Contains brief mentions of abuse and sexual assault, as well as spoilers for Hazbin Hotel season 1.

Animated musical series Hazbin Hotel & Helluva Boss series – has been met with critical acclaim, with Hazbin Hotel season 1 receiving a 7.7/10 from IMDb, 81% from Rotten Tomatoes, and 7/10 from ScreenRant.

The events of season 1 left viewers with many burning questions about the future of the Hellaverse characters, and luckily, it seems that answers are soon to be revealed, as Hazbin Hotel season 2, the first nine episodes of this hit series deserve a second look.

9 Season 1 Episode 6, "Welcome To Heaven"

Charlie Finally Gets A Meeting With Heaven

In "Welcome to Heaven,” Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen) finally receives an audience with the Angels, to whom she hopes to present evidence of Angel Dust’s (Blake Roman) redemption. Their hypocritical snap-judgements of his past make the Angel courts scene a frustrating watch, and the heavy focus on the Heaven sequence renders this the least enjoyable episode of the series, especially given the amount of Adam (Alex Brightman) screen time. Additionally, this episode’s title song is the only part of the Hazbin Hotel soundtrack that can be deemed skippable.

However, the episode still has plenty of enjoyable moments, including Angel protecting Niffty (Kimiko Glenn) at the club. This is a wholesome hint to his character’s background before being cast into Hell: in a 2020 stream, Vivziepop indicated that Angel Dust had a twin sister named Molly, and it has been theorized that he is extra protective of Niffty for this reason. Additionally, the episode included important plot points for Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship in Hazbin Hotel. After the events of the trial, Emily’s (Shoba Narayan) character will likely factor heavily into future seasons.

8 Season 1 Episode 3, “Scrambled Eggs”

The Exorcist Scandal Is Exposed

“Scrambled Eggs” focuses on the meeting of the Hazbin Hotel Demon Overlords, delving further into the slain Exorcist scandal as Velvette (Lilli Cooper) presents its severed head to the board. While this is an important plot point, the majority of the episode feels more like filler. “Respectless” and “Whatever It Takes” are both phenomenal tracks to come out of this episode, and the focus on Carmilla Carmine (Daphne Rubin-Vega) may indicate a larger role for her in future Hazbin Hotel seasons.

Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman) is undeniably the best part of this episode. He receives far more well-deserved screen time in this episode, and his dynamic with the Egg Bois is absolutely adorable. The episode also opens up speculation regarding future characters: two as of yet unnamed demons are seen at the meeting of the Overlords. Alastor (Amir Talai) is also seen enjoying a deer dinner early in the episode, which may be an allusion to the way Vivziepop has indicated he was killed.

7 Season 1 Episode 0, "That's Entertainment!"

The Hazbin Hotel Meets Its Mysterious Sponsor

“That’s Entertainment!” details the creation of the Hazbin Hotel itself after the (welcome, though unexpected) arrival of its Demon Overlord patron, Alastor. Vivziepop’s indie YouTube pilot delves further into Alastor’s lore, explaining his initial arrival in Hell, though much has been left a mystery. The episode also establishes Alastor’s feud with Sir Pentious, and explains how Niffty and Husker (Keith David) wound up working in the hotel.

The animation style is somewhat different, and after watching season 1, the pilot can be a bit of an adjustment, especially due to the massive overhaul of the voice acting cast. However, “That’s Entertainment!” sets up many running jokes and character mannerisms in a very cute way, such as Alastor’s compulsive introduction of, “Pleasure to be meeting you! Quite the pleasure!” As in-universe cross-references are common in Vivziepop’s work, many Helluva Boss Easter eggs can be seen in this episode.

6 Season 1 Episode 7, "Hello Rosie!"

Charlie Rallies The Troops For The Fight Against Heaven

“Hello Rosie!” serves as the rising action leading up to the battle on Extermination Day, and the main focus of the episode is Charlie’s attempt to assemble an army from the residents of Cannibal Town. The confidence that Alastor expresses in Charlie’s ability to lead the fight opens up several questions about the Radio Demon’s true agenda, such as the popular theory that Lilith may own his soul. This could potentially explain some of Alastor’s seemingly altruistic behavior in his of Charlie and her Hazbin Hotel – provided, of course, that Lilith has a vested interest in her daughter’s well-being.

This episode includes an adorable exchange where Alastor consoles a very upset Charlie following her disastrous audience with Heaven: the usually imposing Overlord lays across her bed, innocently kicking his feet in the air. The character of Alastor’s friend Rosie (Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer) is introduced, and Carmilla also receives more screen time in the track “Out For Love.” Additionally, Husk’s deal with Demon Overlord Alastor becomes more apparent during a confrontation between the two.

5 Season 1 Episode 1, "Overture"

The Hazbin Hotel Opens For Business

The opening musical numbers of this episode, "Happy Day In Hell” and “Hell is Forever,” are some of the best of the series, and overall, this episode does a good job of embodying the show itself. “Overture” plants the seed that Adam and Lute are covering up the slaying of an Exorcist, which becomes an important plot point in later episodes. It also digs deeper into some of the best characters in Hazbin Hotel, Husker and Angel, setting the stage for their adorable enemies-to-lovers arc.

“Overture” also has several of Alastor's most iconic lines, such as "This face is made for radio," and his expert dodge of Angel’s advances: "Ha! Never going to happen."

One of the most memorable moments of the show occurs when Alastor makes a commercial advertising the Hazbin Hotel – in the most insulting and unappealing way possible. “Overture” also has several of Alastor's most iconic lines, such as "This face is made for radio," and his expert dodge of Angel’s advances: "Ha! Never going to happen."

4 Season 1 Episode 8, "The Show Must Go On"

The Battle On Extermination Day

“The Show Must Go On” focuses on the epic battle between Heaven and Hell come Extermination Day. This episode is by far the most action-packed, not to mention very poignant given the death of Sir Pentious as well as Charlie and Vaggie’s (Stephanie Beatriz) heartwarming reprise of “More Than Anything.” This is not the only musical reprise of the episode: “Finale” also brings back several themes from “Happy Day in Hell” and “Ready for This.” This final track expertly features the entire cast of Hazbin Hotel voice actors, blending beautiful harmonies with an Andrew Lloyd Webber-style reprisal of previous Hazbin musical motifs.

The season 1 finale finally reveals that Alastor, presumed dead after the battle with Adam, has indeed sold his soul. Lilith’s first appearance coming soon after this revelation has given weight to the theory that she owns Alastor’s soul, in addition to the strange coincidence that they have each been absent for 7 years. This high-action finale leaves many questions to be answered in Hazbin Hotel season 2.

3 Season 1 Episode 2, "Radio Killed The Video Star"

The Hotel’s First Guest & Alastor’s Feud With Vox

“Radio Killed the Video Star” sees the Hazbin Hotel receive its first “official” guest in Sir Pentious, and Angel Dust struggles with jealousy over the amount of attention given to the evil inventor’s apparent progress. The episode showcases a more vulnerable side of his character, as Angel craves – but doubts his ability to achieve – redemption.

“Stayed Gone” establishes the somewhat mysterious feud between Alastor and Vox (Christian Borle), opening up a great deal of speculation amongst fans of the Hellaverse. This episode also introduces the highly controversial character of Valentino (Joel Perez) and drops some not-so-subtle hints at a relationship between him and fellow Demon Overlord, Vox. Some have theorized that the 7-year-old feud between Vox and Alastor was the result of the canonically asexual Radio Demon rejecting Vox’s advances, though this has yet to be substantiated.

2 Season 1 Episode 5, "Dad Beat Dad"

The Hazbin Hotel Meets Lucifer Morningstar

In “Dad Beat Dad,” the character of Lucifer Morningstar (Jeremy Jordan) is finally introduced as he and Alastor duke it out musically, competing for Charlie's love and dependence. While not the first episode to present questions about the Overlord's motivations in helping Charlie and the Hazbin Hotel, “Dad Beat Dad” takes Alastor’s apparent altruism to an altogether new level in the second best musical number of the series, “Hell’s Greatest Dad.”

​​​​​​​The Radio Demon additionally has his coolest fight scene in this episode, morphing into his full Demon form for the first (and only) time when Alastor protects the Hazbin Hotel from the Loan Sharks' attack. This Wendigo-like transformation was seen once before in “Radio Killed the Video Star,” but not to this extent. Lastly, Jeremy Jordan’s heartwarming ballad with Charlie, “More Than Anything,” makes this one of the best episodes of the series so far.

1 Season 1 Episode 4, "Masquerade"

Angel Dust Copes With Trauma

“Masquerade” acts as the Hazbin Hotel mid-season finale, and it does not disappoint. This episode contains the best track in the series, "Loser, Baby,” which unofficially launched the ship of beloved Hazbin Hotel character duo Angel Dust and Husker. The Huskerdust dynamic, which has been a fan favorite since the 2019 pilot, has been teased by Hazbin Hotel socials, though nothing strictly canonical has been confirmed up to this point. ​​​​​​​

“Masquerade” also includes a solo track from Angel entitled “Poison” as the episode focuses entirely around his character and explores themes of trauma and abuse, sexual assault, and addiction. It can be difficult to do justice to such sensitive topics, and yet this animated musical comedy series has managed to do exactly that. “Masquerade” is hands-down the most well-written and gut-wrenching episode of Hazbin Hotel season 1. ​​​​​​​