And just like many other live-action adaptations of comic book properties, Lucifer season three has a villain problem, among some other things. Good moments this week, sunk by small parts of the episode. Am I saying the same thing every week? Let’s dive in!
1. Sex at work?
This sort of has nothing to do with the rest of the episode, but I think is worth mentioning. Chloe wouldn’t have work sex. As strict as she is about so many other things, this seems wildly out of character for her, and I was really irked by the idea that the showrunners thought that was a good way to begin the episode. It’s almost as if they want to get a handful of good gags in and write characters wildly inconsistent to do so. It’s been happening the past few episodes, but this one might be the most egregious. It also reduces Chloe as a character in some ways, and after this episode, and what’s sure to come in the rest of the season where it’s just Lucifer and Pierce fighting over her, this kind of stuff can’t be overlooked. There’s nothing good about reducing the strongest female character on your show to a prize to be won. Even if it is two immortal beings fighting over her.
2. And lo! An angel appeared!
All that being said, case of the week game this week was on point. Another rich dude is murdered as per usual on this show, but the twist this go around is there’s a witness, and she thinks she’s seen an angel. Hallelujah! Lucifer going through the whole episode thinking he’s sleepsaving people was a really great way to continue to explore the existential dread that him and Amenadiel both have that God is controlling their lives, and the guilt Amenadiel now feels that they revealed themselves to Charlotte and that divinity could become an open secret. Watching Lucifer struggle with the potential that God was using him to do good to punish him was great, even though it seemed very probable that someone was screwing with him. It also created a unique sense of drama with him and Decker that made his selfishness this week tolerable. Plus, Pierce’s joke about “Could this actually be one of your brothers,” cracked me up.
3. Predestination: Hell
Back in subplot Charlotteland this week, let’s just say Charlotte took the worst lesson from being introduced to the idea that there are divine beings in the world and, I think, quit her job at the precinct and insulted everyone on her way out. She also definitely told Dan to go strip in a closet at a fancy restaurant for them to bone down and there was no way that was ending well. Again, in Dan’s case, another instance of a character being portrayed as kind of an idiot for laughs.
But, the conversation that her and Amenadiel have towards the end of the episode where he sets her straight I thought was really interesting and very well done. Her admitting that as soon as she thought there was a heaven/hell loophole she relapsed into being a shitty person is really telling, and is the kind of interesting theological or philosophical question that should be driving this show. Charlotte’s admission that she’s just going to hell and is irredeemable is a fascinating one. Do people need the threat of hell in order to do good deeds? Are some of us just “predestined” to go to the bad place? Who knows if a bad place even exists, but for a character to only act good to escape hell, that’s an interesting idea I would love to see explored more.
C’mon people if forking The Good Place can do it hilariously in 30 minutes or less surely something conceived from the consciousness of Neil Gaiman can as well.
4. No sleep and 12 seasons of Bones
RIP Bones. Also mad props that Luci watched 246 episodes and 12 seasons of a show in a week. I’m not even gonna check if that’s mathematically possible, just props man.
Anyway, the way Lucifer acts after staying up straight for a week and struggling with the “Angel of San Bernardino” business was really great. It’s not often that we see an unkempt Lucifer, this actually might’ve been the first time it was taken seriously, and it was awesome to see him go off his rocker. He threatens the actors from that weird agency, he gets a little of his devil face back towards the end when his eyes flare red. The best part was his scene with Chloe in the interrogation room where we think we’re finally getting the reveal we’ve waited 3 seasons for, but instead she doesn’t want it because she wants Pierce. Actually no, his and Maze’s scene where she admits she’s been screwing with him is the best, but most of that is on Maze being terrifying and her finally snapping. Course, that is maybe lessened by what comes next.
Continued below5. The mark is gone, but what does that mean?
Alright, so, Chloe spends all of the episode struggling with her feelings for Pierce, whether or not she loves him after the few weeks (months?) of them dating, and whether she can tell Trixie about this all now since she hasn’t really dated anyone since Dan. That’s a really good, really interesting driving dramatical piece grappling with all the trauma and responsibility of dating after divorce. Chloe deserves to be happy, and deserves to be with someone stable, and so for Lucifer to almost ruin that, and for Pierce to not care even though the stakes here are high for him, sure. It works, Chloe’s journey works.
But, Pierce saying he can’t keep the charade up at the end and leaving her, that seems wildly out of character for him, and reveals Maze to be the true villain of this season. And I don’t think it works. He’s going to give up his quest to die after thousands of years because he fell in love again? Nah. Now the mark is gone though, so I don’t know where that goes, and with the previews for next week, it looks like he’s doubling back and wants to stay alive. Or this is some larger elaborate ruse. Either way, this just bookends the point made in the opening minutes of the episode, Chloe is a celestial play toy. And I have issues with that. Especially if they demonize (get it?) Maze and turn their female characters into props to further the stories of divine beings. We’ve had thousands of years of that story. Do better.
That’s all this week folks, come back next week as we count down to the end of the season with four episodes left. And sound off in the comments below and tell me how wrong I am!
