Lucifer: Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith | Season 3, Episode 3 | Rating: 8/11
Lesley-Ann Brandt
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
In case you were wondering if this week’s episode seemed a little different than usual, you’re not wrong. Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith is one of the four stand alone episodes that were originally intended for season 2, but were cut and added to season 3. It’s a great episode in the sense that we get to see more of Maze being her badass self while offering some great character development. The added bonus is at the very end of the episode which has a potential tie-in with what’s already brewing in the current season, yet you don’t need to be a serial watcher of the show in order to enjoy it.
All about Maze:
Maze is back from wherever she’s been bounty hunting, is hanging out at Lux with Dr. Linda and still in bounty hunter-mode waiting for her current prey to come in that she’s managed to catch with a… drink coupon. Obviously, Lucifer is disgusted that anyone would consider using a drink coupon at his bar, but you can’t help marveling at Maze’s cunning: her prey literally came to her. However, she’s growing bored of the drinking, sex, and violence: bounty hunting was supposed to spice things up a bit, but even that is beginning to lose its thrill. Dr. Linda, who has been drinking for three hours with Maze (who has been going since Tuesday) suggests that she take a step back from everything and evaluate her life. Of course, Lucifer offers the opposite advice and suggests she go hard and fast by way of hunting for the most elusive and challenging prey. Or, to use his words of advice, “follow your greatest desire” and “burn bright.” After an impassioned speech like that – as Lucifer does have a way with words – it’s hard to say “No”.
Chris McKenna (Ben Rivers)
This leads Maze to Lt. Herrera’s office where she’s scanning footage of Ben Rivers, an extremely dangerous and elusive criminal aka the perfect challenge. After an adorable moment with wannabe stowaway Trixie at home, Maze is off to Canada. What ensues is a lot of delightful moments of Maze being her stronger-self. From actually being cold in Canada (Chloe did warn her) and stealing a jacket from a punk ass teenager who laughed as she shivered from having snow fall on her head to torture-by-way-of-seduction and potentially blackmailing poor Norm the hotelier for information on Rivers. After ‘taking care of’ and taking over for the usual masseuse, Maze learns Rivers’ whereabouts from his current girlfriend, who is so sure that he “doesn’t just want me for daddy’s money” because he’s actually a prince and doesn’t want anyone to know. How cute.
After catching Rivers at a bar and him laying on the charm and getting into Maze’s head, he walks away leaving Maze handcuffed instead of him. Hot damn. But she does catch up with him again after Lucifer provides an address thanks to Decker’s digging. In the midst of some hot verbal and physical sparring between Maze and Rivers, he proclaims his innocence by saying, “I’ve done a lot of terrible things in my life: that’s not one of them. I was framed.” Maze is rather indifferent but Rivers insists she should care because Herrera will betray her next. Apparently, Rivers used to be a bounty hunter, as well, but quit and Herrera (who didn’t take his quitting well) pinned the murder of the two teenagers on him. This gets some credibility when a woman who was at Norm’s hotel shows up as “room service” and attempts to take them out in a hail of automatic gunfire. Not one to be deterred by such tings, Maze catches Room Service in what looks like an important area. Score for Team Bounty, although it seems that Rivers caught a stray bullet in the stomach.
A video call to Dr. Linda for some help with a bullet wound brings along more humor (“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not that kind of doctor?!?”) and a glimpse at what seems to be a Maze with some warm and fuzzy feelings for this guy. Of course, Lucifer is in the middle of a session with Dr. Linda when the call for help comes and after watching Maze fluff a pillow for this guy, Lucifer is a little taken aback at the notion that this guy broke his Maze. Well Lucifer, you became a little more human, maybe Maze is doing the same thing? I think she’s allowed.
Tom Ellis & Lauren German
Now comes the time when Detective Douche…I mean Dan…shows up to save the day. The poor guy never made it to Hawaii and during one of his three layovers (this one was in Vancouver), at the bidding of Chloe he came to check up on Maze. That’s a little cute because 1) he’s still whipped enough to change his vacation plans and, 2) Chloe cares a lot for Maze’s safety. But wait: Rivers is on the run again. Maze finds him for a third time but this time he’s out in the wilderness with a gun to his head thanks to Room Service and a firing squad of three. Cue another awesome fight sequence with Dan, once again, trying to save the day but getting thrown/rolled into a tree after a punch fails on a big burly dude, Maze taking three out by herself and Rivers (free from his handcuffs) taking out Room Service with a big stick. Dan covers for Maze and Rivers as the Canadian authorities roll up and they slip away to somewhere a little more… out of sight. By the end of the episode, Rivers is cleared of any wrong doing but insists that he will always have to run because Herrera was just a “cog in the machine.” Apparently there is some bigger conspiracy going on here. As anticipated by the chemistry between the two, Rivers asks Maze to run away with him where they could be in a new city every week and live every day like it’s their last. Isn’t that was Maze was already doing? They smooch. It’s steamy. But Maze declines the almost irresistible invitation when she realizes that she has roots and that she misses them. In the end, we find Maze hanging out with Dr. Linda, Chloe, Lucifer, and Trixie and saying, “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Other Goings On:
- Dan is headed for Hawaii in a terrible Hawaiian shirt and has to use his miles, which means three layovers on his way there. Poor thing.
- Lucifer insists Chloe stop mothering Maze because she’s got her big girl pants on but Chloe insists that Maze will succumb to emotional manipulation from Rivers. It’s funny that the roles reverse when Maze calls for help and suddenly Lucifer is fearing for Maze and Chloe is trusting her.
- Chloe tracks Maze in Canada from a stolen taxi in Vancouver to a brawl with a curling team in Montreal and, possibly, a “bear attack” on Prince Edward Island.
- Chloe and Lucifer get the security guy to admit he lied for Herrera and they subsequently arrest Herrera and help to clear Rivers’ name.
- Amenadiel seems to be elsewhere this entire episode. Not a whisper of his name. Maybe he’s off somewhere praying and doesn’t want to be disturbed.
- Final scene: someone with a sweatered arm is putting pictures of Maze and Rivers into a folder and into a file cabinet with tabs for Lucifer Morningstar, Amenadiel/Dr. Canaan, Maizikeen of The Lilim, Charlotte Richards, and Gaudium. Ummmm, who is this dude? Is this Lt. Marcus Pierce? The Sinnerman? Someone else from this conspiracy? So many possibilities.
Unanswered questions
- How did Maze know to go to Herrera’s office in the first place? Was this a guy she had always been working for?
- How did she know who was the most challenging human? I know she’s smart, but unless there was some Most Wanted poster we didn’t see….
- The case was solved but what was the motive for having two teenagers killed? Will it circle back around later in the season?
- Is Maze becoming more human-like? We saw her get all warm and fuzzy with Rivers and it wasn’t pure lust. It was softer than what she had with Amenadiel. We know that demons have no soul and that’s why they live in the moment, but as suggested at the end of the episode, maybe she has a soul after all.
Lesley-Ann Brandt
Other Goodies:
- Watching Maze eat Dan’s pudding while watching footage of Rivers with her feet up on Herrera’s desk. Dan is never going to get to eat his own pudding, is he? Poor guy. Also, Maze is a badass.
- The Maze/Trixie relationship is probably one of my favorites because it’s so endearing. After Trixie’s failed stowaway attempt, Maze says she needs Trixie to stay and watch her mom. Trixie’s response of “That’s true, without the two of us, she’s defenseless.”: can it get any cuter? Yes it can and it does when Trixie gives Maze Miss Alien for a travel buddy.
- The “secret handshake” between Trixie and Maze: genius.
- Maze should be a blonde more often.
- Never try to handcuff a demon. It simply won’t do anything as evidenced by Lucifer on many occasions and this time Maze is just popping them off. No big.
- Piercings through a small braid is pretty cool looking. Way cooler than that whole pierced nails thing.
- It seems Maze stitched up Rivers just fine but may have stitched a button onto him, as well.
- So many great one-liners and quips in this episode. Favorites include:
- “You’re not as formidable as your power suit suggests.”
- “Maze and I have been through the plagues, the floods, the Dave Matthews Band.”
- “Really? Knives to a gunfight?”
- “Why? So they can nice the bad guys to death?”
- “Okay, who are you and what have you done with the detective?”
- “First she fluffs the man’s pillow and now she’s trying to clear his name.”
Not bad for a stand alone episode.