It took four years to get from the pilot of Hazbin Hotel to the first episode of season one. Fortunately, it only took a little under two years to get to the first episode of season two. And while our Lord and Savior Speaker Amazon has chosen to draw out the episode release over the next four weeks, two episodes every Wednesday compared to the flat-drop of the first season, the first two episodes of this new season start out considerably strong, or at least put down the framework for the most important question; What happens to Heaven and Hell now?
It was difficult for me to review the first season because I had the same issue with the season as I did with Infinity Train. The pilot was fucking amazing as hell, and then the show itself was just not as good. Even Steven Universe‘s pilot was actually good, and the art style was quirky. But as with almost all modern animation, because they need it to be uniform and accessible to their team of sweatshop animators, everything gets watered down. Alas. Even in these opening episodes, the animation looks a touch less refined compared to the first season. Perhaps its the colors or just the way they did some scene transitions, but the whole scene with Lucifer and Charlie looked off to me.
But putting aside animation, what you watch this show for are the characters, the plot, the musical interludes, and lastly the animation. Normally I put animation first, but this is a rare exception where I will permit the animation to slide back a bit because it’s some pretty good shit. Picking up from last season, Adam and his Archangels attacked Hell, and Charlie and Co. fought back, killing several, and especially killing Adam, dispatched by Niffty herself. In the middle of the fracas, Sir Pentious sacrificed himself to save Cherri Bomb, and wound up in Heaven. Lute confronts Lilith, Charlie’s mother, who is also in Heaven for some reason, and Alastor nearly loses himself after being defeated by Adam seemingly.
From the start of the episode, you notice that Alastor’s staff is stiched together, implying that there is more to it than just being a simple prop in his outfit as an Overlord of Hell. Surprisingly he has little to do or say in these first two episodes, only quipping about not helping the team as they’re being mobbed. Rather, the first episode focuses mostly on Charlie grappling with her mission of the newly-rebuilt hotel, and trying to instill the values she rests her laurels on. The others are pretty much along for the ride, with Vaggie trying to think up a new name for herself to distance herself from Adam, only to keep coming up with Vag-names. Pentious had it best, Vagatha.
The second episode focuses on Sir Pentious in heaven, and this episode is a little more interesting for a few reasons. First and foremost, nobody has any idea why he is there, because apparently redeeming a soul has never happened before. Even Lute doesn’t buy the notion that someone can be sent to hell for their transgressions, and commit further transgressions to somehow be redeemed to Heaven. It sounds like someone needs to check the AI logic in GOD.EXE. Second, Pentious recalls his entire story to The Speaker, in which he knows his entire origin story as an investor in London in 1888. Witnessing the first serial killing of what we would all know as Jack the Ripper, he theorizes he was sent to hell for the sin of not stopping him by virtue of knowing who he was. This is interesting because Vox mentioned before he was a cult leader in his mortal life. Theories that Alastor may have been a radio star in the 1920s or 1930s and perhaps died as a result of The Great Depression of World War II, or involved in mafia shit. I don’t know if all of these characters are supposed to be connected to the same time periods or just scattered throughout history.
And then of course, Lute vowing revenge, and Heaven sealing itself away from Hell, along with The Vees’ plan to rule both realms, underscores what this season will look like. Lute especially is going to be a wild card, as she is hallucinating Adam in her mind and has his arm I think, which leads me to wonder if there is some possible way he is actually alive and is puppeting her like Cyberpunk 2077 shit. Or might take her over at some point. Hope not, but it’d be fun either way. What I am looking for at minimum from this season is an explanation on Lilith. Everything else, in what I assume will be another Big Fucking Conflict, is good and all, but I want to know why she’s up there and snubbing everyone else.
Now, let’s talk talent. As you’ve heard before, the show has insane Broadway talent, along with Golden Era Disney talent as well. That continues this season with the addition of three more names:
- Liz Callaway as The Speaker of God – The singing voice of Jasmine in the second and third Aladdin movies, and Anastasia in Anastasia.
- Patrick Stump as Abel – Lead singer and guitarist of the band Fall Out Boy.
- Darren Criss as Peter – Actor and composer for Little White Lie and Glee.
If songs are your thing, and they probably are since every tween is into K-POP Demon Hunters, there are plenty of good tracks here, especially at the end of the second episode with a hard fucking banger by Lute (Jessica Vosk) that I am sure folks will want in their Spotify playlists. I’m actually not a huge stage-music nerd or particular with Disney-esque musical interludes in my animation or television, but I do not hate how they flow in Hazbin, and that I think just speaks to how well they’re able to weave them through the story without making it seem too extra or too fourth-wall.
The bottom line, if you’re into Hazbin and are interested in seeing where the story goes, strap yourselves in, or strap yourselves on as Angel Dust might quip, and hold on. Shit’s looking to get real. Hopefully.
Soulful Observations
- Katie Killjoy wanting to bone her boss has to be some Tumblr writer’s fanfic, but also predictably obvious. Tom is also the cuck bottom, hundo percent.
- The oddly-specific mention of pangolins and how they have so many of them is unfortunately, very true. They are so overhunted for their scales and meat in China and Vietnam that they have been endangered for decades. But worse, they were originally thought to have been the transmission method for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or COVID-19, due to its high circulation in Chinese medicinal folklore. It turned out not to be the case after further research, but this further decimated pangolin populations in Asia already critically endangered. I assume that any animal in heaven is that of a departed soul from Earth, and for them to have an abundance of one, most certainly means they were hunted to extinction. That’s a deep cut into environmentalism, Viziepop.
- “Shut up, Peter, you’re just a glorified mascot!” Oof. Ol’ Pete is the most iconic aspect of religious orthodoxy on how you’re admitted to heaven or not, so it’s humorous he’s kind of reduced to just being an unassuming blonde boy who just minds the door.
- Knowing what we now know about Pentious in his mortal life, I do hope we’re going to be treated to more backstories of other characters this season. I’m sure we’re all anxious to know who Alastor was before he became… Alastor.
