Lucifer (Season 5)

Season 4 was easily the best Lucifer season to date, and while this season isn't quite as tight, it continues the momentum and justifies that the shift to Netflix was a good idea.

Season 5 has a lot of great things going for it. The main storyline about Lucifer's rivalry with his twin brother Michael is fantastic, mostly because he's the most outwardly antagonistic villain we've had in Lucifer to date. Tom Ellis does a great job of making Michael feel squirmy and hatable. And once God shows up, this season becomes even better! The decision to have President David Palmer play God was a stroke of genius, and getting to finally see the culmination of all the family drama in the series thus far was fantastic. Some of the subplots were also great too. Dan learning about Lucifer's true nature is heartbreaking, as is Ella learning her boyfriend is a serial murderer. Eve's brief return is great and her relationship with Maze is adorable, and I really liked seeing Amenadiel have to deal with learning his kid is a mortal. The season's pacing is also really brisk, never lingering on storylines for too long and drawing them out, showing how much the series has grown past Season 3. Season 5a did feel like more of a buildup and can seem a bit directionless since Michael hadn't revealed his goal of taking over God's position, but Season 5b was absolutely bonkers, especially once we get to meet every single angel, and I just loved it!

However, I do have some pretty big issues with Season 5 as well that prevents it from really surpassing Season 4 for me. While It's great that Lucifer and Chloe finally get together, they still have so many problems throughout the season that it's gotten completely ridiculous. First, Chloe learns she's a gift from God, then they can't have sex, then Lucifer can't say "I love you", and then I stopped caring. Some of the cliffhangers also got some pretty lame copouts this season, like hell suddenly not needing a warden anymore, and Lucifer suddenly getting his mojo back after the titular episode. Finally, Maze's character arc this season was incredibly frustrating. While her abandonment issues at least make her empathetic compared to Season 3, it still doesn't excuse Maze from turning coat again. There were also some episodes I found weaker than usual like the poorly-acted noir parody episode, and the incredibly uncomfortable pranking Dan episode. Seriously, can't Dan just get a break for once?

Still, overall I liked this season, and there were a lot of strong episodes:

Spoiler Alert: After the slow buildup that was Season 5a, all of the tensions between the characters come to an explosive head that's stuffed to the brim with twists and cliffhangers. Charlie is mortal! Pete is the Whisper Killer! Amenadiel froze time! Maze switched sides again! And biggest of all, God finally makes his first appearance. This is a massive and fast-paced midseason finale that also manages to shove in one of the coolest fights in the series (that one in the frozen precinct).

Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam: I went into this episode fully expecting to despise it. Not only is it a musical episode, but one that couldn't even write its own songs. However, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Sure, most of the cast can't sing, but it seems like they were having a great time, and some of the performances kinda slapped (Dan singing "Hell" especially surprised me). The musical aspect was at least fun and entertaining, the script was easily one of the funniest in the series, and the emotional hook with Lucifer and his father was still really compelling. 

Is This Really How It's Going To End?: This episode was just painful. The first half was fairly standard (if to a fault), but Dan's death completely changed the trajectory and tone of the episode. I like that it wasn't saved for the final scene like most death scenes in TV, rather the entire second half of the episode was focused on the characters dealing with his death, the heartbreaking reveal that he went to hell, and Lucifer declaring why he wants to become God. Easily the show's heaviest episode.

A Chance At A Happy Ending: As a final battle, this episode was kinda lackluster. You can tell COVID took its toll with the open empty location, large stretches of nothing happening, and the fact that we don't even get to see most of the fighting. However, on an emotional level, this finale works great. Lucifer saving Chloe from heaven, Maze and Eve starting to date again, Michael losing his wings, Lucifer becoming god, it's a fantastic end to the main conflict of the whole show, and left me wondering just how Season 6 would follow it up.

Overall, Season 5 was a really good season, if a bit uneven. The main God/Michael storyline was fantastic, and some of the subplots were too, but the season had a bit of a slow start and some character arcs just weren't as strong as they should have been.

Season 5a: 3/5

Season 5b: 4/5

4/5 Stars