The character (or this particular adaptation of him) originated from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series where he abandons his position as ruler of Hell and takes up residence in Los Angeles. FOX has made the controversial move of making this series a paranormal crime thriller, not unlike Sleepy Hollow, by teaming up Lucifer Morningstar with the LAPD.
A lot of people are calling it a contradiction, asking why the Prince of Darkness would want to stop criminals. To be fair, Carey's Lucifer is obsessed with free will and purposefully acts in ways that contradict the tired stereotypes mankind has created for him. Refusing to lie. Saving the world. Of course, none of this is done out of compassion, kindness or emotion. His actions are taken for himself, on principle.
The beginning of the trailer is somewhat promising. His speech is very similar to one he gives in the Sandman series - pointing out human's obsession with using the devil as a scapegoat. Explaining that we can never sell our souls, but through our own actions we can walk freely into Hell.
And then it looks like the writers quit trying.
Violently killing a woman to create motivation for a male character is honestly one of the most overly used and lazy tropes in film and television (not to mention comics, video games and books). It's called the Woman in the Refrigerator trope, referencing a Green Lantern comic in which Kyle Rayner comes home to find his girlfriend killed and stuffed into a refrigerator. Examples (often more than one) can be found in the Punisher, Supernatural, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Max Payne, Breaking Bad etc. etc. etc.
I hate that I have to even say this, but this doesn't mean I do not enjoy these movies/shows or that you shouldn't either... or even that this plot point shouldn't ever be used... the problem is that it is CONSTANTLY used. The frequency of its use shows both that there is clearly something going on here with women's representation and also that there is a lack of originality on the writer's behalf.
The reason this particular instance irks me so much is twofold. First of all, it doesn't suit the character. This seems to be the event that sparks his involvement with the LAPD and his reaction to her death appears awfully personal and emotional. Oddly so for such a cold character.
Secondly, he's fucking Lucifer Morningstar. The devil himself! If you really can't think of a motivation other than "let's kill the girl he wants to bone" then you should really quit the whole writing thing now. Just go home. And guys, you should be offended by this. Apparently your entire gender is so boring that the only thing that spurs you to do anything story-worthy is the bloody slaughter of the people you love.
Anyway, give me your thoughts in the comments. Hopefully I'm wrong and what's not said in the trailer completely changes the direction this show is going. We'll just have to wait and see.
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