Lucifer Season 5: Maze is not just a demon

Lucifer Season 5 had a great arc for Maze that we really can’t discount

Lucifer Season 5, Part 1 brought some big developments on the Deckerstar front, and everyone’s (rightly) talking about them. But just because the Netflix series delivered on the romantic front, that doesn’t mean other characters and relationships weren’t important, too.

Putting all the supernatural drama aside for a minute, let’s take a look at the self-doubt and abandonment issues that plagued Maze for much of the eight-episode arc. It all started with Mazikeen standing in as Chloe’s rock, trying to fill the massive Lucifer-sized gap in her world.

She became Chloe’s partner in (solving) crime and helped keep her distracted from the overwhelming sense of aloneness and heartbreak she was trying to grapple with after the love of her life had disappeared to Hell, possibly never to return.

It didn’t take long to realize that, for as much as she was trying to convince Chloe that everything would be okay, Maze very much feared that it wouldn’t. Sometimes, the strongest among us—and the ones that are outwardly so capable of protecting us when we need someone to lean on—are the ones that are the most lost. And Mazikeen’s behavior was such a universal, human embodiment of that often-forgotten truth.

Maze was told she’s “just a demon” in Lucifer Season 5 but she’s so much more

Being abandoned by Lucifer while simultaneously losing Eve was somewhat of a breaking point for everyone’s favorite demon. It brought up long-lasting issues for Mazikeen, caused by her mother just leaving her and all her siblings to the Devil’s care without any contact.

Lilith’s choice was supposed to make Maze and her fellow demons “strong,” to make them not need anyone. Instead, it created an unbreakable character that was also fundamentally broken on the inside.

Spending so much time in the human world and bonding with people like Chloe Decker and even—initially grudgingly—young Trixie made Maze yearn for more. Seeing the Deckerstar bond, somehow even stronger than ever, made her fear she’d never find that kind of connection.

And then there was hearing all about Dr. Linda’s own decision to give her daughter up for adoption, something that initially touched a nerve for Maze because of what her own mother had done. It stirred up all her own rage and pain even more than everything that came before; and when she went back for one last chance to confront her mother, it was too late.

So, Maze spent a lot of Lucifer Season 5A acting based on emotions instead of using that calculating, fighting spirit she’d been groomed to have. She asked more than one person—her King, Lucifer, most often—if there was any chance she’d ever be able to gain a soul so she could have that kind of love she was witnessing all around her. So she wouldn’t feel this foreign feeling of being so alone, of being the outsider.

Lucifer repeatedly told Maze that she couldn’t have that because she was “just a demon,” and all it did was hurt her even more—something he was still too emotionally stunted to realize. It caused her to make one terrible decision after another, even joining Michael by the end of Episode 8.

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But looking at the Mazikeen we know, and looking at the broad range of emotions—from that usual fierce determination to unspeakable pain—she’s already experienced, given to us in a devastatingly wonderful performance by Lesley-Ann Brandt, isn’t it obvious that everyone’s favorite demon is more than just that?

If she’s already managed to want something more and has already managed to need people when she was never supposed to be able to, shouldn’t that be a sign of hope for her future?

And as Amenadiel reminded Maze this season, plenty of other things—like his child with Linda and even the Deckerstar of it all—were unheard of until they weren’t. So, even if no demon has ever gained a soul before (in the world of Lucifer Season 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer clearly doesn’t exist), isn’t anything possible?

Even if she can never gain a soul, though, Maze will forever be more than “just a demon” to everyone who loves this series. Her journey has been about as human as it can get—except, well, for the whole immortal thing.

It would do the Devil Himself well to remember that Mazikeen has always been there for him; she has been his most trusted and loyal protector for what may as well amount to forever in Hell time. No one who is “just a demon” would stand by his side the way she has; someone so easily written off would not have cared for him and been more of a sister to him than any of his own brothers or sisters.

Maze is the girl who stood by Chloe’s side when Lucifer was away; and she’s Dr. Linda’s friend, who brought her out on girls’ night when she realized she needed some time for herself. Mazikeen is the person—or demon, whatever—you want in your corner when you’re alone because nobody knows what that’s like better than her.

It’s possible to be both the strongest character in the room and the most in need of a real friendship. If nothing else about this series is true, then Maze has certainly proven that.

So, hopefully, that will mean good things for Mazikeen when Lucifer Season 5, Part 2 hits Netflix. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Catch Lesley-Ann Brandt’s incredible performance as Mazikeen in Lucifer Season 5A, now streaming on Netflix.