Season One, Episode Eight — “Et Tu, Doctor?”
© Copyright 2016, Fox Broadcasting Company. All Rights Reserved.
By Shay Revolver. We’ve seen Lucifer destroy his wings and turn his back on his throne. Now it’s time to witness the aftermath of his decision, where all the little threads around him begin to unravel. Secrets, lies and all kinds of skeletons came tumbling out of everyone’s closet this week, and even though he wasn’t the key manipulator in this episode, Lucifer found himself smack dab in the middle of the chaos. As Lucifer celebrates his rebirth day (now that he’s wing-free), Chloe comes face-to-face with the newly revived Malcolm, who may know more about his angel-assisted recovery than he’s letting on.
Lucifer‘s pre-ordained procedural deals directly with this week’s underlying theme — jealousy. With the death of a therapist whose specialty was a controversial type of couples therapy (he encouraged his clients to cheat on each other to save their failing relationships), the case ran parallel to the issues going on in Lucifer’s personal journey: our Prince of Darkness attempts to suss out his rather complicated feelings about his partner, Chloe, who’s spending far more time with her ex these days.
Chloe, meanwhile, is facing complications of her own. Not only is she dealing with her relationship issues with Dan, she’s trying to put together the pieces of Malcolm and the mystery surrounding his shooting. (And things get super weird with him ambushing Chloe at her place, where they debate the merits of working the Palmetto case together in secret.) Malcolm puts together some of the hidden pieces that she’d been missing in her investigation, but Malcolm’s insistence on privacy leaves Chloe even more suspicious of his motives. This all culminates with Lucifer and Chloe breaking into Maddock’s to find Malcolm’s ex-partner, Balducci, dead — and isn’t that convenient. Sure, there’s a suicide note, but the ever-sharp Chloe knows in her bones that Balducci’s end is a little too perfect.
WHAT WORKED: The lack of Amenadiel. This week’s episode hinted at Lucifer’s brother, but he was kept offscreen for the duration and it worked. The idea of him looming over Lucifer keeps us on edge, eagerly waiting for Amenadiel to make another appearance after last week’s brutal mini-showdown. Not having him pop up for their usual verbal yawn fests gave Lucifer time to focus on the Malcolm-sized task at hand.
The writers packed a lot into the final five minutes of this week’s episode. Linda breaks off the sexual part of relationship with Lucifer, but as his therapist she inadvertently gives him a missing piece of information that we were all hoping would have stayed hidden. Thanks to the therapist’s heads-up, Lucifer realizes that Amenadiel has been using her to spy on him (and that he’s the new doctor down the hall — you know, the one with the Biblical moniker). What’s more, Lucifer has also pieced together that Maze is the one who ratted him out, so predictably he’s over it and over her. And if that wasn’t juicy enough, this very drama-heavy episode ends with not one. but two very inconvenient truths: turns out that Dan is the dirty cop who shot Malcolm, and Malcolm is going to use that bit of intel to make things very difficult for him. Secrets seem to have a way of coming out to violent ends in this show. I’m looking forward to seeing how this all goes down in the final episodes of this season.
WHAT DIDN’T: This week, unlike every other episode this season, Chloe and Lucifer felt surprisingly… off. Their banter wasn’t as clever , their interactions weren’t as charming, and the “buddy-cop” aspect of the show wasn’t there. Even though they spent a large chunk of time on screen together, I just didn’t feel it like I have before. This episode focused more on each character’s individual issues (and they each had a lot to deal with), but the connection between the two of them is one of the best things about the show. I really missed it this week.
BEST LINE(s):
“The Devil doesn’t get jealous. I’m the one who inspires passion in others.” – Lucifer, to Linda.
“I have layers, I’m like an onion. A very irresistible one.” – Lucifer, to Chloe.
“Hi, Detective. You need your roots done.” – Lucifer.
“Your life seems incredibly bleak. You’ve got no where to go but up.” – Lucifer’s attempt at “helping” suspect #1.
“I had to meet you where no one else could hear.” – Malcolm, to Chloe, after she finds him in her house.
“Hear what? My screams?” – Chloe’s perfect response.
“No, she’s verbal ebola. Where’s the button to put the glass up?” – Lucifer, to Chloe.
BEST MOMENT: Lucifer confronts Maze. As self-involved as Lucifer decidedly is, he’s not an idiot. He’s very good at weeding through the bull and uncovering the truth, and this week he does that to heartbreaking results. Turns out it was Maze who set Amenadiel on his therapists track, and understandably, he’s not okay with this betrayal. It was expected (and inevitable), but it was also quite sad: the relationship between these two is filled with love, loyalty, and genuine feeling, and the duo handled the dissolution of their unholy union with care. While I was sad to see one of my fave Vertigo couples come to an end, I’m still hopeful that they’ll find their way back to each other.
EPISODE’S MVP: Detective Malcolm. He’s headstrong, kind of smarmy, and hell-bent on revenge. Watching him work his magic and punish those responsible for him getting shot was entertaining. (I say “punish”, but that can also mean “toy with”, depending on your worldview.) Every move he makes seems kind of devilish and very Lucifer-like. Since there is no comic book reference to go on here (like a lot of the characters on this show) , I find myself wondering what he’s going to do next in his quest to take his life back. I wonder if Amenadiel’s plan was to give Lucifer a little bit of competition for the crown. Whatever Amenadiel’s motives were in reviving Detective Malcolm, his character seems to be having fun with his return trip. He’s making the most of it, and I look forward to seeing where this storyline goes.
© Copyright 2016, Fox Broadcasting Company. All Rights Reserved.
THE DEVIL’S DUE:
– Look at Dan and Lucifer playing nice with birthday shots.
– I wonder what Detective Malcolm’s wink was about. Has he been to Hell? Seen framed pictures of Lucifer on the walls, and came back to tell the tale?
– Did Lucifer just trade sex for getting his therapist appointed as consultant on the case? Well played, Luci.
– “Detective Douche” might be the best nickname ever.
8 out of 10
Next: “A Priest Walks Into A Bar”, soon.
Before: “Wingman”, here.
