| “ | Choice is an illusion | „ |
| — Jason Carlisle to Chloe in "Love Handles" | ||
Professor Jason Carlisle is the secondary antagonist of Season 2 in Lucifer, serving as the overarching antagonist of "Stewardess Interuptus," as the main antagonist of "Love Handles," the posthumous main antagonist of "A Good Day to Die," and as the posthumous overarching impetus of both "Candy Morningstar" and "Deceptive Little Parasite."
Carlisle was a college professor who lost his career and family because of choices he made in a life threatening situation; he saved his dissertation from a fiery car wreck, rather than aid the trapped driver, a college student, who then died. He would later conduct his own twisted experiment to prove he was not a monster; poisoning college students and to send them the antidote only if a successful person disfiguring the part of their body that made their career. He was tracked down by Lucifer Morningstar and Chloe Decker, but then committed suicide to avoid arrest.
History[]
Carlisle was a professor at Malibu State College. During an Uber ride, the vehicle crashed and caught fire. He managed to escape, but instead of helping the college student who was working as a driver, he saved his laptop, which contained his dissertation, his life’s work. The car then exploded, killing the driver.
The whole incident was caught on video and he became a pariah, eventually losing his job and his family as a result of the public outrage. Years later, he took a position at Pasadena University, but he was obsessed with the actions that ruined his life and formed a desperate theory that he had no choice, whether it was God, animal instinct, or something else, he concluded free will was a lie and that anyone would save themselves and their livelihood over another person.
He formed a plan to prove that he couldn't be blamed for what happened, and hired a criminal, Burt, to smuggle specialized poisons into the country in "Stewardess Interruptus". The package, however, was stolen by Andy Kleinberg, thinking they were drugs. Kleinburg ended up becoming Carlisle's first victim.
Throughout the Series[]
In "Stewardess Interruptus", Carlisle tracks Kleinberg to an airport in Chicago. Kleinberg accidentally poisoned himself, and asks what is happening to him. Carlisle simply strangles him, and takes the package back.
In "Love Handles", Carlisle sets his plan into motion. First, he poisons a student, Rick Cormier, via a flu shot. He then hacks the e-mail of student, Matthew Hoffing, and sends an e-mail to actor Johnny Kane. He tells Kane that Cormier will die in 24 hours unless Kane cuts up his own face. Kane didn't believe the message was for real and does not comply, and Cormier dies the next day. His death brings Chloe Decker and Lucifer Morningstar to investigate. A shocked Kane arrives with a knife, hoping it's not to late and tells the team of the e-mail.
Carlisle then poisons another student, Ashley Corbett, and sends an e-mail to Dr. Gwendolyn Scott, a renowned surgeon. He tells her that if she doesn't destroy her hand, Corbett will die in 24 hours. Lucifer and Chloe go to find Corbett. She is found and hospitalized, but the doctors are unable to cure the poison with the antidote they made from the poison used on Rick Cormier, as each poison is unique to the victim. Dr. Scott cannot let a girl die, and so sticks her hand into garbage disposal in her kitchen sink. Carlisle is sent a picture of her hand, so he sends Dr. Scott the antidote that will cure Corbett. Corbett receives this in time and survives.
Carlisle later postulates that the doctor only chose to save Corbett because she was being observed, so he abducts Leon Klem, a track star who's leg he places in a guillotine, and a student, Benjamin Tibi, who he attaches to a poisoned IV. Chloe and Lucifer learn about the flu shots from Ashley, and by extrapolation, Carlisle's identity. On Lucifer's advice, Chloe then sends Carlisle an e-mail, challenging and insulting him. Carlisle then video chats with them, informing them of the abductions. They deduce that he is at Pasadena, so Chloe and Lucifer rush to save his latest victims.
Carlisle is found in a lab, behind bullet-proof glass, and then offers a choice to Chloe. Enter the room with the abductees and she gets the antidote, but she will die due to poisonous gas. He then flees, Lucifer assures her that he can save the victims but she must go after Carlisle. Choosing to trust him, she takes off after the professor.
At one point she tackles him, and during a brief struggle, Carlisle injects her with poison. He scrambles away, and is eventually cornered by Chloe. She says he can still do the right thing and save Tibi, but Carlisle says choice is an illusion and cuts his own throat. Lucifer, meanwhile, saves both Tibi and Klem without harm to himself thanks to his angelic invulnerability. It is later revealed that Carlisle's soul, goes straight to Hell, where his Hell Loop has him relive the car crash that ruined his life over and over.
In "A Good Day to Die", Chloe is dying from Carlisle's poisoning. Lucifer manages to get the ingredients needed for the antidote, but not the measurements. Carlisle never wrote down the formula, as he liked to brag about the only place it existed was in his brain. So in order to save Chloe, Lucifer arranges to die so that he can return to Hell and track down Carlisle. With the help of Maze and Linda, he stops his heart and makes his way to Carlisle's Hell Loop.
Carlisle asks him how he can escape, and Lucifer replies that the only way to get out is for him to believe that he no longer deserves to be there. He then says that making amends for his past misdeeds may help end his guilt. Carlisle gives Lucifer the formula, and asks if it makes things right. Lucifer says, "You tell me," and starts walking away. Carlisle's Hell Loop continues, and Lucifer looks back and reveals himself as the Devil. Lucifer is then resuscitated, and he delivers the formula to save Chloe.
Abilities[]
- Skilled chemist: Carlisle was a skilled enough chemist to create his own poisons that were used on the college students. He was also smart enough to make the poisons all unique so that only he had the formula for the corresponding antidotes.
Appearances[]
| Season Two | ||
|---|---|---|
| #11 | "Stewardess Interruptus" | Appears |
| #12 | "Love Handles" | Appears |
| #13 | "A Good Day to Die" | Appears |
Trivia[]
- Jason being in hell shows no matter how much a human denies feeling guilt, if the guilt is there, no matter how much it's rationalized, the human goes to Hell.
- Jason Carlisle may be inspired in the iconic John Kramer better known as Jigsaw, the main antagonist of the Saw franchise.