What Fox's Canceled Lucifer Could Have Become

For two weeks now, passionate fans have been crying out against the cancelation of Fox's Lucifer. After three seasons of devilish fun, the network announced it had passed on renewing the show, along with several other series including Brooklyn Nine Nine, which was quickly picked up by NBC following a grass roots social media campaign.

The cancelation of Lucifer comes as quite a disappointment to many, especially with the third season's shocking cliffhanger ending which saw Chloe Decker (Lauren German) finally discovering the truth about Lucifer (Tom Ellis) for herself.

Her discovery is something fans have been desperately wanting to see since the series first teased a more romantic connection between the two leads. In delaying the climax of this plot thread, the series has often risked losing fans by oscillating constantly between supernatural action and teen drama from episode to episode, all while going through the motions of a procedural cop show, something the show balanced quite well before the third season introduced Lieutenant Pierce (Tom Welling), aka the biblical Cain.

Welling's Pierce embodied everything the show was doing wrong this season. There was a lot of potential in the character, yes, but it was squandered on a love triangle that failed to progress the story in any significant way. As a result, many critics and fans consider much of the season to be a series low point. However, the finale, "Devil of My Word," was a return to form, with drama, existential exploration and supernatural action all blending seamlessly for an intriguing and entertaining episode.

Fans wanted to see more and were heartbroken to learn that it likely won't happen. The show did, however, manage to provide two "bonus" episodes, both of which received the poorest ratings of any Lucifer episode to date. To be fair, this was mainly due to bad timing; the episodes aired in a two-hour block on Memorial Day and received minimal marketing. As a result, the episodes, "Boo Normal" and "Once Upon A Time," aired to a series of two million viewerslow.

But despite the poor ratings performance, the episodes exemplify the reasons behind the show's passionate and vocal international fanbase. The show still has enormous potential... potential could have been (and hopefully will be) tapped in a fourth season.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Lucifer%27s%20%27Bonus%27%20Episodes%20Were%20the%20Course%20Correction%20the%20Series%20Needed']

Each of the bonus episodes dealt with a new supernatural entity. With "Boo Normal," a ghost of sorts haunted Ella (Aimee Garcia), though it turned out to be none other than Azrael, the Angel of Death (Charlyne Yi), or "Rae Rae" as she is referred to in the show. It was a great example of why Lucifer had garnered such a large, devoted audience over its first season. It used supernatural elements to help describe and develop understandable and relatable themes and characters, in this case death, friendship, trust and Ella, respectively.

It's also the first time another archangel has been introduced since Uriel, who was killed with Azrael's blade in Season 2. The appearance of angels often help to shape Lucifer as a character by expanding on his life, both as an angel in Heaven and as the ruler of Hell. In her brief appearance, Azrael offers audiences insight into the bonds Lucifer once had with his fellow archangels as she reveals that her relationship with Lucifer was actually quite sweet, a sharp contrast to his relationships with Amenadiel and Uriel. In fact, family as a theme is one of the show's foundations, and was exemplified greatly here.

Lucifer constantly struggles against what he believes to be an inescapable game constructed by his father. That's something the show explored with "Once Upon A Time," which features God (voiced by Neil Gaiman) in an alternate reality in which Chloe's father hadn't perished and she had become an actor instead of a detective. In a rather lighthearted manner, the episode often offers a little insight into the show's views on God and explores the themes of family and destiny.

It isn't the themes that make the show unique, though; it's the narrative devices and supernatural elements that distinguish it from other procedural cop dramas. Which isn't to say that Lucifer doesn't have anything unique to say. The show has always been adept at exploring the human condition and what it means to feel and be. For example, with its concept of Hell, the show has been able to comment on our tendency as human beings to construct our own emotional prisons through the way in which we perceive ourselves. It's a notion few shows have successfully explored, and by examining the purpose of biblical tales and characters (through an almost atheistic lens), the show has been able to become more than just spectacular fights and typical television drama. If the last three episodes are any indication, Season 4 might very well have been the return to form the show needed.

Much of the show's unique elements stem from the fact that it's ultimately a loose adaptation of the character Neil Gaiman created for The Sandman. The show succeeds when it stays true to the essence of the source material, when it can present us with supernatural fights between angels and demons and audiences walking away with something new to contemplate about life itself.

That might sound a little dramatic, sure, but there's no denying, there's something intriguing and special about Lucifer at its core that few other television shows can offer. It just needs one more shot to prove it. Let's hope Lucifer gets saved.