‘Lucifer’ Season 6: Why Does Lucifer Abandon Rory?
Leading up to Lucifer Season 6’s debut on Netflix, fans speculated about the show’s new Big Bad. The trailer for the final episodes teased a character named Rory (Brianna Hildebrand) who most assumed was related to Lucifer (Tom Ellis). That theory turned out to be true, but not in the way fans anticipated. Rory’s beef with Ellis’ devil turned out to be an unexpected development — one that changes everything for him.
[Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Lucifer Season 6.]
‘Lucifer’ Season 6 reveals Rory is Lucifer’s daughter
Lucifer Season 6 settles the debate about Rory’s identity, revealing she’s actually Lucifer and Chloe’s (Lauren German) daughter. Rory travels through time to seek revenge against her father, claiming he abandoned her the same way God left him.
Much of season 6’s plot revolves around Lucifer trying to make things right with Rory, all while questioning why he would leave her behind. According to Rory, Lucifer doesn’t even show up when Chloe is on her deathbed. That’s definitely out of character for the show’s devil.
Of course, the series finale, “Partners ‘Til the End,” answers the question Rory raises: why did Lucifer abandon her? As it turns out, he had a noble reason for doing so — one she comes to endorse.
Why does Lucifer leave Rory and Chloe behind?
So, why does Lucifer abandon Rory and Chloe in Lucifer Season 6? The show’s time-travel plot comes full circle to explain that.
After the trio survives Rory being kidnapped by Vincent Le Mec (Rob Benedict), they come to two important revelations. One, Rory still hasn’t returned to her timeline — meaning her trip hasn’t changed anything about the future yet. And two, Dan (Kevin Alejandro) made it to Heaven after all.
Upon further reflection, they realize Lucifer helped Dan escape his Hell loop, something he could do for others as well. Chloe and Rory then push him to save the other souls stuck in Hell.
Although Lucifer claims he can live his life on Earth and pursue this calling, Rory realizes her anger at being abandoned is exactly what leads to this revelation in the first place. Before returning to her time, she begs him not to change anything. He gives her his word, and not long after, he bids farewell to Chloe and departs for Hell.
Rory’s introduction helped the showrunners reach their planned ending
Lucifer‘s showrunners always planned to separate Lucifer and Chloe, then reunite them upon her death. However, the show’s season 6 renewal gave them the perfect opportunity to build to that end by introducing Rory’s character.
During an interview with Collider, Joe Henderson explained that this storyline enabled them to delve into their planned ending properly:
“It was the idea that Chloe has a calling on Earth, Lucifer has a calling in Hell, and understanding that they had to be separate for a bit until they could be together again. But again, with this point of season 6, we’re able to really dig into the why.”
Ildy Modrovich added that they “wanted Lucifer to be in his dad’s shoes” and used Rory’s time-travel plot to get there.
All in all, Rory’s introduction gave the characters a compelling mystery to solve during the final season — alongside saving the world, mind you. It’s a shame it cost Lucifer time with his family, but it does bring his story to a fitting end.
Lucifer Season 6 is now streaming on Netflix.
