It took God three days to resurrect his Son, but for the TV gods, it took a month to bring Lucifer back from the dead. The show was cancelled by Fox on May 11, 2018, after three seasons. After much campaigning by the fans and the cast (#SaveLucifer), Netflix announced on June 15, 2018, it had picked up the series for a fourth season. It debuted on the streaming service on May 8, 2019. As a fan since day one, I was excited to see the show saved — and even better, by Netflix! I know a lot of people discovered the show through binge-watching it and that probably helped with Netflix’s decision to acquire the show.
Personally, having a show about the Devil was meant to be on Netflix rather than on network television. Aside from seeing Tom Ellis’s cute butt a few times, the shorter season (10 episodes) helped the writing and storytelling tremendously. Compare that to season three’s 26 episodes! I remember there was a weird hiatus right in the middle of the season, which interrupted the story lines. Some episodes ran out of order, and FOX even aired a few episodes that were meant for season three toward the end of season two. By having all 10 episodes of the new season drop at once, Netflix avoided all those problems. Hallelujah!
SEASON FOUR SPOILERS BELOW
One of the reasons why Lucifer deserved a fourth season was the shocking cliffhanger season three left viewers — Lucifer’s partner at the LAPD and his love interest, Detective Chloe Decker, finally knew Lucifer’s true identity. Season three definitely brought the angst as Chloe tries to deal with the fact that the man she cares about is literally the Devil. That also brings an identity crisis for Lucifer. Does he want to be the good version of himself or does he embrace his dark side?
Love triangle? Nothing to worry about here.
Enter Eve. Yes, that Eve.
Played by Inbar Lavi, Eve returns to Earth because she’s bored in heaven and is looking for some excitement. Where else can she find it but with her ex-lover Lucifer? As a Chloe/Lucifer fan (aka Deckerstar), I wasn’t threatened with her introduction. One of the strengths of Lucifer’s writing room is how they write their female characters, so I was actually excited to see a new lady on set. I loved seeing Eve play off all the characters, especially when she, Lucifer, and Chloe were together. Chloe is very serious and by the books, while Eve is a tiny ball of energy. I can see why Lucifer would be attracted to both of them. Despite the “love triangle,” you know Lucifer and Chloe are endgame.
Meanwhile, the other standout character this season is Dan, who is still reeling from the loss of Charlotte Richards (the woman who was possessed by Lucifer’s mom, then resurrected after Mom left). We caught glimpses of Dan’s dark side in earlier seasons, and we saw some of it again. But Kevin Alejandro plays Dan with such sympathy that you root for him to find happiness again. Spoiler alert: He might find it with the bubbly and religious forensic scientist Ella, who also went through her own journey and loss of faith this season. This pairing was an unexpected and nice surprise for me. It helps that the entire cast has chemistry with each other!
Then there’s Lucifer’s brother Amenadiel and therapist Linda, who suddenly find themselves as parents when Linda discovers she is pregnant. There are humorous moments, but ironically enough, there are also very human moments as Amenadiel and Linda try to figure out what they’re going to do with their half-angel, half-human baby.
Overall, the pairing that really wins this season is Lucifer/Netflix. With the shorter season, the storytelling becomes tighter and cohesive; there was no filler. What I always enjoyed about the writing is that with each case Lucifer works on, it also reflects what he is currently going through in his own life. The season four finale was just as compelling as the previous one — Lucifer returns to Hell to take his throne, leaving behind a distraught Chloe, who finally confesses her true feelings to him.
In June, Netflix announced it was going to renew for its fifth and final season. Yup, next season will be its last. The announcement made me happy and sad at the same time. After all the campaigning to save the show, it was odd that Netflix would cancel it so soon (and apparently, it continues to be one of the most binged shows). Perhaps the showrunners just wanted five seasons all along. Whatever the case, I feel blessed that we got two more seasons of Lucifer, the show that rose from the dead, which is a miracle for any TV fan.
Images from IMDB.com and Twitter.
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