Lucifer - S3E7 - Off the Record

Previously on Lucifer, “Vegas With Some Radish”

Right And Wrong Don’t Matter

I have covered every episode of this show and while it’s always entertaining, it’s pretty formulaic. So imagine my surprise when a moment in this episode made me sit up and say “OH SHIT!” at my screen. Did y’all know Dr. Linda has a HUSBAND?! I didn’t either. And apparently, her husband is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who has been going after Lucifer since season one when he saw Dr. Linda and Lucifer sleeping together.

After seeing Lucifer leave Dr. Linda’s apartment, her husband, Reese, follows Lucifer and determines that he’s a womanizer and a delinquent. Lucifer unwittingly encourages Reese to get back at the man sleeping with his wife by destroying his life. This leads to Reese riding along with Chloe and Lucifer in hopes of uncovering some malfeasance in their partnership. Reese tries to uncover some wrongdoing, but he eventually comes to believe that Lucifer is a good consultant who notices details that others don’t. That is until Reese sees Lucifer’s devil face while he interrogates a suspect. Then the games truly begin. 

You’re My Joy and You’re My Pain

Even though they are separated and Linda wants a divorce, Reese is determined to prove that Lucifer is the devil and get her away from him. He creates a thorough timeline of Lucifer’s shenanigans (you could have just read my reviews, dude) and basically he Beautiful Mind’s his office. My favorite note is “Charlotte Richards: Lover? Mother? Step-Mom? WTF?” And although a year has passed with him quietly investigating them, Chloe and Lucifer end up contacting him for help on a case.

Again, Lucifer encourages him to go after the man sleeping with his wife and Reese shows up at Linda’s office to shoot him and prove he’s the devil … but Linda already knows that. It’s actually sad to watch. Linda realizes that he’s been obsessed with proving Lucifer is the devil and “protecting” her but by now, she and Luci are friends. They don’t even sleep together anymore (apparently, to Lucifer’s disappointment). So Reese plays his final chess move. Sending a serial killer who hates frauds and hypocrites after Lucifer. He’s even figured enough out from Lucifer to make sure Chloe is around when it happens. And it still doesn’t work because the serial killer ends up liking Lucifer and poisons someone else by mistake. It’s just one big comedy of errors.

This episode is a total character exploration. Through Reese we see how Lucifer and Linda’s friendship has deepened over the year they’ve known each other. Linda is able to see past the fact that Lucifer is the devil because he is honest with her whereas Reese is so determined for her to love him that he doesn’t listen to her or tell her the truth. Eventually, Reese ends up poisoned by the same man he sent to kill Lucifer and he wakes in the same hospital bed he started in the beginning of the episode. Reese is living in his own personal hell. Repeating the same mistakes that led to his death. It’s a brilliant character study.

The Devil Is Laughing 

“Your ex-husband? So we’re tunnel buddies?” – Lucifer upon finding out that Reese is Dr. Linda’s ex. (Side-note: This was my face when he said that.)

Someone asked about favorite bottle episodes the other day and I have to say this just made my top five. Usually a bottle episode features a character we know and love so to focus on a character we didn’t know existed was a huge risk and the writers pulled it off beautifully. In one episode we realize who Reese is, watch his journey to take down Lucifer, and how it all falls apart and leads to the second major reveal that this has already happened and he’s reliving it in hell. I also hope Lucifer’s line about how hell has no chains or gates comes back into play. I’d love to see some souls escape from the underworld.