Lucifer season 6 binge recap: The devil says goodbye
In the beginning, there was a Fox procedural featuring the devil solving crimes in L.A. And behold, it was very good.
Six seasons and a new streaming service later, Lucifer comes to an end with a final ten episodes, and it remains a divine gift of a show. Let's recap!
Episode 1: "Nothing Ever Changes Around Here"
A truth-seeker and a wonder-chaser walk into a magicians' bar to spend their last night on Earth. And no, that's not a joke. It's just Chloe (Lauren German) and Lucifer (Tom Ellis) on a date.
Wonder-chaser Lucifer's gotten cold feet (cold wings?) about taking over as God, but after pushing his coronation a few times, he's now declaring this his last night in L.A. I'm as freaked out by his choice to spend it in the world's only private magicians' club as the truth-seeker when Lucifer calls her "Chloe" instead of "detective."
But first, callback alert! Although past seasons have kicked off with Mr. Said Out Bitch, our favorite criminal is happily settled in Heaven after dealing with guilt. So the show gives us a new unrepentant sinner: Officer Diggs, the motorcycle cop Lucifer bribed in the pilot. It turns out that Diggs has been happily dancing his way toward Hell with his bad behavior ever since, so here's a round of applause to the showrunners for closing that loop for us.
On to the magician's club to catch the final performance of Magnar the Magnificent! His act is cut short when his protégé dies performing a trick — sorry, an illusion — and in short order, Dan's friend Carol from the season 5 finale shows up to investigate, with Ella (Aimee Garcia) in tow. Naturally, she's delighted to be running into Chlucifer after six weeks.
Chloe's not about to stand by and watch an investigation happen, so she starts her own parallel inquiries, frustrating Carol to no end. Ella, meanwhile, unknowingly twists the knife in Lucifer's side by confiding that she's been praying a lot, but it feels like nobody's listening, which forces Lucifer to wrestle with the idea that God has to be ever-present for everyone, always.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Lauren German and Tom Ellis in 'Lucifer'
When it's revealed that the true murderer is Magnar's son, the case also drives home Lucifer's fear of stepping in for dear old Dad. "You are not worthy of your father's legacy," he bellows after Chloe manipulates the baddie into confessing his crimes.
For a moment, it looks like Chloe could be the murderer's next victim, but she's still holding on to Amenadiel's necklace, which gives her superhuman strength. Once Magnar's son is arrested, Lucifer's left to wonder how he can keep loving Chloe after he's forced to care about the rest of humanity.
Where better to get clarity than the special purgatory he's created for Dan (Kevin Alejandro)? The poor guy's been stuck for a thousand years in a badly lit version of his precinct, playing ping pong with the demon Belios, who's a truly terrible partner.
Dan begs Lucifer to become God and whisk him to Heaven, but Lucifer refuses on the grounds that it would destroy free will if he acted against Dan's subconscious wishes, where he clearly still harbors guilt that's keeping him from paradise.
After Lucifer leaves for Earth, thunder and lightning rattle the precinct, and we glimpse a pair of female legs on Hell's throne.
Stray feathers
When you think about it, it's clear why Lucifer admires magicians: they employ skill, cunning, and deception without overtly lying. That's been his MO for six seasons, after all.
No way did I forget about the rest of the cast! Over Satan's whiskers cocktails and deviled eggs, Linda deftly pokes at the cracks in Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and Eve's (Inbar Lavi) relationship until it becomes clear that neither of them truly wants to move to Hell. Instead, they profess their love and get engaged, with Maze crooning, "You're my Hell" to her fiancée. Then Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) breaks the news that he's joining the LAPD, which Maze can't wait to mock him for.
If you were spending your last night on Earth, where would you go and why would it never, ever be a private magician's club?
Episode 2: "Buckets of Baggage"
Thank Dad that Lucifer stuck around long enough to let Mr. Morningstar duet in a drag club.
This episode's an over-identification twofer as Lucifer navigates how to care about the seven billion humans who aren't Chloe, and Ella deals with her well-earned trust issues.
We open on the wreckage of Lucifer's apartment after he and superpowered Chloe romped all night long. Good for the lovebirds! Then Amenadiel arrives to chide Lucifer about not assuming the throne, and Chloe argues that he just needs a bit more time.
Amenadiel (rightly) points out that they just fought a war to put him on the throne, which sends Lucifer to Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris). In typical fashion, he interprets her advice badly, and it sends him on a quest to help a random human in order to prepare himself to care for the rest of the pack.
The human he chooses is Carol, who's been dorkily flirting with Ella over the 1992 Michelle Yeoh/ Jackie Chan flick Supercop. Hit with Lucifer's desire mojo, Carol confesses that he wants someone he can spend the rest of his life with. Lucifer's horrified to learn that he's been without sex for fifteen months and vows to help him.
Naturally, that entails propositioning all the suspects in this episode's murder investigation, despite Carol's pleas that he not. When Carol describes his perfect partner — great hugger, wearer of cute T-shirts — Lucifer sees what's up and makes him over into the bad boy of Ella's dreams.
Unfortunately, the leather jacket-and-sunglasses makeover goes over like a lead balloon with Ella, who sees this as evidence of Carol's deceitfulness and, well, she's already struggling with trust issues after dating a serial killer last season.
So she and Chloe swipe Carol's personnel files and find out he was an undercover vice cop for two years before going dark for a year. Then she and Lucifer break into his place and discover a bottle of scotch in a locked trunk with a note that says, "One day at a time." There's one secret uncovered, anyway.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Aimee Garcia on 'Lucifer'
But hey, let's talk about the murder of the episode. The victim is Fred, also known as drag queen Fiona Fierce, and suspicion soon falls on his protégé Brian, a.k.a. Busty Bazoongas. Half in and half out of drag, Brian/Busty delivers a knockout speech about the pressure on drag queens to have it all figured out, like some god-like figure. And although Brian/Busty struggle with self-esteem, they say queens like them know that to change the world, they need to realize that they're enough.
While following a lead, Carol's confronted by the killer: the victim's boyfriend, the drag club manager, who erroneously thought he was being cheated on thanks to his own trust issues.
Lucifer and Ella arrive in time for Lucifer to remind the killer (but really Ella) that just because someone hurt you doesn't mean someone new will do the same. Then Carol mouths "Supercop" at her, and they take the bad guy down Yeoh and Chan-style.
Afterward, Ella admits that she stole Carol's file and broke into his house. He, in turn, confides that he went to rehab during his dark year. With that out of the way, they go on an outstanding date to see Supercop, and afterward, when Ella shoots a quick prayer of thanks skyward, a frog falls from the heavens. RUH ROH, SCOOBY.
Things are happening in Hell, too. The mystery legs on the throne belong to an angel with razor wings, who gets wind that Dan almost succeeded in killing Lucifer. She makes him a deal: he shares what he knows, and she'll fly him back to Earth.
At first, Dan declines, but when the angel points out that Lucifer could've made that trip at any time, Dan's willing to deal. If this final season tarnishes Dan's personal growth, so help me…
In the final shot, Chloe and Lucifer cuddle in their snug bed and agree to take their time figuring out how to turn Lucifer into God, but something tells me the frogs won't want to wait.
Stray feathers
Consider this your warning, Lucifer: happy ending for Ella, or else.
Chloe and Maze have an epic sparring session in this episode that clearly points to the detective's struggles with her new role and new powers. But it also shows how much Maze has evolved when she recognizes that something's wrong and asks Chloe what's up.
The razor-winged angel? That's Brianna Hildebrand, a.k.a. Negasonic Teenage Warhead from the Deadpool movies, for those who like to watch actors float between the Marvel and DC comic universes.
Episode 3: "Yabba Dabba Do Me"
Who's ready for cartoon Lucifer?
Trick question; nobody's ever truly prepared for cartoon Lucifer.
As part of his "becoming God" plan, the devil decides to help somebody he hates: Jimmy Barnes, the first murderer he ever caught. Unfortunately, Barnes died after losing his mind when Lucifer revealed his devil face to him in the pilot.
Off to Hell Lucifer and Chloe go, with the latter clutching Amenadiel's necklace. (Side note: I have so much anxiety that she hasn't put it on a chain or something. Carrying it loose seems like an invitation to drop it or misplace it when she needs it the most.)
Chloe describes Lucifer's towering throne as lonely — she's not wrong — and then they step through a door into Jimmy's Hell loop. They're immediately transformed into cartoon versions of themselves, complete with a zany soundtrack and Ken-and-Barbie smoothness in their pants. Oh, and the exit disappears, taking Lucifer's powers with it. So they're stuck in Jimmy's broken loop.
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Time to deal with cartoon Jimmy, who's reliving his wedding day, facing down an over-the-top devil Lucifer. After engaging in a cartoonish brawl, Chloe suggests that Lucifer fix Jimmy's brain to get them out.
Lucifer knows his way around Hell and takes Jimmy deeper into his loop, which turns out to be a hilariously cliché '80s city street. We've got break dancers, aerobics fanatics, a DeLorean, and the first band Jimmy ever managed. The group fires him, and Lucifer, whose powers are back, hits Jimmy with the desire whammy.
That desire? The return of Jimmy's mother, who abandoned him in a cheap motel to pursue her own musical dreams. All little Jimmy had for company were the cartoons on the motel TV.
Lucifer's moved by Jimmy's pain, and although it's no excuse for his adult behavior, he takes pity on the child and halts the Hell loop so Jimmy can stay with his mother for eternity.
And hey presto, here's an important step toward becoming God. If Lucifer can grow to care about Jimmy, maybe he's ready to help the rest of humanity. But before they leave Hell, Chloe asks to see Dan, and that's when Lucifer realizes he's gone.
Yep, Dan's back on Earth as a ghost with the razor-wing angel. Thankfully, Dan had no intention of betraying Lucifer. Still, he's unable to warn him before the razor-angel gets the drop on Lucifer when he enters the penthouse. Then she shocks all of us by announcing that she's Lucifer's — wait for it! — daughter.
Stray feathers
OH NO, DR. LINDA. The best character on the show has a secret: she's writing a book called Sympathy for the Devil: My Time With Lucifer Morningstar. She spends this episode both hiding her notes and gently extracting rich details from the main players, and I'm already worried about how this reveal's going to go down.
Let's hear it for the callbacks in this episode. Lucifer declares Bones the perfect combination of procedure and banter, then scoffs at the idea of guyliner, which makes Chloe (and us) snicker. And I'll say it now: I miss the early-seasons guyliner.
We meet Amenadiel's training partner in this episode. The stern Officer Sonya Harris (Merrin Dungey) has a fierce reputation, but she explains that it's because she wants to make sure officers are there for the right reasons. And she walks the walk by not arresting Maze, who commits a crime to support Amenadiel on his first day. Instead, she takes her to a women's shelter for the help she needs.
On that note, anybody else slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see Maze's mind-bending, anti-elderly graffiti?
Episode 4: "Pin the Tail on the Baddie"
Lucifer, a dad? Inconceivable!
*pause so you can all appreciate the pun*
But seriously, Lucifer tells razor-angel that there's no way he could've had a child, then is annoyed when Ghost Dan helpfully points out that Amenadiel managed to procreate. The angel eventually pulls an "I never asked to be born" huff and storms off.
Once they're alone, Dan doesn't respond well to the news that Lucifer left him in purgatory on purpose, nor that his lingering guilt is still keeping him out of Heaven. It gets worse when Dan realizes that he can't interact with any of the people he loves because of his ghostliness.
Frustratingly, Lucifer decides to keep Chloe in the dark about his possible daughter and sets off to investigate solo. His only time on Earth in the '90s was an orgy in Miami, so Maze (who was also there, of course) helps him track down the possible baby mama. Of his 36 partners, four gave birth nine months later.
The first three are easy no's, leaving Lucifer to breathe, "Thank Me, I'm not that dad." All the women agree that he's not the sticking-around type. Offended, he declares that he's about to be the world's best dad to seven million people.
One of the women is eager for round two and drops her robe just when Chloe arrives to see what Lucifer's up to. She's displeased that he kept her in the dark, and they agree to track down the final woman together.
She turns out to be a Bostonian who became a rabbi following her transformative encounter with Lucifer. Also, she has a daughter, Mira, who ran away five years ago to solve the question of her paternity. Chloe's already struggling with jealousy, and it gets worse when Lucifer casually lets it spill that his daughter is also an angel and that Dan's back on Earth.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Tom Ellis on 'Lucifer'
Their investigations take them to an avocado commune, where they find young runaways being held captive. Enraged on behalf of the women, Lucifer doles out punishment to their captors while super-Chloe fighting by his side.
After the baddies are brought to justice, Lucifer tells one of the runaways to say a little prayer if she needs help in the future. Not gonna lie, I got a little thrill seeing Lucifer growing into this new godly role. I'm still not convinced it's the right one for him, but it's a delight watching him stretch to fill it.
In the end, he tracks down Mira's actual father, but Mira's just a human girl, not the razor-angel. He encourages Mira to reach out to her mother, and then Mira's dad sets him on the path to the truth: he knew Mira was his daughter the moment he looked into her eyes.
Flashback to Lucifer staring down at razor-angel and experiencing a similar bone-deep knowing. Too bad she's still in the wind.
Back in L.A., Dan's struggling to communicate. First, he visits Maze, who's in the middle of a clothes fitting. She doesn't hear him, so he bellows, "Everybody knows that LA is way too hot for leather!" on his way out the door. Ha!
And double ha! It turns out Maze actually could see Dan; she just liked messing with him, of course. He's also able to talk to Amenadiel, and they make amends for the fight they had just before his death.
But then he visits Chloe and sees her comforting Trixie, who's crying over his death, and he begs Lucifer to take him back to Hell so he won't have to watch his family grieve. Lucifer somberly informs him that because Dan is incorporeal, Lucifer couldn't carry him back even if he wanted to.
Oh, but that's not the last surprise of the episode. The razor-angel shows up at Chloe's apartment and rushes to hug her, calling her "Mom."
Stray feathers
Gotta give it to the showrunners. They've really mastered the art of the Netflix cliffhanger to get us to click the next episode.
Of note: Amenadiel's still wondering if Charlie might be able to become an angel, and the wings on Lucifer's daughter have renewed his hope.
I'm glad to see Chloe wondering how time works in Heaven and what's going to happen with Trixie because let me tell you, I share those questions. Wither poor Trixie in all of this?
Episode 5: "The Murder of Lucifer Morningstar"
Meet Rory, everyone! She's Chloe and Lucifer's time-traveling angel daughter, here to punish her father for being absent her whole life.
Gotta say, Chloe takes this news far better than I would've in her shoes. She and Lucifer both melt a little at the news that they have a daughter, but that's pretty much the last of the good feelings this episode.
Rory says she was going through something major in the future, and when Lucifer didn't even show up then, her rage led her to self-actualize into the past. Furthermore, she announces, Lucifer's going to disappear from an intersection in Van Nuys in three weeks. Future Chloe always refused to tell her why he left, and Rory's been living with that rage her whole life.
Lucifer insists that he would never have abandoned his child and jumps to the conclusion that someone must've murdered him with Azrael's blade. He plans to return the blade to Heaven for safekeeping, although Amenadiel's necklace will be deactivated once it's there. He doesn't spare a thought for what it would mean to Chloe to lose her super-strength, though.
Thinking quickly, Chloe suggests they solve his future murder, so off to Van Nuys they go. A dentist's office sits at the fateful intersection, and when the pair head in to investigate, they accidentally goad the receptionist into announcing that he's been sleeping with the dental hygienist. Unfortunately, he's married to the dentist, who kicks him out. Having lost his marriage, job, home, dog, and friends in 60 short seconds, he vows to kill Lucifer.
Oops.
Rory, meanwhile, stomps downstairs to Lux, where she messes with Maze and Amenadiel by pretending not to recognize them. But she's just teasing, having learned torture skills from Auntie Maze herself. Still, she's not about to give up the goods on what happens to anyone in the future. It's Time Travel 101, don't you know?
While Eve swoons over what a good mother Maze will be, Amenadiel realizes he didn't feel Rory's presence and starts to worry. He'd just assured Ella — who's convinced she's seeing signs of the apocalypse — that he'd know it if things were amiss.
He apologizes to Ella for dismissing her concerns, but she blows it off as an overreaction… until Amenadiel leaves and she unlocks an investigation board where she's started to put together the clues: Lucifer's the devil, Amenadiel's an angel, etc. As far as walls of crazy go, it's pretty basic, although her theories about Dan-the-frog (escaped pet, low-key biblical plague, pudding side effects) are pretty funny.
Back on the future murder, Lucifer suggests hightailing it out of the country for the next three weeks, but Chloe insists on sticking around to solve the case, which is a pretty perfect snapshot of their partnership.
They bring the dental receptionist back to the penthouse to make amends, but all he wants is his wife back. Impatient, Lucifer decides to give the man Azrael's blade to get the murder attempt over with, but the blade is missing.
Lucifer accuses Rory of stealing it, which means it's time for a family therapy session on Dr. Linda's couch. Hilariously, Rory announces that the only Linda Martin she knows is a convicted felon, although she's only kidding… probably.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Rachael Harris on 'Lucifer'
The session ends with Chloe blaming herself and Rory and Lucifer showcasing the same stubborn streak before Rory storms off.
Back at the penthouse, Chloe admits that she's the one who hid the blade. Lucifer finally gets a clue and realizes that Chloe doesn't want to give up on her super strength, so much so that she allowed him to think Rory might be his murderer. He reaches to take the blade from her, but Chloe fights back.
This turns into an all-out brawl that's honestly upsetting to watch. These two, who love each other so much, fight without holding back, and it ends with Chloe straddling Lucifer, blade to his chest. Thankfully she snaps out it, and Lucifer gently tells her that every human who touches it ends up in Stabbytown. Chloe admits that she'd lost control before she touched the blade.
And okay, the show kiiiiind of hinted at this before, but wow, Chloe's devolution happened fast. Then again, Lucifer was incredibly blasé about yanking her powers away, so no wonder she reacted badly.
It's Maze who comes through with the good advice, telling Lucifer that he can't fix Rory's past, but he can ask how he can help her now. Yes, Auntie Maze!
Finally, before the blade leaves Earth, Lucifer brings Dan to see Chloe while they can still interact. They reminisce about their past, and Chloe says she's felt powerless since he's been gone. Dan tells her that she doesn't need Amenadiel's necklace to be strong. With that, her powers slip away, and although she can't see or hear him anymore, she thanks him for giving her what she needed.
It's a downbeat ending to an episode that already carries emotional weight, but it's moving us closer to the action that's going to mark the end of the series.
Stray feathers
A daughter from the future is a brilliant ploy to give us hints about what becomes of our favorites. But seriously, Linda's not actually a future felon, right?
Ella's close to cracking the case! I can't wait to see what happens when she comes face to face with the full truth.
Are you Team Eve, requesting a spike- and moat-free wedding? Or like Maze, do you think nuptials need a little extra drama?
Episode 6: "A Lot Dirtier Than That"
This episode was inevitable. Amenadiel announced his intention to join the LAPD at the end of the previous season, and after the real-world calls for justice and reform in the summer of 2020 and beyond, his role as a Black man on the police force was always going to fall under the microscope. Like so many shows before it, Lucifer enters the conversation with the best of intentions, but unlike many of the shows that have attempted this storyline, it mostly centers the conversations around the experiences of two Black police officers.
Called to the scene of a murder of a young Black man named Kevin, Amenadiel is appalled to learn that the detective in charge is Reiben, the uniformed cop who pulled a gun on him and poor doomed Caleb Mayfield in season 4, episode 8. And Reiben hasn't changed his stripes post-promotion, dismissing the case as nothing more than a gang hit.
Training officer Harris tells Amenadiel not to rock the boat, but he immediately asks Ella to do a more thorough investigation of the scene. Although it's clear that she wants him to confide his angelic secret, Amenadiel's too distracted to notice.
He turns to Chloe next, and she offers to look into Reiben's history but says that the department usually gets promotions right. Ghost Dan also confesses that he never followed up on his complaint against Reiben and laments that he didn't spend more of his time pushing back against police racism. It's a familiar cycle of excuses, inaction, and apologies.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Kevin Alejandro and D.B. Woodside in 'Lucifer'
Amenadiel continues his investigation, getting compliments from the victim's neighbor for his community-centric policing, but Reiben calls him into a private meeting where he blames their first encounter on fear and adrenaline. He swears that's not who he is, then suggests that Kevin was murdered by his girlfriend, who had gang ties in high school.
Amenadiel blames himself for putting a target on an innocent Black woman, and Harris tells him that this is why she stays on the job, despite the stigma in their community: she's able to keep an eye on the bad actors they work with.
With her help, Amenadiel tracks down the girlfriend, Michaela, who's gone into hiding. But the real killer opens fire on them, and backup arrives as they scramble for cover. Unfortunately, Reiben controls the scene and orders the police to take down a bloody, terrified Michaela instead of the real killer.
Nobody listens to Amenadiel when he shouts that she's the victim and the killer is the white man right there who just tossed his gun. Unlike the scuffle with Caleb, this time, Amenadiel doesn't back down and instead puts his body, protected by a police uniform, between Reiben and the innocent woman. Reiben settles for arresting both Michaela and the killer.
At the precinct, Amenadiel tells Harris that he's not sure he can keep doing this, but she points out that his presence protected Michaela, who's been cleared thanks to his actions.
That's when Chloe shows up at the precinct to review Reiben's files, and there's Ghost Dan, too, looking on. They meet Amenadiel's gaze, and without speaking a word, it's clear that Amenadiel knows they'll never understand what it's like for him, in or out of uniform.
In the end, this episode is more of an indictment of the patterns and privileges inherent in policing than some other shows that have addressed the same topic (The Rookie, Brooklyn 99, Law & Order: SVU). However, it still offers no solutions and little comfort. Amenadiel's still there, as is Harris. But so is Reiben.
Stray feathers
Hey, I didn't mention Lucifer in that recap, did I? This was Amenadiel's episode, but Luci did try to make up for a lifetime of neglect by showering Rory with Christmas gifts and throwing an elaborate rager at Lux, where Auntie Maze has supplied plenty of hot ladies for her niece to ogle. There's even a drive in his beloved Stingray (which actually belongs to Rory in the future). None of it works, and when he sincerely and without his mojo asks what she desires, she tells him it's to be left alone. But at the end of the episode, he returns to the penthouse to find her singing and playing a guitar, and he joins her on the piano. They harmonize, and when the song ends, they exchange their first smiles.
How fun to see Rory talk about her big sis "T." It's also a relief to hear her assure Chloe that she's an amazing mom. At least the razor-angel had that growing up.
Let's hear it for the best bit of physical comedy in this episode: Ella groping the air over Amenadiel's head mid-hug, searching for a halo. Tell her already, y'all!
Episode 7: "My Best Fiend"
What wedding doesn't have a little drama? And what drama can't be fixed by popping a few demons into some freshly dead bodies?
The problems start for Maze and Eve when Adam — yes, the Adam, played to dirtbag perfection by Scott MacArthur — appears to bring Eve back home with him.
Eve hotly informs him that although she didn't get to choose her husband, she's freely choosing Maze to be her wife. So Adam heads to a counseling session with Dr. Linda and, upon learning she's the wedding officiant, kidnaps her to thwart the marriage.
When the brides-to-be apply pressure on him to reveal Linda's location, Eve realizes that Maze goaded Adam into meddling with the wedding because our favorite demon got scared after Eve offhandedly mentioned motherhood.
"I can't be the only one that believes in us," Eve sniffles, and just like that, the wedding's off.
A distraught Maze calls Lucifer for help. First up is dealing with Adam, who's been keeping Dr. Linda captive so she can help him sort out his toxic masculinity. Lucifer assures him that even the most primitive of men can evolve, just like the toughest of demons can soften. This prompts Maze to invite her demonic siblings to attend her nuptials, and although only a few actually show up, she's thrilled by their support.
Maze stages a big grovel outside of Eve's window and says that although she's terrified of turning into her own mother, she'll never stop trying to be better for Eve. And just like that, the wedding's back on!
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX Brianna Hildebrand and Tom Ellis in 'Lucifer'
Things aren't working so well for Lucifer, though. He tells Rory that his tailor will make them both wedding suits, but he misses their appointment when he gets busy helping Maze. In his defense, Rory said she wasn't going to show up. When she does anyway, she's crushed that her father's not there.
And now it's time for a wedding, on the Walt Disney Concert Hall grounds, no less! It's a small ceremony, and if Maze's side smells like decomposing flesh, well, nobody's perfect.
Maze is walked down the aisle by Linda and looks smashing in a demonic black gown. Eve, in flowing ivory, turns down a kind-of-reformed Adam's offer to give her away, having embraced her identity as an independent woman. Dr. Linda crushes the ceremony, and the women exchange the vows they wrote. It's perfect, and if your eyes were dry through the whole thing, you're made of stone.
At the reception, things fall apart quickly. Ghost Dan is frustrated at not being able to interact with anyone, and Rory's mind is blown to learn from a currently-younger-than-her Trixie that Lucifer was around for her game nights. She angrily tells her parents that she arrived in the past from Chloe's deathbed (don't worry; since she's part angel, she's older than she looks).
Then Ella gets drunk and reads them all for filth. She grabs the DJ's mic to shout that Lucifer's the devil, Amenadiel's an angel, Maze is a demon, Eve is Eve, and zombies are real. She chides them all for keeping her, the only true believer, in the dark when she could've helped them.
When everyone looks at her blankly, she asks, "Wait, are you guys telling me that you don't know the world is ending?"
Stray feathers
Hire Linda for all your wedding needs, friends! And while you're at it, ask Carol to be your date. He's really the perfect man.
Poor Rory, having to duck questions about the future from literally everyone. At least she's firm about the time-travel rules.
Chloe career update: She's decided to return to the LAPD to help Amenadiel clean up what ails the police force. But after seeing Rory's wings, she's worried that the razors are her way of self-actualizing protection after Chloe's work put them in danger. Bless him, Amenadiel gently reminds Chloe that as a white woman, she has the privilege of being able to decide if she wants to work for justice and police reform, or nah. Well played, show. And good job getting Chloe back into the precinct.
Episode 8: "Save the Devil, Save the World"
A clip show, but make it significant. That's the assignment, and this episode pulls it off.
A still-angry Ella runs down her evidence that the world is ending and chides her friends for sidelining the scientist.
One thing they all agree on is that it's time for Lucifer to become God. But his wings won't cooperate. Thanks, self-manifestation! So Amenadiel heads to Heaven to check things out, wowing Ella with her first visible proof of angels. Her delighted awe is spectacular.
Lucifer heads right over to Dr. Linda, who's passed out after an epic night with the wedding sommelier (get it, Linda!), and she pulls out her book manuscript to help them sort it all out.
Instead of being angry, Lucifer's delighted to be the focus of a doorstop of a novel. (Honestly, I should've known.) He summons the Scooby gang to scour the book for clues, including Maze in some wild wedding-night gear.
At this point, we learn that Linda's book is an interpretation of the events of the past six seasons, mostly seen through Lucifer's eyes. This gives us delightfully slanted retellings of events with a perfect Chloe, an incompetent Dan, a bubbly Ella, etc.
But it's not just Lucifer. Maze and Dan compare notes on that time they killed a guy, and although the dialogue is identical, they each cast themselves as the aggressor and the other as the scaredy-cat. It's such a treat to see these characters bounce their ideas about each other around, skewing things in their own favor the whole time.
But after a while, everyone realizes that the manuscript gets things wrong about all of them, and Linda mutters that this is her Hell loop: her friends complaining about her biggest professional accomplishment.
Then there's Ella, who's still wounded by everyone's silence. Lucifer compliments the way she accepted the divine without proof, but she shoots back that nobody helped when she lost her faith after Charlotte's death. Score one for Ms. Lopez.
Chloe's also struggling as the book reminds her of all the times Lucifer walked out after every emotional breakthrough. To cut through the riot of memories, Lucifer demands that Linda show him the last chapter. When she hesitates, he realizes that she doesn't think he can become God. Linda hates that this means her five years of therapy have failed.
But Lucifer proves he's vulnerable around Rory by letting her shoot him, and when she does, Linda realizes he can self-actualize vulnerability. That means his conscious and subconscious minds are acting in concert. His wings don't control him; he controls them.
In other words, he's ready to be God — except now he realizes that deep down, he's never wanted that. Furthermore, he takes it well when Chloe tells him she's going back to the LAPD, and he assures Linda that she helped him put others first, repair broken relationships, even connect with the love of his life.
Rory also makes a breakthrough; after reading Linda's book, she sees how much Lucifer risked to protect Chloe, and now she believes Lucifer loves her too. She also assures Chloe that the razor wings are a reminder of how tough her mother is.
Ella and Carol take a jump forward in their relationship when he tells her that he trusts her and doesn't need her to share secrets that aren't hers. They kiss, and it's adorable. Also, Maze offers to torture Dan until he figures out what guilt is keeping him out of Heaven. What a good friend!
Aaaand the episode concludes with Amenadiel flapping in to say that he knows why the world is ending.
Stray feathers
Imagine being Ella, and on top of everything else, learning that your imaginary childhood friend Ray-Ray is actually Azrael the Angel of Death. She held it together well in this episode, all things considered.
Anybody else think for a scary moment that Linda had spent the previous night, um, picking apples with Adam? Bullet dodged there!
Fun fact of the episode: Dan's parents are sponsoring his improv troupe, the Danimal Crackers, in his honor.
At first I thought Linda burning the pages of her book was merely symbolic since she'd have a copy on her hard drive somewhere, but since Rory's apparently reading it for the first time, does this means it's never published?
Episode 9: "Goodbye, Lucifer"
Tears are jerked in the penultimate episode of Lucifer as the Devil makes peace with the people he loves and prepares for the battle of fate versus free will.
The day of Lucifer's disappearance has arrived, and he and Chloe agree that he'll just stay away from 10th and Swanson, the last place he's seen. Then Chloe leaves to run errands, and girl, wut? Stay with your man! Splitting up is bananas.
Lucifer uses the solo time to build a panic room in the penthouse, but Rory arrives to drop some time-travel theory. Since she's still in the past, it means she's still mad at him in the future. They're locked in a time loop, and it's unchangeable. So why not enjoy his last day?
Father and daughter live it up in L.A.: pastries, Sumo-suit fighting, jewelry buying, karaoke, water balloon fights. He even introduces her to Bones, but mostly he just soaks in time with her. It's daddy-daughter adorableness.
Chloe's frustrated, though. She's just confirmed that she's pregnant with Rory, and she's angry that Lucifer isn't choosing to stay with them, despite Rory's time-loop explanation.
They part ways again, and Lucifer seeks out Dr. Linda. She advises him that no one is promised tomorrow, so he should make sure the people he loves know how he feels about them. Before he heads out to do just that, he takes the time to tell her that she's one of the most wonderful friends the devil could ever have. This is the first of many tear-producing moments in the episode.
Lucifer's next stop is Ella. He apologizes for not making sure she knew the real truth, and she forgives him. Then he presents her with a pencil stamped with the words "Miss Lopez STEM Initiative." Yep, he set up a foundation in her name to encourage young women to follow in her footsteps. I'm crying again. It's fine.
JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX
At Lux, Lucifer tells Amenadiel that he's his favorite brother and signs Lux over to him. But Amenadiel has bigger things on his mind. Thanks to a heart-to-heart with Chloe, he's decided to become God. Chloe will be his point person to do the work in the LAPD, and he'll require his siblings to spend time working at Lux to get a feel for humanity.
The sibling thing's a problem, you see. In God's absence, they've been answering prayers willy-nilly, and it's causing the end-of-the-world chaos that Ella was tracking. Off Amena-god goes to reign them in… but at this point, it's too late. Lucifer's refusal to take up the mantle of God has set a chain of events into motion that will propel everything that's to come.
Lucifer doesn't know this yet as he makes his goodbyes to Maze, who's freaked when he tries to hug her. "Since when do we do that?" she asks. Unlike everyone else so far, she immediately realizes that this is a true goodbye and fights back the tears as Lucifer calls her his best friend and apologizes for always putting his needs above hers.
She says that her new life is all thanks to him and hands him her demon blade so he'll always have a piece of her with him. Then she hops on her motorcycle to pick up Eve for their honeymoon, heart heavy that this may have been her final conversation with Lucifer.
The next encounter Lucifer has is with Le Mec, the man who murdered Dan. Remember those prayer-answering angels? Dude-bro Jophiel answers a prayer from a death-row inmate to see his pet lion one more time. And that pet lion causes so much chaos in the prison that Le Mec's able to escape.
Thankfully, Dan was there trying to figure out if Le Mec is the source of his guilt, and he followed Le Mec to a convenience store, helpless to stop him… or so he thought. But in a desperate attempt to keep Le Mec from murdering the clerk, Dan full-on Swayzes his way into Le Mec's body.
AHHHAHAHA, now I understand why Rob Benedict was cast for this role! He always struck me as an odd choice to play an unrepentant French mercenary, but his sweaty charm is perfect for channeling a freaked-out Dan trying to convince Lucifer not to murder him on sight. Lucifer laughs at this ridiculous predicament, then sobers immediately and apologizes for all of Dan's recent misfortunes, assuring him that he belongs in Heaven.
Although Dan's currently stuck in Le Mec's body, Lucifer encourages him to think about who he'd like to spend his final hours with. So Le Dan finds Trixie at summer camp. She kicks the crap out of him when he tries to hug her, but he convinces her that he's a good friend of her father's.
Is this still stranger danger for Trixie? Yes. But the view switches to Dan himself speaking to his daughter (more shades of Patrick Swayze in Ghost), and he tells her that he regrets not being the father Trixie deserved.
She rejects that immediately, insisting that her father was the best person ever. She absolves him of his guilt over his mistakes, and as she talks, a glowing white light falls on Dan's face.
Guilt gone, he's lifted to Heaven, and it's such a lovely ending for him. Of course, I wish he was still alive, just like I'm concerned that those camp counselors let Trixie talk to a stranger for as long as she did. But it's the best possible conclusion for this storyline.
Except, of course, that it leaves Le Mec free again.
Lucifer has one set of goodbyes left, so he collects his family and takes them to the beach. While Chloe soaks up the sun, he and Rory talk. He assures her that his disappearance has nothing to do with her, promising that he'll do everything he can to stay.
She believes him, but she also doesn't want to have to watch him leave, so she flies away, leaving Lucifer and Chloe together on a sunny beach.
As the day draws to a close, they step into the panic room at the penthouse, but she refuses to listen to his farewell speech to her. They sway to "Unchained Melody" until the dreaded day is over, and they emerge, elated, into the next morning.
And that's when Lucifer gets a call from Le Mec using Rory's phone. He's holding her hostage at 10th and Swanson.
Stray feathers
I adore the neat bit of storytelling that has Lucifer's refusal to take up the Godly mantle being the cause of the lion allowing Le Mec to escape and capture Rory. A butterfly flaps its wings, and Lucifer Morningstar now faces an uncertain future.
Did… did Lucifer toss a lemon, rind and all, into that smoothie blender? Talk about demonic.
Of course, L.A. County bans hoverboards. Killjoys. But more importantly, the Bones spinoff, More Bones, stars Booth and Brennan's cyborg daughter.
One more Lucifer episode left, ever. Here we go…
Episode 10: "Partners 'til the End"
Let go of your guilt.
If we take anything away from the final season of Lucifer, perhaps it should be that forgiving ourselves and striving to be better is what matters the most. Well, that and the hedonistic joy of a wall of scotch.
Chloe and Lucifer waste no time storming the building where Le Mec's holding Rory, who's horrified that she ended up being the reason her father disappears.
Le Mec and his people knock Rory out with tranquilizers and truss her up by her wings to harvest her feathers. Because guess what? They can harm Lucifer.
Chloe and Lucifer fight their way to their daughter, including a dramatic slow-motion flight attack on Lucifer's part as he rips through henchmen with Maze's blade. Then Chloe's stabbed in the chest, but since Rory exists, she clearly survives this wound. So she kisses Lucifer and begs him to save Rory. Now, this is a good reason to split up.
Le Mec is going to all this trouble because he's been in mental anguish ever since Lucifer whispered to him at the end of season 5. In a gambit to save his family, Lucifer tells Le Mec that what he truly desires is to see his daughter grow up. The perfect torture, therefore, is to kill him while Rory and Chloe go on with their lives.
Lucifer kneels in supplication, prepared for the death blow, but Rory rips her wings free and stops Le Mec. Then her fury takes over, and she starts to manifest a devil face. Lucifer pleads with her not to commit murder because there's no going back from that. "Please be better than me," he begs.
She listens and lets Le Mec go, her devil face receding. They hug, and Lucifer's overwhelmed that she called him "dad." But they clearly forgot the rules of horror movies because Le Mec isn't dead, of course. He pops up for one more murder attempt, but Chloe steps into the room and shoots him.
Le Mec is impaled by the pile of Rory feathers, and as he dies, he begs Lucifer to show him the light Dan saw when he left his body. But all Le Mec sees is darkness.
Between Le Mec's reveal and Trixie's camp calling to say that she spoke with a stranger earlier (at least the counselors got that part right!), they realize that Dan made it into Heaven, just like Mr. Said Out Bitch's Hell loop.
And that's how Lucifer finds his calling. As his father said, Hell no longer needs a keeper. It needs a healer. And just as Lucifer was able to pull Rory back from the brink by understanding her guilt and anger, he can do the same with the lost souls in Hell.
This, Rory realizes, is why Lucifer leaves. Saving the lost souls in Hell is a full-time job, the most important one he could do. And since her childhood is just a blip in their eternal existence, she makes him swear that he won't change a thing. She's not angry anymore, and she wants him to start his work immediately. And that's when a white light appears to take her back to her time.
After she's gone, Lucifer and Chloe agree to honor their daughter's wishes, although it tears them both up to part. They wistfully recreate their first meeting at Lux, and Chloe assures him that she'll always be with him. As they kiss, we cut to Lucifer on the throne in Hell with Chloe on his lap, and then they're back at Lux, lightening the mood by playing "Heart and Soul" on the piano.
After that, we check in on all our favorites.
There's Amenadiel on his own throne in the Silver City, rocking a white version of his familiar sleeveless robes and smiling beatifically as his siblings all kneel.
There's Ella and Carol greeting girls involved in the Ms. Lopez foundation. Chloe arrives in the precinct to start her work with Harris, and before long, a visibly pregnant Chloe's reviewing paperwork as a now-plainclothes Harris leads a briefing.
There's Dan in Heaven with Charlotte. She's having waffles, and he gets his beloved Pudding Plus.
There's Dr. Linda celebrating a birthday with Charlie, who sprouts wings to the great delight of Amenadiel.
There's Maze and Eve delightedly chasing bounties and kissing up a storm.
There's newborn Rory coming home from the hospital to be greeted by her whole found family.
And then years later, there's Chloe on her deathbed, surrounded by photos of all the people she loves. "Look who's back," she weakly greets Rory, who's in the clothes she was wearing when she disappeared from our time.
Rory asks Chloe how she kept the truth to herself all these years, and Chloe assures her that she wouldn't change a thing. As Chloe dies, Rory says she'll see her on the other side.
In a white-lit afterlife, Amenadiel greets Chloe and offers to show her to her home. She takes his hand, wearing Lucifer's ring, and follows him.
Her destination is a recreation of Dr. Linda's office in Hell, where Lucifer's leading a session with Linda's ex-husband Reese, from his standout episode "Off the Record"! Le Mec's there too, working toward salvation in his own way.
Lucifer assures them all that if the devil can be redeemed, anyone can. He talks to them about fate versus free will, and how to find true meaning in life. Then there's a knock on the door, and he opens it to see Chloe.
"Hello, detective," he says.
She replies, "I thought you could use a partner."
Stray feathers
Well there you have it. After six seasons, a cancellation, and a move to Netflix, we got the whole story of Lucifer and the people he loves. Was it a perfect ending? Well no, but this has always been a perfectly imperfect show. I'm not quite sure why Rory was so insistent that soul-saving in Hell had to be a full-time job during her formative years, and I hated to think of Chloe walking through the rest of her earthly life without her love beside her. But as Rory said, this was a speck of time in their celestial existences. And it is a neat way to tie up the stories and let Lucifer go to work in a truly clever way.
We the survivors of the Supernatural finale would like to thank you for not putting Lauren German in old-age makeup for her deathbed scene.
What did you think of this final stretch of episodes? Wasn't Rory the perfect addition to the storyline? Aren't you glad we got to see Eve and Maze tie the knot? Didn't you cry like a baby when Dan smiled at Charlotte in Heaven? Do you wish we could get a spinoff of Linda parenting her angel child? Hit the comments and sound off!
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