Lucifer Netflix Original Season 4 Review
Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.
Lucifer—the Devil Himself—just refuses to die. I had a good time watching the hit series when Netflix saved the show from cancellation back in 2019. I binged-watched the first three seasons and had a blast with the fourth season too. I hadn’t had a chance to write this season review until recently, but at least I was on time before Season 5 Part 1 drops on August 21, 2020.
My reviews on the first three seasons are here:
· Season 1
· Season 2
· Season 3
Now let’s dive into how different Netflix made Lucifer’s fourth season vastly different compared to its first three.
The major difference right off the bat is the season’s episode count. In my previous season reviews, I had issues with Lucifer’s big episode count due to the writers not knowing what to do with them other than to give us “bonus fan-serviced episodes”. Without the additional episodes, Netflix made the story and writing tighter as a result, giving us a “cleaner” version of the show we all love. I put air quotes over cleaner because this is a show about the Devil himself, so…
While the police-procedural plot structure was still intact, the pacing was much better and the campy sense of humor was also spot-on. Being on Netflix also gave Tom Ellis’ permission to flaunt his bare ass within the first five minutes of the season 4 premiere. It was a good way to show the transition between networks. Also, it was devilishly hot.
Season 4 opens a month after season 3 ended, with Chloe Decker (Lauren German)—his love interest and partner-in-crime—finally learning Lucifer is the Devil. Immediately after learning the truth, Chloe takes her daughter Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) on a last-minute trip to Europe. In the meantime, Lucifer is playing “Creep” by Radiohead on the piano at his nightclub over and over in a montage that shows us a month had indeed passed. He is wondering if she will actually accept his “Devil Face” and who he truly is.
Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) is struggling to figure out where he belongs in the world—either a life in Los Angeles or his “important” role in Heaven with his Father God and the rest of the angels. Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) and her unexpected news are a part of Amenadiel’s struggle. Then there’s Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt), a demon bounty hunter and Lucifer’s former right-hand woman, trying to find a real connection with another person.
The side-characters—Forensics’ Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia) and Detective Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro)—are also dealing with the fallout of season 3 and the death of Charlotte Richards (Tricia Helfer). Dan loved Charlotte, and he was having a difficult time processing her murder. Ella lost her faith in God as a result of this death, suppressing her grief with booze and drugs.
These side-stories were given much more breathing room and stronger ties to the overall plot without needing to meander around, courtesy of the 10-episode count. There were also two new characters—Father Kinley (Graham McTavish) and Eve (Inbar Lavi) from Adam and Eve—added to the fourth season, expanding on Lucifer’s mythology and the Lucifer-Chloe love story (will they or won’t they).
Even with these new additions though, Lucifer found the room to keep the “let’s solve crimes and project my personal issues onto the crimes” aspect of the show in a on the nose kind of way. As a result, the show doesn’t bother to explore the realistic aspect of how the police procedures really work. Otherwise, Lucifer wouldn’t be able to work as a LAPD Consultant due to him drinking at crime scenes and sampling drug evidence in front of other cops like it’s no big deal.
Overall, I had a great time with Lucifer’s fourth season and the thought-provoking questions that come with Lucifer’s trauma. The ending to the fourth season also served as a substitute series finale in case they didn’t renewed for season 5, but now that a season 5—and season 6 too—are coming to Netflix, the ending opens up a whole slew of possibilities. I’m looking forward to seeing more Lucifer. Thank you, Netflix, for giving the Devil another chance. Thank you everyone else for reading this season review. I’ll see you when Season 5 Part 1 drops!