Lucifer is an odd show. It's an adaptation of a comic that completely changes its genre to a procedural crime drama. A strange choice, for sure, but this first season shows that it has a lot of potential.
Lucifer is about the titular angel escaping hell and running a club in Los Angeles, during which he meets a detective named Chloe Decker who he starts to solve cases with. At least in this season, Lucifer is basically a procedural crime drama, though it does have some running storylines throughout the season. There's Lucifer's brother Amenadiel who wants to bring him back to hell, and there's Chloe investigating the Palmetto case even if it puts her at odds with the entire station. Both storylines weave together halfway through the season when Amenadiel resurrects a cop involved in the case, but even then, one of these plots is far more interesting than the others. Amenadiel is an interesting character and strong antagonist for the season, and pretty much everything having to do with hell and the fantastical topics is really interesting. The more procedural elements, however, can be a bit rote at times, and the Palmetto case never really gripped me. It's not even that a show being procedural is bad, it's just odd that a show with such a fantastical premise settles for crimes that could easily be in any other show. I hope later seasons can put a bit more emphasis on the fantasy stuff because it's by far the most fascinating part of the series, and having Lucifer be a grounded procedural feels like a bit of a waste of potential.
Thankfully, even in the weaker elements, I did find myself really liking the characters. Obviously, the highlight is Lucifer himself. Tom Ellis does a fantastic job of making the character his own. He's just as charismatic and egotistical as you'd expect the devil to be, but the best moments are whenever he drops his guard and shows his vulnerability a bit. I also really liked Amenadiel, partly because he's pretty much the most fantastical character in the season, and partly because his banter and conflict with Lucifer is genuinely entertaining. The rest of the cast all gets chances to gain a bit more depth throughout the season as well, with characters I didn't love in the pilot (Dan and Linda in particular) winning me over by the finale. Lucifer's production values are also stellar for a TV show, with the soundtrack alone probably being incredibly expensive (unless Ellis happens to be performing the music himself). The action was particularly surprising. There isn't too much of it, but all the fight scenes in Lucifer are shot really clearly compared to many other series that just settle for fast-cutting-shaky-cam. A particular highlight was a Maze fight that was partially depicted through shadows on the wall.
In spite of the growing pains, there were a few particularly good episodes:
A Priest Walks Into A Bar: While I didn't love most of the "Cases Of The Week" this season, this was the main exception for how it was used to further Lucifer's development. This was an emotional rollercoaster of an episode, starting pretty funny as Lucifer tries to prove Father Frank is a criminal, then goes to wholesome as he befriends the priest, and ends on a tearjerker as Frank sacrifices himself and leaves Lucifer heartbroken. I also like the hints given about Lucifer's father, along with the fact that it took Lucifer meeting a father (priest) to start dealing with his actual father.
#TeamLucifer: This was just a nonstop train of suffering and betrayal for poor Lucifer. I really like the concept of Lucifer dealing with misguided satanists, and the episode does a good job of exploring how everyone seems to blame him for the evil in the world. The final few minutes are especially fantastic, from the final fight between Lucifer and Amenadiel and the gutpunch of Chloe falsely arresting Lucifer.
Take Me Back To Hell: With all its problems, Lucifer's first season ended on a fantastic note. Lucifer working with Amenadiel, Chloe working with Maze, and Malcolm finally being taken down for good. The action is great, the whole cast gets moments to shine, and all the setups in play like the feather, the dagger, and the coin are paid off. The twists are fantastic too, like Dan turning himself in, and the cliffhanger of Lucifer's mom escaping hell. This is how you do a finale!
Overall, this was a solid first season for Lucifer, with slick production, likable characters, and a strong ending. However, it suffers from relying too heavily on the crime drama aspect of the series when the fantastical aspects are far more interesting.
3/5 Stars
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