Review by An Honest Fangirl
Let's start with the first storyline first. The Professor was a much better reoccurring villain than Malcolm was. While I am a little sad that his arc seems over and done with, it had run its course. He would have been less effective if he stayed on for much longer.
After he killed himself, there really was only one place Lucifer could go if they wanted to save Chloe's life. We got a little bit more information about how Hell works this episode. It is technically possible to leave Hell, but only if you feel like you no longer deserve to be punished for what you've done. Only if your conscience is clear. Lucifer said that he's never seen that happen, and it makes sense. If you're in Hell, then you're probably there for a pretty good reason.
Wait, does that mean that people with absolutely zero capacity for remorse don't go to Hell? I'm talking about people with genuine psychological disorders here. If they truly don't believe that they deserve to be there, then do they have a different punishment? Am I overthinking this?
The Hell scenes were all very well done. I wanted to scream at Lucifer when he started wandering towards the eerie piano playing. It was difficult to watch him kill Uriel over and over again. Despite how much he tried to rationalize it, Lucifer still felt incredibly guilty about what he had done. It makes sense. We finally found to what it was that Uriel whispered in Lucifer's ear: "The peace is here." At least, that's what closed captioning said. And "peace" as opposed to "piece" makes more sense given Lucifer said that he thought that maybe Uriel had found peace in the moments of his death.
So, what is "the peace"? Where is "here"? I would assume that "here" referred to Los Angeles, but I suppose that it could reference Earth as a whole. Is "the peace" a person or a thing? I doubt that it's Chloe. She's already a miracle baby. I don't think that the writers would make her two things so quickly. But "the peace" could also refer to a peace between Charlotte and God, right? Or between their family as a whole?
Maze, despite her apparent willingness to kill Lucifer, couldn't do it when the time came. I kept watching her specifically during the scenes in the hospital. She really, truly cares about Lucifer, and was heartbroken when he wouldn't come back. That being said, she had no problem killing Charlotte. That might have been the episode's laugh out loud moment.
Linda was similarly freaking out. Poor Linda. She never asked for any of this, but she still went along with Lucifer's plan without any hesitation. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but Linda Martin might be one of the most under appreciated characters on the show. This is quite a change, considering that I initially hated every scene that she was in.
It turns out that Amenadiel didn't know that she was aware of their divine origin. Poor Amenadiel. He's really had it rough this season. Still, he stepped up when he had to and helped save Chloe. Watching him fend off security and doctors in an attempt to make sure that Chloe stayed where she was supposed to be felt properly powerful and epic. It was incredibly touching when Trixie told him that he was a good person. Amenadiel really needed to hear that, especially considering that all he wants is to be a good son.
Is Charlotte trying to be a good mother? I legitimately don't know. She willingly killed herself in order to rescue her son from Hell. That's probably a sign of a good mother. But she also openly admitted that she had been manipulating Lucifer the whole time. All she wanted was to turn Lucifer against God in order to use him against Him. That is not a good mother. That's someone who sees her children as pawns. But still, Uriel was also used to try and trap her in Hell. Uriel kept pleading with her to not leave him again. She feels guilt over abandoning her children. Without Lucifer there, I'm pretty sure that she would have become stuck there.
Shall we move onto the second storyline? I've gotten this far in my review without talking about Chloe at all. Shame on me. It was just like her to insist on working until she physically couldn't any longer. At least Lucifer managed to recognize that without too much arguing on their part. Like I thought, whatever anger Lucifer held over her origins took a backseat the moment that he realized that Chloe was in danger. It was still there, yes, but his focus was on finding a cure for Chloe. It was only after she was safe that Lucifer could focus on that anger again.
He told Charlotte that he was planning on punishing God for putting Chloe in his path, but then he said that he wouldn't be a pawn in the war between God and Charlotte any longer. Is it just me, or are those two contradictory statements? I get it. He's angry with both parents. Like he said, at least God doesn't pretend to love him like Charlotte does. But isn't him fighting God essentially doing exactly what Charlotte wanted him to do?
Lucifer also said that whatever he and Chloe have isn't real. I know that I questioned that statement last time, but I'm going to do the same thing here. Why isn't it real? Because God wanted it to happen? Chloe has no idea who or what she is. Yes, God placed her in Lucifer's path, but she was the one who chose to start this relationship with him. Remember, Lucifer can't influence her with his powers one way or another. Falling for him was all her. Who's to say that it isn't real?
Regardless, Lucifer better have a pretty good explanation for why he left. My heart broke for Chloe when she went to Lux to find it shut down and empty. She had just opened herself up to him and the possibility of a relationship, and he disappeared without telling her. If I were her, I would be furious when Lucifer inevitably waltzes back into her life.
Random Thoughts
Why was Linda so certain that she'd go to Hell?
Demons don't have souls. They just die.
It looks like Ella comes from a very criminal background. She used to steal cars (I think we knew that already), she's very comfortable breaking into places, her grandmother taught her how to pick locks, her brother is involved in some sort of "shady shenanigans."
So, we're going to see more of Ricardo in the future, right?
Who's in charge of Hell right now? It's not Lucifer, and Amenadiel is no longer patrolling the gates...
It took me until now to make Blogger recognize Amenadiel as a real word.
I loved that Lucifer thought that being captured was part of Dan's plan. And I loved it even more when Lucifer got them out of there in less than a minute.
Come to think of it, Dan and Lucifer had a lot of really great interactions. I especially loved the one when Dan didn't press Lucifer on how he would get the antidote. Oh, and when Lucifer corrected him regarding Chloe being his ex-wife as opposed to his wife.
The music on this show is also so freaking good, but I got chills when "Unsteady" by X-Ambassadors started playing. I may have rewatched that specific clip multiple times.
I think these reviews just keep getting longer and longer.
I can't find one thing that I didn't like about this episode. Is this the first episode that I've given a perfect rating to? I think that it is.
10 out of 10
~An Honest Fangirl
Yes, this is a terrific episode. My favorite thing about it was Amenadiel standing guard and refusing to let the hospital staff take Chloe out of Lucifer's range. I really like Amenadiel. I even liked him when he was the principal of Sunnydale High.
ReplyDelete> It took me until now to make Blogger recognize Amenadiel as a real word.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it real?
Billie, I didn't like Robin Wood, but Amenadiel is a very different story. And I agree, him tossing around guards was truly great. He might not have his wings now, but those little details don't stop him.
I think Linda was willing to gamble with her life for Lucifer.
I love when Lucifer and Dan are both handcuffed and Lucifer isn't doing anything because he promised Dan not to. Great episode!
ReplyDelete"If they truly don't believe that they deserve to be there, then do they have a different punishment? Am I overthinking this?"
ReplyDeleteMaybe Hell gives them the capacity for remorse?
Weirdly, my phone's autocorrect understood Amenedial as a real word the first time I typed it, and my phone's autocorrect is terrible at its job.