Looking Back On Lucifer Seasons 1-3

Howdy ladies and gents, how’s it going? With Lucifer returning via the power of Netflix on May 8th last week, I decided to rewatch the whole show again from season 1 in anticipation for season 4. In addition to that, I have also thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about the show as a whole over the last few years, going through it season by season talking about the pros and cons, best episodes and how it has evolved to where we are now. Alas, I couldn’t get this post out on time because of a busy week, but hey, better late than never right? Also mild spoilers ahead!

Ah Lucifer, what a great TV show. If you had told me back in 2016 when I reviewed the pilot episode that this show would become one of my favourites, I would have said “Really? That’s unlikely.” However, the show has only improved from season to season with a great sense of momentum, interesting stories, great humour and drama and a cast of characters with really great dynamics and engaging scenarios. So now I will attempt to condense my thoughts on each season and try to tell you why this show is worth watching.

But firstly what is Lucifer about? Well Lucifer Morningstar is essentially the devil, he used to be in hell but besides to go to Earth to hang around with humans to have some fun which involves normally involves parties, women, sex and using his powers of persuasion/revealing people’s hidden desires to get his way. Along the way, he gets involved with detective Chloe Decker and after they solve their first crime together, Lucifer decides to tag along with Decker to experience new and exciting adventures. And what follows is a police procedural drama with some supernational elements on the side, and we have your standard “case of the week” in each episode, there are character-focused story elements that continue throughout each season.

Season 1

The great thing about Lucifer is that it starts out fairly strong and lays down the foundation for some really intriguing material to come down the line. The pilot establishes all of the core elements that the show would be loved by fans in the future. This first season is not only about Lucifer’s experiencing change not only his personality but also his mortality, but it is also about Decker trying to understand who/what Lucifer is and coming to terms with him becoming a part of her life. Each episode presents something new, fun and exciting to watch mainly thanks to Lucifer’s crazy antics and the scenarios he and Decker get into which helps elevate the standard police drama material.

Character-wise, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) is impulsive, tactical and manipulative, suave and hilarious, but he is also a bit of an idiot and sometimes he can cause trouble without being aware of it. Decker (Lauren German) is a by-the-book detective is cares a lot about her job and family, and while she can be a little too serious, she’s tenacious and good at her job. Dan (Kevin Alejandro) is Decker’s ex-husband and while he’s not always got his priorities in the right place, he’s a good guy, cares for his family and is also a source of humour on occasion. Amenadiel  (D. B. Woodside), Lucifer’s brother is confident, self-righteous and very serious about his commitment to god and following his father’s wishes especially when it comes to Lucifer’s behaviour on earth. Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) is Lucifer’s therapist who helps to understand his emotions and she has some great interactions with Lucifer over the season. Also, there’s Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt), Lucifer’s long-term ally and follower from Hell who enjoys certain aspects of human life but longs to return to hell and has her concerns about Lucifer’s behaviour. And finally, there’s Trixie, Decker and Dan’s child who is super cute and has some fun moments in the show.

Favourite Episodes:

• Pilot
• Lucifer Stay. Good Devil
• Sweet Kicks
• Favourite Son
• Wingman
• A Priest Walks Into a Bar (favourite)
• Pops
• St. Lucifer

Season 2

Season 2 takes what worked in the last and magnifies it by 10. I enjoyed how this season was consistent with the last, but created new and interesting scenarios for our established characters. Relationships are tested, new dynamics are formed and struggle is real on an individual level especially for Lucifer, Chloe, Amenadiel, Maze and Linda. This season deals with the introduction of Lucifer’s mother, the ongoing issues related to Lucifer and his relationship with God and more complicated supernatural elements that present new levels of danger for everyone involved. A lot transpires during the season with short and long-term plot points, but for the most part, I found it incredibly fun, hilarious, engaging and helps enhance all of the characters.

I also really enjoyed the new storyline involving Lucifer’s mother, learning about her and the relationship she has with Lucifer and Amendadiel, and the extra background details we learn about Lucifer’s family history. Lucifer grows in this season and though he can still brash and thoughtless, he certainly learns a lot. I also loved seeing the Lucifer and Decker’s relationship develop beyond just being friends to being romantic, seeing Maze and Decker become roommates was a great new change and Linda had a lot of really great moments having great interactions with all of the main cast too. This season also introduced two new characters who would become series staples; Ella (Aimee Garcia) and Charlotte/Lucifer’s mother (Tricia Helfer). Ella is delightful, bubbly, cute, sometimes strange and surprising with her extra skills and history outside of forensic scientist. As for Charlotte/Lucifer’s mother, she’s an intriguing one. On the one hand, her lack of awareness when it comes to human rules leads to some hilarious situations, on the other, she is crafty, deceptive, manipulative and determined. And while she has a twisted sense of logic, she is a caring mother who will do whatever it takes for her children.

There are so much more character and story elements I could mention, but to summarize this is my favourite season just because almost all of the episodes I love because they’re fun, they all have a purpose (for the most part) and engage me on a new level.

Favourite Episodes:

• Lady Parts (favourite)
• Weaponizer
• Monster
• Homewrecker
• Quid Pro Ho
• Stewardess Interruptus
• Love Handles
• A Good Day to Die (favourite)
• Candy Morningstar
• God Johnson
• Sympathy for the Goddess
• The Good, the Bad, and the Crispy

Season 3

This new season introduces Lieutenant Marcus Pierce/Cain (Tom Welling) into the mix with his own demons to take care, but also introduced is the most controversial element of the show so far in the form of the awkward love triangle between Lucifer, Decker and Cain. As much as I and other fans want to see Lucifer and Decker be together, the show seems content with the tiresome trope, “will they or won’t they?’ It’s like the show teases their potential relationship far too frequently that it gets tedious. And that compounded by the Decker and Pierce situation. The two of them have no natural chemistry and besides Ella’s initial speculation, we’re given no reason to believe they’re going to hook up. But because of some arbitrary story purposes, Decker and Lucifer’s relationship deteriorates after so much progress and Pierce and Decker are forced upon us instead. And I wouldn’t mind if they were friends who built to something romantic, but it goes from nothing to something in a few episodes. And watching Lucifer strut and stumble through this season was equally entertaining and frustrating. I know Lucifer is Lucifer and he’s supposed to learn lessons in each episode, however, to see him continuously oblivious to his stupid and obvious mistakes, it was painful and showed how little he’d learnt.

Beyond that, this show still has a lot of great elements. It’s still super fun, hilarious and the dramatic material works well too. Like last season we see the exploration of our characters and some changes to the regular dynamics we’re used to seeing. The return of Charlotte Richards in her original form leads to some interesting material when it comes to her interactions with the cast and the past that she can’t remember. There’s also some good stuff for Dan to get into and this season sees a lot of great development and depth for Maze. Linda and Amenadiel had some interesting stuff to go through together and individually, and seeing more of Ella always makes me happy as well.

In the end, despite a lot of frustration and some stories that didn’t feel as essential as the previous season, when this season works, it works well and officially ended in a really intriguing. Plus the final two episodes had some fun and unique aspects that made them worth watching for sure.

Favourite Episodes:

• Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith (favourite)
• What Would Lucifer Do?
• Welcome Back, Charlotte Richards
• Vegas With Some Radish (favourite)
• Off The Record (favourite)
• The Sinnerman
• Let Pinhead Sing!
• Anything Pierce Can Do I Can Do Better
• All Hands on Decker
• Quintessential Deckerstar
• A Devil of My Word (favourite)
• Boo Normal

In conclusion, Lucifer has secretly come along and become one of my favourite shows to watch in the last few years thanks to its amazing cast of memorable and engaging characters, the interesting stories and world building and cool balance between humour and drama. While rewatching this show it has certainly become apparent to me how similar this show is to Castle with the story and character dynamic between Lucifer and Decker quite similar to Castle and Beckett, but I guess that’s why I like it, and despite the similarities, I still enjoy this show for its unique elements. And while the show has some issues when it comes to a bit of repetition and some story shortcomings in season 3, it is a show I love a lot and I can’t wait to see what’s going on with season 4! 😀

Thank you for reading and if you’ve seen Lucifer share your thoughts on it in the comments section below, and I’ll see you soon with my review for season 4, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: Lucifer “Pilot”

Howdy people, yesterday I had the chance to watch the first episode of Lucifer on Amazon Instant Video and I wanted to pass my thoughts on it. Now I’d heard about this show months before it came out as another comic book adaptation, but since I wasn’t familiar with the source material I left it alone. However, with my uncle being a comic book fan posting his thoughts online I had to give it a watch.

This show reminds me a lot of NBC’s Constantine in that both shows have good first introductions, set up the format for the weekly episodes and deal with supernatural elements concealed within the real world. What I liked about Lucifer was the mythology, the concept of the main character being a devil-like being who has left hell and has the ability to get the truth out of people, it was very fascinating, and while not all of the details were revealed about Lucifer’s life before being on Earth and how long he’s been there, or about the complications involving his father and Amenadiel, there’s plenty to like and get invested in for this pilot episode. I will admit that the show for all of its unique elements, it also felt a bit predictable with some of the story and character beats, some of it felt like your standard cop show drama and at times there wasn’t too many significant aspects that would make this show above average. Luckily the story was interesting enough and set a solid foundation for better things to come.

The cast is good with some people starting out more than others. Tom Ellis is the best as Lucifer Morningstar, the man is charismatic, charming, confident and very interesting to watch when using his powers and finding out what motivated him to do what he does. Lauren German as Chloe Decker does come across as another generic confident and badass cop that doesn’t take shit from anyone with a potential soft side and future relationship with Lucifer, German’s performance was good, but the character, besides being immune to Lucifer’s abilities, doesn’t seem as interesting so far. Kevin Alejandro is another standard douche as Dan, the detective who’s also Chloe’s ex-husband. Seeing D. B. Woodside after all these years as Amenadiel was fun and hope his character will have a bigger part to play later on, Lesley-Ann Brandt was good as Maze and Scarlett Estevez as Beatrice (aka Trixie) was very cute and likeable as Chloe’s daughter. Oh and finally Rachael Harris is delightful as Dr. Linda Martin.

In conclusion the first episode of Lucifer was alright, the show definitely showed signs of promise with some of the mythology and the budding partnership of Lucifer and Decker, however it wasn’t great and has room to improve.

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 7 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another TV review, today I’ll be reviewing the 7th and final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So after this crazy ride of going through seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 I am ready to finish this thing. It is ridiculous that it has taken me this long to finally finish this show and review, I mean I’ve been watching this show for practically TWO YEARS! I think it is about time I get it done. 😛 Minor spoilers follow…

As usual, we follow the life of Buffy Summers; young lady by day, vampire slayer by night. As part of the “Scooby Gang” they take on the supernatural happenings that go on in Sunnydale.

The show continues to have episodic stories, but also has story arches that continue over the course of the season that relate to things that have happened in the past, but have are also currently happening too.

Story-wise this season deals with the destructive fallout from season six, but also presents a whole new form of obstacles for Buffy and company to tackle. I read online that season 7 was about bringing the show back to its roots and that’s definitely felt with the reintroduction of Sunnydale High School, Buffy being the center of attention as the Slayer, the focus on the Hellmouth, the First finally coming into play and a focus on the core group (Buffy, Willow and Xander). It feels incredibly nostalgic, but also new a fresh because of the new characters and scenarios which inhabit this season. A lot of sacrifices and death and you can’t help but feel for everyone involved, and that’s especially true for Buffy who carries the fate of everyone on her shoulders, most make all the decisions and live with the consequences whether they are be good or bad. There’s a genuine feeling of dread and despair thanks to all the talk and mind games of the First, death and overwhelming situations that Buffy and company have to overcome whether it be successful or otherwise. Its like there’s a cloud of depression hanging over the characters, more so than anything that’s come before and while there are moments humour, it isn’t as frequent as it was before. Everything feels like its come full circle with certain questions finally getting answers or story elements that took place several seasons back finally getting coming to pass now.

My issues with this season are minor but notable. The overall tone is a little on the dark side and desolate side and while that is necessary because of what was happening, it just wasn’t as fun to watch. There isn’t as much humour as before and some of the stories weren’t as impressive as previous seasons. And finally the inclusion of certain new characters just pissed me off, they weren’t Riley levels of bad, but they got close.

Episode highlights include:

• Lessons
• Beneath You
• Same Time, Same Place
• Selfless
• Him (personal favourite)
  
• Sleeper
• Showtime
• Bring on the Night
• The Killer in Me
• Get It Done (personal favourite)
• Storyteller
• The Lies My Parents Told Me
  
• Dirty Girls (personal favourite)
• Empty Places
• End of Days (personal favourite)
• Chosen (personal favourite)
  

When it comes to the cast, the once the main original cast members do such great jobs and some deliver some of their best work in the series and because of the First, there are opportunities to certain characters current and old in really interesting lights. Also is all about giving speeches, Buffy gives an awesome speech, so does Xander, and Anya, and good few other people and they are really well-written and well-acted too.

So let’s start with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers. This season presents us with a much more seasoned and matured individual who is brave and smart, but also slightly more tough and is aware of the dangers that lie ahead. SMG again does a wonderful job in this role adding layers to an already great character by still giving us all the light-hearted and humourous material we’ve come to expect from Buffy, but also giving us different shades of the character whether they are more aggressive or assertive. Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg once again does a lovely job in her role, while Willow’s not nearly as significant as she was last season, she has plenty to do and her moments with Buffy and Xander, and taking on magical-based activity are good too. Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris still does a great job, Xander is once again highlighted as the heart of the group and is a character full of courage, heart and commitment to his friends and the cause that Buffy is fighting for. Brendon really does well and has some really powerful scenes. Also Xander gives a great pep talk to Dawn about being special/important even when you’re not the main protagonist, it was one of the most beautiful and memorable moment of the series for me.

Michelle Trachtenberg was also pretty good as Dawn Summers, as I stated beforehand, I haven’t always been Dawn’s biggest fan, however I have been warming up to her and this season her character wasn’t in the spotlight as much and I preferred that, she has her moments of importance but overall doesn’t take up too much time in the main stories. James Marsters as Spike, was and always will be a badass. Spike is still humourous, charming and mean, but he’s also caring, troubled and tragic. There are so many layers to this man, he has more courage and heart then most of the characters will ever know and only a handful of people see it. Marsters just excels at his material and proves time after time why he is one of the quintessential characters of this show. Emma Caulfield as also does a good job as Anya, still sarcastic, blunt and funny, but also useful and she has good moments of heroism and drama with Xander. And even though he’s not around as much, Anthony Stewart Head is still the man as Rupert Giles, even though his character was a little at odds with Buffy, he still provides moments of insight, humour and awesomeness.

Now let’s talk about everyone else. Firstly there’s Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells, I did enjoy Andrew for his pop culture references and silly behaviour, but at the same time the guy was such a wimp and had no respect from the others that it made me dislike him a lot too. D. B. Woodside as Principal Robin Wood, at first I thought he was too nice to not be suspicious, but is turns out that he was a good guy after all with an interesting backstory and a few cool moments to make him a likeable character. As for the Potentials, there’s only a few I choose to acknowledge; Iyari Limon as Kennedy who was the most developed of the new girls and while I liked her headstrong nature, it also annoyed me on occasions and I’m kind of in two minds about her relationship with Willow as well. Sarah Hagan was my favourite as Amanda, she was cute and delightful, and I also liked seeing Felicia Day as Vi too. I have to give this season major props for not only bringing back Eliza Dushku as Faith, she was one of my favourite characters from this show and to see her sassy, sexy and laid back personality being brought back into the fold was much appreciated and Dushku was lovely. But, having NATHAN FILLION as Caleb, that just rocked my world. Anyone who knows me knows how much of fanboy I am when it comes to Fillion, and since I watched Joss Whedon’s shows backwards I had no idea that he was in this, so to see him show up was like the best thing ever. Caleb has such a way with words, he’s calm and collected and full of style, but he’s also crazy, absurdly powerful and scary, and Fillion does such a great job, he’s a likeable douchebag that does really evil things haha.

So to conclude season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great send off to a great TV show. It is like a culmination of everything that has transpired coming together in an epic, drama and emotional manner. The characters have never been stronger or more engaging, the themes have impact, the loss hurts and the triumphs are wonderful. In the final episode there’s a sense of nostalgia, humour and heartbreak during and after the show ends, but I think that’s how you’re supposed to feel, and while this season wasn’t my favourite, it definitely ends on a high.

Rating: 8/10