Lucifer Season 3 Episode 17 Review: Let Pinhead Sing!

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

Lucifer Season 3 Episode 17

“I just wanted her to be safe.”

No one can ever accuse Lucifer of lacking enthusiasm, and in tonight’s episode, his zeal to protect Chloe at all costs fits neatly against the tale of a superstar singer who refuses to step away from the stage despite repeated attempts on her life. However, “Let Pinhead Sing!” covers a lot of ground, and in the end, finally forces the Devil to admit something that previously seemed impossible: he may be in love with Detective Decker.

Lucifer has danced around this subject for the better part of three seasons now, and after last week’s bomb scare, Lucifer’s decision to create some distance between him and Chloe seems to make sense. That she recognizes immediately what’s going on makes sense from a narrative perspective because it leads Lucifer to decide to take another approach with his Father. Still, his fear that God will take away the one person he truly cares for haunts him, which ironically leads to some of the more humorous scenes in the episode. Presenting Ella with a “World’s Greatest Forensic Scientist” tee shirt and acknowledging a no-name precinct worker as “Employee of the Month” take Lucifer’s mind off of the real issue. He doesn’t know how to tell Chloe how he really feels about her.

The murder investigation tie-in remains a strength of the show, but “Let Pinhead Sing!” goes beyond what we’re typically presented. Despite the attempts on her life, Axara refuses to heed Chloe’s demand that she cancel her upcoming concerts which sets up a parallel with what Lucifer has been attempting to do with the detective. Even though neither seems to make a connection between these two situations, Lucifer’s decision to act as Axara’s personal bodyguard seems to ignore the fact that he’s leaving Chloe somewhat vulnerable. Yes, she’s quite capable of taking care of herself, and with apologies to Jonathan Edwards, this is an angry God we’re talking about here. That he doesn’t see the flaw in his plan merely sets up an eventual heart to heart the Devil and the diva engage in, that perhaps, once and for all, clears his head about his relationship with the detective.

As usual, we move through a string of suspects until Axara’s childhood friend and entourage member CeCe brandishes a knife and pours out her heart to the woman she says she loves. Just wanting to have her friend to herself is certainly a narrative twist we’ve seen before, but within the overall context of everything else that’s taking place in Lucifer’s world, it works. When she lunges with the knife, Lucifer steps in so Chloe doesn’t shoot her and ends up with the blade lodged in his shoulder. Though there are no real physical stakes for Lucifer, what matters here is that eventually, Chloe, Pierce, and Lucifer will have to confront the truth about the situation. “You have to have faith.”

In an effective call back to Chloe’s brief mini-obsession with Pierce and their “moment,” the lieutenant has made a breakthrough as well. After his earlier attempt at playing guitar and singing “Dust in the Wind” in his office, he’s come accept his fate and with that acceptance, takes the first step toward happiness. Pierce goes in to see Decker and when he notices the VIP tickets for that evening’s Axara concert, he finds his opening. Whether this ends up simply his awkward attempt at asking Chloe out on a date doesn’t matter; Lucifer’s crushed because he’s come to the same realization. Only he’s a little bit late to the party.

Perhaps Linda’s “bury the hatchet” attempt is a bit over the top as she sets out to repair her relationship with Mazikeen, but when the doctor tells her that “no man is worth what we have,” it’s quite surprising that Maze stands her ground. Some weeks it’s Ella, and others it’s Trixie, but Lucifer continues to make marvelous use of its secondary cast. Dan taking Pierce to a bar to help the lieutenant out of his funk is certainly amusing, but the counseling sessions with Charlotte bring both subtle humor and meaningful assessments. Trying to work out her own problems, Charlotte notices that Linda hasn’t hear a word she’s said and offers to reverse their roles. As the lawyer says, it’s her attempt to become less self-centered. In the end, it’s really what both women need at this point.

Later, Charlotte’s attempt to mediate the conflict between Mazikeen and Linda starts off well enough, but the ending seems a bit out of place. Linda forces Maze to admit that she doesn’t even care for Amenadiel and points out despite that fact, she gave up the man she loves because that’s how much she cares for her friend. Yes, Mazikeen is a demon from Hell. Yes, she is arguably the world’s finest torturer. But we’ve seen another side of her during these three seasons, and given everything she sees and hears from Linda, it seems out of character that she tells the doctor to “go to Hell.” It’s not clear where this arc is going, but someone is going to have to step in and set Maze right. Trixie?

There’s a lot going on in Lucifer at the moment, and the writers continue to effectively balance each plot line. Now that Pierce has come to terms with his plight, will he unintentionally prevent Lucifer from finally being honest with Chloe? And what of this honesty? Would she rather date the Devil or the world’s first murderer? Tough call.