‘Lucifer’ Character Spotlight: Mazikeen
Welcome to our next Lucifer character spotlight! If you missed it, you can check out our previous spotlight on the man himself here.
As we wait (im)patiently for the fourth season of Lucifer to drop on Netflix on May 8, we will issue spotlights of our favorite characters from the series, including Amenadiel, Chloe, Daniel, and more. We will focus on who they are, why we love them, and their best and funniest moments.
And for this article, we will be focusing on our favorite demon, Mazikeen.
Who is Maze?: When we first met Maze back in season one, she was the semi-friendly demonic bartender that left Hell with Lucifer. Initially, we could have thought of her as a wing-woman, but she has far surpassed that role and has truly become her own person. With loyalties similar to Lucifer’s, she works as a bounty hunter for the LAPD.
Though Lucifer describes her as “Hell’s most brutal torturer” and “the most skilled torturer Hell’s ever known,” we eventually got to know her softer side.
As before with Lucifer, we had trouble narrowing down three seasons’ worth of kick-ass Maze action into one article. So here, we are going to focus on the ones that really stuck out in our memories.
We see Maze’s first ass kicking: The first true Maze-esque ass kicking we see is in season 1, episode 5, titled “Sweet Kicks.” During an investigation into the death of a young woman at a fashion show, Lucifer and Chloe find themselves in the middle of a gang war. They are stuck in a warehouse on the verge of a shootout when bodies start dropping.
The camera focuses on a shadow on the wall, as we hear bones begin to snap and pained groans become more and more frequent. Detective Decker, crouched behind cover with Lucifer asks, “What the hell is happening?” to which Lucifer simply replies, “Maze is happening!”
Most of us have seen some sort of supernatural show prior to this one, so we know that demons, generally (or biblically) speaking, do not have a reputation for being very nice. So it should come as no surprise that Maze can kick some serious ass. But what’s significant about this scene is that we learn that Maze is Lucifer’s protector. She swoops in at a moment in his life when he is potentially in danger, and she singlehandedly takes out at least 10 people.
She gives Trixie a Halloween to remember: In season 2, episode 6, “Monster,” Halloween has arrived, and Trixie is not particularly happy with being a princess (because that’s sooo last year). She decides that she wants to be the President of Mars instead. As she and Maze are walking through a neighborhood, Trixie, who has seemingly scored all the candy a kid could hope for, says to Maze “I wish you wore a costume.”
Maze gives this a thought before telling Trixie that she did, in fact, bring a costume. She tells Trixie to turn around and wait for her to put it on. An odd sound can be heard as the camera focuses on Trixie, and when she turns back around, we see that Maze has revealed her true face, her demon face. And Trixie cannot be more thrilled.
This specific moment is not only oddly adorable (I can not believe I just called a demon showing her true demon face to an 8-year-old adorable), but it also allows us a glimpse into how Maze is feeling. Before she makes her revelation, you can clearly see her fear of rejection flicker across her face, only to have that fear allayed when Trixie yells “COOL!”
Bounty Hunting: In the virtually Maze-centric episode “Mr. and Mrs. Mazikeen Smith” in season three, we see Maze go to Canada alone as a bounty hunter to find an elusive suspected murderer. When she first meets the man she is hunting, she easily handcuffs him and thinks the job is done. But he easily walks away after he slips out of the cuffs and locks her into them while they converse.
Once Maze frees herself, she follows her bounty to his place where a fight ensues. It is during this fight that Maze gets her first indication that her bounty may be innocent. Her second indication comes soon after when “room service” opens fire on the two; Maze ends the hail of gunfire by throwing one of her knives (backwards, and without looking) over the table, hitting the shooter in the chest.
As the episode moves along, Maze realizes both she and her bounty have been set up. As the not-so-friendly room service lady makes her grand reappearance with a gun to the bounty’s head, Maze yells out, “Hey, room service! That’s my bounty, bitch!” and another fight ensues.
This episode is bursting with incredible Maze moments from start to finish, and one of the many reasons I love this episode is because we see more of the human side of Maze. When she first sets off to Canada, Maze is fully confident in her decisions. But as the episode progresses, that confidence slowly wanes until she is ultimately left questioning her entire life. And I don’t know anything more relatable than that!
Another reason this episode is so incredible is because we get multiple Maze fight scenes, each one showing off a different skill set she possesses. This episode has everything that defines Maze: fights, knives, determination, sarcasm, and loyalty. What’s not to love?
Now that we have the fighting out of our system, let’s move on to some more funny moments.
She steals Dan’s clothes after knocking him out: This moment comes from season 1, episode 6 “Favorite Son,” and it ended up being one of the funnier character meetings we have seen.
When Dan shows up at Lux asking to see the financial records, Maze tricks him into going downstairs with her, claiming to need help with all the boxes. But she knocks him over the head and proceeds to steal his clothes.
Why would Maze steal his clothes, you ask? Simple. She knows Dan and Chloe are separated, and she knows Lucifer has taken quite an interest in Chloe. So she wants to eliminate the possibility of the two getting together.
Naturally that means you knock a man out, strip him of his clothes, and dump him in his soon-to-be ex-wife’s bed. It’s only logical, right?!
Heartbreaking karaoke: Season 2, episode 4 titled “Lady Parts” is a genuinely funny episode that I will be referencing multiple times throughout these character spotlights. This karaoke moment is brought to us by a drunk group of women consisting of Chloe, Ella, Dr. Linda, and Maze. (That sounds like the start of a bad joke… “a cop, forensic scientist, psychiatrist, and demon walk into a bar…”).
The four women proceed to take the karaoke stage by storm (or hostage, who really knows) and sing their hearts out to Pat Benatar’s classic, “Heartbreaker.” And if this scene does not make you laugh, I worry about you.
Tame (lame) bachelorette party: After three seasons, we are finally getting a wedding! Season 3, episode 22 “All Hands on Decker” is another episode I will be referencing several times throughout these spotlights because of its sheer hilarity.
Chloe, Ella, Dr. Linda, and Charlotte are expecting something wild with Maze in charge of the celebration. But when they walk into Chloe’s home, they find nothing of the sort. Expecting something on par with a wild and fun college fraternity party, they instead are given something akin to a 6-year-old’s tea party.
Why is this Maze moment so funny? It is the complete opposite of what we all expected when we found out Maze was in charge of a bachelorette party. I, like Ella, expected alcohol and lots of it, and maybe even a stripper or two. But there was nothing of the sort in Maze’s plans.
Lesley-Ann Brandt has truly brought the role of Maze to life. She has given us a character that exudes loyalty and determination, one that teaches us that anyone can change under the right circumstances. And she has shown us that we are the only ones who can determine who we are. We cannot wait to see what is in store for Maze in this upcoming season!
Let us know what your favorite Maze moments are and be on the lookout for our next Lucifer character spotlight!