Lucifer returned last night for the second half of season three with some exposition and plot progression. Oh and angels getting chlamydia. Yep…
Let’s dive in!
1. When you kidnap the devil
After the interlude that was the New Years episode, Lucifer returns right where it left off, with Pierce/Tom Welling/Cain dripping blood in Lucifer’s bar. We finally come around to the main plot point that started the season, namely that Lucifer got his wings back and was stranded in the desert. Apparently we now know that Cain is responsible, and it was all part of some elaborate plan. Also the Sinnerman went rogue, and was more Pierce’s partner than anything. All of these ideas are just thrown out without much weight or fanfare behind them, as if really, the plot of this show doesn’t matter. Sure we get a little more of what Pierce is trying to do towards the end of the episode, which we’ll get to, but its disappointing that lingering plot points can be wrapped up in five seconds with no consequences. I wouldn’t be surprised that by the end of the season Lucifer loses his wings again and gets his devil face back and everything is neatly reset and put back in the box with little hassle. We’ll see.
2. Sad Ella
The murder of the week revolved around a dead surfer on a “private” beach strangled with the chord from a surfboard. Chloe and Dan arrive on the scene to begin the investigation and Lucifer shows up and sets off the now routine misunderstanding with Chloe which highlights the theme of the episode. Seriously like 99% of his problems would be solved if he could talk to her like he talks to Linda. Anyway, the whole episode is about selfishness and selflessness, the things we do for others, yada, yada.
Most interesting part of this beginning is the subplot that gets set up is Ella talking less and being mopey. I had forgotten Pierce went off on her in the last episode. She’s clearly taken it to heart as she looks up to and respects Pierce a lot and so she is trying to be a different person in order to get his approval. Charlotte talks some sense into her and she tries to stand up for herself the rest of the episode. Ella and Charlotte’s blooming relationship is still really interesting, especially cause Ella definitely has some weird supernatural something going on. By the end of the episode her and Pierce have reconciled and it’s all bueno. It’s interesting that she’d be drawn to Pierce, especially now that we know he is Cain. Hopefully this is expounded upon more.
3. I didn’t know she was a prostitute
Alright this is my main hiccup with the episode. How in the hell does it make sense for Amenadiel to maybe have chlamydia? What the fuck? First off, how is he even sick in the first place? He goes in to the doctor for a sore throat, and boom they think chlamydia. The passing, I had sex with a prostitute but didn’t know she was a prostitute was also weird and horrible. This also continues a degradation of his character that has been happening consistently since season one, and clearly they’ve run out of things to do with him if this is where we’re going. This whole situation is contrived to put Maze and Linda in conflict with each other since they’ve now both slept with him. It’s awful. They were the most stable female friendship on the show, and now it’s going to get ruined because they’re fighting over a man? This is the most petty, non-angelic crap ever. The Linda/Amenadiel relationship really hasn’t been built up super well. I buy their friendship, they have a lot in common, but also Linda’s husband died recently and he’s comforting her. None of this ends well. Also I don’t think Linda would behave this way towards Maze since she became her only female friend. This is just the most basic, absurb female-female conflict that is entirely unnecessary, and playing angel chlamydia for laughs is bad.
4. Dan the Surfer Man
All I really wanted to talk about was the fact that Dan has a Kylo Ren bod.
Continued belowBut in all seriousness the Dan surfing scenes were alright and it’s good to see him with something productive to do. Dan is another character like Amenadiel who has had it rough since the first season, and so to see him be useful is a good thing. It’s weird to me that this is the first time we’re hearing he can surf, especially since we’ve spent so much time with his pudding obsession, but alright I’ll play. I didn’t know “surfer gangs” existed, but that might just be because I’ve never lived in places with beaches, so someone correct me. Dan’s interactions with the Orcas were genuine and the ceremony they performed for the dead surfer was nice. Especially since it turned out one of the rich folks just killed him to send a message to other people to stop using their beach? Horrible reason to kill someone, but alright. Anyway, Dan had a part to play this week unlike most of the rest of the supporting cast which is a win for his character.
5. A deal with the devil
So Cain dumped Lucifer in the desert to get to Chloe, because the episode is really “all about her.” He had ongoing files on celestials on Earth (which means there’s more than Lucifer, Amenadiel, Maze, and season 2 Charlotte), and found out that Chloe made Lucifer bleed. Cain wants to die, and thought Chloe could help him, that maybe she had powers to hurt immortal beings since she’s injured Luci. Not an altogether horrible plan, but a little contrived. Turns out though, Lucifer screwed it up by getting his wings back and losing the devil face which Pierce had no part in. Both of them blame God, and by the end Lucifer makes a deal with Pierce to help him end his life to spite his Father.
The whole continuing trying to trump fate and “God’s plan” angle is getting a little old and tried. Lucifer thinking he’s a pawn and God gave him his wings back to somehow stop Cain from killing himself is also totally contrived, and doesn’t really make sense because he’s been near Chloe and been shot and still didn’t die. None of the “God has a plan for me” logic plays out well in my head, and I wish the show could tackle another aspect of Lucifer’s relationship with Dear ol’ Dad, or at least finish the lingering plot of why Chloe was “put in his path.” I’m glad we’ll get more Cain/Lucifer scenes, Tom Welling is a welcome addition to this show, I just hope this doesn’t devolve into a stretched thin plot thread like the second half of last season was with a conclusion that is really unsatisfying.
What do you think of Cain’s plan? Have thoughts on angel chlamydia? Sound off in the comments below and come back next week!
