Recently declared as the most watched animated series on Amazon, Hazbin Hotel is an adult musical comedy created by YouTube animator Vivienne Medrano. The show takes place in Hell, which is facing an overpopulation of sinners that are exterminated each year by Heaven’s angels. Angered by the unjust killings of sinners, Charlie Morningstar, daughter of Lucifer himself, opens the Hazbin Hotel with her girlfriend Vaggie, a fallen angel.
The hotel is designed to be a risky attempt to help sinners become redeemed and enter Heaven despite failing to become sanctified in their human lives. When making her attempt to get Heaven to aid in the sinners’ rehabilitation, Adam, the first human and inhabitant of Heaven, crushes Charlie’s dreams and moves the exterminations directly to the hotel. In a final epic battle, Hell’s sinners defeat Adam and his angels and temporarily cancel the exterminations.
Throughout the show, a couple characters became fan-favorites. Many fans chose the snake demon Sir Pentious or the raunchy adult film star Angeldust. Sir Pentious, despite having minimal screen time in the first few episodes, has a major jump in character development towards the season finale by becoming the first sinner to be redeemed and sent to Heaven.
Angeldust’s character, although a regular attendee at the hotel, doesn’t have a redemption arc yet. Before his death, he made a deal with Valentino, a moth demon. As a result, he must perform in Valentino’s adult film studio as a part of his soul contract.
Angeldust is used to depict heavy topics, such as trafficking, exploitation, and sexual assault, which is partially why many viewers feel compelled to connect with his development. Fans speculate that Angeldust will be redeemed in the second season, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Between the developments in the story, the show is littered with moments of comedic relief. Angeldust is primarily used for the sex jokes and innuendos, while Sir Pentious is an opposite to the rest of the characters, with an innocence that a sinner in Hell shouldn’t possess. Most of the other comedic moments are purely situational or based on vulgar language and slang, which further stresses the point that this is an adult animated musical comedy.
With a lovable cast and comedic charm, there are also musical numbers that either captivate fans with their motivational instrumentals or tug at their hearts with their intimate lyrics. A common favorite is the song “You Didn’t Know”, which is sung at the end of episode six. The song takes place during the second meeting Charlie has in Heaven, where she is denied help and enables the angels to go to the hotel first during the extermination in the season finale.
Overall, this show was very entertaining, but it felt rushed and missed many opportunities to give characters like Angeldust and Vaggie more character development. Episode six introduced too many minor characters in a very short span of time, with the most important character being Emily, the daughter of the lead Seraphim Sera. Emily’s screen time was very short, and it felt like she should have been introduced at the beginning of the show to make her newfound friendship with Charlie genuine and more impactful for the final moments of episode six.
Episode seven redeemed some quality with Vaggie’s training montage with Carmella Carmine, an angelic weapons dealer who is one of Hell’s overlords. Their song “Out For Love” was a great developmental milestone for Vaggie, enabling her to grow her wings back.
If you like raunchy comedy, musicals, or animated series, then this show is definitely a must-watch! The show is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
