The actress talks to ET about her character's journey and what to expect in the final season.
Is 2020 the year of Ella Lopez?
Lucifer star Aimee Garcia recently sat down with ET's Katie Krause on the Los Angeles, California, set of the fifth and final season of the Netflix series, where the actress opened up about the journey the Los Angeles Police Department forensic scientist has been on since she was first introduced in 2016.
"I've had a blast. How many people can say that they got to kiss girls, kiss boys, defuse bombs on ecstasy, show up to work hung over, get naked... sorry Mom and Dad!" Garcia, 40, said of Ella's journey. "It's been really fun because she had a crisis of faith last year, which means anything goes. And our sweet little nerdy Ella became a bit of a wild card."
"Now I think it's more of instead of a crisis of faith, crisis of self. It's going to be really interesting because I think one of the things I love about Ella is she's unapologetic about who she is," she noted. "She's this girl who's the smartest person in the room, super nerdy, loves to read, never has a love interest, never has a boyfriend, is in her own lane and knows exactly who she is and her moral is really strong. Then, if you start rattling that, what does that mean?"
Last season, Ella shared kisses with two people under very different circumstances: LAPD homicide detective and Chloe's ex, Dan Espinoza (Kevin Alejandro), who Ella begins an affair with, and Lucifer's former lover, Eve (Inbar Lavi), the latter of which happened under a moment of distress. Garcia teased that things will get complicated in the romance department for Ella when the new season kicks off, hinting that her character will have a love interest who may not be the best decision for Ella at this point in her life.
"I don't know if it'll be with her and Dan... I think that was just two people really lost," Garcia said of their short-lived romance. "You're going to see a side of her that I think a lot of girls can relate to. You know how, like, sometimes you think with your not sane, logical mind when you pick guys to date? We may see some of that."
Asked to elaborate on whether Ella picks the wrong person to get into bed with, Garcia played coy, "Perhaps..."
While other people in Lucifer's inner circle are aware of his true identity, Ella is blissfully in the dark that he's, in fact, the Devil.
"People ask me that a lot and I love that she doesn't know," Garcia explained. "Because she can say things like, 'Oh, that's right, you're the Devil,' aka method actor. So I don't want to take that fun away from her, especially now that Chloe knows. I love when he's like, 'You know, my dad God,' and Ella can be like, 'Oh right, your dad God.' I just think it's so fun that she could rib him as being an unemployed actor who can't catch a break and needs a hug and he's this really sensitive guy."
"I love that he's one of the most powerful celestial beings in the history of the world and she's like, 'He's really sensitive. You guys, he just needs a hug!' I don't want to take away her little sister-older brother dynamic. There's no sexual tension there with Ella and Lucifer and I love that, and I feel like it's because she thinks he's a down-on-his-luck actor," she said, pondering how Ella would react "if she ever did find out." "Because she's such a woman of faith and if you believe in God, you have to believe in the Devil, and if you believe in good, you have to believe in evil. I think she would hug him and she would have a lot of questions. She would ask if they could go out for a beer and really clarify some stuff for her."
But how would Ella discovering the truth about Lucifer affect her faith? Could it derail her once again?
"What I love about her is she is like a real-life angel. She's not judgmental. She gives people the benefit of the doubt, she sees the best in people and I think in the same way she would be consistent like that, even with the Devil, because as we've heard her say before, the Devil is a fallen angel," Garcia said. "And she specifically said, 'If you were ever an angel, even a fallen angel, it means you can't possibly be all bad."
With filming on the final season wrapping up in the next few months, Garcia took a moment to reflect on the fact that the end is in sight, calling it "bittersweet."
"Anyone who has followed us on social media knows how close we are," she said. "We really are a close family. We are a total underdog story. We were a crime-solving show that got canceled and then 8.5 million people around the world championed to bring it back... To from being a total underdog -- anyone who's anyone has felt like an underdog. Everyone has felt like the odd man out, invisible, not seen and even though our show is ironically about the Devil, it's really about love."
"And if the Devil can be forgiven, really anyone can be forgiven and if the Devil's got daddy issues or family issues, then it's a universal concept. But the show is really about love and I've become family with everybody," Garcia marveled. "But at least we get one season left and I think it's going to be our best one yet."
Garcia offered a sneak peek into what awaits fans when Lucifer returns for its final season next year.
"I do know how it ends and I will be totally honest, when they told me how it ends I may have gotten a little bit emotional. Then the first thing I did was touch my heart," Garcia shared. "I'm sure there will be a lot of Kleenexes especially because anyone who is a hopeless romantic out there, we have a Beauty and the Beast love story going on and ultimately it's about love. But ya'll are gonna cry your little eyes out! And we're gonna rip out your hearts! But we're gonna make you laugh and it'll be fun."
"Season five, we're going out with a bang!" she promised.
Lucifer returns for its fifth and final season on Netflix in 2020.
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