Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication
Lucifer is a television series depicting the devil- Lucifer played by Tom Ellis, who gets bored of hell and escapes only to end up helping Los Angeles police solve murder cases. In the first episode of the second season of Lucifer, Lucifer Morningstar has an intense conversation full of anger Roberta Beliard- a suspected murderer and a drug dealer. Prior to their encounter, Lucifer was full of hatred towards his mother as he felt betrayed by her. When Lucifer found out that Roberta had betrayed a girl’s trust, he became more enraged and decided to confront Roberta. The scene begins with Lucifer going to Roberta’s home to confront her. The confrontation soon intensifies with anger from both characters manifesting itself via verbal and nonverbal communication.
At first, Lucifer’s anger is shown through the sarcastic questions that he asks Roberta. As Lucifer asks these questions he stares right into Roberta’s eyes and also wears a plastic smile. Moreover, Lucifer throws accusations at Roberta and does not give her the chance to defend herself. Another cue that shows Lucifer’s anger is his loud voice. Lucifer’s voice was initially significantly low, but it gradually increases until he is shouting. Furthermore, his anger is also proven by his body movement. As Lucifer is talking to Roberta, he slowly moves towards her and looks as if he is stalking her or even ready to attack her. On the other hand, Roberta’s anger also manifests itself through several communication cues.

At the start of the conversation, Roberta is not angry but rather shocked, but soon enough she gets angry. A major sign that she is angry is that she physically attacks Lucifer and hits him with a metal rod. Roberta also shouts at Lucifer while she is hitting him. She also does not give him a chance to speak.
Both characters should have handled the situation differently. Lucifer should have avoided accusing Roberta and instead let the police handle the case. Additionally, he should have avoided shouting at her and moving towards her as this may have triggered Roberta’s attack. On her part, Roberta should have avoided hitting Lucifer. Had both of the characters refrained from using the nonverbal and verbal communication then maybe their anger would not have led to their fight.