After six years of adventures in the City of Angels (quite literally in this case), our favourite devil finally returned home, and Lucifer came to an end.
Six seasons of hunting criminals, will-they-won’t-they romance, familial struggles, and the therapy sessions that aided in it all, which wrapped up with a mostly happy and satisfying ending.
I do have a criticism or two, but those didn’t stop me from enjoying the season twice in the week following its release.
(Took me quite a bit longer to articulate my thoughts on it with this post, though.)
SPOILER WARNING
As the title states, this is a spoiler review. Spoilers up ahead.
You have been double warned.
From the beginning (of the end)
The way that Lucifer season six (S06) built to its conclusion was, perhaps, one of my favourite aspects of it. I thought it laid the groundwork of the endings to storylines nicely.
While the ending wasn’t telegraphed, hints here and there made it possible (and fun) to theorise about where characters and the story were going to end up. In particular, I greatly anticipated the endings that would meet Chloe and Lucifer.
When it comes to the title character himself, I started the season with at least an inkling that the road apparently ahead of him, wasn’t going to be the one he followed.
After winning the war for Heaven against his brother Michael last season, the beginning of S06 found Lucifer about to ascend and become God 2.0. It was an intriguing idea; the Devil getting to sit on the very throne that he was cast out of heaven for coveting.
But I wasn’t too tied to it, much as I enjoyed watching Lucifer beat out Michael and get shown some respect by his other siblings. So, it was easy for me to consider Lucifer not becoming God when the plot started to lean that way – which was pretty immediately once the season began.
First, there was Lucifer’s reluctance to lose his sense of wonder, then the revelation that he had already delayed his coronation once, followed by more delays as the season progressed due to either conscious or unconscious decisions. This included an entire episode which Lucifer spent, very belatedly, trying to care about the whole population of people he was about to start watching over.
With all that evidence mounting up, by the time Lucifer stated outright that becoming God isn’t his “calling”, I wasn’t surprised. The calling which he did discover – being Hell’s healer – felt far more in line with who he has become throughout his journey. His realisation also made me quite happy because it kind of paid off on a theory I’ve had since I saw Mr Said Out Bitch (Lee Garner) in Heaven.
In Lucifer, as in the Christian faith, being made Hell’s steward was Lucifer’s punishment for rebelling against his father, God. However, since God was introduced in the series and I got to see his relationship with Lucifer, I’ve theorised that the punishment was, at least in part, designed to teach Lucifer that anyone can be redeemed – even the Devil himself. That explanation isn’t given in the show, nor have I seen it mentioned elsewhere, but the headcanon works quite well, in my opinion.
The season played out similarly for Chloe, with her discovering what she was meant to do after a brief detour along a different path. Also like Lucifer, the season provides evidence along the way of that which, for me, reinforced thinking that began in S05.
Last season, even as I watched Chloe announce that she was retiring from the force, it felt like the wrong move for her. I couldn’t imagine Chloe being happy being anything but a detective. So when S06 started and Chloe immediately found her investigating a murder, it was just confirmation of my earlier thought and a sign of things to come.
Soon after that, Chloe encourages and joins Ella’s recon mission to find out more about Carol and that was further validation to me.
From there, there were the increasingly obvious effects of Amenadiel’s necklace confounding a lot of Chloe’s decisions. But backed up by the detecting she found herself doing preceding that, I think it was telling that she continued to find herself involved in more investigations.
As early as episode one (E01), Lucifer said “Chloe, you are a truth seeker. That’s what made you a great detective”. He highlighted that being a detective fulfilled a fundamental part of who Chloe is. So, come the end of the season, it was nice to see her return to that work. And, even after her rise to lieutenant, she likely continued to do what she always had as a detective; seek truth, and justice.
Nobody understands better than me how earthly things can feel small. I mean, I was a warrior angel fighting for the Silver City, and now I’m training to be a beat cop, okay?
But you want to know what I’ve learned? No problem is too small. Whatever good deed you do in the world, whether it’s helping someone on your block or, I don’t know, throwing some elaborate dinner party for your friends, you are just as much of a hero as you are fighting a war for the thron eof Heaven. Every act matters.
Amenadiel, Lucifer (S06E01)
I also wanted to mention Amenadiel here, though I admit that I spent much less time theorising where he would find himself come season’s end. Primarily because he’d already discounted himself from the one position I might have otherwise imagined him in – being God 2.0.
Amenadiel’s decision to not take the throne aside, he really was the best candidate for it. His sibling’s sure thought so, and so did Chloe, who gave what I thought was an important push for him to accept his calling when she said: “You know, I always thought it was strange that you didn’t want to become God. I mean, you’re responsible, you’re kind, compassionate. You’re the most wonderful father…I just can’t think of another angel that I would trust with making the world a— a better place for our children.”
If it hadn’t been for Amenadiel’s initial, and seemingly final, rejection of the role, it might have been more obvious to me where his story might head. Rewatching S06, much like I did for Chloe and Lucifer the first time around, I did spot indicators of the direction he was going. The first of which, also like Chloe and Lucifer, was in the first episode of the season; the speech he gave Linda on how every act matters.
In that one speech, he showed how far he’s come from the Angel who came down from Heaven but continued to look down on humanity. Much like Lucifer, the series saw him grow into his calling. Now, as a being that better understands humanity and can appreciate it more as a result, he makes a great candidate for God. Because, those are pretty important traits to have in the person that’s responsible for watching over humans, right? One could argue that they might even make him better suited to it than his father.
When it came to most of the other characters, I just enjoyed watching how things played out, without too much thought. Excluding, maybe, Dan – who I anticipated would end up in Heaven, though I didn’t guess the how. Even without the theorising aspect of my viewing experience, it was good to see how all of the show’s characters made their way to their ever afters.
Though I’ll admit I wasn’t necessarily happy with every aspect of some of their endings.
The problem with time travel
Where S06 fell a little short for me was the time travel aspect.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked Rory. I liked her character, and I liked how she interacted with all the others throughout S06 and fit into the Lucifer family. I especially enjoyed watching her relationship with Lucifer develop, difficult as it sometimes was, possibly because of how hard-earned their eventual understanding was. It was an appreciated emotional journey if a little predictable.
Even going back to the moment that Rory was introduced, when her legs appeared at the end of E01, I was excited about a new character coming in and interested to see how she would impact the story.
That excitement wavered, however, when it was revealed that she was from the future. I remember very clearly thinking “oh great. Time travel,” as the final moments of E04 played out on screen.
My immediate reaction wasn’t to do with the time travel itself because it is an interesting story device. But, it’s also a device that I know can be difficult to execute well, especially in a show where it’s not already established.
And I think my concerns were proven warranted, come the final episode.
Rory’s jump into the past was used to set up a lot of intrigue around Lucifer’s disappearance and the consequences of it, only to deliver an unsatisfying conclusion.
In the end, Lucifer goes back to Hell accepting that he’ll miss Rory’s “life” and experience a very long, undetermined amount of time without Chloe, the love of his life. Meanwhile, she’s left on Earth, to be a working single mother to two daughters. And their daughter grows up suffering her father’s absence, without any idea as to why for a very long time. And all this for what? So that Lucifer can one day save Rory from becoming like him and, as a result, find his calling?
I just don’t buy it.
Firstly, because I find it hard to believe that everyone involved could become so quickly tied to the idea that Rory travelling through time was the only possible way for Lucifer to discover his calling. Secondly, because Lucifer likely wouldn’t have needed to save Rory from her anger if he’d never left.
Add to that how my mind still boggles when I try to figure out what came first – Lucifer going back to Hell or Rory’s time travel – and I think it’s understandable why I find it difficult to accept.
That said, I did like that Lucifer returned to Hell. It provided a nice symmetry to his story, him going back for selfless purposes after having selfishly abandoned his post. I just wish the reasoning behind it had been stronger and more believable, especially given the sacrifice and sadness that Lucifer’s leaving requires and leads to.
Rory dismisses the time they lose together as just a “blip” in their “eternal existence”, and maybe she’s right. Maybe I’m just failing to think like a being that knows they have eternity ahead of them. If I could, I might not still be floating between acceptance and mild indignation about the time travel storyline.
At least I can comfort myself with the idea that Lucifer may have secretly visited Chloe on Earth and watched over Rory from afar. But, given how awestruck Lucifer looked when Chloe finally joins him in Hell, that’s sometimes hard for me to believe.
Still perfect, in a way
Despite my criticisms, I still think Lucifer S06 was great. Not least because there was a time when it seemed like the show wouldn’t get a “proper” ending at all. The closure this season offered was much appreciated. But also, with its heart and the silliness that helped balance the more emotional aspects of the show, it was another great season of Lucifer – a show I love – with all the elements I love about it.
It had Chloe and Lucifer antics (some, novelly, in cartoon form); Amenadiel being the concerned older brother; Dan being the loveable comic relief; Maze being a badass with a heart; Linda being everyone’s therapist; Elle being sweet with an edge; detective work; daddy issues; romantic struggles; touching moments; musical numbers and more. Quintessential Lucifer.
And, as the cliché goes, I laughed, and I cried. The latter happened increasingly as the ending drew closer. Because how could Lucifer’s goodbyes to his family and friends and his acknowledgements of how important they all are to him, not pull at my heartstrings?
It culminated in, as I’ve already mentioned, a mostly satisfying end for characters I have followed for years.
When you spend hours over years watching a show, it’s hard not to just want happy endings for the characters you’ve come to love. And Lucifer gave me that – mostly. (There goes that word again.) It was a bittersweet ending, but bitter most of all simply because it was an ending.
On the bright side, it was an ending that I’ve proven I could rewatch. Given that I still struggle to rewatch any episodes of Game of Thrones – because of its ending – I know that’s not to be overlooked. Hopefully, that means that, in future, when I’m missing the show, I can come back and enjoy episodes, arcs, seasons, maybe, all over again.
In that sense, I guess, I would say S06 was perfect. A perfect end, for a Hell of a show.
Amandah with an 'h' 