Lucifer season 2, episode 10, “Quid Pro Ho,” just finished airing, and we got some major clues as to Chloe’s purpose in the Devil’s life.
A week ago, Lucifer left us on a huge cliffhanger, with Chloe’s life hanging in the balance. Charlotte was seconds away from blowing the detective sky high with a bomb strapped to the underside of her car. This week, Amenadiel showed up just in time to convince his mother this was not the way to get Lucifer to leave Earth. Charlotte reluctantly agrees.
The result of the cliffhanger felt a little bit like thinking you’re drowning, only to find out you’re only in three feet of water. Charlotte herself summed it up when she said, “Well, that was anticlimactic.” Yes, yes it was.
We knew Chloe wasn’t going to die, but when a show paints itself into the corner like that, you kind of hope they have a clever way of writing their way out of it.
Luckily, this was the only blip in an otherwise solid episode that is clearly going to have huge consequences for the rest of the season, for multiple reasons.
This week, we’re seeing the first day of the trial of Chloe’s father’s killer. Lucifer, as per usual, has no idea what’s going on, but he makes up for it in spades for the remainder of the episode.
The first obstacle in Chloe’s past this week, other than her annoyance at Lucifer for standing her up, is the fact that their key witness’ head ended up in a box on Dan’s desk. The second obstacle is Charlotte acting as defense attorney, which rattles Lucifer as much as it rattles Chloe.
After her talk with Amenadiel, Charlotte has decided to come up with a more subtle way to end the relationship and affection between Chloe and Lucifer. Showing up in that courtroom is the perfect conduit for her, and for an added bonus, it also makes Dan extremely uncomfortable.
What I find interesting here is that Charlotte is completely up front with her plans to destroy Lucifer’s relationship with Chloe. She tells her son she almost blew up the detective, and then she tells him she’s going to prove to him that Chloe doesn’t care as much for him as he does for her. Clearly she’s not afraid of losing that battle. But maybe she should be.
Another interesting fact is that Linda calls out Lucifer for lying to himself. He has a genuine affection for Chloe, but he won’t admit to it. He never lies, so the idea that he could be fooling himself is ludicrous. Plus, he’s the Devil. How could he have an affection for a human?
But it’s clear as day to everyone other than Chloe and Lucifer that he does care a great deal about this human. After losing their star witness, Lucifer decides to take the stand for himself. He acts out the meeting between him, Dan, and Boris, and practically gets a standing ovation from the courtroom. Everyone is a little dazzled.
And that everyone does include Chloe. Lucifer admits, “She is truly good. And I don’t mean in bed. I wouldn’t know — that’s how good she is.”
It’s a funny line, but it also hits a lot harder than that. Lucifer and Chloe haven’t slept together, and so their relationship is based solely on emotional intimacy. Lucifer also can’t dazzle Chloe the way he can other women, and that makes their interactions so much more genuine.
This is all well and good, except when Lucifer mentions that Chloe was the first person to discover the body of the man who took the fall for her father’s murder. The report says Dan was first on site, so either Lucifer is lying or Chloe is not as good of a person as Lucifer believes her to be.
Lucifer says his statement is truthful before we cut to a scene of him outside chasing down Chloe. It’s not that he didn’t lie for her; it’s the fact that Charlotte clearly already knew the answer to the question she asked. If Lucifer didn’t tell Charlotte, then who did? Of course, we know it was Dan, but Chloe is still in the dark about his night of passion with the lawyer.
Lucifer is trying his hardest to rectify the situation, so he, Dan, and Maze track down the man who probably killed Boris. Lucifer finds out about Dan sleeping with Charlotte, and I honestly think tackling him through a wall was pretty gentle a punishment for Dan.
In order to get the name, Maze must fight one of the gang members to prove their worth, and how satisfying was it that she was merely playing with him the whole time? Swords against fists and the dude still lost! My wish for getting a fight scene starring Mazikeen every week of this show is beginning to come true.
We also see Lucifer call Maze off from killing her opponent, and I just love that they still have such a loyal friendship. There’s still some animosity between them, but Maze also still respects Lucifer’s ranking as the Lord of Hell. I hope their bond continues to strengthen.
But it comes to naught because when Lucifer and Dan find Boris’ body, they also find the man hired to kill him, which means they’re at another literal dead end.
We get another cameo from Chloe’s mother in this episode, and she has perhaps one of the most impactful lines of the week. “You’re a mother, aren’t you?” she asks Charlotte. “Yes,” Charlotte answers. “Then shame on you,” Penelope says and walks away. Nothing else could’ve affected Charlotte the way those words did, and she has at least a little bit of humility to look ashamed.
Still, it doesn’t distract Charlotte from her end goal. She corners Chloe and offers a deal — she’ll get her client to take a guilty sentence in exchange for Chloe calling Lucifer a liar in front of everyone. Lucifer’s word is his bond, and it’s the lowest blow Chloe could deliver to him. Charlotte knows this distrust between them could get her everything she wants.
So Chloe’s options are let the man who killed her father walk or lie and denounce Lucifer, risking her relationship with her friend. For most people, it would be an easy choice to put an obvious criminal behind bars. For Chloe, it was an easy choice to look directly into Lucifer’s eyes and tell him how good and honest of a person and a partner he is.
Charlotte’s client gets to walk, but he soon gets what’s coming to him. Dan and Maze set him up to be taken by the Russians, who don’t appreciate that he was the one behind Boris’ death. “I didn’t know you had it in you,” Maze tells Dan. The look on his face reminds us that Dan is capable of a lot more than we may realize, especially where Chloe is concerned.
But it’s the end of the episode that overshadows everything else we’ve seen so far. A chance encounter with Chloe’s mom forced Amenadiel to remember that about 30 years ago, God sent him to Earth to bless a couple who couldn’t have a child. God had done no such thing before and nothing of the sort since then.
Amenadiel feels like a pawn in God’s game, but Charlotte recognizes that Chloe was put into Lucifer’s path for a reason. This means she’s no longer an obstacle for them; Chloe is the key to going home. This will certainly paint a larger target on Chloe’s back than the one that has been there to begin with.
And in what is becoming habit for Lucifer, we’re left with another epic cliffhanger — Lucifer and Chloe lean in to kiss, but before they get the chance, the show cuts to black. What a tease!
The Devil is in the details
? “Maybe it’s like butt stuff — easier the second time around.” How Lucifer gets away with some of these lines, I’ll never know. But you won’t catch me complaining.
? Charlotte’s human form can’t contain the goddess’ powers. Right now, she’s getting stronger and stronger, but I have to wonder if she’ll ever outgrow her body.
? Any question of whether or not Maze has feelings for Amenadiel was answered tonight. She’s pissed because she feels betrayed.
? Amenadiel sitting on the couch with his steering wheel in hand was the single saddest thing I’ve ever seen on television.
? I love that everyone is now coming to Linda for advice. How long until Chloe shows up on the couch?
