Lucifer is More of a Dad than We Thought

Hazbin Hotel S1 Eps. 5-6 Review

A week since its official premiere on Amazon Prime, Hazbin Hotel is the second most-watched series on the platform! Given how it expands on the amazing pilot and how VivziePop already has an established fandom thanks to it and Helluva Boss, though, it makes sense. As it turns out, what doesn’t make sense are the in-universe rules on how to get into Heaven. As the next Extermination looms, Charlie gets desperate to prove her Hotel works. So much so that she reaches out to the big guy herself to get into Heaven. As a result, though, a theory that fans have had for years is confirmed in the most heartbreaking way possible.

If it weren’t being released so fast, this show would be even better than it already was.

Lucifer is Such a Dad!

As the next Extermination day gets close, Charlie’s desperation to prove the Hazbin Hotel works reaches new heights. Seeing her girlfriend spiral like this, Vaggie tells Charlie what she needs to hear: she needs to ask her Dad for help. Charlie is…very reluctant to do so, having never been close to him, but not for the reasons one would think.

Far from being the “Ultimate Bad Boy,” Lucifer is a goofball. Firstly, he spends his time making rubber ducks that breathe fire. Secondly, he freaks out when his daughter calls him and tries to come up with the best intro (before doing the worst!) Lastly, when he visits the Hotel, he tries harder than necessary to look good in front of his daughter. In other words, he’s a lovably dorky Dad.

In the episode’s best moment, Lucifer develops a mutual hatred with Alastor. The Radio Demon acts like he’s the better father figure to Charlie, and they wind up getting into a singing competition. Seeing the Devil being so petty with someone far below him in Hell’s hierarchy is such a hilariously dad thing to do.

Lucifer is Depressed, but he Still Loves Charlie.

Rather than dance around the idea, the episode blatantly establishes that Lucifer is depressed. He even says so himself. It’s not hard to understand why. He seemingly had good intentions of giving mankind free will, but he’s never gotten to see the good that would come from it. He’s only seen the mistakes of humankind, leaving him indifferent to Sinners at best and outright bitter and cynical at worst. More than that, though, his depression was influenced by his estranged relationship with Charlie.

Growing up, Charlie was never as close to her Dad as she was to her Mom. She didn’t know how to approach him, creating a distance between them. Despite this, though, the two love each other immensely. Charlie admires her father for the dreams he once had inspiring him. And Lucifer is willing to do anything to keep his daughter safe, even if it means telling her that her dreams won’t work out. The fact that Lucifer speaks from personal experience cements how he’s doing this out of love rather than malice.

More than anything, this episode explores how tough being a parent and child can be, even when both love each other. The only rule book parents have to follow on being a parent is their own experiences, and that might not always be enough. Yet, as the show has demonstrated, parents and kids should talk things out. Lucifer can’t protect Charlie from making her own decisions, and while terrifying, it’s also part of being a parent. You must trust your kids to make the right decisions and help when they don’t. Thus, Lucifer decides to put his faith in Charlie and get her to Heaven.

But everything isn’t what it seems.

Welcome to Heaven…or Welcome Back

Despite his worries, Lucifer manages to get Charlie that meeting in Heaven, much to Adam’s fury and Vaggie’s concerns. And despite Adam’s bad impression, Heaven is almost as nice as it claims to be. Everyone (besides Adam and Lute) is welcoming, friendly, and genuinely nice. Charlie even hits it off with her Heavenly counterpart, Emily the Seraphim. The only reason I use the word “almost” is because Heaven’s hiding some dark secrets.

Firstly, it soon becomes clear that only the higher-ups know the Extermination, with most kept in the dark. Their leader and Emily’s mentor say it’s to prevent a war, but it’s obvious that she’s making excuses to herself to justify what is essentially mass murder. 

Secondly, this episode reveals that not even the Angels know what qualifies someone to get into Heaven. When Charlie uses Angel Dust and his night out with the other Hotel residents and Cherri Bomb (and it’s awesome to see her again), he checks off all the arbitrary boxes that Adam makes up.

• He refuses to backslide into Drugs when offered.
• He stops Nifty from stealing
• He stands up to Valentino, and it’s glorious!

Despite all the evidence, it’s not enough to sway the higher-ups in Heaven.

That’s not even the biggest surprise, though. This episode confirms that a long-held fan theory about Vaggie is true.

I’m not even going to spoil it here. That’s going up in a separate article.

War Might be the Only Option 

So, Charlie’s best chance to stop the Extermination fails, and Adam says he’s gonna destroy the Hazbin Hotel first. The only way Hell may survive might be for them to go to war. If that happens, though, countless souls and beings on both sides will likely end up dying. In addition, such a conflict would only make the residents of Heaven and Hell double down on their negative traits, making peace all but impossible. Worst of all, such an act could shatter Charlie’s optimistic outlook on life like it did for Lucifer. And that assumes that it hasn’t been shattered already due to how callous Heaven is.

All might not be lost, though. Now that Emily the Seraphim knows the truth, she won’t sit by and let something happen that she knows is wrong. She may find a way to stop the Exterminations on her end. Or she might flat-out decide to protect Hell, even if it means becoming a Fallen Angel. She may even bring other Angels who see the Extermination as wrong. I think that that would be an awesome sight to see. A bunch of Angels protecting Hell is normally not something to cheer over, but this is one of the exceptions. 

These episodes were amazing to watch, but there’s one problem: they’re coming out too many at a time. There are only eight episodes in the show’s first season, which isn’t enough time to enjoy. It would help if they were released once a week, but they released them in pairs. As a result of this quick release schedule, we won’t have as much time to let what we see sink in. That’s a detriment when it comes to episodes like Episode 6. Despite this, though, Hazbin Hotel is still blowing my mind. It’s the first big Western animated show of 2024, and I love it. 

I Give “Dad Beat Dad” and “Welcome to Heaven” a 5/5 each

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