Everyone, especially highschoolers, have done bad things. Things they weren’t proud of — things they regret or things that caused harm in some way. If the afterlife exists, most of us hope we’ve done more bad than good so we can go to the rewarding afterlife. On the other hand, what if you end up in the punishing afterlife? Is that it? Are you stuck in Hell for eternity? Or is there a way to reform and reach Heaven? This is the premise of Hazbin Hotel. Premiered on Jan. 15, “Hazbin Hotel” is a new Amazon Prime TV series that had a dedicated fanbase for years before the first episode even aired. This is because the show’s pilot episode was released on Youtube in 2019, and developed something of a cult following.
The show follows Charlie Morningstar (Elsie Lovelock and Erika Henningsen), daughter of Lucifer Morningstar (Jeremy Jordan), and princess of Hell. She has the dream of reforming residents of Hell so they can go to Heaven. To do this, she opens the titular Hazbin Hotel. Charlie is not without help, however, and has a rag-tag band of misfits to help her in her quest: her girlfriend, Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), an old gambler named Husker (Kieth David), a porn star named Angel Dust (Michael Kovach), an only slightly psychotic maid named Nifty (Kimiko Glenn) and Alastor (Amir Talai)— a mysterious and powerful overlord known as the Radio Demon.
If I had to sum up the show in one sentence, it would be “vulgar yet wholesome.” I know those things are mutually exclusive, but in this case, it works. To say the characters are foul-mouthed would be the understatement of the century. The overall message of the show is learning from your mistakes and becoming a better person through hard work. The show is a musical one, with at least two or three songs in each episode, each of which vary drastically in both genre and tone depending on who sings it.
The pacing of the show is fantastic, managing to set up the plot and characters, have multiple well done character development arcs, a great main story arc that happens simultaneously to all of this and a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion. The characters are lovable and compelling, and the story is comedic and absurd. Though the story is very over the top, it does deal with some very real, very serious and important issues. Examples include deadbeat parents, depression, addiction, low self-esteem, trust issues, healthy relationships, the will to overcome great opposition, sociopathy and more.
“Hazbin Hotel” is a fantastic show with important messages for its viewers and relatable ties to the real world. At the same time, it manages to combine high quality animation, impressive voice acting, amazing singing and so much more into a veritable cornucopia of top-tier entertainment. I binged this show in a single night, loved every second of it, and the cliffhanger ending left me metaphorically salivating for another season.
“Hazbin Hotel”: ★★★★★
