Lucifer: It Never Ends Well for the Chicken
August 22, 2020 1:07 PM - Season 5, Episode 4 - Subscribe
The year is 1946. The world is black and white. And Lucifer is the star of his own noir detective story featuring familiar characters in new roles.
*Nobody but Trixie shows up for game night at Lucifer's penthouse and, uninterested in 2-person Monopoly or partying downstairs at Lux, Trixie insists on Lucifer telling her the story of his ring.
*Lucifer tells her the story of his visit with Lillith, first wife of Adam and mother of demons, when she was living as Lily Allen in 1946, singing at the Garden Club and dallying with mobster Stompanato. Lillith calls in the favor Lucifer owes her for sending all her demonic offspring to keep him company in Hell, asking him to find her ring which was stolen from her dressing room. The ring contains a piece of the Garden of Eden, which she took when she was exiled, and Lucifer complies.
*As Lucifer investigates, the show regulars take on the 1946 roles -- Maze as Lillith, Chloe as P.I. Jack Monroe, Dr. Linda as bartender Gertie, Ella as Johnny Stompanato, Charlotte/Mom as Jack's wife Shirley, Amenadiel as Melvin the Magnificent, and Dan as Willy the Sausage Prince.
*The ring theft and various related murders are revealed as being due to the mistaken belief that the ring grants immortality, rather than Lillith being innately celestial. But in the end, Lillith decides that she wants to be mortal, and exhales her immortality into the ringstone and gives the ring to Lucifer, swearing him to never telling her demonic brood what she has done.
*Storytime finished, Trixie gets into the penthouse elevator, where Maze is revealed to have sent Trixie to learn the story of the ring and Lillith. Later, Maze finds where now-elderly-Lillith is living in Reno and confronts her for abandoning her. Lillith says she did it to make her children strong, and that it worked, that Maze clearly needs no one, and Maze leaves.
*Musical numbers this episode are "I Want To Be Evil" by Lillith, and "Someone To Watch Over Me" by Lillith and Lucifer.
*Nobody but Trixie shows up for game night at Lucifer's penthouse and, uninterested in 2-person Monopoly or partying downstairs at Lux, Trixie insists on Lucifer telling her the story of his ring.
*Lucifer tells her the story of his visit with Lillith, first wife of Adam and mother of demons, when she was living as Lily Allen in 1946, singing at the Garden Club and dallying with mobster Stompanato. Lillith calls in the favor Lucifer owes her for sending all her demonic offspring to keep him company in Hell, asking him to find her ring which was stolen from her dressing room. The ring contains a piece of the Garden of Eden, which she took when she was exiled, and Lucifer complies.
*As Lucifer investigates, the show regulars take on the 1946 roles -- Maze as Lillith, Chloe as P.I. Jack Monroe, Dr. Linda as bartender Gertie, Ella as Johnny Stompanato, Charlotte/Mom as Jack's wife Shirley, Amenadiel as Melvin the Magnificent, and Dan as Willy the Sausage Prince.
*The ring theft and various related murders are revealed as being due to the mistaken belief that the ring grants immortality, rather than Lillith being innately celestial. But in the end, Lillith decides that she wants to be mortal, and exhales her immortality into the ringstone and gives the ring to Lucifer, swearing him to never telling her demonic brood what she has done.
*Storytime finished, Trixie gets into the penthouse elevator, where Maze is revealed to have sent Trixie to learn the story of the ring and Lillith. Later, Maze finds where now-elderly-Lillith is living in Reno and confronts her for abandoning her. Lillith says she did it to make her children strong, and that it worked, that Maze clearly needs no one, and Maze leaves.
*Musical numbers this episode are "I Want To Be Evil" by Lillith, and "Someone To Watch Over Me" by Lillith and Lucifer.
I believer that it was the poignancy of the bartender's love for her husband, who might die soon. Lilith has been filled with ennui for so long that she needs to feel again and she thinks that it is by knowing that everything can come crashing to an ultimate end that gives life a true savor.
What confuses me is that she was made with a soul so that when she dies she will either go to Hell or the Silver City, probably Hell, because pretty much everyone goes to Hell. Then her kids will find out that she gave up her immortality. So why make Lucifer promise not to reveal what she has done?
Otherwise another fun outing that is setting up the mid-season cliffhanger, I have no doubt.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 4:10 PM on August 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
What confuses me is that she was made with a soul so that when she dies she will either go to Hell or the Silver City, probably Hell, because pretty much everyone goes to Hell. Then her kids will find out that she gave up her immortality. So why make Lucifer promise not to reveal what she has done?
Otherwise another fun outing that is setting up the mid-season cliffhanger, I have no doubt.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 4:10 PM on August 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Was there a conversation between Chloe and Trixie sometime during the season break about Lucifer's true devilshness? Or do we just assume Trixie has always known?
posted by mneekadon at 4:28 AM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mneekadon at 4:28 AM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
Or do we just assume Trixie has always known?
I don't think we know what Trixie believes yet - but she doesn't really need to have believed what Lucifer was saying was true in order to pass the story on to Maze. (Considering she saw Maze's true face that Halloween, and all the other weird conversations she's been around for growing up around Maze and Lucifer, it wouldn't surprise me if she ends up being the most blasé about the truth if she does learn it.)
posted by oh yeah! at 5:13 AM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think we know what Trixie believes yet - but she doesn't really need to have believed what Lucifer was saying was true in order to pass the story on to Maze. (Considering she saw Maze's true face that Halloween, and all the other weird conversations she's been around for growing up around Maze and Lucifer, it wouldn't surprise me if she ends up being the most blasé about the truth if she does learn it.)
posted by oh yeah! at 5:13 AM on August 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
This one was really a mixed bag for me. I love noir, so this should have been right down my alley, but sadly, it wasn't. The 1940s stuff didn't really work because everybody was playing it like bad amateur community theatre actors. Lucifer looked out of place in his outfit, and I think that's because the cut of his suit and hat were too modern, but not the good kind of modern that works best on Ellis. Maze looked great. I didn't pay attention to the credits, so I don't know who composed the original music for this episode, but I swear listening to the little cues and stings, that they were practically lifted from the Roger Moore version of the Saint (and tinkered with a tiny bit), which was a 1960s production and therefore not of the era (and just really, really, really familiar to me).
I did love all of the current day story. Trixie and Lucifer are always fun together. You're not the only one, mneekadon, who wondered about Trixie knowing Lucifer's true nature. Trixie and Maze are also a fabulous duo. And poor Maze, that was a hard reunion with her mother.
I'll give them full marks on the attempt, but the execution only earned a passing grade.
posted by sardonyx at 6:52 PM on August 28, 2020
I did love all of the current day story. Trixie and Lucifer are always fun together. You're not the only one, mneekadon, who wondered about Trixie knowing Lucifer's true nature. Trixie and Maze are also a fabulous duo. And poor Maze, that was a hard reunion with her mother.
I'll give them full marks on the attempt, but the execution only earned a passing grade.
posted by sardonyx at 6:52 PM on August 28, 2020
I quite like this one, actually. I interpreted all the little anachronisms as a product of Trixie imagining the story, so it didn't feel too janky to me. The lighting all the way through is very noirish and the set (presumably limited due to sound stage size and other practical considerations) just felt like the limits on Trixie's understanding of the period.
Trix and Maze are the best together and they need their own series.
posted by Jilder at 7:42 PM on October 9, 2020
Trix and Maze are the best together and they need their own series.
posted by Jilder at 7:42 PM on October 9, 2020
Oh and boy did DB Woodside do a great job as Melvin the Magnificent. He managed to be all nerdy and gangly and awkward, a really sharp contrast to how contained and um, buff as fuck Amenadiel is.
posted by Jilder at 7:43 PM on October 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Jilder at 7:43 PM on October 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Wasn't that into the episode until the Trixie reveal. Nice job on making the episode turn out to have a point.
Possibly Lilith found love and he just died before her, I guess?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:11 AM on December 12, 2021
Possibly Lilith found love and he just died before her, I guess?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:11 AM on December 12, 2021
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posted by oh yeah! at 1:16 PM on August 22, 2020 [1 favorite]