#hhs2

with Alastor, it was obvious. everything about him — the personality, the manners, the design, that nightmare smile — all of it screams “this man absolutely killed people”. so when his backstory dropped, it made sense. it was consistent. it fit him.

but Vox? Vox’s whole brand of villainy has always been a completely different flavor. he’s all about subtlety, image, manipulation. his power comes from scheming, networking, using people, climbing socially and strategically. he uses relationships and business connections like tools, discards people the moment they stop serving him (cough narcissist behavior cough), thrives on scandals and will even use hate towards his own entertainers for clout (see: “Hazbeen Guarantee”), treats his employees like garbage, tells Sir Pentious to literally off himself when he fails an undercover mission (season 1), and actively enables and encourages Valentino’s disgusting behavior — even suggesting "sacrificial employees" to calm his moth boyfriend down from his tantrum (also season 1).

so yeah, he’s awful. but repeatedly wetting his own hands with blood? i don't know. he never really gave me that kind of impression.

a more coherent (and honestly more interesting) approach would’ve been something in the “Ernesto de la Cruz” (from Pixar's Coco) lane — killing one key person who stood between him and total network control, like the Bob we see in "Brighter". or showing him as the kind of guy who weaponizes sabotage, absolutely plays dirty, and will use any kind of trick and cheat to pave his road to success: falsifying documents, breaking equipment so rivals get “unfortunate accidents”, spreading lies, planting rumours, driving someone to a breakdown or even suicide just to take their job... that would still be dark as hell, but way more aligned with the kind of villain he is.

there's also the credibility issue: can i really believe that multiple high-profile murders all happened in the same workspace, always conveniently clearing Vox’s path, and literally no one noticed a pattern? no suspicion? no investigation? it stretches suspension of disbelief in a way that doesn’t feel really right to me. i’d honestly buy a story where Vox metaphorically stabs people in the back — not one where he’s literally doing it... lol.

i wonder what the narrative goal is here. do they need a “true, evil evil villain” now that Adam's been dead for a while and Lute... really didn't do anything this season, despite the EPIC set-up they gave her with "Gravity" (i was SO expecting to see so much more from her this season, but alas... she only got her tiny moment in the finale, only to be immediately stopped by Patrick Stump. lmao). or is this supposed to set up a future redemption for Vox himself, making it even more meaningful and valuable — the whole “the worse the past, the bigger the turnaround” thing? or maybe they needed to create both similarities and differences with Alastor — so similar in their modus operandi, but so different in the ways they became successful in their respective fields. i’m not convinced, but i’m curious.

what do y’all think?

also, what is UP with that dramatic, jojo-posing, k-pop choreography, and the expressions he makes... i love this stupid evil tv-head man so much lol

Go on. Just try and give me a non gay explanation for this. I dare you.

okay but in all seriousness, either alastor wants to sit on this man’s throne, or he wants to sit on that man. No in-betweens. And I cannot wait. PLEASE.

Mood.

"It's good to finally be recognized for my mastery of the craft."

"Take this as a sign, my friends. You are NEVER too old to find your true calling in life."

"You know, it wouldn't be a bad career opportunity. A merger between Hyde Consolidated and Voxtek would be incredibly profitable for all involved."

You can trust him, Vox. Totally.

it's a very intentional wordplay. the same song that has him, a known cult leader, inspiring and calling people to violence and genocide by exploiting their fears is planning to create a weapon of mass destruction and also in the same fucking song sings that he will "Make hell great again." i had to watch the episode first without subtitles and it's pretty clear especially if you don't have subtitles on what it's supposed to sound like.

for real tho, “Easy” might just be the most tender, romantic, respectful, fun, playful, and gracefully sensual — yet never pornographic — depiction of two women making love i’ve ever seen in animation. the music, the colors, the visuals, the choreography… everything feels so sweet and spontaneous, and i'm so glad this is how they chose to portray their intimacy. it’s beautiful to see them just basking in the mutual love and attraction they share — we didn’t really get many moments like this in the previous episodes or season, so yay! we already found love in hell; the rest is easy, baby ♡