Lucifer Season 3 Episode 13 Review: Til Death Do Us Part

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

Lucifer Season 3 Episode 13

“I’ve got to go hogtie a fugitive in an ice truck, but I will definitely be back.”

Lucifer and Pierce go undercover as a couple, Maze tries to interest Dan and Charlotte in a threesome, and Chloe solves the case of the suburban woodchipper murder. Despite all that, the highly entertaining “Til Death Do Us Part” does much more than simply delight fans of Lucifer with its usual witty banter and clever plot twists. Tonight, the show takes the first steps in establishing a relationship between the Devil and Cain that has nothing to do with their work at the LAPD, and everything to do with the unforeseen circumstances immortals face while living on Earth. Luckily, the writers still find time to explore the equally poignant tale of Mazikeen’s growing discontentment with her life among the human race. There’s a lot to like as we also begin what appears to be a momentary retreat from the Lucifer’s relationship with Detective Decker story.

From the start, the show’s visual language makes a statement that “Til Death Do Us Part” is going to hold nothing back and establishes itself as a cornerstone episode for the season’s second half. Wearing a leather apron and wielding a chainsaw, Lucifer stands ready to slice Lt. Pierce in half in an attempt to give the world’s first murderer what he wants. Death. As gruesome as that seems, Pierce tells Lucifer that he’s already tried that approach, but because of what he terms the Master Molecule Theory, one half of him simply regrows. These two have been growing closer, and their opening exchange sets the tone for what appears to be a burgeoning bro-fest. Hand grenade down the throat? Tried it. Jumped in an active volcano. Nope. But it’s the common ground these two have to work with that should make for some engaging storytelling as they plot and scheme against God and his plans for both.

Now that any expectation of a romantic connection between Lucifer and Chloe appears to have disappeared for the foreseeable future, the opportunity to pair Lucifer with a male friend holds a wealth of promise and quite frankly makes for a nice change. Lucifer’s insistence that Pierce play a part in their investigation raises Chloe’s suspicions, and it’s not that great a leap to anticipate the lieutenant will eventually try to convince Chloe that her partner actually is the Devil. The visual humor continues when Lucifer goes undercover as one half of a suburban couple, and since we know from the start that the detective will not be posing as his wife, the guessing game begins. Lucifer answers the door when the neighborhood welcome wagon arrives, and the fact that we still don’t know the identity of his partner adds to the intrigue. Forensic scientist Ella Lopez would be perfect. Nope. Not her. Okay, maybe ex-mother Charlotte Richards would be too weird even for Lucifer, but Mazikeen’s available. Nope. Not her either. We’ve seen Lucifer charm his way into the lives of strangers before, and when Pierce joins him at the front door, the look on the lieutenant’s face is priceless.

Of course, Lucifer has little interest in the grisly murder of the neighborhood drug dealer whose body is found partially dismembered by a woodchipper the local government left on the street. The Devil simply wants to find out what makes Cain tick so that the two fast friends can foil dear old Dad’s plans for them. Though watching these two argue about casseroles and table arrangements generates a lot of laughs, the importance lies in their getting to know and trust each other in a hurry because of the urgency each feels. When they have a couple over for dinner, some of the dialogue just writes itself. So did they meet at work or did Luke’s father introduce them? And when the wife explains that one of the neighbors sends nasty notes about covenant violations, the evening keeps getting better. “It’s like Martha Stewart and the Terminator had a baby.”

Lost among the fights about properly using the garbage disposal and deliberately provoking the neighbors via a raucous party complete with loud music and bikini clad hotties is the fact that both Lucifer and Pierce struggle with their immortality. Lucifer is on Earth by choice, but as he grows fonder of certain members of the human race, like Pierce, his outlook on things changes. Pierce tells Chloe he’s not relationship material even though she reminds him they had “a moment” leading her to think theirs might be a connection worth pursuing. But it’s a path he’s traveled many times during his time on Earth and only adds to his distress since he always outlives his partners.

We’ve witnessed Lucifer open up to Dr. Linda, his brother, and even Maze, but until now, he’s really had no one that can truly understand his emotional pain. Pierce’s admission that he’s terrified of being alone seems to resonate with Lucifer who still grapples with what it means to be human. Oh, and then there’s the kiss.

The case of the murdered drug dealer works especially well since it takes place in the heart of suburbia, even making a call back to “mother’s little helpers” of the 1960s when housewives often went to their doctors for a little pick-me-up. There are some nifty twists and turns along the way to discovering who sent Joon Lee into the woodchipper, but it’s Lucifer’s trip to confront the Korean crime boss that gives us something we don’t often see. Lucifer moves down the hallway taking out soldier after soldier with some wicked martial arts moves until finally reaching the boss, Brandon Hong. Of course, the reveal that Hong has nothing to do with the murder, and it’s simply a case of a wife mistaking her husband’s drug connection for his lover that brings the procedural aspect to a close.

Nevertheless, as Lucifer and Pierce plot to take control of their demons, Mazikeen’s depression seems to deepen, a plot line that remains not only fascinating but also somewhat heartbreaking. The fact that Maze is a demon sent to protect someone that doesn’t need or want protection adds to her angst, but she at least obtains some joy offering Lucifer advice about how to kill Pierce. Her desperation resurfaces during her meeting with Charlotte and again when she interrupts Dan and Charlotte’s dinner. “We killed a guy together once,” she tells Charlotte about her past with Dan hoping to join their party. But in the end, while Maze knows she doesn’t want anything more to do with her life in Hell, her skillset doesn’t exactly translate well for anything of which the LAPD might approve.

There’s no question that Tom Welling brings a great deal to an already stellar cast, and now that there’s a clear path for his character, the back end of the season should prove to be a lot of fun as the others come to terms with these unexpected changes. “Til Death Do Us Part” does so much more than present the depths to which a married partner will go when facing disillusionment; it takes us inside the dark side of immortality and makes clear that living forever brings its own set of issues with it. Time to rearrange the furniture.