What an incredible journey this show took us on this season! Who knew that a show about the Devil could be full of so much heart and humor?! Tom Ellis and Lauren German are masterful leads of this show and have incredible chemistry together. Their fellow costars are as equally brilliant in their portrayals of very well fleshed out characters. This cast brought this colorful cast of characters to life and allowed us to come along for all of their fun and outrageous adventures.
My big hope going into this season finale was that Chloe would finally accept the truth about Lucifer. Alas it wasn’t meant to be but I think that ultimately worked out best for the series especially with the well deserved pickup for next season. The show now has the freedom to allow Chloe’s journey to continue to be organic and to ensure that when the long awaited moment finally comes it is fully earned. Though, I do believe Chloe seeing Lucifer die then come back to life surely has got to spark something in her. Given how much they packed into this episode a big moment of revelation like that just wouldn’t have fit in. I think she’ll be much more inquisitive next season. I look forward to the day she finally has that moment of acceptance. Then, and only then, do I think the show can fully start to tackle what makes Chloe so special.
I really enjoyed that Chloe got to work with just about everyone in an attempt to clear Lucifer’s name and save Trixie. Even after the ending of the prior episode I never believed that Chloe felt in her heart that Lucifer was guilty. Given the number of iffy situations she’s been in with Lucifer over the season no one can really blame her for her first instinct being to pull her gun on him when she found a dead body in his bar. Might not have been the best choice but instinctually it made sense. It was an powerful scene when Lucifer was trying to force the cop to shoot him and Chloe realized what was going on and was desperate to stop the cop to protect Lucifer. After all Lucifer has been through and lost he was at his wits end and was ready to throw in the towel and may have had Amenadiel not swooped in for a last minute rescue. Having the episode start with Lucifer and Chloe divided and separated allowed the show to explore their journey back together and the lengths Chloe was willing to go for him. It made their reunion all that much sweeter when Chloe was able to tell him that she believed him that he didn’t murder the priest. What I found supremely interesting was that Dan also came to Lucifer’s defense. No matter what he feels about Lucifer I believe that Dan realizes that Lucifer actually has good intentions. He went to extreme lengths to help clear Lucifer’s name and clear his own conscious regarding his past transgressions.
I’ve been hard on Dan this season but Kevin Alejandro has been spot on in his portrayal of this character all season. Dan started off as a character that just didn’t seem to fit into the overall narrative but that was largely a reflection of the last minute casting change. Once Alejandro and the writers got a full grasp on Dan his story really took off. I am happy that they developed the story the way they did because it allowed Dan to go on a complete journey. He went from a dirty cop that was easy to hate to a conflicted father and husband who just wanted to do right by his family to a man that was willing to give up everything for his family. One can’t help but respect Dan for the decisions he made in the season finale. Was it a little too late to be able to repair his standing within his family? I honestly have no idea. Chloe was hurt by the whole Palmetto incident and even though Dan justified his actions by saying he was protecting her, in a way he was also trying to cover his own tracks and protect himself. A big journey for these two next season will be to see if they can salvage what they once had. I think it’s time for Chloe to permanently cut romantic ties with Dan, but I would like to see her stand by him and try to help him through what is sure to be a legal nightmare when the show returns in the Fall.
At the end of the day the priority for both Dan and Chloe is protecting Trixie yet the choices both of them made throughout the season ultimately put Trixie in grave danger. The acting by Scarlett Estevez was spot on right down to the more emotional moments. Trixie knew she was in a bad position but she never once doubted that her mom would come for her. When she was reunited with her mom all she wanted was to cling to her and it was heartbreaking when Chloe had to send Trixie into hiding knowing there was a real possibility she may not survive long enough to see her daughter again. It was incredible acting by German and Estevez that once again highlighted how connected these two actresses are. German takes on a very protective posture when sharing a scene with Estevez and you can tell that she cares about her young costar. Together they have developed a beautiful representation of a mother and daughter relationship full of unconditional love and sacrifice with Chloe willing to do anything for her daughter and Trixie loving her mom no matter what. I only hope the show goes on long enough for Estevez to be a little older and be allowed more screen time. I believe that as the young actress grows her bond with German will only increase allowing for this relationship to keep growing and evolving with the actresses.
A very big theme of this episode was redemption of all the lost and troubled souls that make up this cast. Dan wasn’t the only one who completed his season long journey of self acceptance and redemption. Both Maze and Amenadiel were also given the chance to redeem themselves in unlikely ways. The path to redemption started with Amenadiel who finally realized the error in his ways and came to Lucifer’s rescue before partaking on an adventure with his wayward brother. They needed to stop Malcolm and that common goal brought these brothers together fighting against a common enemy. The true irony was that the situation they all found themselves in with Malcolm was entirely Amenadiel’s fault because he crossed a line by resurrecting him. Stopping Malcolm was a critical part of his story of redemption from a rogue Angel to a being trying to right his wrongs. In the end he was willing to die for the cause and nearly did.
That brings me to Maze who is a fascinating and complicated multilayered character. She was neither good nor evil and she was loyal to a fault with an incredible capacity to love (even if she hates to admit it). She allowed herself to fall for Amenadiel and put herself in the ultimate rock meets hard place predicament as she found herself caught between the Angel was she was falling for and the Fallen Angel who is her boss and very best friend. Maze couldn’t kill Amenadiel and she could never fully turn on Lucifer which left her in an odd state of limbo after her initial betrayal was revealed. To try and make up for her wrongs she teamed up with Chloe which was a big thing for her considering she’s spent all season hating on Chloe. This is a team-up I had been hoping for all season and, depending on the resolution from the cliffhanger regarding Maze, it is one that I hope to see repeated again next season. Lesley-Ann Brandt and Lauren German bring a fun energy to their scenes together and the banter was spot on. Maze knew she had to help Chloe and Chloe knew she needed Maze’s help but neither character was excited about it and neither is ready to consider the other a friend just yet. At best they are still firmly in the frenemies category but hopefully that’ll change. I loved Maze’s response when Chloe tackled her to the ground. Who knows what the future holds but I really want to see more interactions between these characters next season. The actresses have great chemistry and it would be criminal to not tap into that and show these two uneasily working together.
As I mentioned, one of the shows big cliffhangers involved Maze. With Amenadiel mortally wounded and dying she utilized Lucifer’s remaining wing feather to try and save him. Ultimately she did but in the process she disappeared. Where did she go? Was her willingness to sacrifice herself for one of God’s sons enough to earn this demon redemption? Did she end up back in Hell? I hope it doesn’t take the show long to resolve this cliffhanger because Maze is a fascinating character and beloved by fans. If the show did allow her to earn redemption and Maze comes back in angelic form next season I hope she doesn’t lose her edge. That edgy persona is what makes this character a standout and fun to watch.
The episode forced Lucifer and Amenadiel to work together to try and clear the formers name. When Lucifer was essentially throwing in the towel and ready to go back to Hell I found it a great character moment for Amenadiel to actually encourage him to remain where he loves. This whole episode allowed D.B. Woodside and Tom Ellis to have some great scenes together. From the very beginning they have excelled at portraying the sibling banter that all siblings naturally have. Deep down they do each care for one another even if Amenadiel did try to have Malcolm kill his brother. I’m glad that Amenadiel, much like Dan, realized the error in his ways and set out to rectify the situation and fix his relationship with his brother. I hope this new unity between the brothers will allow Amenadiel to be featured in more episodes next season. I also look forward to them working together to figure out what happened to Maze and bringing her back to them. They both need her and I think they’ll go to great lengths to get her back.
That leads me to the biggest cliffhanger of all! Lucifer and Amenadiel’s Mother is free from Hell and for even Lucifer to be scared of her she must be quite evil. With the antagonists of this season either dead like Malcolm or redeemed like Amenadiel and Dan the show definitely needs a new infusion of evil. It is interesting that Lucifer’s Father sent His son back to the very place he’d been trying to bring him home from in order to bring back his presumably evil Mother back to Hell where they all seem to believe she belongs. This was a brilliant story choice as it now unites the brothers and their Father in a unified goal so instead of working against each other next season they’ll be working together.
Having Lucifer reach out to his Father in his dying breaths shows that Lucifer isn’t incapable of love for his Father seeing as in what he thought were his final moments it was his Father that he wanted to talk to. They’ll need to work together if they have any chance of stopping the Mother that scares Lucifer and presumably even God himself. Casting of this Mother character is going to be critical to the story for next season. I’m calling her Mother for now until the show gives her a definitive name but I have a strong suspicion that her name will be Eve simply for its biblical implications. Going with biblical references I think she’s the best candidate for the show to craft as the Mother of angels. This was a very interesting twist to present us with a Mother character for the brothers and I can’t wait for their first interaction with her. Chime in down in the comments regarding who you think should play this new Big Bad.
On the bright side all of these characters left the season with enough issues that Dr. Linda should be plenty busy next season trying to help all of them. The couch scene with the brothers was nothing short of perfection and I hope they both find themselves back on her couch again. It also was a nice moment for the show to highlight how connected the two brothers are because once they were in sync they were a fierce duo. If Dr. Linda thought Lucifer was a handful I can’t wait for her to end up with the others on her couch. She got a taste of it with Maze and Amenadiel but I think they’ll all eventually find their way to her for some advice on how to navigate the complicated lives they are all now living.
I was surprisingly sad to see Malcolm be killed even though he was a psychotic evil monster. He brought a nice edge to the show and Kevin Rankin was brilliant portraying the growing psychosis that was building in Malcolm. The lovely thing about this show is that dead doesn’t actually mean dead forever so I’d say the odds are fairly good that Malcolm will somehow find his way back to the world of the living to cause more havoc. While I hated to see Malcolm go it was justified especially after using an innocent kid as a pawn and framing Lucifer. The only good thing about Malcolm was that he was a brilliant antagonist. What is the consensus with the fans? Are you happy that he’s gone or do you want him back for round two of psychotic evilness?
It was a phenomenal season finale full of shocking moments, revelations, and cliffhangers. This season finale also had a lot of heart mixed in with the usual snarky tone of the show. These characters meshed together as an amazing group and if they can all figure out how to work as a unified team next season Mother might just be stoppable. This is a unique show which is why I think it connected so well with the audience. The base of the show is a procedural meets a scifi story format and while the show went to procedural early on they definitely found the right balance as the season progressed. With the winning story formula in place and the growing pains that occur in all new shows over the show can now focus on character growth and world building. Season Two promises lots more fun and adventure!
Be sure to tune back in to
Lucifer on FOX in the Fall on Monday nights at 9/8C.
I will be back here in the Fall reviewing the show so join me again next season for another round of reviews, analysis, and speculation! Hit the comments with your thoughts on this season finale and your predictions for what next season holds for our favorite group of detectives, angels, and demons!
P.S. Sorry about the delay in this review! I went on vacation right after the episode aired then caught a nasty cold virus and spent almost two weeks laid up sick which left me behind on everything. At least this gives everyone a good excuse to talk about
Lucifer's amazing season finale again!
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.
