“Your bartender is a ninja,” Chloe tells Lucifer—and thank God she is, because otherwise the fifth episode of Lucifer would’ve been another droll venture into police procedural purgatory. Titled “Sweet Kicks,” this episode featured Lucifer and Chloe investigating the murder of a girl at a fashion show for shoe designer Benny Cho. Not-so-coincidentally, Cho owes his career to Lucifer, who helped him get started. Over the course of the investigation, the usual happens: Lucifer uses his “hidden desire” powers to pry people for information, Lucifer and Chloe bicker, a suspect is arrested but Chloe’s spidey-sense goes off and the case ultimately comes full-circle, landing squarely on the doorstep of the person who Lucifer helped in the past. Oh, and we can’t forget Lucifer showing his evil face, because what would an episode of this show be without that eye-rolling moment?
I want to make it clear that I think Lucifer has a lot of potential to be a truly awe-inspiring show if the writers will climb their way out of this creative rut. The bitter truth is that these run-of-the-mill, mundane police cases are not interesting and, frankly, the writers are wasting these multi-dimensional characters by continually putting them into such predictable scenarios. I get that the writers need a reason to put Lucifer and Chloe together in each episode—I do—but couldn’t they do this in less cliché ways? Furthermore, why aren’t the writers focusing on the supernatural element of this universe? We know that, in Lucifer’s absence, demons are escaping Hell to run amok on earth, but we’ve heard nary a peep about this since it was first mentioned. Wouldn’t it make for a more compelling show if the cases that Chloe and Lucifer were investigating were tied to these renegade demons, therefore allowing Lucifer to demonstrate some abilities other than his gift for coaxing out people’s deep, dark desires?
I can’t be the only person who wants more from this show than what it is currently offering. As much as I’m intrigued by the idea of Lucifer becoming more human—and as much as Lucifer is obviously infatuated by it—I can’t help but feel like we’re being deprived of some crucial pieces of the Lucifer puzzle. More importantly, I keep waiting for that moment when the show becomes something other than what it is now: something more captivating, intriguing and mystifying.
That’s why I’m so grateful for Maze and Amenadiel in this episode. These two characters and their unlikely alliance have the capacity to add spice to this bland stew. For the most part, they are taking a divide and conquer approach: Amenadiel is schmoozing Lucifer’s psychiatrist for information while Maze is stalking Chloe in order to….intimidate? Study? I’m not sure yet, but I can’t wait to see what Maze has up her sleeve!
New episodes of Lucifer air on Monday nights at 9:00 pm ET/PT on FOX.