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Hazbin Hotel S1 Ep 7-8 Review

Even though it was only three weeks and eight episodes long, the curtain’s already fallen on the first season of Hazbin Hotel, the indie animated series that’s become the most-viewed show on Amazon Prime. And like a high-class Broadway production or a film from the Disney Renaissance, it went out with a bang. With the forces of Adam prepared to level Hell and Charlie at her lowest point, the entire cast rallies for a stand against Heaven. What results from this is a finale filled with character growth and drama, impressive musical numbers, and fights that will the audience screaming at their screens. 

Hilariously enough, Vox and the Vees do just that while watching everything happen.

Charlie and Vaggie Spend Some Time Apart

In the wake of Adam’s actions in the previous episode, calling things tense between Charlie and Vaggie would be an understatement. Charlie’s deeply hurt by Vaggie not telling her she was an Angel for years. Coupled with Heaven refusing to have faith in her hotel and Adam vowing to destroy it out of spite, CharlieCharlie’s hit rock bottom. That’s when Alastor comes in and makes a deal with her to tell her how to kill the Exorcists. The good news is that he doesn’t ask for her soul. The bad news is that it’s a favor he can cash in whenever he wants, planting the seeds for conflict down the road.

The episode mostly sees Charlie and Vaggie splitting up to get aid for the upcoming fight. If this was a way for the show to symbolize the newfound rift between the couple, then it’s effective. The two have to work through their issues without the benefit of their partner beside them. 

Separate Journeys

For Charlie’s part, Alastor takes her to meet Rosie, the Overlord of Cannibal Town. Which, ironically, isn’t a feral cesspit but a picturesque town straight out of old-timey Americana. To further sweeten the irony, Rosie says she can recruit the residents to help her fight through singing and dancing. The one group that would embrace her love of theater, and she’s too upset about Vaggie to use it.

Meanwhile, Vaggie talks to Carmilla Carmine, who reveals the Exorcist’s Angelic weapons don’t just work on Demons but also on Angels. If Adam’s behavior didn’t show that Angels can be just like Demons, this weakness cinches it. Rather than hand over her supply of Angelic weapons, though, Carmilla starts fighting Vaggie.

As hard as their missions are, what Charlie and Vaggie do separately does help them come to terms with Vaggie’s lack of honesty, with some help from their respective Overlord. 

Remembering What’s Important.

From Charlie’s end, Rosie helps her realize what the audience already did. Vaggie didn’t lie to her out of malice but out of fear of rejection. The fear can still be terrifying even when people know it won’t happen. As Charlie realizes, though, Vaggie’s actions prove the sincerity of her actions, giving her the confidence she needs to rally the Cannibals.

As for Vaggie, when Carmilla doesn’t lampshade how obvious it is that Vaggie is an Angel (she had an X-eyepatch and Angelic Spear), she lectures her on her motives. Despite her love for Charlie, her heart is clouded by the need for revenge, which Carmilla says could cost her everything. While it may be cliche, Carmilla teaches her that fighting for love rather than hate is better.

Scratch that, it’s not cliche. It perfectly aligns with the show’s message about redemption: love is one of the greatest redeemers. 

The Epic Final Battle

The season finale suitably covers the war against the Exorcists, and VivziePop’s team pulled out all the stops. The first few minutes are spent covering the final preparations, followed by the traditional “celebrate before the big battle because you might die” moment. It’s cliche, but for good reason. Seeing everyone mentally prepared is hampered by how fast the season came out. The moment would hold more weight if the season had more time to get to know the cast, either with more episodes or a more weekly release frame. To its credit, though, the moment is still sweet.

The battle that follows, on the other hand, is unbelievably epic. The animation is fluid and crisp, the music is thematically appropriate, and everyone gets at least one chance to shine. Only some big battles give everyone time in the spotlight, with some inevitably getting more attention than others. Yet the show ensures everyone has at least one moment to show off. Alastor and later Charlie both face off against Adam, with the latter taking the gloves off and treating Adam like a Princess of Hell probably would. Sir Pentious shows off how skilled he is as a commander. And, as many fans feared, one Hotel member does sacrifice themselves. But it’s not the one that everyone expected, so it’s still a shock. 

So Long, Adam!

The final battle has several highlights, but arguably, the biggest one is who comes in to save the day: Lucifer himself. We finally see what Charlie’s Dad is like, having regained his will to fight, and it’s everything fans could’ve wanted. He’s cocky, joking, not taking the fight seriously until he has to. In short, he’s messing with Adam and showing everyone that he can beat him anytime. He was just so broken by his past that he chose not to.

Ultimately, Adam is defeated, but I won’t say who delivered the final blow. His final moments show how awful a person he was. Whatever good he might have once had, if he ever had it, died from eons of thinking being an Angel meant he could do no wrong. He believed everyone should revere him, but in truth, he was an arrogant, self-entitled, sexist jerk with a God Complex. Instead, he was the angelic equivalent of Homelander, and his downfall is suitably ironic.

Watch the show, and you’ll see why.

A Happier Day in Hell…?

The Extermination is defeated, and the episode’s final moments imply that they’ll never happen again. Not because Hell fought off Heaven, but because it’s proven that Charlie might have been right about Sinners being able to redeem themselves, with the ones who sacrificed themselves now appearing in Heaven. Anyone can redeem themselves, and while Adam’s ultimate fate contradicts this thought, I don’t see it that way. Anyone can redeem themselves, but they have to want to do so. Adam did himself in. 

The big finale song is suitably grand, showing the Hotel Staff rebuilding, the denizens of Hell making new plans, and the future looking better for Hell. However, the final scene comes with a twist that sets up the next season and throws many things into question. It’s a good twist that makes everyone willing to wait for whenever the second season comes.

There will be a season two. Despite poor planning regarding its release schedule, the show has proven more than popular enough. It’s top ten trending on Amazon Prime, and its music videos and reviews are trending on YouTube. Amazon would be insane not to renew it.

I Give “Hello, Rosie” and “The Show Must Go On” a 4.5/5 and 5/5 Each

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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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