Lucifer wraps up its 5th season with an epic battle and “A Chance At A Happy Ending”
TV Reviews Lucifer
Series finales are hard. Yes, this is technically a season finale, but if you’ve followed along with these reviews, you may have been able to parse that this season was originally supposed to be Lucifer’s final season. “A Chance At A Happy Ending” (appropriately written by showrunners Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich) was originally supposed to be the series’ swan song, and even if you didn’t know that, there are some mighty big tip-offs. The angel battle. Lucifer returning to Heaven. Us finally seeing Heaven. Lucifer becoming God. Those are, without a doubt, “big ending” moments.
Admittedly, I can’t say for certain how this episode would’ve functioned as a series finale, as it’s lacking its final act; it’s missing the epilogue that will now function as the bones of season six. So I can only imagine and hope that the epilogue would’ve wrapped things up regarding Amenadiel’s new cop journey, Dan’s afterlife fate, Ella’s darkness, and any other dangling threads this episode doesn’t quite tie up. However, I can say for certain that I think it’s for the best that “A Chance At A Happy Ending” is not the series finale, because it runs into the same overstuffed issue as a number of other episodes in 5B have.
As I’ve noted before, Lucifer was always going to run into a problem once the writers finally brought God into the picture. Because no matter how good the material was—and it was an absolute highlight of this half-season—there was always going to be a sense that the show was still not doing enough with such a grand character. The same argument could be made for the angels, especially once they became part of this larger celestial war and not just one-offs (like Remiel) or major characters (like Michael). Empirically, we know that all of the bonus angels can’t be played by names like Michael Imperioli or Charlyne Yi. We also know that with as many angels as there must be, they can’t all have speaking lines or even character traits we can automatically latch onto. But finally seeing them all in action in this episode, I began to wonder: Just how many angels should there be? How many angels would even look appropriate for a battle of this magnitude… while also looking like a number our heroes would still have a fighting chance against… and without looking like a CGI mess?
I genuinely don’t know the answer to any of those questions. But the issue with this aspect of the episode is that I’m not necessarily sure that the Lucifer team does either.
Despite coming for an epic, angelic battle, the best part of it is when it’s just Lucifer versus Michael (with a side of Chloe). Sure, that means a lot of cast members, guest stars, and extras just reacting to and watching the fight, but it’s strangely better than when the big fight does go down. Compare this season-ending battle to the demon battle in the season four finale, “Who’s Da New King Of Hell?” Both fights share similar strengths in the sense of having the right visual tone and setting for who our heroes are facing. But where the venue of season four’s finale made for a claustrophobic space that truly captured how our heroes were fighting for their lives, the largeness of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum setting here only ends up highlighting just how small this battle actually is. While the setting itself is technically perfect for this battle, the scope of the battle betrays that. Which is why when it’s just Lucifer and Michael fighting in the air above the coliseum, that’s when the battle actually feels like it’s on the level it belongs.
Thankfully, it’s the grounded character moments that have always been Lucifer’s strength—in addition to its delightfully juvenile humor—and that’s still the case for this episode. In terms of season and series finality, Maze is the only series regular character who gets any actual closure in this episode. Yes, Lucifer finally tells Chloe he loves her, but now, his new role as God changes just about everything. (And even before that shift in the status quo, the episode even brings up how Lucifer’s invulnerability around Chloe is still very much a dangling thread.) And then there’s Ella, who, coincidentally, remains the only character left in the dark. (Yet again, a Lucifer finale creates the perfect opening to tell Ella the truth… and it doesn’t take it.) But as for Maze, she finally gets what it means to have a soul. She finally realizes it’s not just pain and suffering. Linda’s words actually get through to Maze here, as opposed to how Lucifer took the good doctor’s words in the aftermath of Dan’s death. And because of that, Maze is able to properly grieve Dan and reconnect with Eve. Maze gets her happy ending, with no unanswered questions on that front.
But as I noted, Lucifer and Chloe’s happy ending is full of questions. The good news is that, in a half-season of Lucifer struggling with the belief that he’s “incapable of love,” things end with Lucifer finally telling Chloe he loves her. And he does so while making the ultimate sacrifice for her life and happiness. The series that began with the premise that the Devil selfishly left Hell because he was bored ends this season with the Devil doing something purely selfless in Heaven. That’s growth.
Because of Lucifer’s hang-ups and emotional roadblocks, he’s kept Chloe at arm’s length a lot in this half of the season. As a result, their best scenes have arguably been the ones where a frustrated Chloe tries to talk some sense into him—because, at this point, she has every right to be frustrated with him when he behaves the way he’s been behaving. In the previous episode, it was the scene where Chloe asked Lucifer if he somehow still doesn’t know how she feels about him and challenged his issues about not being “worthy.” Here, it’s the scene where Lucifer tells Chloe about Michael’s plan, where she learns that Dan is actually in Hell. While it seems like it will naturally lead her down the path of guilt that Michael wants her to go, what really sets her off here is Lucifer telling her to simply not be guilty. All the power belongs to Chloe in these scenes, and in this half of the season, these are the scenes where Lauren German is really given substantial something to do. And while Lucifer remains physically invulnerable around Chloe, Tom Ellis always plays these scenes as the weaker one—because he is, emotionally.
(Chloe also gets to be physically stronger in this episode once she gets the piece, Amenadiel’s necklace, and kicks Michael’s ass. That’s nice to see too.)
The Lucifer writers definitely know how to leave a lasting image and impression with their season finales, and “A Chance At A Happy Ending” is no different in that regard. “Oh my Me,” indeed. But in a season with a God/Dad who exceeded expectations, I don’t know that I can say this season finale did the same with the celestial war for the throne. Even before the battle, the fact that Michael killed Remiel isn’t treated as a big deal speaks volumes in terms of the level to which the audience should actually care. Amenadiel, Remiel’s favorite sibling, isn’t around to react to it, and Lucifer makes hot tub/yeast jokes about it almost immediately. While it temporarily sways one of the angels to join Team Lucifer, Remiel’s death doesn’t matter to any of these characters. In contrast, Chloe’s death does mean something—and it officially kicks off the battle between the factions—but it’s not as though the episode is directly making a comparison in that case. While the visual issues with the battle can be partially explained by the fact that this was the one scene that was affected by COVID-19, the story as a whole can’t.
“A Chance At A Happy Ending” is ultimately a fine way to close out this entire season, but it’s not the strongest of this batch of episodes, and even with the LuciGod ending, it’s not even the strongest of the series’ season finales. But the episode does reiterate an important point: Everybody deserves a second chance. That’s what Lucifer tells Michael (after he cuts off his wings instead of killing him), and that’s the point this series has always tried to make. Dan’s arc post-season one was proof of that. Lee (aka Mr. “Said Out, Bitch”) facing his guilt in Hell is what allowed him to have a second chance up in Heaven. (Obviously, there’s a lot going on in this scene, but it’s a huge deal that someone finally found a way out of Hell this way.) The entire “DevilCop” premise has been Lucifer’s second chance after his rebellion, and it’s allowed him to prove himself worthy enough to become God. And now, Lucifer technically has a “second chance” at a stellar series finale.
Stray observations
- The choice to open the episode with Chekhov’s prison bus crash… It feels strange to have it open the episode, but I also don’t know where else in the episode it would make sense to place the scene. Would it have worked better if Ella had simply mentioned a prison bus crash, possibly as a way to show Chloe what she’s missing now that she’s retiring?
- Michael: “But just so you know, the vote is tomorrow. And I’m holding it here on Earth so you can attend. You know, because of the whole, ‘you’re banished from Heaven and would be instantly incinerated if you returned’ thing.” This is the first time we’ve ever heard that Lucifer physically can’t go back to Heaven, right? Because I don’t think that came up at all in season two, when Mom was making plans for her and the boys to return with the flaming sword…
- The no-name angels that Lucifer dupes with his Michael cosplay do have names, according to IMDB. Raziel (Kellina Rutherford) is the one who vaguely cared that Michael killed Remiel and crossed over to Lucifer’s side, only to return to Michael’s. Ibriel (David Anthony Buglione) is the one who was way too excited to start killing humans.
- Did Maze choose the fake name “Steve” on the dating app just because it rhymes with “Eve?” Did Eve choose to even talk to Steve because it rhymes with her name? Did the writers choose “Steve” because of the old saying, “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve?” So now it’s “Steve” and Eve? (I’m sorry.)
- Maze: “Um… I’ve been thinking, and I’ve decided: I don’t care if you die.”
Eve: “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” - I understand the bit, but you’d think that more angels would go to Lucifer’s side once “The Angel of Righteousness” did, right?
- I was actually surprised Charlyne Yi returned as Azrael, as I figured that them explaining why she wasn’t at Dad’s retirement barbecue was also the show explaining why she wouldn’t be around at all. But I’m realizing now, it’s war, so it absolutely makes sense for “The Angel of Death” to make an appearance.
- Like Hell, Heaven apparently has rooms. (We also learn that, like in Hell, there are “rooms” in Heaven. So what we see is not all there is to see. Good narrative choice to depict what is obviously so large scale.)
- Lucifer: “God must be here making us sing! Dad has returned!” This is not the first time Lucifer has done a comedic “U Can’t Touch This” bit—nor the first time it’s ended it with the “STOP!” “Hammer Time!” punchline—but that doesn’t make it any less funny. It’s so very Lucifer. As is whatever dance D.B. Woodside’s doing during the scene. But as far as stalling tactics go, it’s a good one. We know the angels heard about Dad making people sing, but they don’t necessarily know what it looked like. I am curious about the fact that Lucifer blatantly lies to keep up the charade, especially since he actively avoids lying later in this very scene.
- Chloe melting down one of Maze’s blades for bullets is… awesome.
- It’ll be interesting to see if the Lucifer writers attempt to redeem Michael in any way in the final season. Because after a small flicker of something other than cartoon villainy in his “Family Dinner” exit, Michael’s dickishness is out in full force here. There’s maybe another flicker of some sort of humanity when he kills Chloe, but he just as quickly goes back to sniveling evil twin mode. (Tom Ellis knocks all of this out of the park.) While Lucifer learned over the course of 5B not to blame Dad for all of his problems, this episode really doubles down on the idea that Michael is actually to blame instead. Or at the very least, he’s the origin point.
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If those particular groups who petitioned against a charming and sympathetic Devil character witnessed this, their heads would probably explode!It’s so interesting that this show started off about as far from the source material as possible, then sort of looped back around once it got off network TV. Apparently Lucifer replacing God was a plot in the comics as well. I’m very happy that we’re getting more episodes in lieu of the originally-planned 10-minute epilogue. Lucifer becoming God is a fitting culmination for his character, but the ramifications of that definitely merit another season. And I can’t imagine how much more overstuffed the episode would have been had it served as the show’s wrap-up as well.
The comic does indeed have a ‘God leaves Creation’ story – and like here, it’s the final arc – but what is more amazing about the fact the show has looped back to source material beats is how this Lucifer is the complete anti-thesis of Sandman/Mike Carey’s Lucifer.—-SPOILERS FOR 15+ YEARS OLD GRAPHIC NOVELS:Over there, God leaves Creation out right, but because his imprint is in everything, his departure means the gradual collapse and death of the entire universe. He had intended for Michael or Lucifer to take over (and that’s another story beat taken by the show!), but Lucifer is appalled at the idea, appalled that his every act of rebellion was also part of The Plan, and while over there, Michael is friendly with him (Amenadiel is the evil prick who dies earlier), he’s also not keen on it, and Lucifer is manipulated into killing him anyway by Fenrir wanting to trigger Ragnarok.Further, Lucifer doesn’t really care if the universe ends, but he’s (very, very slightly) feeling guilty so he does endeavor to save it anyway, but by installing God’s grandchild (who unlike Charlie is celestial) as Goddess over God’s creation, Lucifer’s creation (parallel to his Mom’s creation in the show), and the grandchild’s own ‘practice’ creation that Lucifer makes her do in preparation for that moment, having her fold them all into a single thing.——All this to say… if the trend continues, I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlie ends up in charge, but 10 episodes might be too short to give him enough characterization (even aged up). Heck, everyone says that Lucifer became God here, but the ending seems ambiguous enough, now that the epilogue was cut out to be made into S6. All we see are the angels kneeling and the assumption that it had to be unanimous – we have no idea what plan God actually put in place for Lucifer to earn the mantle.
I’m not sure that a former 10-minute epilogue would have immediately undercut Lucifer as God and simply handed the title over to another character. Given everything he’s gone through in his journey to get to this point, I’d kind of feel cheated if that happened. I also don’t think that God left behind any particular rules for succession; Lucifer self-actualized into godhood after he sacrificed his life for Chloe and finally believed himself worthy of love, and therefore worthy of the mantle. On a more subjective note, I’ve got a deep, personal aversion to special-snowflake baby characters with no developed personality beyond “shiny powers”. Supernatural taught me that about myself, most thoroughly, and I’m glad that Lucifer has so far avoided that trope like the plague.
Yeah Charlie’s human and probably staying that way.
To be fair to the source material, over there, the grandchild is the most developed character in the series, arguably more than Lucifer himself.
I gotta say, there has to be a more satisfying middle ground between Supernatural’s “the offspring of an angel and a human is the most powerful being in the universe” and Lucifer’s “the offspring of an angel and a human is just a human”.
The Lucifer comic series does strike a good balance for that actually; Michael’s daughter has angelic nature, but it’s not until Lucifer gets her the power of creation and fights to get her installed as Goddess that she becomes the most powerful being – and its made clear it could have been others.
Ha, since they dropped in a reference to centaurs in the other universe, I am now expecting things to ultimately fall to Charlie. Especially since that’s where God hid his powers….
I’ve read Sandman (many many years ago), but not Lucifer, so I got to ask: how does the existence of the Abrahamic God gel with the Endless? I mean, in Sandman is established that nothing escapes Death and Destiny, which means God has to die too eventually, and is not all-powerful.Also, at some point in the show, God made a reference to Jesus (the coffee farmer that he described as “aptly named”). But how does Jesus fit in this mythology? In fact, it just occurred to me that the premise of the archangels being literally God’s “sons” (as opposed to Adam and/or Jesus being so) is a bit odd, and not very common.
In the comic, Jesus is not mentioned that I recall, for one, and in Gaiman fashion, all afterlives exist, depending on faith – American Gods rules for deities apply here. As in the Lucifer show, it’s a person’s guilt that sends them to hell as well. Come to think of it, I’m not 100% if The Presence (God) is referred to as their father either, but it’s possible, at least in Lucifer and Michael’s case.That particular God is the omni-everything of *his* creation; its fairly heavily hinted in Sandman:Overture (which admittedly came out like 20 years after Sandman did) that the endless cross all creations and dimensions – though they too have parents, Father Time and Mother Night. For that matter, Death comes for Lucifer (who’s near equal to God in power) fairly early in the series; it’s one of its more iconic covers. So it’s clear the endless supercede any deity even in their “place of power”.
I’m very happy that a new season is coming, but I do love the symmetry the writers were going for by beginning the show with Lucifer, King of Hell, and attempting to end it with Lucifer, King of Heaven.
Yes, budget constraints are understandable. But when I realized the entire bus scene was just to bring them in, rather than the hordes of Hell or at least some demons, it was a little underwhelming. How do some newly dead sinners stack up to archangels? But hopefully Lee’s reintroduction will result in a rehabilitating storyline for Hell, including Dan if that’s where he is. And yes, I really liked Maze’s lines. The puppies, Chad, ‘I don’t care if you die’, really helped lighten the mood.
Yes, it seemed weird that they only had access to the newly dead prisoners. Did they explain that at all? I mena the in-show reason, not the covid/budget reason.
Hell is probably unionized, so it’s a LIFO situation.
I guess the Demons might have still been sore over their last encounter, and maybe the sinners had to be scooped up before entering their loops. But I don’t recall a particular reason.
Demons can only possess the recently deceased. I assumed that the bus accident was just a convenient way to provide a “large” number of fresh bodies and a group of demons in one place. I suspect they kept it smaller than in Season 4 because 1) they had less time in world and 2) Covid. That was some serious social distancing for a battle.
Oh yeah, I’d forgotten some of the rules established in past seasons.
In show, it’s established that demons can only possess the recently deceased. I assumed the prisoners were the only demons they could gather with a few hours notice all in one place. I assumed the scale was due to Covid in reality, but short of a massacre gathering a group of demons in short order would be hard especially without the same level of pre-planning Dromos was doing in Season 4.
That makes sense.
I didn’t think they were dead sinners, but host bodies for demons.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure those were demons possessing the bodies of the newly dead prisoners, in much the same way that Goddess found herself in the newly dead Charlotte Richards, or that demon in the beginning of the 5th season, everyone other than Lucifer (for some reason?) apparently possesses the body of the newly dead.
The Variety interview with the writers is worth reading for an idea of their S6 plans: https://variety.com/2021/tv/features/lucifer-musical-heaven-season-6-plans-1234982997/
I’m glad they mention that the Michael storyline is pretty much done, and I’m looking forward to whatever they do with Dan in Hell, even if that’s only a small part of the season.I don’t really care about the cop part of the show anymore, except as a way of keeping Ella around, and haven’t much interest in that as an Amenadiel storyline.Was very happy to see Charlyne Yi pop up briefly. I hope we see more of the supporting angels next season.I can’t say for certain how this episode would’ve functioned as a series
finale, as it’s lacking its final act; it’s missing the epilogue that
will now function as the bones of season six. So I can only imagine and
hope that the epilogue would’ve wrapped things up regarding Amenadiel’s
new cop journey, Dan’s afterlife fate, Ella’s darkness, and any other
dangling threads this episode doesn’t quite tie up.The writers have said everything except the big showdown action scene had been filmed for the episode pre-pandemic, so it would cool for them to release those scenes someday, post-S6.
Now that the recaps are to the finale, I can safely say that I was very surprised Ella did not become God. If I recall correctly, there were fan theories that made it into the recap comments that Ella may have been God in disguise early in series and her getting training to be the new God would have been an interesting storyline.I haven’t yet read any interviews about what the showrunners might have in mind for the sixth season and this season’s conclusion sort of closes the door on the possibility of multi-episode confidence-building and God training for Ella, but Lucifer could still choose Chloe over being God and I don’t know why he couldn’t appoint Ella to take his place, granting her powers similarly to how his father put them in the baby’s rattle.All in all, I liked this season and am looking forward to the next.
I actually thought it might end up being Linda (being invested in humanity seeing as her half-angel son is mortal), God going and once again subverting Lucifer’s, Michael’s, and Amenadil’s expectations on his way out.
Lucifer wanting to be God makes sense, but I find it an unsatisfying ending, just shuffling someone new into the role. I’m glad there’s another season and I hope they find a way to have godhood evolve from being one being in charge of everything into…I dunno, but something else because we’ve seen how that can go wrong, too.
I don’t know about he Ella was god theory, but there sure were a bunch of Trixie is god. There was so much evidence I started believing it. It would have filled in a bunch of plot holes the show seems to want to ignore (Why was Chloe made). However, when the singing episode happened, that theory went out the window.
So, LaToya — I can’t believe you didn’t get the joke here, it was hilarious! They were fucking trolling the evangelicals so, so hard and I was here for it:So, I think I called back at the end of 5A (will need to go check comments) that getting G-d to Earth was Michael’s plan so he could become G-d, so I’m glad I saw where that was going — but I’d like to think that, without COVID, Maze would have — you know — gotten the entire cadre of demons to come and kick Celestial ass, rather than the random group of the recently deceased.And not having Azrael show up earlier than this — because she takes her job seriously, even if Dad is retiring — and then to show up to comfort Lucifer as she knew Chloe was going to die… that was a good hold-back by the writers/producers.But, here’s the thing… and it’s the one thing I can’t get past. We’ve spent the entire season dealing with angelic self-actualization. We’ve spent the season with G-d banishing Michael from Earth. And Michael just shows back up on Earth like nothing’s happened — why would we expect Lucifer to still be barred from Heaven? Why would he just not try the self-actualization he and everyone else has been talking about all season, especially with Dad?!? And if everyone is really concerned about who becomes G-d, and “making the trains run on time,” why is no one concerned about the rules — Angels can’t kill humans! — let alone murdering one of their own!Having said that, I loved almost everything else about this episode: Lucifer punking Michael with bending the knee, the Angel of Righteousness supporting Lucifer (as I suspected he would) because of Lucifer’s rare moment of honesty, STOP HAMMER TIME, Eve with a shotgun being turned on by Maze being murdery, demonsteel bullets, Lucifer finally saying “I love you” while sacrificing his life for Chloe’s, Chloe wrecking Michael, and Amenadiel’s little head-nod to Lucifer when he’s reborn and assuming the Throne…… so what’s going to happen with Dan? I vote he’ll be the replacement Angel for Remiel’s role (in the comics Remiel was a blond, male Angel). I don’t know if Lucifer will outright resurrect him (given the issues on Earth with that) but I don’t see Dan’s status being in, no pun intended, Limbo for more than a part of Episode 1 of S6…
Apparently you did reference that LaToya, my bad!
I just want to say how much I appreciate knowing that Heaven in Lucifer’s universe has a forking profanity filter.
That nod to The Good Place was so subtle and gave me a huge smile – which was already there because it came from the lips of Mr Said Out Bitch.Surprised that didn’t make LaToya’s stray observations!
I forgot about that in my post! YES, that was so good!
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that! The only way Mr. Said Out Bitch’s reappearance could have been any better. *chef’s kiss*
I really enjoyed this season, it took some swerves I did not expect, which is good. It managed to balance having fun with honest emotion. Very ready for the Ella’s darkness storyline to wrap up, although it was miles better than the serial killer storyline she had before. I loved how they played Lucifer’s expectation that the angel of righteousness’ defection was going to be a whole thing. Thank you for recapping LaToya! I’m not laying any bets as to whether the AV Club will even be around by the time S6 airs, but I truly hope to rejoin you for it!
I loved it. I was riveted and having a blast the entire time (well, after Con Bus). That being said, even during the episode a few things were off. Why doesn’t Chloe just shoot Michael? Why doesn’t Michael kill Lucifer while he’s holding Chloe? Why doesn’t Amenadiel become God, the angels seem like they’d be down for that.Mr Said Out Bitch returns! Chloe gets super-strong! Maze and Eve get together! Lucifer pretends to be Michael! Amenadiel and Dan at a Dodgers game! Angels are basically all heartless dicks! Flying angel fight!I think Azrael shows up because Chloe is about to die, hence the apology to Lucifer.I thought/hoped that Chloe would be the new God. Oh, well. I’m in for season six. Episode and Season A-
The most hilarious part of “STOP HAMMER TIME” wasn’t so much that Lucifer was punking Michael but that Archangel “Big Piece of Wood” happened to know the lyrics by heart. I can understand Lucifer, “Can’t Touch This” is truly satanic. But the holder of the last twig of The Tree of Life???
I really hope we see more of Zadkiel. After that dance number I’d like to know who he is as a person.
Did Maze choose the fake name “Steve” on the dating app just because it rhymes with “Eve?” Did Eve choose to even talk to Steve because it rhymes with her name? Did the writers choose “Steve” because of the old saying, “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve?” So now it’s “Steve” and Eve? (I’m sorry.)If you didn’t wonder about these things you wouldn’t be doing your job as a critic.
I can’t believe I missed that (granted I was still gutted by Dan but still)! And the writer’s have shown they are that meticulous (see Mr. Said Out Bitch’s “fork”) that using the name Steve has to be intentional. It has to be a reference to “Adam & Steve.”
I think if the Season 6 pickup hadn’t happened, this would have been an underwhelming end to it all. I wonder if they were booking on the pickup.I’m interested to see the God!Lucifer thread play out in the last run, but I do feel like there’s a LOT that needs tying up whereas I had expected there to be not much left to wrap up.
Honestly I felt Eve should have had more development. I mean she manipulates Maze into breaking out father Kinsley and then kills him to summon a demon who then kills others to summon more demons and kidnap charlie. No one is ever pissed at her for doing that and she gets off on it. I can understand Maze forgiving her but Lucifer, Amendiel, and Chloe don’t make sense because they seemed done with her. Other than that I liked the Finale but I wish we got see more of heaven. Still I wonder what Chloe will even do in season 6.
The characters were definitely pissed at Eve, but because of the speed of which all those things happened (Squee and the demons kidnapping Charlie), they obviously couldn’t dwell on it. Plus, when it came time to fight the demons, she came to help, even though she knew they were upset with her.While we never got much of the Amenadiel/Eve dynamic (other than him telling her she should go back home, but he didn’t push it), I imagine that (like Lucifer), he could forgive her because he’s known her for a LONG time and knows how she means well and is, ultimately, not a bad person. (We’re missing a lot of Eden and Heaven relationship dynamics for context, obviously. But despite her behavior with Lucifer in Eden, she still ended up in Heaven.) Even Chloe spent that season trying not to like her but struggling because she realized she wasn’t a bad person, even if she believed she was bad for Lucifer.Plus, as this episode says, everybody deserves a second chance.
I really enjoyed 5B but thought that there were some missed opportunities—The show has implied (and a lot of fans believe) that Trixie believed Lucifer all along when he first told her that he was the devil—and that fact never dissuaded her from liking him. Given that none of the adults originally believed him without proof (and reacted really badly when they do realize who he is), it would have been nice to have had a scene between the two of them where Lucifer discovers that the person he initially wanted little to do with because she is a child is the one who believed him all along—because she’s a child and children see the world differently than adults.Also all of human characters got a chance to interact with God but when it came to Chloe’s turn, she ends up lecturing God about his poor parenting skills. She’s still questioning the “gift from God” thing and in 5A asks Lucifer and Amenadiel “Why me?” but when facing the One who set the whole thing in motion, is never given the chance to ask Him about it. Really?And, speaking of which, am I the only one who always found the “gift from God” story line a bit problematic? Chloe’s story parallels Eve’s in this way and although the writers attempt to mitigate Chloe’s somewhat (she had a life before meeting Lucifer and she and Lucifer do love each other while Eve’s only role was as Adam’s wife and they weren’t at all compatible) it still doesn’t change the fact that both of these are female characters put on Earth by God for the benefit of male characters. No matter what her life had been, Chloe was always “destined” to encounter Lucifer at some point. The writers pulled Eve out of this situation when she left Heaven and was given the opportunity find out who she truly wanted be; I hope they do a work around this for Chloe, too. (And, no, I don’t mean that I think that she and Lucifer should break up but rather something that would have her seem less of a pawn in the situation and more in control. After all, one theme in this show is the ability to control your own choices and therefore choose your own path.)
Well I definitely liked this a lot more then you, because I thought that this was a great season finale. It kept things moving forward and set the stage for the final season. I’m sure I would probably be negative on this if it was the actual series finale (And I’m really glad it isn’t) but it’s not and so here we are. It’ll be curious to see where they go with the final season.Speaking of curious, I hope we see more Zadkiel. After his actions in this episode I would like to know more about who he is. Especially once the dancing started, like from his perpective he didn’t know what was going on, he didn’t know about the reinforcements, he just went “Oh we’re dancing now, alright!” Also I can totally believe that nobody else went to their side after Zadkiel’s defection. Because from what we’ve been shown of the Angels they’re as good as they like to pretend to be.
Considering that Lucifer is God now, I would really hope that Ella learns who she’s praying to now in the final season.I was really happy when I saw that Lee made it into Heaven. He had quite the ride but he got his happy ending after all.So now that it’s all done I think I would rank this season at the No. 1 spot with Season 4 or slightly below it. I wasn’t sure about this during the first half of the season but they stuck the landing in the back half.
The first half of S5 was a little bit of a dip for me, too, after how fantastic S4 was, but, damn, the back half freakin’ killed.
My plot(hole) question was why didn’t Lucifer give the Lilith ring to Chloe as soon as he got it from Maze?
Oh shirt, Heaven having a profanity filter means one thing, this whole darn show’s been a Good Place prequel.
I really enjoyed the finale but I’m very glad there’s more episodes to explore what happens next. At this point, I don’t think Ella should ever find out because part of what makes her her is her faith, and you can’t have faith if you know for a fact it’s real, so I hope they don’t take that away from her
I saw someone say that Ella shouldn’t find out about the celestial until she dies and is greeted by God (Lucifer) in heaven… and is basically like, “Lucifer, why are you pretending to be God?” So now I love that idea lol.
“Set out bitch” only made it out of hell because he was told he was there, explained how to get out, and they didn’t erase his memory. If they did that for every soul, and gave them a chance then we would see more people in heaven. I assume that’s what Lucifer will be doing to fix hell.
I do figure Lee provided the one not totally batshit crazy story that will be next season with someone trying to get Dan to stop focusing on why he is in Hell to facing whatever he is last fighting, which probably is the major Trixie story for next season too. I don’t know why I am convinced they will go totally balls to wall next season but it did lead me to the fun idea that they cast Dream and awfully long time before they cast anyone else and they could have easily snuck him on set especially because it would mostly be him pointing and actually laughing at Lucifer as this time period would likely be after most of his Sandman adventures (or weirdly a long time before) and while there is a different Lucifer there, that seems explainable especially since his form he usually takes in Hell is the consort of the African princess form. And it would be the final nod to the origin of these characters.
“Launched across the room like an angry bird” is the greatest simile I’ve ever heard. I need someone to fling me across a room so I have occasion to use it.
Yay, Lee! I am so happy for him!Also I like the idea of Heaven also having “rooms”, but that up there you can explore to your heart’s content. Whereas in Hell, where you are is where you stay. AND that despite never having met Chloe, Lee knew right away who she was and where to find her. I’d like to see more of how things work up there sometime.But then:Aside from the lackluster reaction to Michael killing one of their angel siblings, and the confusion/disdain with which the angels react to the notion of someone making choices out of love as if they’d never fathomed such a thing (didn’t Amenadiel say Heaven was full of love? Or is that another thing he, and he alone, thought was true about how things are?), I’m having trouble getting past the idea that Chloe and Eve could have realistically survived the first second of the fight. The angels can move faster than mortals have the capacity to follow, but everything they do in the battle is totally visible to everyone there *and* the audience. It’s a celestial war for the literal role of God, and they’re being oddly . . . considerate? about moving at such a pace the only two mortals on the field can also participate in the action. Even Michael politely (for him) waits for Chloe to get up before trying to kill her again.On the other hand, maybe it’s the show’s way of offering an insight as to just what the original Rebellion might have really looked like: a bunch of celestial kids scrapping gracelessly and totally uncoolly in a schoolyard without knowing what the heck they’re doing, never mind bothering with teamwork, strategy, tactics or anything like a true battle plan (until Lucifer offered some kind of direction)? It would almost make more sense if it were that, _and_ that it’s been so long since then, _and_ they’ve since been doing whatever Dad tells them, that they’re still new to the idea of making, let alone seriously committing to, any moves without His explicit say so. Sure, they’re standing with Michael, but he has a sword that can kill them all and _did_ kill one of them, so there’s that power imbalance going on. Maybe their hearts aren’t in it, as well? And it all added up to everyone being so crappy at doing a war, no one thought, “Hey, maybe we can at least stop letting ourselves be shot by, like, people.”On the other hand, out here is the world in which an utterly mortal guy who is good at throwing sharp, non-respawning sticks survives everything the Avengers franchise has thrown at him so far, so *shrug emoji*?
First, some words of appreciation. During COVID I stumbled upon this show. I had exhausted almost every crime drama in quarantine and thought “Fine. I’ll watch the weird DevilCop show.” I was surprised when I was instantly interested from the pilot, I binged it quickly, and it has been my fall back for ‘me’ time. Every rewatch I pick up on something I missed the first time either in the story or in the cinematography.
Sadly, no one else in my life will even give it a go. Enjoying it has been a bit lonely. LaToya, your reviews make me feel like I have a friend to talk about the show with, because you look deeper in the same way I enjoy doing. So I just wanted to say thank you, because these reviews and the comments make me feel like I’m not crazy for appreciating this show to the extent that I do. I also never comment on anything, but this has felt like a nice safe space for discussion.
Ok, now on to the episode. I’ve been thinking a lot about how this was supposed to be the end. I think I would have been ok if it was, and I am tentatively glad that it isn’t, but I am curious how they are squeezing 10 more episodes out when the premise has shifted so dramatically. I am looking forward to more Celestial plot lines and less crime drama. I will say if the end of Dan’s arc was that he died and went to hell and that was it, I would have been pissed. Based on some interviews, I have read between the lines that the Mr. Said Out Bitch scene was added as a window to give Dan a redemption story, because they wanted Alejandro to be apart of the last season.
I agree this episode is overstuffed, and some things are inconsistent/confusing. Some examples:
-Lucifer burns up in Heaven because of his banishment, but Michael can walk around on Earth no problem. (God did banish him from Earth, right?)
-Nobody thinks to give Chloe Lilith’s ring before fighting a bunch of celestials. Fail.
-Earlier seasons referenced Lucifer was the only one who could light the flaming sword because he is the Light Bringer
-Chloe running into battle right after the father of her child died is just kind of questionable parenting
-Maze/Eve relationship just felt very rushed between season 4 and 5, but my goodness are they beautiful together
-Chloe seems far too smart to gloat about having the piece out in the open in the middle of a fight scene. Not very detective like.
But for my gripes there were a lot of moments that I appreciated that tied the story together.
Michael playing ‘Heart & Soul’ at Lux was just a low blow, does Lucifer’s family just spy on him, like, all the time? Ellis continues to impress being our beloved hero and the slimiest villain in the same scenes.
I got teary eyed when Dan died, that hospital scene was brutal. However, Maze grieving made me legitimately cry, and I am not one to get emotional over media. I thought Brandt nailed it, and all I could think of is how the character of Maze experiencing this kind of pain for the first time. Great character progression.
Lucifer’s invulnerability didn’t go the way I thought it would. When it first happend in 5A, I thought that seeing Chole almost killed by Klumpski while he was paralyzed made Lucifer self-actualize his invulnerability back as a method to protect her. Or, because Lucifer has acknowledged his emotional vulnerability, he no longer needed to show it physically. The ‘Make yourself vulnerable’ scene surprised me, because him putting up emotional walls feels like a backslide. Maybe this will be resolved in S6, but then again, having a physically vulnerable God probably isn’t a good thing.
I think the ‘war’ scene would have been much more epic/impactful if it wasn’t for COVID (more angels and demons going at it) that said, I didn’t hate it either. Zadkiel’s alliance change and the MC Hammer stalling were both great. Lucifer & Michael fighting ‘alla a alla’ was really well done and I was on the edge of my seat. Azrael showing up and her sullen “I’m sorry, Lu”, was powerful. I knew right away what that meant.
I think Michael did feel guilty about killing Chloe, maybe because he realized Lucifer really did love her in that moment, or because he did get kind of attached to her in episodes 1 & 2 of 5A.
Definitely got the vibe that time moves faster in Heaven, as it does in Hell, with Chloe needing a few moments to remember what she left behind, and being so sad to leave her dad. Nice touch. Of course Lucifer choosing Chloe over himself gave me all the feels, even if it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to die.
Chloe kicking Michael’s ass felt great, as well as her strength against Azrael’s blade. German’s line there was so intense and gave me chills. Great acting on her part.
I like that Chloe didn’t kneel to Lucifer like the others did, nice nod to the fact that she is his equal, God or not. Very curious to see what the future for “Mrs G” looks like.
One last theory, I read the antagonist in the next season will be a rebellious sibling who wants to overthrow Lucifer, we have ‘already met them’ and the show runners have made it decently clear Michael’s arc is over. I think it will be Raziel, I just think they showed her/focused on her far too much for her to have such little dialog.
All in all, I thought this season was great (both A & B) despite the somewhat rushed finale. I was not sold on the whole ‘evil twin’ plot but, boy, was I wrong. I also believe this is easily the funniest and most emotional season. I’m sad it’s over and I do wish they stretched the story out a bit 1 or 2 more episodes. However, I’m excited to see where they take things in Season 6, and to read your reviews of the episodes.
Lilith’s ring imparts immortality, not invincibility. Even angels can be injured or killed by objects not of this earth so immortality in this instance has its limits. And given the show’s premise that immortality is not all it’s cracked up to be, Chloe being given the chance to become immortal sounds like a waaay too big commitment for her to deal with in this episode given everything else going on. As for Chloe leaving Trixie right after Dan’s death, I get the definite impression that things would not bode well for humanity (including Trixie’s future) if Michael had become God, even if that was not stated explicitly. So the battle to prevent Michael from becoming God can be seen as the bigger picture that would take precedent over Trixie having to be with her grandparents at that point.
Lilith’s ring imparts immortality, not invincibility.I’m not sure how you use these words here, but we saw the ring made so that Lucifer didn’t die in Heaven. It would have made so that Chloe wouldn’t have died due to being stabbed (if the ring isn’t able to protect you from a wound, then it’s not able to keep you alive forever, like Maze wanted Eve to, since most of what kills us in the end is a form of wound caused by physical decay). It doesn’t stop the wound from being inflicted, but it stops the wound from killing you. (By regenerating the tissue or something, I assume). Also, Chloe wouldn’t become immortal. She would be immortal only as long as she wore the ring. Take the ring off, immortality is shut down, decay resumes.By the way, they used that questionable, all-too-common trope where a soul is returned to a mortally wounded body, and the body is simultaneously healed as an unexplained side effect.
Great perspective, I guess “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken” was one of my least favorite episodes so I didn’t really catch the immortality vs invincibility piece. Clearly I need to binge and revisit more consistently.
Good point on Michael as God being a bigger problem as well.
Michael can walk around on Earth no problem. (God did banish him from Earth, right?)I noticed that too. I guess the banishing wasn’t as official as Lucifer’s from Heaven (which, if we want to nitpick, shouldn’t God have lifted that ban the moment he and Lucifer were no longer at odds?)My nitpicks are:- Team Lucifer established they wouldn’t kill anyone. But didn’t Chloe start the fight by shooting two angels down? Were they just fine after that? Nobody got hurt in the battle? (At least one demon prisoner was decapitated, but I guess nobody cared about those guys).- The whole deal with the demon prisoners was pretty sketchy. First of all, how did they all become demons right away, rather than getting their hell loops? And why should they care about Lucifer’s battle? How can they be trusted to ever fight rather than escape and wreak havoc on Earth once released from Hell? How did Maze transport them to Earth since Amenadiel wasn’t with her anymore at that point? And in the end, they were kinda lame as “reinforcements” and their contribute to the battle seemed inconsequential. I’m sure a single warrior angel could smite all of them. Better would have been if Maze enlisted the help of actual experienced demons (as a nod to the fact that she’s willing to become Queen of Hell), not these pathetic rookies.- Thinking we’re not worthy of someone’s love and not being sure if someone actually loves us are completely different things and I don’t know why they’re being conflated.
I think they were demons possessing dead bodies like was done with the priest earlier. When they “died” they would have just been sent back to hell.
Team Lucifer established they wouldn’t kill anyone. But didn’t Chloe start the fight by shooting two angels down? Were they just fine after that? Nobody got hurt in the battle? (At least one demon prisoner was decapitated, but I guess nobody cared about those guys). Chloe didn’t kill those angels; she just winged ‘em.(Just now watching the show, but I couldn’t resist that response.)We know that the demons just go back to Hell if their corpse-body is killed, so that’s no big deal: I guess you didn’t get that these were demons possessing the prisoners’ bodies, not the prisoners as demons. Maze just had to find deceased sinners instead of murdering people.
Nice review.
Lucifer is always great at all the flips and twists but struggles to stick the landing. I think Season 3 ended the best of all of them which was my least favorite season until the back end of it. I get how underwhelming the grand finale was here, but I still enjoyed the story and even if the grandiosity of everything didn’t match the effect, I still got all the feels. Can’t wait for Season 6. As I watched the 5B I had so many thoughts but kept them to myself to avoid spoiling for others but now I forgot a lot of what I was going to say lol. I’m rewatching this of course and may express some more things if they come up during the rewatch now that the spoiler issue is mostly over.
Well this threw me for a loop. I seriously thought that they were leading up to Ella becoming God. I figured that they were going to decide that neither Luce nor Mike could have it, so it goes to the one whose whole story back seemed to be grooming her for it.
Unless they go in that direction next season. Then in that case, ignore eveything I have just said here.
Its poor they brought Azrael back but didn’t give her a scene with Ella.Other than that no other issues with the show.
Got to the end of the season a bit late, but I’m here now, and I must say these reviews and comments have been a really fun read! I agree with the tenor of the review mostly, in that the final battle just didn’t feel as grand as it ought, what with it being fought between a bunch of angels we just met and a bus load of criminals (hosts for demons maybe?) I was very relieved when it went more personal, because that is always where the strength of the shows comes out to play. My favorite throw away line was Amenadiel’s “Mom never liked you” to the twice-defecting angel as she crossed back to Michael’s side. I will also jump on the “Angel of Righteousness” fan train, because watching that guy leap whole-heartedly into “Can’t Touch This” was just beautiful.The ring not being brought in earlier felt like a plot contrivance, though, since when they were discussing Chloe coming to battle with them I said out loud “The ring!” which I’m sure many other viewers did as well. Not using it then should have been more than just a forgotten literal Deus Ex Machina. I did enjoy how the ending played out, but it did seem too convenient to the story that Lucifer didn’t think about the ring until Heaven. But I will say that I am excited to see what season 6 will look like, because I cannot wait to find out what Lucifer does as God. It will be a glorious mess.
So, something I’ve been wondering for the better part of a week…… is there anything to the fact that Chloe was, you know, stabbed by the Tree of Life? Will that have any lingering impact on her, after her resurrection by Lucifer?
The thing with Ella is that Lucifer HAS told her the truth. Repeatedly. Just as he told everyone the truth from day one. It’s only when they finally see it that everyone then believes it. With Ella, it’s all about faith, not proof. She has to come to the realization on her own.
I completely missed the “Eve and Steve” thing, and that’s why I come here. Keep up the good work, LaToya.
What the fork? No mention of the The Good Place reference?
I so wish Maze’s reinforcements ended up being cameos by Adam Scott, Tiya Sircar and Marc Evan Jackson.
So what was the point of distracting Michael with a bullet?