That smirk, though. As expected, Tricia Helfer fit in perfectly as Lucifer's mother. This packed script that was filled with Lucifer's brand of juvenile humour (not a criticism, see my previous recap) also made time to address Lucifer's mummy issues.
First off, according to Mum, Lucifer's Father did not send him to tell, she did. After Lucifer's rebellion, his Father was quite angry and wanted him destroyed. To save his life, Mum persuaded his Father to send him to hell instead.
Was this story true? We don't know at this point. Mum's smirk could be because she told a believable lie. It could also be because she managed to get one son on her side simply by telling the truth. It was hilarious, though, how Lucifer's Mum was now in a stunning human body. Lucifer spent years sleeping with every available beautiful human he had time for. Lucifer was perfectly fine with taking his clothes off in public, but when his mother did the same, whilst in the body of defense lawyer Charlotte Richards, he claimed he was traumatised for eternity. There was always this line, this barrier between himself and everyone else, that Lucifer kept in his quest to treat every day on earth as a party. It was not so easy to do that when his mother, the goddess of all creation, looked like the humans who peopled his club every night.
The Mum that Lucifer remembered was a volatile celestial being who was not particularly fond of humans. It was why he was convinced that his mother was behind the murders in the hotel room where she woke up as Charlotte. It turned out, however, that Mum had not murdered anyone lately. Charlotte had been working with an informant to bring down a drug cartel with the help of the FBI. A jealous work colleague tried to make it appear as though Charlotte, the informant, and the unfortunate hotel maid, were killed by a cartel hitman.
Like the best Lucifer episodes this early in its run, the case of the week meshed smoothly with the ongoing Lucifer family drama. When Lucifer started suspecting his mother of multiple human murders, he ended up trying to protect her when he thought a drug cartel was after her Charlotte body. Would Lucifer's protective instinct extend to wanting to protect his mother from his Father?
Whilst Lucifer had his hands full with Mum, Amenadiel struggled alone with the loss of his power. Linda threw the 'karma' word at him when she saw he was still at his fake office. Linda was right; he did not have to use her. He made a choice. Amenadiel later apologised to Linda, which she accepted. It turned out that his time slowing power was not the only thing he lost. His angel wings were falling off, too.
Amenadiel's fall just as Lucifer was enjoying his time dispensing justice and punishment (under the careful eye of Chloe) was one of the most compelling aspects of the first season. The things often associated with the devil -- underhanded tactics, the willingness to murder, lack of care for the casualties of a war -- these were things Amenadiel engaged upon as he tried to bring Lucifer back to hell. He wanted to do his duty, and in the process lost the nobility that previously set him apart from his brother. Lucifer was quite vocal about giving in to desire; Amenadiel gave in to desperation. It was fitting that the show was directly addressing the consequences of Amenadiel's season one choices. It was also a good way to keep D.B. Woodside around. After all, if Amenadiel could no longer fly to the Silver City, where would he go?
For all the issues addressed in this episode, kudos to the writers for keeping a light tone throughout. That montage of Mum fleeting from one body to another at the beginning of the episode was particularly well done. Lucifer has this careful balance of a case of the week mystery comedy with family drama and celestial happenings. Even as it culls through the pain of Lucifer, Amenadiel, even Maze, it doesn't forget to have fun, which makes it such a breeze to watch.
Strays
♕ 'Supreme hindquarters'. I want to live in the mind of a Lucifer writer for one day.
♕ Mum looked pretty concerned that Lucifer no longer had his wings.
♕ Maze made it clear that she no longer worked for Lucifer, but she was happy enough to babysit Mum. In hell, Maze could not break Mum; Maze thought it was because she did not have a physical body. Even in her fragile human form, however, Mum still managed to escape Maze.
♕ Maze told Mum Lucifer made a deal with his Father to take her back to hell.
♕ Mum totally noted how Lucifer was looking at Chloe.
♕ Aw, Mum made Lucifer mac and cheese.
♕ Lucifer really had a massive issue about the devil's reputation; that shift in Tom Ellis's voice was filled with emotion.
Director: Louis Milito
Writer: Ildy Modrovich
Original Air Date: October 3, 2016
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