Everyone can agree that this was one of the most pivotal scenes of the season. But I wanted to expand on it a bit.
* Please note: this is meant to be an observational piece, not a character-bashing post.
For an overlord, there really are no friends in Hell.
A lot of people have already broken down Alastor’s transactional “friendships” with Mimzy, Vox, and Rosie. But I want to focus on something different: the hotel gang—specifically Charlie.
Listen. I know Charlie is a stressed, naïve little thing- but she’s also supposed to be the heart of the show, the embodiment of “goodness.” She’s the one who tells Vox, “I believe anyone can be redeemed.” And yet, she seems to make an exception in showing compassion when it’s towards Alastor.
After the battle against Adam, she didn’t even look for Alastor. Not a mention. Not a glance. Nothing.
What makes it worse is that she clearly grieved Pentious. The crew sang his praises and created a portrait in his honor. Dazzle even got a statue. But Alastor—who supposedly died in that battle as far as they knew—gets no memorial at all.
And the moment they find out he’s alive? He gets… a hug. The touch-adverse deer gets a hug. No apologies, no “thank goodness you’re all right.” A single moment of relief, then back to business.
And after he’s captured by the Vees? Charlie gives him one line of concern. One.
Every other time his name comes up, it’s laced with irritation that he isn’t there to “do his job.” This is despite the fact that (as far as the hotel knows) he literally sacrificed himself for her.
Like Vaggie- you can say, “Oh, but Alastor clearly has a plan.”
And that plan depends entirely on the fact that they won’t care enough to help him. He knows they never looked for him. He knows they didn’t notice his injury. And he knows that despite everything he’s done since season one, they don’t see him as a person or a human soul—just a monster, an overlord, a tool.
So he leans into it. All the softness that we saw him share the night before the extermination is gone. In its place- is a man trapped and doing whatever he can to ensure his own survival, because these people are not his friends and they surely won’t.
As a former Charlastor shipper, I can’t imagine the mental gymnastics that side of the fandom is doing to justify all of this. But in the end, Alastor’s words are a sad, self-fulfilling prophecy.
He was right on two counts . It’s incredible what a human soul can accomplish when they “take charge of their own fate.” (Like he’s doing right now)
And in Hell? There truly is no such thing as friends.
