“Lucifer, if you don’t stop pulling yourself in opposite directions, you’re going to come undone.”
It’s been months since Lucifer has made it “official” with Eve and, in that time, the pair has explored all the various avenues of pleasure. Additionally, going back on his initial sentiments to quit his partnership with Chloe and the LAPD, Lucifer is now back to work, living the best of his life. But it becomes clear that, despite his surface joy in cracking cases and embracing his hedonistic past lifestyle, something’s missing and the question becomes whether or not Eve is the person to usher Lucifer to become his best self?
Possibly more than any murder case to date, Chloe and Lucifer’s investigation into Gary Van Blunt’s death may be the single more impactful procedural to Lucifer’s character. Though it mirrors the episode’s start with a bit of levity—Lucifer wearing his ass-less slacks to the crime scene—and extends past that when Lucifer, Ella, and Chloe visiting a nudist camp, it becomes a far darker affair.
After slowly peeling away the layers, the perp is identified as Julian McCaffrey, son to the late Willow McCaffrey (founder of the nudist colony) and Jacob Tierning, a shipping magnate with very deep pockets. Julian initially comes across as nothing more than an entitled punk but when it’s revealed that he’s doing his fair share of dabbling in human trafficking for the sex trade, he quickly graduates to one of the lowest forms of life. He even piles onto that distinction when he shoots and kills Rookie Joan, a new officer on the force that Lucifer shows a good rapport with early on. Julian gets his just desserts but not in the way we’re used to seeing. Whereas so many criminals have fallen to Lucifer’s devil stare or just the long arm of the law, Julian gets a back-breaking lesson in how what you sow, you shall also reap.
From Lucifer’s perspective, “Orgy Pants to Work” is a fascinatingly deep study into the duality someone’s personal and professional life can have on one’s identity. Over the years, Lucifer had seemed to strike a delicate but solid balance between his hedonistic lifestyle and the serious nature of his work with Chloe and the LAPD. But with Eve’s return, he’s fallen back into the devil he once was and that overindulgence has started to bleed into his professional life. Even more specific is the restraint he’d learned thanks to being around Chloe, is gone. Thus Lucifer has become two very different sides of the same coin and, as Linda lets him know that this behavior of denying half of himself every second of the day is not a sustainable way of life. Sooner or later, it will rip him apart and God help those in the way when that happens.
The few months that have passed have given her the chance to adjust to his true identity, so she’s back to seeing him just as Lucifer. Though she only mentions it to Lucifer when he’s asleep during a stakeout, Chloe also sees this bifurcation of her partner’s life. Yes, there’s a bit of jealousy at knowing he and Eve have become so close, but Chloe’s overarching concerns are for Lucifer’s well-being.
Their conversation at the pier, prior to catching Julian in the act, is an extraordinary summation of where they are in their lives. Lucifer wants nothing more than to be genuine and his strive towards being a better man is hindered by him questioning if he’s never been that man before, can it truly be real. Chloe tries quelling those fears within her partner, mentioning that, if it “feels right, then I think you know it’s real”. It’s a powerful sentiment, especially when thinking of the culture of social media and validation through “likes”, maybe even more so for the one who, since the beginning, has been the Face of Evil.
What could have been the point where Lucifer reeled in a bit of his off-the-wall behavior, unfortunately, finds him more passionately embracing his inner devil. When he tracks down Julian—who escapes after killing Rookie Joan—Lucifer provides a most visceral punishment for the bastard, breaking his back but not before re-introducing him to the viewers under Eve’s watchful and encouraging eye.
“You asked what I am. I’m the devil. Yes… this feels just right.”
Post Script
- It’s funny to think this but, between Eve and Chloe, Lucifer has both a devil and an angel on his shoulder. Where Eve appeals to his more decadent impulses, Chloe’s compassion and caring nature look to cultivate his more noble(ish) sides. And while Eve means well in wanting Lucifer to be who he’s supposed to be, that inevitably leads to him embracing not just the self-indulgent lifestyle but also his darkness. No one should lose any sleep over what he did to Julian McCaffrey but it’s not that scum who will bear the weight of Lucifer’s actions…instead Lucifer (and, in some form, Chloe) will have to deal with the fallout.
- As much as the episode was about Lucifer coming to terms with two sides of his life, it was also about family. One of those, the introduction of Remiel and her relationship with her brother Amenadiel, looks as if it’ll be an important aspect of the angel baby plotline, especially considering Remiel’s conviction to take the baby from Linda and up to Heaven. The interaction between these two is one of mutual respect and it comes to the point where Amenadiel’s past beliefs on humanity has solidified within Remiel where she’s not as easily swayed by his new lease on what it means to be human.
- But it’s Maze’s heartfelt arc that elevates her above the other supporting characters. As she sees Linda coming closer to motherhood, Maze can’t help but look back at her own childhood and the heartache she suffered at the hands of a lacking mother in Lilith. As the episode progresses, she feels more and more alone, not having the same relationship she used to with Lucifer and seemingly being pushed out of the Linda/Amenadial/angel baby circle. It’s not until Linda reminds her in no uncertain terms that she’s family and will always be family, that this badass demon bounty hunter finally feels as if she truly belongs.
