Lucifer Season 4 is now out into the world, and what a season it is, filled with a lot of what we absolutely loved about the show when it was a FOX property, but in many ways, with the heart and the conflicts between good and evil dialed up to a thousand, if possible.
One of the newcomers for season 4 is Inbar Lavi, who plays the biblical Eve, the first woman, the mother of us all, a role that has never been portrayed in television before, and one that, as the actress told us when we had a chance to talk to her about her character and the season to come, left her feeling both “terrified and excited.”
That’s easy to understand. It’s nerve-wracking enough to portray characters you create from scratch, imagine one we all have pre-conceived notions about! But, as someone who’s already watched all of Season 4 (what, you haven’t?), I have to say I absolutely loved Eve, even when I didn’t love her, and that’s an amazing feat.
Of course, Inbar didn’t “realize that this was the first time Eve is being portrayed on television” when she first got the role, and it took a little thinking to get herself into the mindset of this person who, like Inbar said, “made a pretty big no-no” and who “we’ve been condemning ever since.”
The interesting part about her portrayal of Eve is then that, that Inbar looked at this character who we all know as the original sinner, and “thought it was time we forgave her a little bit,” and “get to know the woman behind the mistake,” and “understand why she did what she did,” something that has so many applications to real life, because none of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, and we all have to go on.
Whoever said Lucifer wasn’t a deep show? Someone who probably hasn’t watched it.
Even more interesting, Inbar was really interested in portraying the idea that “maybe it’s not so much about mistakes,” because, if you think about it, Eve “was brave enough to follow her curiosity,” something that strikes a chord with me and with all creative types, I think.
Also, till this interview I’d never really stopped to think how the biblical tales we use as the foundation for so much, blame a woman for absolutely everything, and every woman has been carrying a bit of that blame for centuries and centuries, so yes, allow me a second to be floored about the type of story-lines this show is willing to take on.
Inbar had to “channel her own guilt to try to reflect Eve’s” and then try to reflect that with enough judgment to understand that in life, we cannot be “burdened by every error,” a message she, and I, hope viewers are able to take from her portrayal of Eve in this season of Lucifer.
Here you thought she was only there to get between Lucifer and Chloe!
Getting into season 4 of the show, Inbar was brought up how “one of the most fascinating aspects of the show is the struggle between good and evil, and The Garden of Eden presents just that,” only to then pivot to a comparison I’m sure Deckerstar fans will enjoy, about how both Chloe and Lucifer represent two parts of this specter, and that’s part of why they’re drawn to each other.
You know the thing about how opposites attract.
Inbar doesn’t see things in black and white, though. She told us that “if good was a color and evil was a color, I think there are different splashes,” because things are not straightforward and “I think it gets a little blurry.”
She also promised we’ve see “a lot of different color splashes” all over our screens.
Finally, she took a moment to praise the team behind Lucifer, not just the writers, but the directors, producers, crew and showrunners. Bringing a character like Eve to life isn’t easy, it requires a vulnerability from the actor, and a good team behind the scenes, and Inbar absolutely had that.
“The way it was written, it was very refreshing to me,” she said, while pointing out that “the show is written by a lot of women. Women writers, women producers, women directors, our creator, Ildy, and her co-creator Joe as well,” and praising how much that makes a difference not just to the way stories are brought on screen, but how actors feel on a set.
Like I needed more reasons to absolutely love this show.
In the end, though, if we had to take something from this tale that Lucifer is trying to bring to screen, and about Inbar Lavi’s experience with this show, both on-screen and off-screen, it would be her words about how “women, from the beginning of time, have been there for each other,” and how this show takes great care to not just talk the talk but walk the walk when it comes to this.
Lucifer Season 4 is available to stream on Netflix.
