Angel Isn’t Always Scared Of Val and It’s So Much More Scary and Realistic That Way
CW: This post WILL cover themes of abuse. I am NOT defending Val’s actions, he is a piece of shit. Acknowledging Val’s ability to be nice is NOT defending the character or his actions so anybody who comes at me WILL be blocked.
Something I notice about rewatching Hazbin is the subtle signs that Angel isn’t always terrified of Val, even though he’s always forced to be on edge.
We see when Val is in a good mood, Angel is comfortable with some pushback. A black and white abuse depiction would likely have Angel agree with everything Val does at all times. But in a setting where Val is in a good mood, Angel is okay with pushing back and asking if he’s really asked to memorize the script.
We also see that Val takes the pushback in stride (probably because he didn’t write it so he doesn’t take any personal offense to Angel not liking the script) and jokes it off.
The subtle, casual interaction lets us know that when Val is in a good mood, he’s “safe”. He can be friendly and joking, and not blow up when somebody lightly pushes back (emphasis on the word lightly)
Unfortunately, Val has awful mood swings, and that’s part of what makes him so dangerous. He can go from 0 to 100 to 0 again within minutes.
It’s when Val is angry, does Angel get rightfully terrified.
Because when Val is angry, he’s not “safe” anymore (again, he was never fully safe in the first place but he was more agreeable when in a good mood). He becomes abusive in every possible way and Angel rightfully gets sacred.
We see something similar in S2 when Angel is in a limo.
When he’s anticipating Val to be in a good mood, we don’t see him being nervous like he often is around Val.
He talks to Val casually and even makes a light joke.
As a result, we have another reference to how Angel can interact with Val when Val isn’t being angry. He’s not fully comfortable, but he’s more casual. He’s asking for feedback and even messing around a little.
The fact that he’s even doing this implies that Val would typically find this behavior amusing. Now obviously, Angel’s doing this to appeal to Val, but it also says something that Angel even knows that this would appeal Val. He would have had to do it before to know Val could find it amusing which speaks to some more history between them that is yet to be explored.
On top of that, we also see how perceptive he is with Val. The second he notices that Val is in a bad mood, he gets nervous again.
And it’s when we see him nervous, does it become obvious that he wasn’t nervous when joking. When he was joking, even if he wasn’t fully comfortable, he was still more relaxed than how he was when realizing that Val is in a bad mood.
Again, these are small subtle hints that Angel and Val can get along. Angel hates Val, he doesn’t trust him. But even under all the abuse, Val is still nice to him sometimes.
We see in show that Val may be a dumbass, but he is incredibly charming. We see him use the “lover boy” manipulation tactic on others, only for it to be revealed that Val sees them as nothing but objects.
Other than Angel, fish girl is the best example. We see that for the time Val has with her, if you take their shots OUT OF CONTEXT, Val looks genuinely tender with her. He looks like he actually likes her.
Only for Vox to kill her and Val to refer to her as “that.” He NEVER thought of her or anyone as a real person, just a pretty object.
It is such a fucking real depiction because yeah. Most abusers aren’t grinning evil when handling you. They act and look like they actually care.
It is not a far cry to say that Val likely does this to Angel too.
The show also lets us know that under all the hatred and resentment, a part of Angel still longs for Val.
“Addicted to the feeling I can’t help but swallow.”
Prior S2, Val cannot go to the hotel because doing so would quite literally get him killed but also more importantly, would ruin his reputation.
Angel says straight up that Val only owns him in the studio. So anytime Angel wants to go back is on his own accord. Money isn’t an issue because Charlie is loaded and we see that she’s open to freely give it out.
Valentino is the drug quite literally and figuratively.
He also has spit and smoke that seems to have roofie effects which the other Vees use to profit from but that is less of a huge issue (note how it’s only used seriously in one instance but even then it is never actively used as a tool to get Angel to stay) and more of an allegory for the actual “drug”. Because despite its roofie effects, it’s not Val’s spit that Angel is addicted to.
His nice moments are the “high” that comes from the times he’s actually in a good mood, the “withdrawal” is when his bad temper and overall rotten personality make themselves known.
But to have that “high”, there has to be good moments to keep Angel coming back. There has to be some moments where Val isn’t always a piece of shit.
And even if we never see those moments fully, we see enough to know that those do exist. Angel can be around Val and not be terrified (although he always needs to be perceptive and prepared for any potential turn. But after being abused for so long, those nice moments feel like a treat even if they’re the bare minimum) and that’s what makes leaving Val so hard.
That’s why even though Angel resents Val, a part of him still longs for him despite how much he hates that about himself.
It is so sad but so realistic.
