Stealing from the devil? Not the greatest of ideas on the best of days. Stealing his most prized possession? Even worse.
Lucifer musical talents—belting out a rendition of ‘Sinner Man’ for the Lux crowd are juxtaposed with the theft of his shipping container. He gets the AM call from Chloe, foregoing an epic foursome with Maze to do so, but is immediately bored out of his angelic skull. It’s not until he returns to Lux and Maze drops the stunner: it’s his container. “The container.” Though his initial reaction is one of shock, it’s not until Maze remarks how the theft tarnishes his reputation that he re-offers his assistance to a rightfully pissed Chloe. His evasiveness in answer questions about what’s in the container are only trumped by his desire to get it back and punish those who took it.
First stop on the punishment train is Frankie Costa. He runs the shipping warehouse but points at los Diablos, a biker gang who runs the docks, as an outfit of interest. When Chloe’s second attempt at finding out the contents of Lucifer container are rebuffed, she dismisses him from the case and taps Dan to look into Lucifer’s books for the club, following a hunch that Mr. Morningstar is into illegal goods. Dan’s investigation is short-lived and, after being KO’d by Maze, he finds himself naked in Chloe’s bed.
After Chloe’s dismissal, Lucifer stops by Dr. Linda. The good doctor continues to hone in on Lucifer’s issues. “Who are you trying to become?” she asks him, only to be answered by Lucifer’s staple humor. But when she asks Lucifer “who is the real you”, he becomes abrasive, lashing out at her before stepping out. Seconds later, Amenadiel shows up, offering his aid in solving the puzzle that is Lucifer Morningstar. She eventually takes him up on the offer and Amenadiel suggests she fully embrace the ‘Lucifer’ metaphor. In addition, he offers up more advice he warns, if used, Lucifer will not like.
Back at Chloe’s, Dan comes awake moments before his (estranged) wife and daughter come into the house. He tries hiding in Trixie’s room—“no boys allowed except Lucifer and Dad”—only to be subject to his daughter’s wily skills of negotiation. He returns to Lux, understandably pissed when Maze reveals her ulterior motive: if he and Chloe get back together, that means the good detective would be out of Lucifer’s life for good. His investigation though is short-lived; the books are clean, exonerating Lucifer of any illegal holdings, at least through Lux.
Re-partnered with Chloe after apologizing for his behavior, Lucifer and the detective hit los Diablos motorcycle club. They talk to Hank Cutter, the MC President whose desire to open a clothing line and go legit makes for an interesting conundrum. Based on his reaction, Chloe knows Cutter wasn’t involved with the theft but knows who’s behind it. They wait outside the club until Cutter’s drives away and follow him. He meets up with the hot-headed Renny who wastes no time in putting a bullet in Cutter.
While Chloe tends to the wounded Cutter, Lucifer trails after the fleeing Renny, eventually cornering the biker on top of an abandoned warehouse. It’s punishing time, with Lucifer stalking towards a scared Renny. “He didn’t tell me what was in the container,” Renny says. “But I looked. I saw them.” Lucifer reveals his true face and it drives Renny nearly mad and the biker flings himself off the roof. All’s not lost though as Chloe tells Lucifer that his container’s been found. She watches him open it to reveal…Russian dolls? Yep, just like he told her earlier, it’s a testament that he’ll never lie to Chloe. But, when he opens up a secret compartment to find that “they are gone”, it also shows that, while he may not lie, he doesn’t tell the whole truth.
The culmination of the case leads to another session with Dr. Linda where, on Amenadiel’s advice, she mentions Lucifer’s original name: Samael, the Lightbringer. Though she tries to remind him of his Father’s love for him, Lucifer only sees the pain his Fall has brought him and, for the first time this season, we finally get a peek behind the mask of confidence and nonchalance Lucifer has worn. He scorns Dr. Linda’s attempts to make him see God’s love for him, instead seeing himself as the scapegoat for human sin. “I have never made any one of them do anything. Never.” It’s a reiteration of a comment he made to Chloe earlier this season; but he’s not done yet. She calls his fate unfair but Lucifer raises it to being unjust. “For all eternity my name will be invoked to represent all of their depravity. That is the “gift” that my father gave me.”
Dr. Linda tries to get through to him that, as angels Fall, they can also rise. He must embrace who he is. “I can’t,” he says, his voice filled with despair. But she continues on until his usually cool façade crumbles and he shouts “Because they stole them from me!” What could possibly be so vital to Lucifer’s sense of self and his inability to Rise?
His wings.
Someone has taken Lucifer’s wings.
On Bent and Broken Wing
- Just when it seems Lucifer can’t get any better, we get “Favorite Son”. Several developments throughout culminating in the big reveal at the end. But before we get to the deeper theme of the episode, how cute is Trixie? Her early denial of cake thief-age, despite the evidence literally over her face, was a charming affair. It only gets better when, after discovering her dad in the house, uses some no-nonsense negotiations to get herself chocolate cake…for a year! You go girl.
- Staying with the Decker women, Chloe allows herself a moment of vulnerability with Lucifer. She tries conveying to him the seriousness of her fears and if it turns out he’s doing nefarious deeds, she’ll be tasked to arrest him. She is really unsettled by the idea, admitting that she really likes working with him. It takes him by surprise and leads to him promising never to lie to her. It’s another step in their unusual but strong and endearing relationship.
- With that said, the last two minutes were, to me, the best of the season. While many have fallen in love with the quippy one-liners and inappropriate humor, seeing Lucifer’s vulnerability and resentment was the highlight of his time on the show. Tom Ellis has been masterful in his performance and laying his soul bare, so to speak, adds an even greater perspective to the character. Will the breakthrough/moment of weakness help him become a greater version of himself or will he continue to remain behind the cross history has cursed him to bear?
