Lucifer: Sweet Kicks – Gangs and Fashion (Review)

Lucifer: Sweet Kicks has a plot dealing with gangs and fashion, as well as Mazikeen showing her true self and Amenadiel preparing to fight dirty in his bid to get Morningstar back into Hell.  Lucifer attends Benny Choi, former gang member and a “kicks” designer who the former ruler of Hell did a favor, back in the day.

After the show finishes shots are fired and a young girl dies, trampled to death by the panicking audience.  Lucifer talks Chloe’s boss into letting him help to bring the person responsible for the girl’s death to justice.  Using his, “your deepest desire superpower” he gets permission to accompany Decker as she works the case.

Lucifer is excited at the possibility of getting hurt and being caught up in the middle of a gang turf war.  Decker is not pleased about her new partner and after he mentions the thrill of pain, she slaps him.

“That hurt!”

“Do it again.”

The new team talk to Benny and his right-hand man, ex-Marine Hector.   Choi reveals his gang origins and the presence of  the “latin king” gang. Lucifer also tells Decker that he is responsible for Choi’s success via one of his favors.

Lucifer and Chloe head to a local cop bar where they run into an old enemy who insults Decker. Morningstar  then breaks the other cop’s nose and the duo leave.  Before the punch, Lucifer explains about his favor system.

Maze meets with Amenadiel in an effort to get Lucifer back into Hell, where she wants to return.  She tells the angel about Linda, Morningstar’s pet doctor.

Dan, aka Detective Douche, turns up at Lux to remind Lucifer that his new partner is also the mother of his child. He tells Morningstar to calm down before she gets hurt.

The “Starsky and Hutch” team end up questioning the main suspect Yellow Viper after speaking with a couple of Latin Kings who turn up, with the whole gang,  during the Q&A session and a shootout is only just averted by Maze getting involved.

Interesting points:

Lucifer rather nastily reminds Mazikeen that it is her job to protect him whether she wants to or not.

Maze completely destroying, with broken bones and contusions aplenty, the Latin Kings, but Chloe knocking out the one member still standing.

Linda, turning out to have a thing for angels as well as devils.

Final thoughts:

The storyline has Benny Choi as the bad guy. He arranges to frame the real talent, Yellow Viper who just got out of prison and Hector, Choi’s assistant turns his boss in after forcing to kill the pet pig “Pig Diddy.”  (Oh those sentimental gangsters…)

Lucifer’s favor looks set to make Chloe’s boss the new chief and  Chloe proves that her gut instincts are pretty reliable.

It should also be pointed out that the episode title; Sweet Kicks has a dual meaning. Choi’s “kicks” and the sweet kicks that Lucifer is experiencing with the possibility of being hurt.

Apart from Lucifer’s line about “do it again,” Decker gets “line of the episode” with her:

“Your bartender’s a ninja…Of course she is.”

This week has no further injuries of Lucifer by Chloe.  He is still excited at the prospect of “becoming more mortal” and Mazikeen is still annoyed that Morningstar will not return willingly to Hell. Amenadiel is still pretty low key, compared to the comics but he is zeroing in on Linda for a “fluid exchange.”

At the end of the episode, Benny is treated to a look at the real Lucifer, something that Morningstar never seems to tire of.  Later, after Chloe gives Lucifer the slip, Mazikeen stops by the cop’s house for a visit. Showing her true appearance, to the camera but not Decker, it is clear that Lucifer’s protector is jealous after all.

Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Lesley-Ann Brandt and D.B. Woodside are all working well together in this television version of the comic book devil.  Ellis brings a huge amount of naughty fun to his Lucifer Morningstar and the chemistry between the actor and German is spot-on.

Brandt manages to work very well with both her co-stars, in terms of chemistry, playing brilliantly off both  Woodside and Ellis.  

Lucifer airs Mondays on FOX.  Tune in for a look at this version of the character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg.