“You cruel manipulative bastard! Is this all part of your plan? It’s all just a game to you isn’t it? Eh? Well, I know punishment and he did not deserve that! He followed your stupid rules and it still wasn’t good enough. So what does it take to please you? Break your rules and you fall, follow them and you still lose? Doesn’t matter whether you’re a sinner. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a saint. Nobody can win so what’s the point?” – Lucifer Morningstar
Last week when I saw the promo for this week’s episode, titled “A Priest Walks into a Bar”, I thought it was going to be another “okay” episode that focused more on the weekly case and not on our characters’ emotions. I was kind of wrong. While this week did focus mostly on the case, this case offered a bit more of a parallel connection to Lucifer’s current emotions than usual. With this episode dealing heavily in questioning God’s will and the path he’s set his “children” on. We got some really fun and touching exchanges between Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and Father Frank (Colman Domingo). At the same time, we still got a few short scenes involving this season’s main story arcs, which were not only surprising, but very thought provoking. There is a lot to resummon from this episode. If I miss anything let me know.
Warning: SPOILERS will follow!
Knocking on Heaven’s Door
So this week’s weekly case being brought to Lucifer by a priest allowed for some very unique things to happen. It was interesting to see how Lucifer first reacted to the priest after Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) had told him about his guest. The dark lord and his demon both regarded the priest as if he were a hen in a fox den. Following the introduction, Lucifer spent the majority of the episode trying to prove that the priest wasn’t as holy as he pretends to be. There were some rather funny slights at the Catholics this episode with the altar boy jokes, and the scenes of Lucifer in the confessional were really great. I can’t really take credit for guessing the bad guy this episode though, which is usually something I manage to get right each episode. It wasn’t that the writers managed to trick me, but that there were really only three suspects in the murder of Lenny Arietta. The Father Frank wasn’t ever really a suspect in my mind, so it was between Connor (Harrison Thomas) and Erik Doyle (Adam Bartley). I put my money on Connor and was only half right. I liked the twist at the end, but I didn’t really buy that Connor would have tried to drive-by kill Frank. If the story Frank had spun about how he cared for Connor was true, I’d have guessed that Connor wouldn’t have gotten so manipulated by Erik to the point of attempting to kill Frank. Also, I definitely couldn’t buy that Erik Doyle was this new drug boss “The Spider.” The case really ended worse than any case this season as well. Erik killing Father Frank got him arrested… sure. But between you and me, I was hoping Lucifer would break the guy’s neck. We haven’t seen Lucifer’s demonic side for a few episodes, but there’s something to be said for Lucifer being able to pin a guy Erik’s size up on a wall without his toes touching the ground. There wasn’t much action in this episode but this scene made up for that lack. Lucifer hasn’t been this angry since “Favorite Son” and I truly love seeing Tom Ellis pull off these scenes. I feel like this scene is another memory for Chloe’s unexplained moments regarding Lucifer.
Angelic Assassin
So the Malcolm/Dan/Amenadiel plotlines were short and overshadowed slightly by Lucifer’s personal arc, but I think that these threads were the most shocking in this episode. Not only did we find out that Dan (Kevin Alejandro) isn’t actually the cop killer like we were led to believe, but we find out that he shot Malcolm (Kevin Rankin) on Palmetto Street because Malcolm was about to shoot Chloe! Sure Dan is still a dirty cop, but it’s obvious that Malcolm is the true bad cop in that partnership. Even more shocking than even that, is the fact that Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) brought Malcolm back from the dead to be that “pitiful thug” he has been waiting for to send Lucifer back to Hell. Now… I’ve questioned whether Amenadiel has been sinning in previous articles, but he has actually clearly crossed that line here. Amenadiel has actually put a hit out on Lucifer. Malcolm being the scumbag we now know he is, spent thirty seconds in Hell and found it so horrifying that he would kill Lucifer just so Amenadiel doesn’t send him back. That is pretty dumb, mainly because Malcolm is going to Hell no matter what, especially if he kills Lucifer. Then when Malcolm does die and goes to Hell again, Lucifer will be there to torture him. What he must have felt for that thirty seconds in a Lucifer-less Hell won’t be anything compared to what he’ll actually get when Lucifer is there. So Dan is being blackmailed by Malcolm, and Malcolm is being blackmailed by Amenadiel. Honestly… I don’t think any of these three will live to see their plans come to fruition. The fact that Dan isn’t as bad as we assumed will make his demise that much more emotional; if it happens that is.
Friends with the Devil
It’s rather interesting to me that Lucifer couldn’t tell Dr. Linda Martin (Rachel E. Harris) that Chloe (Lauren German) is his friend this episode. Chloe made it very clear that she considered Lucifer a friend last episode. Did Lucifer just not think about his corresponding feelings when she told him that? Now that Lucifer has “broken it off” with Maze, I love that one of his confusing feelings this episode was loneliness. Not only is he surrounded by club goers and even more Brittany’s than ever before, but he also has had Chloe around him constantly to keep him company. The only difference between last episode and when he started feeling alone was is his relationship with Maze. Maze is actually still around, but he’s shutting her out so hard that he’s blocking her from getting back into his life. My favorite parts of this episode happened around Lucifer’s piano. Even though Lucifer started with not liking Father Frank, we actually see Lucifer come to like the guy in the end. Their bonding over piano playing showed that Lucifer could make friends if he tried. He’s not really as bad a guy as he tells himself that he is. I absolutely loved every piano scene. Father Frank beginning with “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, which prompted a scoff from Lucifer, then the switch to Ray Charles’ “Mess Around” being played by both characters at the same time. I honestly loved seeing the two bond over the common interest. This makes the scenes of Lucifer playing alone after Father Frank dies that much more emotional. I honestly got a bit choked up during the scene of Lucifer playing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” while mourning for Frank. This then makes the arrival of Chloe to comfort Lucifer that much more powerful. Here we see a friend, who Lucifer wasn’t sure was his friend earlier, comforting her friend in his time of sadness. This was probably one of my favorite scenes between the two in the entire show so far. When they started to play “Heart and Soul” together, I just couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. It brought back memories of when I played “Heart and Soul” with my older brother. I would also freak out and start shipping #Chlocifer right now, but this scene is just an absolutely perfect picture of friendship that I don’t want to twist. That being said, later when I’m shipping these characters, I’ll make sure to point out that this is the moment it probably began to blossom. I love these two characters.
Lucifer’s Path
If the piano scenes wouldn’t have been so damn good, I think Lucifer’s scene on his balcony yelling at God would have been the highlight of this episode. This scene was another example of just how insanely good Tom Ellis is at acting. I wrote the whole quote from that scene at the head of this article, because it was the best bit of dialog in the episode. This scene, like the piano scenes, is paralleled by an earlier scene of Lucifer and Father Frank standing on the balcony talking about faith in God. When he was with Father Frank, the sky had been clear and the moon was shining bright, but later when he was alone and in pain, the sky was thick with dark clouds. The imagery here was just as powerful as the words being exchanged. I was actually almost expecting God to answer Lucifer’s cries too. I haven’t read the comics, but I do know that God appears as a physical form in them, so I was honestly expecting it… but maybe Lucifer is right about his father. So far, it seems like God is a pretty bad dad, so it wasn’t a letdown that he didn’t come to answer his son’s questions. But something Father Frank said as he was dying was really mind shattering. “I didn’t understand why God put you on my path, but then it hit me. Maybe he put me in yours.” Then he reveals that he knew all along that Lucifer is the devil, and that he believes his father has a plan for him. This takes us back to their conversation on the balcony when Lucifer says that God’s plan for him was quite clear – “How do you know it’s finished?” I don’t really know what God’s plan is for Lucifer. It seems like he suck Lucifer down in Hell because he was the only one he could trust for the job. That being said, he had to have known the affects that plan would have on Lucifer right? There is also an obvious discrepancy between Lucifer’s powers and Amenadiel’s. I’d guess that if Lucifer had the power to bring someone back from the dead, like Amenadiel can, that he would have used it on Frank. Lucifer blames his father for killing Frank. I don’t think there’s any amount of reparation that can be done to mend that fence.
With this episode’s end, really the only thing left in question is: What role Maze is going to play in the end? We see her trying to make things go back to normal between her and Lucifer, but Lucifer shutting her out causes her efforts to be in vain. Maze looks obviously frazzled in this episode as well. Lesley-Ann Brandt always looks stunning as Maze, but I think they made an effort to make her look like she’s been losing sleep over her betrayal of Lucifer. We’ll see in the next couple episodes if she’ll redeem herself or complete the betrayal. The promo for next episode reveals that Chloe’s mom comes for a visit and shows some promise for some actual #Chlocifer action. That looks pretty fun. Maybe it’ll give the people complaining that this episode was “too preachy” a break. Actually, it probably won’t seeing as how this show is about the Christian mythos. It’s supposed to be raising questions about belief and what’s right and what’s wrong. That being said, the viewer count only fell by fifty-thousand this week, so there’s a chance that it’s finished bottoming out and will give FOX a reason to keep the show around for a second season. Make sure you’re tweeting FOX and telling them to #RenewLuciferNow. There is still so much story left for them to tell us.
Let me know what you thought of this article and your thoughts on some of my questions! I’d love to hear them! Find me on Twitter @TheEverwritten.
Check out the promo for next week’s episode below: