Another day, another murder investigation for Detective Chloe and everyone’s favorite fallen, Lucifer. But murder isn’t the only thing on the docket as Chloe’s mother, Penelope Decker, makes her long-awaited appearance on the show.
The murderee is Chef Javier who, according to Lucifer, one of the creators of Mexican cuisines out there. Based on the evidence, Chef Javier fell victim to poison after having breakfast at his restaurant. Everyone’s a suspect and, during the interview process, they discover just how harsh Javier was with his restaurant family but they all say the same thing: “he was like a father to me”. When Javier’s son, Junior, is interviewed, Lucifer connects with Junior’s strife with his father and projects his own feelings on God onto the situation—nothing new for the fallen angel. When Junior admits that he doesn’t get the restaurant as an inheritance, Chloe and Lucifer interview Ann Martin, second only to Javier and set to inherit the restaurant. She harps on Javier as his mentor and admits—thanks to Lucifer’s unique talents—that she wants to surpass him. The moment Chloe gets word on the poison—mercury mixed with heroin—Ann becomes the second victim to be poisoned.
So where does that leave them? Well, Detective Dan comes up with a former hostess to the restaurant, Naomi Austin, who’s had her own issues with heroin. Even more curious is the argument Naomi had with Javier and Ann just days before the poisoning. The pair head over to Naomi’s where Lucifer’s handiness with opening doors comes into pay, getting them into Naomi’s. A quick look around confirms that Junior was staying with the suspect as well as a stash of heroin hidden behind a painting. Once Naomi arrives, they get the full story. Naomi and Junior were an item, and Javier didn’t approve of their previous union. She wanted to make peace with Javier and admits that Junior wanted to meet with his dad alone, to make things right. Lucifer sees this as proof of Junior’s guilt—again a bit of transference going on with Lucifer and this particular case. While Chloe burns rubber with unexpected haste, Lucifer is waiting for Junior back at the apartment. The short conversation is enough to convince Lucifer that Junior’s innocent and, what better way to get Chloe on board than to invite the suspect over for dinner?
Now, before we get to dinner, let’s talk about the real star of the show—one who hasn’t been on the show these last few weeks—little miss Trixie. The emergency Chloe ditches Lucifer for is the call from the babysitter that momma Penny is set on taking her granddaughter to an audition with her. The idea hits too close to him for Chloe and how she felt her mother forced her into showbiz. The ensuing argument has Trixie calling an Uber ride out of the house and to Lux where the little girl is looking for her buddy Lucifer. Instead she finds a similarly downtrodden Maze. Surprisingly the two begin to bond just before Chloe arrives. She tells her mom “I made a new friend”, a prospect that, after her discussion with Dr. Linda, perks Maze up a bit.
After wrangling up Trixie, Chloe heads home to find Lucifer and Junior in the kitchen preparing dinner. Of course, Lucifer finds a way to dive-bomb the entire dinner. Watching the arguments bandied about the table, Junior reminisces about his own fights with Javier. That admission along with the lab confirming the heroin that poisoned Javier didn’t match the one found in Naomi’s apartment. It doesn’t take long before they piece together the truth: Ann Martin was behind it. They catch her at the restaurant before she can get rid of the heroin and she all but admits that the poison was never meant for Javier, but his son. She sets the place on fire but Lucifer carries Chloe through the flames. When they catch Junior admiring the burned remains, they tell him that Javier had been ready to leave him the business. Maybe he’ll be able to rebuild.
The final stretch is full of tidbits for the future. Maze reaches out to Dr. Linda for a possible friendship, Chloe and her mother try to patch things up, and Detective Dan confronts Malcolm on the plan to kill Lucifer. That last one doesn’t work out well for Dan and his relationship with Chloe ends up as a potential casualty when “Dan” breaks off their relationship via text.
Hurt and ticked at the rejection, a drunk Chloe shows up at Lucifer’s to throw herself at the Prince of Hell. He surprisingly says no to her advances, an action that miffs him and makes Chloe see her actions as something Penny Decker would do. Lucifer offers Chloe a comforting shoulder…only to have her fall asleep. Lucifer’s “Oh God” is apropos on to the end of his day.
In a parent’s shadow:
- From the beginning (quite literally), we’ve known the issue Lucifer’s had with his “dear old Dad”. And almost every episode has shown his ability—or is it self-involvement?—to relate to others with their own parental issues. But to see Chloe struggle with the shadow cast by her own mother was a welcome treat. Even at the end, with Chloe ready to throw herself at Luc, she recognized the irony of it all; not wanting to be anything like Penelope but still channeling, albeit unintentionally, her mother’s behavior. Lucifer’s words that everyone doesn’t become their parent may have fallen on sleepy ears but it’s a very true statement. In the right circumstances, like parent, like child is not a bad thing. But there are instances for some people that being like their parents is the worst thing that could happen. Lucifer’s own thoughts resonate in the latter and he’ll go down fighting to prevent it from happening.
- For all the lamentations we get with Lucifer, it was a welcome sight to have Mazikeen’s point of view examined. Like she tells Dr. Linda, “I’m stuck in a place I don’t belong and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon…” Though a very interesting character, we haven’t been given the opportunity to delve into Mazikeen’s frame of mind. It may be late in the game now, from a season one perspective, but at least we’re touching on the subject.
- Finally, Detective Dan shows us where he draws the line as it pertains to Malcolm’s pursuit to kill Lucifer. Not only does he get beaten by a guy in handcuffs but Malcolm also decides to throw a spanner in the works of Chloe and Dan’s burgeoning rekindling of their relationship. If he wasn’t on the list of bad guys before, he’s definitely there now.
