Lucifer - episode 22 - All Hands on Decker
May. 5th, 2018 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI only know the titles of the episodes, because I went on a spoiler site to see how many were left.
And I was getting frustrated with the Pierce story-arc.
This episode was actually interesting and better than the previous episodes. Also, I think it clarified a few things in the plot that had not been working for me. Probably helped that we had less Pierce and more Dan.
1. The mystery of the week? I lost track of, but I also figured out who the killer was right off the bat. Although to be fair, I don't think the writers care about the mystery of the week. They just do it to give the characters something to do.
It was about a dog show owner who got killed. I was confused through most of it, because I thought the victim was a woman and the runner of the show, not a man, and a dog owner. Mainly because I hadn't paid attention to the opening bit and was busy doing something else during it. When I rewound, I figured it out.
2. The main focus of the episode and the point of the mystery of the week was on Lucifer pretending to be Chloe and forcing Dan to take on his role. Because Lucifer, much like the audience, doesn't get why Chloe would accept Pierce's marriage proposal. Finally, at the end, they decide to tell us -- Lucifer figures it out around the same time Chloe confesses it to the bus driver. She wanted someone who was steady, reliable, and would always be there for her -- and Pierce appeared to be that guy. She didn't really love him, she loved the idea of a steady guy, who would have her back.
Lucifer bursting in on Dan with the Swat Team to save him from the murderer: How can you do this to me? I had to come and save you! You broke protocol, you put yourself in danger -
Dan: You don't happen to see the irony of this --
Lucifer: No, no, I'm not finished. I need to get a new partner. Someone reliable, steady, who has my back, and isn't impulsive and -- oh, wait, I get it. I finally get it.
Dan: Sigh.
I love Dan. Most evolved character on the show!!
Dan has his own epithany -- that he loves Charlotte and he should go all in. And tell her how he feels. Take the risk. So he does and Charlotte takes him up on it. And my shipper heart went pitter-pat. (See, I'm good at this -- I ship with the series. And never the lead characters.)
3. Amendial and Pierce have a little chat, where Amendial stupidly informs Pierce that he's also mortal now and can be killed. Hmmm. Why did the show go out of its way to tell me that Amendial can be killed? (I liked the chat, but found it odd that Amendial was reminding everyone he is mortal and it is God's will.)
[Okay show? I know you plan on killing someone off in the last two episodes. But you are only allowed to kill off Pierce or Ella. No one else. I'll allow Ella...since she appears to have no role this season except to be Pierce's cheerleader. You kill off Dr. Linda, Maze, Charlotte, Dan, or Amendial -- you are going to lose your audience and get cancelled. Please be smart show and don't do that.
Plus you only have two POC characters, so...]
That said, I think they are going to have Pierce kill Amendial and frame Lucifer, thinking that this will upend Lucifer's life, give Pierce - Chloe, and Maze a way back to hell. Eh, no. It's just going to royally piss off Lucifer -- so that he will endeavor to ensure Pierce dies, and ends up in hell, and Maze is no more. Why Maze thinks pissing off Lucifer or upending his life means she'll get to go back to hell with him is beyond me. Maybe she thinks she can hoodwink him? In any event, he has more power than she does and will most likely kill her. Which, damn. I like Maze. Or just strand her on Earth for eternity.
She's known Lucifer a long time -- you'd think she'd know this?
4. Chloe comes to the realization that she doesn't love Pierce, he's not her everything, she just wanted someone steady, not challenging. In short, she was settling. And well, been there done that.
So...this begs the question, if Chloe didn't love Caine, how did he lose his mark? Oh right, Caine fell in love with Chloe and wanted to live and be with her. She made him vulnerable. Same deal with Lucifer -- he fell for Chloe not the other way around.
Both guys are dense.
By the way this makes a lot more sense plot-wise and character-wise. I can see Pierce falling for Chloe, I cannot see Chloe falling for Pierce.
And thank you, Charlotte, for pointing out all the reasons Chloe/Pierce make no sense.
5. The girl-bonding moment was cringe-inducing. And rather cliche. The writers aren't good at developing and writing female friendships and female characters. They keep falling into cliche here and there. This a huge weakness in the writing. They need to fix that. And soon.
6. Chloe breaks things off with Pierce and Pierce leaps to the conclusion that Lucifer is responsible.
Meanwhile Charlotte is still trying to prove that Pierce is the Sinnerman. (Thank you, at least someone is.)
Better episode than the last two..in some respects, but I could feel the writers spatualing the plot holes.
And I was getting frustrated with the Pierce story-arc.
This episode was actually interesting and better than the previous episodes. Also, I think it clarified a few things in the plot that had not been working for me. Probably helped that we had less Pierce and more Dan.
1. The mystery of the week? I lost track of, but I also figured out who the killer was right off the bat. Although to be fair, I don't think the writers care about the mystery of the week. They just do it to give the characters something to do.
It was about a dog show owner who got killed. I was confused through most of it, because I thought the victim was a woman and the runner of the show, not a man, and a dog owner. Mainly because I hadn't paid attention to the opening bit and was busy doing something else during it. When I rewound, I figured it out.
2. The main focus of the episode and the point of the mystery of the week was on Lucifer pretending to be Chloe and forcing Dan to take on his role. Because Lucifer, much like the audience, doesn't get why Chloe would accept Pierce's marriage proposal. Finally, at the end, they decide to tell us -- Lucifer figures it out around the same time Chloe confesses it to the bus driver. She wanted someone who was steady, reliable, and would always be there for her -- and Pierce appeared to be that guy. She didn't really love him, she loved the idea of a steady guy, who would have her back.
Lucifer bursting in on Dan with the Swat Team to save him from the murderer: How can you do this to me? I had to come and save you! You broke protocol, you put yourself in danger -
Dan: You don't happen to see the irony of this --
Lucifer: No, no, I'm not finished. I need to get a new partner. Someone reliable, steady, who has my back, and isn't impulsive and -- oh, wait, I get it. I finally get it.
Dan: Sigh.
I love Dan. Most evolved character on the show!!
Dan has his own epithany -- that he loves Charlotte and he should go all in. And tell her how he feels. Take the risk. So he does and Charlotte takes him up on it. And my shipper heart went pitter-pat. (See, I'm good at this -- I ship with the series. And never the lead characters.)
3. Amendial and Pierce have a little chat, where Amendial stupidly informs Pierce that he's also mortal now and can be killed. Hmmm. Why did the show go out of its way to tell me that Amendial can be killed? (I liked the chat, but found it odd that Amendial was reminding everyone he is mortal and it is God's will.)
[Okay show? I know you plan on killing someone off in the last two episodes. But you are only allowed to kill off Pierce or Ella. No one else. I'll allow Ella...since she appears to have no role this season except to be Pierce's cheerleader. You kill off Dr. Linda, Maze, Charlotte, Dan, or Amendial -- you are going to lose your audience and get cancelled. Please be smart show and don't do that.
Plus you only have two POC characters, so...]
That said, I think they are going to have Pierce kill Amendial and frame Lucifer, thinking that this will upend Lucifer's life, give Pierce - Chloe, and Maze a way back to hell. Eh, no. It's just going to royally piss off Lucifer -- so that he will endeavor to ensure Pierce dies, and ends up in hell, and Maze is no more. Why Maze thinks pissing off Lucifer or upending his life means she'll get to go back to hell with him is beyond me. Maybe she thinks she can hoodwink him? In any event, he has more power than she does and will most likely kill her. Which, damn. I like Maze. Or just strand her on Earth for eternity.
She's known Lucifer a long time -- you'd think she'd know this?
4. Chloe comes to the realization that she doesn't love Pierce, he's not her everything, she just wanted someone steady, not challenging. In short, she was settling. And well, been there done that.
So...this begs the question, if Chloe didn't love Caine, how did he lose his mark? Oh right, Caine fell in love with Chloe and wanted to live and be with her. She made him vulnerable. Same deal with Lucifer -- he fell for Chloe not the other way around.
Both guys are dense.
By the way this makes a lot more sense plot-wise and character-wise. I can see Pierce falling for Chloe, I cannot see Chloe falling for Pierce.
And thank you, Charlotte, for pointing out all the reasons Chloe/Pierce make no sense.
5. The girl-bonding moment was cringe-inducing. And rather cliche. The writers aren't good at developing and writing female friendships and female characters. They keep falling into cliche here and there. This a huge weakness in the writing. They need to fix that. And soon.
6. Chloe breaks things off with Pierce and Pierce leaps to the conclusion that Lucifer is responsible.
Meanwhile Charlotte is still trying to prove that Pierce is the Sinnerman. (Thank you, at least someone is.)
Better episode than the last two..in some respects, but I could feel the writers spatualing the plot holes.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-06 08:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-06 01:37 pm (UTC)I can see what the writer's were attempting to do here, though. I don't it worked and I think they needed to spend a lot more time with Maze than they have to make it work. There's a lot of telling in this series and not enough showing. They tell us that Peirce is reliable and steady from Chloe's perspective (but I didn't see it at all. And that Pierce and Chloe have great chemistry -- Ella keeps telling us, but I never saw it on screen.) They tell us that Maze should be really upset about Amendial and Linda's hook-up. And betrayed by it and she acts betrayed. But it makes no sense that she feels that way -- because everything prior to that shows us why she wouldn't be upset. For one thing, Maze flirts with anything that walks and would probably have sex with anything that walked. She's open sexually speaking and not monogamous at all. She broke up with Amendial. And as long as Linda was her friend, it wouldn't bug her. The lying? Yeah maybe, but
not to the degree it did. And they came forward and apologized. She's also made it clear how boring hell was -- so why go back there? Because it's safe? She doesn't strike me as happy with safe? I mean Maze from episode one might want to go back, but now? Add to this -- she's known Lucifer a very long time, and should know better than anyone how he'd of all people would handle a betrayal. Also she knows he can't kill a mortal. She can, he can't. But he can kill her. So, why do this? It feels very contrived and OOC in some respects. Yeah, she's a demon, but..I'm not sure that's a catch-all that you can use to explain OOC behavior.
What I think they are aiming for plot-wise? Is for Maze and Pierce's actions to motivate Lucifer into doing something major. Either revealing to Chloe who he is or actually taking action. Lucifer is the only one in the cast right now with power -- and who is immortal. And you don't want to get him angry -- as seen in a couple of episodes here and there.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the writers killed off either Amendail or Linda, both of which would REALLY upset Lucifer. Enrage him actually. Enough to kill Pierce, effectively throwing him into hell, and end Maze's existence. (Both are playing with fire here -- and underestimating Lucifer.) Because as was previously shown, Lucifer cares a great deal for both his brother and Linda. He also cares about Maze. I think Maze is also underestimating her feelings for Linda and Amendial -- and I can't imagine her going along with either's death. (Plus Maze has a close friendship with Chloe, Trixie, and the others.)
They might try to frame Lucifer -- but it's been made clear from "the Maze framed for murder" plot arc -- that it won't work. Lucifer is the light bringer. Also he can't be held in any jail -- he's immortal and super-powerful. The only person who makes him at all vulnerable is Chloe.
I think the end-game or goal is for Peirce to end up in hell reliving his actions over and over again. That appears to be the set-up. (Fits with various episodes this season that have reminded us that we create our own hell. Prior to falling for Chloe, Pierce couldn't really go to hell -- he didn't care about anything but dying. And felt no remorse for anything he'd done. Hence the curse to wander the earth until he does. Once he does care about someone outside himself -- he can be killed, and go to hell. There's no win for Pierce/Caine. He hasn't figured that out yet, although Amendial did because Amendial gave him the curse to begin with.)
That said? I think where the writers went astray was they got overly focused on Lucifer/Chloe relationship and Lucifer's perspective. So, didn't show us anything really outside of it, except in snippets. I've seen this sort of thing happen a lot with television shows that focus too much on a central character's point of view or emotional arc, often the other characters become pawns to their story or sole purpose to further their story. I think (don't know for certain) that's what they did here. Also they wanted the emotional plot twist -- Lucifer's closest ally, the person he trusted the most and been with the longest is betraying him - to see what he does with it. But, the danger in doing that -- is you sort of lose the character arc of that supporting player, in this case Maze.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-06 06:48 pm (UTC)As did I and also (somewhat) why. In fact, we seem to guess so many lines and reveals before they appear in shows that Mike has turned that into a game for us when watching.
Hmm, I hope you're wrong about Amenadiel because I also want it to be Pierce and Ella, but I get your logic.
And thank you, Charlotte, for pointing out all the reasons Chloe/Pierce make no sense.
YES! I just kept nodding like a bobblehead during that talk on the bus.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-06 08:09 pm (UTC)I get what they are doing -- the mystery of the week is supposed to give the lead character an epithany. By resolving the mystery, the lead characters figure out something important about themselves. And to make it interesting the writers hunt absurd murders. But...it is really hard to care about it.
Hmm, I hope you're wrong about Amenadiel because I also want it to be Pierce and Ella, but I get your logic.
So do I. But I can't see how or why they'd kill off Ella. Unless she jumps in the way, which won't happen. And it doesn't quite work if Pierce/Caine dies, the only one in the cast who'd care outside of Ella is Chloe. And the show is called Lucifer not Chloe. So, Lucifer has to pushed to the wall.
Plus there's no reason right now for Lucifer to kill Peirce, he has no motivation.
And, sigh, Amendial is literally painting a target on his chest. (I don't think the writers know what to do with him.)
Damn.