WARNING: The following review contains minor spoilers for Lucifer's fourth season, arriving May 8 on Netflix.
There are just 10 episodes in this season of Lucifer, which means -- when compared to the previous three seasons -- characters now seem to hurtle through their storylines, and those storylines become that much more intense. That's not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's a great thing, especially for characters like Amenadiel, whose storyline mainly revolved around more abstract pursuits. We're talking about his search for a purpose.
In his first appearance, Amenadiel acted as something an antagonist. He was the oldest angel and later implied to be God's favorite child. He had descended to Earth to send Lucifer back to Hell, seemingly by force if necessary. To that end, Amenadiel fought his brother, brought a man back from the dead and manipulated the mortals that surrounded his devilish sibling.
During this time, he didn't seem to mind if people got hurt... at least, not at first. Over the course of the show, Lucifer's older brother became much more brotherly, in that he stopped trying to force Lucifer into a specific role and started watching over his brother instead, believing that was what God intended.
But Amenadiel was never certain of that. His father had clearly sent him to Earth for a purpose, but it was almost impossible to determine whether or not that purpose was to watch over Lucifer or if it was simply to test the angel. It sounds like an interesting journey, and it should have been, but with the last two seasons each comprised of more than fifteen episodes, a lot of Amenadiel's story took the form of aimless wandering and short-lived flings, with the occasional revelation thrown in here and there.
That began to change at the end of Season 3, when a conversation with Charlotte Richards seemed to equip the archangel with the knowledge he needed to regain his wings, which he used soon after to carry Richards' soul to heaven. It seemed like an ending of sorts for Amenadiel since he most certainly returned to heaven, and yet, he returns in the latest season, deciding to stay without any real reason.
Thankfully, he doesn't spend very long as a wanderer. Season 4 finally pushes the oldest angel in the right direction thanks to Dr. Linda Martin and the human/angel hybrid child she bears, a result of Amenadiel's time as a near-mortal and his growing attachment to humanity. It seems like a strange turn of events at first, but when you look back at Amenadiel's journey, it's almost perfect.
To illustrate why that is, we have to start from the beginning, back when the archangel had only just begun to manipulate his younger brother's life on Earth.
One of the first human associates he encountered was Lucifer's therapist, Linda. Despite his initial view that mortals were far beneath the divine, he grew to truly empathize with them and cherish them, thanks to people like Linda, who showed him that humans were much more than just the naive children of God. He could learn a lot from them and their unique perspective.
Considering just how substantial an impact Linda Martin had on Amenadiel's views and vice versa, it was only natural that -- after he began to lose his angelic powers -- the two would form a bond. His relationship with her served to symbolize how connected he was, and still is, with humanity, but that wasn't enough.
Amenadiel needed to find a purpose that would change his views but allow him to continue to provide guidance as he once did for Linda, and as he tried to do for Lucifer. Fatherhood seems like the perfect fit, and a child that is both human and angel would suit his story well, both as a source of further growth and as a reflection of how Amenadiel has reconciled his perceived differences between mortals and the divine and fully abandoned his old views.
He took the first real step toward that end in "Orgy Pants to Work" (directed by Louis Milito), in which he admitted to his sister, Remiel, that the hybrid child was his and that he would not allow her to destroy it or bring harm to its mother. It's something Amenadiel would never have done in the first season, as he would have readily sacrificed Linda and the child, thinking it for the best.
It will be interesting to see where Amenadiel goes from here. It's clear that big things are in store for him and, if the first few episodes of Season 4 are any indication, his story will be far more intense from here on out. It's still a bit odd to think that God might have actually sent Amenadiel down to Earth to raise a creature no mortal or immortal had ever seen, but the Lord works in mysterious ways. Or, at least, the writers of Lucifer do.
Helmed by Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich, Lucifer’s fourth season stars Tom Ellis as the Devil, Lauren German as Det. Chloe Decker, D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel, Rachael Harris as Dr. Linda Martin, Kevin Alejandro as Det. Dan Espinoza, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen Smith, Aimee Garcia as Ella Lopez, and newcomer Inbar Lavi as Lucifer’s ex and Adam’s wife Eve. The show releases on Netflix on May 8.