Last week I complained about the idea of Lucifer as a cop investigating everyday crime in L.A. It seemed short sighted and something that wouldn't maintain interest long and in fact, as of episode five, I was already getting bored, even though I very much love Tom Ellis as Lucifer. Well, it seems that the writers recognized that Lucifer as a cop is a shortsighted device because this week, along with our regular case, we had a few developments that most certainly peeked my interest.
Lucifer arrives at a warehouse when called there by Chloe and learns that the case of the week is about security guard who has been killed. Lucifer is not the least bit interested and walks away from the case. He even shows disinterest when Mazikeen informs him that it was his shipping crate which was stolen. Mazikeen has to prick Lucifer's pride by questioning if this means that someone is free to steal from him now. Despite Lucifer's nonchalance, he does at least to some degree care how he is viewed. Well, at least we know that Lucifer has one of the seven deadly sins - pride and that it can be used to manipulate him.
There was never a doubt that Lucifer must be a complicated being since he is essentially as old as time and is clearly the writers interpretation of the biblical Lucifer. Last week we saw Amenadiel worm his way into Linda's confidence and this week we got to see the results as he encouraged Linda to believe Lucifer's identity and use the bible to suggest how she should talk to him. Linda agrees and in her session with Lucifer, she calls him Samael, a name he angrily rejects. Linda persists and suggests that as Samael, he is God's favourite son. This brings Lucifer's anger to the forefront. He talks about the fact that he feels that he didn't do anything to deserve this and that his name is constantly impugned. He absolutely rejects the idea that he is responsible for humanity's bad acts. For Lucifer, it has been eons of torture. Ellis absolutely kills it with this scene as Lucifer's pain is laid bare for all to see.
Linda then goes in for the kill "You are his fallen angel, but here's the thing. When angels fall, they also rise. All you have to do is embrace all that you are," In this moment it is obvious how much Lucifer wants this to be true but he is stuck. When he finally retrieved the container he showed Chloe that inside it were nesting dolls, but when he opened the secret compartment, he discovered that his glorious wings were missing. This means that what is happening is no longer a game. Lucifer is no longer the rebellious son and he can no longer make decisions with his full autonomy and power. If that were not enough, the fact that he is becoming mortal will make the task of getting back his wings that much more difficult. Who the hell has his wings and does that mean that there are other demons out there, or perhaps maybe angels out there working to keep Lucifer out of hell? When Lucifer shares the news with Mazikeen about the lost wings which are beautiful btw, his heartbreak is obvious.
Mazikeen is finally starting to interest me. Last week we saw her make a deal with Amenadiel, to get Lucifer back to hell. We also saw her creepily staring down at Chloe. It seems that Mazikeen has decided to take a gentle approach to throwing a wedge between Chloe and Lucifer by knocking out Dan when he comes to check out Lux's books and dropping him off naked on Chloe's bed. It seems that Mazikeen thought that if Chloe came home and found Dan naked that it would lead to sex and thus bring them together. While Dan didn't end up having sex with Chloe, he did however learn that if he had any hope of getting back together with Chloe, that he had to make his family a priority. Dan then makes an appearance for taco Tuesday (is this really a thing?). What Mazikeen didn't plan for is for Chloe did admit to Lucifer in the course of the investigation that she has come to care for him despite the fact that he has wormed his way in. There's also the issue that with his wings lost, Lucifer has even more incentive to spend time around Chloe to enlist her help in finding them.
I cannot wait to see where this is going and hope that next week, we won't simply return to the boring case of the week. I want to see Lucifer find his wings or learn more about how Lucifer was cast out and how he feels about it. I'd even be happy for him to talk about who he feels he is, something that Linda brought up but he ignored. It's clear that Lucifer feels that he has been wronged and is not simply the rebellious son. I would even like to know more about his relationship with Amenadiel because its clear that these two have history and the surface hasn't really been scratched. There's so much potential for this story and I hope that Lucifer completely lives up to it.
As much as I loved this this week's episode, I must admit to be even more delighted that it probably pissed off One Million Moms even more than they already are. Not only is Lucifer a somewhat charming rogue, he's now someone who is being positioned as someone the audience should feel empathy for. It's impossible not to cheer for something that pisses off that horrible hate group.
