Lucifer Season 3

Part Two of the “They Ruined Lucifer” series

What really happened in Season 3.

Season 3 was uneven, but it wasn’t horrible. There were some great episodes, and, aside from Chloe, all of the characters’ actions fit their characters. (One of the Lucifer Netflix Original FB group mods says that Chloe had brain damage from the poison that almost killed her in Season 2.) In addition to Chloe being kind of an idiot, as I see it, the following are season 3’s major problems:

• There was no chemistry between Lt. Marcus Pierce (aka Cain) and Detective Chloe Decker. I didn’t believe their relationship for one minute. Pierce did, however, have great chemistry with Lucifer in the episode where they went undercover to find a neighborhood murderer (hence the featured image on this post).
• The fake Sinnerman plot made absolutely zero sense.
• Hell is based solely on guilt.
• Angels self-actualize. (That’s like blaming the abused person in a domestic violence situation for their own abuse.)

Given that there was a lot of good material in Season 3, I just have some minor tweaks.

Season 3 opens (“They’re Back, Aren’t They?”) as Lucifer wakes up in the desert with wings. He encounters Mr. Said-Out-Bitch, commandeers the stolen truck, and goes through the stand off with the police. When Lucifer goes to the precinct, he finds that Dan has a new partner—Marcus Pierce. Pierce isn’t thrilled to be partnered with a ‘dirty cop who got off light.” He is, however, getting chummy with Chloe. It’s unclear what his intentions are at this point, but he definitely has positive feelings about Chloe. Lucifer tries to show Chloe his Devil face, but cannot. The kidnapping plot remains the same. Sam reveals the Sinnerman’s existence. Chloe and Luci find Sam killed.

“The One with the Baby Carrot” begins with Lucifer about to have sex… until his wings return. He cuts them off again. At Linda’s, Lucifer discusses the Sinnerman. Chloe and Lucifer then discuss the Sinnerman at the precinct. A case drops and Chloe, Dan, and Lucifer head out, as Pierce is out for the morning. At the crime scene, we see Pierce surveilling the others. Amenadiel and Linda strike up a friendship over disposing of Lucifer’s wings. Pierce asks for Dan’s information about Lucifer. The case proceeds. Pierce confronts Lucifer over the Sinnerman. In the precinct, while he’s talking to the man he believes to be the Sinnerman’s henchman, he is unable to show his Devil face again. However, the wings grow back by the time he sees Linda the next day. Lucifer decides to start granting favors again.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith” remains the same. (Spoiler Alert: Mr. Mazikeen Smith will be back in my version of Season 5.)

In “What Would Lucifer Do?,” Pierce works the case with Chloe and Lucifer. (Dan actually gets to take his vacation.) Feeling at loose ends, Amenadiel takes Lucifer’s advice to walk a mile in his shoes, which ends up with him getting more than one drink thrown in his face. Linda is at Lux, having had a disastrous date herself. She and Amenadiel go out for coffee, where she ends up talking about how she’s concerned about her lack of relationship at her age, specifically because she wants the chance to be a mom. Chloe and Pierce go back to the ranch, where Pierce is shot. Lucifer still almost kills the shooter, but Amenadiel intervenes, because he believes his “test” is, and always has been, Lucifer.

“Welcome Back Charlotte Richards” remains the same.

“Vegas With Some Radish” remains the same, except Pierce gets Chloe a very thoughtful, heartfelt birthday present.

I hate “Off the Record,” but a lot of people seem to really like it, and it does provide some background to Linda’s character. Reese can’t find out that Lucifer is the Devil because Lucifer checks his devil face out in the mirror—it would be far too easy for anyone to see his face like that. Instead, Reese follows Lucifer and sees him confront some real-life cretin. At the end, we pull back on Hell and clearly see that, while Reese’s door is not chained, there are doors that are chained.

In “Chloe Does Lucifer,” it becomes clear that Pierce is, in fact, really into Chloe. Other than that, the episode can remain the same. Linda is planning Reese’s funeral and reaches out to Amenadiel for support. Charlotte is trying to be a better person.

In “The Sinnerman,” the case still involves the people Lucifer helped out with favors. Ella identifies the killer as the Sinnerman, whose real identity remains unknown. Charlotte and Chloe work on Frankie to go after the Sinnerman, but they are unable to catch him. Maze finds Amenadiel and Linda having coffee together, and Maze realizes she has actual feelings for Amenadiel. She tries to tell him how she feels, but she can’t quite manage it. She asks Linda to stop seeing Amenadiel, but Linda insists they’re just friends. Pierce and Chloe go out for a drink, where Pierce reveals that the Sinnerman killed his brother.

“The Sin Bin” is very different. The case starts out like any other: a woman is seemingly killed when her car explodes. They believe her death is tied to the Sinnerman, and they follow a string of clues. However, when the clues seem to lead them to a wealthy movie mogul, Chloe realizes that it’s been too easy. She and Ella determine that they woman faked her own death. They’re able to find her, and, as she begins to tell them about why she had to do this for the Sinnerman, she’s shot by an unseen sniper. In a side plot, Trixie convinces Charlotte to reach out to her kids.

I also dislike the random “City of Angels” episode. If it has to happen, there are a couple of things that need to change. Amenadiel can’t go into the precinct and engage Chloe in conversation about his stolen necklace. There’s no way Chloe would forget him. Also, the instruments of torture are not chosen for the demons in Hell.

In “All About Her,” Lucifer is concerned about Pierce’s intentions toward the Detective. Pierce is rude to Ella and Charlotte helps her out. Maze still thinks Linda and Amenadiel are romantically involved, as they’ve been hanging out together a lot. Pierce finally asks Chloe out on a proper date. The date goes well, until Pierce gets an urgent call… from Lucifer, who has figured out that Pierce is the Sinnerman and Cain. Pierce/Cain thinks that Chloe is the key to being able to die. Lucifer promises to help Pierce/Cain die, but only if Pierce/Cain stops wooing Chloe.

“Til Death Do Us Part” is one of the more solid season 3 episodes. It can remain largely the same, except, in this universe, Pierce has seemed romantically interested in Chloe, so she’s confused when he, all of a sudden, just turns that off. Dan and Charlotte go out for their first 100% human date.

“My Brother’s Keeper” is also a solid episode that can remain pretty much the same.

Insert “Boo Normal” here. (We need to establish the existence of Azarael/RayRay.)

In “High School Poppycock,” Chloe and Lucifer’s story remains the same. Maze still sets the blind dates up, convinced that Linda and Amenadiel are “boning,” and demanding they admit it. Linda finally reveals that what she and Amenadiel are actually talking about is Linda’s decision to become a single mom through artificial insemination. She’s chosen a Black donor, and Amenadiel has offered to be a surrogate father of sorts. (No, Amenadiel is not Linda’s baby daddy. He just doesn’t have anything else to do right now.) Lucifer believes he has to change the past to kill Pierce.

In “Infernal Guinea Pig,” Lucifer resurrects Abel to try to kill Pierce. Chloe is trying not to take it personally that Pierce is hanging out with Lucifer all the time. Linda accepts Charlotte as a client. Dan and Charlotte are dating again. Lucifer admits he has no idea how to kill Pierce/Cain, and can’t put the Detective in danger for him again. Abel does not get hit by an ambulance at the end of the episode. When Pierce and Lucifer talk about Hell, Pierce believes Hell is based entirely on one’s guilt. However, Lucifer tries to correct him, but they’re interrupted.

In “Let Pinhead Sing,” the case remains the same. Maze confesses her feelings for Amenadiel, but he doesn’t believe she’s sincere, so he mocks her. Pierce tries to pick up where he left off with Chloe, by inviting himself to take the extra Axara ticket.

“The Last Heartbreak” remains much the same. Pierce/Cain is more of an asshole in the past, though.

When it comes to “Orange Is the New Maze,” Lucifer’s reason for not taking Maze to Hell is that he can’t leave Chloe alone with Pierce/Cain, who has started to woo Chloe again. Otherwise, the episode remains much the same, including Lucifer revealing the truth to Charlotte.

“Angel of San Bernadino” does not include sex in the evidence closet or a bad “come together” joke. It does include Pierce meeting Trixie. Trixie does not like Pierce at all. Amenadiel talks about works being the key to getting into Heaven. To that end, he and Charlotte start investigating the Sinnerman. He also floats the theory of angel self-actualization. Instead of Pierce breaking up with Chloe before she can say, “I love you,” Chloe decides that she needs some space to allow Trixie to feel her feelings. Pierce realizes that his mark is gone. The case, and Maze’s involvement in it, remains the same.

The motivation behind “Anything Pierce Can Do, I Can Do Better” is Pierce’s drive to convince Chloe he’s husband and father material. Thus, Lucifer has to outdo Pierce. At the end of the episode, Chloe is so upset at Lucifer that she says “yes” when Pierce proposes. Pierce/Cain uses a temporary tattoo to replace his lost mark.

It’s crazy that Chloe and Pierce would get married so quickly, so “All Hands on Decker” centers around an engagement party. Pierce is pushing for a quick wedding, but Chloe’s not so sure. Maze wants the quick wedding, but Linda appeals to Chloe’s more practical instincts, as does Charlotte, who works on convincing Chloe that she should have a full-on formal wedding. But by the end, Chloe realizes that she said “yes” for all the wrong reasons, and breaks it off with Pierce.

In “Quintessential Deckerstar,” Pierce wants his mark back, so he and Maze plan to kill Amenadiel. However, when it comes time to do so, Maze can’t kill Amenadiel. Although he still doesn’t love her back, he does convince her that they are real friends. Pierce still kidnaps Maze. The case remains the same. Charlotte’s actions also remain the same. When Pierce tries to shoot Amenadiel, Charlotte jumps in front of him, to save her. Azrael appears, in her full Angel of Death regalia. She explains to Amenadiel that Charlotte, having cheated death when Mom inhabited her body, had to die. But the fact that she died saving Amenadiel means that she’s heading for Heaven. Azrael tells Amenadiel, “Dad has a message for you: Be worthy of her sacrifice.” Azrael and Amenadiel (complete with wings!) then take Charlotte to the Silver City. Lucifer and Chloe have their beautiful dialogue and kiss, then receive the call about Charlotte.

In “A Devil of My Word,” Pierce takes over the investigation of Charlotte’s murder, proclaiming that he will avenge the death of his partner’s partner. Dan finds Charlotte’s notes and informs Chloe and Lucifer that Pierce is really the killer. Lucifer starts to believe that self-actualization is a real thing. The set up, hitman, and ambush all take place. Lucifer takes Chloe to the roof, where Amenadiel is waiting, wanting to help. Lucifer convinces him to stay with the Detective while Lucifer deals with Pierce. Pierce tries to kill Lucifer with Maze’s blade, but Lucifer turns it back on Pierce. As he’s dying, Pierce laughs, saying he’ll get to Heaven because he doesn’t feel any guilt. Lucifer, with his Devil face, finally gets to tell him that, while many humans end up in Hell due to guilt, there really is a special level of Hell reserved for the truly bad guys, and Pierce is heading straight there. Chloe and Amenadiel enter just as Pierce dies, and Chloe sees Lucifer’s face. “It’s all true,” she says, stunned.

“Once Upon a Time” airs here, and remains the same. Remember this line from Dad, “And some [people], no matter how you shake things up, end up making the same choices, are drawn to the same people, the same passions. So all seems to have ended well. Does that mean I never should have manipulated things to begin with? I have a better question. Wouldn’t you do the same in my shoes? After all, a parent just wants what’s best for their child. ”

Come back next week for my version of Season 4.