First, a disclaimer. I am a massive fan of all Lucifer’s seasons and Tom Ellis’ pitch perfect performance:
Espinoza: “…She’s lying.”
Lucifer (entering): “Who’s lying? Your stylist?”
The penultimate episode of season 3 is one of the most devastating episodes I’ve ever seen (akin to 24 and Buffy’s tear jerkers). The performances, imagery, and haunting music gave me chills and I was genuinely moved. It’s one of the most beautiful dramatic moments I’ve witnessed. If I weren’t already inspired to be a writer before then, I certainly would have been after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__QPJ22jzAw
THEN, if that wasn’t enough, there was the awesome final episode when Chloe FINALLY (and rather spectacularly) sees Lucifer with his true devil face. It ends with Chloe staring in shock at his face saying “It’s all true…”, where he simply asks “Detective?” You can hear the hint of trepidation and fear in his voice for Chloe’s next reply, and we intensely hope she doesn’t reject him. So strong is our sympathy for the devil.
And then a few days later, I unexpectedly felt deja vu. We’ve been down this road before, way back in season 1. Chloe caught a glimpse of Lucifer’s devil face then, but wrote it off to a trick in the light, and has denied witnessing countless other oddities throughout three seasons. They’ve delayed this revelation to its absolute breaking point.
I realised this had actually niggled me throughout the earlier seasons too. Again, I love the incredibly deep and complex relationship between Lucifer and Chloe and the banter. It’s also plenty frustrating (in a good way), countless times I have screamed at the screen “tell her! Tell her how you feel! Aaaaargh!” and crushed my sofa cushions to pieces.
So it always struck as me as being odd and a bit stupid of Chloe to ignore the mounting evidence (Lucifer’s face, the potential DNA test, being shot multiple times etc) and inexplicable occurrences, even in season 1. I even wondered at one point if she’d suffered persistent memory loss! But, alas, that audience frustration is what kept me coming back, wondering how it would end.
Joss Whedon used similar tactics for Buffy and Angel. They could never really be together, although for a handful of episodes/plot devices they could be for a short while. But it was always doomed. The Slayer and The Vampire on two different sides of the same coin.
But therein lies the hook of Lucifer and I suspect the showrunners/writers realised this whilst writing season 1 and started to back peddle it. Chloe and Lucifer’s emotional relationship is the absolute core. It’s like the Lois and Clark scenario. The dramatic tension is generated from us wanting Lois to know Clark’s secret, the sacrifices he makes for her and how he really feels. This is also true of Lucifer. The question is: when the secret is finally out, will it remain as fun to watch?
And so, it is with excitement and some trepidation that I look forward to seeing the final season of Lucifer, which for me feels more like a compacted continuation of the season 1 ending. I can’t wait to see Chloe’s response, how she moves forward. For her to deny what happened in front of her eyes again would definitely be insulting the audience’s intelligence now and her own.
I wonder if Lucifer and Chloe will finally be together and have a happy ending. Or will it be a bittersweet revelation, concluding that despite their deep, complex feelings, they can’t be together after all… Tell me, what do you desire?
Kudos to everybody involved on the show, I love it!