Lucifer season 2 keeps redirecting our attention back to God’s role in the show, and it begs the question whether or not we’ll ever actually see Him.
This past week on Lucifer season 2, episode 6, “Monster,” we saw the show play with several themes, including guilt, punishment, betrayal, and love, romantic or otherwise.
That sense of guilt and betrayal was particularly tied to three of the characters on the show, namely Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Charlotte, the goddess.
In Lucifer’s case, he still feels betrayed that God banished him to Hell and he feels guilty about murdering his brother, Uriel. The Devil is who he is because of God’s actions, and Uriel’s death was a result of Uriel believing he was acting in his father’s best interests. Does no one hold God responsible for all of the pain and death that has occurred in the wake of these events?
Amenadiel also feels guilty about Uriel’s death, believing it could have been avoided if only he still had his powers and had been able to stop his brother from attacking Lucifer. Amenadiel has fallen, however, and though he doesn’t know the exact reason, it is clearly because he is no longer worthy of God’s trust. But Amenadiel is done trying to please someone who isn’t in the trenches like he and his brothers are.
Charlotte is perhaps more of a mystery than the angels. On the surface, she has accepted her punishment and is even willing to go back to Hell in order to save her sons. She seems upset about Uriel’s death and even guilty that all this fighting is happening over her. When you look deeper, however, her confessions feel hollow. She has also been betrayed by God, sent to Hell to be punished by her own son and his minions, only to escape and live amongst the humans she so vehemently hates.
All of this brings us back around to one big question: Will God ever make an appearance on the show?
Right now, I can’t help but feel as though Charlotte is cleverly and subtly manipulating her children, positioning them like chess pieces on a board where God is the king. Her sons may not know they’re playing her game, but both Lucifer and Amenadiel are separately coming to the same conclusion: Everything is God’s fault and he doesn’t deserve their loyalty.
Lucifer has always had daddy issues. Being kicked out of Heaven will do that to you. Amenadiel, on the other hand, has been a faithful soldier, an enforcer who has agreed to do his father’s will without question. But now he’s beginning to ask those questions. It’s no surprise Lucifer is on the brink of another rebellion, but the fact that Amenadiel is privately coming to the same conclusion is as exciting as it is foreboding.
For a woman who has lost everything and is only just now regaining her children, this must be her best case scenario. She has won back two of her sons, while a third, and the one who wanted her dead, has been removed from the board altogether.
It may only be episode 6 is a now 22-episode season, but Lucifer isn’t afraid to play a long game. Charlotte, whether purposefully or not, is stirring up another rebellion against God, and I’m so interested in seeing where this goes.
It feels inevitable that in a show about the Devil, we must, at some point, meet God. Then again, in pop culture, showing God on screen has always been a little taboo. He’s mysterious and all-powerful, and the idea of Him showing Himself directly is much less appealing than having Him appear in vague signs or chance encounters with strangers.
At the end of the day, I think it’d be out of character for God to show up and take care of the Charlotte problem. The God card is a big one to play, and we’re only in season 2 of the show. If Lucifer is lucky enough to get six seasons or more, I’d be much more willing to accept a reveal such as this.
For now, I hope they keep God out of the picture and save Him for a truly epic introduction. Let Lucifer and Amenadiel deal with their mother, and perhaps along the way they can find a sense of peace in their father’s actions.