LUCIFER

When Lucifer was cancelled after a four-season run, fan outcry got Netflix to give it a new lease of life. But after watching the first eight episodes in the two-part fifth season, the only thought that lingers on is, why? After four seasons of Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) trying to tell detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) that he is indeed the devil and even showing her his real face, eventually, the makers, it would seem, wanted to give fans closure, as far as the ‘Deckerstar’ relationship angle goes. The problem with that is that try as they might, Lucifer and Decker just have absolutely zilch chemistry, so their prolonged will they-won’t they ‘get together’ tends to get tiresome. But that is not the only reason we get a fifth season, some episodes of which will be released only by the end of the year. There are plot points that need to be addressed, like, for instance, the reason Lucifer is vulnerable in Decker’s presence, and what it means for her to be ‘God’s gift for Lucifer’, among others. To get to all of that though, one has to sit through eight episodes of boring murder mysteries that lend no extra appeal to the narrative. And if you thought that having Ellis twice as nice in a double role can make up for all that, well, the answer is no. Charming as he is, the actor’s half-baked attempt at an American accent as the devious twin archangel Michael just doesn’t cut it. As Lucifer, Ellis is in his element and quite the sight for sore eyes, but there is only so much that he can do to carry the narrative forward. Characters like Amenadiel (Woodside), Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia), Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro) Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) and, of course, Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt) lend some gravitas, but it’s just not enough to make for riveting viewing. The problem now is that Season 5 has gone from being a final outing to a penultimate one, with Netflix giving the show a sixth season as well. So, if you have hoped for every character arc to be nicely rounded up this time around, you may just be in for a long and tedious wait.