Saying goodbye to someone or something you love is never easy, especially if you poured a couple of years of your soul into it. For me, Lucifer has a special place in my heart. It started off as a fun little procedural about a crime solving devil that turned into a thought provoking therapy session about self reflection and change. From 2016 to now, this was the most incredible journey of a lifetime. Over the years, this show has blessed me with realizations and revelations that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered if I hadn’t been tuning in. As difficult as this is to write, consider this review as both my goodbye and love letter to the show that’s given me so much joy and comfort over the years. So strap in, Lucifans. It’s going to be a long one.
Season 6 starts off with a very familiar scene where Lucifer is driving the Corvette, speeding through L.A. traffic when a police officer pulls him over. Sounds familiar, right? It’s a direct parallel to the pilot episode, where the exact same thing happens (the season is full of parallels; another article for another time). Lucifer tells the officer it’s his last night on earth before he becomes God. One can only assume he’s getting ready to ascend to Heaven and become God…..or so we think. The season leads us into a plot where Lucifer is second guessing himself and his new position, along with many other obstacles that are thrown at him and our beloved characters, including a rebellious angel with bladed wings with every intention on taking his life.
It should be no surprise to anyone that Lucifer got a sixth and final season. While the writing was superb in earlier seasons, this one is superior to the others. Everything about it landed perfectly. Straight 10’s across the board. The writers were always incredible at telling a story and keeping the audience engaged, and this season is no different. From the first episode to the last you’re drawn in to a side of the show that feels fresh and unlike previous seasons. I personally viewed this entire series as a well cooked chicken; season one was preheating the oven. Two and three was prepping ingredients. Four was adding the right spices. Five was letting it cook in the oven. Six was taking it out to enjoy a beautifully cooked meal. Everything about it was perfect; character development (which we’ll get into later), the writing, the CGI. Everything was cooked to perfection, especially the writing. The writers knew what they were doing and what they wanted, saw a vision and made it happen. No other show on television or streaming platform that I’m aware of have writers as capable as the ones on Lucifer. I have nothing but huge respect for the people behind the scenes who made this show possible. Talented, determined to tell a wonderful story, and able to see through a concept from start to finish while executing everything brilliantly, especially for the animated parts in 6×03. That episode was beyond fun to watch and was very different from anything that they’ve done on the show. At times, it even felt like watching a beautifully written fancfiction come to life on screen. Without these incredible people, we wouldn’t have such a beautiful show to gush over. When you have writers as talented as these, a show’s cast and crew become a well oiled machine and this is obvious from the beautiful results you see on screen. When showrunner Joe Henderson said “some of our best episodes are yet to come! Definitely some of our most emotional”, he wasn’t joking. The final season delivers some of its best emotional scenes to date, capturing the show’s heart and main message about the power of love, accepting oneself and allowing ourselves to be open and honest with the people we’re close to, regardless of how broken we are on the inside.
Everything after this paragraph is NOT spoiler free so consider yourself warned.
I’ve praised the cast before on their performances in the past and this time is no different. Going down the line, you have Tom who, of course, does a phenomenal job with everything he’s given in the script. Whether that be giving a hilarious one liner or delivering an emotional speech, that man packs a cinematic punch. Lauren was the scene stealer for me; her emotional range is jaw dropping and hauntingly beautiful. We’ve seen her (Chloe) break down in earlier seasons but season 6 takes the cake. You can feel Chloe’s pain and you can’t help but feel for her and everything that she’s going through and struggling with (which let’s be honest, Chloe’s been through a lot the last several years). DB has a particular scene that made me gasp audibly but the way it was executed was flawless and in my opinion the most beautiful Amenadiel scene by far. Not to mention that he did an incredible job with directing episode 8. Rachael once again carries the show on her back as Linda, the gorilla glue to keeping everyone sane and pushing them to be better people. Without her there wouldn’t even be a show. Lesley comes through again showing off how much Maze has grown since the first season. Maze matures in a way I didn’t expect to see not only growing a soul wise but as a person too. Aimee’s scene at the wedding with drunk Ella was something I think all fans have wanted to see since she was introduced. She wasn’t let in on the big celestial secret so like the scientist and information gatherer she is, she found the truth out for herself and delivered a heart wrenching performance where she gives the speech that she’s clearly been wanting to give for years. And obviously I have to praise Kevin. Admittedly, I couldn’t stand Dan in earlier seasons. But I was amazed by how much he’d changed during season 5 and how he strived to be a better person. Kevin is outright hilarious in season 6 and he was the comedic relief for a very emotional season, even having some very powerful scenes himself. And lastly, I can’t forget Brianna and Scott who brought in incredible performances as Rory and Corbett (as a screener it wasn’t easy keeping Rory’s true identity a secret) and I even developed a little crush on her, but you can’t blame me. She’s stunning. All in all, everyone put their hearts and souls into this final season. It’s going to be difficult for fans to see their final performances on screen together but at the same time, it’s bittersweet knowing that they all love their characters and love what they do and want to put their best work out there for everyone to see.
In conjunction to everyone’s acting, there’s one scene in particular I want to talk about. During my first watch through, I had to pause it and step away to just cry. And I don’t mean little boo hoo’s either. It was more like heaving sobs and a heavy weight on my chest as if it was being crushed. It was the scene in 6×10 where Lucifer and Chloe are sitting at the piano in Lux. Lucifer is saying how going to Hell to fix it was what he needed to do but at the same time he didn’t want to leave Chloe. Chloe reassures him that he’ll never be alone because wherever he is, she’ll be right there. “Close your eyes” she says, and then she proceeds to kiss his face as they both start to cry (my boss pointed out that her monologue was very similar to a quote from The Shape of Water, which I’ll provide below). That was the final straw for me. I had to pause the episode and walk away to compose myself. What hurts even more is the direct correlation to Chloe’s comment to his throne in Hell when she sees it for the first time in 6×03. “It looks so lonely” in which Lucifer replies “It was”. And then during the scene I just described, he’s imagining himself on the throne except HE’S NOT ALONE. To top it all off, the song that played made me cry even more (even now after a second rewatch). Ildy is apparently responsible for picking the song for the scene, Awakening by U137. Ildy if you’re reading this or if you ever read this, you’re beautifully twisted. You’re even more twisted for saying this was your favorite scene to film this season. But it was so beautiful to witness, by far the most heartbreaking to watch (Dan’s death in 5B a close runner up). Tom and Lauren didn’t have to go as hard as they did for this scene but my god, they absolutely killed it and delivered. The fans will definitely be talking about this for a long, long time as being one of the most memorable scenes on the show.
“Unable to perceive the shape of You, I find You all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with Your love, It humbles my heart, For You are everywhere.”
Jalal al-Din Rumi, The Shape of Water (2017)
Another thing I loved most about this season are all the parallels to previous seasons. We start off right away in the opener with Lucifer getting pulled over by the motorcycle cop for speeding very much like in the pilot episode (same cop too!) and there’s so many more references from then on out. A favorite of mine is when Lucifer makes a comment about “guyliner” and he cringes, which Chloe looks up at him and giggles. He looks at her all confused but fans will understand why she laughed right away; the eyeliner on Lucifer was thick in season two. This was just a clever way for the writers to poke fun of themselves in the past and it was brilliant. Another one that I noticed from the trailer was when Chloe and Lucifer were fighting and she nearly stabbed him in the chest with Azrael’s blade, which was a parallel to the famous axe scene from 4×02. I could go on and on about the parallels that I managed to catch on to but that’s probably another article for another time. Just keep an eye out when you watch the final season. You never know what you might catch.
Of course, not everyone is going to agree with how it all ended. Most people wanted Chloe to live forever or for Lucifer to become mortal but when you think about it, how is that fair for either of them? Or Trixie? Many people also wanted a Deckerstar wedding but the phrase “til death do us part” doesn’t apply to either of them. Because they’re meant to be together forever. Their love goes beyond the traditional “I do”. A huge part of season five and six is Lucifer trying to become God so he can finally be worthy of Chloe’s love when in reality he didn’t have to be God. Or even change who he was. Yes, he became a better man over the last five years but he didn’t change who he was deep down. Instead, he grew. Emotionally and mentally. Lucifer truly believed that if he became God then he was finally worthy. He didn’t need to. All he needed to do was forgive himself and overcome his fear of being loved for who he is. As for Chloe, allowing her to live her life fully was perfect. She got to get older. See the girls grow up. She got to experience life and once she passed away, she was by Lucifer’s side forever, which was a small price to pay to be with your true love for the rest of your eternal afterlife. Yes, the whole time travel thing with Rory was confusing, borderline frustrating and I’m not even going to touch that in case I end up confusing myself even more, but in the end it all worked out fine. Everyone got their endgame. They got their happily ever after and I think that’s beautiful. Lucifer realizing his true potential and applying everything he learned on Earth to improve conditions in Hell. Amenadiel becoming God like the true leader that he is and in turn applying what he learned on Earth to improve Heaven. Everyone got to be happy and I think that was the goal from the get go for the cast and crew. To end off on a high and happy note, exactly the way they wanted to and not on anyone else’s terms. This is the best thing any showrunner can ask for and I’m so happy for everyone involved for reaching this beautiful conclusion. Not many shows can say that they ended on their own terms as well as end off on a good note, and fans will be forever thankful for the opportunity Lucifer was given to see itself through to the end.
Also in regards to the ending, the finale might make fans go through the stages of grief. Upon my first time seeing the season, it hit me hard. The 5 (or 7) stages of grief consists of (1) shock and denial (2) pain and guilt (3) anger (4) depression (5) the upward turn (6) reconstruction and working through (7) acceptance and hope. The final ten episodes put me through exactly every one of these stages, and it wasn’t fun. The initial shock of it all was probably the hardest part, followed by the pain and realization that my favorite show just ended. The anger followed not long after that when I was set on not liking how it ended. Then the depression part hit shortly before my second rewatch. Upon that second rewatch, the upward turn struck once I discussed things with fellow screeners and we picked it apart together, which was also a part of the reconstruction and working through process. After much discussion and finally seeing the positive side to it all, I accepted the ending and was eventually very happy with how it turned out. Though these stages might not happen to everyone, just be prepared for if and when they do because it’ll hit you hard. Talking about it with other fans definitely helps and I recommend reaching out to other Lucifans if it becomes too overwhelming to process.
The only qualm I really have with this season is the lack of Trixie throughout the season. It’s understandable that Scarlett was booked with other projects at the time, but I feel that a line here or there would’ve cleared up some confusion or questions fans may have. Such as “did Trixie find out eventually that Lucifer was actually the devil?” or “does Trixie find out the truth about everything in the end?” To cover up Scarlett’s unavailability, the show said Trixie was at “science camp”. Poor girl missed out on beach day with her mom, Lucifer and Rory. But as I said, a simple line or even a short scene explaining things either to her or talking about how they told her the truth would’ve cleared the smoke and allowed Trixie to be a part of the inner circle. Another little disagreement I have would be Chloe trying to turn Lucifer on Rory by hiding Azrael’s blade. Now this I absolutely understand because she was under the influence of the blade as well as the necklace. Her Gollum complex was messing with her mind which caused her to try and turn Lucifer on their daughter to prevent him from returning the blade to Heaven. It just felt weird because I knew this wasn’t who Chloe was deep down. Those are only the two things I didn’t really fussy with storywise aside from the pacing at the beginning, but the buildup was very necessary for the story to progress. That slow rise to the top of the roller coaster is only the beginning to a fun ride after all.
Wrapping this up, I suppose I should thank the cast and crew for everything they’ve done. Thank you. Thank you so much for creating this beautiful story and allowing me and so many others to go on a journey of self-discovery together. Thank you for teaching me that it’s ok to feel vulnerable and to open up to others and that being weak isn’t a bad thing. Thank you for normalizing therapy and showing us that we are not our past mistakes nor our parent’s mistakes. We are also not the same people we were in the past. Without this show I wouldn’t have been able to go on my own journey of discovery and have life changing realizations and I’ll be forever grateful for the lessons you have shared with me. So maybe this isn’t truly a goodbye after all but rather a “see you next time” because experiences like Lucifer are never truly over, for they live on in our hearts forever.
You can now stream all six seasons of Lucifer on Netflix.
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