Month: February 2016

In “Sweet Kicks,” Lucifer spends the entire episode diving headlong into danger to experience the exhilaration of his newfound feeling of mortal vulnerability. “The danger of getting hurt is positively thrilling,” Lucifer remarks with a grin. Immersing himself in the peril produced by LA gangbangers, the Devil plays the loose cannon cop beside the uptight Detective Chloe Decker. By the end of the episode, Lucifer—much to Chloe’s chagrin—utters with a sardonic smile, “I’m now an official civilian consultant for the LAPD,” which I suppose means that the police procedural element of the Lucifer show is officially here to stay.

“Sweet Kicks” was for the most part uneventful, although there was an interesting exchange between Chloe and Lucifer which was quite evocative of the Lucifer comic. Chloe observes that Lucifer likes creating chaos and subsequently taking control because it provides a power trip. “It’s like you’ve got some kind of God complex,” Chloe remarks, which elicits Lucifer’s indignant retort, “I most certainly do not.” It was rather reminiscent of Mike Carey’s Lucifer, who prides himself on being unlike his Father (“I have nothing in common with Yahweh”¹), although Ellis’ Lucifer appeared more an insulted child than Carey’s raging demigod.

Mazikeen was a notable presence in episode 5 of Lucifer, singlehandedly pulverizing a roomful of gun-toting gangbangers (much to Lucifer’s delight) and even allowing us to catch a glimpse of the deformed half of her face, hitherto hidden in plain sight. Most significantly, Maze begins to conspire with Amenadiel to get Lucifer back to Hell, which Lucifer’s demonic bodyguard feels is in the Devil’s best interest. Maze points Amenadiel in the direction of Dr. Martin, Lucifer’s new confidante. Amenadiel proceeds to tempt Linda for information about his rebellious brother, using the same angelic sexual charm the libidinous Linda has already fallen prey to via the fallen angel. Interestingly, Amenadiel lies to Linda about his identity, claiming to be a fellow therapist, whereas Lucifer, of course, never lies and is open and honest about who he is. Amenadiel’s duplicity underlines the deep ambivalence of the angelic host.

The most exciting moment of the latest episode of Lucifer, it must be said, was the preview for the following week’s episode, “Favorite Son,” which seemed to hint at the search for Lucifer’s severed wings—one of the great storylines of the Lucifer comic.² Lucifer’s “The House of the Windowless Rooms” arc was, in my opinion, when the comic truly found itself, and I can only hope that the show will undergo a similar transformation.

Notes

<sup>1. Mike Carey, Lucifer: The Divine Comedy (New York: DC Comics, 2003), p. 126.↩
2. See Mike Carey, Lucifer: Children and Monsters (New York: DC Comics, 2001), pp. 1–92.↩</sup>

“Manly Whatnots” was a more enjoyable episode of Lucifer, and it may be something of a shifting point in the season. The first half of Lucifer’s fourth episode focuses on Lucifer’s incessant pursuit of Chloe’s affections. Whereas in the comics we see Lucifer occasionally engage in sexual congress (most significantly with Mazikeen, the one with a place in his hard heart), in the TV show Lucifer is rather oversexed, and Chloe being the one mortal woman immune to Lucifer’s devilish charm naturally makes her bear the brunt of his arrogant sexual advances. The debauched Devil is both frustrated and challenged by the enigmatic Chloe, and the first half of “Manly Whatnots” is given over to Lucifer lusting after Chloe in the hope that bedding her will relieve him of his angst.

The episode becomes interesting during its second half, however, when Lucifer attempts to tempt Chloe by standing before her nude. The bashful Chloe happens to catch a glimpse of Lucifer’s back, which reveals the scars where his wings (shorn by Mazikeen rather than Morpheus in this version) once were. When Chloe tries to touch these literal scars of Lucifer’s past, the fallen angel becomes quite vulnerable, and it made for a rather refreshingly somber moment.

It was also reassuring to see Mazikeen (she is actually referred to by her full name) in action, exchanging blows with Amenadiel, who tries to establish common ground with Lucifer’s guardian demon. Pinned up against a pillar in Lux, Mazikeen in a rather feral moment ends the scuffle with Amenadiel by licking his face, and the aroused angel is obviously caught unaware. It was quite an unexpected moment for the viewers as well, leaving us guessing about the various possibilities. Might Mazikeen try to seduce and manipulate the angel who is trying to manipulate her to get Lucifer to return to Hell? Might Mazikeen and Amenadiel become romantically involved, underlining the ambivalence of the angelic-demonic struggle?

As many supernatural positives as “Manly Whatnots” provided, Lucifer flashing his demonic face to frighten this week’s perpetrator was one significantly negative moment. Lucifer had done this in the opening scene of the second episode (“Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil”), but there it appeared to be a joke; here, it seemed serious. What was wonderful about the Lucifer comic was that it mirrored Romantic renditions of Milton’s Satan in the visual arts by portraying the fallen angel as a beautiful figure—blonde-haired, golden-eyed, and smooth-faced. It would be a shame if the TV series undid this and went for the Devil’s handsomeness as a false face hiding his true monstrousness. The sight of Lucifer’s demonic face was particularly jarring for following one of Lucifer’s one-liners minutes before, when the Devil explained to the doubting Chloe that he cannot provide proof of his true identity by tail or horns, “the stuff of TV and movies. They always get it wrong.” Indeed…

Interestingly, just as Lucifer convinces Chloe to fire a shot at him to prove his immortality, a bemused Lucifer finds himself in pain and bleeding. On the mortal plane, Lucifer appears to not only be vulnerable to human feelings, but human frailty as well. Mazikeen panics at the unsuspected danger, pleading with Lucifer to leave the earthly fun-and-games well enough alone and return home to Hell. The jaded immortal Lucifer, however, appears rather excited by the prospect of feeling mortal danger. “The fun’s just begun,” Lucifer utters with a smirk as the episode draws to a close.

Episode 4 of Lucifer may be the gateway to the show’s exploration of some of the more supernatural or mythological aspects of the subject matter, which is what I’m hoping for. On the other hand, the Lucifer-becoming-human angle could abdicate the supernatural altogether. Let’s hope that this is not the case. If nothing else, the “Manly Whatnots” episode of Lucifer provided grounds for “cautious optimism,” to quote Mike Carey’s Lucifer Morningstar.¹

 
Notes

The title of the latest episode of Lucifer, “The Would-Be Prince of Darkness,” sounded promising. Maybe, I thought, it was referring to political intrigue in Hell—an aspiring usurper of Lucifer’s erstwhile throne, perhaps. No. The title refers to an imposter, a young man using Lucifer Morningstar’s identity to take advantage of the Devil’s profligate pastimes. And this is only the B storyline of the episode.

Episode 3 of Lucifer is almost entirely deprived of any trace of the supernatural, the police procedural element taking over. This week’s crime revolves around the character of Ty, a virgin quarterback superstar who finds himself in hot water when, at the Devil’s insistence, he allows a red-dressed woman at a pool party to take his virginity, only to find her corpse floating in the pool the next morning. Lucifer does not believe Ty is guilty, and so he lends his usual mischievously helping hand to find and punish the true perpetrator.

Early in the episode, Dr. Linda Martin notices that Ty being blamed for a murder he is not guilty of bothers Lucifer. At the end of the episode, Lucifer explains to the sexually satisfied therapist that punishing the wicked—something he didn’t care for when forced to by his Father—is downright damned good fun now that it is on his own terms. Linda, however, suspects that Lucifer’s enjoyment is shifting from punishing the bad guys to helping the good guys. Lucifer promptly pooh-poohs this, but it appears to be the inevitable arc of the show.

As for the episode’s would-be Prince of Darkness, Lucifer gets his feathers quite ruffled by an imposter not only arrogating but sullying his proud name (particularly when it comes to matters of sexual congress). When the would-be Prince of Darkness is brought before the one and only Lucifer in Lux, he is terrified by the various tortures the Devil threatens. Maze is sexually excited by the sight. “This is so hot,” she remarks. “It’s like you’re punishing yourself.” Maze’s excitement is once again short-lived, as Lucifer’s ever-creeping humanity compels him to let the pitiable would-be Prince of Darkness go with a warning.

Particularly ironic was Lucifer snarling to the would-be Prince of Darkness, “We can’t have you running around cheapening the Lucifer brand”—ironic, of course, coming from the much-too-down-to-earth TV character increasingly afield from the larger-than-life comic book character he is based upon.

Episode 2 of Lucifer, entitled “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil,” delivered some highs and lows, opening with an amusing encounter between Lucifer and a doomsday street preacher. Lucifer terrifies the blatant charlatan with the flash of a demonic face, explaining that he holds the utmost disdain for liars, as Lucifer, like in the comic, is contrary to popular belief not the father of lies but rather a truth-teller. Following this funny scene which emphasizes a fundamental component of Lucifer’s character—rather reminiscent of the comics—the remainder of episode 2 of Lucifer, driven by its weekly disposable crime case, essentially reemphasizes the lead characters and their respective tensions.

Chloe is determined to get to the bottom of who in the Hell Lucifer is, naturally refusing to accept the reality that he is indeed the Devil, despite his openness. This skepticism is sure to continue for a few episodes, but not for the entire season. Chloe coming to terms with Lucifer being the Lucifer may perhaps be the show’s turning-point, leading to potential exploration of some of the more fantastical elements.

The significance of the show’s present angel and demon has certainly begun to expand. Amenadiel again implores Lucifer to return to Hell, and Lucifer detects that his angelic brother fears their Father will assign Amenadiel to reign over Hell should he fail to get the Devil to return. One can certainly see this happening by the end of the season, especially if the show continues Lucifer on a prodigal son redemption arc, which would make Amenadiel’s efforts to send his brother back to Hell more vindictive than virtuous—more demonic than angelic.

Maze continues to look down her nose at the erstwhile Lord of Hell, which leads to some interesting mounting tension between the two, Lucifer losing his temper and pulling rank on Maze. Conceding that he can tolerate and even enjoy her sarcasms, Lucifer reassures Maze that she is not to disrespect him, ultimately erupting into a brief rage, his eyes flashing demonic red and his voice booming as he explodes, “You are not to speak to me in this way!” Maze is happy and perhaps even aroused by the sight of the Devil proper, but promptly disappointed by his all-too-swift disappearance. Maze is later overjoyed when Lucifer invites her to indulge in some hellish punishment of the wicked on Earth, but once more let down by Lucifer aborting the fun-and-games.

Dr. Linda Martin, who is now regularly in bed with the Devil, points out at the beginning of the episode that behind Lucifer’s sardonic humor hides insecurity—that the Prince of Darkness is changing. By the end of the episode, Lucifer confesses that he does feel he is indeed changing—mostly courtesy of the presence of the charm-resistant Chloe—and that he, who is accustomed to being in complete control, is rather thrilled by the prospect of an uncontrollable joyride. Yet while the show attempts to downplay Lucifer’s penchant for solving crimes as his indulging his wicked sense of fun as he investigates Chloe’s mysterious immunity to him, Lucifer’s opening exchange with Linda perhaps drew out something subtly revealing. Linda explores Lucifer’s “metaphor” of his being the Devil (she doesn’t yet believe that the Devil speaks true either), and after Lucifer briefly runs through some of his various soubriquets, he states that that was “the old me,” and that he is now just plain “Lucifer.” As I’ve written, the preference for the name Lucifer in the comics enhances the rebel Lightbringer’s élite elegance, princely pride, and incandescent individualism, but Lucifer in the show seemed to hint that the use of his native name indicates that he is perhaps ultimately deep down trying to be the prelapsarian Lucifer—the “good Devil” indeed. The show will naturally take poetic license with the comic book character, but that would certainly do Mike Carey’s Lucifer a disservice.

What Lucifer continues to reveal to the viewer throughout the episode is his low-brow taste, despite his dapper suits and flashy nightclub. Lucifer is for instance delighted by the discovery of Hot Tub High School star Chloe’s mother being the “queen of 80s cheese ball sci-fi.” Lucifer is at his lowest, however, when we see him smoking a joint at a crime scene. I understand the show is emphasizing the whole rebellious son dimension of Lucifer’s defiance of God the Father, but…Lucifer the pot smoker? That seems simply far too juvenile for the Prince of Pride. Lucifer not only runs the risk of making the Devil all-too-human, but making him all-too-adolescent as well.