Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Lucifer, Season 3, Episode 3: Mr and Mrs Mazikeen Smith



Maze is back and alive! I was beginning to think she had been written out of the show.

She is enjoying her new life as a Bounty Hunter which gave her a little more purpose and drive. She’s also still merrily drinking everyone - specifically Linda - under the table. Lucifer also explains a part of what makes Mazikeen kick - at least in his view. Demons don’t have souls so are very much live-for-the-day hence all party all the time. Maze is feeling a little bored about hunting humans which is super easy. Linda offers advice to… kkjbfhfcsakelncpsea. Linda is drunk. So that leaves Lucifer to offer advice - hunt the most dangerous human ever! Shine bright our demon!

So she goes to visit Lieutenant Herrera from organised crime division to get information on Rivers, the scariest scariest killer out there. Herrera warns Maze that Rivers is super super dangerous which makes Rivers really interesting

So (after an impossibly adorable scene with Maze and Trixie. Super super adorable!) Maze is off to Canada to hunt Rivers down. This means I get to make all the Canadian jokes! Especially since she sets off with no cold weather gear, no snow-shows, no moose repellent and no emergency stock of decent coffee, no emergency hockey stick… Maze is not ready.

So she beats someone up and steals their clothes. As Chloe puts it - she’s not worried about Maze. She’s worried about Canada. And because of this she keeps tracking Maze as she tears a trail of carnage across Canada searching for Rivers.

Lucifer keeps dismissing Chloe’s concerns. Ok I think this is supposed to be an indication of how shallow Lucifer is… but he has a point? Maze is an aeons old demon. She doesn’t need normal humans fretting after her or checking up on her. When Lucifer says Maze can look after herself that’s not disinterest - it’s accurate.

Maze, naturally, finds Rivers by tormenting the Nicest Canadian Ever, seducing River’s ridiculously naive girlfriend and finding him. He is charming and an escape artist - which briefly delays the inevitable… before Maze catches up with him again. He tries fighting this time and… nah, that doesn’t work, because Maze. Instead he pulls on the charm and the charisma and, in Lucifer’s words, the borderline handsomeness on Maze pleading his innocence. Maze shrugs because meh, her bounty. Still he does pull a whole lot of charm (which has apparently also captured his lawyer back in the US, who is in love with him as becomes apparent when Lucifer and Chloe question her to try and help Maze. Chloe deems Rivers “emotionally dangerous”).

Mid-charm and protestations of innocence is when an assassin attacks with a machine gun. Maze responds with a knife. An unfair fight - Maze is Maze after all. But Rivers is shot and Maze turns to the only doctor she knows to help treat him - Linda. And Maze is the most hilariously awful doctor in the world - but he shows how tenderly she handles him (after her fashion) which worries Lucifer (“he broke my Maze!”). He was very certain that Maze wouldn’t be hurt by Rivers, he never expected her to go all gooey and soft over him. In classic Lucifer fashion, he is now convinced of River’s guilt (because Lucifer is quick to hate anyone who seems to challenge his life, world view or even resembles someone he doesn’t like) while Chloe is changing her tune and trusting Maze. Which means following up on her suggestion that Rivers may be innocent.

Ok I’m not really following or agreeing with this. Deciding it’s ok to trust Maze and respect her when she declares someone innocent when, let’s face it, investigation is not exactly her strongpoint - I can see...ish. But after already failing to trust her when she says she’ll be ok when violence and mayhem most certainly are her expertise. If Maze says “I’m fine, he can’t hurt me, trust me” then I’d trust her there.

Chloe gets suspicious and speaks to Lt Herrera and does her own investigation, which only makes her more suspicious so she teams up with Lucifer to ask more questions and reveal Lt. Herrera is the real mastermind behind the murders Rivers is accused of.

Back in Canada, Daniel catches up on Maze (he’s on the way to Hawaii on holiday mainly because Lucifer wants to mock him) and while they argue what to do, River escapes. Then Maze ditches him when he suggests calling the Canadian police. Poor Daniel - I really do hope this season decides to stop making him the whipping boy for everyone.

Maze catches up with Rivers - second to the assassin and three goons who are all ready to kill him. 4 gun wielding goons vs Maze… well there’s Rivers and Daniel as well, but really it’s Maze who tears a hole through them because she’s Maze.

Daniel is useful in covering it all up and explaining things to the Canadian authorities. I’m not sure how he explains it but he does.

While Rivers, innocence proven, talks to Maze. She thinks he can settle down now and not have to run. But he thinks he always has to run - Hererra was only a cog in the machine, and the rest of his network will keep hunting him - Rivers will always have to run. And since she was also working for Herrera, so will Maze… of course he wants her to go with him with lots of chemistry buzzing between them

Maze considers it… but tells him she likes where she is and the people she is with. She seems almost surprised by this

I think a large part of this is Trixie. Trixie and Maze are so adorable together. Of course this means we’re likely to have a Mazikeen centred storyline with this organised crime gang who has no idea who they just picked a fight with. And a whole Maze centred episode - as well as ongoing plot lines of Maze as a soulless being and that perhaps not meaning what everyone assumed; hopefully more personal development. This is a massive relief after 2 episodes of neglect