“Can’t you… stay and annoy me for a bit longer?”
I suppose that since God/Dad’s tenure on Lucifer officially began with a family dinner, it only makes sense that it ends with a family reunion. Or, a few family reunions, actually. Dad’s retirement barbecue at the park, Dad and Mom’s second act, even the double Decker date (featuring a returning Rebecca de Mornay as Chloe’s mother, Penelope). You could even say that Maze’s plans for Hell are technically plans for another family reunion. But ultimately, the family reunion that matters most is the one that means Dennis Haysbert’s time on Lucifer (and His time here in this universe) is over. And Chris Rafferty’s script provides a satisfying end to a satisfying arc.
First of all, while Lucifer has done a solid job of portraying God as a parent who’s started to miss a step as He’s advanced in years, the reveal that it was Michael all along still works. (Michael’s ability to tap into fears plus that pesky little self-actualization feature equals a gaslit God.) This bit of business was set up in 5A—when Amenadiel informed Lucifer that Michael had become Dad’s right-hand man in the Silver City—and now it turns out to be paying off in a big way here in 5B. So even with the realization that He’s still got it, Dad still decides to retire from being God. And while Lucifer may want to be God now, he definitely isn’t the twin who had the idea first. Which means… Well, let’s worry about that later.
When Dad says the titular line—“Nothing lasts forever.”—it’s in response to Lucifer saying the “stay and annoy me” line. But it’s also the show’s way of saying that Lucifer’s daddy issues can’t last forever. While they’ve been a driving force of Lucifer’s characterization and behavior since the beginning of the series, much like his self-hatred, eventually, he needed to truly confront them. 5B has allowed Lucifer to do so, giving the series a much-needed sense of closure on this end. Even though season five isn’t the final season, this closure is still very welcome—because it is five seasons in, after all. Lucifer is still Lucifer, but at least now he understands Dad a lot more—and vice versa. And with Dad finally telling Lucifer He loves him, perhaps that now opens Lucifer up to realize that he’s not “incapable of love.”
However, with the loss of daddy issues comes the new issue of Lucifer having to prove to everyone that he’s “worthy” of becoming God. His siblings openly admit they don’t find him worthy—as they all believe Amenadiel to be—and we close the episode with the acknowledgment that Michael is seriously challenging him for the throne. (Which at least gets Remiel on Lucifer’s side.) Chloe also spends a good chunk of this episode concerned about what Lucifer becoming God will mean for their relationship, with Lucifer doing very little to lessen those concerns. Now, considering how much she’s struggled with him being invulnerable around her lately, imagine how much worse that would be with him as God. But ultimately, Chloe makes the decision to support Lucifer fully in this endeavor, choosing to quit the LAPD in order to do so. That’s how all-in Chloe still is when it comes to her relationship with Lucifer, even though things have been strained in 5B.
Because of that strain, this episode’s awkward double Decker date is truly a return to form for the Lucifer/Chloe relationship and a much-deserved treat for Lauren German. Chloe has spent most of this half-season being sad, and in this scene, while she ultimately ends up sad again (and mad), at least it’s not because of Lucifer. A Lucifer/Chloe double date with anyone is bound to bring shenanigans, but one with their respective parents (God…frey and Penelope) is an exotic recipe for awkward comedy. Chloe guzzling down wine as she tries to survive a night of embarrassing parental stories, Lucifer trying to poorly parent trap (again), Dad and Penelope bonding over parenting, despite the celestial-human divide. I don’t know who exactly in the writers’ room was the first to decide this double date needed to happen, but I greatly appreciate them.
The case-of-the-week is definitely worth it for the double date, even though the plot doesn’t quite land when it comes to the thematic element. (Or the case at all, considering the “sacrificing a few fish to save the many” reveal.) As much as Lucifer tries to paint the murder victim as “God-like,” the comparison just doesn’t track. Neither does Lucifer’s lesson learned from the killer’s speech—at least not fully. “If I had just listened to her… given her what she needed when she told me, then none of this would have ever happened.” Lucifer takes this all to heart in terms of listening to what Dad wants, but if anything—especially considering the arc in 5B—he should take it to heart with Chloe. While she makes the big decision at the end of the episode to show her support for him, that doesn’t change the fact that Lucifer still doesn’t listen to her all episode about her obvious and understandable issues with him being God.
Stepping away from God talk for a moment, heavy is the head that wears the crown, but when it comes to Maze’s story, Lucifer proves that the same can be said when it comes to the demon that grows the soul. (“Heavy is the demon that grows the soul.” I mean… You know what I mean.) “Resting Devil Face” and “A Little Harmless Stalking” finally gave Maze what she’s wanted for quite some time: a soul and Eve. Unfortunately, she’s now regretting the former because she rejected the latter. As Maze tells Linda, “Having a soul is the worst.” Yeah, she wanted one… until she got one. Now all she has to show for it is heartache and a new fear of what awaits her in Hell, a Hell loop of her leaving Eve in that hospital room, breaking her heart over and over again. That fear and guilt then fuel a scene that challenges the double date as the comedic scene of the episode: Maze v. Puppies, Dawn Of Pupness. Call me morbid, but it’s absolutely hilarious to see Maze, surrounded by puppies, trying to hype herself up to go through with killing them—in Linda’s living room. Okay, that is the funniest scene of the episode.
But the best scene of the entire episode is Lucifer and Amenadiel’s farewell to their parents. Lucifer metaphorically moving Heaven and Earth to finally doing a successful parent trap on Mom and Dad is the kind of idealistic thing I’m sure a lot of children of divorce wish they could do. And as mushy as it might seem, it fully works. This is a scene that hinges on “finally.” Tom Ellis goes from playing a single-minded Lucifer all episode—putting the cart before the horse about the God thing—to a kid who just wants his parents to stay now that they’ve finally connected and he’s finally gotten past his issues with them. A returning Tricia Helfer and D.B. Woodside finally get to have the Mom/Amenadiel goodbye scene they never got to have at the end of season two. Dad finally tells Lucifer He loves him.
The whole scene is also a beautiful reminder of how full of love Mom was for her children, even if the same couldn’t be said for her feelings on humans (other than Dan). Even without Helfer and Haysbert ever sharing screentime on the show prior to this scene, they both managed to bring such larger-than-life statures to these celestial parental figures in ways that have simultaneously felt in sync and like they made quite an odd couple. Finally put together—with Dad deciding it’s His time to live in Mom’s universe, among the centaurs—it’s impressive to see just how on the same wavelength these two actors are. Which makes for the perfect time and way for them to say goodbye to Lucifer and Amenadiel.
Because, unfortunately, as good as this scene is, nothing lasts forever.
Stray observations
- Lucifer: “Lots of changes when I’m in charge. War eradicated, world hunger satiated. Hangovers… never should have existed in the first place.”
- Lucifer: “Oh, well, it won’t change a thing. In fact, things will only get better. I’ll become omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. All the omnis.”
Chloe: “But how is that good for our relationship?”
Lucifer: “I’ll be there for you whenever and wherever you need me. I’ll know exactly what you’re thinking.”
Chloe: “That’s not at all dangerous.” - Ella: “So the killer dumped the body, hoping the sharks would hide the murder?”
Lucifer: “Should’ve known we’d smell something fishy.”
Ella: “Aww, dad joke. Nice.”
Lucifer: “Thanks. I’m practicing.” Surprised there’s not a runner of Ella assuming Chloe’s pregnant after this exchange. - This episode introduces a couple of new (speaking role) angels: Gabriel (Kimia Behpoornia) and Zadkiel (Joel Rush). “The Angel of Messages” and “The Angel of Righteousness,” respectively. Gabriel… is a backstabbing gossip. Zadkiel… is not a fan of Lucifer.
- As for Remiel, we met her back in “Devil Is As Devil Does.” This episode marks the first time she’s interacted with Lucifer though.
- Gabriel: “Have you heard? Dad’s getting old, and He’s losing it.”
Lucifer: “Who told you that?”
Gabriel: “Michael. At first, we were like, ‘What? No way!’ But then we heard that Dad was making people sing, turned himself mortal, lost his powers, exploded a human.”
Lucifer: “He put the human back together again.” I imagine that by telling his siblings that Dad’s losing it, Michael is also playing into their fears. So, Lucifer announcing that he’s taking over could only further said fear. - Lucifer: “Actually, it’s not going to be Amenadiel. It’s going to be the handsomest of us all.”
Gabriel: “Hanjobadiel?” - Linda: “Maybe you could focus on what you do have instead of what you don’t.”
Maze: “Not when I know Eve will end up in Heaven. Where I can never go.”
Linda: “You don’t know that she’s gonna end up in Heaven.”
Maze: “She’s the brightest, nicest, most caring, honest person ever. Of course she’s going to Heaven.” Wow. Lesley-Ann Brandt’s sad puppy dog delivery as she lists Eve’s qualities? Maze has got it bad. - The show’s already been over the fact that Lucifer constantly leaves Maze out of the loop, so there’s no need for her to get upset with him for not telling her about the whole God thing. (It took this long for Lucifer and Maze to finally have a real conversation about Lillith and the ring. They don’t talk.) Instead, she’s jazzed, because if she’s going to go back to Hell, this is it. This is the way. As Mazikeen, Queen of Hell. Or Maziqueen. One of those two.
- God: “Everyone has darkness in them. It’s not about getting rid of it. It’s about accepting it. … The darker the darkness, the brighter the light. And you, Miss Lopez, shine so very, very brightly. I can see it all the way from Heaven.” This is easily the best scene about Ella’s “darkness” so far. Before this scene, we learn that Ella has been seeing Dr. Linda ever since she found out about serial killer Pete. Good. But we also learn that, at least mentally, Ella’s basically Dexter Morgan. Less good. As I’ve said before, I’m really struggling with this particular story. Her therapy session makes it less vague but… hmm.
- While Chloe and Penelope’s relationship has always been tense, I was surprised that Chloe blamed her mother for holding her father back. I wasn’t surprised when Penelope revealed that she and John had decided to take turns with their careers, because since “Quid Pro Ho,” I’ve never doubted how much she loved her husband.
- Michael: “Azrael really should have kept a better eye on her blade.” Honestly, yeah, she should have. Come on, Ray-Ray.
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I might be interested in a show set in the Goddess’s universe. Centaurs or not. The Goddess trying to create her own type of Earth but only has the model of Lucifer’s friends on Earth to go on.
Fingers crossed that’s a season six gimmick episode.
Maybe all the Centaurs look like Dan.
In case DeviantArt didn’t already have enough inspiration . . .
Several things on this episode, but let’s start here: While she makes the big decision at the end of the episode to show her support for him, that doesn’t change the fact that Lucifer still doesn’t listen to her all episode about her obvious and understandable issues with him being God.So… I actually really liked Chloe’s move here, as surprising as it was. Because she wasn’t listening to him either, because her (yes, understandable) issues were with him being the Almighty and… not having time for her and their relationship any longer. And he constantly kept saying that a) that wasn’t true, because b) he wanted to change things. Like, that was his whole thing. And while he may not ultimately live up to that, he believes it to be true because he can’t lie. He’s always tried to be with her, even when he had responsibility as the Warden of Hell, so he deserved some of the benefit of the doubt there.The G-d/Ella scene was just so, so good. I don’t see her darkness as an actual darkness, but I can see where you get hung up. I think she’s a former car thief who has spent an inordinate amount of time documenting death, thinking about death, and generally seeing the evil in others — while being (as He said) a beacon of light, who (as Azrael said) brings out the best/good in others. She thinks her constantly seeing things and seeing death (because of her job) is darkness, but that’s because — as we’ve learned from the angels and Hell — she’s self-actualizing it. So that’s why she felt like she “deserved” Pete, even though we know that’s not true.And lastly, man… did they keep the secret (and outright lie) about Tricia Helfer coming back well. I had pegged earlier on (I think 1-2 episodes ago) that this was the endgame for G-d — being with His Wife in Her universe — but I didn’t a) think we’d see her again, or b) just how good Helfer and Haysbert would be together. And the final scene with Amenadiel and Lucifer was just heartbreaking. And glad to see G-d was talking in not-straightforward answers intentionally the whole time — his “I love you” was just so perfect, it made us cry over here.
Been loving your recaps! I really liked that scene with Ella and God. Her journey with God and faith since season 4 has been quite touching. Also, I hope Ella gets to meet Azrael again. If I’m not wrong her standalone episode from season 3 isn’t part of the main storyline right?
Thank you. And that episode actually counts as canon — Lucifer even mentioned the case from that episode in “Daniel Espinoza: Naked And Afraid.”
Oh, that’s great! I should rewatch that episode then since I was doing work while watching that one.
One other thing I forgot to mention in my comment below, is… I believe G-d’s last direct interaction with one of His creations (a human) in our universe is to tell Ella how special she is. He intentionally did that, he went to her. That’s beautiful.
I’m kind of hoping Ella gets a spinoff series. Boo Normal is almost a backdoor pilot. Keep the Luciferniverse going.
I just think one of my top 3 moments in all of watching this show has to be the moment that Lucifer gets the words and a hug that finally reveal and confirm his dad’s love and respect and pride in him… and he immediately tries to share and get his dad to give that feeling to Ammenadiel, too.
And then the little look between Ammenadiel and his dad that says Ammenadiel had done the exact same thing already during their “golf” time.
I just. Augh! There it is! The Growth. Brothers, man.
Loved Kimia Behpoornia as Gabriel. Been a fan of hers since her handful of SPONTANEANATION episodes a few years ago.
I was honestly pretty surprised that Lucifer’s bid to become God was actually taken seriously by the show and the other characters. So many times in season 3, the plot of the episode revolved around him pursuing some transparently hair-brained scheme only to be proven wrong and taught a special lesson. But the fact that the people around him (including Dan!) are actually supportive/fine with Lucifer becoming God, and he isn’t framed as a massive screw-up or jerk for not devoting his entire attention to the case as usual because he’s got objectively more important matters to attend to? Color me surprised.And as Lucifer said himself, he’s the only one who even has any experience with ruling. He also cares deeply about justice and fairness, values humanity, and opposes unnecessary suffering. Unlike Amenadiel, Chloe, Maze, or Dan, he’s never once acted out of malice or tried to seriously harm an undeserving person. He may be spectacularly dense with more mundane matters, but in every high-stakes life-or-death situation, he’s consistently made the right call. Obviously Lucifer would have to grow (a lot) into the role, but he’s got good foundations, and him becoming God is not as ridiculous a possibility as it may have initially appeared. The nearly year-long gap between 5A and 5B didn’t do this season any favors. I remember in 5A that Lucifer was very patient with Chloe as she came to terms with being a “gift,” and that he even accepted that she may never get over it and be with him. Yet he still stayed on Earth to at least part with her on good terms, knowing that he’d likely never see her again. This was then balanced by Chloe’s support of him in 5B. I do find it kind of funny that Lucifer’s already making campaign promises to Maze. It raises the stakes and solidifies his pursuit beyond just a frivolous one, as people are actually counting on him to follow through now.
Happy Birthday, God! (Dennis Haysbert, that is.)
Yeah, pretty much what everyone else said. But Maze trying to craft her own loop definitely cracked me up. And centaurs.
Sounds like Goddess is pretty good at creating when she puts her mind to it.Man, Handjobial. They were just running out of names by that point huh?The Ella stuff is the part of season I didn’t like. Mostly because it’s weird and I don’t know where they’re going with it. Hopefully it pays off in season 6.
Man, Handjobial. They were just running out of names by that point huh?I can’t get over that name, it’s ridiculous! It really took me out of that scene with the other angels who have actual names LOL.
Depending on what happens in Season 6(and if she finds out the truth), I could see an Ella spinoff series to keep the Luciferniverse going. Boo Normal is almost like a backdoor pilot if we could get Charlyne Yi on board. I get why it’s weird with the Dexter-ish stuff going on but Ella’s character is a lot more complex than that and has quite the back story to draw from. Plus Aimee Garcia can def be a lead.
I am not convinced that the God/Goddess reunion works. I mean, I love the idea of it, and I was beyond thrilled to see Tricia again, but the Goddess (last we saw her) was previously determined (hell bent?) to get back to the Silver City and reunite with all of her children. Now she sees God again and just says sure, come with me to the world I didn’t want, that Lucifer pushed me into? Maybe. But I don’t think S2’s Goddess would’ve settled for that.
Does anyone remember when God had the Goddess locked up in Hell with Lucifer as the warden. Then when she got out one of her goals was to confront God for locking her up in hell. Like she didn’t want some payback for locking her up for thousands of years. Then she likes him all of a sudden.
Despite her anger and everything she said about Him, Mom has always been willing to get back with Dad. Not only was that the case in “God Johnson”—where she started off upset but he was able to get her on his good side… until she realized he wasn’t actually God—the whole reason Uriel came to Earth was to prevent Mom and Dad from getting back together. He said that he knew that as soon as Dad saw Mom, He’d take her back.
The only thing I wasn’t sold about the Goddess’s return (too easily crossed universes aside, perhaps) is the fact that she randomly still looks like Charlotte, who was clearly established in multiple ways as just a host body for the Goddess’s essence.I get that they wanted to bring back Tricia Helfer and it was much easier for the viewers to recognize the character this way, but it’s still kind of a plot hole. Unless we’re willing to buy that the Goddess liked that aspect so much that she recreated it from scratch in the other universe, but in that case, Lucifer and Amenadiel should at least have noted it, since they saw Charlotte coming back to life as a human when the Goddess left.
I think it was mentioned in this episode that Goddess was mad at God for not being there for her and always being busy with being God. So now that she’s the Goddess of another universe, she finally understands the pressure and focus it needs to actively be the capital-G. That probably lessened the anger, I think?
Ella’s darkness plotline would feel like a better fit if it was a runner in season 2. I think of like Willow going bad on Buffy. You had seeds from early, early on that suggested that could happen. I keep thinking we’re setting Ella up for something big, but knowing most of that was written without a season 6 pickup…I’m not sure why it exists.
This season has really been nailing the balance between the comedy and drama in my opinion. I found this episode equally funny and endearing.The retirement party was such a joy, and you could certainly host a party of angels in LA and no one would notice.
As a former goth kid, Penelope’s words about Hot Topic bankrupting them in Chloe’s youth stung. So true.
The scene with Lucifer and Maze was very refreshing to show their growth in their friendship. Specifically Lucifer’s apology, Maze’s understanding, and his clear respect for her. (and pouring her a drink! Nice call back to Season 1) I thought Chloe and Dan’s heart to heart was a nice add. Both in Chloe acknowledging how ‘selfish’ her fears about his God work/life balance is, and Dan assuring Chloe that Lucifer is crazy about her. Nice to see Dan getting over the whole Lucifer being the Devil thing.
The goodbye scene. My goodness, so beautiful. I was hoping they would bring back Mom in this season. Then God telling Lucifer he was proud of him and loved him… I like your take Latoya that Lucifer’s ‘daddy issues’ couldn’t last forever, and this was a very nice way to close out that story. Also…
“Plan… How much of this was your plan?!”I do wonder if like Lucifer, God can’t lie, and at the family dinner he didn’t say he loved his children because Michael was there…rather than him feeling like he could forego his mysterious ways in this scene.I did not expect the Chloe quitting the LAPD twist, since it has been such an integral part of the show. This would have never happened on Fox. Ellis’ acting speechless in response to Chloe’s reasoning was adorable and genuine.
Speaking of Ellis, every scene with Michael I have to remind myself it is the same actor. He plays both characters so distinctly.
Outside of this episode alone, I’ve loved the numerous little nods and Easter eggs to the source material that have been cropping up in this final run; the centaurs being one of them! They exist in Lucifer’s universe (which Mom’s universe was a clear parallel to), and the whole god retiring storyline along with how to assure the succession makes up the climax of the original Lucifer run (… which I’ve lost track of whether is canon or not anymore, because DC decided to capitalize on the Sandman name 20 years after it ended).
My favorite part of this episode is the Double Decker Date, and seeing the Father/son mother/daughter family dynamics. Wine-drinking and exasperated Chloe was a nice change of pace after several episodes of sad Chloe. I didn’t picture her as a Hot Topic goth, and am just delighted with that detail.
I think it would have been nice if Chloe and God had finished their conversation on her being a gift for Lucifer before God left for another universe. I feel like she deserved some closure and answers. That’s the one thing I’m still bothered by after this otherwise really good episode.
Finally binged 5B and I think this is the episode that references the comics (centaur people in Mom’s universe), so now I’m hoping it’s going to go *that* route with who ends up stepping into God’s shoes.Thanks for the recaps!
Great review, LaToya! I agree that the murder case was a bit weak, mostly because by comparison, the other parts of the episode—particularly the return of God (with the other angels) and, of course, that incredible goodbye scene—were so strong and impactful. I’m a little disappointed that God is now (apparently) gone for good after only a few episodes (because gosh, Goddess got a whole season), but it nonetheless felt like an appropriate ending for Him and a good means to push Lucifer’s story forward.I want to add that I also really that this episode gave some color to Ella’s so-called darkness by connecting it to how her work revolves about death and bodies and how she’s always harbored thoughts about such things. This is a much better way to allude to Ella having a dark side than randomly introducing her attraction to bad boys at the beginning of the season.I don’t know if anyone’s made this comparison yet, but it came up in my mind frequently while I watched this episode:
A show that had a premise and trajectory very similar to Lucifer’s is iZombie: in both, a person of supernatural nature starts helping the police solve murders, and the stories expand as they face bigger conflicts and more people learn the truth about said nature. But the way the two series handled these evolutions differs immensely: Lucifer started meagerly with hit-or-miss procedural elements and has improved greatly by expanding its scope and incorporating more celestial mythology; while iZombie excelled with its smaller-scale case-of-the-week stories (despite its weaker ones in later seasons) but became too much for itself as it revolved more and more around bigger sociopolitical drama.All that to say: I’m really happy that Lucifer has evolved beautifully to be able to maintain its procedural stories (which, again, are hit-or-miss, but I find them overall better in recent seasons) while successfully incorporating plots about the greater world at hand. Seeing so many celestial figures in this episode (and considering too last season’s fruitful addition of Eve) was just a cool reminder of how this show has organically grown for the better. I’d suppose Lucifer has a slight advantage by working with established source material (biblically, I mean, since both Lucifer and iZombie diverged significantly from their comic-book origins); but I think iZombie could have gone in a different direction of development that wouldn’t have become so overwhelming so quickly, while Lucifer has adopted a good pacing for its narrative progression and expansion.
This comment is a little late but while watching this episode again, I think that if this show has a spinoff it should be about Ella. This may hinge on how Season 6 goes and if she learns the truth of everything. I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t find out now. Aimee Garcia could definitely be a lead and her Ella character is perfect for a spinoff. Lucifer and Chloe’s story is about to end but we have a lot to learn about Ella and her dark side. There would still be that crime-solving element that could give us those odd kind of crime scenarios Lucifer is known for. Amenadiel could still be around as a rookie cop and Linda there for therapy. But we would also need Charlyne Yi to come aboard as “Rey-Rey.” The interesting spin on this show though would be that the main character is unaware of the truth while the main supporting characters are.