One of the things that makes or breaks a show for me is the way it portrays women.
Having said that there are some shows which do it better than others. One of these is Lucifer. The women in the series are well developed and all of them have a purpose without it being boring or repetitive.
The cop
While talking about the ladies of Lucifer one simply must start with the leading female character of Chloe Decker. Who is more than just Lucifer’s love interest. Chloe is a detective with the LAPD following in her father’s footsteps after a short acting stint in high school. When we meet her, she is trying to regain her standing and the respect of the force. As a divorcee (who somehow can stay civil with her ex) and single mother, she balances her work and family life quite well, proving that it’s possible.
She is also the person the viewer relates to the fastest while watching the show. With great intuition and attention to detail, she is the one that actually catches the bad guys. It’s nice to see that it’s the female character that is credited for such success. Even if Lucifer often plays a big part in the investigation.
She relies heavily on her intuition not only in her job but in her everyday life, and she seems to be quite the good judge of character. That being said, she isn’t above changing her mind about someone. As proved by her relationship with Mazekeen (Maze) and Linda. She even eventually lives with the demon Maze. Although they often disagree, Chloe cares about Maze, as shown in the episode where the detective follows her frenemy to Canada. She also tries to mend their friendship after the demon hurts her daughter.
Something that’s also admirable is her relationship with her daughter Trixie; she’s a great example of good parenting. She’s open with her daughter, loving, and they always have fun. That particular relationship shows how much children really understand and how important it is to communicate with them. It also perfectly portrays the way Chloe interacts with others.
The demon
Trixie is the person that ties the bad ass demon Maze and Chloe together. Or at least she’s the first thing. Maze’s relationship with Trixie is unusual. It shows the demon’s softer, gentler side. It manifests both in their first meeting and later on as Maze moves in with the detective and her daughter. Even if she doesn’t lose her sarcastic comments or stop playing with knives around the child, their bond shows that she really does care about a selected few human beings.
Maze is the picture of a mean girl with a soft heart and abandonment issues. She clings to Lucifer and even followed him to earth although she claimed to be perfectly happy in hell. In fact, Mazekeen specializes in torturing humans and is quite proud of it. That also factors into what she does after quitting bartending at Lux. She becomes a bounty hunter after she learns that this kind of job allows her to hunt humans for money.
She’s also a very sexual creature and isn’t afraid to admit it or use it should it help her achieve her goal. It’s proved by her sexual relationship with Amanadiel, although she ended up falling for him and saving his life. In doing so, she sacrificed her chance of using an angel’s feather for herself, which shows there’s more to her than just sex and violence.
The demon Maze undergoes the biggest change through the series. From bad, to good, to bad, to good? This character’s journey has definitely a lot of ups and downs. And is far more emotional than it would seem at first glance. All of her relationships change rather drastically. Maze doesn’t do lukewarm it’s either hot or cold.
Someone other than Trixie that causes the changes in Maze is Linda. The unexpected friendship between these two characters is one of my personal favorite storylines. That being said, as with every one of Mazekeen’s relationships, it had its ups and downs. Starting with Linda being terrified of her when she found out the truth about her and Lucifer. Still, we could see how deeply Maze cared for the psychologist when she saved her live after Linda was attacked by Lucifer’s mother. To see their friendship crumble as an aftermath of Linda’s brief affair with Amanadiel and the fact that she didn’t talk to the demon about it was really emotional. It was also the catalyst for some of the bad decision Maze made afterwards. Thankfully, they were able to resolve their issues in the finale.
The good doctor
Speaking of the psychiatrist, Linda starts her “adventure” on the show as a suspect in the pilot and moves on to sleeping with Lucifer in exchange for being his shrink. Which wasn’t really professional, by the way. Thankfully she came to her senses and stopped sleeping with her client.
As a psychologist she often offers the characters, as well as us viewers, a better understanding of a situation, be it an explanation of someone’s motives or a prompts to, mostly Lucifer’s, actions. One could get the impression that he’s her only patient. There are a lot of scenes that prove such, but my favorite is the one where, after a fight with Maze, the devil and demon end up in Linda’s office and she opens Lucifer’s eyes to Maze’s abandonment issues.
As far as Linda’s relationships go, one would think that she always sleeps with her patients. She repeated the same mistake with Amanadiel as she did with Lucifer, although the angel and psychologist were friends beforehand. Her short-lived romance had grave consequences, however, and almost ruined her friendship with Maze. It was hilarious how Linda tried to apologize with an gift wrapped axe, though.
The doctor had quite a ride on the show. What with finding out that what Lucifer had been telling her weren’t metaphors but facts and all. And although it took some time, she dealt with it quite well. The supernatural aspects don’t seem to faze or bother her anymore. She takes them in stride. That shows how strong she really is. Linda also isn’t afraid to go toe to toe with the supernatural creatures. Her advice is often helpful even if one wouldn’t suspect it. The story line where she finds out the truth about Lucifer and Maze was also a much appreciated bit of comic relief.
The forensic scientist
Since we’re talking about comic relief it’s hard not to mention Ella, whose sole purpose it seems is to be the happy go lucky character that’s always smiling. She always sees the glass as half full. She’s always hugging people and is very cheerful.
Even if she’s mostly used to bring humor and light to the scenes, she does have a great impact on a lot of the characters. She’s very likable, and it seems as if she doesn’t take no for an answer, as proven in the episode where she worked closely with Maze, or some of her scenes with Pierce.
Ella is a Christian and it’s something that plays nicely with Lucifer’s hatred towards his father and his plan. She even managed to get Lucifer to go to church. That’s quite an achievement. Her good heart was also the cause for Charlotte Richard’s new-found morality and change in career. It was the scientist that motivated the previously bad lawyer to change. She was also Charlotte’s biggest cheerleader.
Ella comes from quite a large family and loves them dearly. That does have some drawbacks, as she believes everything her brother says in one of the episodes where he’s the main suspect. Her blind trust in people is a trait that could potentially hurt Ella if she trusts the wrong person. Thankfully, she has Lucifer watching out for her.
And than there was the devil
Lucifer Morningstar has a a connection with all the ladies of the show. Although the relationships are different, they influence the characters and are often a motivator in their actions. Furthermore, as relationships are two way streets, the ladies also play a big part in the decisions the devil makes. The many different relationships between Lucifer and the main female characters are what drew me to this topic.
There is the camaraderie/ love-hate relationship with Maze, where demon and devil share a lot of common traits and experiences. The partnership and love between Lucifer and Chloe, whose scenes are always heartfelt and meaningful. The friendship and trust between Lucifer and Linda, how he trusts her to give him sound advice and never steer him wrong. And last but not least, the sweet and awkward big brother/little sister relationship with Ella, whom he protects, but at the same time she never fails to make him feel better.
Like the fantastic four
Even if their relationships with Lucifer are an important factor of the show, the ladies of Lucifer prove that they’re a force to be reckoned with. They are capable of making their own choices and facing the consequences of their actions. What’s even more important, they are friends that have each other’s backs through thick and thin, as shown in the bar scene in season 2.
The show gave us a good example that women can be strong, versatile, and friends. Showing young girls and women what to strive for.
