This episode spanned two separate yet convergent cases as Lucifer and Chloe teamed up to solve the mysteries behind their most personal cases. Lucifer is still trying to track down his wings while Chloe is trying to get to the bottom of the Palmetto case involving a potentially corrupt cop by the name of Malcolm (Kevin Rankin) who has been in a coma and is about to be removed from life support. Separate neither is getting anywhere with their cases but together they hope to find the answers they seek. Well that was Chloe’s suggesting and it turned out to be a smart plan once Lucifer decided to fully embrace her help. While Chloe provides more help to Lucifer than he does to her they both play a part in the other getting the answers they seek. Along the way their partnership took a few hits only for them to emerge from the storm as a better team ready to face all that is about to come at them. Some threats of which may come directly from their inner circles.
Lucifer has entered into desperate territory as he seeks to recover his treasured wings. This means that Maze is set free to entrap and torture humans for the answers Lucifer seeks. She gets to have some fun until Lucifer reins her back in and he takes a different approach by seeking out Chloe’s assistance and ultimately Amenadiel’s help as well. He understands the consequences of his wings being in human hands and while he wanted to recover that part of himself I believe he was also desperate to spare humanity the terror that could be inflicted if his wings were misused. This episode built on his desperation from the last episode and when the wings on auction turned out to be fakes we got to see an unhinged version of Lucifer. It was great when he lashed out at Chloe because even though she didn’t deserve his anger and frustration his reaction was very human like. Thanks to this episode we know he’s been in Los Angeles for the past 5 years and of all the humans he must have met in that time frame it is Chloe who has impacted him the most. She has become more than just a human who intrigues him and has secured herself as a friend. Sometimes people lash out at their friends worse than anyone else because we know they can take it. For him to lash out at her shows just how far they’ve come because I believe he knew no matter what he said or did she’d still stick by him. I believe that to be true as well especially after it was her who sought him out at the end of the episode to settle things after their falling out.
Chloe’s case led her down a path that may ultimately lead to her redemption in the eyes of the police department. Pending she can survive the trials that are ahead as she seeks out answers regarding Malcolm and the involvement of other officers. Chloe’s investigation led her back to the scene of the crime at a seedy boxing gym where Malcolm was shot and Chloe’s initial investigation fell apart. With help from Dan, or lack thereof which I’ll get into in a minute, Chloe tries to figure out how the other parties involved in the Palmetto incident escaped. Ultimately she finds an escape tunnel under the gym thanks to some alternative detective work encouraged by her time with Lucifer at the auction. Now the true investigation begins as Chloe must play the good officer and pretend to drop the case while investigating under the radar of her fellow officers. I believe this is the point we should all begin to have serious concerns for Chloe’s long term safety especially given whom she decided to confide in with her investigation.
The cases of the week were interesting and both play into the long term evolution of the story but it was the partners Chloe and Lucifer chose that made this episode so intriguing. Both seem like they are on the up and up in helping yet it’s revealed by the end of the episode that Amendiel was behind the wing heist and I now trust Dan even less now than ever before. Even though I don’t trust Dan this is exactly the kind of character exploration I have been looking for from him. Years of television watching has taught me that when someone interjects themselves into an investigation the viewers should be immediately suspicious of them. We now know another cop was involved in Chloe’s case and while Chloe is now suspicious of every other cop in the precinct she is trusting of Dan. And she really has no reason not to given she was married to him and they have a daughter together but a good guy those things do not make. Dan has always been a shady character and this entire episode all I could think about was how Dan was leading Chloe on. My theory is that Dan was involved in the case and is very possibly the dirty cop present at the shooting. Maybe I’m wrong but I hope I’m not because turning Dan into a dirty cop would be just the kind of revelation that would make Dan an instantly intriguing character. Prior to this episode he basically served a filler spot and besides his familial ties to Chloe and Trixie he really didn’t serve a purpose to the story. If he was indeed the other cop at the scene was he undercover? Is he a dirty cop? If he is a dirty cop and Chloe finds out the truth can he bring himself to harm the woman he claims to love whom is also the mother of his child? The possibilities of this scenario are endless and would make Dan a far more interesting character to watch week after week.
Onto Amenadiel now and the part he played in Lucifer’s story this week. As I mentioned above one should never trust someone who willingly involves themselves in a deeply personal investigation. On television that means almost certain guilt or involvement and by the end of the episode we know without a doubt that Amenadiel was playing Lucifer the entire time. He wasn’t trying to help his brother recover his wings but was instead trying to teach him a lesson. Amenadiel took a big risk by allowing Lucifer’s wings fall into human hands the consequences of which could have been devastating to Heaven and Hell. He hoped that by Lucifer having to fight to get this part of himself back that he’d realize it was time to come home. That backfired on him in the most epic of ways as Lucifer figured out the truth and burned his wings right before his deceptive brother. The fight scene that followed was epic and brilliantly played by both Tom Ellis and D.B. Woodside as they each showed the audience the raw sides of their characters. Ellis showed us Lucifer come to full acceptance of his place on Earth while Woodside showed us that Amenadiel is truly most fearful of failing and falling as his brother did.
That brings me to an interesting point regarding Lucifer encouraging Amenadiel to keep hitting him so he too would fall from grace. First off I found it intriguing that Amenadiel was able to cause Lucifer to bleed and inflict real injury on him. Was this a product of the changes taking place in him or are angels capable of injuring or even killing one another? Now that Lucifer sees himself as free of Hell is it now time for him to begin his rise back to Heaven? How will he one day rise again without his wings? Will his new goals be to push his brother to fall and take over the throne of Hell? I stated last week that I didn’t think Amenadiel was big bad material but how a week can change everything. As the episode came to an end and he awoke Malcolm all I could think was that we had just seen the birth of the big bad of this series. Amenadiel has everything to lose and he will do anything to fulfill his mission and remain in the good graces of his Father. What I think we will witness in the weeks to come is Amenadiel destroying himself and leading to an epic fall that will lead him to the throne of Hell. Lucifer became a fallen angel because his Father knew he was capable of holding the throne and protecting it for all it means. He protected Earth from the tyranny of the demons and dark souls who reside in Hell. Will Amenadiel try to protect Earth if he lands on the throne or will he lash out at Heaven and Earth? I certainly hope so because much like Dan each of these characters potential rests on the writers embracing the darkness in each. With their personal ties to the leads of the series these two bring incredible potential for powerful story arcs as they deceive and attack Lucifer and Chloe.
I must also mention Chloe’s odd inability to resist Amenadiel when she met him at the auction. We all know she can resist Lucifer but what made her unable to resist Amenadiel? What separates these brothers? I would have thought that if Chloe was immune to Lucifer she’d also be immune to Amenadiel’s charms. It sets up some interesting possibilities if Lucifer and Amenadiel do ever go to war with one another. Amenadiel could easily use both Dr. Linda and Chloe against Lucifer as it’s obvious he cares for them both. They both have important roles to play in his life and it’s something Amenadiel is very aware of and this puts them both at grave risk. Yet another interesting possibility should the writers choose to explore it.
We also got to see Lucifer and Chloe at odds as each thought their case was more important. What should be noted is that even though Chloe was making fun of Lucifer about searching for his wings she did help him. She is fighting hard to explain everything she’s seen since she met him but a small part of her is starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, he is who he says he is. That is why she helped him but the destruction of his wings will make it a bit harder for him to convince her of the truth. Still I think the day is coming for her to accept the truth and even if it waits until the season finale I’ll be okay as long as the moment happens before the season concludes. A critically important part of this story was when Chloe showed up at LUX to set things right with Lucifer. She acknowledged their friendship and that is a big step in the right direction for this pair. If they are to face the trials and tribulations ahead they will need to face them together and be in a place to protect one another.
Possibly one of the most intriguing reveals of the episode was when Maze was revealed to have salvaged one of Lucifer’s wing feathers from the fire. It has become increasingly obvious that she has a thing for Lucifer and perhaps it was her dream to one day reign as the Queen of Hell but with Lucifer now Earth-bound and Chloe in the picture things may be about to get quite interesting. If the show sticks with the mythology of the comics that feather could allow her entrance to Heaven or a return back to Hell. What will she use the feather for? Will she try to gain entry to Heaven and bring Hell to Heaven? Will she try to get back to Hell? Will she give it to Amenadiel to use against Lucifer? So many possibilities and so few answers and I love that about this episode. So many possible scenarios were setup regarding all the characters and whatever comes next should be very fun to watch unfold.
I feel like this episode added mystery and intrigue to almost every relationship on the show. Characters we thought were going to zig may end up zagging. Characters setup as good may turn bad and vice versa. When we get to the end of the season I have a feeling this is the episode we will look back on and realize this is the episode where everything changed. This episode may very well end up living in infamy if any of the many seeds set to sow here blossom into a brilliant supernatural storyline.
Neither Trixie nor Dr. Linda appeared in this episode and while I love both characters and their actresses I think the episode was better without them. Given the pacing of this episode both would have felt forced into the narrative and when they are on the screen I want their stuff to have purpose. They were missed but I’m confident they’ll both be back in full swing in the next episode.
This was an intriguing episode and everything I could have hoped for from the mid-point of the season. I can’t wait to see what comes next as the mystery and intrigue just got kicked up several notches.
Tune in to the next episode of
Lucifer on
FOX tonight, March 14th at 9/8C.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode. Do you think this is the start of Amenadiel’s fall from grace? Will Dan end up being a dirty cop? Do you want Dan to be a dirty cop? What will Maze use Lucifer’s wing feather for? Why do you think Chloe was vulnerable to Amenadiel’s charms but not Lucifer’s?
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.
