Lucifer season 2, episode 12, “Love Handles,” just finished airing and this week Chloe and Luci try to figure out where they stand with each other.
The beginning of this week’s Lucifer set out to trick us. We see Luci and Chloe about to have sex, with Chloe finding Luci’s “love handles,” before she wakes up to Mazikeen watching her and eating popcorn. Maze thinks Chloe should loosen up, give into her desires, and get some. The idea gets stuck in Chloe’s head, but it just leads to some awkward encounters with Lucifer.
In a strange turn of events, Luci is the one stalling on having sex with Chloe, apparently. The good doctor says it’s because he recognizes how complicated their relationship is, but I find that it’s a lot more straightforward. Luci loves Chloe, and this means he’s in uncharted territory. Thanks to last week, we know he’s good at having meaningless, emotionless sex. But does he know how to have sex with someone he loves?
The running gag (which is, honestly starting to wear thin) is that Lucifer always seems to misinterpret Linda’s advice. In this case, he believes his charms are finally working on Chloe and that’s why she kissed him. He tries to get her to tell him all her desires, but it doesn’t work. Back to square one for the Lord of Hell.
Next, he blames Charlotte for manipulating Chloe into kissing him, but as we know, Charlotte had no hand in it. In a twist on that running gag, Charlotte is the one who visits and misinterprets Linda’s words to her own benefit, claiming that she needs to find someone she can convince to give Luci the bad piece of news she’s been holding onto for some time.
Before all that can go down, though, we have another case of the week that seems tied to Lucifer. Last week I thought the box the mystery man recovered was full of vials of Lucifer’s blood, but now I’m not so sure that’s the case, unless the professor figured out how to reverse engineer both a unique poison and its antidote from the blood — and several times over, no less.
Bella was noticeably absent in last week’s episode, but thankfully she’s back now and here to help save the day (though in the end Dan in the one who makes the big discovery). The team realizes who the professor is, as well as his motivation, which is to make people decide between their livelihoods and saving an innocent life, just as he had to decide.
Chloe and Luci’s relationship oddly parallels the case of the week here. The detective is trying to be proactive with their blossoming intimacy, but Luci is not making it easy, and she feels stupid for going out on a limb. She also tells Lucifer they can’t let their emotions get in the way of their work or someone could get hurt. This obviously weighs heavily on an indecisive Lucifer, but there’s not much time to waste with people’s lives on the line.
We get a sense of the range that Chloe’s effect has on Luci when she leaves to chase down the professor and Lucifer has to wait until the opportune moment to walk into a room full of poisonous gas to save the doctor’s next victims.
The professor has some interesting words for Chloe, however. “I’m not a monster,” he says. “I’m human.” He goes on to say, “Choice is an illusion.” Then, most importantly, he says, “You’ll understand that soon enough.” Then the professor kills himself.
Does this mean the professor’s entire operation was motivated not only by his revenge, but by something else as well — a higher power, even? It certainly would be interesting if someone is pulling some strings here, but who could it possibly be? This doesn’t seem like God’s M.O., and I don’t think Charlotte is behind it given what we know about her current plans. Maze and Amenadiel seem unlikely, so could this be the work of someone we have yet to meet?
At the end of the day, Luci saves everyone, including himself, and Chloe is so relieved it finally convinces him that what they have is real. Riding that high, he meets up with Maze and his mother in a bar where Maze backs out of their agreement to tell Luci that Chloe is a miracle and has been purposefully placed in Luci’s life. Despite all her bluster, Maze really does care about Lucifer and doesn’t want to upset him by revealing the truth.
But it’s too late for that. Luci spots a picture of Amenadiel and Chloe’s mom on the wall of the bar and learns the truth. So soon after he’s convinced that what he and Chloe has is real, he’s faced with the truth that perhaps none of it is.
Storming into Chloe’s house, Lucifer asks her if she knew the whole time, but he’s brought up short when Chloe turns around and we see that her nose won’t stop bleeding.
The Devil is in the details
? If Chloe is dreaming about Luci’s horns, does that mean she believes he’s the Devil on a subconscious level?
? Will Dan never not be awkward when he sees Charlotte?
? I would totally be into Charlotte making a regular appearance on Linda’s couch.
? Luci enjoying girl time to get advice on Chloe may have been the single cutest thing he’s ever done.
? That woman sticking her hand in the garbage disposal was pretty gross, even for this show.