Lucifer season 1, episode 5, “Sweet Kicks,” put Lucifer right in the middle of a gang war, much to his delight.
Lucifer’s obsession with his growing mortality means Detective Decker has her hands fuller than usual. Worse yet, his dance with death is probably going to get her hurt instead of him. Never underestimate his stupidity, Chloe.
The episode’s case of the week is all about the Asian Boys vs. the Latin Kings. Benny Choi, a popular shoe designer and former member of the Asian Boys himself, is putting on a show when shots are fired and a girl named Paola is killed. Lucifer, who is in attendance, goes to Chloe’s boss to convince her that he needs to be on the case. In exchange, he’ll make sure she gets promoted, and that’s all the ambitious woman needs to hear, much to Chloe’s annoyance.
The rest of the case plays out fairly easily, with Benny’s former best friend, Yellow Viper, being set up to take the fall. He has beef with the way Benny got out of a previous arrest while Viper went to prison, and he’s found with the murder weapon. Except Benny orchestrated it all, and is quickly given up by his associate when they’re confronted with evidence that supports this theory.
My major issue with this episode is far less troubling than last week’s, but it doesn’t make it any less tiresome to sit through. Lucifer says it himself when he comments, “They don’t make bad guys the way they used to.” Each of the three “bad guys” — Benny, Diego, and Viper — are at unrealistic caricatures of the kinds of people the show is representing. Perhaps they were there to add some humor to the episode, but it fell flat in my book.
Other than that minor note, “Sweet Kicks” took us a step further down the path of exploring Luci’s mortality. I liked the way Dan stepped in to talk to Lucifer about Chloe’s safety. It didn’t come to blows, though they were practically nose to nose, and yet Dan was absolutely serious in his warning to Lucifer. He only cares about Chloe, the mother of his child, and if Lucifer keeps doing what he’s doing, she could end up hurt or worse.
It doesn’t seem like Lucifer understood the gravity of Dan’s words, but he does later put himself in potential danger in order to diffuse the situation between the Latin Kings and Viper’s art group, which means he’s still learning about empathy. (I say potential danger because we still don’t know the mechanics of Lucifer’s current situation — did the bullet affect him because Chloe was the one who pulled the trigger or is it true that he’s fundamentally changing?)
Still, it’s interesting to see how deeply Dan cares for Chloe, and how much this pleases her in return, though she isn’t one to swoon back into his arms. In fact, my favorite quality in Chloe is her near inability to change. It’s frustrating that she hasn’t accepted Lucifer’s true identity, but this is only because we, as viewers, already know it to be true. In everything else, it’s refreshing to see her constantly turning Lucifer down, remaining true to herself, and acting on her instincts, despite the potential for embarrassment if she’s wrong. She cares deeply about her job and her daughter, and she is both strong and sympathetic. Few characters are this well-rounded so early in a series.
In fact, it’s this sympathy for others that causes her to point fingers at Lucifer about midway through the episode. She concludes that if Lucifer had never done Benny a favor to get him out of jail, Viper never would’ve taken the fall and eventually set up, and Paola would still be alive. Lucifer is correct that people need to take responsibility for their actions, but this in no way means that Lucifer isn’t still jointly responsible. This feels like a larger issue at hand, and one that may eventually tie into the Devil’s continued existence on Earth. Perhaps he will cash in all his favors in order to help those whose lives he’s changed so drastically.
“Sweet Kicks” also provides two side plot points that may actually be more interesting than the main mystery. In the first, Lucifer talks Chloe into taking him to The Paddock, a cop bar in which every patron basically hates Chloe’s guts. This goes back to her ties with the Palmetto case, where we learn that the aforementioned cop took a bullet, and while his partner thinks he was a hero, Chloe thinks he was dirty. Lucifer gets to punch someone in the face, which eventually leads to Dan’s talk with him, but nothing more comes up during this episode. I expect it to be a continual theme throughout season 1, however, with it potentially tying into something bigger, like Chloe’s “gut feelings” and her inability to be affected by Lucifer.
The other side story involves Mazikeen and Amenadiel, who meet in a cafe to talk business. Maze wants to go back home, and despite still being intensely loyal to Lucifer, she’s willing to throw Amenadiel a bone. She points him in the direction of Linda, the therapist, and he pretends to move into the office next door, asking her out for drinks with the intention of talking about patients “doctor”-to-doctor. His flirtation with Linda is curious given his shocking reaction to Maze’s previous advances and the fact that he’s, you know, and Archangel. Is he starting to fall as Lucifer once did, or will he find it easy to stay focused on returning Lucifer to Hell?
We also learned more about Maze this episode, in that she literally exists to protect Lucifer, which she does willingly at the end of the episode, taking out every member of the Latin Kings in order to keep Lucifer from getting shot (again). She doesn’t seem happy about it, but her anger is not directed solely at Lucifer. In fact, Maze seems to be taking particular issue with Chloe, and even goes so far as to visit the detective at night in her home. Maze leaves before Chloe realizes she’s there, and the demon does nothing to the detective, but Mazikeen has promised to continue to protect Lucifer from threats, even if he’s not aware of those threats himself.
It’s highly improbably Chloe will be killed off the show to further Lucifer’s story, but if an attempt is made on her life and it’s unsuccessful, it would provide additional clues as to who Chloe is and what she can do. Lucifer’s ensuing rage could be the final straw in his relationship with Maze, which might end up solidifying his ties with the detective and Maze’s alliance with Amenadiel.
After all, Lucifer is an “official civilian consultant” now. She’s not getting rid of him any time soon.
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