Hazbin Hotel Theory

Hazbin Hotel Theory

Recently I've been trying to figure out why some characters have two black scleras, and why some only have one.

Hazbin Hotel spoilers below

Examples of one black sclera

Examples of two black sclera

My first theory is that it may have to do with their souls being sold. One black sclera means that their soul IS sold, but there are conditions in the contract in which the person may still have some sort of freedom. Like Angel Dust. His contract dictates that Valentino can do whatever he wants with Angel inside of the studio, meaning outside of it Angel is free to do whatever HE wants. This is why in Episode 6 he's able to talk back to Valentino and not get killed.

This then would mean that two black sclera means that the sold soul is under complete control from the buyer, giving the reason as to Husker's small monologue in Episode 1 about Alastor forcing him to be at the hotel, despite Alastor calling it a "favor" in the pilot.

But there's a problem with this theory. If Husk sold his soul to Alastor, then how come in this flashback in Episode 4 he's got both black sclera?

Maybe it signifies something else. Like exposure to soul contracts.

This leads to my second theory. As we see from Alastor on multiple occasions, he does in fact, have two black sclera when he's using a lot of his power. What if the black sclera comes from the purchase of a soul? Then that explains Husk's scleras as an overlord and why Angel and the little lizard boy at Voxtech only have one. They sold their souls for something. Angel's reason likely being fame, having been in the gutter more than once, as he mentions to Cherry in Episode 6 while being protective of Niffty.

But what about the overlords who own souls and don't have black eyes?

Well, it's very possible that these overlords came into the ownership of the souls by different means than purchasing them. Like a pawn shop. The soul is held as collateral until they are paid back. If they're never paid back then they keep the soul and, by proxy, own that person. Or, they could exchange them like a premium currency for goods and services from other overlords. Then the person who did not buy the soul still owns it. Or, these other overlords, like Alastor, hide their black scleras. Perhaps Husk and the few background characters I've shown above, like the mummy lizard lady, use them as some sort of statement, saying "Yeah, I've owned souls. Try me, I dare ya." but only the ones who've meddled with owning souls before really understand.

But what about the people of Canibal town? Their eyes are completely black!

That brings me to my third and final theory! It is also my favorite one.

Perhaps the blackness of their eyes has absolutely nothing to do with buying or selling souls! But instead has to do with how dirty that soul became from sinning in their lives. I've seen theories and headcanons all over the place saying that Angel Dust was part of a Mafia family. With that in mind, his one black sclera could signify that he did one sinful thing that was absolutely awful. Let's say a singular murder. That means all of the sinful acts he's done in his life came after his death and after he arrived in hell. After that arrival, he probably believed his afterlife was hopeless and that he had no reason to be a good person anymore. Many people believe that Alastor was a serial killer during his lifetime so that could constitute for his sclera. The same goes for Husk if he was addicted to gambling and it led him down a road of much worse things. And as we see with many of the background characters, their eyes are all different, so the idea it depends on their life choices really holds up.

That's why I'd also like to bring up Sir Pentious. During his time in hell, his eyes are red with black slits. Then in Heaven, his eyes have what I believe to be the default for everyone in Heaven or Hell. Muted yellow sclera and red or pink iris and pupil. This means, he has, in fact, cleansed his soul by overcoming his pride by confessing to Cherry Bomb and then sacrificing himself for those he cared about.

also, his teeth are cleaner but we aren't talking about that

But that's all I got! Lemme know if ya'll have any tidbits you wanna add and feel free to reblog this with anything you have on these theories or others on the subject.