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Time is of the essence in Lucifer’s winter finale as, after last week’s tussle with the vile (and now dead) Jason Carlyle, designer drug poisoner that fancied himself this world’s Jigsaw, Chloe was poisoned without her knowledge. So now Team Lucifer has to race against the clock to find the antidote before Chloe’s time is up.

Despite their sibling rivalry, Amenadiel and Lucifer are brothers to the end of the line.
Despite their sibling rivalry, Amenadiel and Lucifer are brothers to the end of the line.

First thing’s first, they gotta play for some leads. It starts off with Burt the trafficker. After some alone time with Lucifer he gives up Dave Maddox, another major player in the drug trade. Unfortunately, by this time, Chloe’s relegated to the hospital so it’s just Lucifer and Dan. While they do get a list of ingredients they are missing the key inclusion: the actually formula and the only person that has that is rightfully rotting in his own Hell.

So how do you save the life of the woman you love when the only resource is suffering in Hell? Well, to quote Lucifer, “today’s a good day to die”.

Yes, Lucifer is going to die and return to the Kingdom whose throne he abdicated in order to save the woman he loves, despite the most recent discovery that Chloe’s presence in his life was a manipulation by his Father, aka the Man Upstairs, bka God. With the time crunch in effect, circumstances sure as Hell make strange bedfellows as Team Lucifer divvies up the responsibilities: Dan and Ella are tasked with collecting the ingredients needed for the antidote, Amenadiel must guard Chloe as Lucifer, Maze, and Dr. Linda (yes, the good doctor is dragged along to her own dismay) have to put Lucifer down long enough for him to navigate through Hell, find Carlyle and rip the antidote formula from him. Easy peasy, right?

It's no surprise that Jason Carlyle is NOT enjoying his time in Hell.
It’s no surprise that Jason Carlyle is NOT enjoying his time in Hell.

Well, not quite. You see, it turns out that, in Hell (when you’re not being tortured by a sadistic yet beautiful Mazikeen) some are forced to relive moments of guilt over and over and over again. For Jason Carlyle it’s the accident where he let the college Uber driver burn. So when Lucifer finds the good professor, Carlyle immediately gives up the formula. But just because you were once Lord of a Domain doesn’t mean you’re immune to its effects and this is one of the areas “A Good Day to Die” shines. It’s been a few months now since Lucifer had to kill his brother Uriel and, other than a few mentions, Uriel’s presence has been nothing more than background noise. Until now.

When confronted with Hell, Lucifer’s own guilt at Uriel’s death pulls him into that ever-repeating moment when Azrael’s blade ended Uriel’s existence. But for the first time we find that Uriel did not go quietly. Instead, he whispered “The peace is here,” a clue to something much bigger though, in Lucifer’s current state, any effort to discern its meaning is fruitless. And despite Maze and Dr. Linda’s tireless efforts to resuscitate Lucifer’s body on Earth, trapped in a loop of guilt overrides everything else.

Enter Momma Charlotte.

Though the Mother of Creation initially balks at helping Lucifer in his reckless plan, Charlotte shows that, like most mothers, she’ll find a way to show up in time for her kids. And that’s why, after facing her own guilt and being forcibly removed from Hell, and saving Chloe, that Lucifer’s confrontation with Charlotte at the end is so heartbreaking. Brushing off her attempts at reconciliation, Lucifer lays his soul bare, greater than any time in the show’s short history (with the possible exception of when he raged at his wings being stolen). “You’re as bad as He is,” he tells her, “worse maybe. At least He doesn’t pretend to love me.” Ruler of Hell or no, it’s difficult not to empathize with Lucifer’s pain from such a dysfunctional family. At times, I felt that the personification of such supernatural  entities seemed forced, as if the writers had to oversaturate the script to remind us that, despite Lucifer and the others being entities of unimaginable powers, they had the same issues as us dainty humans. Well, there is no forcing things here, nor is Lucifer’s ultimate decision to leave.

Yes folks, Lucifer’s gone. Fed up with being a pawn in his parents’ war against each other and the reminder that Uriel’s death was at his hands, the Morningstar has disappeared, without a word, not even to the woman he was ready to give his heart to.

Lucifer is done and who knows when we’ll see him again…

(Actually we do…May 1st).

Until then, we can only guess what his return will have in store for his friends and family.

Lucifer: “A Good Day to Die” –4/5

Post Script

  • Darkness and distortion. A crowded labyrinth of endless possibilities…ultimately leading to your worst failure. In the world of Lucifer, this is the vision of Hell we are given. There are no screams of other sufferers (at least in the wing we glimpsed) only you, alone to relive the guilt that eats away at you. Over. And over. And over again. A unique perspective that can break down even the strongest of spirits as, often times, our guilt is the noose ‘round our necks and even the Morningstar cannot escape it.
  • Inadequacy could be labeled as a cousin of guilt and it’s something that Amenadiel has harbored since losing himself and Falling. His short conversation with Trixie—where the little sweetheart proclaims that, despite his doubts, she thinks he’s good—may have been the strength he needed towards the end. Watching the flash between Amenadiel as the immovable object at the same time Lucifer dragged Charlotte from the visions of Uriel hit home that, regardless of their origins, this was a family in every sense of the word. Their love, their anger, their guilt, and dysfunction reminded us that family isn’t always pretty.
  • I cannot imagine the pit in Chloe’s stomach after she reached Lux only to find her partner gone. Sure, we know Lucifer will be back but, in the show’s timeline, how long will he be gone and how will Chloe respond to his return? Sure, the easy way out would be to tell her the truth but, considering his vulnerabilities around her, how would it do so…
  • Finally, Uriel’s cryptic words: was it a clue on getting back into Heaven or finding God? Either way we’ll find out when Lucifer returns. Only 89 days until we find out…