As the struggle continues through the summer Supernatural “hellatus,” we are taking a look at our favorite moments from season 14, this time with a look at Mark Pellegrino as “Nick/Lucifer.”
Remember, an article with favorite moments from a new Supernatural character will post every three weeks between now and the premiere of season 15, so hang with Nerds and Beyond for all your SPN coverage!
Melanie
Lucifer often proved himself a lethal, manipulative adversary. And as it turns out, Nick himself was not too far off. He even uses his same power of annoyance to get what he wants. How many times has he sung incessantly over and over to drive Sam (and all of us) crazy?! He has killed and manipulated his way through season 14, until another final showdown in “Game Night.”
To be completely honest, he is clever in the way he fools those around him. Regarding that episode, he asks to speak to his son. And sure, Jack is technically Lucifer’s son, biologically speaking, but his plan works, enticing Jack to be alone with him in the room without the Winchesters’ watchful eye. Jack wants to do anything he can to help his friend Donatello, even if it is a horrible idea. (And it really is.) But Nick uses his words to get Jack angry, culminating in Jack’s bloody nose and getting those blood stains on Nick’s shirt. Of course, it was not accidental and Nick actually needed the blood. It was interesting to watch how his tricks played out in that episode, and how it all completely backfired.
Sarah
Nick is a hard character to make likeable, but there are moments at the beginning of season 14 where you feel sympathy for him. He was manipulated by Lucifer to say yes. Nick even goes as far as admitting he is glad that Lucifer is dead. But as the season goes on, he goes from wanting to find out what happened to his wife and son, to becoming obsessed with Lucifer. Nick becomes vicious in his quest. He remains clever and very calculative in his plans as he tries to become Lucifer again.
Kailin
Nick/Lucifer is an acquired taste. Whether you love Lucifer or hate him, he has been a major antagonist for the Winchesters (mostly Sam) for years.
But even with all the trouble Lucifer had caused for Team Free Will, the audience knew little about his vessel Nick. So, I thought it was interesting the writers brought in Nick for season 14. Early on, I looked at Nick as a redeemable character but quickly realized that he still had the devil within him. In “Gods and Monsters,” Castiel was trying to comfort Nick and he did the signature Lucifer finger snap and said “Don’t.” How naturally that action came to Nick was frightening — I knew this was going to end badly.
With each episode, Nick was becoming more manipulative and violent. He was so used to doing Lucifer’s bidding that he became obsessed with bringing him back. Ultimately, it was that obsession that got him killed.
Michelle C.
I should start by saying I’ve been a fan of Mark Pellegrino’s acting for a long time — way before Supernatural. I’ve loved his portrayal of Lucifer from the beginning. What I like about Mark is his ability to shift quickly from one thing to another. As Nick this season, we see him playing a different character, and it’s so evident that Nick is not Lucifer.
As the season opened, I actually felt sorry for Nick. Did I trust that he was actually “just Nick?” Nope. But it was still good to see him being human and hurting like all humans do. A pivotal moment that got me this season was in episode seven, “Unhuman Nature.” After Nick had slashed his neighbor’s throat, he hit his knees to pray. It was so earnest and raw that I actually believed his remorse. It took me a few seconds to realize, though, that he wasn’t praying to God — he was praying to Lucifer. He admitted he wasn’t just avenging his family, but he was enjoying the killing.
He had basically chosen Lucifer again, this time without the pot-stirring Abraxas’ help. It was then I knew there would be no redemption for Nick.
Natasha
I’ve always enjoyed the way Supernatural has integrated the character of Lucifer into the story line. While we had gotten some backstory on Nick and how he became the vessel for Lucifer, I always felt that there had to be more to that story than what we saw in previous seasons. Season 14 not only gave us more insight into Nick and his reasons for allowing Lucifer to use him as a vessel, but we also got to see some impressive acting from Mark Pellegrino.
Pellegrino gave an emotional and oftentimes terrifying performance this season. While I might have felt bad for Nick at the beginning of the season, those feelings quickly changed when I realized that he was basically Lucifer even without being his vessel any more.
I think that when you are able to really loathe a character and his choices, that’s when you know the actor has done a fantastic job at portraying a convincing villain.
