Okay, so according to the first episode of Hazbin Hotel, the pilot IS canon!
And I might just be talking nonsense of whatever, but like... Angel Dust has a stronger relationship with Travis than Husker until like Episode 4.
HEAR ME OUT-
Maybe it's my poor memory or the fast pacing that has my mind jumbled. But I seriously cannot remember a SINGLE meaningful Angel Dust and Husker interaction until "Loser, Baby." And if we're really stretching, maybe you can count the fight they have at the beginning of the episode. They don't even talk in Episode 2 despite being at the hotel together!
Meanwhile, Travis has a one night stand with Angel and actually seems quite familiar with him to some extent. In isolation, I might not have thought anything of this interaction... But seeing as the pilot IS proven canon and Travis is seen working with Angel at the studio, I think there could be a bit more to their relationship than not.
Now, Hazbin Hotel's weakest point is probably character interaction/relationships. With them introducing so many new characters within such a small time frame, while they are already struggling to fit all the other information they're trying to share- It makes sense that not all the characters we see would get the interactions we desire.
But the fact that Angel Dust, one of our most important characters from the main cast, only has three meaningful positive relationships (Charlie, Cherri, and Husker), one of which only shows up halfway through the first season is BONKERS.
And the fact that we have such little time to see our characters sharing time together means guys like Travis, who are background characters at BEST, technically have more important relationships with our character for over half the show run!
Just compare it for a minute-
Travis is Angel Dust's coworker and technical superior (If we're considering the fact that Travis is the director), who had sexual relations with him behind Valentino's back. Because let's be real, I don't think Valentino is too keen to be renting out his best actor off company time without reason to one of his lesser employees.
Meanwhile, Angel and Husk never got involved in anything more than uncomfortable flirting till Episode 4, which is halfway through the season! While I get this is supposed to come to a head for their eventual reconciliation in Episode 4, most of their time spent together beforehand is uncomfortable flirting. Anything more than that is said to be off-screen or rushed in a 5 minute interaction at the end of the episode, most of it being in a song.
Don't get me wrong, I loved watching Hazbin Hotel and I think it's amazing to see how far Viv has managed to get her shows, but I can't deny how fast the pacing is either and how it's been impacting the story. I know there was a certain vision they were trying to achieve for the finale with the next extermination- But we've only sacrificed important character building and relationships in turn for meeting these specific deadlines. Hell, 5 months go by in the first six episodes, and we don't even find out about it until Adam says it out loud!
I, like so many people, wanted so desperately for this show to do well, and I think it's brilliant what we've received so far. And I'm glad to hear there's even more to come, with a longer Season 2 for hopefully more meaningful character interactions!
But it's so obvious that so many things were sacrificed to make this story happen, and I just wonder what could've been if they dialed back the stakes a little bit and focused more on the main concept of the show.
