Such an unholy amount of work goes into making the sinfully good Lucifer that every episode
is bursting with rewards for Lucifans.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and today I'm revealing 40 behind-the-scenes secrets,
wicked details, and fiendishly clever call-backs that will make you love Lucifer Season 5 even
more!
Spoilers ahead, so take care if you're not all caught up.
Since it first appeared on Lucifer's hand in the pilot episode, fans have been wondering
if there was more significance to Luci's ring than just a simple accessory.
And Season 5 finally gave us the answer as the show travelled back to the 1940s for a
noir episode featuring Maze's mum, Lilith, the ring's original owner, who gifted it to
Lucifer when she gave up her immortality.
However, the secret behind how it came to be in the show is much more mundane.
Shortly before they started filming the pilot, director Len Wiseman told Tom Ellis that he
thought there was "something missing" from his outfit.
That sent Ellis rushing back to the costume department where he found a random box of
jewellery and picked out the now famous black ring.
The ring's last-minute addition to the series even popped up as a little inside-joke in
Season 2 when Luci and Amenadiel were trying to find the final piece of the Flaming Sword:
"Your ring.
I've never seen you without it; Maybe that's the key.
Well, the key to completing my ensemble maybe."
Although we now know the ring's stone is from the Garden of Eden, Lucifer says it's only
special because it reminds him of his "old friend" Lilith.
Hence why he was so keen to get it back after Candy stole it in Season 3.
"Sentimental value."
An especially intriguing new detail about the ring that you might have missed is that
it didn't always look like it does today.
Notice how when we first see it on this poster of a black-gloved Lilith, the stone is actually
white.
And it stays that way until Lilith gives up her immortality, breathing her soul or essence
into the ring, causing the stone to change from white to black.
Something that's become quite a tradition for the show's season premieres is the appearance
of Mr Said Out Bitch and that continues in Season 5 where we learn his real name, Lee
Garner.
And the inspiration for that name comes from Lee Garbett, who is the artist behind the
recent Lucifer graphic novels.
And he also created the comic book "Skyward" with Lucifer co-showrunner Joe Henderson.
And we saw Trixie reading that comic in Season 4.
This time Lee's stuck in his very own Hell loop and, in a call-back to previous occasions,
he ends up sporting very little, though this time it's his own choice to wear
just speedos, unlike in Season 2 where Lucifer left him wearing underpants and a tiara after
catching him robbing a jewellery store; and in Season 3 where Luci found him in the
desert, driving a stolen truck, and again left him in his undies.
Season 4 switched things up with Luci being left pants-less after Lee tried to rob him
but ended up with a devilish gift of cash and gold bars.
According to IMDB, Lee is back in the final episode of Part 2.
So it'll be interesting to see if he gets the redemptive arc some fans have been hoping
for and if his storyline will mirror Luci's circumstances again as it did in Part 1.
The show's writers had been talking about introducing the character of Michael for a
while, hence the Season 4 namedrop when Linda and Amenadiel were working out what to call
their soon-to-be-born son: "What about Michael?"
"No.
Definitely not Michael."
But according to Joe Henderson, it was his co-showrunner Ildy Modrovich who came up with
the idea for Michael to be Luci's twin in the series.
Because, originally, Season 5 was just 10 episodes and the show's final season, Michael
was only going to impersonate Lucifer for part of an episode.
But when Netflix increased the season order to 16, the showrunners decided to spend a
whole episode with Michael pretending to be Lucifer, really digging into his devilish
twin's life.
Speaking to Backstage magazine, Tom Ellis revealed that the
"new challenge" of playing both brothers "messed with [his] head a bit".
Given the show's tight filming schedule, using "transformative prosthetics" to differentiate
Michael was off the table, so Ellis took inspiration from his theatre
roots and went old-school, working out Michael's "physicality and voice".
He started with some basic concepts and built from there, for example, Lucifer is a very
flamboyant, open character, and shows that in his body language;
while Michael is the opposite: a closed-off, quiet observer, rather than
a talker.
Likewise, clothing was crucial to getting into character, with Lucifer's sharply tailored
suits contrasting with Michael's loose-fitting tweed jackets and turtlenecks,
though that is similar to one of Lucifer's looks in the comics!
By the way, the scar Lucifer gives Michael using one of Mazikeen's blades after their
face-off in the third episode is a brilliant hat-tip to the comics where
Maze actually scars Lucifer's face with a blade in a similar way.
Another lovely little detail some of you commented on my other videos is that the twins are even
poles apart when it comes to drinking, with Michael preferring clear spirits, like
vodka, and drinking with his left hand, whereas Lucifer drinks whiskey with his right hand.
Indeed, according to Tom Ellis, Michael hasn't 'quite got the liver of Lucifer' and 'likes
to stay a bit more lucid and aware of what's going on'.
When it came to Michael's voice, Ellis went for an American accent to help distinguish
between the characters.
And that's especially interesting because, initially, before the show's very first season,
when Ellis was working out how best to play Lucifer,
he actually tried that accent out but felt that Luci always ended up sounding like a
jerk.
However, with an English accent, he found Lucifer could get away with saying all sorts
of terrible things and still come across as rather charming.
"Ooh, how's your ex?
Detective Douche."
Which is why switching to that original American accent makes perfect sense for playing his
villainous twin Michael.
"How do you like the mess I made, Samael?"
And fun fact, Ellis has a twin sister in real life and, coincidentally, her name is Lucy.
The payback board Lucifer creates as he plots his revenge on Dan for shooting him is also
full of hilarious in-jokes and call-backs to previous episodes.
From Dan's time undercover as a surfer and actor Kevin Alejandro's own love of catching
a wave, to the action movie franchise Weaponizer which
Dan adores; "Personal fave:
Weaponizer 4: The Last Arsenal."
"So good, right?"
"At the end, with the whole..." to the recurring topic of Dan's love of pudding
and the fact that Lucifer thinks that eating Dan's dessert isn't punishment enough.
And judging by what Luci wants to do with Dan's bracelet, it looks like there'll be
no more Bracelet Bros. "Bracelet bros for the win."
Oh, and there's even a shout-out to Queer Eye, Netflix's life-makeover show.
Ella thinks of Lucifer as a brother so she's really annoyed that he not only failed to
say goodbye when he left LA, but that he also didn't let her know when he returned.
So, when he turns up at the team's latest crime scene, Ella gives him a piece of her
mind and a thump with her shoe, which is a little nod to the Latina heritage
of both her character and actress Aimee Garcia who plays her,
and the tradition of whipping off a shoe or chancla to reprimand or discipline someone.
"No más of that mierda, ok."
"No más."
Of course, that isn't actually Lucifer; it's his twin brother, Michael, but Ella doesn't
know that!
And when it came to episode 8, its writer Chris Rafferty says he also worked with the
show's Art Department specifically "to sneak in some fun for the [show's] diehard
fans" by adding some cunning call-backs to previous
episodes that he wrote.
When Luci and Ella visit the Whisper Killer's latest crime scene, there's some cleverly
titled film posters on the wall.
First up is A BAD DAY TO DIE, which has the tagline "her time is ticking to find the cure",
mirroring the Season 2 episode 13 title and plot of A GOOD DAY TO DIE,
where Luci returns to Hell to try and find the antidote to a poison that's quickly killing
Chloe.
And there's another easter egg to that same Season 2 episode via a door that's labelled
2-13.
Then there's a poster for MONSTERISH, a shout-out to another Season 2 episode called Monster,
about a murder at a zombie-themed wedding.
And there's A PRIEST WALKS INTO A BARN, a play on the Season 1 episode, A Priest Walks
Into A Bar, where Lucifer met the priest Frank Lawrence,
who is one of the few humans in the series who figured out Luci's true identity:
"your father... has a plan."
God finally makes his first on-screen appearance in the midseason finale with Dennis Haysbert
in the role.
And that bit of casting means this isn't just a reunion for our favourite celestial family
but also for Haysbert and Amenadiel actor DB Woodside
who previously worked together on the action-drama 24 where they played brothers each of whom
became President of the United States.
In fact, when it came to casting God, Woodside actually suggested Haysbert to the Lucifer
showrunners who, according to EW, had him at the top of their "list of possible actors
for the part".
Two real-life women who've greatly inspired Lesley-Ann Brandt's portrayal of Maze on the
show are Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt.
So, it's no coincidence that one of the songs performed by her mother, Lilith, was made
famous by none other than Eartha Kitt.
In fact, Brandt told The Spectrum Lounge podcast that Kitt's "I Want to be Evil" and "Someone
to Watch Over Me", which is closely associated with Ella Fitzgerald,
were chosen to "pay homage" "to two Black American icons".
As well as Eartha Kitt, the episode's writer Aiyana White also looked to Billie Holiday
for inspiration for Lilith's character.
As for film noir, the show's creative team chose that not only for its links with detective
stories, but also because it fits the Old Hollywood, elegant style of Tom Ellis's Lucifer
so well.
And adding to the show's tributes, the episode frames its tale of Lilith in 1940s New York
with what the showrunners have called their "Princess Bride moment"
"Hold it.
Hold it.
What is this?
Are you tryin' to trick me?" as Lucifer narrates the story of his Manhattan
adventures to Trixie who interrupts with questions and comments.
"Wait, hold it!"
"Oh, for crying out loud."
When you look back over Season 5 so far as a whole, there are several motifs and themes
which recur strongly throughout, and one of the most intriguing is the motif of mirroring
or doubles.
There's the obvious example of Luci and his twin Michael, and there's the way Maze decides
to dress and act exactly like Ella . Then the whole of episode 3 is insanely meta
about a murder on the set of ¡Diablo!, a TV procedural that mirrors Lucifer and Chloe's
working relationship, has doubles of all our favourites, and also mirrors the Netflix show
we're watching!
On top of that, the dead showrunner is the spitting image of Lucifer's co-showrunner
Joe Henderson, whose own real-life office and writers' room double as the ones in the
fictional show!
And the fourth episode takes episode 3's doubling to a whole new level giving the show's cast
new roles to play that reflect their usual ones,
so therapist Linda's a bartender, Detective Chloe's a PI, Dan is the super-douchey Willy
the Sausage Prince, and Lilith..
"Maze's mother.. her spitting image,
though neither of them would ever admit it."
And regarding Maze, there's a parallel this season between how she feels abandoned by
her mother and Linda's situation with her daughter who she gave up for adoption.
Even the season's secret serial killer, Pete, has his own mirror in the copycat killer Klumpsky.
As for Chloe, she gets to mirror Lucifer's mojo superpower.
And if you'd like to know the true cause of that and also why Lucifer's invulnerability
changed in Season 5, tap here to watch my Lucifer and Chloe Powers
video or follow the link in the video description.
So, who were your favourite characters this season?
And did you spot any other interesting details?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
And if you enjoyed this, a thumbs-up and a share are hugely appreciated.
Next tap left for my Lucifer playlist with a full breakdown of the midseason finale,
predictions and theories for Part 2 and Season 6, plus more amazing easter eggs you might
have missed in the fifth season.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!