Lucifer: Season 4 – Summary, Review (with Spoilers)
Lucifer’s 4th season is more of the same and while it may satisfy avid fans, for those who dropped the series or are curious, it won’t hype you up for a 5th season.
[Unless Said Otherwise] Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Lucifer’s 4th season is more of the same and while it may satisfy avid fans, for those who dropped the series or are curious, it won’t hype you up for a 5th season.
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| Network | |
| Netflix | |
| Creator(s) | Tom Kapinos |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy |
| Good If You Like | Puns
Debauchery Episodic Police Cases Playing With The Lore Of Heaven, Hell, Demons, and Angels |
| Isn’t For You If You | Prefer A More Serious Tone To The Idea Of Angels, Demons, and The Chaos They Bring
Don’t Want Watch Past Seasons & Just Jump Right In |
| Noted Cast | |
| Remiel | Vinessa Vidotto |
| Trixie | Scarlett Estevez |
| Father Kinley | Graham McTavish |
| Chloe | Lauren German |
| Caleb | Denny Love |
| Lucifer | Tom Ellis |
| Eve | Inbar Lavi |
| Dan | Kevin Alejandro |
| Ella | Aimee Garcia |
| Maze | Lesley-Ann Brandt |
| Linda | Rachael Harris |
| Amenadiel | D. B. Woodside |
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Lucifer Season 4 Summary
With Chloe having an issue with seeing Lucifer’s true self, knowing him calling himself the devil isn’t a joke, she struggles with accepting who he really is. Because of that, Lucifer spends quite a few episodes feeling down about that rejection, at least until Eve shows up. Yet, even with her, Lucifer doesn’t truly find joy. She wants the devil from the garden of Eden, but Lucifer has evolved since then and reverting back he loathes the idea of. Making Eve unsure of what to do and becoming desperate to find a way to secure Lucifer’s love.
As that happens, Dan is dealing with his grief over Charlotte and looking to blame and takedown Lucifer however he can. Leading him to often isolate himself and draw no real attention to his issues, except from Ella, to a point. Though with her faith wavering, as much as she wants to be there for Dan, she has her own stuff going on.
The same could be said for Maze. For a moment, as Dan hits a downward spiral, the two become close and Maze thinks, perhaps similar to Lucifer, she has an inside person to help with her work. However, Dan eventually rebounds from the ground floor and rejects Maze’s partnership. This leads Maze to search elsewhere for on top of Chloe rejecting Lucifer, early in the season, she rejects Maze and lies about how Trixie feels about Maze after their blow up last season. Making Linda being pregnant just what Maze needs but with Amenadiel being there, and Linda liking her independence, she is told to seek out her own personal connection – while noting Maze will be an aunt to Charlie, Linda, and Amenadiel’s son.
This leads to Maze seeking Eve, who is working her damnedest to get Lucifer, but Maze’s pursuit not being taken notice. Leaving everyone’s favorite demon lonely as Lucifer deals with a heart that yearns for Chloe and yet the only one who wants his love is Eve. Someone who doesn’t stimulate him, past sex, and who is connected with a prophecy which could mean the end of the world as the humans know it.
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Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Why did Lucifer stop demons from possessing humans?
- Considering how much trouble comes up by Lucifer’s elevator, why was there never a lock installed?
- How did Caleb, in episode 8, learn about Lucifer and the favors he does?
- Is it God’s will that humans and angels don’t intermingle or Amenadiel made assumptions and passed them around?
- How is Lux still open, especially considering the type of parties it has, considering how often cops are around? Never mind it being a known place to acquire drugs? I get Lucifer making nice with LAPD helps but what about farther up the chain?
- Was anyone else expecting Lilith to show up, considering how Maze kept bringing up her mommy issues?
Highlights
General
It Seemed Good, At First
Despite season 3 ending less than a year ago, the beginning of the season had a nice boost from coming back from cancellation. Similar to Family Guy, when that was revived, you got a weird sense of nostalgia, joy from seeing characters you’d thought you never would again, and it seems being cancelled injected new life into the writers. As if they realized they had to kick it up a notch or history would repeat itself.
This could be seen with Eve’s introduction, which was welcomed, at first, and with Father Kinley presenting himself as an exorcist. That led to it appearing that the Catholic church was going to become a major adversary for Lucifer. Likely using Chloe, maybe even Dan, as a means to eradicate Lucifer’s presence.
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A Case Lasted/ Had Influence Over Multiple Episodes
A case which begins episode 6 still affected the storyline up to episode 9. To me, this is a big deal since, even though by episode 9 the influence was minor, one annoying this about episodic cases is that they simply become mirrors to whatever a certain character is going through. Which, with Lucifer, is made obvious as there is a bit of a formula to it. Linda brings up something in therapy, Lucifer hears about a case, and badgers all those who are involved to understand his problems.
But, with a case not ending after one episode, it made the criminal proceedings seem more complicated and not so open shut. Making it seem the show, which was past the halfway point at the time, was no longer operating like it was still on FOX but embracing Netflix. Especially since episode 6 was a bit more risqué with consistent ass shots of Lucifer and Ella, and carefully placed hair and objects to cover breasts and genitals.
Episode Specific
Episode 6: Orgy Pants To Work
Linda Embracing Maze
With Trixie rarely appearing this season, it means Maze was without a person to humanize her. Making Linda being pregnant awesome and not just in terms of Maze getting to make jokes about childbirth, but also doing as many humans do – give a child what they never had. And in episode 6, as Maze speaks about Lilith, we get the sort of softness we only occasionally get from Maze yet often is a highlight. The reminder that, like Lucifer, Maze is far from evil. It’s just, like him, she was often given no choice. Thus what was imposed on her became who she is. A struggle we see Lucifer go through as well, but with Maze being less afraid to form close relationships, especially ones which aren’t sexual, we see her go further than her former boss.
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Making her pursuit of Eve touching as it seems to be her first real taste of romance. One which does end in rejection but arguably Eve does leave the door open for something happening farther down the line.
Episode 8: Super Bad Boyfriend
Caleb & Amenadiel’s Relationship/ The Black Experience in LA
Part of Amenadiel’s fears when he learns Linda is pregnant is how to be a father. So him getting involved with Caleb in episode 8 was beautiful to watch. First and foremost, because it addressed Amenadiel’s Blackness outside of the context of being a joke. It wasn’t made to make people scratch their heads when he says he is Lucifer’s brother. Instead, it was taken seriously by showing the lack of opportunity Caleb had, police aggression, and him being framed for a crime because he was an easy target.
All the while, Amenadiel is taking note of that and wondering if he’d want his son possibly going through that. Never mind that, if Dan didn’t show up, Amenadiel might have gotten shot. And while Lucifer has dramatic elements to it, mostly in the form of Lucifer being erratic, Caleb brought to the show the type of tone I wish Lucifer pursued more often.
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Low Points
General
Dan
Dan was one note this entire season. He was mad about Charlotte, sad about Charlotte, and while you get a person has the right to grieve, they didn’t expand Dan beyond his sorrow. Add on he didn’t go to therapy, and begin to move on, until the season was nearly over, and it makes each and every scene with him frustrating. For, after a certain point, it seemed like they didn’t know what to do with the character but didn’t think it would be wise to kill him off. So he just tagged along, spread about how much he hates and blames Lucifer, while most rolled their eyes or downplayed his feelings.
Ella’s Storyline
Except for Ella. Someone who had a potentially rich storyline since she loses her faith this season to the point of renouncing God. Yet, following the show’s tone, the depth of this is met with a certain passiveness that makes you feel her issues aren’t being taken seriously. Which frankly they weren’t for rather than explore what it means to lose your faith, mourn feeling the warmth, closeness, and belonging religion can give, she just reminds the quirky forensics person. One who hooks up with Dan and seems like one of the characters sacrificed due to the 10 episode order.
Lacking A Compelling Villain
After a character like Cain, the villain being Lucifer’s insecurities was lame. Especially since it seemed Chloe could be a villain, Father Kinley, Dan going rogue to expose Lucifer, or maybe Eve would do something. Such as inspiring Adam to come to Earth to get his wife back. Heck, taking note of Maze bringing up Lilith, and the stir which is happening with demons down in hell, you see so many avenues the show could have taken, rather than Lucifer’s insecurities, to make this a triumphant return.
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The Church Element Was Wasted
Taking note of Ella was losing faith, Dan’s anger at Lucifer, Chloe nearly betraying him, and the Vatican knowing of Lucifer’s presence for years, it leads you to believe the church was going to play a strong role in season 4. Which, just with Father Kinley getting into Chloe’s head, presenting the idea that Lucifer was the cause of massacres or genocides, it pushed you to believe the show may look into Lucifer’s past “vacations” and what he did during them.
However, instead of exploring Lucifer’s past, to make you question his future, Father Kinley is presented as a rogue agent, excommunicated within a few episodes, and all the potential of the Catholic church beyond involved is gone. Thus taking away not just a “villain,” but the opportunity to dive into Lucifer’s history with mankind more and his version of the truth versus what religious organizations perpetuate.
On The Fence
General
Remiel
When angels come to visit, unfortunately, they are almost all one-note as Amenadiel was when he was introduced. Making their often short stints not really enough to say whether you’d want repeat visits or can’t wait for them to return to the “Silver City.” With Remiel, however, the combination of being trained by Amenadiel, and the vibe he raised her, it seemed like she would have been a good long term character. Especially considering she was introduced episode 6 and within 2 episodes Amenadiel is faced with the harsh realities his son may go through.
Making it so, while you could imagine Remiel furthering her case for Charlie to return with her to the Silver City, it could also have presented us a reminder of how far Amenadiel has come. Much less, paired with Caleb, with Remiel we could have gotten how easy parenting could seem for Amenadiel, as he tried to convince her humans and their world isn’t so bad, paired with the realities of what Charlie may go through with Caleb. Which could have created a rather awesome arc.
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Lucifer’s Return To Hell
While you could see Lucifer returning to hell as a full circle thing, since that is why Amenadiel was first introduced, it does leave the show in a weird place. After all, there has to be a king and with angels barely wanting to interact with humans, can you imagine someone new ruling over hell? On top of that, it isn’t like Lucifer can be rescued from this fate either.
So, outside of maybe meeting famous demons like Beezlebub, or Lilith herself, so comes the question of what can this show do without its charismatic lead? Especially when it comes to Chloe and Dan since Chloe has the personality of a doorknob and Dan is reliant on Lucifer to rile him up and make it appear he still has some life in him.
The Lack of Trixie
While not a huge part of the series, Trixie being a little badass who often hung out with Maze or annoyed Lucifer was a likable part of the show. But I guess with a smaller episode count, she, like Dan and Ella’s development, got sacrificed for time.
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Overall: Mixed (Stick Around)
The problem with Lucifer’s 4th season is that it presents a lot of appealing storylines that either don’t come to fruition or fall short. Leaving you to wonder, if you aren’t a rabid fan, or know how much of an international hit this is, why did Netflix bring it back? Which, don’t get me wrong, between Ellis’ persona for Lucifer and the jokes, you get it. However, it’s hard to not wonder between the episode count being lower than its first season, a rapid transition from network TV to Netflix, if not maybe running out of source material, what led to what was a lackluster season?
Hence the mixed label. Despite over 50 episodes and three seasons, season 4 feels like the writers are still trying to figure out how to write these characters and take advantage of each actors’ talents. And while you want to give them a break since this was cancelled a year ago, is on a new network, and I’m sure it has been a whirlwind year, that requires a certain amount of forgiveness that a show this old shouldn’t be asking for any more. Especially since it isn’t a new property that FOX came up with but the adaption of a character who is almost 30 years old, not counting the biblical Lucifer. So one can only hope, if a season 5 comes to be, season 4 will ultimately be just a transition season.
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Has Another Season Been Confirmed?
For one final season per Deadline.
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TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
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