LUCIFER SEASON 4 REVIEW: Hail to The King Of L.A. and all of his glorious subjects…

When Lucifer premiered in 2016, viewers were immediately smitten with both its high-concept premise—the Sandman comics’ King of Hell (a sinfully charming Tom Ellis) has a midlife existential crisis, moves to L.A., and takes up with the LAPD—and execution—the incredible soundtrack! the remarkably robust mythological worldbuilding! the astonishing variety of interesting female leads!

But then the suffocating reality of a 24-episode season set in, and finally, maybe that’s why Lucifer got the nail in the coffin. Or the prickle in his throne and the great show was no more.

But it was a long haul to get where we are now!

Cancellation. Fox canceled the devilish procedural in 2018! (Pity the poor scmuck who decided this delightful show’s fate!)

And series’ star Tom Ellis suddenly found himself fighting to keep alive one of genre television’s most imaginative offerings. Perhaps buoyed by the successful #SaveLucifer campaign and a wildly passionate and dedicated fanbase!

(Also: Tom Ellis is one of the most unsung leading men on television today.)

Netflix swooped in with talon’s bared and snatching the show from the depths of Hell, itself.

WOW! And season 4 was truly its greatest.

After what felt like an eternity of near misses, the Prince of Darkness finally reveals his true physical appearance to Chloe in the Lucifer Season 3 finale (killing Cain), and setting up a potential hellish shift heading into the critically acclaimed, supernatural crime drama’s much anticipated Season 4.

Culturedemandsgeeks couldn’t help but wonder whether the show’s tone would change markedly with the shift to an outlet not beholden to a set of sensibilities traditional network television requires. Longtime Lucifer viewers will find little has changed in the procedural aspect of the show, and for the most part, the case of the week continues to mirror issues the core characters face in their personal and professional lives.

(The Lucifer season 4 premiere, “Everything’s Okay,” picks up a month after the season 3 bombshell.)

This new series of Lucifer really nails those major emotional beats and prove what the show could look like as a well-oiled machine, season four has perfected all the lessons the cast and crew have learned since the first few seasons, too. It also has the added bonus of trimming the fat and just telling the story with just ten episodes in the new season.

The first episode seamlessly transitions back into the world of Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), Detective Chloe Decker (Laura German) and the LAPD.

We open in Lux, with Lucifer Morningstar at the piano performing an increasingly desperate version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” His outfits change, the crowd comes and goes, and his eyes get wilder, his hair more mussed, and his face more hopeless as the song progresses, until it ends with a hand holding a gun to his head.

It’s Lee, the hapless criminal who’s been left pants-less in two separate season premieres after run-ins with Lucifer. He wants his revenge, but Lucifer reveals his red eyes and supernatural strength, asking if Lee feels the same confusion, disgust, and terror that Chloe felt upon learning his true nature. He doesn’t know, though; the police came in before she could respond.

Then he sends Lee on his way loaded with loot to atone for his past wrongs against the man.

Other than a naked backside early in the season premiere, “Everything’s Okay” features a familiar arena for Lucifer and Chloe to investigate the murder of a local beekeeper while awkwardly navigating the fact that she’s now seen his devil face. It won’t be the last backside we see, but don’t get your hopes up too high if nudity’s your thing.

CAN CHLOE EVER FORGIVE AND BEHOLD LUCIFER FOR WHO HE REALLY IS?

Na-da, Chloe’s isn’t cool cool cool as she says she is, given the way she gasps and twists away when he sets a hand on her shoulder.

“What does it mean when a woman recoils at your touch?” Lucifer asks Dan, who’s still icing him out following Charlotte’s death. Dan takes delight in telling him that this reaction comes from disgust.

Plot twists are coming, and in the form of Chloe returning from her holiday, but actually, After 55 episodes spent teasing but never following through with Chloe buying into the reality of who (and what) Lucifer really is? Season Four propels her from fleeing to Rome for some primary research on what kind of danger Lucifer’s being the King of Hell might pose on, like, human existence, all the way through to believing in the angelic nature of his soul. Chloe meets with a priest who believes her story of the ‘Devil walks amongst us theory’ and tells Chloe of a prophecy that involves Lucifer and his first love…

Look, we all knew Chloe wasn’t handling things as well as she claimed, but to work with the church against Lucifer?

It’s a hard pill to swallow—and what a revelation it will become!

And step forth, Eve, first Lady, created from ADAM. Ohhh, by the way, she has escaped from Heaven or taking a very long vacation to be with her first love, which is, dad,da,da Lucifer.

And the prophecy that the priest has informed our dear detective about is beginning to come true!

OTHER FRIENDS IN SEEDY L.A.

Let’s check in with the rest of our friends. Maze is drowning in guilt over hurting Trixie’s feelings last season, and Linda suggests they work through her issues in a language she understands: violence.

They spar and talk it out, and yes, Maze is careful not to accidentally kill her best friend.

When Amenadiel shows up, he briefly assumes they’re fighting over him. Then he takes a seat on Linda’s couch to tell her that he’s at loose ends since returning to Heaven, which felt different to him. “Because this is your home,” Maze says. Yeah, but does he know about the price of real estate?

Amenadiel then takes a moment to assure Dan that Charlotte’s in heaven and Dan hugs him through his tears. Maze also gets a hug from Trixie, who says, “I couldn’t stay mad at you.” Good. This is all very good.

Oh, and we have a celestial baby on the way (wings too!) between Amenadiel and Linda. This is where we see the funnier side of the beloved show and how hard it will be to raise a child in the world, from birthing support to baby-angel-proofing the ceiling with bubble-wrap!

Also, Amenadial has his own thing going on too, choices to make, choices to stay on earth or go back up and live in the ‘Silver City!’ Other siblings emerging on Earth as well, intent on taking his child back to the pearly-white gates of Heaven.

While Dan, or Detective Douch, is still fighting his inner-demons this season since his heart-crushing defeat in last season when Charlotte died. He also has choices to make throughout the new season of Lucifer, and Dan sure does go down some dark avenues to eventually find the light that will, hopefully, make him a better man. (Or not?)

The cast is amazing; Amenadiel’s (D. B. Woodside) back-footed angelic earnestness. Mazikeen’s (Lesley-Anne Brandt) stone cold demonic awkwardness. Linda’s (Rachael Harris) human steadiness. Dan’s (Kevin Alejandro) counterbalancing ambivalence. Ella’s (Aimee Garcia) boppy cheerfulness. Little Trixie’s (Scarlett Estevez) wry self-possession. Chloe’s shining moral compass. Lucifer’s hidden, self-hating brokenness.

Add Inbar Lavi (Imposters) as Lucifer’s effervescently naïve old flame, Eve—yes, that Eve! The show continues to thrive and burn brighter than all of Hell’s flames.

BEST EPISODE:

We still consider “Off The Record” to be the series’ greatest. Opening with a musical number set to Kenny Loggins’ “I’m Alright” promises a grand season finale, and “Who’s Da New King Of Hell?” keeps that promise. While season four opened with Lucifer singing “Creep” on a loop, it ends with him dancing for joy that he’s not the monster (or creep) he’s felt like all this time. The number is another moment of Lucifer assuming he’s “cured” of a larger issue, but it’s also kind of a victory lap for the season and the series.

THE END IS NIGH:

The final episode of Season 4, “Who’s da New King of Hell?” (directed by Eagle Egilsson), saw Lucifer, Maze, Amenadiel and Eve try their best to beat back the forces of Hell before they could use Amenadiel’s child to replace Lucifer as king.

As as our heroes fought valiantly, the demons threatened to overwhelm them and harm Decker, until Lucifer embraced his role as the devil and scared the underwood’s hordes back into submission.

(Spoilers, be warned!) How the episode ends, with Lucifer back in Hell, atop his lonely throne.

This is also the first episode where we really see Lucifer as the King of Hell. Not just literally on the throne but the way he speaks to his subjects when he’s not just trying to get rid of them so he can drink in peace—when he speaks to them like the lower creatures they are.

Because that’s the point: Lucifer, as an angel, is above these demons. And while he has a certain shtick on Earth, that’s not how he was in Hell.

There was something scary about Lucifer when he decided to embrace his punisher side in “Devil Is As Devil Does,” but this is different. This isn’t just Lucifer acting out or trying to be someone he’s not, this is him sacrificing himself for the one he loves.

It was then that the truth of Father Kinley’s prophecy became clear: “When the devil walks the Earth and finds his first love, evil shall be released.” Even though they hadn’t admitted it, Lucifer and Chloe do love each other, and that was enough to indirectly unleash the evil of Hell.

CONCLUSION:

The more we think about it, the more Culturedemandsgeeks stand by our belief that the majority of season four is among the very best episodes the Lucifer has to offer.

It’s an efficient way to bring the show to Netflix: the episodes for new viewers, and more importantly, for existing ones, we have great musical numbers that fans have been vocal about loving. And it shows that the producers understand they’re playing to multiple audiences, at least for now.

But the series hasn’t fundamentally changed in moving to the streaming giant. It still mixes drama with humor and horror, often going from one to the other in seconds. And it still has a wonderfully portrayed cast of characters who put the “fun” in “dysfunctional.”

Long live Lucifer. Can’t wait for season 5.

5/5 STARS