Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze in Lucifer. Photo copyright of FOX.
If you were to work alongside the Prince of Darkness, your days would most likely be filled with, among other things, the noxious smell of sulfur and the unending cries of the eternally damned. Such unpleasantness, however, is all in the past for the beautiful and ever-so-devilish Mazikeen a.k.a. “Maze” in the hit FOX supernatural TV drama Lucifer. Her boss, Lucifer Morningstar, has traded in the fire-singed landscape of Hades for all the fun, frivolity and other Earthly trappings that Los Angeles has to offer. Of course, as his devoted confidant, ally and protector, Maze is right there by Lucifer’s side, but despite LA’s reputation as a “sin city,” she does not feel the least bit at home.
Created by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Kelley Jones, Mazikeen first appeared within the pages of Sandman, Vol. 2, #22 published by Vertigo/DC Comics in 1990. The war leader of the Lilin (hostile night demons that attack men), she then made the leap to the Lucifer comic books series, on which the TV show is based. Having helped bring her to life on the small screen, actress Lesley-Ann Brandt, who plays Maze, wanted to pay homage to the print version of her demonic TV alter ego in her performance, while also putting her own mark on the character.
“I’d have to say my biggest challenge with this character has been to honor who Maze is in the comic books and figuring out how best to incorporate her essence into our version of the comics,” explains Brandt. “I consider Maze to be very strong as well as loyal, and I have to remember that she’s from another world. So how she interacts, say, with children and her relationships with human adults are all very much her own. Maze is the type of character who more or less takes what she wants and that’s not unusual or abnormal to her. I just really wanted to bring as much as I could to the type of woman that Maze would be on Earth, and I hope that sort of comes through in the show.”
Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) and Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) in "Lucifer, Stay, Good Devil." Photo copyright of FOX.
In the Lucifer TV series, fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) has grown weary of being forever burdened with having to punish those human souls condemned to Hell. After having Maze cut off his wings, the two of them headed for Los Angeles, where Lucifer opened a trendy nightclub called Lux. Naturally, God is not at all pleased with his favorite son’s decision to abandon Hell, so he sends Lucifer’s older brother Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) to Earth to persuade Lucifer to return “home.” Meanwhile, from behind the bar at Lux, Maze has her own plans on how to get her boss back to Hell for what she believes will be for his own good. Their mortal surroundings are affecting not only Lucifer, but also her, which is angering as well as unsettling Maze.
“I think what we’ve seen Maze do this [first] season is unwillingly have to deal with her own humanity and also the changes in her mentor, Lucifer,” says Brandt. “Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re from Hell or Earth, any type of change forces a person to grow in one way or another. That can be either a good or bad thing, but it’s up to you to decide which. So as far as, for example, Maze’s relationship with Amenadiel, it’s basically something that she’s never dealt with before. This is her sworn enemy, and I don’t think that they’re sort of getting together necessarily even had anything to do with love.
“Amenadiel is an angel and comes across as someone who does the right thing, but as we’ve seen, that’s not always the case. So it was his mischievousness or ‘devilish’ side that Maze was attracted to, and, hey, if she could get some kicks out of it at the same time, great. However, going through that whole process forced her into this emotionally kind of vulnerability situation that, again, she’d never dealt with before. That shows her innocence and a part of her that seems a bit childlike in a way. So it’s been really interesting and tricky to balance that nuance of the character, because at the end of the day she is a demon and a pretty tough demon at that. I just loved exploring her softer side, though, which also exists in the comic books in her relationship with Lucifer.”
Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) in "Favorite Son." Photo copyright of FOX.
After witnessing a murder in the show’s pilot episode, Lucifer uses his charm and supernatural abilities to help the authorities, in particular Los Angeles Police Department Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German), expose the guilty party. Much to his surprise, and Detective Decker’s dismay, Lucifer gets quite a rush from the whole experience, and decides to add amateur sleuthing to his list of extracurricular activities. His new “partnership” with the detective becomes a thorn in Maze’s side, for very specific reasons.
“When it comes to Maze and Lucifer, they’ve been together for a long time and are sort of bound to one another, but the show hasn’t explored that in any great detail – yet,” says Brandt. “However, I think that’s exciting because it leaves the door open in season two to not only find out why she’s so loyal to him, but also why Chloe is such a threat to what Maze and Lucifer had, or have, or will have again.
“As far as Chloe, she’s nothing special in Maze’s eyes. It could have been anyone who came between my character and Lucifer and forced a change in her mentor, this man or being who Maze loves and has been with, and who now is forsaking his duties even more. When we shot the Lucifer pilot, it had been five years since Maze and Lucifer came to Earth. She’s thinking, ‘Great, he’s had his little vacation, but now he’s going to get bored and we’ll finally go home.’
(L-R): Chloe Decker (Lauren German) and Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) in "Take Me Back to Hell." Photo copyright of FOX.
“Then, of course, Chloe throws a spanner into the works, but what has since become so unique about her is that she makes Lucifer [physically] vulnerable, which the writers have cleverly revealed throughout the episodes. That’s what’s dangerous about their relationship, and even if Maze and Chloe ever do find common ground, I think she’ll always see Chloe as a threat and will never trust the detective. I suppose that’s just the demon in me, or her,” says the actress with a laugh.
In tonight’s Lucifer season one finale, the aptly titled Take Me Back to Hell, there are certain to be plenty of surprises in store for viewers, which will leave them all the more eager for the premiere of season two. “With Maze, I think you will see an unlikely pairing in the season finale,” teases Brandt. “If you go into this episode knowing that her loyalties lie with Lucifer, you’ll then understand why that happens. You will also see Maze make a very big and scary decision, which ultimately catapults her into unknown territory and nicely sets the stage for what could be next in season two.
“I have to say I’m really pleased that towards the end of this season we’ve dabbled somewhat more in the mythology and otherworldly sort of characters, who, through the story, are tied into the cases a bit more. I’m also very pleased that my character has been a slow burning one. Although Maze isn’t necessarily focused on every week, I’ve been given some wonderful gold nuggets to play, especially towards the tail end of our first season, and the fans have really responded positively to that. We have a meeting with the writers in a couple of weeks, and now that we have a show that’s a hit and has been well-received, I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Mazikeen, for sure” enthuses the actress.
Steve Eramo
Lucifer's season one finale "Tale Me Back to Hell" airs Monday, April 25th @ 9:00 p.m. EST/PST on FOX. As noted above, photos copyright of FOX, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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