Vivienne Medrano’s “Hazbin Hotel” on Prime Video has been the subject of debate amongst internet users. While the show receives regular praise from critics, audience members like to pick the show apart calling it “cringe” and “horribly written.” However, when you ask most of these audience members to elaborate on these claims they do not give you much to work with.
“Hazbin Hotel” follows Charlie Morningstar, daughter of Lucifer, who creates the titular hotel to rehabilitate sinners.
The show is a dark comedy with hints of musical satire. Considering the show is set in hell and deals with conflicts with heaven, satire is inevitable with hell being portrayed more sympathetically than heaven. Medrano and the writing staff show they are aware of this inherent satire of the premise and fully lean into it. They subvert the audiences’ expectations of religious figures, with how they portray Adam, the first man in the Bible for example.
When most think of Adam they think serene purity and innocence embodied in human form; however, in “Hazbin Hotel” Adam is portrayed as similar to the sinners of hell being loud-mouthed and crude. Medrano’s subversion of expectations ends up playing well into well-executed comedy that allows the audience to think of how the fictional characters represent real life.
The humor is more quippy and filled with one liners which is common for animated shows, as writers will try to make the dialogue match the animation, so as a result, the dialogue is over the top and punchy leading the show’s humor and satire to land well. Medrano and the show’s writers have a good understanding of how to blend the world of “Hazbin Hotel” into the comedy with the gags about the strangeness of the way hell is run being hilarious.
Handling dark subject matter in a comedy show can be difficult especially when your show has established itself as fun and whimsical so it’s hard to bring the mood down in a way that does make the tonal shift jarring for the audience. “Hazbin Hotel” manages to do so effectively leading one of the show’s best episodes.
If dark subject matter along with satire is not someone’s cup of tea then this show is not for them.
In episode 4 of season 1 “Masquerade,”Angel, one of the hotel residents, is revealed to be in an abusive relationship with his boss and his unhealthy coping methods he uses such abusing substances. The episode is a masterclass in handling the subject matter, taking care to add a content warning before the episode and making it known to the audience that Angel’s situation is not romantic or idealized showing the brutal realities of his life.
While this does not make the episode easy to watch it is important for the progression of the story and for characterizing Angel who had previously been seen as a freeloader who did not really care for redemption by the audience as a tragic broken person trying to live when he has so little freedom. The show treats Angel as a sympathetic character who is deserving of love and affection even when he does not believe so himself.
People may take offense to the content of the show considering its themes on religion and its darker tonal shifts, but for those interested in the content the show covers it serves as a good example of depicting these themes in a respectful nuanced way.
