‘Lucifer’ Series Finale: Will Lucifer’s Calling Keep Deckerstar From Being ‘Partners ‘Til the End’? (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Lucifer series finale “Partners ‘Til the End.”]
Lucifer, in its beautiful, heartbreaking, and very emotional series finale, focuses entirely on the titular character (played by Tom Ellis), his love, Chloe Decker (Lauren German), and their future daughter Rory (Brianna Hildebrand), as the three fight to keep their family together (in more ways than one).
It’s the events that follow after escaped killer Vincent Le Mec (Rob Benedict) kidnaps Rory and her parents set out to save her that allow Lucifer to answer the question he’s been struggling with: What is his calling now that he knows it’s not to become God?
Vincent Messed With the Wrong Family
As much as Lucifer would prefer Chloe to stay home, she insists on going with him to rescue Rory and leaves him no choice. “Partners ’til the end,” she reminds him.
It may end up being a good thing she’s with him because Vincent has found a way to turn the feathers from Rory’s wings into weapons, and they make Lucifer bleed. “I’m the reason I didn’t have a father growing up,” Rory realizes. It’s heartbreaking. As Vincent explains to her, ever since Lucifer whispered in Dan’s killer’s ear, he’s been in pain. He wants to be the one to torture Lucifer now. But she tells him that Lucifer doesn’t torture people. Instead, he lets them torture themselves with their own guilt.
Lucifer and Chloe methodically make their way through Vincent’s guards — her with her gun, him with his wings out and Maze’s (Lesley-Ann Brandt) blade. Chloe is stabbed in the shoulder in the process, but she reminds Lucifer she doesn’t die yet, and he continues on without her.
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When he finds Rory, Vincent has her gagged and chained up by her wings. Lucifer tells him he can’t make the pain stop because it’s Vincent’s own guilt torturing him. It’ll only get worse if he kills Rory, an innocent girl, the devil continues, and if he really wants Lucifer to feel tortured, Vincent needs to know what he desires more than anything else. And so it’s someone else’s turn to ask Lucifer the question he’s been asking others all series: What is it you desire?
“To see my daughter grow up, be there for her when she needs me the most, to be the father she deserves,” Lucifer says. If Vincent kills him, it won’t add to the killer’s guilt and it will cause the devil to suffer an unimaginable pain. But when Lucifer kneels to let Vincent do just that, Rory rages and breaks free from her chains with “Dad!” before stopping Vincent and holding him in the air by his throat. As a devil face takes over her features, Lucifer begs her to stop.
“Killing him won’t change what he’s done, but it will change you,” he pleads with her. “Once you’ve done this, there’s no going back. Rory, I know what it’s like to be consumed by guilt, by anger and self-hatred, trust me, you do not want to go down that road. You don’t want to live like that. … You have to be better than him. You have to be better than me. Please, be better than me.”
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Rory lets Vincent go and her devil face disappears. As father and daughter are hugging, Vincent does the typical “one last lunge,” and Chloe shoots him. He falls back, ending up impaled, and as he dies, he says he wants to see what “he” saw, the light. Lucifer realizes Dan (Kevin Alejandro) made it to heaven. But for Vincent, only darkness awaits. And so it’s a family takedown to stop him.
The Hardest Goodbyes
But as happy as Lucifer and Chloe may be that it’s August 5, the day after he disappears for good, Rory can’t join them in their joy. Because she’s still in the past, the future still happens as she lived it, so he still abandons her. She just doesn’t know why … yet.
That changes as Lucifer tells them about Dan making it to heaven and Rory pointing out he’s the one responsible. He helped Dan, just like he helped Lee break his hell loop and Rory not kill Le Mec. Lucifer figures out what his father (“oh, you cheeky bastard”) meant when he said Hell no longer needed a keeper. “It needs a healer,” Lucifer says. He’s found his calling, and Rory knows why he leaves. Lucifer thinks he can just pop down to hell, save a few souls, then be with his family, but Rory tells him he can’t, nor can Chloe tell Rory why he leaves. It all leads to this moment. She needs to think he bailed for no reason so she travels back in time and he realizes what he needs to do.
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Knowing what she knows, Rory assures Lucifer — now calling him Dad and not denying it, as she had earlier — she wouldn’t change a thing. He was there when she needed him the most and saved her. And before she goes back to her time, she makes him promise not to change anything.
Then, in a callback to the pilot, Chloe joins Lucifer at his piano in Lux, asking if “Lucifer Morningstar” is a “stage name.” “God-given, I’m afraid,” he replies again, but adds, “old God, of course, not Amenagod.” She assures him he’s doing this for Rory’s sake and has him close his eyes. ” You can’t see me, but I’m right here,” she tells him, “and it’ll be the same down there. No matter where you go, no matter where you are, I’ll be with you. I’ll be with you always.” She kisses him, and we see them then kissing on his throne in hell then back in Lux at the piano, where they play “Heart and Soul” together (like in Season 1, Episode 9).
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How It All Ends
What follows is a montage to “Champagne Supernova.” Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) becomes God but doesn’t stay on the throne or make the angels kneel. Ella (Aimee Garcia) and Corbett (Scott Porter) greet the recipients of her foundation. Chloe returns to work and becomes lieutenant. Dan’s in heaven with Charlotte (Tricia Helfer). Sonya (Merrin Dungey) becomes a detective and may or may not see Amenadiel briefly standing with Chloe in the hall.
Charlie gets his wings on his second birthday, and Amenadiel is obviously thrilled. (Rachael Harris’ Linda, on the other hand, looks like she’s going through every new concern that raises.) Maze and Eve (Inbar Lavi) continue to work as bounty hunters together. Baby Rory is born and everyone is there to welcome her and Chloe home.
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And then we jump to Rory’s future, where Chloe (Jean Carol) is dying, and now the half-angel, half-human understands. Fortunately, this isn’t goodbye for the mother and daughter, as Rory reminds Chloe she’s half-angel and will see her on the other side.
After Chloe dies, once again young and still wearing Lilith’s ring Lucifer put on her finger to save her, she joins Amenadiel, who guides her forward.
Lucifer ends its six seasons in hell, where the devil is in session, trying to help souls change. “If the devil can be redeemed, then anyone can,” he says. (For those like Vincent, who immediately think to use violence, it’ll probably take a bit longer than others.) When someone knocks on the door, Lucifer assumes it’s a donut delivery, but standing on the other side is, of course, Chloe.
“Hello, detective,” he greets her. “I thought you could use a partner,” she tells him. As they kiss, the light goes on signaling he’s in Session and to not disturb him. They really are “partners ’til the end” — and beyond.
Lucifer, Complete Series, Streaming Now, Netflix
