As we finally return to our regularly scheduled Lucifer, it’s important to address early on that “All About Her” is a necessary episode for this season. Not only does it arguably set the rest of the season’s tone moving forward, it does so without just ignoring or doubling down on the weakness that was present at the end of the first half of the season. Yes, there are still a lot of questions surrounding the entire Sinnerman situation, but this episode works to begin unraveling that mystery. Or better yet, untangling it.
More of the same—when the same isn’t quite working—is not what the show needs, which is why “All About Her” makes sure to tie up some loose ends (some that could be considered plot holes) and set a course for the rest of the season. Comparatively, Riverdale had the same task last week, and it dropped the ball.
One of the most frustrating parts of the first half of the season was how Lucifer held on to the idea that the Sinnerman was the one who took his devil face and gave him back his wings (under God’s orders). This was even more glaring when Lucifer would continue to go on about it in “The Sinnerman” and “The Sin Bin,” only for the Sinnerman to very obviously not be the one responsible. Here, we finally get confirmation—as chances of there being another reason are pretty slim—that it was all God, with no middleman. Supposedly to ruin Marcus “Cain” “Call me Pierce” Pierce’s plan, though there’s still the big question mark hanging over “why” God removed the devil face. The addition of the regenerative wings is also still in question, but any non-budgetary reason for the removal of the devil face hangs heavy over Lucifer.
Here, Lucifer still wants to hold on to the idea that Pierce did these things to him, because that way he has someone to confront. He can’t confront his father. But as he reminds us again at the end of this episode, he can rebel against his father—which is how he gets Pierce to make a deal with the Devil. It’s almost like “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” only with celestial beings and immortal humans. By the way, it’s got to suck for Pierce that the immortality didn’t come with invulnerability. You know, past the whole Hell on Earth thing.
As I mentioned, this episode also retroactively ties up some loose ends, plot-wise. Such as how Lucifer was even able to be knocked out in the season two finale (Chloe was nearby, next to the ambulance) and why the ranch owner in “What Would Lucifer Do?” was so trigger-happy (Pierce tipped him off). While the latter reveal doesn’t make that particular episode any stronger, it at least explains a nagging issue from it, while also confirming the theory that Pierce did want to use Chloe as a test. Although, now the line about him calling Chloe “special” goes right back to having a romantic tinge to it; because if she were as special as he’d expected, he’d be dead.
Outside of the Lucifer/Pierce dynamic, there’s Lucifer/Chloe, which is of course strained after the events of “The Sin Bin.” This season especially, Lucifer keeps betraying Chloe’s trust, despite that being literally all she asks him not to do at this point. Obviously, the audience knows why Lucifer is doing the things he does, but it’s not like that exactly justifies those actions. In this episode alone, we know why Lucifer thought it would be nice to make Chloe’s surfer name “The Detective”… but he still blew her cover in his attempt to help. We know why Lucifer kidnapped and had the Sinnerman tortured… but he was still barking up the wrong tree, in terms of what he was hoping to accomplish, and betrayed Chloe just to learn that. While Chloe attempts to (and eventually does, in a less annoyed way) take Maze’s advice about how Lucifer “is who he is” and she shouldn’t try to change him, it’s still worth nothing that what he’s been lately is a bad partner and an especially selfish one. Which is why he originally comes up with the plan “to make it all about her for a change…and then she can make it all about me!”
Unlike last season’s Mom arc, Lucifer is dealing with things right now he can’t quite vaguely discuss with Chloe. Meaning that Lucifer has to figure out a way to still be there for Chloe while technically shutting off even more of himself from her. Yes, he wants her to help him with an “investigation” during this episode, but there’s a reason they never actually allow Lucifer to explain it to her: His request would involve asking her to look into Pierce, which would only make things worse for their strained partnership. Instead, Lucifer finds clarity with Chloe and her side of things by the end of the episode—surprisingly, as a result of the ridiculous new filing system he creates for her—while Chloe regains her appreciation for Lucifer being Lucifer. Because thanks to a weight that’s slightly lifted off of him in terms of the why and who of Pierce, there’s not as much baggage that comes along with Lucifer at the moment.
“Baggage” was of course also the reason why Pierce snapped at Ella in “The Sin Bin,” and it’s a pleasant surprise to get an Ella plot out of that. Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder, as Ella’s transformation into someone with very little to say is stressful during its very short-lived existence. It’s also great to see Charlotte pep talk and stand up for Ella, her little friend who’s not quite her friend. Ella still does the heavy lifting herself when it comes to confronting Pierce about his unprofessional behavior, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have others stand up for her too. It also doesn’t mean offering Pierce a hug undoes the work of her confrontation. It’s just a reminder that Ella is tough but fair. And if anyone needs a hug from Ella, it’s this guy.
He could also stand to give Dan a break once and for all, especially since his own personal issues here could have gotten Dan severely hurt or even killed. Despite not being all about Dan, the case-of-the-week (which is just a chill as a day at the beach) really highlights just how much of a well-rounded supporting character he is. For example, despite the generic memorial speech with the surfers, it’s still a moment where Kevin Alejandro is able to play it like a genuine moment of friendship and even belonging for this character. And when I bring up Dan being well-rounded, I am talking about something as small as the fact that he surfs. Because what could be a typical “previously unmentioned character trait” reads more like another way in which Dan has grown and improved himself post-divorce. When Chloe asks him about the fact that he’s surfing again, that moment is a loaded one, implying that he stopped surfing when their relationship was at its worst. Now, try to imagine season one Dan with hobbies. Legal hobbies. It’s impossible, because that wasn’t the character then; he really was just “Detective Douche,” the antithesis of “well-rounded.”
This is actually a pretty strong episode for all of the supporting characters and not just because three of them get to talk about Chlamydia. “All About Her” picks back up with the Linda/Amenadiel relationship and what that means for Maze and her feelings. While Lucifer spends a good portion of the episode making the day all about Chloe in such a performative fashion, Linda’s “weakness” here is that she legitimately does make so much all about Maze. The knife gift is what officially pushes Linda to put Maze first and attempt to end things with Amenadiel, but Maze has probably been in Linda’s mind throughout this entire relationship. The thing is, it is a relationship: Linda and Amenadiel aren’t just some fling, which is why they should try to tough it out. However, the fact that they’re not just some fling is a pretty good reason why Maze will probably be even angrier with them about the whole situation.
“All About Her” is a fine return episode for Lucifer, even though there are still plenty of questions that need answering. While they most likely won’t all be answered soon—and there’s no guarantee they’ll all be answered well—the episode does its job of making sure the rest of the pieces of the puzzle are in place.
Stray observations
- Unfortunately, this episode deprives us from having a Lovesick-esque (fka Scrotal Recall) plot with Amenadiel for the rest of the season. Also, Amenadiel doesn’t actually have Chlamydia… but we still don’t know how or why he was sick.
- Was Maze just out getting a drink alone or did she track Linda (or possibly Amenadiel) to the restaurant? I can buy the former, especially if this is a restaurant she and Linda frequent or have talked about—which would mean it’s on Linda for taking her secret boyfriend to a place they could easily be spotted.
- While their scene is really just Charlotte tearing Pierce down, Tricia Helfer and Tom Welling have some chemistry. More of this duo, please. Actually, now I’m imagining them pulling a The Good Place and Charlotte, Pierce, and Lucifer sitting in on a course on redemption/properly human-ing from Linda.
- Chloe could still be the key to Pierce’s death, right? If not, then God didn’t exactly need to use Lucifer for interference.
- Lucifer’s new file labels: OBVIOUS KILLERS, TEDIOUS EVIDENCE, HOT SUSPECTS, RIDICULOUS ALIBIS, BORING DETAILS, GRAFFITI, and BORING CRIMES.
- Hopefully we get an actual name for the dead Sinnerman soon. Because when Pierce says things like, “the Sinnerman killed my brother,” he’s talking about himself. As he was also the one who set up the kidnapping, did he does so himself as the Sinnerman, or did he have his partner Sinnerman do it? Really, in terms of piecing this all together, things get fuzzy post-premiere. For example, when did the Sinnerman we know splinter off from him? Before, I assumed it was in Chicago, but we’ve since learned the reason Pierce left Chicago was because he heard about Lucifer in Los Angeles. And was Pierce ever the one people were all deathly afraid of? Because, selfish choices and being Cain aside, the show gives the impression he’s at least a relatively good cop. So you have the kidnapping, then you have the kidnapper (who was just doing his stupid job) terrified of the Sinnerman, and then you have the Sinnerman gruesomely murdering him. The same fear goes for Ben in “Mr. And Mrs. Mazikeen Smith,” unless it’s finally revealed he was running from someone else, not the Sinnerman. The post-“The Sin Bin” TV Line interview with Tom Ellis revealed a lot of things we just learned in this episode, but the questions surrounding the entire Sinnerman operation still remain.
- One final question that will probably be answered: Why did the Sinnerman want Lucifer to kill him? Did he know what would happen?