Oh, Brother! Lucifer’s Family Reunion Gets A Little Crowded With “Weaponizer” 

In the beginning, there was Lucifer, debonair L.A. nightclub owner and former heavenly rebel and Lord of Hell. Then came Amenadiel, first-born enforcer angel, sent to convince Lucy he should return to his previous post. That doesn’t work out so well. And now, here comes Uriel (Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos), master manipulator of patterns and less fashion-savvy middle sibling. From the opening scene this episode wherein he uses the placement of a discarded skateboard to cause the car accident we saw Chloe get into last episode, we understand that he can precisely predict the consequences of certain strategic moves.

At the site of the detective’s most recent murder case where the victim is Lucifer’s favourite action star, Wesley Cabot (Sean Millington, Hell on Wheels), Uriel makes his presence known and delivers a 24-hr countdown on Chloe’s life if Mom isn’t delivered to him to return to Hell. Lucifer figures that it’s a moot threat as he has Amenadiel in his corner, not realizing that his big brother’s divinity has been waning continuously over his stay on this mortal coil.

Amidst the rather heavy heavenly family drama, the procedural crime-solving plot provides some heartwarming humour as Lucifer and Dan sort of bond over their newly-discovered shared love of the late Wesley Cabot’s film franchise, Body Bags I-VI. Chloe rolls her eyes at their antics but is able to use their trivial knowledge of the genre to narrow down the suspects to Cabot’s rival, Kimo Vanzandt (Mark Dacascos, Iron Chef America); his ex-wife (now married to Kimo), Jaime Lee Adrienne (Charisma Carpenter, Angel); and his business manager (also shared with Kimo), Ryan Goldburg (Phil LaMarr, Family Guy).

Lucifer’s mother is still adjusting to life as a human woman and the challenges of high-powered lawyering, child-rearing, and having to wear pants are starting to grate on her sensibilities. However, she maintains that if it allows her time with her sons, it is all worth it and she will persevere. Even when Amenadiel hints that other siblings will come looking for her, she is confident that she will be able to convince them to forgive her and let her stay.

Desperate to keep the detective safe from his brother’s deadly Rube Goldberg machinations, Lucifer sics Amenadiel on Uriel, encouraging him to unleash his brawn and intimidate the crap out of the little puppeteer angel. Amenadiel seizes on the idea that he just needs to SEEM intimidating to get the job done and heads into battle.

The confrontation between Amenadiel and Uriel is impressive in its posturing and heartbreaking in its revelations. Uriel’s unmasking of Amenadiel’s vulnerability is inevitable but the viciousness with which he attacks once he knows for sure is unexpected and hints at the younger angel’s instability. It isn’t the last beat down the visitor will deliver during his stay but the suddenness of the violence towards an obviously helpless opponent is disturbing.

Lost in much of the action of this episode is Chloe’s recovery from her car accident. She is physically hurt, mentally shaken, and emotionally wrung out by Trixie’s triggered anxiety. She’s bothered by Lucifer’s unusual solicitousness and dives into the case primarily to distract herself from dealing with the aftermath of the crash.

This all crumbles when Uriel’s long game (illustrated through a really impressive long film shot á la The Player) culminates in an armed standoff with Kimo holding a sawed-off shotgun on Jaime and Ryan, who had framed him for Wesley’s murder. Chloe has to come clean about where she’s at in order to talk him down and pleads with him as a fellow person in pain to resist the urge to take his revenge. It’s a truly moving scene for Lauren German and taps some real emotion that the character keeps bottled up for the most part. Once she is safe, an impressed Lucifer takes his leave of her to seek out Uriel and settle things.

First, he checks in at home where he’s met by Mom who offers to return to Hell with Uriel to spare Amenadiel and Lucifer any more pain. Lucifer rejects this offer, insisting that there has to be some other way, much to Maze’s disgust. Facing off against the two women who know him best, Lucifer finally loses his cool, frustrated past the breaking point by the constant second-guessing of God’s will that seems to be at the root of everyone’s conflict “…because the selfish b*stard won’t just tell us!” When his mother points out that Uriel has always been stubborn and determined, Lucifer refuses to give in and she tells him she believes that he will find a way.

The final showdown is set, fittingly, in a church. Lucifer and Uriel lay their proverbial cards on the table and Uriel reveals that he’s “borrowed” Azrael’s blade. The Angel of Death’s weapon will wipe its victim completely out of existence. Lucifer realizes that Uriel isn’t planning on taking their mother back to Hell … or anywhere at all. The brothers fight and although Lucifer initially has the upper hand, Uriel figures out his “pattern” and manages to neutralize him but stops short of using the blade on him.

Enter Mazikeen, annoyed with pretty much every angel around her at this point but focusing her skillz on taking down Uriel. She nearly manages it too, disarms him and sets him back on his heels before he manages to take her out too. Basking in his victory, he makes a move to set Chloe’s demise into action only to be stopped again by Lucifer, this time armed with the Azrael’s blade. The only way to end Uriel’s plans is to end Uriel, leaving Lucifer with the realization that he has killed his own brother, a crime that is biblical in its implications.

“Weaponizer” concludes with scenes of mothers and comfort. We see Chloe curled up with Trixie, reading her a promised bedtime story, Coraline (a doubly clever inclusion by the writers in that the book is also about mothers and written by Neil Gaiman who created the Lucifer character for his incredible Sandman graphic novel). As she starts to reread the book, the scene shifts to Lucifer’s penthouse where in a glorious perfect reversal of her first appearance on the show, Lucifer’s mother gathers him into her arms as he emerges, stunned and broken and in need.

Lucifer airs Monday nights at 9PM ET/PT on FOX.