‘Lucifer’: The Best and Worst Episodes of Season 5, According to IMDb
Lucifer escaped cancellation after its third season by moving from Fox to Netflix. That was the first time the show evaded its end, but it wasn’t the last. Netflix intended for Lucifer Season 5 to be the series’ last hurrah, a decision it later went back on. In July 2021, the streamer announced it would give the showrunners 10 more episodes to wrap up Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and Chloe’s (Lauren German) story.
Lucifer Season 6 recently concluded the devilish show’s run, but its fifth season ramped things up as it approached its end. Season 5 finally brought Lucifer and Chloe together in a more satisfying way while placing a greater emphasis on the show’s supporting cast. Judging by the highest-rated episodes, fans approved of both choices.
‘Lucifer’ Season 5 was almost the show’s final outing
Lucifer recently ended its run, but season 5 was initially supposed to be the show’s last outing. Showrunners Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich told Collider they’d already finished planning the series’ conclusion when Netflix approached them about doing 10 more episodes. Of course, a sixth season enabled the duo to give Lucifer a bigger and better sendoff.
Still, Lucifer‘s fifth season episodes definitely give viewers a sense of approaching the end. Since its arrival on Netflix, the show took on a faster pace and put a greater emphasis on the overarching plot rather than episodic cases. That remained true throughout season 5, which could have brought certain arcs to an end if it wanted to.
As for which season 5 episodes fans enjoyed the most, both focused heavily on the characters — even the supporting ones.
Two season 5 episodes tie for the highest-rated installment
Two episodes of Lucifer Season 5 tie for the highest-rated installment of the season — and both focus heavily on supporting characters. “Spoiler Alert” and “Is This Really How It Ends?” both snagged 9.4 ratings on IMDb, dominating a season whose reviews mostly fell in the 8-star range.
“Spoiler Alert” sees Michael kidnapping Chloe, though Lucifer and Dan (Kevin Alejandro) initially believe the Whisper Killer has taken her. But even if the Whisper Killer isn’t responsible for Chloe’s disappearance, he does turn out to be someone other than the guy Lucifer and Chloe initially arrested. In fact, it turns out Ella’s (Aimee Garcia) new boyfriend is responsible for killing all those women — a revelation that proves difficult for her.
While “Spoiler Alert” focuses on Ella, “Is This Really How It Ends?” marks the end of the line for Dan. The episode sees him getting fatally shot by Vincent Le Mec (Rob Benedict). The scenes that follow his fate are nothing short of heartbreaking, so it’s probably no surprise fans loved this installment more than the rest.
Some IMDb reviewers even suggested “Is This Really How It Ends?” might be the best episode of the show overall. Others called it an “emotional roller coaster” with an “unexpected” ending. Clearly, those things worked in its favor. Sadly, one of the earlier episodes of Lucifer Season 5 didn’t fare as well.
Fans didn’t love the detective noir episode of ‘Lucifer’
While most reviews of Lucifer Season 5 fell in the same rating range, one stood out as the least-loved. “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken,” which sees Lucifer recounting a story about Maze’s (Lesley-Ann Brandt) mother, received a 6.6-star rating on IMDb. That leaves it far below the rest of the episodes in Lucifer‘s fifth season.
Of course, this installment is one of Lucifer’s experimental episodes — and evidently, fans didn’t take to it. As Lucifer recalls his last interaction with Maze’s mother, fans watch it play out in black and white. He tells a detective noir story featuring the show’s cast as new characters. And while it’s an interesting addition to the series, it diverges quite a bit from what fans are used to.
The episode also doesn’t tie into the greater plot, and fans criticized it as “filler” in the reviews. They also didn’t love the pacing, with many of them calling “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken” dull and tedious.
Fortunately, most episodes of the series don’t receive those reactions — but every show misses once in a while. All six seasons of Lucifer are currently streaming on Netflix.
