The quick buildup to the short yet impactful friendship between Lucifer and Father Frank Lawrence was by the book writing, down to the strippers as nuns in Lux. Yet it worked. The irony of the devil finding his first friend in a priest gave us some heart warming scenes without losing the show's signature irreverence.
Lucifer was feeling lonely, according to Dr. Linda. Maze still worked at Lux, yet Lucifer could barely get himself to talk to her. Chloe was still Lucifer's partner, but Chloe's mind was on the kiss that happened between her and Dan. Lucifer had been trying to fill the void by endless partying, but it was not working.
When Father Lawrence went to Lucifer to ask for a favour, Lucifer turned him down on principle. Yet Lucifer still wanted to investigate him because he was certain the priest was hiding something. What Lucifer found was a thoroughly decent man who believed, just before he died, that he was put on Lucifer's path for a reason.
A huge part of what made the unlikely screen friendship work was the light yet sincere touch Colman Domingo brought to his performance, and his chemistry with Tom Ellis. Lucifer looked genuinely happy during their piano duet. Father Lawrence was at peace with his life and his beliefs, and some of that peace soothed Lucifer at a time when he felt adrift.
Would Lucifer have accepted Chloe's offer of friendship had Father Lawrence not shown him how nice it was to have one? Father Lawrence opened a part of Lucifer he did not know he had, and when Chloe arrived, just to keep him company, he was ready to accept her. From Chloe's point of view, this was the first time she has ever seen Lucifer having fun with someone he was not trying to sleep with, get information from, or torture.
'What does it take to please you?' Lucifer yelled at his Father after Father Lawrence's death. Lucifer was not the only one struggling with this question. Amenadiel has done things that strayed from the path of righteousness in his quest to return Lucifer to hell. This episode finally revealed why Amenadiel brought Malcolm back from death. Amenadiel wanted Malcolm to get an untraceable gun and kill Lucifer.
Lucifer's death was a solution that almost immediately occurred to Amenadiel after Lucifer told him of his inexplicable mortality. Yet waiting for Lucifer to get shot whilst he worked with the police was wildly different from dragging a soul from hell, bringing him back to earth, and commanding him to murder. Given how twitchy Malcolm was, the gun he showed Amenadiel likely had complications he kept to himself. After all, why would a corrupt cop need to have another cop (Dan) steal a gun from evidence when he could easily get a gun anywhere else?
Though Malcolm and Father Lawrence did not share a single scene, the differences in how they viewed death was still notable. Malcolm knew that death meant hell, and he would do anything to prevent that. Inside Lux, with scantily clad dancers around him, a man mocking his faith next to him, Father Lawrence had his eyes closed. There was such peace on his face one could only dream of. He liked the music, he told Lucifer. He had lived a life that allowed him to enjoy it. When death came, all he did was come home.
Strays
♕ Lucifer: 'My demon tends the bar.'
♕ Case of the week: A suspected drug dealer, Lenny Arietta, was found dead at the youth centre where he worked. Father Lawrence became a suspect because he and Arietta got into a fist fight just before the drug dealer died. Father Lawrence claimed that Arietta had been trying to drag young Connor into the drug trade. It turned out that another drug dealer nicknamed the Spider, Mr. Doyle, also a youth counselor, took over Arietta's business. Doyle tried to get Connor to shoot Father Lawrence. When the boy refused, Doyle tried to shoot Connor. Father Lawrence died protecting Connor.
♕ Father Lawrence used to be a traveling musician, with Connor's father. A car accident happened ten years ago that killed Connor's parents and Father Lawrence's daughter. He became a priest afterwards.
♕ Dan was only sort of corrupt; he 'looked the other way until he couldn't'. That night in Palmetto, Malcolm was going to shoot Chloe because, as Chloe suspected, Malcolm saw her hiding. Dan shot Malcolm and the drug dealers before Malcolm could shoot Chloe.
♕ Malcolm was in hell for 30 seconds.
♕ Malcolm manoeuvred to have Dan assigned to him as his partner.
Director: David Frazee
Writer: Chris Rafferty
Original Air Date: March 21, 2016