In order to evolve, every show needs a turning point. It’s that moment when our protagonist faces something beyond his or her means to properly deal with in the immediate future. It may vary from genre, but one of the more tried and true methods for a character to reach that boundary, that breaking point, if you will, is death. It may be a death in which our hero is rendered powerless to stop—you Walking Dead fans know what I mean about that one. Or, as we see in this week’s Lucifer, one perpetrated by our hero’s own hand. Yes, things are about to change but first…
We flashback a few moments before Chloe’s accident from last week. It wasn’t a stretch to believe it went beyond coincidence and, as we watch the mysterious figure orchestrate a domino of events leading to the crash, our fears are confirmed. Uriel, younger brother to Lucifer and Amenadiel, is here to collect dear, sweet mum (Charlotte) and take her back to Hell, as God commanded. But Lucifer’s not ready to give in, sending in Amenadiel, the elder brother and whom Uriel feared, to broker the younger angel’s return to heaven, sans mommy dearest. It doesn’t end well.
Pausing on the family drama a bit, we have the case-of-the-week. Former action star Wesley Cabot has been murdered and it’s up to Chloe and Lucifer to find the killer. They’re led, in a roundabout way, to Kimo (played by Mark Dacascos), Wesley’s former co-star turned BIGGER action hero turned enemy. Or so it seems until they bring Kimo in. Turns out his wife, Jamie Lee, is having an affair with his business manager to rob Kimo (as well as Wesley) blind. Not much new material except a few great scenes where Lucifer and Dan aren’t at each other’s throats. Turns out that cheesy movies can unite the most antagonistic of people. Chloe’s reactions as the two men in her life give preview to what a bromance between the two would look like, is the levity for what is otherwise a pretty serious episode.
But getting back to the game changing events, “Weaponizer” is about family, though none like we could ever imagine. It’s funny that the strongest aspect of the episode was, to me, at first, a weak link. While the primary way to have people care about characters whose motives or powers are beyond our capacity to understand is to humanize them, the constant parallel of portraying the ‘First Family of the Cosmos’ as individuals having the same problems as us humans, the approach has at times been a bit too heavy handed. This negative aspect is never clearer than when Charlotte and Lucifer chat about Uriel, the ‘runt’ of the Heavenly litter. In truth, the conversation left me a bit disappointed as it seemed too contrived, too pedestrian as to its framing of celestial beings.
And yet that same humanization works brilliantly when Lucifer and Uriel face off and Lucifer has to make the choice between saving Chloe’s life (and his mother’s) or erasing his brother from existence. Prior to the face-off, Lucifer rages against God’s absence, questioning how anyone can know what He wants, Uriel included. The latter comes clean as Lucifer faces him, admitting that he wishes to end his mother in order to prevent God from forgiving her. To Uriel, she is an anathema and will ruin everything were she to find her way back to Heaven. Though Lucifer doesn’t believe God would forgive her betrayal, he still fights for her and, in the midst of battle where Uriel becomes distracted, Lucifer plunges Azrael’s blade (which Uriel ‘borrowed’) into Uriel, ending him. No Heaven. No Hell. Only nothing.
“He was my brother,” Lucifer says to an unsympathetic Maze (more on her in a bit) after doing the deed. But it’s when he’s in Charlotte’s presence that Lucifer’s pain is laid bare and we see that nothing will be the same.
Post Script
“What have I done?”
Lucifer’s only words to his mother after her returns from his duel with Uriel is filled with pain, guilt, and regret. Listen closely and the words of the background song, ‘Whirlwind of Rubbish’, tells us what we already know: for Lucifer, “the old life is over”. Where he goes now, how he comes to terms with his actions brings with it enough gravitas that I foresee it weighing heavily on Lucifer throughout the remainder of the season.
But we aren’t privy to solely Lucifer’s (and Charlotte’s) pain. Amenadiel himself has lost everything that it means to be an angel. “It’s time that I face the truth, brother. I’ve…Fallen,” he admits to Lucifer and, it seems, to himself for the first time. Where does he go now? He’s a Fallen Angel, his powers gone. Will he be able to cope with such a monumental loss or will he do anything he can to become what he once was? It’s a question that, like the appearance of Azrael’s blade, opens us up to a greater potential in tapping into more of the show’s mythology, something that has yet to be truly explored.
Finally, Chloe’s words as she talks down Kimo from doing something that would irrevocably change his life, can be reflected by the story arcs of all our primary characters. “We can’t control what happens to us. Only how it affects us and the choices we make.” As I’ve said, five episodes into season two and we’re looking at a change. And no matter how much fun I have watching Lucifer, if it wishes to become more than it is, it’s time for us to delve deeper, to get a stronger view at our titular hero’s pain and resentment being abandoned by his Father. We’ve been given glimpses of how deep those scars have burrowed in Lucifer’s psyche, but a complete unmasking may be more than even the Lightbringer himself is ready to bring to light.
‘Lucifer: “Weaponizer” — 4.5/5 pitchforks
