‘Lucifer’ Season 3, Episode 20 ‘The Angel Of San Bernardino’ Recap: Trouble Sleeping? [SPOILERS]

The devil is back on our shoulders! On his return, he’s sleepless, restless and Chloe-less. “Piercecker” is official. Ella’s (Aimee Garcia) dream ship from the last episode has come to life. It might be the reason why Lucifer (Tom Ellis) isn’t getting his devilish beauty sleep. But, it’s more than simply being sleepless. In this week’s episode “The Angel Of San Bernardino,” Lucifer might just be unfurling his wings and saving people in his sleep. But, the devil is not willing to give up his title. This time, Lucifer is a real victim–and it might change everything.

A Guardian Angel Walks the Town

Lucifer’s return kicks off with a literal bang. A woman hears noises in the middle of the night. She checks it out and hears arguing, then a gunshot. She comes face to face with a masked man. And, the man would’ve killed her too but, someone saves her. Her hero? She thinks it’s an angel.

In the precinct, Chloe (Lauren German) and Pierce (Tom Welling) spend some steamy time together in the evidence closet, out of all places. But of course, duty always calls. On the crime scene, she and Luci meet Kevin Winstead, the victim and the black sheep of a wealthy real estate family. Apparently, the lad was a heroin addict but, Ella’s expert opinion says that he’s gone clean.

Chloe interrogates the witness. The woman claims to have been saved by an angel. As proof, she shows them the picture of an angel figurine that the angel allegedly took. Pierce asks Lucifer if it really was one of his siblings. But Lucifer smugly denies it. Speaking of siblings, Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) meets Lucifer at Lux to talk about the Charlotte situation. For the nth time, Amenadiel says that humans can’t handle such concepts of divinity such as angels. Per usual, Lucifer doesn’t care. As he walks towards his bed, he stumbles upon an angel figurine.

Lucifer Sleepwalks to Saintliness

Lucifer reveals his predicament to Dr. Linda (Rachael Harris). The doctor suggests that he might be sleepwalking, err, sleep-flying because he’s not dealing with some painful situations. (Does “Piercecker” ring a bell?) Lucifer denies it then sets out to prove that he’s not doing proper angel duties in his sleep without his consent.

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In Chloe’s apartment, she tries to kick Pierce out of the house before Trixie arrives. She explains that she’s not yet ready to introduce him to Trixie. But Pierce assures her that no matter the pace, he’s not leaving the ride. Another one of their moments is interrupted by a text from Lucifer which makes Chloe rush to the precinct.

Lucifer lights up on Chloe’s arrival and demands to find the killer immediately. He’s banking on the hopes that the lad could or could not tell if he was the angel that saved the woman’s life. Chloe takes out her papers and points to a man named Phil Goldstein.

They find Phil in the middle of a massage session in the rehab center. As he stubbornly refuses to answer nicely and politely, Lucifer loses his temper. He violently grabs ahold of Phil and forces the truth out of him. It turns out that Phil did fight with Kevin. Kevin was taking the whole rehab thing too seriously for Phil’s taste. Phil didn’t want a buzzkill.

As they walk out of the rehab center, Chloe questions Lucifer about what just happened. He tersely answers that he’s not getting enough sleep. Chloe convinces him to go home and sleep. Lucifer agrees but, not before borrowing her handcuffs.

The Devil Unfurls His Wings

That night, Lucifer goes to sleep gladly chained to a statue. But, he wakes up to Amenadiel shoving the morning papers to his face.  The Angel of San Bernardino strikes again, this time saving a family from a fire. Lucifer refuses to believe it’s him but, Amenadiel points out Lucifer’s ash-covered hands and the broken handcuff chain. Once again, Lucifer resorts to accusing his father of manipulation.

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Back in the precinct, Ella overhears Pierce’s cheesiness with Chloe on the phone. “I’ll order take out because being with you is the desert,” he says. Ella lowkey congratulates Pierce but, he admits that he feels that Chloe’s still holding back. Nevertheless, both of them are counting on Chloe saying the three sacred words. Elsewhere in the precinct, Charlotte wrecks the day of everyone she comes across by unleashing the bitch she once was. She comes across Dan (Kevin Alejandro) and drags him out.

The next on the list for Lucifer and Chloe are the Bells. Mrs. Bell is Kevin’s ex and the mother of his child. The couple explains that Kevin calls for money but, when he does, it’s Jeremy, Mrs. Bell’s husband, who answers the phone.

On the other side of town, Charlotte cajoles Dan to a couple of drinks. Dan tries to shimmy back to the precinct, but Charlotte successfully seduces him. She suggests that he go to the bar closet, take off his clothes and wait for her as she freshens up. Dan gladly complies. Sadly, it’s the bar manager who opens up the door later on and watches as Dan scampers to keep his dignity as a police officer intact.

The Devil Says Sleep is for the Week

To prevent sleepwalking again, Lucifer decides merely to banish sleep from his life. Maze calls Chloe and Maze insincerely apologizes. After which, Lucifer arrives looking disheveled. He reveals he’s finished all 12 seasons of “Bones” in a single week. They then head to the next suspect Matt Kessman who brawled with the victim a few weeks before the murder. Lucifer and Chloe find Matt at a wedding reception. Lucifer nabs him in the parking lot and starts spouting lines from “Bones.” After Chloe calms him down, they find out that Matt is an actor for hire. He was hired to keep Kevin partying and taking in the drugs through an agency called Masquerade Inc.

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Maze’s next stop is Pierce’s apartment. She calls him and his “using Chloe plan” ruthless, even for demon standards. However, Pierce cares more about dying than who he hurts. Back in the precinct, Lucifer grows more frantic. It comes to the point that he bursts out on Chloe. The truth comes rushing out of him with no restraint even about Pierce. Chloe’s eyes glisten with tears as she defends Pierce and comes to a syllable close to saying the L word about him. But she stops herself and leaves Lucifer.

Another aching heart is Charlotte’s. Amenadiel enters her office to find luxuries strewn around her office. Now that Charlotte knows the truth, she thinks Lucifer or Amenadiel can be her free pass to heaven. Charlotte’s relapsed to her old ways. Amenadiel explains that it doesn’t work that way. In reply, Charlotte admits that she’s never going to change. Only one thing comes to her mind: She’s going to hell.

Lucifer Finds No Angel

Chloe finally tells Trixie about Pierce. But, before Chloe could introduce the two, she glimpses a picture of Jeremy on the website of Masquerade Inc. Lucifer beat her to him, however. Jeremy comes down to their living room to find the devil waiting for him. It turns out, Jeremy is an actor for hire like Matt. Mrs. Bell hired him after she broke up with Kevin for appearance’s sake. Jeremy tries to deny it and threatens to call the police but, he snaps after Lucifer calls him a mediocre actor.

Jeremy confesses that he killed Kevin to keep him out of the Bells’ life forever. It was also him who hired Matt to keep Kevin busy. After all, Mrs. Bell is in love with him, and that gig is too sweet to let go. He attacks Lucifer but, the blade only breaks. Lucifer takes him by the neck and demands to know about the angel.

It turns out that there was no angel. There were only a woman and a murderer both in panic. The figurines cast the angel shadow the woman saw. And in Jeremy’s fear, he grabbed the figurine he touched and ran. He claims to have destroyed it immediately, however. In his own way, Lucifer delivers his punishment. Chloe arrives to find Jeremy curled up on the ground, quacking and confessing.

Maze Commits Her First Betrayal

Lucifer goes back to Lux and turns the place upside down in search of the figurine. It’s his only way to prove the truth to Chloe. Maze pretends to comfort him and even pours him a glass of whiskey. This gesture tips Lucifer off. Maze isn’t acting like herself. He realizes that the only reason Maze was there is because she’s helping Pierce. However, Maze corrects him. It wasn’t Pierce. It was her plan all along. She planted the angel figurine by Lucifer’s bed. And, she helped the family from the fire. As she taunts him about his daddy issues, Lucifer realizes that she’s only stalling him. He shoves her aside and bolts towards Chloe’s.

At Chloe’s apartment, Pierce arrives with a pack of beer and a whole serving of chocolate cake. They have another moment, and Chloe tells him about how she feels. Once again, she almost says the L word but Pierce suddenly stops her. Seemingly confused, he says that he can’t do it. “You’re making this too hard. It’s not worth it,” Lucifer tells Chloe before he leaves.

Lucifer arrives and finds Chloe distraught. He says no more as he heads to Pierce’s apartment. Crashing through the glass door, Lucifer marches towards Pierce and knocks him to the ground. Pierce stands back up and tells Lucifer that he had what he wanted most. Chloe just had to say the words. But, he couldn’t hurt Chloe like that. Lucifer knocks him to the ground again. As Pierce lies on the ground, saying that he deserves whatever Lucifer chooses to do with him, Lucifer notices something. Cain’s mark is gone.

“Lucifer” continues next Monday, April 23, with “Anything Pierce Can Do I Can Do Better” at 8/7c on FOX.