Lucifer season 5A dropped on Netflix on August 21, 2020. Eight episodes brought celestial shenanigans and another emotional rollercoaster for our heroes.

Thanks to the pandemic we’ve had to wait for season 5B to arrive, so we’ve taken the time to rewatch Lucifer season 5A [OK, and seasons 1-4 as well… maybe that was just us!] In this article we examine the shape of the series as a whole, key moments and that cliffhanger. We assume you’ve seen the series (at least once [three times!]), so there will be spoilers.

Where were we at the end of Lucifer season 4?

Lucifer was cancelled by Amazon at the end of an eventful season 3. Perhaps too long, it ended with Chloe Decker (Lauren German) finding out Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) really didn’t lie; he was the Devil.

Chloe left LA, went to Rome, met an overzealous priest and schemed to betray Lucifer.

Back in LA she nearly betrayed Lucifer, and was unable to be with him. Eve (Inbar Lavi) turned up, Lucifer and Eve had an affair that turned Lucifer into full batwings devil-face mode until; luckily he was saved by Chloe.

Amenadiel (DB Woodside) and Dr Linda (Rachel Harris) had a baby; Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) fell for Eve; Dan (Kevin Alejandro) blamed Lucifer for his beloved Charlotte’s death in series 3,  but apart from that it all ended up happily ever after. Ignoring having to defeat a would-be demon apocalypse, and Lucifer having to return to Hell forever to protect all those he loves, leaving Chloe behind, just as she finally admits her feelings.

What happened in Lucifer season 5a?

Forever is a long time. A couple of months pass in LA, but in Hell it’s been millennia. Cue the return of Lee (Jeremiah Birkett) who wants for nothing as he enjoys the luxury lifestyle Lucifer funded in the first episode of season 4 (after ruining his plans in the first episode of seasons 3 and 2). Sadly he’s in a hell loop, but Lucifer decides to step in and help work out who killed Lee, on the assumption the Detective (i.e. Chloe) is on the case. Back in LA, Chloe and Maze have teamed up and solve the case. It all goes well until a shoot out at the end, but have no fear, Lucifer is back. Or is he?

In fact it’s twin-brother Michael, whose power is fear rather than desire. It takes Chloe an episode to unmask him, and Amenadiel takes over in Hell to let the real Lucifer come back and sort out the mess. All’s well except for a little detail Michael told Chloe about her being a gift from god. It needs Amenadiel back from Hell and a whole lot of nuns before Chloe can come to terms with what she knows, but as she and Lucifer finally get close a new case, and an ex-boyfriend nearly spoil the day. In the end Hell freezes over (not actually), Chloe and Lucifer make love and Lucifer’s powers go strange, leaving Chloe able to mojo Lucifer, and he is now more invulnerable.

This is all just as well as Dan finds out Lucifer is really the Devil and tries to kill him. Meanwhile Maze and Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) trick Lucifer into telling the story of his ring and Maze’s mother Lilith in the superb noire episode It Never Ends Well for the Chicken (pictured above this article). This all ties in with backstory for Dr Linda, a mini-quest and Maze increasing not on Lucifer’s side, though does help when Michael kidnaps Chloe.

Let’s not forget Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia), now the only person close to Lucifer who doesn’t know he really is the Devil. She falls for a bad guy, then a good guy who’s really a serial killer. With Chloe kidnapped, Lucifer turns detective and solves that case.

It all ends with a moment’s calm in the mid-season episode Spoiler Alert (directed by Alejandro). Lucifer is about to tell Chloe he loves her but time stops. There’s an amazing Michael + Maze vs Lucifer + Amenadiel fight in the precinct and all looks grim until Dad turns up. Yes, God is in the precinct. Cue end of season 5A!

What next?

We know a ‘much loved’ character will die. We also know this was to be the end of the show, but it was renewed for season 6 and the ending re-written. There are plenty of loose ends and unanswered questions. We’ve considered some of them in our list of suggested story lines. Really the main thing we need to know is when will it be released? Our latest guess is February — we’ll let you know as soon as we do!