Hellaverse Criticism - Blog Posts

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Viv seems to want to be both edgy and progressive, but it doesn't work that way. Like, ya gotta commit to one or the other.

You can't just make SA jokes then turn around and have episodes about how wrong SA is.

Like if you're so afraid of the backlash, then either get a sensitivity reader or stop being pretentious acting like you're this beacon of lgbt rep when your writing and how you talk about trans men in private shows the exact opposite.

There's no such thing as a "progressive edgelord". Stop acting like there is, Vivienne.

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #08

Two out of the three Hispanic characters in Hazbin Hotel are deeply rooted damaging stereotypes within Spanish & Latin American cultures and the one that isn't a blatant stereotype is misused. ___________

With Spanish Heritage Month right around the corner and being a Latina myself, I think it's more than fair for me to give my thoughts on the Latinos (in Spanish, it doesn't matter if there's only one guy in a primarily female group, you have to put Latinos) in HH. Let's start off with the least offensive out of the group, Carmilla Carmine.

We're introduced to her in Scrambled Eggs which is Episode #03 of HH. She invited each of the Overlords to a meeting to speak about how brutal this year's Extermination was and what they could do going forward. During said meeting, Velvette throws the head of a decapitated Exorcist on the table for her to try and take control of the conversation. Things before and during the song Respectless (why this song wasn't called Disrespect or Diss-respect is something I'll never understand) escalate as Velvette figures out that Carmilla is the one behind the dead Exorcist based on her body language and when she asks, "You know why this angel's headless? Do you have a disclosure?" Carmilla immediately ends the meeting thereafter, confirming her suspicions were correct. People have already criticized the mystery of the dead Exorcist being solved way too soon, though I haven't seen as many people criticize why the other Overlords didn't look or immediately question Carmilla the SECOND that Exorcist's head rolled on the table? Like, you guys know that she's Hell's top ANGELIC arms dealer, why wouldn't any of you suspect her from the start? Even if she had ended up being a red herring, I would've seen it as the Overlords using the process of elimination and common sense cause why wouldn't the ANGELIC arms dealer kill an Exorcist??? In any case, the reason behind Carmilla killing the Exorcist was to protect her daughters and thus someone we should sympathize with. Except that, we don't know anything about her daughters and we still don't know her. So why should I care? I have no attachment and therefore no proper reason to care for a character I JUST met. And don't get me started on her daughters as they're nothing more than minor plot devices who could've been replaced by Vaggie. Speaking of which...

Vaggie is based on two harmful Latina tropes and one harmful LGBTQ+ trope with these being the "Feisty" Latina, the Crazed Latina, and the Man Hating Lesbian. Whenever the "feisty" Latina is done in media, she's almost never actually feisty but rather plain bitchy. The word feisty is used because the show runners tend to want the audience to like this character as, to them, she's (somehow), "a woman who knows what she wants and how to take charge." We see this several times when Vaggie isn't interacting with Charlie though I would say the times that this backfired the most was in Episode #01 and Episode #04. Back in Episode #01 when Vaggie was working on the hotel's commercial she wants Alastor to help out with it. Mind you, she previously slandered the advertisement he had originally made for the hotel so I don't know why she wants his help with making a new one in the first place but nonetheless Alastor basically says, "Yeah. No. I'm not gonna help you cause you already know I hate modern media and you clearly didn't like what I had planned so figure it out." Now, instead of ending the conversation and leaving the man who wants no part in this alone, she holds up the camera that she has in her hands and not only films him but actively mocks him too. This isn't a "bold move" like I've seen people claim it to be, it was simply moronic since she already knew he was an Overlord that's killed and fought people over MINOR INCONVENIENCES. After this the two strike a deal which is another plain stupid move on Vaggie's part as that's only going to come back and bite her in the ass later on in the series. Meanwhile, in Episode #04, she told Husk to go after Angel Dust even though... A.) Going after the residents isn't in his job description. B.) If ANYONE is going after the residents it should probably be THE MANAGER since it's their job to make sure that everything between the staff AND customers is good. C.) She KNOWS that Husk has been sexually and physically harassed by Angel in the past as not only has she SEEN it but she's TOLD Angel to stop harassing the staff. I guess the safety of your co-workers doesn't matter though if Charlie's sad. D.) Lastly, I swear that there was a rule that was established early on about NOT FORCING RESIDENTS TO STAY AT THE HOTEL. Like, am I tripping or did the series retcon that super fast??? Anyway, the point is that the series has Vaggie acting like a snide bitch when she's interacting with anyone other than Charlie. This "feisty" Latina stereotype goes hand in hand with the crazed Latina. The crazed Latina trope is when a Latina will throw hands for the dumbest of reasons or for little to no reason at all. It makes it seem that Latina's are overly aggressive which is how the series portrays Vaggie. She's always seen wielding an angelic spear 24/7 knowing that she can kill any resident or staff member who steps out of line with her, constantly seen threatening to hurt others with it. Out of the two racial stereotypes this one has been called out the most as it's paired with the man hating Lesbian trope because every time Vaggie's threatened to kill someone with said angelic spear, it has ALWAYS been a MALE character. Okay, now it's time to end this off by addressing the elephant in the room that is Valentino.

Oh, God. Where do I start with this failure of a character? I suppose, I'll start with the Casanova aka the Enticing Latin Lover archetype. This involves a strong suave man who's tall, dark (or I guess light purple in Val's case), and handsome (I wouldn't call him that but that's how he's portrayed in the series) as well as being full of ulterior motives! He's the sultry hypersexual Hispanic seducer that everybody can't seem to get enough of. I wouldn't have nearly as much of an issue with this as he's the Overlord of Lust but with how the stans either absolve him of or make LIGHT of his crimes solely because they think how he looks, sounds, and acts is hot (brother eugh), with the show runners encouraging stuff like that on social media (yes, I'm referring to when people were comparing Val's personality to Karen Smith from Mean Girls with Viv agreeing with it cause he's so dumb), his sole purpose is being a plot device for Angel Dust and being fetish fuel. Which really bothers me considering that a good chunk of Hazbin Hotel stans are LITERAL CHILDREN! Continuing on, we have ill tempered and idiotic Machismo/Macho Man. The show can't seem to make up its mind whether or not they want us to take Valentino seriously or not. I get what they're trying to do by making Val intimidating and cunning at one point and a "charming" himbo the next but it's done in such a jarring way that could've been easily fixed had they shown him being more creepy towards lower class demons and Sinners but have him be "charming" towards Overlords and other members of Hell's high society. Like in the show, he's openly verbally violent towards Angel Dust while Charlie is in his presence (I also hate the fact that show Charlie didn't actually do anything when she noticed that Val had hit Angel cause pilot Charlie would've thrown hands regardless of what Angel told her) and doesn't give a flying fuck when she's turning into her demon form RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM! Then there's the fact that the Hellaverse doesn't take violence seriously until it HAS to and then these moments can come across as unintentionally comedic. Case and point, when I initially saw Valentino backhand Angel Dust in Episode #04, I AUDIBLY LAUGHED. That shit SHOULD NOT have been nearly as funny as it was! It was meant to be a serious moment where the show segues into how Angel is abused at his job but there I was laughing my ass off in my room for a solid thirty seconds before I was able to regain my composure. Next up is point three about the Cholo or gangster archetype in which a Latino will wear stylish street wear clothes (similar to the outfit Val wears in Episode #04) and commit violent crimes. My previous points indirectly had me go into depth about the violent crimes part so let's move onto point four which is Val being a drug addict and drug maker. Latin characters (specifically men) have been depicted as drug dealers and druggies since AT LEAST the 1970s (it only makes it worse that Valentino supposedly died in this time period.) It's been heavily implied that the smoke from his cigarettes acts as an aphrodisiac which is why he blows it in other peoples faces so much. We see him smoking cigarettes (which contain so much God damn chemicals in them but especially nicotine) throughout the show like its nothing meaning he's gotta have a high nicotine intake (logically, he would've gotten lung cancer by now.) The last racial stereotype that they gave him is the raging alcoholic and I know that anyone can become a raging alcoholic however alcoholism is actually a very common problem among Latinos as more than 33% of them suffer from issues related to an alcohol dependency. It's an ongoing problem that many Hispanics face and seeing how Val is already shown to be a violent individual WITHOUT alcohol in his system, that's only going to make him worse and we saw that in Episode #02 when Val got more irritable and threw his drink in Vox's direction upon knowing Angel Dust was staying at the HH.

___________ People of the jury, I rest my case and I hope you all liked reading my thoughts and I'll see you later!

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #07

I think how the Seven Deadly Sins are respected should vary depending on how sinful they are. _________

I'm going to be completely honest here. I think the Hellaverse's version of the Seven Deadly Sins are jokes due to how far off they are from their Demonolgy & Theology counterparts. With that being said, something the Hellaverse did get right is how Lust and Gluttony are often considered to be the two weakest sins out of the seven.

Lust is depicted as the weakest of the Sins because it's TYPICALLY the least malicious. As when people hear about a crime related to lust the majority will think of an infidelity having been committed. Does infidelity suck? Absolutely, you were cheated on by your partner with someone who either knew of the situation or with someone who’s in the same boat as you and didn’t know until it was too late. However, I would hope that most of us would rather hear/learn about one of our friends or family members having a partner who cheated on them over other lust filled crimes.

As for why Gluttony is seen as the second weakest out of the Sins would probably be how common it is to commit it and, again, it’s less malicious especially compared to sins like Wrath, Envy, and Pride. Think about it, you probably know at least one person in your family with a really bad habit related to overindulgence whether it be a raging alcoholic, a chainsmoker, a drug addict, or someone with Binge Eating Disorder aka BED (yes, Binge Eating Disorder is an actual diagnosis that many people have and struggle with in their day to day lives as it can cause them to eat excessive amounts of food even when they’re not hungry.) The point is, you likely know someone who has some kind of bad habit that they need to break and should get help so that they don’t end up digging themselves an early grave.

Now, back to my original point, having the Seven Deadly Sins be respected by least sinful to most sinful would make it to where we can not only get a good idea of what the Sins are like before we meet them but more importantly it establishes order and coherent world building which is what the Hellaverse’s hierarchy lacks the most. If I were to order and rewrite the Hellaverse’s Seven Deadly Sins it would be Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor, Mammon, Satan, Leviathan, and Lucifer.

That way lower class demons could be shown being less tense around Ozzie and Bee as they’re more approachable and sociable compared to other Sins like Satan and Leviathan. From the one image we’ve seen from the Hellaverse’s Satan, I can only assume he’s a tough bastard who would rather settle things in a good old fashioned brawl compared to negotiation. 

As for why I think a lot of demons would fear Leviathan more so than Satan is because of most how religious texts describe him as being some kind of giant sea monster (depending on the religion some say he’s a hydra, water dragon, or a water serpent) that could only be slain by God as there used to be several Leviathans but when God realized how destructive they were, he killed all of them except one. If God hadn’t interfered, the many Leviathans would’ve destroyed all of creation. 

So why did I place Leviathan lower than Lucifer when he sounds more evil than he does? Well, the answer lies within their intended purpose. Leviathan’s intended purpose was to destroy all who cross his path whereas SAMAEL’S intended purpose was to HELP not to HINDER. Leviathan was released into the ocean and was told, “Annihilate anything and everything.” Meanwhile, Samael was created and lived in Heaven as an Archangel who was instructed to assist God’s creations by watching over them, teaching them, disciplining them, and protecting them. That’s all he had to do but he threw away his title, his dignity, and LITERAL HEAVEN by letting his own hubris get the better of him. Truly, pride goeth before a fall (and apparently before a future name change.) _________

I thought that it'd only be fitting for my 7th opinion to be about the Hellaverse's Seven Deadly Sins. Also I don't hate the Hellaverse's canon Lucifer but I do think his character is a massive disappointment. There are ways to make a dastardly character likable without infantilizing or woobifiying them.

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #06

There's no point in the Hellaverse having eleven confirmed Overlords when only seven (really six) of them are going to be prominent in Hazbin Hotel's narrative.

________

The more I think about the Overlords, the more confused I become. We only know six out of the confirmed eleven Overlords do while we know next to nothing about the others. - Alastor is a radio host. - Carmilla is Hell's top arms dealer. - Rosie is a matchmaker. - Valentino runs most of the porn industry in the Pride Ring. - Vox controls the majority of social media. - Velvette is a fashionista who capitalizes on fast fashion.

The only other Overlord we have any kind of relevant information about is Zestial, a character who I don't think should've been introduced to the audience THIS early on within the series. All we really know about Zestial is that he's the oldest and longest reigning Overlord in all of Hell as he died sometime in the 16th century. Sure, there's also his friendship with Carmilla but that doesn't really tell us anything about who he is or what he does. Other than Zestial, there are four other Overlords we either know very little about or we know nothing about. These four Overlords are Fredrick & Bethesda Von Elderitch who are supposedly friends with Lucifer & Lilith, Zeezi who had all of one line in the entire show, and then there's that burning skull Overlord that none of us know the name of.

The Vees are going to be our primary antagonists in Season #02 of Hazbin Hotel and while I really think that's a terrible idea, I know that two of them are relevant to two other characters of our main cast. We all know that Vox is Alastor's foil and Valentino is the bane of Angel Dust's existence. I have no idea what the hell they'll have Velvette do although I hope she'll at least get some good moments in this season as the writers at Spindlehorse are, more than likely, going to heavily sideline her character yet again.

In any case, Rosie is Alastor's bestie so she's bound to come back and I'm confident that we'll eventually see Carmilla and Zestial return as well. As to when the other Overlords will ever be relevant... Who knows? But also will we really care when and if they do matter later on??? ________ This opinion is much shorter than my HB opinion from yesterday but that's just how it is sometimes. I hope you had fun reading my thoughts and I'll see you later!

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #04

The reason behind the Exterminations should've stayed to prevent Sinners from overpopulating the Pride Ring and I don't like how Hazbin Hotel portrays Adam as being in the wrong for hating Sinners.

_________

The whole, "We kill Sinners for our entertainment," reasoning from Adam and Lute as well as, "I approved of the Exterminations to avoid Hell's Sinners from starting an uprising," reasoning from Sera is so stupid. Specifically, Sera's reason. Because logically approving of the Exterminations would only lead to more and more Sinners wanting to start an uprising with each passing Extermination. Adam and Lute's reasoning has to be the way it is so that the show writers can make it seem like Charlie's in the right when the show gives us reason to believe that she's actively wrong. For example, Angel Dust was born in New York City and into a Mafia family likely somewhere around the years 1912 - 1915 as he's stated to have died in his young to mid 30s in the year 1947 due to a drug overdose. Angel Dust was a mobster for most if not all of his life but he hasn't shown or stated that he feels any remorse or guilt for what he did back then. The only thing he feels guilty for is for his past self having signed that contract with Valentino which is totally valid however making a soul contract with Valentino isn't the reason why he's in Hell. Angel Dust is in Hell for being a murderer, a drug trafficker, a drug attic, a smuggler, and for likely having committed several other money related crimes. I swear, people hear or see the word Mafia and automatically think of death when the majority of their crimes are motivated by currency. Like, its still not good but its not just senseless murder either. The point is, we haven't seen anything about Angel Dust truly wanting to change. Yeah, there was that scene in episode #06 where Angel turns down Cherri's offer to do drugs but that doesn't suddenly mean he's no longer a drug attic for turning down ONE offer. Most of the Sinners we see or know of in Hell are fucking horrendous people. Alastor was and still is a serial killing cannibal because he can. Let me repeat. He WAS and STILL IS a SERIAL KILLING CANNIBAL because he CAN! There is an entire place in the Pride Ring known as the Cannibal Colony (in the show it got changed to Cannibal Town but I've been calling it Cannibal Colony for 4 years now and I do not plan on stopping), Martha's in Hell which makes sense considering she and her entire family were actual Devil worshipers, Loopty and Lipton experimented and killed the poor, and Valentino is a rapist. We still don't know enough about most of what the HH's cast did when they were alive which is why I think Sir Pentious ultimately getting into Heaven was a load of BS. We don't even know why he ended up in Hell in the first place but he tries to help his "friends" once and dies in the process and that's enough to get him redeemed???

Seriously, what did he do to deserve damnation? Also, I know Viv probably doesn't have Cain or Able as that would give Adam an understandable, even justifiable, reason for despising Sinners. His first and oldest son, Cain, is LITERALLY the FIRST SINNER. For what? For killing his younger brother, Able, by slicing his throat with a knife or sharp object in the same manner Able did when sacrificing his lambs. Although, I've also heard that Cain killed Able by bludgeoning him to death with a stone by repeatedly bashing it into Able's skull. Either way, if anyone deserves to hate Sinners the MOST then it's Adam & Eve without a doubt.

Y'all know, it would be nice if the Hazbin Hotel had a character through whom viewers could seamlessly explore the lore of this universe (yes, I know there are so many characters, but in my opinion, such a character could well be). It could be a newly arrived sinner who came to the hotel, cornyly afraid of everything going on in hell. And since they doesn't know the hell here, just like an audience, they could ask important questions about the structure of the world, like: who are overlords? what happens to a sinner if they are killed by angelic weapons? what areas is the circle of pride divided into? and the like.

Important remark: the character is not the main protagonist, but a secondary character.