Lucifer had been undergoing a steady climb for its first two seasons, slowly ironing out all of its flaws and living up to its potential. Season 3, however, completely reverses all of that progress, resulting in a regressive and drawn-out season with some high points but a lot of low points as well.
The main storyline of Season 3 was incredibly uneven, with just as many good points as there were bad. The first half of the season involves a mystery about Lucifer trying to find the "Sinnerman" who gave him his wings back. While the payoff is great, the mystery was dragged for twelve episodes, while also not being addressed in about half of them. Eventually, we learn that the one responsible is the biblical Cain, who took the form of Chloe's new police chief, Pierce. Once again, this storyline has potential. I like the stretch of episodes where Lucifer tries to remove Pierce's immortality and kill him. However, that storyline eventually devolves into a silly love triangle between him, Lucifer, and Chloe which is, once again, padded out for half of the season. Look, I've never been one to complain about "filler episodes", but I really don't think Cain's storyline could be sustained over an entire 24-episode-long season, and it shows. We got a flashback episode, an episode focused on a one-off character, and plenty of dull cases of the week. (side note: Lucifer's cases of the week could be more interesting if they were fantasy-driven like Buffy's monsters or The Flash's metahumans, but the fact that they're average crimes is why I'm so bored with them). Thankfully, the final two episodes manage to be a fantastic end to the season that actually changes the status quo for once, if only it wasn't so late.
The character arcs are also pretty hit or miss this time around as well. Lucifer and Chloe's relationship has completely lost me. Their "Will They Won't They" got annoying last season, but I just don't even care anymore this season. Once Pierce entered the fray creating a love triangle, it all just became frustrating melodrama for me. It doesn't help that Pierce is just not an interesting character. He was briefly cool when he wanted to find a way to die, but I've mostly found him dull more often than not. Maze probably fared the worst of the bunch, completely going back on her character development last season and turning into a complete brat. She was one of my favorite characters, but when she forced Linda and Amenadiel to break up, I completely lost any sympathy towards her. It's not all bad, though. Charlotte Richards was a serious highlight for her arc about dealing with her possession last season and trying to become a better person, Ella and Dan are still as likable as ever, and I actually really liked seeing Linda and Amenadiel together while it lasted. It's just a shame that, for most of this season, I generally preferred watching the side characters rather than the main cast.
Despite my misgivings with Season 3, its best episodes were some of the best in the whole show:
Off The Record: Given how drawn-out this season is, you'd think I wouldn't like such an inconsequential episode. However, Off The Record did the one thing this season struggled to do: take risks. Reese is a fleshed-out and well-acted character, and the sudden shift to a really dark tone in the second half is fantastic. I also really liked the twist that this was all a hell loop, which ties the episode together, explains its idiosyncrasies, and indirectly shows us more of hell, a location that should appear far more often.
Quintessential Deckerstar: This penultimate episode was so good, I couldn't believe I was still watching Season 3. The show finally cut the BS and got Lucifer and Chloe together, in a fantastic manner to boot. I also liked seeing how Amenadiel got his powers back, and the implication that the loss of powers comes down to self-actualization. Pierce actually feels like a genuinely threatening antagonist, and shows it when he kills Charlotte, a heartbreaking death that completes her character arc and solidifies her as the best thing this season.
A Devil Of My Word: The finale that was so well-received, it managed to get renewed for three more seasons. This is a fantastic ending as easily the show's best episode to date. Everyone gets a chance to deal with the grief from Charlotte's death, and the cat-and-mouse game to prove Pierce as the murderer is a ton of fun and gives the whole cast something to do. Lucifer tearing through mooks with his wings was super badass, and finally, Chloe learns the truth about Lucifer! It's about damn time...
Overall, Lucifer's third season was really rough. It took a storyline with potential and stretched it out to the point where it became boring, messed up quite a few of the characters, and doubles down on all of Season 2's worst problems. While it had some really high points like the ending, Charlotte's arc, and Lucifer trying to kill Pierce, this was by far the worst season yet.
2/5 Stars
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