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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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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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