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Lucifer: Somebody's Been Reading Dante's Inferno

"Nobody is what they seem around here."

This was a big one.

It feels like we've been waiting forever for Chloe to discover that Lucifer is only vulnerable to harm when she is around. I'm only mildly a Deckerstar shipper, but I thought that scene in the penthouse, as well as the one where Lucifer nearly took an ax in the chest to save her, were the most deeply romantic scenes in the series, at least so far. And there weren't even any smoochies. There didn't need to be.

It felt at first as if Chloe was going to betraying Lucifer. Of course, it made sense that Chloe would initially throw herself into investigating him, but it's so obvious to anyone that knows him that Lucifer isn't anything like his rep. He was forced into his role in Hell, he's the exact opposite of the Prince of Lies, and he's only killed one person: Cain. The Chicago Fire? Nazi Germany? Come on. The Lucifer we know isn't evil at all.

Does Father Kinley know this, though? He's the one that approached Chloe. What is his real agenda?

While betrayal was out of character, Chloe's deep confusion was believable. Really, what do you do when you realize that you're becoming romantically involved with the Devil? Chloe was so upset that she was about to arrest the wrong person while Lucifer was the voice of reason, the opposite of their usual dynamic. In fact, Lucifer was serious during most of this episode, very intent on Chloe, testing her with tantalizing bon mots, trying to suss her out. Much less sarcastic than usual.

And his preparation to take Chloe on the perfect date was so sweet. So was his willingness to give his opera tickets to Ella when Chloe said she wasn't ready. Not to mention jumping in front of an ax for her.

I don't have a lot to say about The Cabin, the reality show that has run for 27 seasons. As usual for Lucifer, the case-of-the-week was used to illustrate what was really going on with our characters. Like, no one is who you think they are, villains aren't really villains, and the fake villain usually wins.

But there was fun stuff going on with our supporting characters, even though there wasn't much of it. Linda is pregnant? Amenadiel has admitted that he loves Earth, loves people, but he's at loose ends and needs a project. Linda certainly just gave him one.

Now that Chloe knows the score, it seems weirder somehow that Ella and Dan are still in the dark. Both of them were still trying to cope with Charlotte's death. Ella was looking for new interests (a bathtub chicken?) since she is no longer attending church. It's like she's Team Lucifer and doesn't realize it. And meanwhile, back at the precinct, Dan moved his desk as far away from Lucifer as he could. He's also lost all interest in improv. Too bad. I don't want Dan to be on the outs with Lucifer. They have developed such a fun relationship.

Bits:

— I love the title of this episode so very much. Of course, it was Lucifer that said it.

— Practically everyone in the cast is seeing Linda professionally: the supernatural beings because they have to deal with humans, and vice versa. Chloe should probably go get her head shrunk, too.

— An Honest Fangirl and I wrote an article comparing Lucifer and Supernatural characters that have the same name. Interestingly, the last couple of seasons on Supernatural featured Lucifer's son, a nephilim. Is that what Linda is carrying?

— I had heard Tom Ellis has been working out more in preparation for nudity in season four. Wow. You think?

— Father Kinley works for the International Association of Exorcists. Okay. I don't really understand how he thought he could exorcise Lucifer, though. Do they think he's possessing someone's body? Does Kinley know about Amenadiel?

— Lucifer's cell has Chloe listed as "The Detective." That's so cute.

— I didn't recognize that lighthouse. Google is my friend. It's in Long Beach, which is a long way from Los Angeles, by the way.

—- The scene where Chloe learned that Lucifer was vulnerable may have been Lauren German's best performance in the series. So far, anyway.

— In those key scenes at the end, Lucifer and Chloe were both wearing plain brown. When two characters are wearing the same color, it's often a visual cue that they're simpatico.

— Did you notice that there were a lot of vampire references in this episode? I'm not quite sure why. Ella's tee shirt, blood-sucking mosquitoes, Lucifer saying he preferred food to blood.

— The cliffhanger, with Father Kinley visiting Lucifer's penthouse to tell him something about Chloe, made me want to immediately watch the next episode. I hope you guys appreciate the sacrifice I made, stopping to write this review first.

Quotes:

Chloe: "He's the villain. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it probably murders like a duck."
Lucifer: "Oh, good idea. Duck. Have you ever been to the Mistal? They do a wonderful duck a l'orange."

Chloe: "No one's who they seem."
Lucifer: "Isn't that the point of these programs, Detective? To show that there's no such thing as stereotypes? That in real life a Mary Ann might be hiding inside the body of a Ginger? Or vice versa, which is my personal preference, actually."

Chloe: "So you don't bite the heads off of children?"
Lucifer: "No, of course not. I detest the little creatures, and I'd certainly never put one in my mouth."

Ella: "That's so romantic, Lucifer! It's just like Indecent Proposal."
Lucifer: "Well, I was thinking more like Pretty Woman, but yes."
A helicopter at sunset? La Traviata? Pretty darned romantic. But neither of those movies were about an innocent date, were they?


Chloe: "You walked right through. You're fine. You're completely fine."
Lucifer: "Well, it's one of the perks of living in a fiery pit of despair most of my life."

I thought this was an excellent episode. Would that make it four out of four Teflon Totems?

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. Long Beach isn't THAT far. Can't believe you didn't recognize it. Although maybe the reason I know it so well is my unhealthy affinity for the Long Beach aquarium.

    As I said in my livetweet (follow us on Twitter you guys!) the priest is SHADY AF.

    Loved the shot of Luci walking out of the inferno unscathed (although, according to the rules of the verse, shouldn't his suit have suffered some damage?) Totally reminded me of Game of Thrones. FIRE CANNOT KILL A DRAGON (or the Devil).

    The shot of Lucifer at a Nazi rally had to be fake. I absolutely refuse to accept it. The Chicago Fire? Maybe he forgot to put out a cigarette. I could see that.

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  2. Yes, Father Kinley must be evil. Or is that too predictable?

    In the twelve years I lived in L.A., I only went to Long Beach twice, both times to tour the Queen Mary. I never saw that lighthouse.

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  3. And boy, do I miss SoCal. It is 47 freaking degrees in southeastern Pennsylvania right now. In the middle of May!

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  4. I doubt the show is asking us to make this connection, but I'm pretty sure Lucifer washed up on a Long Beach beach.

    At the very least, the lighthouse is a nice symbol for Chloe finding her path.

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