Angels are so mature.
So, we don't actually have an apocalypse. Not really, at least. There's nothing inherently wrong or evil looming in the shadows. Angels are just really, really bad at fulfilling prayers. Hilariously so. I guess they were never allowed to beforehand, not without specific instructions or guidance from their father. I'll admit that it is nice that we don't actually have anything to really worry about. This season has been far more low-key than previous ones in order to focus on our characters and give them the goodbye that they deserve. This revelation simply falls in line with this.
Low-key problems have equally low-hey solutions. The angels need a God to guide them, and who better for the job than Amenadiel? First, I do want to state that I totally support Amenadiel being God and think that he would be amazing at it, especially since he's planning on still spending most of his time on Earth with Charlie and helping his siblings integrate a bit more with humanity. He is 100% the right angel for the job, and I'm glad that this is going to be his ending.
It just completely makes most of 5B kinda pointless. I know, I know. Lucifer had some very important character growth in finally feeling worthy of Chloe's love. I get that. But we also very explicitly were told that Amenadiel was not going to be God because he couldn't spend time on Earth if he did so, which led to Lucifer deciding to become God, which opened the door for Michael to challenge him. Which led directly to Remiel and Dan's murders. If Amenadiel had just become God in the first place, Michael wouldn't have had a single leg to stand on for his claim to the throne. None of this would have happened, or should have happened. Not when it just takes a single line from Chloe to completely destroy the one roadblock that Amenadiel had had. Whatever. Like I said, I love this ending for Amenadiel. Just not the execution.
Luckily, I enjoyed the execution of the bulk of the episode far more. Like the episode name suggests, this was really about saying goodbye to all of the characters that we have grown to know and love, and who presumably will not be playing a role in the finale. It was almost overly sentimental and mushy, but you know what? They're allowed to be sentimental and mushy in their penultimate episode. Linda got reaffirmation that Lucifer loved and appreciated her not only as a therapist but as a friend. Ella got a wonderful foundation opened in her name. Amenadiel got joint ownership of Lux. Maze got a hug that legitimately made me cry. And Dan got a new body.
I didn't expect to see Le Mec again, mostly because I thought that Lucifer and Maze killed him last season, but I am always happy to see Rob Benedict onscreen. He also did a very fine job of playing Dan, especially in the physical mannerisms. His scene with Trixie made me cry all over again. It makes perfect sense that the guilt trapping Dan was due to him not being able to be a good father for Trixie as opposed to anything else. Like he had said, he made peace with all of that. Just not with abandoning his daughter far before either of them expected to leave.
Dan going to Heaven where he belonged was at the top of my wishlist for the season. It was the one thing that absolutely needed to happen. The look of awe and relief on his face at the white light was simply so cathartic. It was everything that I wanted that moment to be.
I was very excited when Le Mec got control of his body. He looked completely ready to cause havoc and get back at Lucifer by kidnapping... Rory? Huh? This is where they lost me. He was literally staring at Trixie. She was right there. A young, human teenager. Instead, he left, found Rory, an older, half-angel with literal blades for wings, and then managed to capture and subdue her. What? How? I get that they want to have a big, finale battle and that having Rory be the bait carries a lot of thematic resonance. I don't have a problem with any of that as a concept. The execution just made zero sense and immediately took me out of the episode. Again.
Which then leads me to the final two people that Lucifer had to say goodbye to: Rory and Chloe. Well, we have official confirmation that we are stuck in a time loop. I know that Chloe said that Lucifer may have simply not reached the decision point yet, but let's be honest here. We're not changing the loop. Not at this point after so many wonderful, heartfelt goodbyes to everyone. At least Lucifer and Rory did get to spend one wonderful day together. It went far better than Lucifer's last attempt at father-daughter bonding. The slow dance in the "feeling totally fine room" was a small step too far into schmaltz for me, but the sentiment behind it was still nice. I much preferred the day out on the beach.
One episode left. I'm not ready.
Random Thoughts
Loved the Father Frank mention.
When Maze gave Lucifer her blade I wanted to scream. Yes, the whole gesture is very sweet, but we were also just reminded that it is one of the few things that can hurt him.
I do wish that Lucifer and Trixie had a scene where they could say goodbye. Their relationship was one of the first humanizing moments for Lucifer. I miss it. Oh well. Maybe next episode.
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An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
Well, I loved it. I thought it was a wonderful episode and I cried through practically the whole thing. I particularly loved Dan's moment with Trixie. Great casting of Rob Benedict there.
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with Honest Fangirl here: Amenadiel always felt like the logical choice for God rather than Lucifer, and it does make the whole fight against Michael seem pointless. While I enjoyed the episode, I wasn't all that enthused by the return of Le Mec as an apparent final "big bad" for the season. I couldn't remember who he was and why he'd have a particular grudge against Lucifer. I guess it would have been hard to bring back more familiar villains like Cain, Malcolm or Michael. Now that I think about it, villains haven't really been a strength of the show.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it didn't occur to Le Mec that Lucifer would be all that attached to Trixie? Not sure how much he knows about him.
Trixie was all the way back with the rest of the kids when Le Mec "woke up." Not exactly easy to kidnap her when she was with a group. Plus, as magritte said, how would Le Mec know that Lucifer loves Trixie?
ReplyDeleteThat's fair. Le Mec might not know Trixie's relationship to Lucifer. I'll concede to that.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should have had a better arc with respect to Amenadiel deciding not to be God in 5B, and then discovering it's exactly who he should be. I mean, it was always obvious that it ought to be Amenadiel, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see Lucifer and Chloe just relaxing and enjoying themselves.
Wonderful. I was emotionally drained after this one. Lovely acting all around although I suspect it's easier to act when these are kind of like real goodbyes for the cast.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah.. kidnapping a practically invincible angle with blade wings? How??
I enjoyed all of the emotional stuff in season 6, don't get me wrong. But I what did not enjoy, as was said in the review, was the execution of some of the storylines, especially where they contradicted and nullified previous character actions and conclusions. Whenever that happened it took all of the air out of what had gone before and made the character's lessons and observations trite and meaningless. We absolutely know from previous seasons the writers were capable of putting clever stories together that made sense and when they didn't it was for a good reason. We also know the actors can execute a well-thought-out vision perfectly so I'm going to blame it on creative fatigue because the show went past the 4th or 5th season and COVID restrictions, because, man it so could have been better!
ReplyDeleteBack when you first posted this episode, I couldn't figure out who the character on the right was. Was it a grown-up Trixie? What was happening in this photo?
ReplyDeleteNow that I've seen the episode, of course, I know that's Rory. But I find myself realizing that I just don't gel with Rory, this surprise child who seems more like a plot device than a character we're meant to care about.
Your point about the low-key stakes, though, is a really good one. As Monty Python might say, "It's not an apocalypse, just a bunch of naughty angels.
Like I said, I love this ending for Amenadiel. Just not the execution.
Yes.
Rory? Huh? This is where they lost me. He was literally staring at Trixie. She was right there.
Double yes.
Others in the comments have defended the show's choice, but I think my gut reaction is still with Fangirl. Doing a Trixie scene and following it with a "Hey, kidnapped!" call that isn't about Trixie is just odd plotting.