LUCIFER: “The Angel of San Bernadino”

Lucifer returned this week with a case of the week that leads to a sleepless night, a Bones marathon, some revelations about Pierce, and heartbreak for Chloe. Join Melissa, Cay, and Karen as they discuss “The Angel of San Bernadino”.

This week’s murder mystery involves an “angelic” hero saving people’s lives and all signs point to Lucifer as the (unintentional) hero. Lucifer decided the best way to NOT be the Angel of San Bernadino was to stay awake, which resulted in a hilarious/disturbing sleep deprivation montage – and an emotional burst of honesty from Lucifer. Thoughts?

Melissa: The Booth/Bones shoutout was pretty funny, right down to casting Scott Rinker – who did indeed play the killer in episode 3.06 of Bones – as the murder victim’s hired friend. Clever! What really impressed me, though, is how Lucifer’s binge-watch actually lead to him not only solving the murder but realizing that Pierce and Maze are working together. At the same time, why is Chloe being so obtuse??? Lucifer reiterated that she needs proof to believe something, fine, show her the effing wings! That better be part of the season finale.

Cay: I thought this episode was clever and the sleep deprivation was funny – Luci always looks so poised, but we got to see him act like a crazy man here and it was great. I’m with Melissa with regards to Chloe – she *jokes* about the angel being one of Luci’s brothers – she tries so hard to “play along” with THE REAL STORY! For goodness sake, Chloe, you either believe him, or you think he’s insane – there is no middle ground!

Karen: Mel, thanks for the info on the Bones actor, that’s awesome. I love meta jokes! Also, I want a wing reveal as well, but I’m hoping it comes earlier than the finale. I’d like a couple of episodes for fallout/resolution. I mean, I don’t mind a cliffhanger at all, but let’s do something other than a reveal cliffy, yeah? I got off on a tangent – I LOVED the Bones stuff, even though I never watched the show. Since Luci was so out of it, getting confused between fiction and real-life was incredibly plausible. And ANY excuse for a montage! I’m SO in.

Let’s talk about Pierce and Chloe and Lucifer. Were you expecting a double-cross?

Melissa: I was expecting it, but it doesn’t make me happier to have seen it coming. It did surprise me that Pierce stopped her from saying “I love you”, although I have to say, nothing about his character up to now makes me think he has a compassionate bone in his body. And speaking of out of character, sex in the evidence locker at work, Chloe? WTF? I’m so done with this storyline.

Cay: Yeah, sex at work and not really trying to hide it…ewww. Very un-Chloe like. I really hate this whole plot! What would be their relationship name, anyway – Pecker? lol

Karen: Oh yeah. We already saw that he was working a game with Maze, so there was no doubt in my mind. He’d mentioned early on (after the Cain reveal) that he thought Chloe would work for him since she made Lucifer vulnerable. I was just waiting for the details. I am NOT happy with Maze, although she’s more like the Maze in the comics right now. i.e. DEMON.

Lucifer now knows that he was betrayed by Maze and that Pierce caused Chloe much more pain than he could have imagined. What do you think he’ll do to Pierce?

Melissa: Lucifer has a vindictive streak a mile wide, so I could see him refusing to kill Pierce, denying him what he wants. On the other hand, I could see Lucifer putting Pierce out of his misery just to get him out of his and Chloe’s lives. Either way, I need Pierce to leave.

Cay: You have to give Maze credit – she really knows how to hurt Luci. Shame that she doesn’t care how many others are collateral damage – what an awful thing to do to Chloe after they lived together for so long! I kind of expected Luci to kill Pierce when they noticed the mark is missing. Judging by the previews for next week, though, Pierce is now going to try to woe Chloe back? Ugh.

Karen: The tattoo is gone, so he COULD kill him, however, since that’s what Pierce/Cain wants, I wouldn’t put it past him to prolong his suffering. That would be awesome. Maybe make him into something else that causes him to walk the earth endlessly. Or else he could just send him to hell and make him get tortured by “Abel”. (Abel is still on earth, so that might be something that comes into play?)

Charlotte fell back into her old ways after being shown Divinity, thinking she had a free pass. Unfortunately for her, that’s not how it works. Were you surprised by how she reacted to learning that angels are real?

Melissa: I was a little surprised, but it was pretty in character for her. It was sad that she felt like there was no way she would get into Heaven without her friendly angels giving her a pass. At the same time, I’m ready for her to quit using Dan whenever she feels like it. If that storyline was gender-flipped and Dan was treating Charlotte the way she treats him, we’d be up in arms!

Cay: That was an interesting choice. Not sure I would have assumed that without confirmation. I do hate to see her revert – I was starting to like new Charlotte. Poor Dan – the scene was funny, but so not okay! But, that aside, the view was good from my couch…

Karen: Ugh. Charlotte… really? Why would she even think she gets a free pass? I mean, that was the behavior that got her sent to hell in the first place! Now that she got a dressing down, might she go back to the good Charlotte? And Dan needs to STOP BEING A BETA!! ALPHA IT UP, DAN!

MVP?

Melissa: Tom Ellis, no question. He took Lucifer from his usual cockiness to new comedic heights during the montage to distraught, emotional, and violent in the span of 44 minutes.

Cay: Definitely, he got to play totally deranged and he did it very convincingly.

Karen: I vote for Tom Ellis as well. The desperation he showed during the sleep-deprivation scenes and having to look messy – so great.

Favorite lines/scenes?

Melissa: The “stay awake” montage was pretty great, despite some really disturbing images (Elizabethan ruff, anyone?). I also love when they use Natalie Taylor’s cover of “In the Air Tonight” (this is the second or third time it’s been part of the soundtrack) – it’s so atmospheric.

Cay: Luci’s reaction when he realized how much Pierce had hurt Chloe (although I thought he should have gone to comfort her first!)

Karen: Everything about Tom Ellis’ performance in this episode. I was SO TENSE when he was driving to save Chloe, I don’t know about y’all!