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General
- One of the lines in "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow" mentions "crying babies". Since Word of God confirms that damned sinners can't have babies in hell as part of their punishment, that implies that babies can go to hell in this universe, whether from dying without being baptized or something else.
- Though with Helluva Boss introducing imps, demons naturally born from/in Hell, and seeing an imp mother with her child, it's entirely possible that's what she was referring to.
- It's also possible "crying babies" isn't literal, and just refers to people who cry a lot, i.e. crybabies.
- So, Demons can't die unless attacked with a weapon forged in Heaven, right? And this is the place where every monster and dickwad goes when they die, right? Well not only does that mean that someone has probably buried someone alive at some point, but they may well still be down there.
- Even worse, souls that are killed turn into hell essence, which is absorbed by everything, mostly the ground, giving Hell its distinct infernal flavor. It's not just an empty black void down there, but Hell unfiltered surrounding them.
- If death squads are permitted to permanently mulch souls in Hell, just because of overpopulation, that means Heaven could eventually be subject to the same overpopulation crisis. Which leads to multiple horrifying theories: (1) Heaven is okay because it simply increased its sustainability by increasing its standards to ludicrous degrees (possibly to the point that no one can get into Heaven anymore while good souls are tricked into believing their quirks are sins), (2) the elderly, babies, and uneducated are periodically corralled into gas chambers (and since this is Heaven we're talking about, expect little resistance), (3) souls eventually die on their own if they don't devour other souls' essence and the Angels are feeding the demon lords with soul fodder to keep up the masquerade (while God and the angels sustain themselves by pretending the good old mortal souls got a promotion), or even (4) Hell's overpopulation is technically a lie, and the Angels know of a way to increase Hell's sustainability easily but love divine-approved genocide.
- As an extension of the last option, it could be that overpopulation is a problem that uniquely applies to Hell because of its nature. Hell is a place of torture; overpopulation implies that there isn't enough food or room for everyone to be satisfied, and some people will just have to go without, making them miserable. Even the periodic culling provides its own form of torture, in the form of mortal terror hanging over the heads of Hell's citizenry (and a dark Hope Spot for any citizens who WANT to be mulched).
- Based on what we've seen in Helluva Boss, it's entirely possible that Heaven has ridiculously high standards to get in, and might not be that much better than Hell.
- Assuming this setting has a God in its heaven, they could probably just make Heaven bigger via Divine Fiat.
- Word of God has stated that while Angel Dust is gay, his first thought when propositioned by someone is always whether or not they have money, and he'll always go with the highest bidder, even if it's a woman. Only if a man and woman were offering the same amount would he choose the man over the woman. The "ADDICT" music video reveals that Val regularly sexually assaults and financially abuses Angel, whom Val also forces to go out shortly after the Purge to get his money, which puts this in a very tragic light: It's likely that Angel doesn't get much pleasure from sex anymore due to trauma (despite his claims otherwise), and he's always concerned with money because his pimp constantly bleeds him dry.
- In the "Addict" video, Angel says he overdosed and "ended up comatose". The thing is, comatose is exactly what it sounds like: in a coma, deep asleep and unable to wake up, but still breathing. If Angel WAS put into a drug coma, it would be really easy for someone else to come along and kill him—given he was a gangster in life, it's entirely possible Angel's death was a murder and not just an overdose.
- "Addict" also heavily implies that Angel Dust is frequently raped by his Bad Boss Valentino. When one considers the fact that if there's one place where a studio could openly sell this sort of material, then Literal Hell would be it, one might wonder if any of the "pornos" with Angel's name attached to it are simply him being unknowingly recorded while this was happening to him.
- During the build-up to the first chorus of "Addict", the smoke plumes from Valentino's cigarette take the form of chains that loop around Angel Dust's neck and wrists. It's some pretty blatant bondage imagery, but it also alludes to how Angel is trapped under Valentino's thumb.
- "ADDICT" also is the debut of Fat Nuggets, Angel Dust's pet pig. Why is there a sweet, cute little innocent animal in Hell? Is it just for being a pig?
- However, the animals, lacking intelligence or conscience, could not sin, therefore it is most likely that Hell has its own fauna and flora, including pigs.
- One episode of Helluva Boss reveals that there are pigs in the ring of wrath, confirming that Hell has its own native livestock. Angel Dust might've bought Fat Nuggets from a pet shop.
- Actually, Nuggs was a gift from Valentino, of all people, according to the Countdown to Premiere
. - That's a bit of Fridge Horror in and of itself. Why would Valentino give Angel Dust a pet pig? Most likely, it's so that if Angel Dust ever screws up bad enough, Valentino can use Fat Nuggets against him...
- Actually, Nuggs was a gift from Valentino, of all people, according to the Countdown to Premiere
- In "ADDICT", Cherri Bomb blows up a billboard with Valentino's face on it, plus destroys his studio to get Angel out of there. Her Instagram account shows her flipping the billboard off and announcing her intentions. But Valentino is going to find out who destroyed his property and freed his highest-earning employee, especially since Cherri is well-known enough to have her turf war with Sir Pentious put on live television and her signature bombs are a big arrow pointing to her, especially since Angel was also caught on camera helping her out. Valentino is one of hell's overlords, so it's highly likely he'll try to get revenge on Cherri for her defiance, or possibly use her to lure Angel back to the studio to help her.
- Alastor's viewpoint that demons squandered their chance to be good people and cannot be saved from being stuck in Hell as punishment initially comes off as just more of his ever-cheerful vabrato, but given Alastor is one such demon, it probably says a lot about how he views himself.
- Working hand-in-hand with the idea of Alastor's Endgame, notice how in his spin on "Inside Every Demon is a Rainbow" he keeps pushing Vaggie away from Charlie? This is more than Alastor being The Gadfly, as according to an episode in Burn Notice, one of the key objectives for The Corrupter is to keep their target away from good influences. This means that he's already working at coming between Vaggie and Charlie.
- While Charlie is genuinely a sweet and optimistic person, even she displays a major case of the very sin that started this whole mess: Pride. During her song, she outright calls her viewers, potential clients, "losers" and "fuck-ups". While those aren't totally inaccurate, that's still not what you want to call people you want to help who already have their doubts about what you're doing. She also sings that everything will be alright "Once you check in with me!" while holding the "me" bit a tad bit long.
- Since in the early days, options were very limited, it's very likely Adam impregnated his daughters and granddaughters at the beginning of the human race.
- Considering how pleasant they generally are, one wonders how many of the cannibals in Cannibal Town only ate human flesh once to survive a life-or-death situation, which damned them forever?
- There ARE cultures that engage in cannibalism (or at least invoke it) in the real world. It's entirely possible that some of the residents are from such cultures.
- Valentino has a Robo-Fizz named Kitty that appears to be female. We know from watching Helluva Boss that the Robo-Fizzes are sentient. If Kitty was made as a "standard" Robo-Fizz and customized later, hopefully she isn't suffering from gender dysphoria right now.
Pilot
- That thing in Angel's introduction scene, where he said to keep it quiet and "it was a quick cash grab"? That wasn't because he had a reputation to uphold. If Valentino found out Angel was turning tricks that he didn't know about, and then keeping the cash for himself instead of handing it to the pimp... that might not end well for Angel.
- Alternatively, going by the prequel comic and the conversation they had through text, Val ordered him onto the streets and Angel was genuinely embarrassed about it.
- Retroactively, the reveal in "Welcome to Heaven" that Vaggie is not only an Angel, but also an Exorcist, put her fear toward Alastor in an even more sinister light. At this point, never an Exorcist was slayed by a demon. note And yet, Vaggie is still horrified by the perspective of Alastor walking into the hotel. Furthermore, Alastor is a Sinner, he is the one who should fear the Exorcists. What could he have done so horrible to the other Overlords when he decimated them, that even the Angels would be afraid to face him alone even knowing he couldn’t kill them?
Overture
- Adam offhandedly mentions "herpes" as a problem shared by Heaven and Hell. Why would Heaven have herpes? Adam himself, the Exterminations, and the cherubs already showed Heaven is pretty bad on an institutional level, but now we find out it's horrible on a physical level as well.
- Considering he was purposely trolling Charlie, this is arguably averted.
- While it's played off as a joke, why does Niffty simply vacantly stare when being recorded?
- Niffty died in the 50s after the invention of television, is notably into being forced to do things, was very into bondage when Angel Dust tried BDSM as a group bonding activity, has a self professed love of badboys so strong that she actively turns on any who show a soft side, displays a very notable bloodlust, and zones out whenever she's being recorded. Seems likely that these things would lead her to be the star of a very particular sort of film.
- Adam is mentioned as the first soul in Heaven, yet if the story of Cain and Abel is mostly true here Abel should've died before he did yet didn't get to Heaven. Assuming he went to Hell instead of some unknown afterlife, there's a good chance that he was double-killed under his own father's orders.
Radio Killed the Video Star
- Angel gets a text from Valentino about a "donkey show". Disgusting enough in itself, and poor Angel, but keep in mind this is only what the network regulations and the lines of good taste will let us know Val is doing to him. How much worse does it get than publicly fucking animals? We don't know, and it's probably better that way.
Scrambled Eggs
- When you think about it, Sir Pentious being so reluctant to let go of his Egg Bois and being so protective of them makes sense. In the pilot there are dozens of them running around everywhere, until some are splattered in battles and by Alastor. While here there’s only five of them. Sir Pentious’ depression over losing his eggs is probably because those are the only five left.
Masquerade
- The idea that one can sign a contract with a demon, or at least an Overlord with enough power, and essentially be owned by them is horrifying enough. But it gets even more horrific when you realize the possibility that an abuse/murder victim, for one reason or another, can also end up in Hell with their abuser/murderer.
- Should the abuser/murderer gain enough power to become an Overlord, or on par with them, then it’s likely that they could “convince” (ie, coerce/force) their victim to sign the contract. You could live a life under the thumb of an Abusive Parent and then be free of them for a bit if they die before you, only to live the after life under the thumb of said Abusive Parent.
- Assuming that the lore is still in line with that of the sister series, then one fatal sin in your life can damn you in the afterlife. Someone who was mostly kind but abused throughout their life only to snap from the abuse and kill their abuser (which has been known to happen) would end up in Hell, still very much vulnerable to their abuser’s control.
- That souls can be used as a type of currency among Overlords is disturbing. Husk lost his bound souls gambling. Presumably, people who strike deals with Overlords are desperate, but not everyone is going to be totally blind to the implications. If they're being cautious, they might opt to strike a deal with one of the seemingly saner/more benign Overlords, such as Carmilla or Rosie...but those souls are only one bad deal, one desperate situation or one bad poker hand away from being bound to a sadist like Alastor or Valentino.
- During the first scene in Angel’s dressing room you can see a heart shaped bottle on his vanity that looks identical to the one the shark demon later uses to spike his drink. In addition some of the background elements include posters with Velvette on them that say Love Potion by Velvette, who is stated by Vivzie to be good at making potions. During the scene where Angel and Val are having sex Angel looks like he’s enjoying it. But then at the end of Poison we can see the bottle again and the level of the liquid looks slightly lower. Apparently Val has more than one way of overriding Angel’s consent.
- More Fridge Sadness, but look at Angel's partners; during the filming, Val pairs him up with sharp-toothed hulks whose demon forms are mostly predatory animals or otherwise dangerous ones like the bull guy. While filming another scene during the line "every day I'm living like there's no tomorrow," he's with two other femboy types who are shorter and even girlier-looking than him and whose demon forms are prey animals - a deer and a goat. Those might be more of Val's victims. Considering he looks more chill around them in contrast to the guys Val used to punish him with.
Dad Beat Dad
- Husk reveals that Alastor is being controlled by someone. Just how powerful do you have to be to get command over him?
- A bit of a Freeze-Frame Bonus but Lucifer is depicted as being on a throne built of slightly curved struts, as in small sections of a large wheel, covered in eyes. The biblical angels called Thrones are described as wheels covered in eyes. Conclusion: Lucifer dismembered a Throne, one of his brother/sister angels, and used its body parts to build his chair.
Welcome To Heaven
- They spend about 74 seconds in front of the gates of Heaven without anyone showing up. Assuming a similar death rate to real life, this means that about 148 people died during that time and not a single one went to Heaven.
- The reason Vaggie fell was because she spared a demon child. Sinners can't have children and the first episode confirms that all Hellborn are spared from exterminations. How tight are the restrictions to get into Heaven if a child can be damned to Hell? And what did the kid do that got him damnation in the first place?
- Judging by how he looked like a resident of Cannibal Town, he probably was a cannibal. The horror still stands, since it's more than likely he was forced to eat human flesh.
- Vaggie being a former Exorcist retroactively makes how she wanted to kill Pentious in episode two a lot more awkward.
- Considering that Vaggie was gravely injured and Adam and Lute made sure to abandon her just after an extermination, it isn't a stretch to assume that they were hoping an angry demon killed her in response.
- Heaven has no idea how it's decided if someone goes to Heaven or Hell. As we've seen multiple times, being in heaven doesn't make you a good person and being in Hell doesn't make you a bad one. This means that not only were Lucifer's and Charlie's efforts curtailed from the beginning (as they were playing a game where no one understands the rules), Sera has been enforcing a system that she does not understand and is willing to slaughter billions to maintain it (however reluctantly), out of fear that trying anything else might break it even further.
- In general, the fact that Heaven and Hell don't actually work on the good-evil binary (or at least not in a way anybody in the three realms understand) makes the fact that Hell is institutionally card-carrying evil (with all the suffering it brings for characters in both Hazbin and Helluva) even worse, because it's based off of an incorrect assumption. Nearly every demon in Hell is making each other miserable and indulging in vices because they believe that since they're the "bad" side, there’s no point in trying to be anything else, never knowing there's never been a celestial basis for this.
- Worse, if we assume that half-decent people are sent to Hell thanks to this unknown system, those souls have little choice but to adapt to the savagery of Hell's hierarchy. How can you even attempt to maintain your integrity when any kindness, mercy or just unwillingness to commit violence is likely to get you tormented, tortured or killed (again)? And why even bother if, after living a fairly noble life, you were still found wanting and condemned, with no hope of appeal? At best, you would imagine these gentler souls end up bound to Overlords out of sheer desperation; at worst...well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And they are likely to be VERY bitter and resentful about their unjust punishment.
- While more of a fridge squick but Adam's comments on Charlie being "Lilith's Little hottie" implies that he finds Charlie sexually attractive and, knowing Adam's track record with women, it shows he is still not over being snubbed by Lilith and may have hit on Charlie if given the chance.
- While she seems happy, does Molly know her brother is in Hell? Even if she doesn't know just how bad he has it, it's still sad to think about.
- And if she did find out about the Exterminations at the same time as practically everyone else in Heaven, how must she feel knowing that a group of warriors actually get their kicks out of killing off Sinners like Angel?
- With the knowledge that who gets into Heaven and Hell is arbitrary, one wonders if Mr. Rogers went to Hell while Epstein went to Heaven. Yes, Mrs. Mayberry described Hell as where "the Epsteins" of the world end up, but she was just making an assumption based on Hell's reputation as where evil souls go.
- It’s possible all the truly evil souls went there, like dictators, serial killers, rapists, and so the more morally grey souls assumed this must be hell when they got there. While heaven got the truly good souls like saints and such, making angels assume there must be some measure of goodness and evil that decides where a soul goes. So it might be possible to know where exactly a soul went if they did truly heinous or righteous acts, it’s how the morally grey (which is most of humanity) are sorted that baffles the angels.
- The idea that decent people may have been unfairly damned makes Lucifer's rant about Humans Are Bastards in the last episode even sadder in hindsight in that there were good souls had he looked hard enough. Instead, he gave up and let the Pride Ring get as bad as it did, which forced those souls to become as bad as any other Sinner or worse were the most vulnerable to be exterminated.
- Sera says Adam was the first human to get into Heaven. As traditionally, Adam and Eve died after Cain murdered Abel, that would mean Abel went to Hell.
- With the knowledge that Adam named Vaggie something inappropriate because he liked her best, how many other exorcists got named something phallic or sexual after impressing Adam?
- Niffty's collects insect parts, not worrying, not compared to the fact that she's not adverse to tearing off pieces of insectoid sinners. How many sinners has she attacked for her hobby? There's also an even more worrying possibility, Val's an overlord, and Niffty serves a notorious serial killer and abductor of overlords. Could Niffty's collection include parts of disposed overlords?
- Given how rapidly Vaggie was cast out of the exterminators for a minor act of mercy, what will Emily's punishment be for such open defiance of the order of heaven? If Adam hadn't derailed the argument by revealing Vaggie's heritage, could the Seraph have fully fallen within a few additional moments?
- Even if Valentino had succeeded in coercing Niffty into his line of work, it still wouldn't have ended well for him — Niffty already belongs to Alastor, and he would not be pleased at losing one of his contracted souls to Vox's little boytoy.
- Sure, we know that Niffty is a petite adult woman... but does Valentino know that?
Hello Rosie
- While Charlie may not have sold her soul, and Alastor stated that his favor wouldn't harm anyone, the very fact that Alastor was able to get Charlie to agree to make any deal with him at all is sign of his growing influence with her. And even if the favor can't be about harming people, having a favor owed to him by the Princess of Hell is still something quite dangerous in the hands of a figure like Alastor.
- While Rosie was shown to be Affably Evil and even helped Charlie work through her feelings regarding Vaggie, there are some hints she may not be as altruistic in her support of the hotel. While "Ready for This" is a mostly triumphant song with Charlie taking charge and rallying the cannibals to fight the angels, there is one segment in which Alastor and Rosie are shown hanging back together and watching Charlie lead the cannibal parade. The two gush about how, just like her father Lucifer, Charlie is powerful. Alastor even straight up states his desire to "guide" her potential, and Rosie concurs and sings with him about how supporting Charlie will get them on the winning side. At the end of the day, Affably Evil or not, it is important to remember that Rosie is an Overlord of Hell who rules over a Cannibal Clan and likely didn't get as powerful as she is by doing things for no gain to herself.
- Just how many cannibals exist in this world that there can be a whole town of them?
- And on that matter, a sinner's appearance is based on the sins they committed plus how they died. The cannibals should have some differences in how they look because despite being all cannibals, they should've all died different deaths. That is... unless they all died in the exact same way, like they were part of a cult that decided to end themselves in the same manner as the Jonestown Massacre.
- Cannibal Town also has several children living in it, who seem just as flesh-hungry as the rest of their compatriots. Were these children born to cannibal families and thus never given a choice of whether or not they ate other people? Were some of them perhaps forced to eat human flesh due to desperate circumstances only to get damned to Hell as a result? The very presence of what seems like a fair number of children in Hell is disturbing in itself.
- There have been plenty of cases where humans have resorted to cannibalism, such as the infamous Donner Party, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, and many famines throughout history. Given how unreasonable the morality system is, it's likely those who were forced to eat human flesh were dumped into Cannibal Town. Also, the Town doesn't take well to those who don't fit in with their aesthetic, so it's likely they were ripped apart when they manifested in Hell.
- Since only angelic weapons can kill the damned, and other deaths require they pull themselves together... the existence of Cannibal Town means those they eat get the joy and horror of experiencing the entire digestive tract and exit PLUS the humiliation of pulling themselves together after that. No wonder the cannibals are isolated and unified.
The Show Must Go On
- During the finale song, Niffty’s teeth are the exact same color as Angel blood, implying some time between killing Adam and then, she consumed Angel flesh and/or blood.
- Yaaay, Sir Pentious made it into Heaven! Only... hang on... where are the Egg Boiz?
- At least one of them survived and remains in Hell.
- The Egg Boiz could easily be homunculi so they may or may not have souls. We don't see anything else quite like them in the series. They're implied to not even have names, and do whatever their told implies a lack of free will or thinking for themselves.
- At least one of them survived and remains in Hell.
- Sera's reaction to seeing Pentious in Heaven isn't just her being shocked at a Sinner managing to get up there, it's also a silent realization that who knows how many millennia of genocide in Hell was All for Nothing. Sinners can be redeemed, and she's likely realizing that the Exorcists have killed thousands who very well could've redeemed themselves into getting into Heaven otherwise.
- Not only that, but even if Heaven would try judge Hell for killing Adam and many Exorcists, they would be in hot water anyway for two reasons: 1) while Lucifer agreed to let the annual extermination happen, he never said he would stop Sinners from fighting back in self defense if they get a chance; 2) as noted above, his contract with Heaven was broken the moment Adam (an angel) tried to kill Charlie (a hellborn demon), someone who was supposed to be spared by such blasphemous genocide.
- Sir Pentious is now in Heaven, which effectively leaves him trapped with ALL the Exorcists in all their petty, bloodthirsty and vindictive viciousness 24/7. We’ve seen how little they care about lying to their higher ups to mete out their own justice, are completely against the idea of redemption, and hate those that threaten the status Quo, so what stops them from attacking the one person who turned his sin to a win? Pentious has pretty much gone from a warzone to the heart of the enemy homeland with a target on his back.
- It should be noted that Emily was there to see him and confirm he existed. They can't just make a guy like that disappear now.
- Despite having promised Charlie that she would figure out something to help, in the Emily did not seem to manage to do anything to support the hotel against the extermination. Considering how dejected she looked before Sir Pentious appeared, its likely she's experiencing quite a bit of guilt at breaking her promise and not being able to do anything to stop the slaughter of souls she now knows is happening.
- Considering Sera was sitting right next to Emily, she was presumably keeping an eye on her to prevent any intervention. This may end up adding more cracks to their already fracturing relationship, especially with Emily being vindicated in her faith in redemption.
- Emily and Charlie were shown to form an easy friendship due being Birds of a Feather, but Emily failing to fulfill her promise of support may very well harm that relationship as well. Even if Charlie is a very forgiving person, it still might add a sad stumbling block to what was initially a quickly formed bond. While she forgave Vaggie fairly quickly, she only knew Emily for less than a day and so there's a risk that any trust she had in her might be more easily breakable.
- Charlie might forgive Emily for not fulfilling her promise to help Charlie, but Emily might not be willing to forgive herself for failing Charlie.
- Now that the secret of angelic steel being able to wound angels is out, will someone try targeting Lucifer with it? He's probably powerful enough that he could find a way to survive regardless, but still concerning.
- Angelic steel was noted by Carmilla as being rare, but she still gave a large stockpile to the hotel. Furthermore, they'd also be quite a few angelic weapons left from all the dead exorcists. Who are the ones with the most numbers and in the best position to snatch up most of these weapons? The local Cannibal Clan. Depending how just how much of her own stockpile Carmilla gave up, the cannibals may very well now control the largest supply of angelic steel in hell while also having earned the gratitude of the Princess of Hell, placing them in a much stronger position than before.
- While redemption being proven to be possible directly in front of Sera may seem like it would cause her to change her views, many of the other events of the episode have the potential to feed into her paranoia and general fear of Hell.
- Adam, along with several other exorcists were killed by sinners. If she was fearing an uprising, then what just happened would seem pretty close to one.
- All of Hell would now know that angels are not invincible, and also how to kill them. Furthermore, all the newly dead exorcists would mean there'd be even more angelic steel in the hands of demons than before.
- Lucifer is not only active again, but was willing to fight Adam after the latter attacked his daughter (breaking the agreement from Heaven's side, which won't be easily redone even at best) and then forced the remaining exorcists to retreat. This would be a clear sign he's no longer willing to play ball with Heaven as he used to. The last time Lucifer dreamt big, evil got introduced into Earth and a Seraphim (him) became fallen, and so Sera might also be concerned at the potential consequences of Lucifer supporting his daughter's big dream.
- Emily has displayed a rebellious streak which Sera seemed to fear could result in her becoming fallen. She may fear that Emily getting vindicated could embolden her to be even more defiant.
- Sir Pentious is a direct witness to the poor conditions of Hell and the exterminations, so having him in Heaven could result in that knowledge becoming more wide-spread and stir up discord amongst the populace. Especially for winners who have family in Hell.
- It is a stark reminder that she does not know how the system she upholds works or what divine judgement entails.
- Admitting she was wrong would also require her to admit she needlessly authorised the slaughter of billions of souls which could've been redeemed. There is a risk that learning her Necessarily Evil was not as necessary as she assumed may trigger some Sunk Cost Fallacy.
- Nobody knows how someone gets to Heaven and Hell, and so far the only way we know for a demon to get to Heaven is if they die. In other words, the only way Charlie's plan might work is that when a demon tries redeeming themselves, you kill them and then hope for the best...and if you're wrong, you've just made them Deader than Dead.
- Whether or not this falls into horror depends on your point of view, but it's almost certain that Adam's body, as well as all other angel corpses, were eaten by the Cannibals.
