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One Piece Chapter 1167 Review/Recap

They say you can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends. However, I think that One Piece might disagree with that saying, as while you can’t choose your birth family, you can choose who you consider your true family. Take Shanks, for example. Despite now knowing that he’s the son of Figarland Garling, the leader of the God’s Knights, I think the fandom considers his true father to be Gol D. Roger. As for Loki, despite acting like the villain Elbaph thinks he is, I think most of the fans know that, deep down, he’s a good person. The reason why this is so important now is because as we watch Harald become a servant of the Celestial Dragons, we see how Shanks and Loki feel about their own families.

Recap

After the Navy chose to accept Harald’s pledge to atone for the Giant’s past, he began aiding them behind the scenes, striking out against pirates as their numbers continued to grow. Eventually, Roger would become King of the Pirates, with his death heralding the start of the Golden Age of Pirates. This surge in piracy prompted the Navy to start drafting Giants into its ranks.

Amidst all this, Harald would be inducted into the lowest ranks of the God’s Knights, with the promise that Elbaph could join the World Government once he achieved the highest rank. It was also during this time that Harald first met Shanks, who had journeyed to Mariejois to claim his status as a Celestial Dragon. Despite claiming to have hated his time on the surface, though, Harald sensed something was up with Shanks.

Meanwhile, Fisher Tiger’s escape and liberation of the slaves of Mariejois takes place. Unbeknownst to everyone, someone aided Tiger by telling him about the armory being unlocked. Saul would return to Elbaph and found the Walrus School., and events continued to progress. But then, tragedy struck when Ida became seriously ill and bedridden, only growing weaker with each passing day. That’s when Loki learns a horrible truth from the village Estrid was born in: they had secretly poisoned Ida to stop her from becoming Harald’s new Queen.

Loki’s response: he burns the village, beats up everyone in it, and disowns them as family, saying Ida was the only person he’d ever call Mom.

Review

Oh my gosh, you guys, what an amazing chapter! The lore reveals! The family drama! Seeing what Shanks does and what Loki does! There was so much to talk about here!!

Contracts of Evil

Let’s start off with the big one: the hierarchy of the God’s Knights. It’s a little confusing, and I don’t entirely get it, but at least Oda starts to explain it to us here. To begin with, there are the tattoos, which they call contracts. There’s three of them: shallow sea, deep sea, and abyss. Only thirteen members of the God’s Knights have the Abyss Contract, which the Five Elders says connects them directly to “God.” In other words, they’re all connected to Imu, and it’s likely that Imu can directly possess the ones with the Abyss Contract.

I really like how Oda chose to name these marks Contracts. He hasn’t been shy with hinting that Imu is the Devil of the world of One Piece, but calling the marks Contracts helps reinforce this belief. The people who receive the marks are basically making a contract with the Devil, forced to swear loyalty to them in exchange for power. Since this is the Devil, though, the cost involves sacrificing your free will whenever Imu wants it. It’s not worth the price, but Harald doesn’t understand this, which will all but certainly lead to his eventual death.

Shanks is Playing his biological family for chumps

Then we have Shanks in Mariejois as a lower ranking member of the God’s Knights. I don’t need to go on social media to know that everyone in the fandom knows that Shanks is playing his biological family. They may think he’s embraced his Celestial Dragon lineage, but it’s obvious to us that he’s doing this to undermine them from within. The chapter may not confirm it, but fans strongly suspect that he was the one who helped Fisher Tiger escape and then liberate the other slaves later on. His brother and biological dad don’t even suspect him, because they’re that arrogant and full of themselves.

The Elbaph Arc has given us a look at what Shanks could’ve grown up to be like had he been raised in Mariejois, and it is not pretty. Thankfully, he was raised by Roger and the Roger Pirates, turning him into the kind, friendly, and morally upstanding pirate that we all know and love. I doubt im the only one to say this, but the Roger Pirates were Shanks real family, and Roger was his real father.

As a quick aside, I would love it if Oda gave us a look at Roger raising Shanks.

I knew Loki was a Tsundere!

And speaking of family, we need to lastly talk about Loki. Or rather, how everyone and their mother was probably cheering when they saw Loki torch Estrid’s village.

I have already said this before, but I’m going to say it again: Estrid was a bitch. Her brother was a bitch. Her entire village and blood relatives are all bitches. And if i could jump into this chapter right now, I would grab a weapon and join Loki in burning that place to the ground. They are not Loki’s family, as they lost the right to call themselves that the minute Estrid abandoned him and they chose to do the same. The fact that they honestly thought that Loki would side with them shows just how full of themselves they were. As far as im concerned, Loki has every right to end them for hurting Ida.

Poor Ida. I haven’t been sure about whether or not we’ve seen her in the present day, but seeing her sick from poison has me fearing the worst. I’ve considered her to be Harald’s true wife and Estrid the homewrecking gold-digger, and she does not deserve to go out like this. The only silver lining is Loki calling Ida his real mom. We all know that Loki acts like he’s a bad guy, but he’s really a kind person. He just got burned so many times by people that he can’t afford to let his guard down. He can deny it all he wants, but Loki is a good person. He’s a total tsundere.

I’m all but convinced now that Loki didn’t kill Harald. He loves his father, his real family, and his home too much to have willingly done that. I only hope that in the present day, Luffy can help him show Elbaph this.

I Give “Ida’s Son” a 5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1166 Review/Recap

Okay, Toei. If you don’t give the God Valley Incident a full-on movie treatment, or at least extra-long episodes, then you’ll be doing One Piece fans a disservice. The last chapter of One Piece gave us the fight that fans have been waiting to see since all the way back in the Wano Country Arc, and it did not disappoint. If we’re looking for an accurate comparison, it was like the One Piece equivalent of last gen’s Goku and Vegeta fighting Broly. It’s just that epic! But now we have reached the end of the road for God Valley and must return to the true purpose of the flashback: the life of King Harald. Also, this chapter proves that the God’s Knights are big, fat kill-stealing phonies!

Recap

The fight between Roger, Garp, and Rocks is over, with the former two out cold while the latter is barely alive. That’s when Garling and the other Knights show up to kill steal. Rocks last thoughts are thanking Roger and Garp for stopping him.

Gaban and Rayleigh manage to get Roger and Garp to safety while also telling them that Rocks was dead. They all make it off God Valley as the island, overwhelmed by the carnage, collapses into the sea, leaving no trace behind. Thus, the God Valley incident draws to a close as the survivors go their separate ways.

News of Rocks’ death and the end of the Rocks Pirates spreads quickly around the world, with everyone reacting differently.

Roger and his crew (and Gloriosa) are just happy that they saved Shakky and got a ton of loot. However, they’re surprised to find that the loot came with baby Shanks!

After everything that he experienced, Garp is none too happy to hear he’s being called the “Hero of the Marines,” with him and Sengoku clashing over it. Despite everything, though, he refuses to quit and abandon the rank-and-file. However, he doesn’t stop his son when he decides to resign, even helping him escape prison.

While others celebrate, though, Loki and Harald take Rocks’ death extremely hard. Loki is despondent over the fact that his hero was killed. Harald, however, is despondent and guilt-ridden over letting his friend go to his death. He lashes out at any Giants who attack the innocent to take his anger out, but it’s not enough. Making his mind up, he sails straight for Marineford and begs the World Government to give the Giants of Elbaph a chance, even if it means he’ll become a slave. To show off his resolve, he even rips out his horns in front of the Navy! Little does he know that Imu is watching.

Review

It’s official, people: the God’s Knights are frauds.

Everyone and their mother in the One Piece fandom agrees that Garling is a kill-stealing phony. He couldn’t handle the Rocks or Roger Pirates in combat, so he waited until Rocks was helpless to take the kill. Not only does that Rob Roger and Garp of the credit for ending Rocks, but it means that Rocks the GOAT didn’t even get a dignified death. How Garling could be the dad to a CHAD like Shanks is beyond me! As far as me and the fandom are concerned, Roger was Shanks’ real dad.

Besides the ignominious end to Rocks, though, the big surprise for me was the fact that God Valley sank into the ocean. Or rather, it crumbled into the ocean. Remember, the land we’ve seen in One Piece is just the highest points left over from when the world was flooded. Despite what others think, though, I don’t believe that Imu had anything to do with its destruction. This was just a side effect from the island being unable to handle the weight of all that power being thrown around. A lot of fans have also noted how fitting it is for the remains of a descendant of Davy Jones to be swallowed by the sea.

What makes Rocks’ death even sadder, at least for me, was the fact that he was right to be worried about Harald and the Giants. While I think he did secretly respect Harald’s dream of peaceful coexistence, he was savvy enough to know that that was impossible with those who were in charge of the world. I’ve kept saying from the start of this arc that now was not the time for the Giants of Elbaph to lay down their blades, as the World Government has become an existential threat to everyone. Tragically, Rocks’ death only made Harald double down on his willingness to bow before those that did not deserve it. And it’s likely that this will end up costing him his life.

There’s no telling how much is left in this flashback, but given how monumental the story of Rocks was to Harald’s life, I’d say that we’re about halfway done. If we’re lucky, the manga will wrap things up before the year is out. After that, we can finally return to the present and the fight ahead of Luffy and Loki. Elbaph cannot be allowed to fall to the World Government, or it could doom everyone below the Red Line. Plus, I do think that Hadrujin and Loki were meant to protect their home together. It’s what Harald wanted, and it’s something I support.

I Give “New Stories” a 5/5

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Hazbin Hotel S2 Eps 7-8 Review

These days, I tend to sleep until about an hour before leaving for work, but I made sure to get up extra early to see the season finale of Hazbin Hotel. And holy Toledo, you guys, what a finale! This entire season has seen Charlie get put through the ringer by Vox, with the maniacal Overlord poised to get everything he wants. He’s painted Charlie as a liar, captured Alastor, and is on the verge of starting a war with Heaven. Yet like a lot of villains, Vox can’t help but drop the ball at the very last second as our protagonists in both realms come together to stop his madness. What follows is a finale that is rife with emotion, action, and some incredible toe-tappers as we see Charlie prove to all of Hell that she was always right.

And that Vox was wrong.

Vox is One Insecure Guy

“Weapon of Mass Distraction” really hammers home just how close Vox is to getting his war with Heaven. Almost everyone in Hell is backing him, he’s using a brainwashed Angel Dust to endorse his cause, and he proudly shows off the superweapon built for him by Carmilla. The weapon, which he pointedly names “The Might of Lillith” is a massive cannon that is capable of obliterating the barrier around Heaven in one shot. My jaw fell when I saw the pearly gates come crashing down to Hell, showing how terrifying that thing is. What makes it even worse is that it’s powered by an unwilling Lucifer, whom Vox lured into a trap and captured. I repeat, Vox managed to capture the Devil himself. Even ignoring the fact that Lucifer can’t harm Sinners, that’s still an impressive feat. Most people would be satisfied with that achievement alone and call it a day. But Vox isn’t most people, and that is his biggest flaw.

As we see in the song “Brighter” Vox’s fatal flaw is his envy. No matter how much power he gains for himself, he’ll always want more. In life, that led him to murder his way into controlling a TV studio while people started calling him a god. Thankfully, his reign got cut short, but Hell has enabled him to do the same thing on an even grander scale. He’s even closer to godhood than ever, but as Alastor points out, his cup will never fill. So long as there’s someone out there he fears is better than him, he’ll never be satisfied. Thus, despite backing Charlie into a corner, he can’t resist the idea of inviting her to his victory party. He wants to make Charlie admit defeat, but since she knows that she’s right, all this does is give her the opening she needs to turn things around.

Well, her, the Hotel staff, and Emily.

Redemption of Angels

One great aspect of this season of Hazbin Hotel that I haven’t touched upon has got to be the development of Seraphim. Despite being one of the highest-ranking Angels and the de facto leader of Heaven, Sera is, at her core, a flawed individual. She’s wracked with guilt from realizing the Exterminations were unnecessary, and she fears Hell’s justifiable calls for blood. Despite knowing she was in the wrong, though, she couldn’t let go of her prejudice against Sinners, unable to see them as redeemable. Which, of course, played into Vox’s hands, leading to the crisis of war. It isn’t until Sir Pentious is able to reach out to her that she’s finally able to see her actions for what they were: fear.

I doubt that Sera has ever had to truly experience fear before, given how she’s one of the most powerful beings in creation. Nor would she admit it, as that would be tantamount to admitting her own imperfections, which goes against the idea of Angels being perfect. It’s only when Sir Pentious offers his perspective on how mortals are naturally afraid of death and many other things that she finally gets it. Fear and mistakes are an inherent part of life, no matter how powerful someone might be, and not even Angels are immune to this. If anything, the main problem with Heaven is that because they believed they were perfect, they didn’t need to change their ways, leading to people like Adam and Lute.

Heaven and Hell Finally Working Together

In the end, Sera gives Emily the go-ahead to do what they should have done in the first place and help Charlie stop this war. Which also means that they have to do what they should’ve done from the start: show Hell that Sir Pentious is alive and in Heaven.

Seriously, if they had done that from the start, I’m betting most of the conflict of the season could’ve been avoided. Regardless, this brings us into the season finale, the appropriately named “Curtain Call.”

Operation: Charlie was Right

With Vox hours away from starting his war with Heaven, Charlie and her friends have one last chance to prove her ideals to be right. While Charlie and Vaggie attend Vox’s party, the others split up. Husk and Cherri go to rescue Angel, who Vox has brainwashed into publicly supporting him. Meanwhile, Niffty and Baxter go to hack his tech so they can connect to Heaven, where Sir Pentious is working to broadcast a message proving he’s alive. Unfortunately, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. In this case, Velvette and Valentino catch onto their plans and intervene.

From this moment on, the rest of the finale is filled with one of two things: a great song number and balls-to-the-wall action that ups the ante from the first season. In addition to all that, I got the satisfaction of knowing that I was 100% right about what Alastor had planned!

I Was Right about Alastor’s Plan

You cannot imagine just how smug I was feeling seeing this play out! I felt so proud of myself for figuring out Alastor’s master plan. By making it so that Vox was the most powerful Sinner in Hell, he found a loophole in his deal with Rosie. Even better, Charlie no longer owes him that favor, so she’s free! Alastor earned this win, even if it didn’t lead to him beating Vox.

And the way the other Vees turned on Vox after he crashed out! I think we all expected them to turn on Vox before the season was over, but I didn’t expect it to happen in the most dramatic way possible. Valentino may be a scumbag, but even he was smart enough to know dying for Vox’s hate**** for Alastor wasn’t worth it! Everyone has standards!

But the real highlight of the final episode is the big show-stopper, “Hear my Hope.” It’s not just an incredible song. It’s a representation of everything Charlie wants from her dream: for Heaven and Hell to work together in peace and be better. Not to mention how awesome it was to see Abel man up and put Lute in her place. She may be a problem in the future, but at least now Abel can help keep her in check. He’s already better than his dad ever was.

And in the end, Charlie proves to everyone that she was right. Sir Pentious shows everyone that he’s alive and in Heaven. As for Vox, he’s lost everything and now has to take orders from Valentino, who’s now the leader of the Vees. A happy ending for all…almost.

Angel Dust Leaves the Hotel, and…Lilith?!?

I cannot lie, I was honestly shocked when Angel Dust chose to leave the Hotel. He had done so much to improve himself, but having his secrets be exposed and learning he was brainwashed did a number on him. Now, he thinks he’s not even deserving of redemption. The mere act of regretting that only proves that he is worthy, but he needs to figure that out on his own. Until then, Valentino better not harm him!

Despite this one hiccup, though, the season ends on a hopeful note. People start coming back to the Hazbin Hotel, and for the right reasons this time. Vaggie, or rather, Vaggi, steps up as the leader of the Hotel while Charlie focuses on helping the Sinners. It’s a very hopeful ending. Then we get that surprise phone call from Lilith to end the season. Way to tease us, Vivzie.

And with that, another season of Hazbin Hotel is in the books. I have no ide when the next season comes out, but going forward, we can expect the Hellaverse to grow even bigger. Thanks to Helluva Boss now running on Amazon Prime and YouTube, the shows can finally crossover when needed! We’re gonna be eating well for a good while!

I Give “Weapon of Mass Distraction” and “Curtain Call” a 4/5 and 5/5 Each

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One Piece Chapter 1165 Review/Recap

The newest chapter of One Piece is out, and oh my god, you guys, what a chapter! The God Valley Incident has reached its climax with a fight that, in all honesty, needs to be given the movie treatment. Sengoku wasn’t kidding when he called Rocks Roger’s greatest rival, nor was he exaggerating about it how he and Garp had to work together to take him down. By the time we get to the last page of the chapter, God Valley is a wasteland devoid of all sentient life as everyone goes their separate ways. However, the best part of the chapter is also the most tragic as we see the legend of Rocks D. Xebec come to an end.

Recap

Even as they hear him beg them to put him out of his misery, Roger and Garp are barely able to handle the power of a demonically-enhanced Rocks. They hit him with everything they’ve got, but he just shrugs it off while the island is reduced to an utter ruin. It gets to the point that when Roger suggests a truce, Garp doesn’t object due to how dangerous Rocks has become. Anyone who’s still left besides them is forced to flee; only Rayleigh and Gaban head back to help Roger.

Despite the best efforts of the future Pirate King and Hero of the Marines, Garp and Roger can’t put a dent in Rocks. His Armament and Conqueror’s Haki is so powerful that it’s cancelling out all their attacks. Out of sheer desperation, the two decide to go for broke and put their lives on the line. Apologizing to Rocks for what they have to do, Roger and Garp put everything they have into one last attack. And it works! They tear through Rocks’ defenses and obliterate him in the process.

The World Government would call this day the God Valley Incident, and did everything in their power to cover up the truth of what happened, even erasing the island’s location from history. But the fall of Rocks D. Xebec and the Rocks Pirates was something too great to be ignored.

Review

Oh my heavens, you guys, this chapter was an absolute banger! I now fully understand why the people who were at God Valley don’t like talking about it much. Almost everything that happened on that island was like setting foot in the depths of Hell. When we went into this, I was expecting things to end with the World Government destroying the island altogether. It turns out that they didn’t need to, though. The fighting there was so destructive that, odds are, God Valley is probably a wasteland devoid of life. The only proof that it existed was through the legacy of the Rocks Pirates.

The Rocks Pirates Could Never Succeed

I feel like this chapter also hammers home just how tragic the fate of Rocks and his crew ultimately was. While Roger would ultimately become the Pirate King, I’d argue that Rocks was the bigger threat for directly picking a fight with the World Government. I’d even go so far as to say that if he had wanted to, Rocks could’ve found his way to Laugh Tale and exposed the truth to everyone. But despite being made up of people who became legendary figures in their own right, the Rocks Pirates didn’t even bother sticking together. Throughout the chapter, you can see how each member decides to leave their Captain to his fate without a second thought.Heck, we see Gloriosa trying to hitch a ride with the Roger Pirates. To be honest, it makes the Rocks Pirates feel like a dark reflection of the Straw Hats in the present-day. Both crews are badasses that can defeat armies, and both are led by someone who could change the world. The main difference is that the Straw Hats have camaraderie the Rocks Pirates never did.

Honestly, if Rocks could see what Luffy has with his crew, he might cry tears of joy. Because before this series is over, I think the Straw Hats will finish what the Rocks and Roger Pirates started. It’s not much, but considering how Rocks didn’t deserve what happened to him, it’s something.

Now Comes the Aftermath

I would also like to note that this chapter should make Garp stocks go up a little. Despite having an idea about the monster the World Government is hiding shaking him up, Garp chooses to stay in the Marines to keep the rank and file safe. He’s like that one superior you have at work who knows they’re working in a bad company, but do so anyway to shield those under them. It’s understandable, but I can also understand why this event likely makes Dragon quit.

Regardless of how things panned out, remember that this isn’t the end of the flashback. Keep in mind that the whole point of this flashback was learning the truth about how Harald died. We’ve still got a ways to go before we learn the truth. No matter what, though, Imu needs to fall.

I Give “Reverberations” a 5/5

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Habzin Hotel S2 Eps 5-6 Review

This whole season of Hazbin Hotel has been nothing but one long conga line of humiliation. Vox and the Vees have been dragging Charlie’s reputation through the mud at every turn. Alastor let himself be captured and humiliated by them. And no matter what anyone tries to say, Vox just manages to spin it against them. Now Hell is about to march to war with Heaven. Is there really nothing that Charlie and the Hotel can do to stop Vox and Lute from getting the war they want? Because it looks like Vivzie really wants to give us that war!

Hell has Gone to…Well, Hell!

So, after Alastor allowed himself to be taken prisoner by Vox, Hell has been turned upside down. Vox has been using all that new clout to rally most of the Overlords into joining his “war on Heaven” plan. He even guilt-tripped Carmilla into making him weapons that can kill Angels by playing on her fear for her daughters! Vox is king of Hell in all but name. And the entire time this has been going on, Charlie has been spiraling more and more trying to prove that her ideas can work. It’s gotten to the point where she’s started to neglect her own well-being, yet her tunnel vision is so intense that she can’t even realize that. What makes it even harder, though, is the fact that Vaggie has to watch all this and grow frustrated at being unable to get her girlfriend to listen to her. I’ve never spiraled over things the way that Charlie has, but I have a feeling that this conflict hits especially hard for people who’ve seen loved ones do this. And what she ends up doing only makes things worse: she asks Lucifer for help.

Lucifer Done Messed Up

I have to admit, I was curious as to why Lucifer, the Devil and King of Hell, hadn’t done anything about Vox before. Normally, this kind of power-play would be grounds for a smiting. It seems Vivzie and her team thought ahead and closed that plot hole. As it turns out, part of Lucifer’s punishment of being in Hell is that he can’t actually do anything against Sinners. He just has to watch them as they be their worst selves. He’s king in title, but in practice, he’s all but emasculated. And when Lucifer does try to intimidate Vox as a massive rally, Vox turns the tables on him by calling his bluff in front of everyone!! Which is especially frustrating when you consider how cool the man’s song up to that point was. Hazbin Hotel has some absolute bangers to it!

And then, things continue to get worse where Sera finally decides to do what she should have done and try to apologize. Unfortunately, Emily and Abel’s well-meaning, but misguided, idea of giving everyone gift baskets backfires on them. Vox spins this against them, Sera falls for his tricks, and just like that, Hell declares war on Heaven!

Vox Ruins Everything

We are then forced to watch as everything begins to fall apart for Charlie and the Hotel. Husk briefly quits the Hotel so that he can sink back into his vices. Charlie throws her dad out of the Hotel. And worst of all, Vaggie and Charlie’s relationship undergoes some serious strain. Oh, and most of the Hotel residents leave.

Somehow, this feels like we’re in a repeat of what happened in Ep. 6 of the first season, with everyone hitting rock bottom. The main difference is that Hell is now being the aggressor to Heaven. And they’re not wrong to be angry. What Heaven did to them was morally wrong and unnecessary. Had they thought to better understand how rhe rules worked a lot sooner, none of this would be happening. But their arrogance blinded them to the idea, and now they’re paying the price. But that doesn’t make what Hell’s doing right either. They’re throwing away the moral high ground instead of using it to their full advantage to better themselves. And Vox is only doing this for himself, making him as bad as Adam.

How Long Was this Happening with Angel?!?!

None of that beats what might be the biggest reveal of the season, though. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that Vox has been hypnotizing Angel Dust into acting as an unwitting sleeper agent! This was something that I did not see coming in the slightest!, and it caught me genuinely off guard. How long has this been going on?!?

Yet, despite how bad things are, Vivzie manages to give us a glimmer of hope. Two, in fact. Firstly, Charlie and Vaggie make up in another song and dance number.

The second and most important glimmer of hope, though, stems from Alastor himself.

Alastor is Messing With the Vees

There’s an episode from the 2000s Justice League series where Lex Luthor and a bunch of villains capture Batman. Despite Joker saying they should kill him while they have the chance, Luthor refuses. That proves to be a massive mistake, though, as Batman uses it to sew discord in the group and get them at each other’s throats before escaping. I don’t know if someone on Vivzie’s team saw that episode or not, but Alastor’s pulling the same scheme in captivity.

Across these two episodes, we see Alastor begin to sew seeds of doubt amongst the Vees, making Vox treat Valentino and Velvette as underlings than equals. All he’s doing is stoking resentment that was already there, but it’s starting to work. Velvette and Valentino are starting to grow sick of Vox getting his way. My best guess is that in the next two episodes, things will come to a boil as the Vees turn on each other, causing this war to fall apart before things get too out of hand. As for why Alastor’s doing this, I think it’s so Vox will become the strongest Sinner long enough to break his deal with Rosie. I don’t know how this will end for Alastor, but I’m eager to find out!

I feel like Vivziepop’s team has really outdone themselves with how hopeless they’ve made Charlie’s situation this season. I have no idea how the Hotel can get out of this mess without losing people in the process. Hopefully, the show can pull a convincing ex machina out of its bag, because it feels like the season could end on a downer!

I Give “Silenced” and “Scream Rain” a 4/5 Each

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Hazbin Hotel S2 Eps 3-4 Review

It’s official: the reputation of the Hazbin Hotel is in the gutter. Not the show, mind you; that’s doing great. It’s the hotel itself that is tanking. Thanks to the Vees’ smear campaign, Hell is turning more and more against Charlie and her dream of redeeming people. But now that she knows that redemption is possible, you would think that this would change things, right? It doesn’t. Instead, it leads Charlie to make decisions that only make her look even worse. And to top it off, we learn new things about the Hotel Residents and why they’re in Hell in the first place. Most notably, though, we get to learn about the backstory of the Radio Demon himself, Alastor!! And it is such a huge twist!!

#CharliewasRight

Episode three starts off right where episode one ended: with Charlie learning from Emily that Pentious is alive, in Heaven, and redeemed. In other words, she was right about redemption being possible! Her ideals work, and so does the hotel!

There’s just one small problem: Emily didn’t tell her the bigger details, leaving Charlie in the dark about how redemption works. And this ends up costing Charlie big time.

Charlie has been going through an emotional rollercoaster since the Extermination, and the Vees smear campaign hasn’t helped. If anything, it leads her to make decisions that only serve to make things worse. She’s so desperate to get the word out that she was right that she invites Vox and Velvette over to the Hotel to tell them. Except she forgets until it’s too late that she has no concrete proof of how redemption works, making her look foolish in front of the Vees.

I’m Sure there’s more Context

But that’s nothing compared to what she does next. Charlie gets so desperate to prove she’s right that she starts jumping through some insane mental hoops. Case in point, she tries to get Angel Dust to recreate the circumstances behind Sir Pentious’ redemption, which almost gets him killed. By the time she realizes redemption means making up for one’s worst sin, the damage is already done. And Vox makes it even worse when he drops this major bombshell.

I get the feeling that there is more context to this story about Angel killing his dad. Knowing what we do about him, it’s likely his dad was an abusive jerk, and Angel killed him in self-defense. Either way, he does not appreciate his dirty laundry being aired like this. But this is still a major step back for Charlie, and her attempts to do further damage control in the following episode only make things worse! Why did she think having Niffty talk about the Hotel was a good idea?!?!

The one silver lining to all this, at least, is that Cherri Bomb finally makes it official and moves into the Hotel. Not because of anything that Charlie did, mind you. It’s because she’s still shaken up by what Pentious did, and she wants to see him again so she can sort out whatever feelings she might have. And as the pair’s duet from afar makes it clear, there are feelings in play for this.

If we thought that the big reveal about Angel Dust’s past was shocking, though, then that’s nothing compared to what we get in the fourth episode with Alastor!

Alastor: Origins

From the pilot more than six years ago, Alastor the Radio Demon has been among the most enigmatic characters on the show. He showed up out of nowhere, established himself as the strongest Sinner in Hell, and decided to back Charlie’s Hotel on a whim. But losing to Adam dealt him with a case of humble pie that he’s still smarting from. On top of that, the finale confirmed that Alastor is, in fact, trapped in a deal with another Demon. Which begs the question: who could be controlling Alastor? As it turns out, the fourth episode reveals this to us in full.

After dealing with Lucifer’s snide comments abo it his loss one too many times, Alastor crashes out and declares that he’s quitting the Hotel. The next time we see him, he’s in Cannibal Town where we finally learn who is the one controlling Alastor’s strings: none other than Rosie herself.

Back when Alastor was still a normal human, he made a deal with Rosie. Since he knew he was damned to Hell, he decided to sell his soul in exchange for the right to become the strongest Sinner in the afterlife. And he got what he wanted, but at the expense of having to dance to Rosie’s tune. Now he wants out after losing to Adam, and Rosie won’t let him. Truthfully, though, Alastor has no one to blame but himself. He thought he could handle Adam, but it was clear that he couldn’t, and his pride can’t take it.

Which, of course, only makes what he does next all the more baffling. But I think I’ve figured out what he’s got planned.

The deal with Rosie was that she would make Alastor the strongest Sinner in Hell. Sinner’s power is related to the fear and respect they inspire in others. But if Alastor were to lose all that fear of him, then he wouldn’t be the strongest Sinner in Hell, would he? Thus, the deal would be off. Having sent the episode for myself (and loved Alastor fighting the Vees), I think that this is what he has planned, and Vox fell for it. That, and a part of him does care about the Hotel, no matter how much he might deny it. Personally, I don’t know if this will pan out how Alastor intends, but it’s still a clever plan.

No Wonder Vox Hates Alastor

The best part, though, is that we get to see why Vox hates Alastor so much. Frankly, I don’t blame him.

Alastor pretty much broke Vox’s heart, leaving him the bitter, hate-filled Sinner that he is today. The flashback even implies that Vox wasn’t nearly as bad back then as he is now. He got this way because of spite, and now all existence could suffer for it!

For the time being, though, the Hazbin Hotel is in it deep. It’s rep is in the toilet, its strongest member has turned himself in, and the staff is starting to fracture. And this is only the halfway point for the season! We’ve got plenty more to cover, and I can’t wait to see it all happen!

I Give “Hazbin Hotel: Behind Closed Doors” and “It’s a Deal” a 3/5 and a 4/5 each

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Hazbin Hotel S2 Eps 1-2 Review

Hazbin Hotel is back in business, everyone! After a year and a half of anticipation, Vivziepop’s Internet hit turned Amazon series has returned to grace screens everywhere. I know that I’m a week behind schedule writing about this, but I was too busy celebrating Halloween. Now that I have time to catch up, I’m going all in on this show. Because judging by the promotional material we’ve been steadily fed the last few months, this season’s going to be crazy, as Charlie might have a new problem to deal with: stopping a war between Heaven and Hell.t

So, What Now, Charlie?

A month has passed since the Hazbin Hotel residents stopped Adam’s extermination, and Hell is still reeling from the consequences. Not only did they see first-hand that angels can be killed, but they also saw Adam get killed at the hands of Nifty. Thanks to that, the now rebuilt hotel’s rep has skyrocketed. Our first look shows that so many people are trying to check in, the staff can barely keep up. Unfortunately, it’s made blatantly obvious that they’re there for the wrong reasons. They just want a chance to kill the hated Angels, with Charlie’s message of redemption being completely lost on them. Though, to be fair, this is not entirely the Hotel’s doing, but the new big bad’s, the Vees.

A big theme going into this season is the danger of mass media manipulation, something that Vox has been taking full advantage of in-between seasons. His news outlets have been purposefully pushing the “Hazbin Hotel kills angels” angle while ignoring its true purpose of redemption. Why is he doing this? Because he wants to be a god. In life, Vox was the leader of a cult, and that gave him a god complex. Now that Hell knows Angels can be killed, he wants to channel the centuries of resentment in order to launch a full-on war against Heaven, allowing him and the Vees to seize control and rule all of creation. Which is exactly the thing that led Sera to authorize the Exterminations in the first place, and won’t end well for anyone involved.

If it wasn’t for the fact that this could lead to the destruction of the universe, I would find Vox’s plan darkly humorous. He’s so eager to gain power that he’s overlooking something important: Sinners aren’t strong enough to fight the higher-ups of Heaven. Alastor proved that when he lost to Adam, something that he’s still smarting over! The only thing this will accomplish is getting more people killed, and everything that Charlie doesn’t want to happen. But how is Charlie going to handle this?

In short, she has no clue.

We Miss Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious’ apparent sacrifice has affected the Hotel staff differently. They’re more open with each other about their emotions and have a tighter bond. Cherri has been trying to come to terms with the fact that Pentious sacrificed himself for her (and kissed her.) But Charlie? She’s been bawling her eyes out over Sir Pentious, and has no idea what to do next. Or how to convince people to take her ideas of redemption seriously.

This leads to a touching moment between Charlie and her dad as they both open up about their insecurities. It’s great to see Lucifer trying to be there for Charlie and not let his past trauma hold him back anymore. Unfortunately, his advice of being honest leads almost everyone to leave. Then the Vees spin everything to make her look bad and hating Sinners, much to her fury. The only one sticking around is a mad scientist named Baxter, and he’s only there to prove redemption is fake.

Joke’s on him, though. Emily drops in on Charlie and lets her know that she was right. Sir Pentious was redeemed, and Heaven is in an uproar.

Heaven is in Turmoil

The second episode of the season focuses exclusively on Heaven in the aftermath of Adam’s death and Sir Pentious’ arrival. And it is absolutely bonkers! In rapid succession, the residents of Heaven learn that its leaders had been killing Sinners in Hell in secret, Adam was killed, and a Sinner had redeemed themselves and got into Heaven. In other words, everything they thought they knew was a lie, and now Sera has to deal with the guilt of knowing she enabled Adam and Lute to become genocidal maniacs.

And you know what? She should feel guilty. Most of the leaders of Heaven should feel guilty. Their pride and self-assurance led them to commit acts just as bad as the worst Sinners, and none of it was necessary. If they had swallowed their pride and admitted that they didn’t know why people wound up in Heaven and Hell and worked with the Morningstars to understand the rules, all this pain could have been avoided. And unfortunately, Sera and the other leaders allow their fear and pride dictate their actions. Rather than seek reconciliation with Hell or forgiveness, Sera ends the episode by putting Heaven on lockdown. Which, of course, will only means the Vees efforts will make things worse when the time comes.

To be fair, though, it becomes pretty obvious in this episode that not even God is perfect. Or rather, the Speaker of God, who acts on his behalf. On the one hand, she does step in when Sir Pentious is not getting a chance to defend himself and respects people’s freedom of choice. On the other hand, she gives Sera the vaguest advice on how to deal with her guilt. I’m all for letting people choose their destiny, but sometimes, we need someone to guide us! Still, Sera is handling things far better than Lute.

Lute is Going to become a Fallen Angel

Like Adam, Lute is the personification of the worst parts of Christianity. She’s dogmatic, self-righteous, and refuses to admit when she is wrong. Rather than accepting that Adam’s brought his death upon himself, Lute continues to see Hell as the enemy, even when Heaven is now doubting this. Over the course of the episode, we get a front-row seat as we watch her become more and more insane, hallucinating that Adam is telling her to finish her mission. The bitter irony is that at the rate she’s going, Lute will likely become a fallen angel thanks to her pride and wrath. I’d even go so far as to say that she is more in line with classical depictions of Lucifer than the Lucifer of the show.

But what about Sir Pentious? How did he end up in Heaven and how is he doing? That answer might surprise you!

Sir Pentious’ Redemption

Hearing this, it should be pretty obvious why Sinners end up in Hell, even if they were otherwise good people in life. They are weighted down by the guilt and regret that they feel, consciously or not, about their greatest sin in life. That guilt manifests in death by turning them into Sinners and leaving them in Hell. However, if they act in a way that will allow them to atone for their biggest regret or sin in life, their souls can be redeemed and be allowed to enter into Heaven. In Sir Pentious’ case, he refused to sit back and let Adam kill his friends, sacrificing himself to save them. Of course, there are still a few holes about this. As Pentious himself points out, where did his Egg Boys go? Questions for later, though.

Now, here’s the main issue: Pentious hates Heaven.

No, really. After getting yeeted to Heaven, Pentious finds himself the only one of his kind, a former Sinner, in the entire place. And despite Emily trying to spin this as being super positive, it just makes him feel lonelier than ever. It’s sad seeing him wanting to get back to Hell. It’s ironic, really. He’s the first person to get out of Hell, and now he wants back in. Then again, what good is it to be in Heaven if your family is somewhere else? Sadly, Sir Pentious may have to wait, since Heaven’s in lockdown.

This was a solid start to the new season of this mega-hit. And it wouldn’t be a Vivziepop series if it didn’t have musical numbers. These first two episodes were packed with them, and all of them are toe-tappers! I love them so much! I love Hazbin Hotel, and I’m so glad to see it back again! These next few weeks are going to be fun!

I Give “New Pentious” and “Storyteller” a 4/5 Each

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One Piece Chapter 1164 Review/Recap

When we started this flashback about the life of Loki, we knew Oda was going to reveal the truth behind King Harald’s death. Almost everyone seemed to think that there was more than what the Giants thought, and that Loki might be innocent. Or at least have a better reason. But then we started learning about the life of Rocks D. Xebec, his friendship with Harald, and the true cause of the God Valley Incident where Rocks fell. All of this was so that Oda could not only explain one of the most important events in the series timeline, but to show why Harald ultimately died. Imu had been using him from the start to turn the Giants into their weapons. Rocks was right about everything, but tragically, he never gets the chance to warn Harald. But the blood of Davy Jones Endures

Recap

Even as he’s left in the grips of Imu’s Domi Reversi, Rocks remains as defiant as ever. He taunts the creature about how terrified of the return Davy Jones and Joy Boy, asking which one they’re more afraid of. In response, Imu declares that they will ensure Rocks ends Davy Jones’ bloodline himself. And to twist the knife further, they let him know that they plan to turn the Giants of Elbaph into their puppets, enraging Rocks. But it’s already too late. Imu has taken full control, and gives him his orders: kill his family, and then kill everyone left alive on the island.

Rocks proceeds to go on a rampage, tearing through everyone he comes across. He sends Big Mom and Kaido flying away, hits Whitebeard with enough force to make one of the mountains collapse, and just kills everyone moving. Then, just as Eris gets herself and Teach to the coast, Rocks reaches them. Trapped between Navy ships and Rocks, the mother and child appear to be doomed. Thankfully, Kuma comes and saves them in the nick of time.

At this point, everyone left alive starts to evacuate God Valley. However, Garp and Roger stay behind to face Rocks. That’s when they hear his voice in their heads, begging them to help him. He wants them to end his life while his body charges right at them!

Review

Holy ****, that was terrifying. Not even the mighty Rocks D. Xebec was able to resist the power of Imu. And thanks to him being turned into a demon, it looks like God Valley really will get wiped off the map. Even if the island isn’t destroyed, it will likely be a wasteland. More importantly, though, this dropped some big lore about the Void Century on us with the reveal about Davy Jones.

According to Rocks, Davy D. Jones was once the king of the world. Yet Imu claims that Jones was never king. We may not be able to trust Imu’s word, but if there’s any truth in what he and Rocks are saying, then that means that Rocks and Blackbeard are descendants of royalty. If Rocks is right, then Imu and the Twenty Kings must have overthrown Jones when they seized power. Is it possible Jones was the ruler of the Ancient Kingdom the World Government destroyed? It makes for an interesting idea, at the very least.

At any rate, it’s good to see that Kuma saved Teach and Eris, even if that will lead to greater hardship in the future. Bless that man’s soul. It’s likely that we will learn more about what happened to Eris when we get Blackbeard’s eventual backstory. But in the meantime, it looks like my prediction about what happens is spot on. Garp and Roger are the only ones who can put Rocks out of his misery, and so they shall. The tragic part, though, is that Rocks will never have the chance to warn Harald that he was being played for a fool. His good intentions get twisted for evil, and now Luffy and Loki will have to set things right. The next chapter will likely mark the end of the God Valley Incident, but not the end of this flashback, as we still need to know how Harald died. At this point, though, we can guess the rest.

Imu is going to pay for all this before the series ends.

I Give “Blood of Davy” a 4/5

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