“I’ve been thinking a lot about the other night. Why I showed up drunk to your place. Why you wouldn’t sleep with me, and I think us… our thing… maybe it goes beyond just work. Or sex. Anyhow. I can let my guard down with you, and I don’t do that with anyone else. You make me vulnerable. And… maybe that’s okay.” – Chloe Decker, the first woman to give the devil blue balls
I love being right in my theories in regards to this seasons long mysteries. Unfortunately, the end of this episode was spoiled for me because I saw the last line by Lucifer quoted on Twitter, but I know better than to look on Twitter before I could watch the episode. Nevertheless, I was still excited for this episode to happen, because I’ve been waiting for it. It’s also just now dawning on me that we only have two episodes left, so it makes sense for the long game to start weaving the story threads back together to form a hopefully neat and satisfying end to our season one story. This episode actually had a couple major plot points that signal the winding down. What points those were I will attempt to break down and think through, but if I miss anything please let me know in the comments. I love to hear everyone else’s theories and thoughts, especially if they don’t line up with mine. It’s time to resummon this episode of Lucifer, aptly titled “St. Lucifer”, because lord knows he can’t come back otherwise… at least not without his Pentecostal coin.
Warning: SPOILERS Will Follow!
Malcolm in the Middle
This episode truly did a great job playing with the weekly theme of good vs bad, and if someone truly can be only one or the other. In Malcolm’s (Kevin Rankin) case… he’s definitely pretty bad. One of the things I picked up on and theorized a bit last episode “Pops” was Malcolm’s crazy eating habit. Technically I was wrong about this theory, because I originally thought it was because he was no longer scared of death. Unexpectedly though, Malcolm tells a tied-up Dan (Kevin Alejandro) a chilling description of how his personal experience in Hell was and how he was starved for years there. That would have been a hard prediction to get right, so I give myself half a point for noticing his bad food habit earlier than Dan. I still love the back and forth between these two, especially in this episode. This was probably the best episode for Kevin Alejandro so far in my books. For the few short scenes he was in, I was rooting for him to escape and save the day. Which almost did happen had he been a little bit quicker with that plastic knife. I enjoyed seeing Dan’s concern for Lucifer (Tom Ellis) when he first arrives at LUX. Dan genuinely cared for his life and Alejandro’s acting when Lucifer was magically unharmed really made that scene for me. So for the theme of good vs bad, Malcolm proved today that he’ll do anything to save his own soul. I’ve been arguing that Malcolm will eventually wind up in Hell again one day, so killing Lucifer will make his return trip a Hell of a lot worse on the second go around. I’m glad they brought this up and used it to help sway Malcolm’s decision. He chooses the path of not being a total bad guy and accepts Lucifer’s Pentacostal coin in turn for not shooting him; which I figured wouldn’t have worked anyways. Lucifer’s reaction to giving up the coin was almost the same as the reactions he had after burning his wings. That coin was Lucifer’s guarantee that he could get in or out of Hell again if he needed to. I honestly don’t think Malcolm is going to get the chance to use that coin himself though. I think Malcolm is going to bite it before the season ends, and Lucifer will get his coin back after it happens. I’m still predicting that Dan will get a hero’s death at the end of this season, but his escape this episode will throw a twist in the story. I was hoping we would get a scene of Dan and Chloe (Lauren German) this episode, but they’re definitely saving that for next week.
Hot Demon on Angel Action
Holy cow you guys… Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) actually got it on in the back of a car. Who’s car? No one knows, but this has been a plot thread I’ve been waiting for since “Manly Whatnots” (1×04) when Maze kissed Amenadiel after their fight. I still wonder if Amenadiel has turned a corner that he can’t come back from with all of these sins. I honestly don’t know what angels can and can’t do in this story, but I would guess that an angel sleeping with a demon would be frowned upon by the higher ups. I also really loved the progress we saw between Maze and Lucifer. We saw Maze reaching out and trying to convince Lucifer to let her back in, but he still continued to shut her out. In the end though, we see him finally talk to her again, but it still leaves them on shaky ground. Maze admits to her now being Lucifer’s “inside woman”, as she tells him that she slept with his brother. There is a bit of truth in her admission that should make Lucifer trust her, but also the fact that she has gotten so close to Amenadiel means that she shouldn’t totally be trusted. I really love how the writers managed to make that work. This is going to come into play over the next two episodes as well and I doubt it’ll turn out how we expect. With Amenadiel obviously gaining some level of feelings for Mazikeen, Lucifer could use those feelings against him. My favorite part from the Maze/Amenadiel plotline this episode was Amenadiel telling Maze that he started the rumor about Lucifer and the goat. With a bit of Google-ing I came to the conclusion that the joke was that Amenadiel created the rumor which eventually creates the Goat of Mendes as the symbol for Satan. Many Satanic cults believe that the devil has the head of a goat, so they use goat heads for his symbol. Whether that’s right or not, it’s hilarious and one of the main reasons that I love this show. I really get a kick out of it when the writers can play with popular Christian mythos’ like this. It’s also funny because that was Amenadiel’s only proof of his wild side before the rendezvous in the car. The dude needs to let loose more often and maybe he’d understand the world from his brother’s perspective.
Saints, Sinners & Schools
The weekly case this week was really fun. It brought about the weekly theme of good vs bad, prompting Lucifer to adopt the persona of Saint Lucifer. With the victim being a great humanitarian like Tim Dunlear (Michasha Armstrong), who on the outside seems like a saint, the writers were able to play with the idea that someone may seem like they’re nothing but good or bad, but in the end they may be a bit of both. Lucifer goes about the episode thinking that people only do good because of the “high” that they get from doing it. He begins to find out, as the case unfolds, that it’s not always so black or white. When it comes to good vs bad, there is still a grey zone. Amenadiel is an angel and he’s not being very good. Maze is a demon and she doesn’t always seem so bad. So the case was designed to teach Lucifer that just because he’s been the bad guy throughout history, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he couldn’t still be a saint. I liked that there was a number of different suspects this week. It wasn’t just two suspects like in “A Priest Walks Into a Bar” (1×09), but four different people to guess on. I admit to being suspicious of the victim’s wife Vanessa Dunlear (Christina Chang), but she wasn’t my top guess. I found it funny that Lucifer refused to use his powers to get the truth out of the suspects, and the whole episode he didn’t suspect Vanessa as much as Chloe did. I originally thought Will Flemming (Dorian Missick), the guy who had the most to gain from Tim’s death, was the perpetrator. It ended up that Will was actually a really good guy who was just trying to protect who he thought was a grieving widow. I didn’t understand the twist that the school had never been built in Haiti and that Vanessa had been stealing the money for herself – until Chloe did. When there are enough curve balls in a case to make you consider all of the many options until they reveal the killer, then the case was well constructed. I really liked that Lucifer was playing saint and not wanting to coerce the suspects into giving up the goods. It made this case much more difficult than it needed to be. It forced Chloe to go back to her roots and solve the case the old fashioned way instead of with Lucifer’s mystical powers. This could be the last weekly case we’ll get for this season as well. The promo for “#TeamLucifer” looks pretty intense, but seems to only be showing us the big plot threads. If so, this was a great case to end the season on.
Vulnerabilities
I’ve been expecting this episode for a long time now. I’ve been theorizing that Chloe being around Lucifer is what has caused a nullification of his powers. I’ve honestly been expecting someone to try and shoot Lucifer and it not work for the whole second half of the season. The curious thing for me this episode was that we finally got to see Lucifer’s devil form again but it didn’t work on Malcolm. I get that his excuse is that he’s already seen Hell. But you’d think that the scariest thing in Hell would be Satan himself right? This makes me wonder if Malcolm has somehow developed the same resistance to Lucifer that Chloe has. It’s a bit of a stretch, but I just found it weird that Malcolm wasn’t even fazed. If Malcolm does somehow affect Lucifer like Chloe can, it will change the outcome of the season and set up some interesting questions about Chloe. Chloe Decker was by far my favorite character this episode. I loved how the writers made her not like the new saintly Lucifer. You’d think that Lucifer trying to be good and be a nice person would make Chloe like him more, but she actually does like when Lucifer is his normal crazy self. There is something about how Lucifer is normally makes Chloe feel like she can let her guard down. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure why that is. As much as I love to ship those two together, their relationship is quite the enigma. The one thing that Lucifer will never do is break his promises. If the devil gives his word, he won’t let you down. It could be that no matter how crazy Lucifer is to Chloe, she can genuinely see that he’s a trustful person who truly does have her back. It could also be that in every episode Lucifer opens up to her about his feelings and emotions, and that causes Chloe to do the same back to him. Whether or not these two will get romantic in any way this season, I am still really loving the friendship that the writers are developing here. Chloe went from not wanting Lucifer to be involved in her business, to missing him when he’s not being his normal, lovable but egotistical self. It’s why the end of this episode just killed me and made me all giddy. Every scene Lauren German has done where Chloe has needed to express deep feelings have all been tremendous. It’s the same with Tom Ellis and Lucifer. So when you have scenes where the two of them are sharing deep emotions with one another, you have the recipe for a great scene with palpable chemistry. I love Lucifer’s face and reaction to Chloe’s confession of her vulnerability with him. There’s just something so powerful being shown as we watch the devil discover what true friendship and emotion is. While Lucifer may see being around Chloe as a vulnerability now, I believe in the end it will actually be his greatest strength.
Take Me Back To Hell
So this week we got the release of the episode title of the finale “Take Me Back to Hell.” This title is extremely intriguing. I’m curious as to who the title may be alluding to, Maze, Malcolm, or Lucifer? It would make sense if Maze is the one wanting to go back to Hell, as that’s been her motivation for the whole season, but we know Lesley-Ann Brandt will be around for season two. It’s possible that my theory in “Et Tu, Doctor?” about Maze wanting to become a “Lady Lucifer” who rules Hell in his stead could come true, but I am loving Maze in her current role. Malcolm is already trying to avoid going back to Hell, so I doubt the title is referring to him. That leaves just Lucifer. The only way I could see this title pointing to Lucifer is if something very serious happens that forces Lucifer to sacrifice his humanity for someone he cares about. If Chloe’s life is in danger or if Dan dies and winds up in Hell, it’s possible that Lucifer would return back to Hell to save them from a horrible fate. I actually wouldn’t be too bothered by this, but it wouldn’t be permanent with a second season coming. Since I haven’t read the comics and we are still a week out from seeing the promo of this episode, I figured it would be a good chance to speculate on what the title means. So if you have an idea, let me know as well!
Overall, really great episode. The comedy was high, the drama was great, the #Chlocifer relationship keeps building. The “you make me vulnerable” line is going to be feed us Chloe-Lucifer shippers’ obsession until the end of the season. Tom Ellis sings once again, the weekly case was intriguing and less obvious than usual. The tension was high with all of the guns being pointed at Lucifer, and the sexy exchange between Maze and Amenadiel really made this episode rank up in the top three so far for me. Kevin Alejandro delivers a really good performance even when his hair is messy, and Lauren German continues to surprise me with every episode. I loved having Amenadiel back after his relatively few scenes during these last few episodes. With two episodes left to go, I really don’t want this show to end. We only have two more weeks until we’ve ended the story the writers had begun as our introduction to Lucifer’s universe. I can’t wait to see where they go next, but I also never want this story to end.
Let me know what you thought of this article or your thoughts on this episode in the comments below or on Twitter @TheEverwritten!
Check out the promo for next week’s episode #TeamLucifer below: