#ser pentious

A Visit To The Past! let's dress up in our various living periods ... 30's, 40's, 50's, 70's, early Victorian, Edwardian, and the 2000's!

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Fork found in kitchen and other breaking news.

Yay, Hazbin Hotel is back! And it's also back to its fairly solid theological explorations--particularly if you view it through the lens not of a literal heaven and hell, but instead through the lens of critiquing organized religion (heaven) and particularly white American evangelicalism and life on earth (hell).

Heck, even the voice of God conveys the wishes of the deity but doesn't directly provide us with the appearance of God--essentially, a clever way to handle the God question that often dooms afterlife-set stories (cough, thegoodplace, cough). Also, side note, I kinda love that the voice of God is a woman because the Holy Spirit's pronouns, in Hebrew, are actually female.

God's voice being portrayed through a spirit who prefers to let people (angels, etc) find things out on their own also again adds to an interpretation of the story as addressing life on earth just as much as life after it, which itself tackles a common problem found in fundgelical churches: the idea that life on earth doesn't matter because the next life is all that matters.

Bad Theology of Heaven: Vox

Vox is literally indulges in the message of the serpent in the Garden of Eden: shall we be like God? He's trying to make God into his own image. He wants to lead a rebellion against God to become God, an "unholy trinity" as his song says.

Yes, it is indeed a retelling of the Tower of Babel, which I talked about here. The first two episodes confirmed this interpretation, and the ideas of voices and communication/miscommunication among people--these are going to be prominent themes moving forward.

Vox's song with the Vees also exemplifies a toxic triumphalist theology.

Once we get up there Up to the promised land... Think of all your dreams that could come true.. And once we're gods, I can't wait to say... To everyone who doubted me, your doubting days are done! You'll be cornered, trapped, and tortured Then I'll end you, just for fun!

This is how a lot of white evangelical Christians talk about heaven--like it's a place of winning, a place where the unbelievers or all the people who were "wrong" get what's coming to them no matter their circumstances. It's framed as victory, not as a happily ever after--essentially, the "theobro" Mark Driscoll type of theology that runs on guns and hates, the same theology Adam espoused in Season 1.

I like that we're seeing this perspective from hell, because Vox is setting himself up to be the next Adam.

Bad Theology of Heaven: Pentious

How can we be happy in heaven if there our loved ones aren't there?

See, this is a question commonly asked in white American fundigelical churches. I remember the answer being something like "maybe God will make you forget them." Didn't really help things there. But it's also considered a bit of a child's question.

So, I quite like how Hazbin is literally posing this question and exploring its implications with Ser Pentious. He was saved because of the loved he shared with his community. His reward should not, cannot, be cutting him off from those loved ones. That's not Good News or a reward at all. That's a punishment.

Bad Politics: Sera

You can also see that Sera is sincere in her distress about being wrong and that her wrongness caused the destruction of souls. She sold her soul, essentially, and then found out she was sanctioning genocide. She never wanted that.

Yet Sera isn't thinking holistically about it. Instead of fixing herself, she wants to protect everyone from the consequences of her mistakes (since she allowed this, hell probably wants to kill the people she loves). She isn't wrong in her desire to protect people; they are innocent and don't deserve to suffer. But, the way she goes about this is entirely wrong.

Also, the parallel between Sera closing the gates of heaven and modern immigration policies is absolutely a deliberate choice. Good for them. Call it out.

An Eye for An Eye: Abel and Lute

Of course, Sera looks positively reasonable when compared with Lute. We're supposed to see it that way, and also to realize that Sera is clearly not much better deep down. Lute's just a little more targeted with her despair.

The irony of Ser Pentious explaining how him loving and being loved saved him, while not doing or being so doomed him, is that it's the exact same scene as everyone turning on Lute. No, I don't think people in heaven should side with Lute. She's acting deranged and is full of pure hate.

But, I also think that not showing Lute compassion is supposed to be noticed. It's hypocritical of heaven to praise Ser Pentious but not notice Lute screaming in agony as the one person she thought cared for her is dead and she's literally being told that her bond with Adam didn't mean anything after all, she's not gonna take over, etc. Of course, Adam's bond with Lute was really screwed up, and he didn't care much for her at all. But that's not how Lute feels, and no one acknowledging Lute's pain is going to backfire in a major way.

That said, I also think that Abel's grief for his father positions him as an interesting foil to Lute. He's indecisive and weak, yes, and wasn't liked by his father and hence got ignored a lot (kind of a foil to Charlie as well in this, which the narrative will surely elaborate on). I'm curious to see how this develops.

(And I also want Cain. Maybe he's in hell. But I want him. If there is an Abel there must be a Cain! I want them to reconcile!! GIVE ME MY BIBLICAL FANFICTION)

Ser Pentious (Edward Pendleton) was a bright engineer of his era, and died in 1888 from Tuberculosis, in London England-- his own guilt driving him to abstain from attempted treatment.

His early life was spent in relative wealth, and his parents funded his interest and education in relation to learning how to build and invent. As he grew, he actually became rather adept at it, and could even be called a prodigy of his time.

An only child who was often alone, he was rather reclusive, and this carried on to his adult life, having spent it in his home after moving to the city.

His inventing was funded by many who came from wealth, primarily a well known surgeon...

Even though he was the shy sort, Pentious eventually befriended the ladies that lived near his home, getting to know one of them rather well, Maria. He would often walk her to work before returning home, and would help her out by giving her things to care for her new born.

Though, one night, he began to hear odd sounds outside his window, screaming, looking out, he witnessed the murder of one of the working women he had befriended before-- but simply closed the blinds, he didn't want the trouble, even if he didn't get a good look at the guy doing the killing.

Night after night this occurred, but he had simply turned a blind eye.

However, the next victim? Maria, he knew she had a baby, they were friends but this night he had found out who the killer was, the very same wealthy surgeon.

Not wanting to compromise his peace, he had once again turned away, but not before seeing the terror in her face...the betrayal in her eyes as she glimpses a man she thought she could trust through the window. The blinds closing is the last thing she saw.

They found her body gutted in the morning.

Three years later, Pentious got sick and had begun to waste away, he died alone in his home. He woke up and found himself in Acedia for his inaction, though, as in life, he found himself a prized inventor.

Now that Ser Pentious is an angel, does that mean as more guests get redeemed they become…

Charlie’s Angels?

-Creating a Hazbin Hotel Discord server to roleplay in

-Opening up my requests to Hazbin Hotel

-Creating a Hazbin Hotel RP account on here for one (or more) characters

-Hopefully actually making progress in C&M again and start updating this dang fic

Yes.

Will he be?

Also yes.

Or, at least he'll start on that path by the end of his arc. I've predicted how I think his seasonal arc ends here, and everything about these two episodes only further adds to my suspicions that he's going to end up utterly alone, abandoned by Velvette and Val. However, at your darkest moment is the chance to seek something better.

Can Alastor be redeemed?

Yes.

Will he--

Yes, that's literally the challenge of the show.

Is Rosie Lilith?

Unequivocally, no.

There is absolutely no logic to this and no thematic sense. Lilith is the woman we've seen called Lilith in heaven who is ignoring Charlie's calls. Rosie isn't her mom acting like her mom all along; that ruins the challenge of the narrative.

Is Rosie Eve?

I think there's a good chance of this.

Think back to her discussing how she hates her first husband (but she didn't kill him) and how he "tasted" bad (what did Eve offer Adam? To taste an apple), and also as @aspoonofsugar pointed out to me, she's called herself an "honest woman" from the start. Also, though Sugar won't admit it, she called this about Rosie (privately) like when the first season aired. I was skeptical at the time, but she's clearly onto something.

Is Charlie naive and does she need to learn that not everyone can be redeemed?

Yes, she's naive. No, she doesn't need to learn that. She needs to learn how to be wise. She can't save everyone because of whom she is connected to (for example, do I think Val can be redeemed? Yes. Do I think the show will depict that? Not likely. Do I think Charlie can help Val find redemption? No, because she needs to prioritize protecting Angel, which she learned the hard way).

Charlie needs to learn to have a realistic appraisal of herself. The past two episodes she's been losing it because she can't control the narrative around herself. But she needs to accept that her friends know her and love her, and while wrong perceptions hurt, she is the one who can decide to be who she wants to be regardless of how the world around her tries to shape her. She can only control her own life and her own redemption. Her love--which is genuine and powerful--can draw others in.

I don't know if abandonment is the best term for it. I just think that she subconsciously wants a relationship but copes with drugs and sex because she believes no one could want her at the deeper level--only her body, which she knows lots of people want. Now one guy does want her bad enough to die to save her without them ever having gone to bed, and he's separated from her (for now).