"Daniel Espinoza: Naked and Afraid" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of Lucifer.[1]
Summary[]
A straightforward prisoner transport job turns into an increasingly dangerous, yet oddly invigorating, odyssey for Dan.
Plot[]
The episode opens with Dan doing his morning routine and heading to work. Dan stared at his paperwork, as Lucifer pops up to annoy him as normal; asking if he's lost the ability to read now. Dan silently ignores him, only for Lucifer to ask if he's lost the ability to speak as well; having achieved evolution to his "final form". Rather than snap at him like normal or even be fearful, Dan finally tells Lucifer in a weary tone that it's just not the same anymore; Lucifer would tease him, Dan would get annoyed and then the cycle would continue. But now that Dan knows he is the Devil he says it feels like Ghengis Khan or Darth Vader is messing with him. Lucifer is offended “I'm not some bloody villain, Daniel! Oh, well, if you're gonna be cruel about it. Don't be coming to me for any favors.” Dan assures him he won't.
Chloe then tells Lucifer to give Dan some time, “Look, I'm sorry you're hurt that you can't annoy Dan...because it's the strange little game that you two play to show that you're friends. But he's not participating anymore.” Lucifer assures her he doesn’t care what Dan does, and wants to start working, and tackle a new case, but there aren't any. The only thing on the table is an extradition from Mexico to LA – grunt work. Lucifer has the perfect candidate for the job.
Dan agrees to go to Mexico, “I think a drive might be good for me. It'll give me some time to think about things.” Chloe, however, is concerned because the officer that Dan has to meet is his old friend, Luis Navarro (Wilmer Calderon). Luis is trouble, so Chloe tells Dan to be careful. Dan thanks her for her concern, “I've got it all under control. Promise.”
Dan meets Luis, who tells him “There was a screw up in the paperwork. The prisoner won't be discharged till tomorrow morning.” He says he got Dan a room, and suggests a few drinks at the bar he is part owner of for old time's sake, and says he wants his advice on how to turn back from the slippery slope he had been on, career-wise. Dan tells him, “Couple years back, I got into some trouble on Palmetto Street. Long story short, I got in way over my head, and I realized that when your motives are bad and when you're only out for yourself, your actions have consequences.” The two are joined by Benito (Mario Rocha) and they start drinking tequila.
In the morning, Dan wakes up naked to discover Benito is lying next to him, dead. Dan is off balance and remains so for the rest of the episode, he want to call the cops, but Luis stops him. He says he knows who killed Benito, and confesses he’s in some trouble with the Russian mafia, and they killed Benito to send a message. Luis owes them money so he asks Dan to deliver his payment. Dan refuses at first, but Luis says the Russians will come after his family if he doesn’t get the money to them. Dan gives in, being well acquainted with the Russians.
On the way back to LA, the prisoner, Camila (Chelsea Rendon) asks a lot of questions about the box and when Dan won't play, she nods and says that everyone has their demons, Dan replies, “I don't have any demons. Unless you count the fact I've been working with the Devil for the last few years, but that's, you know, out of my control.” She then tells him God saved her. Dan laughed, and suggested she be careful, because you think you know things then life blindsides you. Then a truck t-bones Dan’s car and he loses consciousness.
When he comes to, Camila is gone, the box is gone, and his car has been tagged by Los X’s , and he has spray paint on his forehead. A car approaches and Dan flags it down. Dan is surprised to see the occupants, Ryan (Adam Kulbersh) and Kevin (Chris Yonan) from Improv class. Dan asks for a ride back to LA, and gets dropped at Lux. He is forced to go to Lucifer to ask for a favor, the Devil is amused, “Really, Daniel, I'd do a spit take, but this is single malt.”
Dan explains he knows where to pick Camila back up, and that he can't call the police for back up because of Luis' box. Then he asks if Lucifer's father could be behind this because it feels like the whole universe is against him. Lucifer is definite, “I can guarantee He's dealing with something much bigger than this.” Lucifer agrees to help, but only if they do things his way, “I'm not your muscle, Daniel. I don't just go in and beat people up like some hired goon.”
Dan sneaks into the back of Los X bike shop as Lucifer enters to distract them with money. He is surprised that the bike shop is just that, no motorcycles, just bicycles. He said it would not be the first time he spent too much on something he could not use. Camila wondered if his British ass was too fancy for a bike. Another X admonished her, “Hey, mija, not everybody had their pops around to teach them everything when they was young. Don't go making hurtful assumptions. You don't know this man's story.” Lucifer said that was indeed his story, and he and the Xs bond over daddy issues. In the back, Dan works on picking a lock on a gated cage where he spotted the box, but when he hears someone else he hides and watches the new guy open the gate and grab the box. Dan points his gun and takes the box and has the guy handcuff himself to a gate. Once outside, Dan encounters a guard dog.
Lucifer’s session ends with him telling everyone “One thing I've learned in therapy is that we need to be gentle with ourselves before we're gentle with anybody else.” They hear the dog barking and the Xs want to check it out. Lucifer tries to keep them in the shop so Dan can get away. But then Dan runs into the shop, and Camila recognizes Dan. Lucifer tells him, “Dan, go. If this really is an emergency, I'll take care of them.” He then refuses to lend Dan his car, so Dan takes a bike and rides away.
As he makes his getaway, Dan notices the box is bleeding. He doesn’t see the car in front of him and crashes. Dan rolls over the hood of the car and Benito’s head falls out of the box. Luis appears and picks it up. He says Dan should never look in the box and then they knock him out. Dan wakes up in his apartment. Luis is there and tells him he is in a war with the Russians. Benito was his bookkeeper who betrayed him by working with the Russians, so he killed him. He sent a message, the head, through Dan “If the Russians decide to kill the messenger, I lose nothing, they're cop killers. But if somehow you survive, well, now you're on the hook for transporting human remains across crime syndicates.” Luis says he has injected Dan with Ayquina neurotoxin, and he now has 10 hours to live unless he kills the Russians bookkeeper, then Luis will give him the antidote.
Dan runs to Ella for help; not with the poison but to set up the perfect crime scene for a fake murder. She gives him the supplies and he heads off to a house by the lake where Svetlana (Julia Emelin), the Russian bookkeeper lives. He knocks on the door and tells her that they are going to fake her death. Svetlana acts like she’s playing along, but then she hits him in the head, knocking him out again. Dan wakes up alone in Svetlana’s house, his bag and his car are gone. Dan calls the one person who can help him; Amenadiel. The angel can see that Dan is in some kind of trouble and wants to help. Dan appreciates that but says he can figure it out, but for now, he needs a lift. Amenadiel points out he is not an Uber, but agrees to fly Dan home.
At his apartment, he finds Maze. She heard he was spinning out of control and she wanted to see it for herself. He tells her this is the worst day of his life, he keeps getting knocked out, and that can’t be good. Maze tells him to spill, and he asks that she doesn’t laugh. She does, of course. She says she will contact the Russians to set up a meeting so Dan can pretend to set up Luis. No one gets hurt, and Dan lives. And she has given him the alias, Joe Stone.
The Russian boss, Andrei (Arthur Darbinyan) agrees to the meet. Lucifer closes Lux for a 'private party' so Dan can conduct his business. Dan thanks Lucifer for the backup, but the devil corrects him, “Oh, no, I'm not going to be there.... Well, I have history with the Russians. Trust me, this won't work properly if I'm there.” But since Maze won’t be there for a while and Dan has no one to back him up, he really only needs is people who act tough. So he hired Ryan and his improv troop to back Dan.
Before Dan can get them out of there, Luis shows up. Dan asks for the antidote, but Luis wants proof of death first. Maze shows up with Svetlana. She wants to give her to Luis so Dan can get the antidote and Luis can kill the bookkeeper himself. The Russians arrive, ready to save Svetlana. It’s a stand-off as everyone pulls their guns.
Dan is in a panic, “All right, everybody, just take a breath, all right? This has gotten completely nuts! I have no idea how we got here! None of this makes any sense! It's like one crazy thing after another! But we have the power to stop this. Right now!” Everyone lowers their guns until Camila and Los Xs show up. Ryan steps up and raises his gun, Camila’s gang shoots him. Then everyone is shooting. Luis drops the antidote. Maze grabs Dan and tells him to get the vial. Dan crawls after it as it is kicked about the floor. Around him, everyone gets shot until Luis, Dan, and Maze are the only ones left standing. Dan picks the antidote, but Luis shoots it. He points his gun at Dan and says adios. Maze jumps in front of Dan, taking the bullet for him. Andrei revives enough to shoot Luis. Lux is carpeted with bodies, with only Dan still standing. He goes to Maze, crying that he is sorry, when Lucifer arrives, “Daniel! What did you do?”
Dan says he was trying to help. Lucifer nods, “Well... now you see that sometimes when you're trying to do the right thing, other people who don't deserve it end up getting shot.” Ryan then starts to laugh and all the bodies join in and sit up. Maze laughs at the look on Dan’s face. Everyone gets up and starts clapping. Dan is in shock and Lucifer is all smiles, “Job absolutely well done! As promised, wrap party starts now. There's an open bar, food trucks in the back. Give yourselves a pat on the back, people.” He then grabs a selfie with Dan and says he's going to frame it. Luis apologizes to Dan, but Lucifer offered him a lot of money to play. Andrei hugs Dan, saying that was the most fun he’s ever had, and invites Dan to his wedding. Lucifer suggests Dan call Amenadiel, Linda, Ella, and Chloe who were not in on the joke. Dan is still in shock, he thought Maze was dead. She says, “You think I'd take a bullet for you? Well...not in the chest, anyway.”
Lucifer joins Dan at the bar and tells him he spent $5,004,157 on the prank and that it was worth it. He says the hardest part was keeping Chloe out of it. Dan doesn't understand how Lucifer could pull it off, and he replies, “I knew that you would never give up. At every opportunity to quit, I knew that your oafish optimism would keep you going. I suppose I realized that whenever you're given a choice, you always at least try and do the right thing.” Dan thanks Lucifer, he says he’s been in a weird place (since Cain and Michael messed things), and he’s over it now, Lucifer helped him. But that’s not why Lucifer did it. So why? “Because you fucking shot me, Daniel!”
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar
- Lauren German as Chloe Decker
- Kevin Alejandro as Dan Espinoza
- D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel
- Lesley-Ann Brandt as Mazikeen
- Aimee Garcia as Ella Lopez
- Rachael Harris as Linda Martin
Guest Starring[]
- Wilmer Calderon as Luis Navarro
- Chelsea Rendon as Camila
- Adam Kulbersh as Ryan
- Arthur Darbinyan as Andrei
Co-Starring[]
- Christopher Cendana as Banger
- Julia Emelin as Svetlana
- William Guirola as Lucho
- Rich Paul as Vargas
- Mario Rocha as Benito
- Chris Yonan as Kevin
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The episode title is dropped by Lucifer Morningstar to Dan Espinoza at the end of the episode.
- This is the final episode in which Lucifer refer to Dan as "Detective Douche".
- At the wrap party in Lux at the end of the episode, Lucifer has arranged a huge tower of pudding, showing he really does care about Dan despite all of the mocking.
- In the final scene of the episode, Lucifer drops the first uncensored use of the word "fuck" in the entire series. The writers of the show had toyed with including more curses in the show following the move to Netflix for Season 4, but were unable to include it in a way that did not seem weird.[2] In this case, much like its interrupted usage in "Everything's Okay", it is used as a punchline.
- Lucifer mentions that there are lots of Easter eggs during the episode as they are listed below:
- In Dan's apartment, several posters for The Weaponizer, which is one of his and Lucifer favorite movie franchises, can be seen on the wall.
- Dan has several horror movie posters that reference to past episodes or other movies:
- A poster of Bog Shark seen in "Infernal Guinea Pig" it stars Joe Mason, who is a crew member in the Lucifer art department , a real life graphic designer.
- A poster for The Zamboni, for which the tag line is, "He'll put you on ice... Permanently," a reference to the first Deadpool.
- The Plunge is also a callback to "Infernal Guinea Pig," and a movie Dan said he liked.
- When Dan refers to Lucifer as Darth Vader, it is a callback to when Lucifer picked up a voice modulator in "A Priest Walks Into a Bar" and used it to say "Detective, I am your father," which is a riff on the Sith Lord's famous line "No. I am your father," in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
- Dan waking up naked multiple times throughout this episode references the episode, "Favorite Son", when he woke up naked at Chloe Decker's house after Mazikeen knocked him out and left him there to try and force him back with his ex, so Lucifer wouldn't be interested in her anymore.
- Dan is found going through a number of events that Chloe also went through during the series:
- Chloe was poisoned in "A Good Day to Die" and was in a race to get the antidote. Dan believed he was poisoned, but it turned out to be part of Lucifer's payback.
- Chloe was in a car crash in "Lady Parts" caused by Uriel, while Dan was in a car crash caused by Lucifer.
- The episode is Operation: Payback Dan which Lucifer plotted in "Spoiler Alert" although it has the added benefit of improving Dan's emotional state.
- Ella's novel in progress is about a forensic scientist who sees ghosts, based on her experiences with Azrael who allowed Ella to see her after a near death experience and told her she was a ghost in order to spend more time with her. This was previously mentioned in Season 3.
- Just before Amenadiel flies Dan back to the city, Dan warns him that he might pass out, which is a reference to when Michael flew him to an abandoned zoo and he passed out on the flight to and back.
- Los X's Gang's previously appearance was in "O, Ye of Little Faith, Father".
- Lucifer mentions the time where they lost a 12 year old girl in "Boo Normal".
- Severed head inside a delivery box is a call back to Season 2 where Dan received a package containing a severed head.
- Both Maze and Dan got involved with the Russian Gang back in Season 2.
- Right before the prank climaxes, Lucifer actually tells Dan the truth about what is to happen; no one would get hurt.
- "Vaya con Dios" was written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper in 1953. Les Paul and Mary Ford recorded the most popular version of this song that year.
- Lucifer makes a joke on "Vaya con Dios" saying "Vaya con Dad" instead. Lucifer made a similar saying to his father in the previous episode "Vaya con, well, you"
Links[]
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