Marvelous Geeks

Best of 2021: Romantic Relationships features spoilers for various shows. Please be advised if there’s something you don’t want to know.

Romance isn’t going anywhere—not now, not ever. Year after year, the romantic relationships within a series always make it more special, intriguing, and utterly compelling. To deny the need for romance in television is a silly thing to do. If we want the fiction we consume to match the likes of the real world, denying love as a necessity no longer works. Most of us need it. Most of us crave it. It’s a part of life, and these relationships are part a large part of the beauty within a show.

For more end-of-the-year coverage, be sure to check out our Best of 2021: Ted Lasso Season 2 Special, as the shining example of what excellent TV looks like in its entirety. There’s also the Best of 2021: Scene-Stealers who made this year a joy ride through and through. The Best of 2021: Performances, the Best of 2021: Characters, and the Best of 2021: Found Families.

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Spoiler Free: Advance Review

Lucifer‘s final season is a spiffing curtain call that is bound to leave a lasting mark. It’s a culmination of six years full of intricate, thought-provoking storytelling and exquisite character development that’s ending on the kind of note that’s deserving of acclaim.

As for all dramas, there are naturally surprises in store, and everything that is done is to advance the story, and to inspire the very best versions of these beloved characters to rise to the top.

What will Lucifer and Chloe’s new positions look like ? What will happen to Dan down in hell? What are Maze and Eve up to? Amenadiel, Linda…And the burning question, will Ella learn the truth about her friends? Lucifer’s final season comes with answers and they’re just the kind that’ll be intriguing, perhaps called for, and still able surprise in the aftermath.

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Portrayed by: Tom Ellis Show: Netflix’s Lucifer

Holy character development Batman! Characters like Lucifer Morningstar don’t come around too often — if at all. So you’ve got to enjoy them while they’re here. And just in time for pride month. Trigger warnings for mental health, self-harm alcoholism and parental issues.

And if there’s anything Lucifer excels at it is entertaining people. Lucifer Morningstar on paper is a character that could be extremely cliché. He’s a bisexual playboy who never lies and has a bit of a Peter Pan complex and a lot of daddy issues. He just happens to be the devil as well.

But what the Lucifer writers and Tom Ellis do masterfully is elevate him from the playboy persona to a deeply complex and rich character. He captured my attention from the very first moment. (I will neither confirm nor deny that I watched the unaired pilot when it leaked). A character that keeps surprising you moment after moment.

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Musical specials are tough to get right. So often when I’ve gotten excited and looked forward to one, it’s been a flop instead. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been bad before per se, but you either feel the very clear disconnect from story or its somehow too over the top.

“Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam” however, gets it right–written by Ildy Modrovich and directed by Sherwin Shilati, it’s a work of art from beginning to end. The musical works with the story without feeling as though it’s just using its incredibly talented cast for the sake of a random episode. Which, don’t get us wrong, sometimes those random musicals work, but there’s something about this one that’s unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years and it’s because of how beautifully it progresses the story along too.

The first and last are magic and the middle hits just right with the emotional beats while it contributes to a fun bop fest with songs I didn’t think would work so well. And that’s largely what makes it so great because each of the chosen songs are downright accurate to evoke whatever necessary including, Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” used to breakdown a crime scene. And no, we didn’t need a high school field showcase with the detectives led by Aimee Garcia’s Ella, but we’re glad we got it. It’s always the things you think you don’t need that work so well.

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Spoilers Ahead

For a series to be on air for five seasons and get better through time is a true rarity in television, especially in procedurals. And no, Lucifer wasn’t always perfect—the first season takes some time to gain momentum, but once it does, it’s smooth sailing until the end of two. While there are a number of incredible episodes in season three, the majority of it struggles to find its footing. But even when situations got frustrating on this series, and we aren’t getting the things we wanted, this is a show that continuously set up stories that’d work in the long run.

Season 5A starts off strong and 5B finishes it exquisitely, however devastating that ending is, the thing with this show is that we find it hard to believe they don’t have a grand plan. As a devout Christian, I’ve always been incredibly skeptical to give this show a chance because of its title, but the way it has always handled redemption and Lucifer’s journey with vulnerability has been stunning to watch.

And the latter half of the fifth season handled God and Lucifer’s relationship most beautifully when it carried out the message of love with full force. No matter our faith or how we exercise it, it’s hard to believe that God wouldn’t love all his children, and this season cemented that notion by giving father and son the opportunities to explore the tethers and tears between them.

At the end of the day, this series has always been about parents and children. It’s been about finding absolution in the vulnerability that’s discovered when learning to love one another.

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