Lucifer – Welcome Back, Charlotte Richards

By: Paige Zinaman

What’s better than pudding? Lalo (Omar Leyva), the night security guard, is downing pudding cup after pudding cup when Simon (Jeff Bowser) comes in to make another batch as Lalo keeps eating. As Simon is putting in the ingredients he hears something behind him and as he hollers out Lalo comes back to his desk and sees the monitors flashing and immediately goes to check on Simon. Only, he finds him face down in the batch of pudding. Later that morning Trixie (Scarlett Estevez) is picking up her Wonder Woman doll when she notices the lasso missing. She says a bad word to which Chloe (Lauren German) hears, which results in Trixie putting money in her swear jar. As Chloe is holding the jar out for Trixie, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) comes in after receiving her text about meeting her and she tells him that they have a new case. He notices Chloe putting the swear jar down and thinks that she gives money to Trixie every time she says a swear word. Chloe explains that Trixie puts money into the jar so Lucifer tells Chloe he is impressed that she would extort money from her child. He turns to Trixie and starts to hand her money telling her to swear away when Chloe takes it from him telling her she’s trying to teach her accountability. He replies her that accountability is overrated. Chloe goes to head upstairs telling Trixie to put money in the jar and to get ready for school; however, as she’s about to put money in there Lucifer stops her.

As Lucifer and Chloe arrive to the scene they are met by Ella (Aimee Garcia) who is already examining the body and Dan (Kevin Alejandro) who informs them of who the victim is. Ella tells them that Simon didn’t die from drowning, but other than his Freddy look there’s no other wounds on his body leading her to believe that it was death by scalding. Lucifer jokes about how Dan must be taking this very hard as Dan tells him to not joke about it because this pudding is his favorite. Chloe stops between them before they can go any further asking Dan who found the body. They talk to Lalo when Lucifer points out the security cameras and he tells them that it’s due to the secret ingredient that Simon created so not everyone can know what’s “behind the curtain.” When asked if they could look at the footage he tells them that they’d have to take it up with his boss. Meanwhile at the station, Dan opens the fridge to his stack of pudding cups talking to himself and asking how he can eat them after everything that’s happened before looking up at the ceiling asking if someone was trying to tell him something. It’s at this point Lucifer shows up telling him that, “If He is, don’t let him inside your head.” Chloe tells Lucifer that the CEO of Pudding Plus is Adrian Yates (Matthew Yang King) who is waiting for them and that he brought the tapes. When they go to meet with him Chloe asks if he brought the tapes to which he tells them no. They ask him why when Charlotte (Tricia Helfer) arrives telling them that she told him not to.

Charlotte is struggling to regain normalcy as she prepares for the day telling herself that she is not crazy and that she will not let anyone think that she is as it will result in her being placed in a padded cell. Soon the flashback is over and she’s telling Lucifer and Chloe that they seemed shocked to see her. Chloe tells her that they didn’t expect to see her so soon and that her brush with death changed her. Lucifer is suspicious as to why Charlotte is back so he starts asking questions. He wonders why she’s there and she tells them that they were talking to her client without her there and notes that the little stunt will not happen again nor will they be getting the tapes. Chloe tells Charlotte that they just wanted Yates’ help and that it was all friendly, but now that she’s involved it makes it seem like something else is happening. When Lucifer asks Charlotte if she’s there because of him she tells him that if it was a personal visit he’d know and that the tapes reveal the secret formula that could cost the company millions of dollars if it gets out. Yates’ tells Chloe that all you see on the tapes is a scuffle off camera. Chloe tells them that it was a clue and then asks Yates’ who has access only to be cut off by Charlotte telling everyone that they are done.

Ella comes to talk to Dan as she sees Charlotte walk out. She tries to get Dan’s attention to walk away before he saw her, but it’s too late as he goes up to Charlotte to say hello. When she says hi and just walks away it leaves Dan confused as to why she’s ignoring him. Chloe and Lucifer head to a lead. While talking to him she notices that he is paying more attention to his phone and asks what’s so important. He tells her that he is trying to get ahold of Charlotte, which she asks why. He explains that he needs to know why she’s back. Chloe tells Lucifer that he needs a distraction right as a woman in a bikini walks by getting his attention. Everyone is eating pudding while dressed as angels as Chloe approaches Grace Foley (Suzanne Cryer) the one in charge of the pudding commercial. She tells them that she’s been trying to poach Simon ever since she found out about him. As they start to question her more she tells them that she wants her lawyer present to which Chloe tells Lucifer to use his mojo thing on her. When Lucifer does, Grace admits that she wants to stop shooting garbage like she’s doing now because all they are doing is selling sex that has nothing to do with pudding but distracts from the fact her pudding tastes like crap. Grace tells them that she didn’t have to kill Simon to get the recipe because he offered to sell it to her three days prior; however, before she could agree to his terms he was murdered but not by her because she needed Simon alive. Chloe notices someone following them. Chloe stops the man and explains that he works for Yates’ and that his job is to stop corporate espionage. He tells Chloe that he’s not saying anything else without his lawyer.

Dan is waiting in the lobby of Charlotte’s offices when she comes down to meet with him. He asks her what is going on and why she’s been giving him the cold shoulder. She apologizes saying that she’s had a lot going on and he asks her after all the time they were together what she thought they were. She turns the question around on him and asks the same thing. Dan tells her that nothing that’s happened makes sense to him. He tells her that he’s going to let it go and let Lucifer deal with her because he was the only one to understand her. When she asks if he and Lucifer were close Dan tells her that they were close in ways he’d never understand. Chloe is getting off the phone with Trixie’s school and tells Lucifer that she got in trouble for saying very creative things. Chloe tells him that it is because he is making her job more difficult as a parent. Lucifer opens the door to find Charlotte’s firm sent someone else over to represent “The Fixer” (Ian Reed Kesler). Lucifer leaves.

Lucifer arrives back to his penthouse to find Charlotte waiting for him. He tells her he knew she was back for a reason then demanding he tell her why; however, before he could say anything else Charlotte is kissing him. Lucifer manages to get away from Charlotte who is very confused as to why he’s acting the way he is and trying to piece together what’s happened with her. Lucifer tells her that they were more like family when Charlotte tells him that she can’t take it anymore. She’s missing months of time like someone else was living her life and ruining everything. She tells Lucifer that she doesn’t know why her husband got custody of their kids or why she’s being denied visitation rights, but she pretends to know because she doesn’t want people to think she’s crazy. She tells Lucifer it felt like she was trapped in some horrible nightmare living it over and over again like being in Hell. She asks Lucifer how she can make sure that she never goes back he tells her that this is her second chance and to do it right. Chloe, who is getting nowhere with “The Fixer,” goes to leave telling them that she will leave it to a jury. As Chloe is leaving, “The Fixer” tells her that there was no other side and that Grace neglected to tell her the companies decided to merge which is confirmed by his lawyer. Lucifer and Charlotte show up as Chloe is talking to Dan and Ella and tells them that Charlotte comes baring gifts as she hands over a flash drive that contains the security footage Chloe asked for. Chloe asks why she’s giving it to them now after being so opposed and Charlotte explains that it’s recently come to her attention that she needs to make a change and that if she can prove her client innocent and help Chloe catch her killer than it’s a step in the right direction. Everyone is watching the video. Dan continues to eat his pudding when Ella notices something in the video and knocks the pudding cup out of his hand telling him she just saved his life pointing out that the two secret ingredients in the pudding combined poisons people.

As they discuss who would have wanted Simon dead for exposing the ingredients Charlotte tells them that they have three protentional killers to which Lucifer points out that she represents them all. This doesn’t sit well with Charlotte who she rushes out of the room. Lucifer goes after her asking where she’s going. She tells him she’s going to “join the Peace Corp, donate my entire savings to an orphanage or build a shelter for blind one-legged puppies.” Charlotte says to him that the video was supposed to clear her, but instead she is now representing three possible guilty parties and if that’s true how guilty does that make her…Chloe and Lucifer talk to Lalo again who tells them of the time he and Simon went out drinking and Simon told him that he was going to kill himself. Dan confirms that suicide looks more likely detailing that Simon donated his money and gave away his pet turtle. Lucifer tries to call Charlotte only in be told she went to meet some clients. That gives Lucifer a bad feeling. Charlotte meets with Grace, Adrian and “The Fixer” telling them no one was leaving until she knows who killed Simon pulling out a gun and placing it on the table.

She tells them that there is a chance she’s suffering a nervous break-down and they tell her that they didn’t kill Simon. Lucifer arrives just as Charlotte fires the gun at “The Fixer” who was attempting to leave. He tells Charlotte that they are innocent and that he knows she wants to clear her leger, but she has to trust him. Charlotte gives Lucifer the gun as their confessions were caught by Lucifer who had Chloe on the phone the whole time. Lucifer welcomes Charlotte back and tells her he is looking forward to knowing the real her.