Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Family Troubles

Spoiler warning: The discussion below assumes familiarity with the prior season. If you have not seen Season One of Lucifer (reviewed here), proceed at your own risk.

The second season of Fox TV's Lucifer expanded the series' mythology and answered a few nagging questions about its title character while simultaneously raising new ones. Central to the season's larger arc is the appearance of Lucifer Morningstar's (Tom Ellis) mother, or "Mum", who is described as the spirit of all creation and who, at the conclusion of Season One, was discovered to have escaped her confinement in hell. Urgently seeking Lucifer and her other errant son, the angel Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), Mum hops from one body to another across L.A. until she finally lands in the skin of a recently murdered attorney, Charlotte Richards (Tricia Helfer, the duplicitous Number Six in Battlestar Galactica). From there, Mum proceeds to wreak havoc in the lives of her boys, all the while having to learn how to navigate an unfamiliar environment and the inconvenient limitations of a physical body (not to mention the challenges of pretending to be a wife, mother and high-powered criminal lawyer). The fact that Mum now inhabits a youthful and gorgeous figure of the kind her fallen son usually takes to bed leads to endless embarrassment for Lucifer, routinely cracking his customarily smug and self-assured demeanor.

Mum says that she only wants to reunite her family, but she turns out to have much grander designs. Her efforts are complicated by the sudden appearance of yet another of her sons, the angel Uriel (Michael Imperioli), who is the grumpy younger brother of Lucifer and Amenadiel and has his own unique powers. Uriel has managed to acquire a powerful weapon called Azrael's Blade, which turns out to have properties that are crucial to Mum's ultimate plans.

Lucifer still runs his glitzy nightclub, Lux, and continues to serve as a civilian consultant to the police force in partnership with Det. Chloe Decker (Lauren German), but his mother's presence is a constant irritant, especially since Lucifer made a deal with "Father" to return her to hell. He also remains perplexed by Chloe's peculiar effect of making him lose his supernatural invulnerability whenever she's nearby. That mystery is explained (at least in part) midway through the season, but Lucifer finds the answer even more unnerving than the inconvenience of being randomly susceptible to injury. Indeed, throughout Season Two, the Chloe/Lucifer relationship is a roller-coaster of conflicting emotions that routinely overshadows their efforts at criminal investigation (which isn't a bad thing; the weekly police procedurals have always been Lucifer's least interesting element, even when the crimes are spiced up by quirks like a zombie wedding or a mental patient who claims to be God).

As heaven's former First Family struggles with its issues—including Amenadiel's grim discovery that he's losing both his wings and his angelic powers—supporting characters also find themselves on unfamiliar ground. Chloe's ex-husband, Det. Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro), has been demoted, following the official misconduct revealed during the course of Season One, and he must now report to his former wife. Lucifer's demon caretaker, Maze (the wonderful Lesley-Ann Brandt), continues to pull away from her old boss, as she realizes that he's intent on remaining among mortals and will never take her back to the underworld. As Maze struggles to adapt to surroundings she's previously regarded as temporary, she is buoyed by a new-found "gal pal" friendship with Lucifer's therapist, Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris), and by a new living arrangement that has her sharing a house with Chloe and the detective's cheerful daughter, Trixie (Scarlett Estevez), who thinks the former demon is a terrific playmate. As for Dr. Linda, she continues to confront Lucifer in his therapy sessions, insisting that his accounts of being the devil and warring with "Father" are all just metaphor—until one day when the good doctor is shocked to discover that her most intractable patient may be telling the truth.

A new addition to the law enforcement crew is Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia, Dexter), a skilled forensic technician whose unfiltered pronouncements and disregard for personal boundaries make her an unpredictable element in any situation. Ella also happens to be a devout Christian, but her faith is the traditional sort that expects angels and demons to remain mysterious and unseen. She never for a moment imagines that in her current job she's chatting with them daily.

1. Everything's Coming Up Lucifer: Lucifer's attention is divided between a new murder case with Chloe, and his mother's escape from hell. Meanwhile, Amenadiel tries to rein in Lucifer after Maze disappears.



2. Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire: After Lucifer's mother turns up in the body of a murdered human, Lucifer suspects that she's the killer in two other murders. Meanwhile, Lucifer assigns Maze to watch his mother, and Amenadiel apologizes to Linda for abusing her trust.



3. Sin-Eater: Lucifer and Chloe try to solve two murders involving a social internet site. Meanwhile, Maze goes to Amenadiel seeking help, and Dan comes to a decision about his marriage to Chloe.



4. Lady Parts: While Lucifer and Chloe chase down a serial killer, Maze invites Chloe out for drinks . . . unaware that Maze is playing her.



5. The Weaponizer: Chloe and Lucifer investigate the death of an action movie star, while Uriel looks for Charlotte.



6. Monster: Lucifer takes out his guilt on Chloe during their new case. Meanwhile, Maze takes Trixie trick-or-treating, while Amenadiel tries to bond with Charlotte.



7. My Little Monkey: The man who murdered Chloe's father turns up dead while on family leave, and Chloe, Lucifer, and Dan soon realize that there was a bigger conspiracy involved. Meanwhile, Linda deals with Lucifer's latest revelation.



8. Trip to Stabby Town: A killer steals Azrael's Blade and uses it to murder humans, and Lucifer recruits Ella to help him find it.



9. Homewrecker: The new owner of Lux wants to destroy the building, and Chloe and Lucifer investigate the murder of the old owner. Meanwhile, Amenadiel and Maze discover that Charlotte plans to upset Lucifer enough to make him want to go back to heaven.



10. Quid Pro Ho: When Amenadiel convinces Charlotte that a bomb won't work, she uses the trial of Chloe's father's killer to try and turn Chloe against Lucifer. Meanwhile, Dan discovers that Charlotte has been using him.



11. Stewardess Interruptus: After Lucifer's dinner with Chloe is interrupted, his paramours start turning up dead. Meanwhile, Charlotte gives Amenadiel advice on how they can return to Heaven, and Linda gives Maze some advice on self-worth.



12. Love Handles: A killer is poisoning college students, and Lucifer and Chloe investigate the case while dealing with the change in their relationship.



13. A Good Day to Die: Lucifer travels to hell to get the formula necessary to save Chloe, and his friends rally around him. However, Lucifer soon finds himself trapped in hell when his guilt overwhelms him.



14. Candy Morningstar: After Chloe's near-death, Lucifer disappears for two weeks . . . and then resurfaces with a wife named Candy. Chloe is less than amused, particularly when Lucifer tries to go back to being her partner.



15. Deceptive Little Parasite: Lucifer must control his emotions to ignite the weapon capable of breaching the gates of heaven. Meanwhile, Chloe and Lucifer investigate the death of the head of admissions at a private school.



16. God Johnson: While investigating a murder at a psychiatric hospital, Lucifer and Chloe encounter a man who claims that he's God . . . and has the powers and knowledge to prove it.



17. Sympathy for the Goddess: Charlotte teams up with Chloe to find the missing piece of the Flaming Sword after the seller is murdered. Meanwhile, Lucifer spends his free time chatting with Amenadiel and Maze, who tell him what they really think of him.



18. The Good, the Bad and the Crispy: Charlotte accidentally kills a man who tries to kill her, but the coverup is intentional. Meanwhile, Lucifer tries to convince Amenadiel to part with the third piece of the Flaming Sword.

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lucifer continues to be shot digitally on Alexa by a revolving team of cinematographers. The Warner Archive Collection has spread the eighteen episodes over four BD-50s, all of which exhibit a superbly detailed image that reproduces the series' deep blacks, richly saturated palette and elegant production design with an almost tactile sense of depth and texture. If you have only seen Lucifer on broadcast or streaming platforms, these discs will be a revelation, especially when the image is shown on larger screens. Noise, interference, aliasing or other artifacts are wholly absent. The average bitrate varies from disc to disc, ranging from a low of just over 23 Mbps to a high of 29.5 Mbps, with a solid encode.

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lucifer's 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, provides an effective otherworldly presence for the occasional manifestation of supernatural powers by Lucifer and his otherworldly clan. The music and merriment of Club Lux during business hours fills the listening room, and the occasional instances of gunfire register with authority. The sounds of L.A. traffic accompany outdoor scenes, and a wide array of interior environments have appropriate sonic ambiance. Scoring duties are now performed by Ben Decter (whose numerous TV credits include Silk Stalkings and Lethal Weapon) and Jeff Russo (Power). The soundtrack continues to benefit from thematically appropriate pop tunes used as incidental music—or, on occasion, performed by Tom Ellis at the piano in what has become a fan-favorite feature of the series.

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The extras can be found on disc 4.

• Comic-Con (1080i; 1.78:1; 27:16): This panel was held while Season Two was in production. Participants include executive producers Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich; and actors Tom Ellis ("Lucifer"), D.B. Woodside ("Amenadiel"), Tricia Helfer ("Charlotte" / "Mum"), Lesley-Ann Brandt ("Maze") and Aimee Garcia ("Ella").



• Reinventing Lucifer in the City of Angels (1080p; 1.78:1; 14:42): Cast and creative team discuss the importance of the show's L.A. setting (with the participation of author and film scholar Phil Cousineau) and reflect on the characters and their relationships.



• Gag Reel (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:32).



• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1): No intertitles or descriptions of the scenes are included.
• Everything's Coming Up Lucifer (0:33)
• Trip to Stabby Town (0:30)
• Quid Pro Ho (1:49)
• A Good Day to Die (1:23)
• Candy Morningstar (1:21)
• God Johnson (2:09)
• The Good, the Bad, and the Crispy (1:06)

Lucifer: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lucifer's cast and crew shot twenty-two episodes for Season Two, but Fox decided to postpone the final four until Season Three, reportedly because of scheduling issues. The result will be an exceptionally long third season picking up from a head-spinning cliffhanger that left Lucifer (and us) wondering what just happened. Answers should be forthcoming when the series returns on October 3, 2017, along with clues about the show's future direction after the revelations, confrontations and shifting allegiances of Season Two. Throughout most of Season Two, Lucifer remained a dark comedy anchored by Tom Ellis' finely calibrated performance as a supercilious Prince of Lies. It remains to be seen whether the creative team will attempt to maintain that tone or to take the show in a more serious direction, but Lucifer's sophomore outing admirably fulfills the promise of the show's debut season. WAC's Blu-rays are excellent, as usual. Highly recommended.