Lucifer Season 4 Episode 6 Review: Orgy Pants at Work

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

Lucifer Season 4 Episode 6

Can Lucifer really keep his personal desires and professional responsibilities separate while working murder investigations with Detective Decker? “Orgy Pants at Work” takes a more pointed look at the concessions we must all make to survive in the work world, but it’s the appearance of yet another Celestial that promises to turn the lives of God’s sons upside down.

You have to love cultural references, and when Maze turns up at the penthouse after an extended absence, even she’s taken aback by Lucifer’s extensive return to a hedonistic lifestyle. “I leave town for two seconds and you Fifty Shades of betray me,” she tells him, but it’s the introduction of Eve to our favorite demon that sets the stage for a relationship that could take Maze’s mind off her feelings of loneliness. For now, we’ll take Eve at her word that she holds Mazikeen in total reverence and her gushing fangirl reaction is genuine.

Finding balance in his life continues to prove challenging to Lucifer, and he hits a new low even for him when he arrives at the crime scene wearing his assless orgy pants necessitating a humorous remedy provided by a roll of crime scene tape. It’s easy at times to dismiss Dan’s dislike of Lucifer and his idiosyncrasies as mere jealousy, and while there is an element of truth to that appraisal, his decision to push back not only feels appropriate but necessary as well. And while Chloe has certainly contronted Lucifer before, her admonition regarding his lack of respect for the job and the victims seems to produce more of an impact than past efforts. Of course, seconds after he promises that his personal life will no longer interfere with their work, he receives a text from Eve. Predictable? Yes, but still fun.

Lucifer continues to successfully experiment with character pairings, and the immediate chemistry between Maze and Eve  gets off to an encouraging start. When she finds Eve stuffing her face with pot brownies, Maze forces her to candidly examine her relationship approach. “Are you going to sit at home and wait for your man?” As much for herself as for Eve, Maze invites her new friend to go out, and maybe even crushes a bit on Lucifer’s girlfriend who clearly needs an outlet outside the penthouse.

Read more – Lucifer Season 4 Episode 5 Expire Erect

Whatever transpired during her ladies night out with Maze, Eve seems to have gained a measure of confidence and confronts Lucifer not only about some of her own life choices but his as well. It’s a scene rife with understated emotion and sensuality that begins when she appears wearing a simple, yet elegant red print dress and opens up to Lucifer about mistakes she made while Adam’s wife. One of the season’s themes centers on being true to oneself, and she credits Lucifer for allowing her to recognize the value of putting her own needs and desires first.

But this isn’t about Eve; it’s about Lucifer and the internal turmoil he experiences trying to keep Chloe happy at work while retaining the devilish personality that makes him who he is. There has been an undercurrent of competitiveness between Chloe and Eve, and even though it’s true, Eve’s recommendation that he shouldn’t have to suppress his inner Devil reveals a basic lack of understanding of what it takes to succeed in the workplace.

Dr. Linda turns the tide on Lucifer by confronting him at his home after he fails to show for their last three sessions. Her message mirrors Eve’s though she takes it a step further by telling him that he’ll simply pull himself apart attempting to please everyone but himself. Of course, there’s a middle ground, but as often happens, Lucifer believes he has his emotional life in check and no longer sees the need for therapy and help from his friends.

But it’s the conversation he has with Chloe during a stakeout that puts the situation in a perspective that even Lucifer can understand. “I go to parent-teacher conferences, and you host sex parties,” Chloe explains, and though he appears to sleep through her frank assessment, the scene provides an opportunity for the detective to unburden herself as well. “I hate the way you’re happy.” And there it is. Chloe understands their differences and even values them, but that doesn’t mean she has to provide her assent.

Lucifer Season 4 Spoiler Free Review

Nevertheless, “Orgy Pants to Work” maintains the traditional, playful Lucifer tone, and after a key witness identifies the victim as Big Nose Brown Shoes, it’s not surprising that the investigation’s next stop turns out to be a local nudist colony. The colony’s security guard explains to Chloe, Lucifer and Ella that the only way to gain access requires they leave their clothes behind. While it’s true that in her younger days Decker appeared topless in Hot Tub High School, she opts to remain fully clothed even though her colleagues gleefully disrobe and begin to question some of the members.

Obviously, Fox would have depended on camera angles and briefs to satisfy Standards and Practices in this scene, but we’re on Netflix now. Since Lucifer presently spends a good deal of his time naked anyway, his (and Tom Ellis’ we presume) decision to strip down makes sense. Ms. Lopez, however, presents another story. Is her decision to comply tied to her falling out with The Big Guy, or is this just part of her persona? Regardless, viewers receive some full rear nudity and a lot of side shots as Ella and Lucifer work the crowd until a full clothed Decker enters and arrests the colony’s owner, Julian McCaffrey.

While the investigation reveals a human trafficking operation conducted by McCaffrey, it’s the reflective down time that allows Chloe and Lucifer the opportunity to open up to each other in a way that proved impossible before the big reveal. His concern that she perceives him to be disingenuous while at work indicates a serious attempt to reorder his priorities, but it’s the cliched line “it makes me want to be a better man” that takes some of the zing out of this otherwise important exchange.

We’ve certainly witnessed Lucifer navigate through dark times before, but his decision to allow the LAPD to punish Julian McCaffrey even though he has a perfect opportunity, looks to derail any progress he’s made. Unfortunately, McCaffrey shoots and kills a young female officer leaving Lucifer riddled with guilt, and Dan taking the opportunity to berate Lucifer for something that’s not his fault. At some point Dan must put Charlotte’s death behind him, and while his uncalled for reaction to Lucifer’s decision is influenced by that, it doesn’t justify it. Does Dan’s harsh reaction push Lucifer over the edge leading the Devil to resume his role as punisher? Regardless, Lucifer kicks McCaffrey through a window, presumably to his death and now must face the accompanying emotional and professional consequences.

There’s no doubt the additions of Graham McTavish (Father Kinley) and Inbar Lavi (Eve) to the cast have proven to be narrative gold, and tonight the brothers’ sister Remiel appears unexpectedly on Earth in Los Angeles to investigate a case of her own. A new Celestial has appeared on the heavenly radar, and Vinessa Vidotto makes her television debut as the little sister sent to learn the details of the forbidden human/Celestial union and “put an end to it.” Of course, she assumes Lucifer is the guilty party, but the core of this arc looks to revolve around her commitment to retrieve the child and take it to Heaven for eternity.

Of course, it can occasionally be convenient to view Lucifer and its story lines as metaphors, so it follows that as he’s buying time with his sister, Amenadiel explains the many reasons Celestials could be attracted to humans. Like most of the Celestials we’ve encountered, Remy initially sees humans as inferior, and I suppose they are compared to God’s children. Now that she knows the truth about the child’s father, it will be interesting to watch the three siblings clash in what promises to be a titanic battle of wills.

And finally, in the episode’s most heartwarming encounter, we learn the contents of Maze’s gift to Linda’s unborn child. Arguably one of the series’ more complex characters, Maze weathers the emotional storm wrought by the misunderstanding with Trixie and Chloe, and now faces the realization that Linda’s focus will be solely on her child. But this is a new Maze, and when the gift turns out to be the baby blanket that her estranged mother gave her as a child, it becomes difficult to view her as the violent knife throwing woman we’ve come to know. The beauty of the gesture is not lost on Linda. “You’re Auntie Maze, and you will always be a member of this family.”

“Orgy Pants at Work” manages to rise above its titillating implications and beautifully explore the emotional interiors humans and Celestials battle each day. However, as Lucifer heads into the back half of its fourth season, there’s still so much we want to know and questions to which we want answers. And that’s how it should be.

Dave Vitagliano has been writing and podcasting about science fiction television since 2012. You can read more of his work here. He presently hosts the Sci Fi Fidelity podcast.