Episode 11 of Lucifer, “St. Lucifer,” open with the Devil feeling rather good about himself, having turned down the sexual advances of an intoxicated Chloe the night before. The Evil One, in fact, finds that he gets a rush from engaging in goodness, and so Lucifer decides to indulge this foreign feeling for an episode.

Appropriately, this week’s murder mystery revolves around a slain philanthropist by the name of Tim Dunlear. Lucifer, aspiring to a “philanthropic high,” decides to become the benefactor of Dunlear’s charity. Despite his philanthropic joyride, Lucifer is reluctant to forgive Mazikeen for betraying him by colluding with Amenadiel. When Mazikeen and Amenadiel come face-to-face and Amenadiel reveals to the spurned demon that he is not as much of an angel as she thinks, the two end up copulating in the backseat of a car. Mazikeen later decides to reveal to Lucifer that she had sex with his brother, proposing a truce with her standoffish master: Mazikeen can give Lucifer the inside scoop on Amenadiel, just as she had done the opposite before. Lucifer accepts, but admonishes Mazikeen to watch her step.

The most significant aspect of “St. Lucifer” was the revelation of the source of Lucifer’s “mortality sitch.” Malcolm, the crooked cop back from Hell to do Amenadiel’s bidding, finally confronts Lucifer at gunpoint. Lucifer explains to Malcolm that Amenadiel is tricking him and that the angel, in the end, cannot save the sinner from Hell even if he wanted to. But Lucifer can. In exchange for not pulling the trigger, Lucifer offers Malcolm his “Pentecostal coin,” which, Lucifer explains, he was going to use to return to Hell; Malcolm will be able to use it to escape Hell. While Malcolm accepts and leaves Lux with the Devil’s coin, Lucifer is before long gunned down by Dunlear’s wife once he deduces that she murdered her philanthropic husband. Much to Lucifer’s surprise, his immortality appears to have been restored. The episode closes with Lucifer discovering that it is the presence of Chloe that makes him vulnerable, leaving the viewer to imagine that Lucifer will have to choose to either embrace his humanity or keep his distance from the virtuous woman he’s drawn to in order to remain the immortal Devil.

As Lucifer approaches its season finale, it is increasingly difficult to deny that season one was, all in all, a disappointment, and I say season one because it has been announced that Lucifer has been green-lit for a second. I suppose we can only hope that the creators of the show, having successfully evaded cancellation, will be emboldened to explore territory closer to the truly excellent Lucifer comics.

In episode 10 of Lucifer, “Pops,” Lucifer and Chloe cover the murder of Javier (“Pops”), a Mexican chef whose cuisine Lucifer happens to have loved. Suspicion naturally falls upon Javier’s prodigal son, Junior, and the wayward son of the overbearing father who nevertheless retains his domineering dad’s favor is an obvious parallel to Lucifer’s relationship with God. Lucifer observes that he can relate to someone trying to “escape the clutches of a difficult father,” and Lucifer wonders what it is like to actually escape from the shadow of such a father. Most significantly, however, Junior’s unfulfilled longing for reconciliation strikes a chord with Lucifer, and the Devil even seems irritated that the boy worthy of his father’s love was denied the opportunity of reconciliation by Javier’s true killer.

Speaking of reconciliation, Mazikeen longs to fix things with Lucifer, and so she seeks out Dr. Linda Martin for therapy so that she can make an attempt at being “normal.” Linda suggests that Mazikeen seek out meaningful relationships by way of friends. Mazikeen reacts harshly to this suggestion, at least until Chloe’s daughter Trixie makes her way into Lux in search of Lucifer and makes a new friend, Maze.

The whole “Pops” episode of Lucifer had a very Lifetime vibe about it, which reached its apex in an asinine dinner Lucifer attends at the Decker residence. By the end of the episode, as Lucifer refuses the sexual advances of a drunken and depressed Chloe, it is fairly clear that the close of season one of Lucifer will involve the Devil reaching some sort of reconciliation with his Father. “Oh God,” Lucifer mutters. My thoughts exactly…

Episode 9 of Lucifer, “A Priest Walks into a Bar,” touches upon Lucifer’s friction with his Father via his interactions with the priest in question, Father Frank Lawrence. It arguably made for the most blasphemous episode of Lucifer thus far, what with all the anticlerical jokes and gibes (“Padre Pederast” taking the irreverent cake), but Lucifer ultimately becomes friendly with the Father.

Lucifer initially asserts himself as the mortal enemy of the priest, spending a significant amount of time attempting to prove that Father Lawrence is not so righteous, even parading strippers in nun attire before him in Lux. But Lucifer and Father Lawrence get on rather well, starting with their charming piano duet. Their true chemistry shows when they discuss dear old Dad, however, Lucifer mocking Father Lawrence for his one-way conversations into the sky. The fallen angel expresses that he cannot understand the Father’s enduring faith, as he abandoned his faith in God because God “didn’t have faith in me.” When Father Lawrence insists that, however difficult it may be to believe, God has a plan, Lucifer remarks, “His plan was quite clear.” “How do you know it’s over?” asks the priest, and this clearly strikes a chord with Lucifer, who we know to be questioning his role in the divine plan.

When Father Lawrence is shot dead in his church as this week’s crime/mystery reaches its explosive climax, Lucifer loses it. The Devil appears genuinely upset by the loss of Father Lawrence, his fierce rage turning to deep depression, as if he lost the caring father he feels he never had. Lucifer returns to his loft and voices his resentment into the sky he and Father Lawrence conversed beneath earlier. “You cruel, manipulative bastard,” Lucifer shouts into an ominous sky, protesting the blatant injustice he sees in God’s world, where saints and sinners suffer the same grim fate.

Speaking of sin and saints, “A Priest Walks into a Bar” also fills us in on Amenadiel’s new scheme, which involves Malcolm, the crooked cop gunned down by Dan (who was apparently just protecting his wife Chloe, who was spotted snooping) on Palmetto Street and recently resurrected by Amenadiel. Amenadiel is aware that the thirty seconds Malcolm spent in Hell felt like thirty years, and the cruel angel enlists the assistance of the corrupt cop with the threat of sending him back to Hell. Malcolm, now equipped with an unmarked gun by his new reluctant partner, Dan, is ordered by Amenadiel to shoot and kill Lucifer Morningstar. But with the redemptive arc Lucifer appears to be on, it wouldn’t be surprising if his mortal death delivers him back to Heaven rather than Hell.

Episode 8 of Lucifer, “Et Tu, Doctor?,” opens with a rather chipper Lucifer in the midst of celebrating his “re-birthday party.” The fallen angel feels reborn now that he has scorched his wings and bade farewell for good to his old life. Lucifer is now free to be, in his words, “Whoever the Hell I want to be.”

The Morningstar makes his return to Dr. Linda Martin, Lucifer apologetic about their last session ending with his violent explosion. Linda reassures Lucifer that, despite the damage done to her office, their last session was positive because they made a real breakthrough, as Lucifer let down his barriers—barriers which, Lucifer makes clear, he would prefer to have back up. Linda observes that he appears to be jealous (envious would be more appropriate) of Chloe’s ex, Dan—“detective douche,” as Lucifer repeatedly refers to him. “The Devil doesn’t get jealous,” Lucifer retorts. “I’m the one who inspires passion in others.” While Lucifer wants Linda to look into Chloe—who, for failing to throw herself at the Devil’s feet like all other women, is in his eyes obviously not right in the head—the episode revolves around Lucifer’s self-examination to discover whether or not he is indeed green with envy. (Lucifer is sure to play up the love triangle element, as “Et Tu, Doctor?” both has Chloe lock lips with Dan and reveals that Dan was the mysterious gunman in the Palmetto shooting, which left Chloe an outcast in her department and has continued to haunt her career ever since.)

At the end of the episode, as Lucifer is prepared to make up for late carnal payments to his therapist, Linda explains that, going forward, it would be best for them to keep their relationship strictly professional. It is not exactly clear why this is. Perhaps because Linda met Mazikeen, who informed her that sleeping with Lucifer was destined to end with her being discarded like trash. Or perhaps because Linda met Chloe and sees potential for Lucifer’s progress in his longing for a relationship of sorts with the enigmatic officer. Curiously, Lucifer is not piqued by Linda’s termination of their sexual relationship. He is, however, incensed when he figures out the true identity of the biblically named Dr. Canaan in the office next door, Lucifer realizing that Linda has had “an angel on her shoulder trying to control me.”

Lucifer confronts Mazikeen, who is guilty of pointing Amenadiel in Linda’s direction, observing that her self-serving betrayal is indicative of the human world rubbing off on her rather than him. With that, Lucifer breaks with his long-time partner and friend. It will be interesting to see how this develops (Lucifer and Mazikeen do split for a time in the Lucifer comic); surely Mazikeen’s possession of one of Lucifer’s feathers will play a part in the proceedings.

Episode 7 of Lucifer, “Wingman,” opens with Lucifer continuing his desperate search for his missing wings, with Mazikeen torturing their way through smugglers to the whereabouts of Lucifer’s wings, but to no avail. Lucifer decides to be upfront with Chloe about his missing angel wings—which she naturally finds ludicrous and laughable—and when Chloe suggests that his dilemma could benefit from an alternate point-of-view, Lucifer decides to enlist the assistance of his brother Amenadiel. “Wingman” focuses on the dynamic between the Devil and his diabolical angelic brother.

Lucifer meets Amenadiel on the beach he and Mazikeen first arrived on after leaving Hell,¹ whereupon Mazikeen severed her master’s wings. Amenadiel is aghast when informed that Lucifer’s wings are missing, as their divine splendor is not for mortal eyes, and the consequences of their being unleashed upon the world can be dire. More important to Amenadiel, however, is that Lucifer needs his wings back to once more assume Hell’s vacant throne. Amenadiel reveals that it has been required of him to act as Hell’s superintendent in the Devil’s absence, and it is a responsibility he loathes in the utmost. This seems to verify Lucifer’s accusation in “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil”: Amenadiel’s motivation in his quest to get Lucifer to return to Hell is primarily selfish, as the angel is Hell-bent on getting the Devil back to the Underworld lest he inherit the unenviable job.

Amenadiel agrees to help Lucifer regain his stolen wings, but he makes it clear that he intends to return them to Heaven, where they were created and where they belong. The angelic brothers attend the outré auction where Lucifer’s wings are to be put up for sale, and it is here that Amenadiel learns of Lucifer’s “mortality sitch.” “You just made my millennium,” Amenadiel remarks with a grin, as he believes Lucifer will end up in Hell even if his efforts to get the Devil to return willingly fail, for at any moment Lucifer’s life can be ended by a common thug. (I wouldn’t be surprised if this does happen, but with Lucifer returning to Heaven for turning over a new leaf, Amenadiel sent to Hell for behaving with a blackened, sinful heart.) In any event, at the auction Amenadiel finally comes face-to-face with Chloe, who remarks that Lucifer’s (now suited) brother is the handsome charmer of the two—most likely to irritate the prideful Prince of Darkness, but it does open up yet another potential avenue for Amenadiel to try to get to Lucifer.

As the FBI raids the auction, Lucifer has Amenadiel stop time (he has to ask “please,” which is dreadfully uncharacteristic) so that he can get to his wings, only to discover that they are fake. Lucifer, his last nerve plucked, heads to the house of Carmen Grant, the atheist auctioneer who claimed to believe only “in one simple divinity: the almighty dollar.” The crook Carmen, however, has kept the angelic wings on display—“like some decorative stag head,” Lucifer remarks, aghast—obsessively staring at their divine radiance. “They’re mine,” Lucifer growls like a territorial beast, but Carmen ultimately proves useful, providing an important piece of information, which leads to the revelatory final scene Lucifer and Amenadiel share.

Under the night sky, a pensive Lucifer sits between his angel wings, which are laid out on the beach. Amenadiel arrives, asking if Lucifer, now in possession of his wings once more, is at all tempted to “assume [his] form” and return to “where [he] “belong[s],” at which point Lucifer flicks his cigarette, setting his wings ablaze. Amenadiel crumbles to his knees before the fiery wings, utterly appalled. Lucifer confronts his trickster brother, having unraveled his master plan of orchestrating the theft of the wings and having them end up in Carmen’s corrupt hands—imperiling the world in the process by letting the wings loose. Why would Amenadiel do something so dangerously desperate? “To fool me into desiring the wings and the hellish throne they accompany,” Lucifer observes. “It almost bloody worked.” When Amenadiel asks why Lucifer would choose to destroy the wings, the fallen angel asserts that, as Amenadiel suspected, “I did leave myself an out—a ripcord back to the life that dear old Dad chose for me. But I don’t need it now because, in case I haven’t made myself abundantly clear, I’m never going back to Hell.” Amenadiel explodes into a rage, assaulting his brother, who, instead of fighting back, taunts the angry angel: “Become like me. Become wrath. Fall as I did!” Amenadiel ceases, perhaps realizing that he is becoming like his sinful sibling, but he assures Lucifer, “This is far from over. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back to Hell.”

Back at Lux, as Mazikeen informs Lucifer that she cleaned up the “mess on the beach,” Lucifer asserts that he is here to stay. Acknowledging that, despite its carnal pleasures, this life is not what Mazikeen bargained for, Lucifer is just about to relieve her from the vow she made to him, but Mazikeen interrupts, reaffirming her loyalty to Lucifer, now wingless and determined to stay on the earthly plane. As Chloe arrives and converses with Lucifer, however, Mazikeen enviously eyes the irksome woman from afar, and with a nice nod to the Lucifer comic, it is revealed that one feather from Lucifer’s wings remains intact (in Mazikeen’s hands, in this case). We are left to imagine what the Devil’s disgruntled faithful servant might do to get her master back to the bad old days.

 

Notes

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^{1. In the “Season of Mists” arc of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Lucifer also settles on a beach after abandoning Hell. See Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Season of Mists (New York: DC Comics, 2010), “Epilogue.”↩}

Episode 6 of Lucifer, “Favorite Son,” began to play more with the show’s mythical element. Early on in the episode, for instance, Lucifer mentions in passing “the Silver City,” i.e., Heaven, and the angel Uriel, whose “welcome speech,” as far as the Devil is concerned, “is far worse than Hell…” Most significantly, of course, Lucifer’s severed wings are at the center of “Favorite Son,” their theft sending the Morningstar on something of a rampage.

Lucifer naturally enlists Chloe’s help in the search for his stolen container, but he repeatedly evades informing her about his wings residing therein. Precisely why he does so is left rather ambiguous, but it perhaps has something to do with the vulnerability he displayed when Chloe neared the wounds where his wings once were in “Manly Whatnots.” Just why Lucifer is so possessive of his wings is also left ambiguous, but it seems apparent that his need to repossess them differs from the comic. In the Lucifer comic, the Morningstar must reclaim his wings to restore himself to full power, which Lucifer proceeds to use to form his own cosmos independent of Yahweh’s Creation; in the Lucifer show, the fallen angel appears to long for his wings as mementos of the prelapsarian state he had forever forfeited. In any event, Lucifer’s personal crisis over the robbery of his wings and his own cosmic identity comes to a head by the end of the episode as the result of Amenadiel’s tampering with the therapeutic tactics of Dr. Linda Martin.

In discussion with the duped Linda, Amenadiel adds the following to his fraudulent biography: before becoming a therapist, he underwent two years in seminary school, hence his knowledge of theology (Amenadiel actually quotes 2 Corinthians 11:14: “…Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”). Given that Linda believes her troubling patient has adopted the persona of the Devil, Amenadiel convinces the “therapist to the Devil himself” that the problem may perhaps be “humoring his metaphor without fully embracing it.” Amenadiel suggests that Linda use some of his theological insight to make a breakthrough with the Devil, who is “essentially a rebellious son.” Amenadiel assures Linda that she will get to him, insisting that while Lucifer may not like what he hears, it will help him, his inability to understand that notwithstanding.

The sneaky angel’s nefarious plan to covertly attack his brother by inciting Linda to prod at Lucifer’s soft spots works. Lucifer’s frustrations build up to his confrontation with his longsuffering therapist at the close of the episode, where we see Lucifer at his most vulnerable. Lucifer tries to keep up the hauteur that is his armor (“I seek no one’s approval,” he remarked earlier), but he is clearly about to unravel. Linda explains to Lucifer, “you keep trying on many hats to hide your horns—playboy, cop, club owner,” and as soon as Linda begins to explore the legend of Lucifer—starting with his prelapsarian name, which is taken from the comic—the arrogant angel swiftly begins to teeter on the edge:

LINDA. …[B]efore you fell, you were known as Samael, the Lightbringer.

LUCIFER. I don’t go by that name anymore.

LINDA. That was the name that connotated your Father’s love for you.

LUCIFER. Ha. Right. Was casting His son into Hell also an expression of His love?

LINDA. No, God didn’t cast you out of Heaven because He was angry with you.

LUCIFER. How can you presume to know God’s intentions?

LINDA. Oh, I don’t. I can’t.

LUCIFER. Then maybe stick within the limits of your intellectual capacity.

LINDA. Or maybe my simplicity offers me a different perspective. God cast you out because He needed you to do the most difficult of jobs. It was a gift—

LUCIFER. —Gift?! He shunned me. He vilified me. He made me a torturer.

While the precise details of Lucifer’s fall from Heaven remain mysterious, leaving us to speculate, for instance, over why he rebelled against God and whether or not he led a war in Heaven, Lucifer is clearly indignant about the outcome of his break with his Father. The Devil insists that if he has done evil, the fault lies with the Almighty Himself (“He made me a torturer”), but more importantly Lucifer is most deeply offended by God damning his proud name to slander via irresponsible mortals scapegoating the Devil for their sins:

LUCIFER. Can you even begin to fathom what it was like? Eons spent providing a place for dead mortals to punish themselves. I mean, why do they blame me for all their little failings as if I spent my days sitting on their shoulder forcing them to commit acts they’d otherwise find repulsive? Oh, “the Devil made me do it!” I have never made any one of them do anything. Never.¹

LINDA. What happened to you is unfair.

LUCIFER. Unfair? This is unjust. For all eternity my name will be invoked to represent all their depravity. That is the “gift” that my Father gave me.

Linda persists in arguing that, despite damning His favorite son, God has always loved Lucifer, however mysterious the ways in which God expresses that love might be. It is at this point that Lucifer begins to break down, and the reaction the second mention of his original angelic name Samael incites—“Do not call me that, please”—is indicative of his impending eruption. When Linda tries to convince the distraught Devil that God’s fallen angel can rise, a teary-eyed Lucifer pleads in frustration that he cannot—that he literally cannot, as his wings remain stolen. The intense scene ends explosively, Lucifer losing his temper and punching a hole in Linda’s wall, leaving his therapist dumbfounded and frightened as he exits, abashed.

“Favorite Son” concludes with a damaged Lucifer overlooking the City of Angels, pining for his pilfered wings as Mazikeen eyes the scars on his back which the severance of his wings by her hand has left. As we are finally shown Lucifer’s resplendent angel wings in an unknown location, the episode ends, leaving us speculating about various things, such as whether Lucifer’s wings have self-healed, as in the comic,² or they have always remained feathery, and, more importantly, why Lucifer longs to repossess his wings in the first place. To me, Lucifer’s violent reaction to Linda’s insistence that he can ascend seemed to imply that within him is some desperate hope of being reinstated in Heaven.

 

If Fox’s Lucifer pines for the loss of Heaven, he fits within the Miltonic-Romantic tradition. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan hates God, but he loves Heaven, the fallen archangel refusing to part with the celestial paradise he belonged to, continuing to assert himself and his “Hell-doom’d” (II.697) brethren as “Sons of Heaven” (I.654), determined “To claim our just inheritance of old…” (II.38). Satan is, in short, Hell-bent on regaining Heaven, vowing that his “puissant Legions, whose exíle / Hath emptied Heav’n, shall…re-ascend / Self-rais’d, and repossess thir native seat…” (I.632–34). The tragic truth, however, is that Milton’s Satan cannot escape Hell, due to

The Hell within him, for within him Hell

He brings, and round about him, nor from Hell

One step no more than from himself can fly

By change of place… (IV.20–23)

As Satan himself pithily puts it, “Which way I fly is Hell; myself am Hell…” (IV.75). Despite the fallen archangel’s lament for the loss of Heaven—for “what I was / In that bright eminence” (IV.43–44)—and the despair his inescapable Hell subjects him to, Milton’s Satan is not prepared to make amends with the Almighty; too proud to ever bend the knee, Satan rejects even the thought of atonement because repentance requires “submission; and that word / Disdain forbids me…” (IV.81–82). The point of my digression: Fox’s Lucifer follows the Miltonic-Romantic tradition if he longs for the heavenly homeland he resents being ousted from, but should he stoop to longing for the forgiveness of his “punisher” (Paradise Lost, IV.103), Lucifer will be breaking from tradition.

“Favorite Son” was a more favorable episode of Lucifer, particularly in its final scenes, which presented the fallen angel at his most Byronic yet (“I’m a walking paradox”) and got the character closest to his comic book counterpart, even quoting from Vertigo’s Lucifer directly. The difference, of course, is that Fox’s Lucifer appears more a hurt (and perhaps abused) child than Mike Carey’s exiled proud Prince. In any event, “Favorite Son” showed that the Lucifer show can be more than a comically risqué police procedural with the Devil (and the accompanying hellish puns) in the mix, and it will be interesting to see how Lucifer’s character develops going forward.

 

Notes

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<sup>1. This is taken nearly verbatim from the Vertigo Lucifer’s departing speech to Morpheus as he quits being the Devil and closes down Hell: “Can you imagine what it was like? Ten billion years spent providing a place for dead mortals to torture themselves? And like all masochists, they called the shots. ‘Burn me.’ ‘Freeze me.’ ‘Eat me.’ ‘Hurt me.’ And we did. Why do they blame me for all their little failings? They use my name as if I spent my entire day sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive. ‘The Devil made me do it.’ I have never made one of them do anything. Never.” (Mike Carey, Lucifer: Evensong [New York: DC Comics, 2007], p. 143; cf. Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Season of Mists [New York: DC Comics, 2010], “Episode 2.”)↩
2. See Mike Carey, Lucifer: Children and Monsters (New York: DC Comics, 2001), pp. 79–80.↩</sup>

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

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<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

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^{1. Mike Carey, Lucifer: A Dalliance with the Damned (New York: DC Comics, 2002), p. 65.↩}

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.