A popular maxim about human behavior states that, “People aren’t against you — rather, they are for themselves.” It’s a simple pivot in perception that, filtered solely through logic, ought to provide some comfort. All you have to do is flip the “off” switch on those emotions. How hard can that be?
In tonight’s (Jan. 30) midseason finale, Lucifer was let in on a not-so-little secret about humanity: The realization that other people will always have their own agendas, and as much as they may like you, love you, think they like you or love you, claim to like you or love you, or any combination thereof, you will always be subjected to their agenda — even the most well-meaning one.
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And there’s the rub. After tonight’s episode, for instance, we can believe that Charlotte does love Lucifer — she was willing to return to Hell to save her son, after all — but it’s the “in her own way” part that’s the kicker. As it is for absolutely anyone who loves or is loved. Let’s say that our love for another is a passenger that needs to get from point A (us) to point B (them) — and the way we choose to express our love is the vehicle of delivery. Some people love like a Cadillac, some love like a horse-drawn carriage, some love like a bullet train, and some love like a Kia Rio being driven by an unmotivated Uber driver who has a budget smartphone with crappy GPS.
Charlotte’s love for Lucifer certainly took the indirect and bumpy route, as far as Lucifer is concerned. And we still don’t yet understand why Dad with a capital D decided to put Chloe in Lucifer’s path — but like all of the other characters, He’s had His own agenda… Which He may still claim was fueled by love for His son. None of the characters are feeling like they were loved sufficiently by the ones who matter most to them — but as an audience, we get a slightly broader picture, and see a lot of them doing their best under the circumstances. It was certainly touching to seeing everyone rallying around Lucifer to help him get what he wanted.
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You’d think the guy (well, devil) whose specialty is figuring out everyone’s deepest, darkest desire would not be shocked to discover that people want some pretty weird things for themselves. And yet, when it fully hits him that mum Charlotte wants one thing, and Dad wants another, and so does Amenadiel, and so on — that maybe everyone’s first priority is not ensuring that he gets what he wants all the time (even though most of them were doing exactly that in this episode), he’s more upset by this than anything he ever encountered in Hell. He’s still mad about feeling like a pawn on someone else’s chessboard: This from the guy with powers like super strength, semi-immortality and an ability to work humans like puppets. Pot, meet kettle! (Also humans, meet life!)
Deeming his love for Chloe not real, because other people (or entities) had their own reasons and agendas for helping it along, it would appear Lucifer’s now off to go have a good cosmic pout about it. Well, he’s still a newbie to this whole humanity thing. Give him time.
And yes, we now have to wait two months for more “Lucifer,” to find out what happens next. Because we can’t always get what we want, when we want it.
“Lucifer” returns May 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.
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