Heaven in Hazbin Hotel
A recent musical show that has taken the internet by storm, both with avid fans and resounding criticism, is set in hell. The setting portrayed in the show is inspired by Dante’s Inferno, with 9 rings of hell as locations based on specific sins. In this show, the Pride ring is the focus, as that is where all the sinners are located. The driving force of plot for the first season are the exterminations: it’s established that hell had been gaining power, and heaven, scared hell would rise against them, began yearly genocides against the populace of hell, sending down armies of (supposedly) indestructible exorcists (angelic warriors) to slaughter sinners for on scheduled day every year, lead by the first man, Adam.
The leaders of heaven we meet in season one are Adam, leader of the army, and two high seraphims, Emily and Sera. Adam is portrayed as a horrible person. He mocks and makes fun of the protagonist(Lucifer’s daughter) for wanting to save her people, refers to the extermination as “entertainment,” and acts entitled. Emily is the high seraphim in charge of keeping the people of heaven happy, and is portrayed as the optimistic and perhaps naive “younger” of the two, while Sera is the guardian and enforcer of heaven - who without Emily’s knowledge, ordered the start of the exterminations as a morally grey decision to protect heaven.
The show portrays heaven as not all knowing and not all perfect. When asked, angels simply don’t know what actually gets somebody into heaven, and haven’t explored the possibility of souls getting redeemed. Heaven is shown to make heartless decisions, such as the slaughter of sinners, and judgement is shown to be flawed. I think a reason why this show resonates with a large audience is because it focuses on humanizing those that are outcast, and challenging the notion that one judgement defines a being. I think the portrayal of heaven criticizes the existing power structures of religious institutions and their oppression of groups they disagree with.
Your analysis of Hazbin Hotel is strong because it clearly explains how Heaven is portrayed as flawed and not all-knowing. You also do a good job connecting the characters and events to the larger themes of moral judgment and redemption.
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