting the truth wouldn’t jeopardize their bond. I also want this to happen already so I can stop hoping for it. With only five episodes left in the season some progress needs to happen in regards to this. I do not want to have to sit through a whole other season of Chloe finding reasons to justify the weird stuff she sees Lucifer do. Well, the truth is I love this show so I totally would sit through a whole other season of that happening, but I don’t want to have to.
This was a solid episode that added a lot to the overall character arcs of nearly every character. The way the characters started the episode is not how they ended it. Lives were changed, secrets were revealed, and relationship statuses were changed. Where they all go from here is one very big question mark as the potential for all of their lives to implode is very real. I look forward to the next episode and to see how long Dan can keep his massive secret from Chloe and how long Lucifer can hold his jealousy in check.
Tune in to the next episode on
FOX on Monday, March 21st at 9/8C.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode. Do you think this is the end of Lucifer and Dr. Linda’s working relationship? Would you like it if Dr. Linda became a regular in the police car? Would you like to see one of the other characters become a patient of Dr. Linda’s? If so, which one? What do you think Maze will do now that Lucifer has effectively severed ties with her? How long can Dan keep his secret before it blows up in his face?
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.
