The Animated Series' Creator Unveils Rosie and Alastor's Origin Tale Is a Major Teaser for Season Three
Devoted fans of the series at last received a much-anticipated backstory in season 2's fourth episode, titled “It's a Deal.” This installment is likely to prompt a lot of discussion and raise numerous questions about the nature of one particular demon Overlord who appears significantly stronger than any character previously understood. These fresh disclosures include a look into the mortal existence of a fan-favorite character prior to his demise and condemnation to the underworld.
A Major Tease for Future Seasons
The show's creator disclosed a secret about the episode – it acts as a huge hint for the third season. Additionally, she offered more insight into the process of creating the human versions of her infernal cartoon figures.
Warning: Spoilers for the fourth episode of Hazbin Hotel, the show's second season.
In the episode, a flashback reveals that fan-favorite personality Alastor, the Radio Demon was a mass murderer in his mortal days. Knowing full well he was destined for Hell, he established communication with the afterlife in advance to secure a strong position in Hell. The charismatic leader, who leads the cannibal faction in Hell, vowed Alastor he would become “the strongest Sinner in Hell” in return for his soul.
This prompts an important query: In what way is Rosie sufficiently strong to elevate Alastor above all other Sinner Demons?
“The agreement between Rosie and Alastor is the initial building block in a larger narrative that involves a great deal, moving into season 3,” the creator explains. “Clearly that is an excellent question: How is she that powerful? The solution might be various factors, but the revelation is in season three. I am thrilled for fans to see it.”
It is uncertain the duration viewers will have to wait for Hazbin Hotel’s third season. The production companies have approved seasons 3 and 4, but the showrunner often remarks that animation is a slow, lengthy process, and subsequent seasons have no release dates yet. Nevertheless, she says holding off on specific information is a crucial aspect of maintaining the second season's focus in the right places.
“The difficulty of any agreement with infernal beings, or stories that have mysteries, is providing the audience just enough information to be like, Something's up here, and then revealing that gradually, and allowing that be gratifying,” she says. “So I am quite eager.”
Questions Answered in Season 3
The creator assures that the upcoming season will address the questions fans have been asking, such as why Rosie ordered Alastor to vanish for a seven-year period, which weakened his influence in the infernal realm.
“The entire seven-year span, and the deals these humans are doing, and everything — it contributes to a larger story,” she reveals.
Meanwhile, the Rosie/Alastor backstory episode offers another glimpse into what the core cast of Sinner Demons appeared as as humans, following after seeing Sir Pentious’ Victorian-era human form in the second episode. The creator says that a lot of thought was put into these character designs.
“The mortal forms of these personas carry great significance,” she says. “They range from appearing quite distinct from their infernal version to looking almost identical. With Pentious, the initial design we see, there was some internal discussion within the team between going with something that represents the character, as opposed to selecting an option that's historically correct. We opted for creating something that just felt like it was him.”
She mentions the primary controversy over Pentious’ human design was his long hair: “We were like, ‘Nobody typically had extended hair of that style in that historical period.’ But simultaneously, we believe the outline is so important, and we also just thought he appeared attractive. We were like, ‘This seems correct.’ We sort of provided the rationale that he lived in seclusion, so he just allowed his hair to lengthen. So there's always a way. As we design the mortal forms of these characters […] it's such a fun thing to investigate and determine. I am looking forward for fans to view additional of what the human forms look like.”
New episodes of Hazbin Hotel season 2 drop on Wednesdays on the streaming service.
