After the relatively disappointing first season, I wanted to give the second season of “Lucifer” another chance. The first season, although it had high production values and good actors, fell through due to a horrifically slow plot. You could turn on the show after a long day, fall asleep for 30 minutes of a 45 minute episode, and miss nothing important. There were some comedic moments and good one-liners, but certainly not enough to compensate for the “filler” feeling of most episodes. 

SPOILER WARNING!

I began watching the second season in hopes of something more engaging but was given basically the same thing. Sitcom-esque episodes with only one or two moments of genuine character development for someone. One interesting addition to Lucifer’s daily life was the entrance of his mother, Charlotte, who escaped eternal torment in hell to try and make amends with his son. Lucifer was under the impression that his mother abandoned him after his parents divorced, but that was solely because his father banished him and his mother never had contact with her son. She shows up to Lucifer’s property after possessing multiple bodies trying to find someone close by to his penthouse. The body she chose was someone who was murdered along with two other victims, adding a murder mystery twist to her appearance and requiring Chloe, the police detective’s, attention. 

Unfortunately for the show, they had to make her appearances weirdly sexual. It was already established in the first season that Lucifer was a charismatic man who could court any woman he set his eyes on; apparently, he inherited that trait from his mother because she behaves similarly. In one scene she’s naked, during another she’s wearing extremely tight clothes because Lucifer had nothing else available. The normal interactions between the two were fine, but the abundance of awkward innuendos made me dislike her.

After another few episodes of basically nothing, little bits and pieces of Chloe’s backstory start being revealed. She was actually the product of a miracle ordered by God because her mother was struggling with fertility issues. Lucifer was destined to meet her on Earth and form a relationship with her, which is why his charms won’t function on her. Additionally, he realizes all of the partners he’s had throughout his time in Los Angeles thought no more of him than he did of them, dealing a devastating blow to his confidence. Lucifer stops pursuing Chloe because he recognizes her as special and believes someone like her doesn’t deserve him, but this leads to her kissing him, which was a sweet moment. It was also the first real character development for Lucifer in 24 episodes, which was a bit late, but still appreciated.

The problem with this show is not the plot itself but how it is paced. Even sitting down writing this review I was struggling to remember what the actual plot beats were because it was usually 20 minutes of a murder investigation before anything happened. Even if there was a major plot point happening at the beginning of the episodes, it was padded out with mundane police investigation, which killed the hype for me. However, the moments of action and themes explored within the show are the highlights, even if they are few and far between. The climax of the season is Charlotte being returned to heaven after Lucifer reignites a sacred sword to cut through the gates of Eden. It was nice but difficult to be invested in due to how long it took to reach that point. If the pacing of the show was faster and involved less of the police drama, I would certainly recommend this to others. However, if you are even slightly impatient with the media you consume, I would suggest finding something else to watch on Netflix.

7/10