Archive of Our Own

Calling Lucifer by his given name

Does Michael consider Lucifer's name is primarily Samael in his head? I don't think so. There are only three lines in which Michael calls Lucifer Samael:

1. So... how do you like the mess I made, Samael? (Confronting Lucifer for the first time when he's back on Earth)
2. You're just Samael. (After Michael says he's been manipulating Lucifer for his whole life)
3. I know what you're trying to do, but I'm not gonna let you ruin this, Samael. (Family dinner)

I can't remember if they explicitly say this on the show, even though there are both references to his given name being Samael and to Lucifer being poison to everyone around him, but the name can be interpreted as "Poison of God". On the latter two instances, and maybe even the first one (Michael couldn't have ruined things if Lucifer didn't come to Earth in the first place) I don't doubt that's what Michael is going for there.

But the main thing is that Michael only calls Lucifer by that name to rile him up. Michael uses the name Lucifer not only among humans who might not know his given name, but also among family. For instance:

1. Lucifer's life sucks anyway. (To Amenadiel, when he confronts Michael posing as Lucifer)
2. And look what Lucifer did to my face. (To God, who by that point is calling Lucifer by his given name)
3. I mean, Lucifer isn't mature enough. (To God at the family dinner, when Lucifer hasn't arrived yet)

When alone with Maze or Chloe, and at the election, Michael only calls Lucifer by this name. Samael is only used when talking directly to Lucifer, and in instances Michael is trying to provoke and/or demean Lucifer.

Since all of Lucifer's siblings as far as I can remember call him Lucifer if they use a name, I wonder if it's just because the rejection of his given name eventually reached the Silver City, or if it's because they don't want to acknowledge Lucifer as something "of God" (while God does)? Maybe both? Anyways...

Michael's gift

Michael asks what someone truly fears once. As Lucifer.

What I can assume from there is that Michael knows he can make someone confess their fears by asking (and probably demanding) them out loud, but that he usually doesn't do that.

For instance, in 5x02, when Michael posing as Lucifer meets with Amenadiel, the following exchange happens:

Amenadiel: Wait a minute. Wait a minute! I'm going to need just a little bit more information than that, brother. Like, for instance, who's watching Hell?

Michael: No one, but don't worry. They've promised to be good little demons. I left them a cheese plate and put on some cartoons.

Amenadiel: You're being awfully glib.

Michael: I'm always glib, brother.

[Both stare at each other's eyes, music shifts for a moment]

Michael: Look, I know what this is about. You're afraid for baby Charlie, right?

Then later, in the same episode, Linda goes to the precinct to confront "Lucifer" (who is, again, actually Michael), and this happens:

Linda: Uh, yeah, because the last time Hell was left unattended, demons came and grabbed my baby, so I'm going to need a little more than "It's fine."

Michael: Yes, I understand, you're afraid for your child.

Linda: Yeah, I'm not afraid he's gonna fall off the swings, Lucifer. Do you not remember what happened? They took Charlie. They tried to take him to Hell. That's a big deal. So of course I'm going to be afraid for my child. I need to keep this baby safe.

[Michael turns back to look into Linda's eyes, music shifts]

Michael: Yes, I understand. You're afraid for your baby, but... it's more than that, isn't it? You're afraid of being a bad mother, aren't you? And why do I get the feeling... you have a good reason for that? But don't worry, Hell's being looked after, I promise you.

We see Lucifer being able to make people confess their desires to him, even if he doesn't ask. With Michael, I guess he relies on being able to sense someone's fears without them necessarily knowing they are "broadcasting" them.

Now, does that mean Michael's powers work on celestials too? My theory is yes. In his first conversation with Amenadiel, it does seem like Michael had to take a second to understand why Amenadiel was worried about Lucifer being out of Hell. And, one episode later, when Michael talks to Lucifer, he says Lucifer is unworthy kind of out of nowhere, which to me only makes sense if this is about bringing up his immediate fears of not being worthy of love.

Some people prefer to interpret that as Michael knowing his siblings well enough to know their fears even if his mojo doesn't work on them, just like Lucifer can bribe Saraqael and Jophiel because he knows them well enough to know their desires. That could be also the case.

"Every word that comes out of that admittedly dashing face is a lie."

Lucifer, and also some other characters (I remember Maze, can't remember others) call Michael a liar a lot, but... I'm not sure if that's the case?

Michael's gift is perceiving others' fears. He uses this to incite doubt. The thing is, like he says a few times, he just exposes what others are already thinking; regardless of whether their fears are lies or not.

So, for instance, when Michael indirectly brings up to Chloe that if Lucifer doesn't lie, him not saying "I love you" means he doesn't love her, this is him voicing her fears. Same as when he says Charlie is going to die soon because he's mortal and humans don't last long. It's less like he makes stuff up and more like he claims things others are already afraid of are or may be true, regardless of whether they are lies or not.

Looking back on 5x02, Michael as Lucifer says this when Chloe points out he lied: "Uh, no. You did. I just kept up the ruse." I think this keeps up with the pattern of Michael using things others say or think to repeat them as the truth. Even when Michael calls himself a liar when he talks to Maze (5x03), it's only because he's echoing Maze's accusations of him being a liar!

Thinking back on it, when Michael lies, it's usually because others think something that isn't true is the truth, while when Lucifer lies, it's because he thinks something that isn't true is the truth. Yet another interesting parallel, perhaps?

That said, I'm not saying Michael never tells outright lies (not based on what others already think). I don't think he cares about always telling the truth. But, interestingly, I think he lies the most while he's posing as Lucifer. Which brings me to...

Was Michael acting nothing like Lucifer on purpose?

I think most people's impressions of Michael acting as Lucifer is that Michael didn't pay any attention to how Lucifer acts. Sure, he may be able to look and sound like Lucifer enough to fool most, but then he lies to Ella, refuses to tease Dan, acts maturely when questioning suspects, apparently cheats on Chloe with Maze, and so on.

Michael also does admit he needs to "up his Lucifer game" so Chloe can be properly convinced, which makes it seem like he just didn't care enough to emulate his twin's mannerisms.

But! In 5x01, Chloe tells Michael "he" seems different. She's probably afraid Lucifer had changed because of all his time in Hell. So Michael could actually have tried to act different on purpose from that point on, so Chloe would fall out of love with Lucifer, only to try to emulate Lucifer more closely again when he noticed she was definitely suspicious (and possibly afraid Michael wasn't Lucifer).

Then again, Michael seems flattered that Chloe likes "the new Lucifer", so maybe Michael was just not paying attention and acting more like himself before Chloe got suspicious. Or maybe he was acting more like himself so he would act differently from Lucifer and make Chloe not like him anymore because Michael already thought she would never like him as himself, only to be pleasantly surprised when she acted as if she did.

I think we are supposed to believe Michael just didn't know how to act as Lucifer with regards to the finer details, but I also think this other interpretation is plausible.

Was Michael responsible for everything?

I don't think Michael would bother trying to give Charlie a cold. I think he just took advantage of a coincidence, and could also have used another fear to make Amenadiel stop/slow time. Just because Lucifer thought (and maybe could even detect) Michael was lying, that could be because Michael said "I would never," which doesn't mean he was lying about not giving him a cold that time, just lying about being above giving Charlie a cold to get what he wants.

But yeah, that's just because I think it would be too hard for Michael to get close to Charlie just because there was a chance of him being mortal. He would have to, what, have taken Charlie to a hospital where there's another sick human? Briefly kidnapped a human baby with a cold? I don't think making someone physically sick is within Michael's powers, so if he did give Charlie a cold, there should have been a proper explanation for that, in my opinion.

Now, about manipulating Lucifer all this time? I should note the only actual claim Michael made was about giving him the idea for the rebellion. Everything else is phrased as a possibility: "And once you realize that... you're gonna wonder... maybe it wasn't just the rebellion that was my suggestion. What else? What about your little sexcapade in the garden, or... oh... your vacation here to Earth."

I think Michael is just pushing Lucifer's buttons about the possibility of him not having free will, even after all he did to ensure God wouldn't control him. Michael is using Lucifer's fears, possibly by sensing them if you go with the theory of him being able to do that even to another angel.

Finally, since God only started "glitching" months before he appears on Earth, this means it's after Amenadiel's visit to Heaven after dropping off Charlotte (regardless if you are counting Earth months or Heaven months, and since Chloe has spent some time in Heaven before coming back to life, more time passes on Heaven than Earth), which can mean Michael learned about self-actualization from Amenadiel and then applied that to try to manipulate God into retirement. This is something I believe Michael was actually responsible for.

Michael's plan

Honestly, I think the writers were more concerned with Michael creating chaos and conflict everywhere than with making sure his plans and motivations made perfect sense. Still, there are two objectives Michael tries to achieve in season 5:

1. Messing with Lucifer's life on Earth;
2. Trying to be the next God.

The first can tie into the second, by making Lucifer look worse in comparison. However, if Michael just let Lucifer stay in Hell, Michael wouldn't even have to take him into account in any possible election or war.

It can be interpreted that Michael wanted to win against Lucifer specifically. As in, he did want Lucifer to be around to try to be God, but he wanted to prove Lucifer was irresponsible (by provoking him into leaving Hell just because the humans he likes were being messed with), and, when that didn't work because God said Hell didn't need a warden anymore, Michael tried to mess with almost everyone in Lucifer's life individually:

• He told Maze about Lucifer keeping a secret from her;
• He told Chloe about being a miracle, then kidnapped her and used her fears against her;
• He made Dan see Lucifer's devil face, then convinced Dan he could free himself from his sins if he shot/killed Lucifer;
• He brought up Linda's fears about being a bad mother, although maybe doing that at that point wasn't on purpose (it was before Lucifer came back);
• When Charlie got sick, Michael brought up the child's mortality to Amenadiel, making him stop time, although that could be less about Lucifer and more about provoking God into coming to Earth and/or making Amenadiel seem like a less fit candidate for God.

It could be theorized that Michael is being purposefully self-destructive in 5A; he already feels guilty and wants to provoke Lucifer (and maybe also Amenadiel and/or God) into punishing him. But, before killing Remiel and Chloe, I'm not sure if that's the case. I think Lucifer is right when he says Michael's plan was to make Lucifer and Amenadiel look bad in comparison to him, so Michael could prove himself worthy of being God's successor.

I don't think Michael has ever planned on actually killing Lucifer, though. It's been repeatedly said Michael has more bark than bite, and, even though he claims "this is to the death", he also tells Lucifer he won't ever see Chloe again because she went to Heaven (not because he's going to die), not to mention he tries to stop Lucifer from going to Heaven and possibly getting incinerated to death. As many have also pointed out, Michael granting Lucifer mercy in the end could make him seem like a better angel.

As for Remiel, that could have gone either way. Michael does hesitate before saying he was doing what he had to, but that can either mean he doesn't want to admit to his siblings he killed her or that he didn't want to kill her in the first place, but couldn't see another way around defending himself at the time.

Miscellaneous quirks and facts

• The only sibling Michael uses a nickname for (at least on screen) is Remy. For comparison, the other siblings he calls by name are Lucifer, Amenadiel, Raphael, Gabriel and Azrael. Aside from that, the only nicknames he uses are Detective for Chloe (he calls her that four times, aside from when he's pretending to be Lucifer) and Chucky for Charlie (used twice).

• The bigrams Michael uses the most are "I mean" (13 times, one of which while he's pretending to be Lucifer) and "you know" (11 times, one of which as Lucifer). He also says "think about it" four times, once again once as Lucifer.

• Michael appears in 10 episodes, but he only has more than one scene in 5x02, 5x03, 5x08, 5x09 and 5x16.

• As himself (as in, not as Lucifer), Michael only interacts one-on-one on screen with Maze, Lucifer, Chloe, Amenadiel, Dan and Gabriel. So no Ella, Linda or God. Also, with Dan he's doing the whole "I'm a good angel and you should help me against the bad Devil" thing.

• In interviews, it's made clear Tom Ellis doesn't like playing Michael, which could have influenced how little he appears (to the point there's a lot of mystery surrounding his character that could be solved if we got his point of view more often after 5x02) and/or his brief appearance in 6x02.