Happy moments

Little bitty details I noticed as I am working on longer metas (and asks! I got three wonderful asks I wanna answer, but I need time :P)

TEAPOTS AND PHONE CASES

Hazbin Hotel makes use of mundane objects like teapots and phone cases to convey characters' personalities and motifs. Here are some (there may be others).

Teapot Edition

Lucifer

The Ringmaster of Hell has a circus-themed teapot shaped like an elephant (is that a Dumbo reference? I think it is; it's not that the whole Lucifer was cast out of Heaven because "different" subtext is subtle :P)

Rosie

The leader of Cannibal Town likes her teapot pink, thorned and with a skull on top. Okay Rosie, we get it, some roses have thorns and are deadly!

Velvette

The Miranda Priestly of the Vees likes to dress up even her teapot with a cute witch-hat, which mirrors her own style. Does she serve tea or potions?

Charlie

Let's spill the tea: the Princess of Hell is truly a good apple and her teapot emphasizes it. Our girl Charlie likes her tea in a super cute apple-shaped teapot.

Architecture built by Hellborn always has a lot of symbology built into it. From things like railings to doorways, to walls, there's always so much ornateness and repeated imagery that you can find in the way they're designed. Like beehives for Gluttony, Webs in Greed, Clouds in Sloth and Hearts in Lust. Even in Wrath, while there isn't a lot of symbology, they do make the point of decorating buildings with spikes, horns, and weaponry.

Whereas with Sinners, their buildings tend to resemble more regular human buildings. Yes, some use images like Rosie using skulls, Maestro using musical notes and Zestial using cobwebs, but thats generally not repeated iconography or imagery in all their decorating, its just a symbol they happen to have in their place.

In fact, the only characters who do something similar are the Vee' with the way they all use their icons to decorate their rooms and offices. But even there, you can see how its different then what the Hellborn do, feeling more like they like splashing their logo around.

In fact, the one place is Hazbin Hotel that iS decorated similarly to Hellborn run locations in helluva Boss ie, ironically, the Hazbin Hotel itself. Its filled with Lucifers symbols and images relating to him and the Pride Ring.

I think this difference highlights the unique nature of the Pride Ring. All the other Rings are ruled by a Sin, whose personality is mirrored by the environment. At the same time, each Ring is linked to a specific business sector:

Wrath is agricolture and farming

Gluttony is a tropical paradise and I guess it is big when it comes to food transformation and restaurants

Greed is industry and banks

Lust is a giant red light district and its main activities are linked to the sex industry

Envy is left to be seen; I think it might be about fashion and we know Levy has a social network

Sloth is about pharma, hospitals and drugs

Pride is instead the richest and most varied Ring. At the same time, it lacks political unity because the Sin of Pride is disconnected from his people. It was Lilith who used to rule, while Lucifer shows apathy towards his Kingdom. This is why his influence on the Ring is not as obvious as that of the other Sins. Moreover, Pride is strongly influenced by the individualism and powers of the Overlords. After all, Sinners are special kinds of demons, who exhibit unique powers linked to who they were in life. Not only that, but they can increase this power with time. This is remarkably different from how Hellborns work. In short, I think the details you noticed have two thematic points:

1- Sinners are unique among demons because they express individuality in a way the different races of Hellborns do not do

2- The Morningstars and especially Lucifer are uninvolved in the lives of their people, so they lack the impact the other Sins have on the everyday life of demons

I actually think both points come across indirectly in Helluva Boss too. For example, think about the episode Sinsmas:

The Sinner who goes to I.M.P. has no idea of what Sinsmas is and keeps talking about Christmas. This makes sense, as she is unfamiliar with Hellborn traditions and she is bound to celebrate Christmas, rather than its Hell variant.

The Sinsmas decorations in the episode are about all the different sins, but Pride. I mean, sure, there is some red decoration, but nothing specific. This makes sense because the Pride Demons are Goetias and Sinners, both of whom do not really celebrate. So, ironically the strongest Sin is the least celebrated by the people of Hell, as a result of his apathy.

Another hint of this difference is the use of language:

Sinners come from Earth, so they would use expressions like "Oh My God", while they will very rarely, but ever refer to the Sins as God.

The Hellborns instead use the Sins' names instead of "god" because they were made by the Sins. So, imps use "satan", goetias and the sins themselves say "lucifer", the hellhounds sometimes say "oh my dog" to reference Bee and so on.

In short, I really like the world-building and how it makes clear Pride is kind of its own things because of Lucifer's disinterest, Lilith ruling in his place and the Sinners' influence. It is fun!

I will now use this post to actually add some other details I noticed and wanted to integrate in the original one.

LILITH IN HEAVEN

When considering cellphones and profile pics, it is interesting to consider Lilith has no profile pictures for neither Charlie nor Lucifer:

Moreover, Charlie's profile picture for Lilith is from her mom's official portrait (not sure in-universe if it's a picture or a portrait):

Of course this is done to keep Lilith a mystery, as much as possible. This is also why we have yet to see her full face in the series outside of portraits, statues and pictures.

In Charlie's flashback she has no face:

At the end of season 1 her eyes are covered by sunglasses:

In season 2 we don't see her eyes:

At the same time, these choices emphasize the sense of distance between Lilith and her family. On the one hand she would choose not to have pictures of her loved ones on her phone. On the other hand Charlie chooses a very formal picture of her mom, rather than a more casual one (like the one Lucifer has in his room). I think it says something of Charlie's admiration for her, but also of how she feels Lilith to be distant somehow.

Finally, I really liked the design of the place Lilith is in. I guess it is Eden, since it is a beautiful garden. Anyway, season 2 especially offers us this view:

The trees surrounding Lilith are designed after Seraphims angels. Not only they have halos (like many buildings in Heaven), but their trees and leaves are shaped after the six wings of seraphims. I like this because it really gives you the idea Lilith is somehow surrounded and guarded by seraphims. I wonder how she feels about it :P

1- ABOUT PHONES AND ICONS... AGAIN

As written above, Lilith and Charlie's respective phone icons suggest a sense of coldness and distance.

On the one hand Lilith has no icon for neither Charlie nor Lucifer:

On the other hand Charlie's icon for Lilith is taken from the family portrait:

There are two things that are interesting about this portrait:

-It seems to have been taken in the old Hazbin Hotel. We see the same decorations on the walls and the same lamps; I wonder if we will discover more about the old building and why Charlie chose to turn specifically that house into the Hazbin Hotel.

-It is a very formal portrait. In fact, it is the most formal portrait of the Morningstars and of Lilith specifically. I mean, let's compare it to the pictures in Lucifer's room:

Charlie could have easily chosen one of these two pictures for her icon. After all, Lilith looks much happier here than in the formal family portrait. It may be nothing, but overall it is interesting Charlie chooses the most formal, serious and regal picture of Lilith she has. I think this clearly ties into Charlie's idealization of Lilith and how deep down Charlie does not know her mom as a person.

2- CHARLIE'S CLOTHES

(AS A NOTE, THIS IS A HEADCANON AND I COULD BE AND PROBABLY AM COMPLETELY OFF)

As I have covered in multiple metas, Charlie's style is rather masculine. She usually wears tuxedos

She wears a pajama, which is cute, but still more masculine than Vaggi's night-gown:

Even for Vox's party Charlie's outfit is rather tomboyish:

This tendency has been going on for a while, since she is already wearing a tuxedo when she meets Vaggi, 3 years before the series:

Moreover, this style choice fits with Charlie choosing to be called with a shortened version of her name. She is not Charlotte, but Charlie, which is more gender neutral.

However, younger Charlie looks much more feminine. As shown in the pictures above, she wears either dresses or skirts. Even in the flashback in 1x5 little Charlie wears a cute little dress:

So, I wonder if Charlie used to dress more feminine to look more like Lilith/to impress her. Hence after Lilith disappeared, Charlie started to wear more masculine clothes, that fit her better. If it is so, I wonder if Lilith coming back will result in Charlie wearing more feminine attires for a little while and if this change in style could comment her arc. In general, I think Charlie has a lot of repressed darkness when it comes to her family and to Lilith specifically. After all, the only time she has dressed feminine in the series is in the season 1 finale, where she goes all out:

Welcome to l'izba! "Izba" translates as wooden hut, but ours has a bit of french accent 😅

It's our wandering home, full of trinkets and stories ✨

This illustration is very special, because we made it together with Kris for Alex's birthday 🎂

We tried to fill it with our memories from all the places we lived in together ❤️

Recently I rewatched the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (if you haven't noticed from my latest posts), and it really holds up: complex and sophisticated plotting, iconic characters with sturdy arcs, and nuanced themes about honor and freedom.

This trilogy did so many things right. It's no surprise it was a huge hit. (Do they even make movies like this anymore?)

While I could go on long about everything that it does right, today I actually want to zoom in on what I consider its weakest element: Davy Jones's Locker.

This is one (1) scene in the whole trilogy, but it's always felt off and just . . . weird to me. To the extent that it sort of taints my memory of the last film (which, revisiting it again, is actually quite well written).

Don't get me wrong--I get it's meant to be weird.

But it's weird in the wrong way.

It's weird in a weak way.

What could have been a major opportunity to add depth and dimension to the series' themes, and to Jack's character . . . 

. . . is nothing but a strange, delusional 8-minute experience that actually could be cut without really affecting the story.

And that's the main problem. It's not doing enough.

Yes, it did what it needed to on the plot level: The point of the scene is to show Jack trapped, slipping into madness in Davy Jones's Locker. It does that.

But it doesn't do that in a resonating way.

Really, if that's all it's doing, the filmmakers could cut the scene and simply show the crew arriving at the Locker to interact with a delusional Jack. (Though I don't quite like that idea either.)

Watching this film again, I realized, on a subconscious level, I always look forward to Davy Jones's Locker because it's a fate Jack spent the whole previous installment trying to avoid. And now he's trapped there.

I also think I subconsciously look forward to it, because it's a scene loaded with opportunity--because this is where we see (or could have seen) Jack in his most vulnerable state. It's begging to be used to develop character and explore the themes.

But instead, we get a (basically filler) madness trip--one that's trying to be comedic yet doesn't quite deliver--and some rock crabs that don't carry enough significance beyond helping move the ship (yes, I get they relate to Calypso. . . . They aren't terrible, but . . . )

Not as satisfying.

Let's go over what could have been done differently, and maybe it will help you with your own less-than-satisfying scenes. . . .

The bones of storytelling are character, plot, and theme.

And the best ideas for your scenes, are going to be those that hit on at least two--or preferably all three--of those.

When you understand that, you can produce more meaningful scenes (and stories).

Digging into Character & Theme to Revise the Scene

One of the most important aspects of any main character is his wants. His motives.

If you've followed me for a while, you may know I refer to this as the "abstract want."

The abstract want (or wants) exists behind nearly every major concrete goal the character pursues in the plot. (Or it should.)

Katniss wants to survive and save others. That's why she aims to win the Hunger Games. That's why she volunteers to take Prim's place and risks her life to save Peeta.

Luke wants to become, or be part of, something great. That's why he plans to go to Academy, become a Jedi, rescue Leia, and destroy the Death Star.

To add depth to a character, it's often a great idea to dig into this abstract want: What does it mean to the character? Why does fulfilling it matter? And how come the character has it in the first place?

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack's abstract want is to live free, preferably forever (as I wrote about somewhat recently). This is why he wants The Black Pearl back, and to be its captain, in the first installment. This is why he wants to avoid Davy Jones and the Kraken in the second installment. And this is why he wants to replace Davy Jones in the third installment.

Every major concrete plot goal Jack has, ties back to being free (and alive).

And so do many of his minor ones. ("You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.")

Also noteworthy is that in the first installment, it's said that The Black Pearl symbolizes freedom.

So, having a scene where Jack is trapped in Davy Jones's Locker, with The Black Pearl, would have been the perfect opportunity to explore his abstract want more deeply.

Instead of slipping into madness and envisioning copies of himself on The Pearl, it would have been more meaningful to delve into why freedom matters so much to Jack, and even better, why he has that want in the first place.

The Ex!

I really like the idea that she initially passes for human, but after spending 30 years on the bottom of the creek she’s had some damage exposing the more android-y parts of her, which also explains why people after that first episode seem to identify her as an android On Sight… It also forces her to adapt to some physical change and in some sense take more control over her body/appearance in her recovery, which I think is great as part of her character arc :)

Anyway, really pleased with how the shading turned out on this one, so have a detail shot

Feel it everywhere and you see it growing, Enemies arise and the hate is flowing, Shattering the moon and bloodying the sky.