Hazbin Hotel Spoiler Review: Overture
Image Credit: Prime Video
This review has full spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Episode 1, “Overture,” and slight spoilers for future episodes.
Hazbin Hotel is finally here, and goodness, it was worth the wait. I knew it would be good. I was not expecting it to blow every single expectation out of the water and then some. The series has everything. The animation is vibrant and emotional. At times, it evokes incredibly raw reactions from the viewers. Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg’s songs are stunning, paired with the beautiful score from Gooseworx and Evan Alderete. Seriously, listen closely to that score because the themes for each character that Gooseworx and Alderete have created are so lovely. Top it off with an all-star Broadway cast who genuinely are the show's best part as they bring these vibrant characters to life. Hazbin Hotel was everything I wanted it to be. Like any good musical, we open with “Overture.”
I’d be interested to hear what someone who didn’t see the Pilot on YouTube thinks of the first episode. “Overture” truly feels like episode two, especially since it clearly recognizes the events of the Pilot. I chatted with my Hellaverse-loving best friend, and she noted it could be purposeful. If people look up the pilot episode, they will likely find Hazbin’s sister show, Helluva Boss. I can understand that synergy from a business point of view.
Where I’m on the fence is whether “Overture” can stand on its own for someone with no prior knowledge who wants to try the show. For the most part, I do think it does a good job. The episode introduces the core cast, allowing each of the main players to have a moment to shine on their own. The show's premise is covered in Alastor’s commercial and the storybook opening with the shadow puppet play about Lucifer and Lilith (a lovely call back to the Pilot’s opening, by the way).
Image Credit: Prime Video
Alastor was the only place where the story could fall short for a new viewer. In the Pilot, Vaggie lays out to Angel Dust how and why Alastor is incredibly dangerous while explaining the overlords' lore. It's a dark sequence with fantastic animation, giving weight to Alastor’s arrival. Charlie and Vaggie were both wary of the Radio Demon from the moment he knocked on their door. For someone going in fresh with no prior knowledge, that weight is missing here, especially when it comes to Vaggie making a deal with Alastor. The Pilot drives homes that deals with Alastor are bad news. They're treacherous, and Charlie actively goes out of her way to avoid shaking Alastor’s hand.
In “Overture,” that danger is gone with Vaggie’s supposedly little deal with the Radio Demon. It’s missing the full context for a new viewer that Vaggie is in a precarious position. Making a commercial might seem innocent here, but I would be shocked if this didn’t come back to bite Vaggie. Alastor has her roped in now. We might not see the repercussions of it in the first or even the second season, but Vaggie will more than likely come to regret her deal with the Radio Demon. I do not think a fan who skipped the Pilot will grasp the gravity of this situation.
However, I don’t feel like it is a bad thing either. What it does for a new fan is set up a slow-burn reveal of Alastor's true power. Not to jump too far ahead into spoilers, but in Episode 2, we start seeing more of Alastor’s ability and effect on his enemies like Vox. I like the idea of gradually releasing this information for a new viewer. Whether or not Alastor is the real villain of the show or a secretive, true ally to Charlie, this method of storytelling works either way. Writing this kind of story is particularly difficult, so props to the team if this is the case.
Image Credit: Prime Video
As a longtime fan of the Pilot, I enjoy picking right up where we left off to get us right back into the meat of the story. The storybook opening sets the history of Hell, giving the lore around how it came to pass while setting up three crucial characters: Lucifer, Lilith, and Charlie. Both of Charlie’s parents are relatively an enigma going into the series, as Lilith has been pretty nonexistent, and the promotional material shows us a particular side of Lucifer. I will dive into both parents in a future review, but I wanted to note that their backstory sets up how Charlie ticks as she received the best of both. Charlie is a dreamer like Lucifer, and she inherited her love of songs from Lilith. Those are Charlie’s basic surface tropes that pull us into “Happy Day in Hell.”
“Happy Day in Hell” is a brilliant song for multiple reasons. First, it’s Charlie’s “I Want” song, laying out her wishes for the hotel. This fully introduces the audience to who she is as a person. Even though Hell’s inhabitants are “an acquired taste,” Charlie loves her people and realm. She sees the possible good and beauty in them all. In fact, Charlie is far more compassionate for human souls than it appears that Adam and Lute are, who only hold a very black-and-white viewpoint.
Charlie is pitching the foundation of purgatory, which I must say I completely missed. To give credit, my co-podcaster Charles pointed it out to me as we discussed the episodes.
Charlie is trying to make purgatory, which is fascinating because it’s not yet in the world up to this point. It opens the doors for plenty of storytelling, which puts redemption at the heart of the story. Though, as I’ll get to in later reviews, it also raises the question of whether everyone should be redeemed (looking at you, Valentino). Also, to touch on Helluva Boss for a moment, does this hotel only apply to Earth-born sinners? What about the imps, hellhounds, loan sharks, etc., who were born in Hell? Can they join the Hazbin Hotel? They never got to live a life on Earth for the chance to be a winner or a sinner. Can they be redeemed? The idea of purgatory lays out many juicy what-ifs for the show that I hope are explored.
The other way that “Happy Day in Hell” is brilliant is the song lays out the major set pieces of the season. We start at the hotel before moving out into the world. Charlie passes the adult film studios where the three Vees live. Vox, Valentino, and Velvette are significant antagonists of the series. Charlie moves to Cannibal Town afterward. In the full trailer and the early promotional pictures, we know we’ll see the overlord Rosie and the inhabitants of Cannibal Town in the musical number “Ready for This.” Through “Happy Day in Hell,” the audience is getting introduced to the major locations of Season 1 to help build the world. It’s well done and not heavy-handed.
Image Credit: Prime Video
One of the big questions I had going into Hazbin Hotel was what the actual story was about. In our Geeky Waffle interview with songwriter Sam Haft, he pointed out that the audience only knew about Charlie’s goals coming out of the Pilot. “Overture” did not take the story where I was expecting with the twist reveal of the dead angel at the end and the shortened timeline until the next extermination.
This is such a smart choice. Add a timer if you ever want to automatically raise the stakes in your story. Charlie’s one-year goal got slashed in half, cranking up the dramatic tension of the core narrative. This is followed up with the underlying plot of the dead angel, laying out a little mystery underneath. Without spoilers, the audience comes out of “Overture” with questions like who killed the angel, how it happened, and why, hooking the audience to bring them back for more.
Adam and Lute are well-written, unlikable characters, though I do wonder if that’s a bit of a ruse. Only in the final seconds of “Overture” do we see Adam strategizing with Lute how to move forward. In fact, he’s the one holding her back like a calculating leader. It makes me wonder if he purposely played up the obnoxious side of himself for Charlie. Sure, that might be who he is as a person, but he could be acting over the top as a red herring. We know from the full trailer that other angels are coming, and they look quite formidable. Adam acting like a dingus for the Princess of Hell seems to have fooled Charlie, keeping her unaware of the angels’ actual goals. She lowered her guard for them. If Charlie underestimates Adam, that makes him all the more dangerous when six months come. Yes, Adam is a threat, but there could be more to him than we know.
Finally, Lute’s dialogue of “Angels don’t make mistakes” feels like a long-term setup of some kind. I can see a possible storyline in later seasons where Lute or Heaven have realized mistakes have been made. Again, Charlie is pitching purgatory to them. It would tie into the show's main theme for Heaven and the angels to go through their own kind of redemption, too. Especially since there is the reveal in Adam’s song “Hell is Forever” that Heaven watches the exterminations as entertainment. That’s pretty macabre for the people who are supposedly the good guys.
Image Credit: Prime Video
Some random thoughts to round out Overture:
-Niffty already has some of the best one-liners. I’m looking forward to hearing what comes out of her mouth next.
-I adore Lute. I love those straight-man, tough-girl characters balancing out an idiot man.
-Adam will absolutely make some holier-than-thou church types watching the show clutch their pearls, and I’m here for it.
-I find it interesting that while radio is his thing, Alastor can manipulate and use video mediums with his powers. I feel like that’s going to come up at some point.
-“From the porn studio, where the cinephiles go to watch award-winning demon bukkake shows” made me bust out ugly laughing when the single was released.
-Brandon Rogers as Katie Killjoy is the best casting in the history of ever.
“Overture” delivered as a beautiful opening salvo for Hazbin Hotel. While I think a new fan might miss some of the deeper emotional beats of the series without the Pilot, they’ll pick up the story and characters just fine. The show is here, and I can’t wait to get into the next episode. Because, coming out of the Pilot, Alastor was my favorite character. While he still is, as you’ll see in the next review, a new rival has arrived that I sure do have a lot of thoughts about:
Vox, let's turn the TV on, shall we?
Check out our discussion on Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss with Sam Haft over on The Geeky Waffle YouTube channel.
Image Credit: Prime Video