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Lucifer: Who's da New King of Hell?

Dromos: “Lucifer—you’ve been on vacation forever. You didn’t write; you didn’t call. You didn’t even send a burnt offering.”

The demons of Hell are in search of a king.

The episode begins with music and dancing. Lucifer has forgiven himself; his devilish bits are under control, and he is full of joy as everyone at Lux and then at the precinct dances to “I’m alright don’t nobody worry about me,” in what is obviously a scene being imagined by Lucifer. At the end he plops himself on Chloe’s desk.

Chloe is glad to see he’s in a good mood but tells him he needs a vacation and that they don’t have a case at the moment. He can go home; she’s got it covered. Her words allow a great segue to the next scene in which Eve is covering up a crime by moving a rug over a bloodstain, which makes me want to know: does Linda ever learn a priest was murdered in her house? The murder happening there is convenient for many reasons. It makes sense that Eve, after being rejected by Lucifer, would go stay with Maze, and of course Maze is staying with Linda. The setting also means that Dromos, when he takes possession of Kinley’s body, knows where the half-angel baby is, or at least where the half-angel baby will be. And finally, the producers of Lucifer didn’t have to pay for another set.

Lucifer uses his free time to visit at the hospital, consenting to hold his new-born nephew for a moment. Although he may be uncomfortable around children, he’s very protective of them. After chatting with his brother, he checks on Linda and gives her a diary of Sigmund Freud and tells her thanks, he’s cured now. Linda isn’t so sure, and usually she’s right about these things, but this time I think Lucifer might be right. He has made huge progress.

Chloe catches what appears to be a case, and again, strangely, doesn’t tell Lucifer. He, however, is eager to work with her and so shows up and she can’t say no. They discover that the victim, a rapper called Holla Bae, is still walking around and they assume he’s still alive, after faking his own death as a publicity stunt. But no, the real Holla Bae is dead and the body has been taken over by a demon called Squee, after Dromos murdered Holla.

Dromos wants Lucifer to come back and goes to Lux to find his king, which, according to Lucifer’s dad’s rules, needs an angel on the throne. Lucifer, however, does not want to go back. He makes it clear he wants to abdicate and gives his recently born nephew as one reason he wants to stay on earth. Letting out that piece of information lets Dromos realize there’s another solution to Hell’s empty throne.

Linda and Amenadiel are at home with little Charlie. We know that Amenadiel wants to take his son to the Silver City. I don’t understand is why Amenadiel thinks he has to take his son to the Silver City so soon. Yes, Amenadiel is scarred by last week’s episode. But the half angel will be immortal, so why not let him grow up on earth for the duration of Linda’s life and then go to the Silver City? Shortly after this, Charlie goes missing, and whatever issues the grown-ups may have with each other, they drop everything to rescue the baby.

I love how Linda, when she is so upset, turns and walks into Maze’s arms. Over the past four seasons, both Maze and Lucifer have learned how to love and have gained the trust of some humans.

The actions of the others appear strange to those not in the know, so poor Dan says “really weird, weird choice in new minions, but yeah, maybe,” when they discover that the body-formerly-known-as-Kinley has recruited a rapper and some random blonde. We do need some people to still be clueless, but I hope that next season Dan learns the truth, especially that he had sex with the goddess of all creation, a.k.a. Lucifer’s mother.

Some detective work – and a confession by Eve – leads them to the Mayan, where the demons are planning to ritually kill baby Charlie so that he has to go down to hell. They need something to delay the ceremony so that our heroes can arrive, and they choose to do it by overheating the baby bottle (which seems unlikely, because heating a bottle with a lighter takes a while). Anyway, Eve finally realizes that she has been forcing this relationship on Lucifer and apologizes.

Maze and Amenadiel arrive to join in the fight at the Mayan. Chloe, as she makes Lucifer vulnerable, is forced to stay outside (Maze puts a hand on her an affectionate gesture, before going in). In a great fight, the good guys win. The demons have a twist, however, and a whole-bunch of human-possessed bodies enter the church and swarm over everyone. Lucifer has to assume his devil body and only then can he command them to return to Hell.

Eve is the one who carries the baby out of the fray – a fitting moment, the mother of us all, and there’s a marvelous sequence as Chloe fights a demon, first with bullets (they don’t work), then with a stanchion (that knocks the demon to the ground), and finally Eve delivers the coup de grace with her stiletto heel in the demon’s eye-socket/brain (she ends up barefoot, fitting for our primitive Eve). She gives the child to Chloe, who returns the baby to his father Linda gets her baby back, of course; viewers would never forgive a show for separating a mother from a newborn for long.

Eve’s final moment with Maze is sweet. Eve’s words are nicely ambiguous, so she may or may not be coming back for season five.

Ella, after she learns that Linda and Amenadiel have their son back, forgives the “big guy,” a.k.a. God, and puts on her cross again. Her season arc is done.

Dan, who has been hiding under the stairs this season, pulls out a photo of Charlotte. I’m not sure at what point in his grief he is. He has been stuck at the Anger stage for the past ten episodes; the stages that follow are Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. I suppose the writers left it ambiguous so they could do what they want with him in the next season.

Lucifer’s and Chloe’s happiness is short-lived. Lucifer knows they have only plugged a hole in a very flimsy boat, and that demons will be coming back either to kidnap Charlie or to harm Chloe. He is finally ready to return to Hell – not because he’s afraid of his dad, but because he wants to protect those he loves.

Lucifer gets his white wings back – of course he does, for he is sacrificing his happiness for the sake of the world. Chloe, who has shown so much faith in him, finally gets to see the angel and not the devil. She is awestruck by the beauty. And then it ends. With Lucifer back on the throne of hell.

When I first watched this, I didn’t know if a fifth season was going to happen or not, so I looked at it as a possible absolute end of the series. And it was good. No, Lucifer and Chloe have never made love, but is that necessary? I mean, Lucifer has had sex with about everyone, so how could lovemaking between them be special? But she declares her love for him. This isn’t the first time a woman has told Lucifer that she loves him – Eve did it repeatedly – but this is the first time for Chloe to say it to him. I’m also glad she said it first.

More significantly, this is the first time for Lucifer to say “I love you” to anyone. We know he has loved Chloe since he became vulnerable around her, back when she shot him in season one. This is something he should have realized when he told Cain that the reason for losing his mark was because Cain loved Chloe, not because Chloe loved Cain. Maybe Lucifer did realize it; it was clear from the second episode of this season, when he threw himself in front of an axe to rescue Chloe and when he told her he would do it again. And again.

Still, how do you do happily ever after for a couple that has both a human and an immortal? In the past four seasons, the happiest we have ever seen Lucifer was when he played Monopoly with Chloe and Trixie. Linda and Amenadiel have had a baby together, and this is probably possible for Chloe and Lucifer, as she makes him vulnerable, which seems to be what is needed for reproduction between mortals and celestials. However, I don’t think the writers will settle for domesticity between the two. They’re happiest fighting crime together, but given that Lucifer is the Devil, he operates on a much larger canvas than Los Angeles. As Chloe is mortal, however, how can she join him anywhere? Season five is still a few months away and I look forward to seeing how the writers continue the story.

Title musings. The title of this episode is “Who’s da new King of Hell?” This is uttered by Dromos as he’s holding baby Charlie, and Dromos continues with more words in the same voice that one uses with an infant: “You are. Can you say, Lucifer who?” But the new king turns out to be the same as the old king – Lucifer returns, this time to save all of humanity, but especially his nephew and Chloe, who would be targeted. Except Lucifer has changed so much during his years in Los Angeles – he really is a new king.

Bits and pieces

Loved the dancing at Lux’s, but the dance sequence at the precinct was even more fun. Aimee Garcia can dance – we already knew that from the “Vegas with some Radish” episode – but watching Kevin Alejandro in the Dirty Dancing pose was terrific.

The US Marshals were supposed to be looking for Father Kinley. They must not have been looking very hard.

The fact that Mo didn’t know the phrase, “happy as a clam,” caused me to look it up its origin, because it’s a strange saying. One interpretation is that open clams look – to some people – as if they’re smiling. Another possibility is that it’s a short version of the original phrase, which is “as happy as a clam at high water” – the idea being that clams are happiest when they are covered by high tides, which is when they would be safest from predators – at least from the predators that don’t swim.

Arias of the humpback whale. Of course Amenadiel would like that!

Enjoyed how Dromos is snacking on communion wafers and wine, just as if they were chips and soda. Maybe the human body, which used to be a priest, had a liking for them.

Perhaps an unfair quibble: in order to quell the demonic hordes, Lucifer transforms into devil mode in the Mayan, and the process destroys his shirt. However, the angel wings only sometimes destroy clothing; other times they furl and unfurl without any sartorial repercussions.

Chloe’s “I love you” reminds me a lot of Belle’s “I love you” to the Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

Eve almost always wears red, which we learned in a prior episode is her favorite color. Because color of the devil? Or because color of ripe apples? When she arrived she was wearing only white but have only seen her in red past few episodes, unless she was doing something like deliberately dressing like Chloe.

Quotes

Lucifer: If you snip it or skip it, I’m sure it’ll be dandy.

Lucifer: And if you were still my therapist, I might listen to you.
Linda: No, you wouldn’t.

Lucifer: I promise, you’ll never have to see anything monstrous again.

Mo: I apologize for shooting at you, seriously. I am not a violent man.
Chloe: Well, the Desert Eagle that you just opened on us says differently.

Mo: He was as happy as a goddamn lamb.
Manager: Clam. It’s clam, bro.

Ella Lopez: Can you say hashtag fake death? Hashtag publicity stunt!

Amenadiel: Linda, you’re going to have to put him down at some point. Your arms will atrophy.

Ella: Hey, Chloe, could you tell Linda and Amenadiel that everyone here is praying for them – is pulling for them.

Eve: I used the findmyphone app. Because you still have my phone. Remember? The one I gave you to give me updates on.

Ella: I don’t think it’s God’s job to stop the bad. I actually think he’s there to give us the strength to get through it.

Linda: You were right. He’s not safe. You need to take him.
Amenadiel: No. No one will sacrifice themselves for this baby the way you were willing to do. No one will protect him like we will.

Overall rating

I enjoyed this episode so much that I kept thinking and thinking and writing and writing. The only slightly off bit was Chloe’s arc, because her holding back from Lucifer wasn’t well-explained at the end – but so much was absolutely fantastic, from the dialogue to the resolutions. Four out of four stiletto heels left stuck in a demon’s brain.

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Victoria Grossack loves birds, math, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.

5 comments:

  1. I really liked this finale too, Victoria -- thank you so much for finishing the season for us! I think Lucifer as a series lends itself to shorter seasons. Season three was just soooo long and I found myself frustrated with it.

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  2. The season may have been short, but they got so much into it. Tom Ellis is amazingly talented.

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  3. It was a good strong finale, and it could have worked as a conclusion to the series. Sending Lucifer back to reign over hell isn't a happy ending for him, but the decision to go there shows so much personal growth on his part. I did wonder what a hell with a baby king raised by demons would have been like, though.

    Honestly, I think shorter seasons are beneficial for most shows. It's hard to write and produce 20 hours of quality television in one year--think how long it takes to film a typical 2-hour movie, even after the screenplay is written. It's not surprising that even the best shows have a few duds over 26 episodes.

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  4. This was a great season finale, especially since I have the luxury of knowing there's more immediately available. Overall, Season Four was just so much more interesting than Season Three.

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