Today is Chloe’s birthday - and Dan celebrates by getting her a cake. Awww
And someone else celebrates by getting Chloe a person sized cake and a stripper. Yes I thought it was Lucifer too but it turns out it is Ella who helpfully hands out singles as well. Ella throws a good party.
Unfortunately before the party can even get started, Lucifer gets a call from the Las Vegas police telling him that Candy is missing- that would be soon-to-be-ex-wife Candy who was kind of awesome
Lucifer isn’t going to sit and not investigate and decides to go to find her. And despite misgivings and no motive, Ella decides to come with
It makes no sense but Ella is 10 kinds of awesome in this episode so let’s just run with it
Chloe is, however, shocked and really hurt that Lucifer just run out on her on her birthday. I mean really hurt. Seriously when she asks if they’re leaving I felt genuinely bad for her.
So to Vegas!
There they find a crime scene and Candy’s apparent dead body - though Lucifer realises it’s not Candy because Candy has hugantic feet and the corpse doesn’t. Ella is there to be awesome, provide crime scene skills and give Lucifer an alibi in case the police decide to look at him. She also thinks they should keep the whole fact that Candy isn’t dead quiet so whoeever did the murdering will, y’know, stop trying to murder.
As I said, Ella shines this episode with lots of intelligence and skills
They follow some clues, aided by flashbacks of Lucifer meeting Candy and how she had to pay off a loan shark who was about to foreclose on her dad’s club (they met when Candy picked Lucifer’s pocket and he was duly impressed). Following clues reveals said loan shark is also dead (and has a terribly decorated house) and clues further lead to loan shark’s wife who is alive but didn’t kill anyone since she’s more interested in getting it with the professional golfer at one of the tables. So a lot of dead ends
But these dead ends do show more insight from Ella, more crime scene knowledge, that she can pick locks, that she can count cards, she has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Vegas and ye gods can she work a sparkly dress. Ella has all kind of talents, applause for Ella
It also shows she’s had a difficult past in Vega, not just turning over casinos but apparently counting cards to quiet the voices in her head. There’s definitely more to Ella. She also has careful insight into Lucifer - how he prides himself for honesty but his bluffs are just lies and how he’s totally avoiding Chloe.
Eventually, with some more flashbacks, a dance number and finding the very much alive Candy and luring out the killer trying to steal and sell the club to pay his gambling debts (and ok, I’m not going to pretend to understand US law but I find it dubious that you can “own” land because you happen to own a piece of paper. The UK has gone waaaay past that and merely getting your hands on some deeds does not confer ownership of real estate; I find it… unlikely that the American legal system works this way). Lo Candy is saved, Ella shoots a girl in the leg and they can go home.
While they were away Chloe was hurt and she turns to Linda. She tries to blow off the idea that Lucifer has just ran out on her birthday as no big deal but is deeply hurt that he’d treat her like that. She wants to go to his penthouse, clearly expecting to find him hooking up - or fearing to find him gone (like she did last time when she thought they had a relationship brewing) and ultimately can’t face that alone
Linda goes with. They find the penthouse deserted, Lucifer gone with his overnight bag which continues to concern Chloe. Linda insists they celebrate Chloe’s birthday and they realise they have awesome views, the best sound system and the best top shelf booze right there in Lucifer’s flat so why not party here?
And you’ve got to love how Linda and Chloe kind of know that there’s no way Lucifer would object to them trashing the place for a party because he’s Lucifer and he’d totally be ok with that.
All drunk we have some nice moments -like Linda discovering Lucifer has an original edition, signed copy of Hamlet on the shelves and them all deciding to explore Lucifer’s sock drawers. But we also have some major emotional moments really carried by Chloe
While she does acknowledge overtly they came close to a romance she says they’re friends and feels she can’t be jealous and she isn’t jealous. And I don’t think she is - not romantically, not that Lucifer is with a one-night-stand or a fling: but I think she’s hurt that Lucifer, with his casual approach to his love life, considers a fling more important than her birthday. That he couldn’t wait a day, that he would hurt her or dismiss her this casually because they are supposed to be friends. Emotional and drunk she also talks about how Lucifer is keeping so much from her, how he never explains himself (because she doesn’t know the truth) and how this hurts her. And how even if he does have a good reason for leaving he’ll never tell her: it all her frustrations over Lucifer laid bare.
Linda’s in an awkward position here doing a stellar job of acknowledging and validating Chloe’s very reasonable feelings but not spilling the beans. The whole scene is excellent and both these actors are really throwing the emotion and depth out there
Eventually they pass out drunk and Lucifer returns - amuse by the shenanigans and not even concerned they tried to break into his safe. Thinking Chloe is asleep he tells her why he went: that he had to help Candy but didn’t want to mention Vegas to her because last time he vanished to Vegas he hurt Chloe and didn’t want to remind her of that on her birthday. It’s sweet and silly and she seems to understand. Even when he gives her a gift of the bullet she shot him with on a necklace as a birthday present: it’s weird but it’s a very personal gift that only they would understand.
This episode managed to mix immense fun, exploration of Ella with some really excellent emotional extrapolation of Chloe… it was a perfect episode. Of course, from here I do think we’re circling more and more on Chloe needing to be told the truth
