An Hourglass of Seafoam

Akane: have you ever heard of “Hair Theory”?

Junpei: huh? What’s that?

Akane: it’s the idea that doing something so simple as changing your hair manipulates the way others perceive you. Going for a different style or even just framing your face differently can make you seem like a whole different person.

Snake: incredible… to think someone could do all that with only a haircut

Ace: changing… your hair…?

Clover: big deal. I change my hair all the time and I’m still me

Santa: imagine a version of me with white hair and a version of me, in a different timeline, who dyed his hair black

Confession time: I’ve actually been shipping showtime since the pilot, it just faded into the background for me due to their lack of screen time together

But there was a time I actually thought they would call back on the “He just wants me to suffer” line from episode 3 and have a moment where Pomni sees just a bit of humanity(?) from Caine. I think even if they had a scene or episode dedicated to them, Caine’s episode 8 crash out could still happen. 

Like seriously a hypothetical moment in between episode 4 and 5 would’ve been all I needed. I say after episode 4 so it can be after Pomni’s growth talking with Kinger and also after her letting Gummigoo go. They don’t even need to be friends outright, just a quiet acknowledgment that Pomni at the very least sees he’s trying. <- I think this would’ve been best because they would still not be close enough for Pomni to reach out, but at the very least she might be able to notice that something was up with him. 

In episode 5, Caine gets the same drink as Pomni out of everyone.

In episode 6, she was the one to point out him uncharacteristically swearing. 

In episode 7, Pomni was one of the people Caine mentioned when he was asking Jax for feedback (besides Zooble)

I already rambled about Caine seemingly having beef with Pomni specifically in episode 8.

There’s like sprinkles of potential interactions, but I do wish they DID interact more. Not even cause of showtime, but because Pomni is a protagonist and Caine is an antagonist. 

And it annoys the bejeebers out of me when people claim Lucifer has done nothing but wallow for the last ten thousand years while Lilith did all the work and is the True Ruler of Hell. (Which I keep seeing people claim.)

Here’s what I think:

I think their rule was a partnership. They had their realms of influence and areas they were prominent in, but they worked together to lead Hell.

Perhaps Lucifer wasn’t enthusiastic about potentially ruling the realm of his punishment in the beginning after his Fall. But I can see Lilith encouraging him to take up the role, to make the most of the situation and make both a home and kingdom for themselves. And while he didn’t thrive as much as Lilith did in their new circumstances, he did take on the responsibility.

Lucifer definitely used to be more active in the goings-on of Hell. He owns a theme park and has an app, so he had business matters he ran. He has a throne in the royal Hell court we see in “Mastermind,” so he used to take part in trials. He created the Ars Goetia and gave them power in the hierarchy. He was able to get that meeting with Heaven for Charlie quickly so he had to have diplomatic duties. I think his playbill bio said he used to do performances with the Seven Deadly Sins. Not to mention the Sins were trying to bribe him to return to his duties in HH Season 2, so that speaks to him at least doing a decent job ruling, at least in their eyes if they wanted him back so badly. (Or at the very least, they just missed their friend.)

I think he used to do more kingly things, and did use to be more active in his rule. Was he always a perfect king? No. I think he always struggled with depression and that sometimes got in the way of his work and there were periods he isolated himself in his palace and/or workshop. Or perhaps sometimes his depression led to him burying himself in work when he wasn’t isolating himself- explaining why he was an infrequent presence in Charlie’s life when she was young. The combination of his kingly duties and his personal struggles made him an absent parent.

At any rate, the gist of things is that he was a considerable authority in Hell… among the Sins and Hellborn anyway.

Lucifer hates Sinners, and wants nothing to do with them. Not to mention he is forbidden from harming them in anyway and has limited influence over them. But that’s where Lilith comes in- the way I see it, Lu and Lil probably split the domains of Hell between them. Lucifer ruled over the Hellborn and Seven Deadly Sins, and Lilith ruled the Sinners. She probably understood them in a way Lucifer couldn’t since she was human once too. I can see her meeting with Overlords, trying to improve conditions in the Pride Ring, giving concerts and performances to the masses, and overall being a positive influence to the Sinners.

(And since her royal duties weren’t as vast as Lucifer’s and as far we know she didn’t suffer from depression, she got to spend more time with Charlie.)

Heck, I bet she even occasionally was able to get Lucifer involved, like hearing out petitioners, getting cities and infrastructure built, or even letting Sinners enter Lu Lu World. She couldn’t always get him to participate, but I think he did sometimes if only to support his wife and maintain his territory as Ruler of Pride.

(Though probably not enough for Lilith’s liking. I think Vivzie said once Lu and Lil had a Gomez and Morticia Addams dynamic before their parting, but if those two ever argued about anything, it was probably either his distance from Charlie or his distance from Sinners.)

So that’s why we see Sinners revere Lilith and disrespect Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel, but see Sins and Hellborn acknowledge Lucifer and not even mention Lilith in Helluva Boss. Both the king and queen had their own areas they held dominance and they worked together to rule Hell. They supported each other and Lilith probably kept Lucifer from getting too lost in his own head (even if apparently it wasn’t enough given his absence from Charlie’s life).

It was only after Lilith vanished 7-8 years ago that Lucifer stopped even trying to be a king. (And that WAS when she and Lucifer “split.” Some people think she left him way earlier and took Charlie with her, but Lucifer specifically states she’s only been gone from his life around eight years. And they are only separated- not divorced- because Lucifer still wears his ring and claims he’s still married.)

He couldn’t rule Sinners- that was Lilith’s job and he wanted nothing to do with them. (Plus if him okaying the Exterminations while only pardoning Hellborns was part of why Lilith left, he may have partially blamed them for her leaving- when he wasn’t blaming himself, anyway.) And as his depression and spiraling grew worse he retreated from his other duties until he pretty much abandoned the throne to hole up in his workshop and make ducks. It’s why his throne in court has cobwebs, why the Sins are left to their own devices while trying to make up for his absence, and why Overlords basically run the Pentagram.