Every Charlie/Vox Parallel: Season 1 Episode 6 "Welcome to Heaven"
C&V at their most badass
There are two (3-ish) main parallels between Charlie and Vox in 1x06. First, this episode concerns the beginning of a fight between Charlie and Vaggie based on Vaggie's past, and though it's explored much more in the next episode, it's worth noting their tension here. Much as Vox and Val will fall out over miscommunication in s2.
Just like Vox, Charlie refers to her girlfriend as her "partner", and invites her to come "up there" with her:
Charlie: Vaggie, you're my partner, I need you there with me.
Much like:
Vox: I swear I'd never felt closer to being a god. That's a feeling that I'd give anything to get back. And a feeling that I'd love to share with both of you.
(This is addressed to Val & Vel)
"Partner" is obviously a complicated thematic word for Vox's story, considering what happened with Alastor; he's reluctant to call Val more than "partners...in business", but he nonetheless still calls Val and Vel his team, and Val is and has for a long time been his partner, much as Vaggie is Charlie's. It's great word for implying equality, and that Charlie and Vox both know they need/want Vaggie and Val by their sides.
However, a problem that occurs here is, as I've seen reactors to this ep point out, Charlie isn't listening to Vaggie.
Throughout the scene Vaggie has been making it clear she's not all that enthusiastic about this trip, in ways that immediately telegraph there's something bugging her, and Charlie doesn't bother to ask Vaggie what's bugging her, instead just barreling forward with her own plans. And because she fails to clock this, Adam is able to air Vaggie's dirty laundry in the most emotionally damaging way possible. Much as Vox ignoring his partners' initial disinterest in the heaven plan and their frustration with his Alastor issues results in his humiliation in 2x08. Charlie and Vox both get lost in their own heads and fail to notice their partners' feelings.
II Trickster Goddess
Second, another thing C&V have in common is a streak of what TvTropes calls "Manipulative Bastard" - ie, setting people up to walk into a situation they're controlling for their own ends with a carefully executed trap. Charlie does it here in a very subtle way, by giving Cherrie money and suggesting she and Angel go out for a night on the town:
Charlie: Yeah! Hi, everyone! Angel and his friend are taking you all out for a night of fun and relaxation!
[Cherri mistakes Charlie's suggestion and tries to make her understand.]
Cherri Bomb: Wait, I'm only here for An—
[Charlie hands Cherri Bomb a large stack of money.]
Cherri Bomb: —Ooh! Never mind, Let's Go!
Which Charlie will be filming in order to prove to heaven Angel can be redeemed.
Vox of course does this more often and obviously, just for instance like when he pretends to be Charlie on the phone to manipulate Lu into walking into his trap. But both Charlie and Vox are definitely people who like working through guessing how people will behave and occasionally manipulating them into doing what they want. So we see C&V both showing a streak of their fatal flaws in this comparison: Their struggles to really connect with the people closest to them.
III Divine Pleasures
Before we get into the meatier stuff, a few smaller, more comedic points of similarity: Charlie adores heaven's style of fun, and the linked post points out that the Vees' idea of fun matches up with Heaven's well too:
Charlie: Okay, I love Heaven! Vaggie, did you see the ice cream shop? They had sprinkles made of rainbows!
Vaggie: Those are just rainbow sprinkles.
💬 11 🔁 19 ❤️ 122 · Emily and the Vees have the same idea of fun · Flashy cars, clubbing, chilling poolside, tropical beaches... arcade ga
The post makes a list. We know Charlie lines up on a few of these at least - doodling, ice cream, cute pets and sweets for sure. Also this post from the same writer pointed out Vox has a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to drinks, and Charlie is very excited about the sweets heaven has to offer.
Also gushing over their favorite animals:
Charlie: O.M.G! Can you imagine an actual koala? *squeals happily* See you later!
Vox: (to Shok.wav) Who's the bestest demon shark in the world?
Basically C&V both view the kinds of pleasures heaven has to offer as appealing - they both like heaven and its somewhat goofy, even childish ideas of what makes a pleasurable life. But they're also both the characters who take it down, ironically.
IV Voice of the People?
The biggest main point of comparison this episode is how Charlie and Vox both act as the voices of hell demanding justice from the Angels for the sinners. TVTropes points out in Vox's profile page that he and Alastor in their separate ways both represent an aspect of the biblical Lucifer that Hazbin's Lu doesn't - Al the tempter to evil, Vox to leader of a revolt against heaven. Charlie of course is also in a way a reflection of this side of the classic Lu, but her and Vox's approaches are different.
I think it's fair to say Charlie presents herself as a figure of justice and Vox presents himself as a figure of vengeance. It's a rather Professor X & Magneto style narrative foiling (albeit if Magneto was only faking): Charlie wants to work with the system towards a peaceable revolution, Vox wants to use violence to take the system down (and of course, install himself on top).
Charlie's initial approach is to attempt to work with heaven's idea - souls who can be redeemed are worthy of existence - and gives a show presentation of Angel's improvement:
Charlie: We have a patron right now who is making incredible progress!
Adam: Who?
Charlie: Angel Dust.
(also, Charlie watching Angel without his permission and using him as an example to convince people, without his enthusiastic consent, that redemption is possible? Foreshadowing, what's that?)
Vox, instead, gives his slideshow presentation of Heaven's crimes against hell, showing off the crimes heaven has committed against the sinners without arguing that the sinners need to prove themselves worth life first:
Emily: That's not--
Vox: Do you know how many sinners died in each extermination? Thousands.
It's interesting that Charlie plays by heaven's rules - that sinners need to prove themselves worthy (at first, anyway) and Vox presents his case that sinner lives should eb valued regardless. Not sure whether he believes that, though he at least probably thinks it of himself given how annoyed he was at Charlie's "anyone can be redeemed" suggestion. B
The two of them both however are defiant of heaven's attempts to dismiss the sinners and stand up for their basic humanity (performative in Vox's case, though Charlie herself does sometimes slip into being judgmental of Angel):
Charlie: Uhm, objection! Are you really telling me you've never had a drink with friends at the end of a hard day?
Vox: You hear that, people? These angels think our lives are worth really good taffies.
Both of them call out the idea that sinners should just die because they're sinners, and argue for the injustice of what heaven has been doing.
Charlie and Vox are both entities who are able to get under Sera's skin and unearth the problems with her scheme. Charlie calls her out on how she and Adam have no idea how this judgmental process even works:
Charlie: Wait... none of you know what gets someone into Heaven?
Sera: *abruptly* This questioning stops now. We know when a soul arrives, we know when they pass divine judgment, it is our job to ensure these souls are safe.
Vox calls her out more directly on her use of violence to intimidate them.
Vox: This angel admits it! She called the extermination to silence the sinners speaking out, empowering each other. You did it to keep us down.
They then both hit us with two of the coolest, most badass musical numbers in the entire show, where they each take a stand against the divine power of a seraphim and an archangel: Charlie: ♫ It's not fair, Sera ♫
Vaggie: ♫ Careful, Charlie, keep a cool head... ♫
Charlie: ♫ No! Don't you care, Sera? ♫/♫ That just because someone is dead ♫/♫ It doesn't mean they can't resolve to change their ways ♫/♫ Turn the page ♫/♫ Escape infernal blaze ♫
Later: Charlie and Emily: ♫ If Hell is forever, then Heaven must be a lie! ♫/If angels can do whatever, and remain in the sky ♫/♫ The rules are shades of gray when you don't do as you say ♫/♫ When you make the wretched suffer just to kill them again ♫/ ♫ I was told not to trust in angels ♫
Vox of course has Vox Dei:
Vox: ♪ Well, we are not gonna ♪/♪ be kept down anymore ♪/♪ Consider this a declaration of HOLY WAR! ♪/♪ I've woken up the people ♪/♪ to the lies you angels tell /♪ When we pay you a visit we won't be bringing baskets ♪/♪ We'll be bringing decimation that'll put you in caskets ♪/♪ I’ll show you what it means to be ♪/♪ The MOTHERFUCKING king of Hell! ♪/♪ Cause I'm the furor! I'm immense! ♪ /♪ I am the avatar of your consequence ♪ /♪ I'm your omega! I'm the flood ♪ /♪ I am the nightmare you made when you spilled our blood! ♪ /♪ So cower and hide, find a rope you can swing from ♪/♪ Go say your goodbyes, to your lives ♪/♪ TO YOUR KINGDOM! ♪
Charlie opens with the declaration that Sera's decision was "unfair" and asks why she doesn't "care". Vox opens up with the declaration that they won't be 'kept down'. Both C&V drop a line about Angel's not being trustworthy (in Bold). Then Charlie (accompanied by Emily) calls out the hypocrisy - if "Angels can do whatever and remain in the sky", then there is no point to the idea that those of heavenly descent are 'better' than the sinners, or that the sinners should need to be 'good' to be worthy of heaven. Vox has come in with the premise that hell is better than heaven, that they are stronger and he specifically is more powerful and bigger deal than the angels.
Charlie presents herself as a spirit of justice. Vox presents himself as a spirit of vengeance. They both call the angels out on their decisions, Charlie calling for accountability, Vox calling for a revolution. Charlie is able to shake heaven and almost convinces them. Vox is able to send them running for the moment with fear and intimidation .
However, it's debatable if either approach works al lathe well on its own. Charlie's attempts to play by heaven's rules don't get her very far; it isn't until Pentious' redemption proves her right that heaven backs off, and in the meantime a lot of lives are put in danger. But even then, it isn't until the conflict with Vox comes up that anyone really pushes heaven on the issue. Ideally some balance between the two extremes might be needed - I saw a great vid on the X-men movies pointing out that in X2 Xavier adopts elements of Magneto's more forceful approach in the climax in order to ensure no near-genocide of mutants happens again. I'd love to see C&V developing this kind of dynamic.
Of course, unlike Magneto, Vox probably doesn't actually believe this shit. Yet, while I don't think he necessarily has much empathy or concern for the sinners en masse, he probably fully is angry over heaven's dismissal of him and perhaps of Vel and Val. Borrowing again from @chopstickerz and their post here on Vox's POV on redemption, Vox and Vel definitely hate the idea that they need to change to be worthy of redemption. They think they're great and feel most likely a bit rejected by heaven. Charlie meanwhile is playing heaven's game somewhat - that they must prove themselves worthy of redemption in order to get in, to not be condemned to death. Now Charlie does put her money where her mouth is in that she doesn't just shoot Vox in s2 the minute he does something that would deem him irredeemably evil in her eyes. But it's easy to see why its a hard sell for a lot of sinners to try redemption.
Charlie is a fairly privileged person, and while she has compassion for her people, she often treats them in a way that seems condescending - the noblesse oblige kind of attitude. Vox and the Vees are better able to appeal to the people because they present themselves as of the people. Vox Populi, the people's voice. They're sinners - incredibly rich and successful sinners, but sinners rather than half-angels - and they don't present the divine fun as something people have to earn ("Not by changing for redemption, but by taking over heaven"). Vox sees himself and his Vees (and possibly other sinners) as deserving divine reward and is annoyed at the idea that he has to change for it at all. Of course it is important to value self-improvement and morality, I'm not saying it isn't. Plenty of sinners like Vox and Al did horrible things in life and continue to do awful things in hell. It's a complicated issue and there is no easy answer.
Not the most coherent set of thoughts on the parallels here, but I think that sums it up. C&V both present themselves as righteous figures standing up for the rights of the sinners, but their methods both leave something to be desired.
