Lucifer season 2, episode 2, “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire,” just finished airing! Mom’s back in town and no one knows what she really wants.
‘Lucifer’ 2×02 recap
The episode opens up on Lucifer’s mom bouncing around from resuscitated body to resuscitated body until she lands in one that doesn’t immediately die for a second time in a row. Other than the screwdriver in the back of her neck, Mum has found the perfect host body in Charlotte Richards.
Throughout the episode we get glimpses at the overall picture of who Lucifer’s mom was when she stood by God’s side. She was the goddess of all creation, but she also had a temper. Raining plagues and floods down on humanity is what got he sent to Hell.
When she was there, she had no physical form, which is why Maze could never break her. The now corporeal goddess says Hell never affected her because she was never guilty, but that’s neither here nor there for Maze. Everyone’s favorite demon is ready to to show Luci’s mom how fragile human bodies are, but the Devil orders her to stand down until he can figure out what’s going on.
Lucifer and his mother visit the crime scene and Lucifer spends most of the episode trying to prove she killed the two other people found in Charlotte’s hotel room. He doesn’t trust his now exceedingly hot mother and all his instincts tell him that she’s undoubtedly up to something.
Lucifer even gets Detective Decker involved when the dead bodies show up and it becomes an official investigation. We get more scenes with Dan and Ella, and even a moment with Trixie, but I found myself wishing there had been more.
Trixie is always a delight and I’ve immediately fallen for Ella, but even Dan was in rare form this episode. He was flirty and friendly, and for once he actually seemed happy. Even Chloe took notice of his teasing jokes, and I have to wonder if the show is slowly building this couple back up, or if they’re just trying to present a more favorable side to Detective Douche.
While Chloe & Co. were investigating, Lucifer’s mom was busy escaping Mazikeen’s clutches after she learned her son made a deal with her ex to return her to Hell. With a great bod, Maze’s clothes, and a corporate credit card, she could’ve gone anywhere. Instead, dear old Mum heads to the store to buy a crap load of cheese.
When Lucifer catches up to his mom, he’s closely followed by Chloe, who takes down Charlotte’s killer and solves the case. The Charlotte facade is still firmly in place, so Lucifer’s mom has to keep it up so Chloe doesn’t become suspicious. Last week, he wanted nothing more than for Chloe to believe he was really the Devil, but now he thinks it’ll be too much for her to handle.
Chloe, understanding how hard it is to be a mother, tells a meddling Lucifer that doing what’s best for your child doesn’t always make them happy. Luci chews on this until he gets home, where his mother presents him with some awful looking mac ‘n’ cheese and an explanation.
What Lucifer’s mom really wants, she says, is to go home, back to Heaven. She knows this is practically impossible, so she’s happy to be Lucifer’s mom while on Earth. She tentatively says she’ll go back to Hell if that’s what Lucifer really wants, even though she’d rather not, and that’s enough of an olive branch to get him to let her stick around for a little while longer.
This even comes on the heels of Lucifer learning that God didn’t cast him out of Heaven; his mother did. She did it to save his life because after the rebellion, God wanted to kill his son. This was the only thing she could do to keep him alive.
It’s all well and good, and perhaps it’s even true, but that final look toward the heavens shows that Lucifer’s mother is a fantastic actress. She’s clearly manipulating the situation here (and the lightning strike at the end shows the big guy upstairs is aware of it), but we don’t know to what end. Does she want revenge on her son, or is she looking to aim a little higher?
I doubt next week’s episode will show a Lucifer who’s happy and content to have his mother sticking around, but I’m also worried he’s letting his guard down way too soon. Hopefully Amenadiel, Maze, and Chloe can look past that silver tongue his mother is using to orchestrate her freedom and figure out what the big picture is.
The Devil is in the details
? Tricia Helfer is killing it as Lucifer’s mom. She equal parts vulnerable, sexy, dangerous, and a little ditzy. I hope they keep up the running gag of Charlotte not knowing much about humanity’s social norms.
? Despite Maze’s anger toward both Lucifer and Amenadiel, she’s ready to have the Devil’s back when he needs her — and I don’t think it’s just because she wanted to torture her old prisoner.
? Even when they’re arguing and have hurt feelings, I saw a lot of chemistry between Linda and Amenadiel this week. Apparently I just ship her with everybody. Either way, I loved how upset she was at his betrayal and his subsequent apology. I hope they can at least be friends moving forward.
? Charlotte saw the way Lucifer looked at Chloe with a sense of pride, so she has to know that her son has gotten close to this human. That doesn’t bode well for Detective Decker.
? Did we get an answer as to what’s causing Amenadiel to lose his powers? Could it really be karma? When he unfolds his wings near the end of the episode, they look bare and sickly. Amenadiel is understandably angry and upset.