The abandoned twist would have altered a major storyline from the final season.
Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson has revealed a shock twist that almost made it into the season five finale and would have majorly altered the structure of the final episodes.
The show’s last season dropped on Netflix over the weekend, bringing an end to the love story between Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) and Chloe Decker (Lauren German), while also featuring a major subplot for a beloved supporting character.
Midway through season six, the LAPD’s resident forensic expert Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia) finally discovers that some of her closest friends are in fact celestial beings, after years of being left in the dark as everyone around her found out the truth.
However, she almost had the life-altering revelation in the Lucifer season five finale instead, as Henderson disclosed in an interview with Comic Book Resources.
“Initially, in season five’s finale, we were going to end with Ella finding out via Charlie’s wings [that Celestials exist],” he said. “We were gonna have a scene where one of her last moments was finding out the truth.”
He continued: “She’s babysitting [Amenadiel’s son] Charlie. They all come home. She’s like, ‘Guys, there’s something wrong.’ And they’re like, ‘What?’ And she’s holding up Charlie and he’s got wings.
“And they’re like, ‘Ella, we can explain this!’ And she’s like, ‘No, I think I’ve always sort of known. I get it. I know.’”
In the version that saw release, Amenadiel’s infant son doesn’t get his wings until the Lucifer season six ending, occurring in a montage that gives us our last look at each of the supporting characters.
Amenadiel is visibly delighted, having previously worried that his offspring would be a mere mortal and would therefore be vulnerable to the many dangers of life on Earth.
Ella finding out about celestials is a major moment in the final season, with Henderson adding that the writers were keen to explore her feelings of “betrayal” over having been left out of the action for so long.
He added: “To me, that was an interesting path to walk on with Ella. She is everyone’s best friend, no matter what. When you give out that much positivity, and you perceive that it has not been returned… There was a level of betrayal that felt like such an interesting story.”
Lucifer seasons 4-6 are available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.