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Lucifer: Lucifer! Lucifer! Lucifer!

"You two are perfect for each other."
"Maybe."

There is no greater feeling than seeing a show avoid a truly awful narrative decision. I was very worried when I first saw the trailer for this season, but I shouldn't have been.

Let's talk about the trailer for a moment. For those of you who haven't seen it, it completely gives away that Michael, Lucifer's identical twin brother, would arrive on Earth and take over his brother's identity while he was down in Hell. And this worried me to some extent. Yes, I was excited to see Tom Ellis do something different and I always love the whole Michael vs Lucifer dynamic in media, but it also felt like it came straight from a soap opera. And if the writer's dragged the reveal out over several episodes, it would become frustrating and make the characters seem like idiots.

So imagine my surprise and glee when Michael didn't even last one episode in Lucifer's shoes. This was such a good narrative decision. It lets Chloe and Amenadiel be smart and capable. Especially Amenadiel, who already knows Michael and who he is and how he operates. I will admit, though, that I didn't realize that Chloe had figured it out. I really thought that she would have her moment of realization at the penthouse after Michael said something wrong. Specifically the whole "I love you" exchange from last season since it was specifically mentioned earlier in the episode that Lucifer never actually said the words.

But no. She had her suspicions the entire time, which is very, very nice. I was distinctly uncomfortable whenever Chloe was open, trusting, and understanding towards "Lucifer," and that feeling only intensified after she said that she wanted to take the next step with him. The fact that she was playing him makes this episode a lot more pleasant to rewatch. Although, honestly, it wasn't like Michael was doing a very convincing Lucifer impression to begin with. Suddenly lying was a pretty big red flag, as was his fancy superpower.

Fear, which continues the dark mirror aspect between the two brothers very nicely. Lucifer draws on desire, on giving people what they want. Michael relies on manipulating what they want to avoid. Like Chloe's miracle status. I had completely forgotten that she didn't know about that. I just assumed that it had been covered during her crash course into the celestial world. I also don't know how I feel about the reveal, which is very obviously poised as yet another obstacle to Lucifer and Chloe being happy together. When Lucifer found out, he ran away to Las Vegas and put us into a 1.5 season long holding pattern. I don't want a rehash of that.

Another bonus of Michael being revealed so quickly is that we don't have to deal with another "Maze works for the bad guys" storyline. I was very annoyed with her decision to help Michael. It felt like a regression for her character. I was glad that she quickly found a line that she didn't want to cross and decided to stick to it, even if it made her initial decision even more frustrating in hindsight. I also, for a moment, really thought that Michael was going to kill her there, not just stuff her in a closet. That would have been a twist.

The case this week was better than most. While I am a little disappointed that it wasn't a true locked room murder mystery, I liked the twists and turns that it took. And I really liked the moment where Sam realized what exactly was happening and instantly decided to act like he was the killer. It was relatively understated for this show. Of course, then they had a whole conversation with the subtlety of a hammer to the face about waiting for the one you love, but that's Lucifer for you.

I like Michael. I like the chaos that he's causing and the way that the show is handling his sudden appearance. I like how he acts as a mirror and a foil to Lucifer. As long as the show doesn't screw him up down the line, which admittedly has happened in the past, this might be Lucifer's first quality Big Bad.

Random Thoughts

What is it about Chloe that she makes antagonists be willing to abandon their plans because they become interested in her? First Cain, now Michael.

Michael only drank water the entire episode as opposed to the alcohol Lucifer drinks. Interesting character detail.

Tom Ellis is very good at switching between accents mid-conversation. That kind of impressed me. He also got TVLine's Performer of the Week for this episode.

Okay, I'm sorry, but I would not be willing to wait for a woman who went to jail because she murdered another woman that she thought I was having an affair with. That's a relationship dealbreaker for me.

So, Charlie is not Linda's first child. Is that the reason why she thinks she's going to Hell? Because of a failure and presumably death of a previous child?
~~
An Honest Fangirl has dearly missed this show and is very, very glad to have something to binge again.

8 comments:

  1. Fangirl, I swear I finished watching the episode the minute before you posted this review. Perfect timing. :)

    I'm not a super fan shipper or anything, but I was also really glad that Chloe didn't sleep with Michael, that she knew the entire time. It would have been character assassination if she hadn't.

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  2. One of the things that shines in this season is the show's respect for Chloe as a detective. And so she figures out that Michael isn't Lucifer right away.

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  3. It always feels weird when this site does random episode reviews for shows that drop a whole season. Especially when the review comes out after the show was dropped and we don't always get follow ups. Not to be jerk, but would it be better to do a season recap at this point if it's a few days post release?

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  4. Richard, thanks for your feedback. But no.

    A lot of our readers, and I know this because they tell me so, read along with our reviews when they're discovering a show for the first time. Episode reviews are always preferable in that situation. Plus we started Lucifer with individual episode reviews back when it was on Fox and would prefer to continue that way.

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  5. Once Michael interacted with Amenadiel and seemed to fool him, I feared the worst (in terms of dragging this thing out). So happy they caught on! And apparently, Chloe actually did sooner than Amenadiel.

    My wife and I both cheered out loud when Chloe shot him a few extra times for good measure. It made us feel better too!

    Still loving Dan (vs. last season).

    Also still loving the music on the show, and it looks like they've released an "official soundtrack" with the songs as sung by Tom and Lesley-Ann. All Along the Watchtower and Creep are my favorites so far.

    Watching Maze join the bad guy again is tough, though Lucifer seems constitutionally incapable of treating her like a person. (Speaking of which, why did he NOT bring her back to Hell?) Karma's a... well, you know.

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  6. They released an official soundtrack? Oh, I definitely have to check that out. And same, Aaron. All Along the Watchtower and Creep are favorites of mine too. I've actually had the first one stuck in my head all week.

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  7. I am rewatching "Save Lucifer" from season 5. In it, Amenadiel and Linda discuss what to name their son. Linda suggests "Michael" as a name, which seems to be suitable, with the "el" at the end and yet being a reasonably common human name.

    Amenadiel says no, and now we understand why.

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  8. Mythology-wise, I hope we find out how an angel can acquire a permanent injury, as we see with Michael’s right shoulder (which is even reflected in his asymmetrical wings). I always thought that being immortal meant that angels would heal completely from every injury (demon blades forged in Hell excepted). What confuses me even more is that, when Michael is impersonating Lucifer, he is able to use his right arm perfectly. Is the disability Michael’s “choice”, since angels self-actualize? Someone please explain?

    I agree that it was strange that Michael would tip his hand so clumsily to Chloe right off the bat. He is well aware that Lucifer doesn’t lie (as he tells Maze later in the episode), but chose to blatantly fib in front of Chloe. I did laugh at the role reversal between Chloe and “Lucifer” in interrogation, even though Michael should have done a better job of picking up on Chloe’s “hints” about his “true” character.

    As for Maze, all she would need from Lucifer is a little consideration, which she rightfully deserves after millennia of loyalty and service as his right hand. But the writers have Lucifer continue to disregard Maze’s feelings, which is not true to how much his character has grown from his time on Earth. Is this just plot convenience so that Maze can ally with the antagonist again? I would prefer that the writers come up with a better way of integrating Maze into the main storyline.

    Remaining random thoughts:

    — Beautiful visual of Michael flying Chloe over the car.

    — Michael’s use of fear on Amenadiel and Linda was quite subtle and clever. But he blatantly used his fear mojo in front of Chloe. Did Michael subconsciously want Chloe to realize he wasn’t Lucifer?

    — As for Chloe being able to get antagonists to abandon their plans, I assume that Michael was so easily seduced by her because he’s not getting any in the Silver City ;-).

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