Ah, the Rory mystery, or not so much of a mystery. A lot of fans guessed, at the first glimpse of Rory, that she could indeed be Lucifer and Chloe’s daughter from the future and …spoiler alert, those fans were right! We have all read that fanfic at least once, haven’t we? And I can’t really say I hated it. I had about 8 different fics I loved following that trope.
But the reasons for Rory’s presence in Lucifer season 6 remain a little bit of a mystery till the end of the season, and she is instrumental to what happens not just in Lucifer season 6, but the decisions her parents – and others around her, make about their future. So, we must really spoil who she is and why she’s there to go into the ways she affects everything around her – including her own life, and whether her parents have a life together.
To say Rory is a complication would be an understatement. She’s not particularly easy to like at first, either, because she’s basically a ball of rage and repressed feelings, which, considering her childhood, is kinda understandable. The problem, of course, is that, by the end of the season, we find out that basically everything Rory was angry about, everything she blamed her father for …was basically on her.
He wasn’t the villain of her story, if anything she was the villain of his.
And he still did just what Rory wanted. Even if it was the last thing Lucifer himself wanted, even if it went against everything he desired, everything he believed in. He did it because she asked, and because she’s his daughter, and because …from the moment he looked into her eyes, Lucifer knew. He knew he would take a bullet for her – and hey, he did! – and that he would always, always put her first.
That’s exactly what ends up damming Lucifer’s earthly existence, and, ironically, forces her to grow up without a father. For her, it is worth it. The result is more important. For her parents, though, it is not just a big sacrifice, it is the kind of thing you can only do for your child, and no one else. Because sure, they had, will have, eternity together. But does that make up for everything they gave up? For every milestone Chloe had to go through alone? For every moment Lucifer missed?
And storytelling wise, was it earned? Lucifer’s realization feels like the perfect ending to this story, so it’s easy to see how everything was always leading to that place, but Rory was there for a different reason. She wasn’t just there to force Lucifer into the realization of what he had to do, that was more about Dan, and he would have always gotten there, with or without her.
So, what was the point of Rory’s point, you ask? Why bring in a daughter from the future and give her such an integral role in the final season of Lucifer? Was the storyline always leading here? This is the crux of the matter, and for the question seems to be both yes and no. The storyline wasn’t necessarily always leading to Rory, but I think the storyline was probably always leading to the ending we got. Rory was just …icing on the cake.
It doesn’t feel like it, of course, because it’s hard to completely shed the idea of the happy ending we wanted, for these characters, for this couple. But Rory is a damn miracle, the kid we never dreamed Chloe and Lucifer could have. And the lesson Lucifer had to learn, the conclusion he had to reach …that was always coming. It was just much more powerful when the thing that precipitated his discovery was Chloe …and Rory.
Moreoever, the decision wasn’t only made for the good of the world — but for the good of Rory, the most important of those lost souls Lucifer helped from turning into …well, himself.
As the son of an absent father there was nothing Lucifer dreaded more than the idea of ever emulating dear old Dad. And yet that’s what he ended up doing, but not by his own choice, no. He did it because Rory asked it of him. He did it because she needed him, and he wasn’t willing to risk not being there at her worst. He did it because he would do anything for her, even become the person he never wanted to be – and also, at the same time, become the person she needed him to be.
In doing so, Lucifer, Chloe, and Rory, basically saved the world. They gave everyone a chance to get back up. To get it wrong and never be doomed forever. To learn the lessons they needed to one day be worthy of eternal peace. Was it the perfect happy ending? No. Was it a worthwhile one? I can’t decide that for you, but I can say this …Rory is many, many things, but above all, she’s the worthy child of Lucifer and Chloe, smart, sassy, and self-sacrificing to the end. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Lucifer Season 6 is available to stream on Netflix.
