Lucifer season 4 has arrived on Netflix, and the Tom Ellis-led series hasn’t lost any of its bite (or its flaws) in moving to the streaming service. Lucifer has a new home on Netflix, and TV fans thinking the move would lead to big changes for the formerly FOX series may be disappointed. It’s pretty much the same as it’s always been—that is to say, a devilishly fun time in both good and bad. The Lucifer season 4 premiere, “Everything’s Okay,” picks up a month after the season 3 bombshell and promptly uses some of the show’s hallmarks to explain where Lucifer’s head is at. Tom Ellis performs a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” as a sort of musical internal monologue made external, then delivers all of the necessary exposition to a minor character fans will recognize from one of the previous episodes—and probably didn’t expect to see again. It’s an efficient way to bring the show to Netflix: important catch-up material for new viewers, callback to canon for existing ones, and another one of the musical numbers that fans have been vocal about loving, all in about five minutes. And it shows that the producers understand they’re playing to multiple audiences, at least for now. But the series hasn’t fundamentally changed in moving to Netflix. It still mixes drama with humor and horror, often going from one to the other in seconds. And it still has a wonderfully portrayed cast of characters who put the “fun” in “dysfunctional.” The remainder of this review contains minor spoilers from the Lucifer season 4 premiere episode. This time it’s Chloe Decker (Lauren German) who’s blown out of Los Angeles and comes back acting like everything is fine. At least she doesn’t come back with a new spouse! But of course, everything isn’t fine—because Lucifer gets its excitement, and entertainment value, from its world being abnormal. The bulk of the episode deals with Chloe and Lucifer trying to adjust to one another now that Chloe has learned his true identity. The show plays that for both drama and laughs, but also doesn’t linger too long on the Chloe and Lucifer relationship. Lucifer has a lot more to offer than just one dynamic, and the script (by showrunner Joe Henderson) services everyone and everything that a viewer could ask for. There’s some great material for Lesley-Ann Brandt, who continues to steal scenes as Mazikeen, and DB Woodside’s Amenadiel. The brotherly dynamic that sometimes got lost last season, with so much screen time being taken up by the storyline with Chloe and Marcus Pierce, is back and a joy to watch. And Kevin Alejandro has an important moment where Dan finally addresses all of those constant, albeit funny, jokes at his expense. While the absence of Tricia Helfer is definitely felt, Lucifer even gives a touching nod to Charlotte Richards, too. The characters’ flaws continue to be strengths as well as weaknesses, continuing to be what makes them compelling. TV geeks will also get a kick out of yet another Suits connection—one of the main guest stars is Sasha Roiz, who just finished playing Donna’s boyfriend Thomas Kessler on the USA series. Henderson ties everything up neatly, before he drops another bombshell in the final scene that’s about the only direction the show hasn’t gone yet and opens the door for the introduction of Eve (new cast member Inbar Lavi, who doesn’t appear until episode 3 and whose story doesn’t kick off until episode 4). It’s refreshing to see that the new Lucifer is the same as the old Lucifer. Oftentimes, when a show is moved to another network or otherwise revived, it winds up changing and missing something it had before. Particularly in moving to a streaming service, there’s the temptation to throw in some more sex, violence or profanity, just because they can. There isn’t anything more risque here than was already seen or implied on FOX, and the writers haven’t felt the need to shake things up too much either. They’ve just continued doing what they do—which is create a unique, fun, devilishly entertaining series like nothing else on TV. Except now it’s on Netflix. Lucifer season 4 is now streaming on Netflix. For more on everything happening on the small screen, follow the Television category at FanSided.<doc-sep>After a massive #SaveLucifer social media campaign, Netflix breathed new life into Lucifer following its demise by Fox. Yes, Lucifans did have to patiently wait for a year for the fourth season, but thanks to the streaming service the Devil and his friends are back with more witty clips and sexy shenanigans. Lucifer season three ended with Chloe finally understanding her partner, Lucifer Morningstar, is the Lucifer Morningstar. He only told her this every single day, but the detective refused to believe what was staring her in the face. Season four picks up a couple of months after the season three finale, with Lucifer unsure how Chloe is handling this shift in their professional and personal relationships. All 10 episodes of season four were released for binging on May 8, 2019. Recap of Season 4 Episode 1 “Everything’s Okay” Thank you Lucifer writers for starting off season four with Tom Ellis at the piano! The sexy Devil’s pouring his heart out – and depressing his Lux customers – by singing “Creep” by Radiohead. Rapid shifts in Lucifer’s attire clue us in to the fact he’s tinkling the ivories every night with this song. Luci seems to feel the title describes him to a T. Poor Luci! The Devil’s having a devil of a time in the aftermath of showing Detective Chloe Decker his true face. Someone in the club finally puts an end to “Creep” by holding a gun to Lucifer’s not as neatly coiffed as usual head. It turns out the gunman and his partners aren’t music critics, they’re out for revenge. The gunman’s the thief Lucifer left in the desert and he’s not at all pleased to have been set out to wander in the heat without his stolen Brinks truck. When Lucifer bends his gun like it’s made of butter, lifts him a foot off the floor, and flashes his red eyes, the gunman decides maybe he didn’t hallucinate Lucifer’s angel wings. His fellow masked gunmen fire but of course the bullets don’t faze Luci. He’s too busy wondering if Chloe felt the terror this gunman’s feeling right now when she realized who he is. He works out his issues while informing the robbers (and thus the audience) that Chloe’s been gone on vacation for a month. She left after seeing his face and they’ve yet to discuss how she feels. Lucifer continues working out his own problems by loading the gunman up with gold bars and stacks of cash. When he whips off his pants and shows off his buttocks (thanks to Netflix, again, for picking up this series), the gunman’s had more than enough. Maze (we’ve really missed Lesley-Ann Brandt and her wicked humor) shows up as the gunman scurries away. She wonders if Luci’s holding a grudge since she tried to kill him, but he’s over that. She also wonders if he wants her to track down Chloe, and Luci suggests she has an ulterior motive for wanting to find the detective: she wants to apologize to Trixie. Lucifer admits he’s reached the point where he wonders if Chloe will ever return. Cleaned up and presentable once more, Luci shows up at a crime scene and is immediately told to go home by Detective Douche/Dan (Kevin Alejandro) who’s in a lovely – and by that I mean completely pissed off – mood. Luci reminds Dan he has no authority over him and pushes his way in, as Lucifer’s wont to do. Ella (Aimee Garcia) suggests Dan’s mood is rotten because he’s still mourning Charlotte. Lucifer, as always, makes it about himself, declaring he’s not going to be a scapegoat for what he believes is not his fault. Ella’s also not quite herself and the reason why turns out to be she’s still on the outs with God. When Ella asks if Luci wants the details on the crime scene, Lucifer admits he’s done with the consulting work. Of course, that’s when Chloe (Lauren German) shows up unexpectedly acting as if nothing’s wrong. She makes eye contact with Luci but really only engages in conversation with Ella who’s going over the evidence. Their victim is a beekeeper named Bob who was killed by a honey scraper. Chloe interviews Bob’s wife and she claims no one wanted to hurt him. As they talk, Luci hovers over Chloe and stares at her as if she’s lost every last one of her marbles. Chloe’s forced to break off her questioning to speak with her partner. Chloe claims to be okay and her vacation in Europe gave her time to come to terms with what she saw. Chloe, who for three seasons displayed an annoying lack of detective skills when it came to Lucifer, admits he’s always told her the truth. “I think deep down I always knew,” she says. She also assures Luci, while wearing a super fake smile that never reaches her eyes, she just wants to get back to work. Lucifer’s reply once she walks away: “What the f……? !” It’s Netflix but apparently they’ll be keeping the show PG language-wise as the Lucifer theme plays over the F-word. A tease of R but that line’s not crossed yet. Lucifer pays a visit to everyone’s favorite therapist, Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris). He’s decided Chloe is in denial and that’s why she’s not reacting to his true self. When Linda asks what he wanted to happen, Lucifer gets all defensive. She believes he wanted Chloe’s rejection because he refuses to talk about his Devil face. He blows that off, saying it’s back because he killed a human for the first time. The ever-intuitive doctor knows that’s his father’s rule, not Luci’s. He’s now self-actualized and is likely punishing himself by bringing forth his Devil face. She wonders if he’s punishing himself for enjoying killing a human and that’s why he sees himself as evil. Luci continues to be one of the worst patients ever, refusing to accept Linda’s theory. She asks him to consider Chloe’s actually fine with him, but Lucifer’s taking the glass half empty approach to Chloe’s reaction. “So you’re saying I should just act as if everything is as she claims and slowly poke at her denial and find a way to pop the bubble?” asks Lucifer, not listening to anything Linda’s saying. (Dr. Linda continues to have the patience of a saint.) Lucifer shows up at the police station and delivers an “I am the Devil blah blah blah” speech to Ella. She can’t keep a straight face and doesn’t understand how he stays in character. Lucifer adds that Amenadiel’s an angel and Ella replies, “Does he have wings?” Lucifer responds truthfully but Ella thinks he’s just a barrel of laughs. Chloe, on the other hand, looks ready to send him off to a solitary, padded cell. Lucifer wonders why Ella won’t accept he’s telling the truth and Chloe finally has enough, squashing the conversation before Lucifer does something to prove he’s telling the truth. Back to the case… Dead beekeeper Bob couldn’t have been killed by his own scraper because it had another company’s honey on it. Maybe a rival wanted to destroy Bob’s hive and wound up killing him. Chloe and Lucifer head off to find Bob’s competition at a farmer’s market. Luci’s all giddy about the fact Chloe’s now in on the joke and can watch the other humans “twist themselves into pretzels” trying to figure out what he’s telling them. Chloe thinks it’s a bit mean since the humans are left trying to figure out Lucifer’s metaphors because no one would truly believe he’s literally the Devil walking the earth. Luci gets in the same dig I did earlier in this recap, pointing out she’s just smarting from not figuring out he was always telling the truth about his identity. Chloe finds the Pure Honey stall and it’s possible they were pissed about another honey company showing up on their turf. Lucifer’s ready to get his mojo on, asking Chloe if since now she knows the truth, she wants to really watch him in action. She does. Luci asks Glenn, the Pure Honey owner, what he really wants. He admits he wants Bob to die because he’s terrified of him. Glenn didn’t realize Bob’s truly dead, but he’s happy now because he can relax. He confesses he destroyed Bob’s beehive but he didn’t kill him. However, Bob did show up at Glenn’s door a few hours after the beehive was destroyed. He beat Glenn with a bag of doorknobs, sending Glenn off to the hospital. Chloe and Lucifer walk through the farmer’s market discussing what they’ve just learned, and Chloe realizes they’re being followed by a guy with a gun. Lucifer offers to show off his devilish strength, but Chloe believes it’s easier if she just shows the guy her gun. Lucifer’s disappointed he doesn’t get to learn just how far he can toss a human, and Chloe – surprisingly – gives in. Lucifer holds the guy by the throat up against the wall. Chloe demands he stop once she spots the badge on the stranger’s belt. It turns out Bob was in witness protection, according to U.S. Marshal Luke Reynolds (Sasha Roiz). (Roiz is no stranger to the world of supernatural creatures after six seasons on Grimm.) Luke was in charge of watching over Bob who, as it turns out, had the nickname Bob the Knob. (Insert inappropriate Lucifer chuckle here.) Bob was a mob enforcer who used a bag of doorknobs to beat people. His murder could have been a hit placed on him by the mob since members of the Paradiso mob are in town and they could have done the job. However, there’s no way they’ll talk to the cops. Luke doesn’t understand when Lucifer says they might, given that Chloe has the Devil at her side. Chloe decides it might actually be fun being in the know. Investigation done for the day, Chloe heads home and is surprised to see Maze in her living room. Maze has handcuffed herself so Chloe won’t be scared. It’s a good faith gesture, according to the demon. Maze swears she would never hurt Chloe and Chloe is sure she’s telling the truth. The moment of good faith is broken when Maze easily breaks the handcuffs, admitting they were on just to make Chloe feel comfortable. Poor Auntie Maze is disappointed to learn Trixie is at Dan’s place. She’s heartbroken to learn Trixie’s still upset with her and needs more time. Luci also returns home to discover he’s not alone. Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), wings spread in all their glory, wants to make sure Luci knows angels have control over themselves. He’s also there to gloat and drink with his bro. They both agree Charlotte deserved a first-class ticket to Heaven, and Lucifer compliments his brother for flying her straight to the Silver City. Luci’s happy for his sibling since now he can return to the Silver City, something he’s been wanting since he came down to earth. But, Luci’s also a bit confused as to why Amenadiel didn’t just stay in Heaven when he delivered Charlotte. Luci reveals Chloe knows the truth now. Amenadiel can’t believe Chloe’s fine with it and volunteers to stay and make sure everything’s okay. Luci assures Amenadiel it is and that he can go back to where he belongs. Chloe and Lucifer continue the hunt for Bob the Knob’s killer, showing up at a ritzy outdoor party to interrogate Frank the Pool Boy. Frank claims it’s just a coincidence he’s in LA and hasn’t seen Bob since he testified. Luci, using actual detective skills, figures out he’s lying because there’s a jar of Bob’s honey on the table. Frank confesses they found out Bob was in LA, but he claims not to harbor any ill feelings toward the guy who put his uncle away for 50 years. Apparently, everyone hated the uncle anyway. And it turns out they’re in LA to warn Bob that someone squealed on him and revealed his whereabouts to the mob. It’s not exactly a dead end but close to it. As they’re walking and talking, Lucifer places his hand on Chloe’s shoulder.<doc-sep>
The titular crime-solving devil is back for season 4 of Lucifer, cast out of TV heaven by Fox and resurrected by Netflix thanks to the social media prayers of "Lucifans." If you’re wondering how much the show itself has changed with the switch to Netflix , the answer is... not much at all. Though it's only 10 episodes as opposed to 22, the fourth season looks, sounds, and acts very much like the previous three. It's still, at its core, a supernatural-police procedural with a campy, pun and double entendre-filled sense of humor. Though Netflix could have thrown it in, there's not a lot of additional profanity, violence, or sex, though Tom Ellis' bare butt makes its first appearance less than six minutes into episode 1, "Everything's Okay." Lucifer: Season 4 Photos 12 IMAGES But is everything okay? We begin with Lucifer playing Radiohead's "Creep" on the piano he keeps at Lux. As he continues to perform, we realize we're jumping through time. Our sad devil has been playing this same song over and over again, night after night, most certainly killing the vibe at his own club. A month has passed since the conclusion of Lucifer Season 3 and, in that time, Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) has taken her daughter, Trixie (Scarlett Estevez), on an impromptu vacation to Europe while she deals with the knowledge that Lucifer has been telling the truth this entire time. He's the actual devil and Heaven and Hell are real. Lucifer has taken to brooding and fretting over whether or not Chloe will ever be able to accept him for who he is now that she’s seen his “devil face.”Meanwhile, Forensics' Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia) and Detective Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro) are both reeling from the death of bad-lawyer-turned-goddess-turned-good-lawyer Charlotte Richards (Tricia Helfer). Dan fluctuates between sorrow and reckless anger, while Ella is grappling with her belief in Lucifer's father - God, that is - and suppressing her grief with booze and drugs. There is no mention of Ella's ghost guardian angel, who appeared in “Boo Normal,” an unaired episode Fox had intended for Season 4 that’s now available as a bonus episode on Netflix. Perhaps that’s no longer a thing? Loading Loading Loading Elsewhere, Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) is contemplating his life in L.A. versus his role as an angel in Heaven, Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) is about to receive some surprising news, and the ever-fierce demon bounty hunter Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt) is looking for a real connection of her own.Adding to the season's turbulence and putting a wrench in the endless will-they-won't-they between Lucifer and Chloe are two new characters: Graham McTavish's Father Kinley, a priest with news about an apocalyptic prophecy in which Lucifer plays a key role, and Eve (Inbar Lavi), Lucifer's ex-girlfriend from, well, the Book of Genesis. Lavi brings a wide-eyed wonder to the role as the love-addled original sinner, while McTavish adds new mystery and mythology. But despite these overarching narratives, the LAPD still gets a fresh corpse every episode and Lucifer continues to, as Dr. Linda would say, project his own personal issues onto every case, which somehow all fit those issues in a very on-the-nose way. The returning characters retrace familiar steps, which is why Eve - a character whose naïveté and myopic love for Lucifer would be annoying if she weren’t so charming and fun - is a refreshing addition.Like fellow supernatural detective show iZombie, it’s impossible to watch Lucifer as a cop show without constantly exclaiming, “I’m pretty sure investigations don’t work like that!” If you’ve made it this far, you’re already on board with the idea that Satan is an LAPD homicide consultant who gets to sip from a flask next to murder victims while cracking dick jokes and insinuating he samples drugs from the evidence lockers. Netflix makes no effort to make the crime-solving part more realistic and that’s okay.But where the show seems to really struggle is in figuring out what’s good and what's evil, while also attempting to deal with topical issues. In "Super Bad Boyfriend," Amenadiel befriends a black teen who is accused of murder. Though the episode points to the struggles black men often face when dealing with law enforcement, the outcome is not a positive one and it has very little impact on any core characters but Amenadiel.