“Scrambled Eggs” Stumbles a Little
Episode three sees things take a bit of a dip in interest. Despite now living in the Hazbin Hotel, Sir Pentious remains paranoid everyone’s out to get him. Thus, Charlie and Vaggie decide to spend the day building trust between the residents, with Vaggie taking point to show Charlie she can help. Unfortunately, this goes as predictably bad as audiences expected it. Firstly, Vaggie takes Angel Dust’s suggestion of going to a place right up his alley. Then Vaggie tries to do a drill seargent routine, only for that to fail as well. Except the ending reveals that it did help break the ice between the Hotel residents. It’s fun to watch, but it doesn’t move the story’s main plot forward.
What does move the main plot forward is what happens in Alastor’s B-Plot. It’s already been shown that Alastor is. Still, one of many Overlords, powerful Demons who run part of Hell like mob bosses, and this episode sees him meeting with the remainder to discuss the accelerated Extermination. The meeting takes an interesting turn, though, when one of Vox’s partners, a toxic influnecer named Velvette, comes with proof of an Exterminator’s death.
War Arc in the Future?
According to the initial backstory, the Extermiantion’s meant to prevent Hell from rising against Heaven. Thus, the fact that the Exterminator’s can be killed gets everyone talking about going to war. For better or worse, though, talk of fighting the Exterminator’s gets pushed to the wayside, but the episode does end with Alastor discovering who killed the Exterminator. While viewers are meant to root for Charlie and her attempts to redeem people, the prospect of Hell going to war against Heaven remains on the table, and it would be interesting if the show were to seriously consider that. Forcing Charlie to decide whether to continue trying to redeem people, or even questioning if Heaven’s worth getting into, would be some interesting character development.
“Masquerade” is the Strongest of the Initial Release
Lastly, we have episode four, which feels like the strongest of the initial batch. When Angel Dust continually refuses to make any effort to being a better person, Charlie takes it upon herself to confront his boss, an adult film-maker Valentino of the V’s. At first, it seems like the episode will be about Charlie learning to use her authority as a Princess in a postiive manner. However, the episode then pivots into a dark and serious tone. One that focuses on the effects of abuse in a manner that left me very disturbed.
VivziePop has shown she’s not afraid to tackle heavy topics in the past. At this point, Helluva Boss has repeatedly looked at the effects abusive and toxic relationships can have on one’s development. From forced marriages to someone you hate to bosses that exploit your talents for their benefit, Vivzie has pulled no punches. Angel’s song from this episode, “Poison” visually and audibly reinforces how messed up his life is, with his callous behavior and drug addiction his only means of coping with it.
While the episode’s ending doesn’t provide a definitive solution to Angel’s situation, it does end with a glimmer of hope. Angel gets to sing a duet with another, down-on-his-luck Hotel resident, Husk, now voiced by Keith David, about how bad both their lives are. It’s an entertaining sight, and it gives David a chance to show off his singing chops, so it’s good.
A Good Start to a Potentially Great Show
So, there we have it,the first four episodes of Hazbin Hotel. While they did stumble a bit at some points in terms of plot, they more than make up for it in other areas. The art style is as fun to look at as in the pilot, the humor’s as dark and hilarious as ever, the songs are memorable, and the whole world’s just so much fun.
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the season, and think this will be something everyone’s watching on Prime for a long time to come.
