*Spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Season 1 Episode 2*
Episode 2 of Hazbin Hotel season 1 opens with Charlie and Vaggie both freaking out about the news given to them by the Angels at the end of the previous episode. As they talk, Serpentious attacks the Hazbin Hotel. He claims that he is looking for Alastor because if he defeats him, then he will get the respect he wants from the V’s. The V’s are the trio of the most powerful and rich demons in Hell. These three demons are Vox (Christian Borle), Velvette, and Valentino. Vox has a tech company called Vox Tech and is the Television demon who uses his power to hypnotize the other demons in Hell. Velvette is a fashion designer who uses her powers on models to create clothing that she likes. While Valentino works in the pornography industry and reveals that Angel used to work for him.
Vox is revealed to be mad that Alastor is back in town after disappearing seven years prior. Vox breaks into a song that explains to the audience how Televisions are a better medium than radio; how Hell has been better since Alastor left; and how radio is dying and television is the future. As the song continues, Alastor jumps into the song as well, revealing to Hell that he is back after all this time by turning on the radio station again and broadcasting the station across all of Hell. Vox tries to take control of the song and the people of Hell again but ends up overdoing it and causing a power outage, leaving Alastor with the final laugh.
The V’s decide to have a meeting to discuss the appearance of Alastor again. They discuss how they cannot allow Alastor to make a deal with Charlie, the daughter of Lucifer, by any means. Vox asks Valentino if Angel can be the inside man for them, to which Valentino replies that Angel won’t even respond to his calls. This leads Vox to suggest the idea of sending someone into the Hotel as a spy to report back to them.
This episode builds upon the story of the first so seamlessly, while also introducing new characters that contrast the characters that were already introduced in episode 1. The animation continues to impress with some stunning visuals during the songs of the episode. Speaking of songs, the songs in this episode feel more unique and blend in with the story better than in the previous episode. Amir Talai as Alastor continues to steal the show when it comes to voice acting, but Christian Borle as Vox also stands out in this episode. The writing was good for the most part, only a couple of scenes felt bland writing-wise, but those are few between.
Although not perfect, Hazbin Hotel continues to thrive, and this episode allows the audience to continue to go through a fantastical and entertaining journey with some great characters and stunning visuals.
Rating: 6.5/10