Fox’s upcoming Lucifer series, based on the character created by Neil Gaiman, premiered at San Diego Comic-Con. Read our spoiler free review here!
The character of Lucifer is no stranger to our screens, but none have been so upfront and refreshingly honest about their identity than Tom Ellis’ interpretation. There’s no hiding in the shadows for this unashamedly devilish character, and that’s just the way he likes it — and so do we. We were just as enthralled with Lucifer’s charm as the unsuspecting officer who pulled him over in the opening scene, and it didn’t wear off for the remainder of the pilot.
As David Easterman, from the Lucifer comics, so succinctly puts it, “When the Devil wants you to do something, he doesn’t lie at all. He tells you the exact, literal truth. And he lets you find your own way to Hell.”
Though the episode introduces a very procedural element to the show, it was clear that this was purely a driving force to introduce our main characters and their motivations — particularly Detective Chloe Dance (Laura German), who was vexingly immune to Lucifer’s persuasions. Vexing for Lucifer, that is.
The meat of the episode revolves around the untimely demise of Delilah — a musician that Lucifer himself coaxed into the spotlight by influencing the right people — in front of Lucifer’s swanky LA club, Lux. Though Lucifer treats most of humanity with bemused indifference, and takes an obscene joy out of exposing their darkest desires, his underlying ruthlessness and unexpected compassion come through whilst hunting down those responsible for Delilah’s death.
Not everyone is pleased with Lucifer’s newest obsession. His brother, the angel Amenadiel (D. B. Woodside), is sent by their father to order Lucifer back to Hell. He’s met with unsurprising resistance by Lucifer, who is largely unconcerned by the state of Hell since his departure. There was a desperation and danger to Amenadiel’s interactions with Lucifer, that suggest that the character will be heavily shrouded in shades of grey in regard to what he is willing to do in order to restore him to his rightful place.
Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt), also known as Maze, a Lilin from Hell is also unimpressed by Lucifer’s newest fascinations with humanity, and Chloe’s resistance to his charm. There was an interesting parallel between her character’s desires, and also Amenadiel’s, that suggest the two could team up over the course of season 1 in order to reinstate Lucifer to Hell.
The chemistry between the characters was palpable, most notably between Lucifer and Chloe, and the pilot was delightfully funny from the opening card right through to the dying seconds. The panel room itself erupted into genuine laughter consistently throughout the episode — which speaks to the witty script and direction from the creative team, but also to the delivery by the stellar cast.
Lucifer certainly isn’t taking itself too seriously, but the show is better for it. Though there are some moments that could have veered into “soap opera” territory, the delivery was so perfectly executed by Tom Ellis that it was surprisingly hilarious. Ellis is perfectly cast as the titular character, and it was a joy to watch his flawless delivery throughout. There were more one-liners than we could feasibly count, and each one was a delight.
An abundance of Lucifer quote t-shirts are in our near future.
Lucifer sets itself apart from the more serious fare on our screens, and is a refreshing reprieve. It was certainly one of the stand out shows screened this weekend, and we’ll be eagerly awaiting the rest of the season when it airs on Fox.
