Chloe and Lucifer are inspecting a crime scene in what seems to be a Whole Foods store. I like it! I've always felt those places are full of untapped aggression. Too much kale and whole grains. The victim seems to have been poisoned, which is exciting. Hardly anyone gets poisoned in crime shows nowadays.
Lucifer recognizes the victim as a Mexican chef called Javier Arias. He apparently owned a restaurant called "Sol de Javier." According to Lucifer the guy was a great chef, but I just can't get over that restaurant name. "Sol de Javier"? Who would use that?
Anyway, they go to the restaurant to interview the staff. They called the victim "Pops" and said that they all saw him as a father figure. Why not "Papi" though? He was Latino right? Why would a Latino chef go with "Pops"? Chloe and Lucifer discuss his daddy issues, and then...
Penelope Decker arrives! She's just as fabulous as I imagined. I'm over the moon with happiness. I've been waiting for this character forever. She's dressed in leopard, OF COURSE! Penelope and Lucifer flirt outrageously and it's simply heaven. Penelope asks them both to attend a family dinner. I love Mama Decker.
Back to the boring crime scene. Sigh. Pops had a temper and threw things. He overworked his staff. Everyone still loved him and thought he was a father figure, and Lucifer projects his daddy issues all over the place. I'm starting to think that the "daddy issues" joke would have worked better if it had been subtler.
They talk to Javier's son who didn't really get along with his dad. Junior was trying to be a chef, but his father was too overbearing about it so Junior gave up cooking and left. Lucifer tries his "secret desire" thing, but it didn't really work. The guy did share his father's last meal which is suspicious. Chloe asks him if he inherits the restaurant now, and Junior says no, he didn't deserve this place.
I call BS on this. The eldest son always gets the family business in Latino families. Always. Didn't deserve it? Who cares? Blood is blood.
But I'm instantly distracted by Maze, who goes to Dr. Martin's office. She wants to go through therapy because she feels out of place here on Earth (duh!). Dr. Martin thinks that this is not a good idea because she's already seeing Lucifer, but she gives Maze some advice anyway. She thinks Maze should start building relationships. If Maze finds some friends, she might feel better about her current situation. I loved this scene. It was fantastic.
Dan confronts Zombie Malcolm and asks why he wanted an untraceable weapon. He figures out that Malcolm wants to kill Lucifer and asks why. Malcolm explains that even if he told him, he wouldn't believe it.
Sounds legit.
Chloe and Lucifer interrogate the sous chef. She was Javier's mentee and a heroin user. She also appears to inherit the restaurant which seems bizarre to me, because no Latino man would ever leave property outside the family. Never. Never ever. Wouldn't happen. No way.
Chloe finds out that the Javier was poisoned with mercury and heroine so little miss sous chef is a subject. Unfortunately, the suspect starts throwing up in the middle of the interrogation. She's been poisoned.
The sous chef gets her stomach pumped and Dan shows up with a suspect profile. A waitress was recently fired from the restaurant and, lo and behold, she has a history as a heroin user. She was also at the restaurant a couple of days ago, screaming at Javier. Chloe invites Dan to the family dinner (he needs someone to run interference on Mama Decker) then she and Lucifer go to the waitresses' house. They find drug paraphernalia on the porch. Lucifer breaks into the house and figures out that Junior has been staying there. Lucifer and Chloe chat about family issues. Chloe apparently resented her mother's childlike personality and how she always dolled up Chloe for auditions.
The waitress shows up. She and Junior are together and are also trying to get clean. She fought with Javier because she was trying to convince him that Junior was getting clean. Javier didn't approve of their relationship or drug use, but Junior was still trying to fix things with him. Chloe is called away on an "emergency."
Chloe arrives at the beach cottage. The "emergency" was that her mom told the babysitter to leave. Trixie is dressed like a trailer park Jonbenet Ramsey because Penelope is taking her to an audition. Chloe flips. Trixie sneaks out of the house while Chloe and Penelope argue.
Trixie used Chloe's phone to get an Uber ride to Lux. Ah, L.A. people problems. There's a very cute scene between Trixie and Maze ("I used to be a zookeeper, sort of."). I love it.
Junior returns to his girlfriend's house and finds Lucifer there. Lucifer taunts him about killing his father but eventually decides that Junior didn't commit the murder. Lucifer's daddy issues resurface. I guess he wants to be free from God's interference or something? Whatevs.
Family dinner at the beach cottage. Dan shows up with cake. Chloe shows up with Trixie and finds out that Lucifer is cooking dinner with Junior, the suspected poisoner. Junior has made a vegetarian mole, which he seems to think is a big deal. Mole is just a sauce you pour over meat. You can easily just pour it over eggplant so I'm not sure why the vegetarian mole is so unique. The food court at Plaza Las Américas had vegetarian mole in the 80s (right next to the David's Cookies), Junior. You're not that special.
Most. Uncomfortable. Dinner. EVER. Lucifer offends everyone. It should be a funny scene, but it isn't. Penelope is very excited when she finds out that Chloe is juggling Dan or Lucifer. Junior tells them that he tried to escape his father, but he couldn't, because his dad was a part of him. Dan takes Junior to the station to get his statement.
The lab called and the heroin used to kill Javier wasn't the same heroin found in the waitresses' house. They now think that the sous chef killed Javier and then poisoned herself to throw them off the scent. They call the hospital and find out that she's left.
They find her at the restaurant, destroying the heroin/mercury mix. Wait? The heroin was IN the restaurant and the police didn't find it? Or did she go to the restaurant to destroy it? If so, why? She wanted to kill Junior, not Javier, but Junior had become a vegetarian (that's why the veggie mole was so important, I guess) so Javier ate his meat and was, therefore, poisoned.
The sous chef tips over a vat of...something and sets it (and the whole restaurant) on fire. Lucifer carries Chloe out of the restaurant and gets burned. Chloe managed to rescue the evidence. The sous chef is arrested. They tell Junior that his father was going to give him the restaurant. Case is over.
Maze goes to see Dr. Martin. She tells the doctor that she's made a new friend. Dr. Martin tells her that's great, but that maybe her next friend should be of drinking age. Maze agrees and asks the doctor, if she'd like to go get a drink. I love this!
Chloe returns home and has a heart-to-heart with her mom (who, of course, already has a glass of wine ready). Her mom is leaving in the morning, and they hug it out before she goes. As her mom goes to bed, Chloe stares at a picture of her, Dan, and her daughter.
Dan meets Malcolm in the docks. He tells Malcolm that he can't let him kill Lucifer. Dan tries to arrest Malcolm, but zombie guy beats him up instead. I guess Dan's dead? No, wait, he's still moving. Malcolm sends Chloe a text.
Chloe turns up at Lux. Dan (actually Malcolm) sent her a breakup text, so she wants to get drunk. She also wants to have sex with Lucifer, who, in a rare attack of conscience, turns her down. Lucifer is very confused.
This was a good episode. The mystery was meh, but I do like Maze's arc and I loved Penelope and Dr. Martin. The whole "daddy issues" thing is not really coming together for me. I guess in this world Lucifer going to Hell wasn't rebelling against God, but leaving Hell is a rebellion? I don't know, and, frankly, I don't find it compelling either. Hopefully, there'll be more Maze in the next episode.
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