The Lucifer season 5 trailer revealed that Lucifer’s life will be usurped by his twin brother, Michael – but in doing so, Netflix spoiled a big twist. Based on a version of the character created by Neil Gaiman – and then spun-off into the solo series by Mike Carey – Lucifer offered a fresh take on the well-known biblical figure. Debuting on Fox, the series ran for three seasons before being canceled. The series was resurrected by Netflix for a fourth season, however. Soon after, Lucifer was renewed again for a fifth outing. Though it was initially to be the final season, the streaming service has since backtracked and confirmed Lucifer season 6.
After countless millennia ruling over Hell, Lucifer Morningstar and his trusted lieutenant Mazikeen abandoned their duties. Heading to Earth, Lucifer opened a piano bar called Lux and dedicated his life to indulging the desires of himself and select humans. After a chance meeting with a detective named Chloe Decker, however, the carefree lives of Lucifer and Maze were forever changed and made altogether more complicated. Lucifer season 4 culminated with Lucifer and Chloe admitting their feelings for each other. Unfortunately, with a doom-laden prophecy hanging over their union, Lucifer returned to his throne in Hell. Fans have waited ever since to see how Lucifer would eventually make his way back to Earth and to Chloe.
The official trailer for Lucifer season 5 at first seemed to offer a glimpse of that moment. But it was soon revealed that everything was not as it seemed. Confronted by a distraught Maze regarding the decision to return to Hell, “Lucifer” announced that he was actually the angel Michael – Lucifer’s twin brother. Michael declared that he planned to take over Lucifer’s life and also clashed openly with Amenadiel. Though that plan may initially involve pretending to be Lucifer, it will clearly go beyond such a ruse. Revealing in the trailer what could’ve been a huge twist lends itself to that idea – with Michael’s identity quite probably known to everyone by the end of the first episode. The trailer already had Chloe suspecting something was off about him. To have kept her in the dark, even in the face of Michael’s excuses, would’ve likely undermined her skills as a detective. Equally, it would have been incongruous with the bond she had built with the real Lucifer – especially since she has several ways to test his veracity.
Dragging out the reveal on the show would have also likely drawn ire from fans. If the show waited for several episodes before pulling the rug, fans would’ve felt robbed of the real Lucifer for all that time. Even if he was revealed to the audience early, the frustration would have equally felt watching their beloved characters remain oblivious. That would be especially true in the case of Chloe. The relationship between Chloe and Lucifer has been a slow-burn affair. To have her seemingly get with Lucifer only to learn that it’s a deceptive Michael would’ve been too much for “Deckerstar” supporters to bear. Also, the connotations of such an act would be a disturbing direction to take. As such, it’s smart of the show to bypass the potential anger and fears with the trailer reveal that Michael is posing as Lucifer – as well as showing that characters will learn early and the real Lucifer will emerge sooner rather than later to deal with it. Exciting fans with the knowledge that they will be getting two distinct Ellis performances for the price of one is equally shrewd.
This isn’t the first time a Netflix show has done such things. Stranger Things similarly wasted little time revealing Hopper’s fate in the first season 4 trailer. Dropping the bombshell has merely served to pose a whole new host of questions and raised the tension in a wholly different way. In Lucifer‘s case, it will have fans pouring over the trailer to determine which parts are the real Lucifer and which isn’t. Equally, by letting this reveal out of the bag early, it implies that Lucifer season 5 has even bigger twists waiting in the wings.
