"OMG! I was so ready to have my Deckerstar dreams crushed again."
This was a very, very good episode, one that immediately made me want to watch the next one. What more can you ask from a penultimate episode?
Lucifer usually does very, very good serial killers but this one left me a bit cold. I think that it was mostly a pacing issue. The idea of a serial killer and a new victim was simply introduced too late in the episode for it to feel like a natural progression as opposed to a disjointed twist. Which is a shame because there were some very pretty aesthetics that that particular killer brought to the show and his crime scenes, even if he could very easily push the show into a much darker direction than what it usually does.
Like when Lucifer was paralyzed on the floor. All of a sudden, we were in a much scarier show. I personally loved it because I love scary things and I like it when the traditional damsel/rescuer dynamic is tweaked. Even if I knew that nothing major would actually happen to Chloe, I still found myself holding my breath when Lucifer was desperately trying to tell her that someone was behind her with just his eyes. I'm excited that there were hints towards the end that things aren't actually as solved as they initially appeared. I'm excited to see more.
The good news is that the case actually dovetailed very nicely with the character and emotional themes in the episode. I know! I'm surprised, too. But there was a subtleness to the feelings of powerlessness and how the killer robbed his victims of their power. Lucifer actually didn't make the case all about him for once, but was instead more focused on the victims and the injustice that they suffered, which definitely helped that. Especially in an episode where he was going through a lot in the beginning.
For once, I'm pretty solidly on Lucifer's side when it comes to this specific emotional turmoil. The episode title is a little misleading. Our mojo implies that they both have the mojo power, that it's shared between them. That's not quite what happened. Chloe suddenly gained the power while Lucifer lost it with no real warning or understanding of why it happened. This is a very fundamental part of who Lucifer is that he's had for billions of years. I would be very concerned about its loss, too.
Yes, he did make it a bit silly with the whole thing with the gun and the badge, but he's Lucifer. Like Linda said, he takes serious and understandable issues and dresses them up in all kinds of theatricality. Honestly, he was actually fairly mature about the whole thing, especially once the focus shifted more onto the murder investigation and teaching Chloe how to properly use her power. Even if it didn't quite go as planned. I didn't expect Chloe to have a severely limited version of the mojo, even though the episode did set it up nicely with the vocal coach visibly and verbally reacting to Chloe right when she walked into the room.
I dislike how the episode ended this particular storyline. I really, really don't want Lucifer to suddenly pull back and raise up all of his walls in an effort to return to how things were. I'm fully prepared and expect it to happen, but I really don't want it to. Although, maybe we'll be spared any of that because Dan actually shot him in the chest. Like wow. I did not think that was going to happen. Is Lucifer going to die? Is he going to go back to Hell? That's what happened to him when Malcolm shot and killed him all the way back in Season One.
The real question, maybe, is why does Michael want Lucifer back in Hell. As revenge? Or is there something more going on? Because Michael is obviously the one who manipulated Dan into shooting Lucifer. He even busted out the very classical white angel robes and playful hands. I almost expected him to tell Dan "Do not be afraid." It's a testament to Tom Ellis that Michael and Lucifer really feel like two completely separate characters. It's easy for me to forget that he's playing both of them, even with the physical similarities. But the real star of that scene was Dan. Kevin Alejandro switched from making me laugh episode to making me cry this episode effortlessly. The counterpoint of knowing that Charlotte was in Heaven and knowing that him going to Hell was a very real threat felt especially powerful to me.
Amenadiel and Maze were a little disconnected from the rest of the episode, even if I liked their scenes. Amenadiel's admission that he couldn't remember who he was before Charlie felt incredibly human. Children are such an all-consuming entity, especially when they're so young that a lot of people find themselves in that same headspace.
Maze continued her half-season long journey towards finding somewhere where she doesn't feel abandoned and unloved. Their conversation in Lux went a long way in repairing the awkward feeling that the kiss created for me. Maze's thought process was, again, incredibly human. If she can't find a human soulmate, then why not try someone without a soul? Even if it didn't work out, you could really feel the weight of their relationship and how it's grown over the course of the season.
Random Thoughts
There was a fun callback to Season One, where Chloe told Lucifer that she would have sex with him when Hell froze over. Was that in the Pilot?
What exactly is the relationship between Linda and Amenadiel? Neither of them seemed hurt or jealous over Maze's actions or like she crossed some line. For some reason I thought that they were romantically together.
Yeah... still really not trusting Pete. Even if he is giving me very strong Xander from Buffy vibes. I think it's the hair.
Ella's reaction to Chloe and Lucifer was actually kind of cute. Actually, Ella herself is just very, very cute.
Gotta love the very blatant Shining homage.
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An Honest Fangirl has dearly missed this show and is very, very glad to have something to binge again.
Thanks for the review! I liked how Chloe used Lucifer's gun to shoot the bad guy. And yes, Tom Ellis was terrific in many ways, but I thought he was especially good when he was playing "paralyzed" from the drug.
ReplyDeleteThat whole exchange in Klingon made my day.
ReplyDeleteLinda and Amenadiel are former lovers, friends and parents to Charlie. She didn't want to marry him because of the pregnancy so it never went any further than that.
ReplyDeleteI don't trust Pete.
ReplyDeleteI also had assumed Linda and Amenedial were still together and monogamous.