THEATRE NERD REACTS TO HAZBIN HOTEL - EPISODE 4 - MASQUERADE 

Husk is definitly the person Angel needs in his life now. Husk sees and likes Angel for his true self and Angel doesn't need to put on a mask. I love their relationship, platonic or romantic! ❤

I love how touched Charlie is when Angel thanks her. She’s so positive that it’s easy to forget virtually nobody is ever nice to her.

fun fact: the actors that voice angel dust and valentino are actually SUPER close irl and best buds

What's great about Angel's VA is you can hear him switch back and forth between the Angel Dust persona and Anthony, the real him.

one thing someone on TikTok made an edit for and it is THE SWEETEST thing EVER: if you notice Husk's pupils, they're always kinda thin and pointy. But after his scenes with Angel, every time they are together, his pupils are dilated and big, like a kitten 🥺 I LOVE THAT DETAIL SO MUCH

Someone else pointed it out to me that Husker offers his hand to Angel and doesn’t force him to dance, he leads slowly until Angel dances along. As opposed to Valentino, who basically drags Angel around while they are dancing.

It's heartbreaking how Angel was more scared for Charlie than for himself. You can tell he's kicking her out to protect her. Also, "Loser, Baby" is the best song in the show by far. Keith David and Blake Roman have great voices, and I love the message. It's not your usual, "cheer up, things will get better" song. It's more realistic. it's saying, "both our lives suck, but at least we're not alone." I'm so glad Angel Dust has Husk to confide in now.

I don't think he can break it. He straight up sold his soul to Valentino so until one of them dies, Valentino can do whatever he wants, luckily only in the studio, so it's good, Angel moved out so Valentino only has control of him during work hours

Another note, Husk isn't a bat. He is a cat.

The thing about Poison is that it portrays how....artificial everything is. By showing Angel happily dancing with faceless strangers while the flashbacks shows what *actually* happens, and how deep the abuse goes, no to mention how his face changes from a fake smile to a terrified expression between frames- it's all a fabrication.

Angel telling Val to not hurt Charlie absolutely broke me. The fact that he's more afraid of him hurting her than himself just makes me want to start crying. He cares so much about her. He is truly best boi.🥺

The reason why Angel Dust acts so super sexually forward after being SA'd is a common reaction for many reasons: - Many SA victims hate the idea they are victims, so they try to own their sexuality proudly, and it can make them feel like they have more control in their life. - They believe their worth and who they have to be is tied up in sex. They think it's who they need to be to survive. - Coming on to people puts them in the dominant role when they are usually the one dominated. They've learned that sex has power, so why not use it themselves. I think Angel has always been pretty sexed up guy but, due to the abuses from Val, he's using it more than just enjoying it.

When they are bound with ropes, Angel's rope is chaotic and Husk's is neatly wrapped. Maybe pointing to the nature of their respective "owners". Valentino being an emotional in-the-moment type & Alastor being neat/calculating.

yeah.. hypersexuality is a trauma response to SA too... (him constantly making s3x jokes, hitting on Husk and stuff even after such traumatic night..) this episode is really tough one to watch. Especially the first half..

I've said this on other reactions, but I ADORE Val's body language in this episode. Every time he's talking face to face with Charlie he LITERALLY bends down to talk to her face to face, on equal ground, pretty much. Where as with Angel, there's rarely a shot with the two of them in it where he isn't going out of his way to put himself in a physical position of power, leaning or towering over him constantly.

I like to describe characters as different "flavors" of evil. Alistor is like a dark and horror kind of evil, Adam is an obnoxious kind of evil. Val is like biting into a rotten fruit, just disgusting and repulsive.

Poison is 100% one of those "Music makes you dance, lyrics make you cry" kind of songs

I love Angel and the fact he was literally shaking and it’s not because he scared for himself but for Charlie despite that’s she’s most likely more powerful than Val but he knows she’s never been in this kind of situation….Also those on twitter that say loser baby is a song about victim blaming go choke on a cactus if u actually listen to the lyrics it’s the complete opposite…I love their new found friendship which I hope will be something more

The story Angel is telling Husker at the end is a reference to the "Addict" music video, where Valentino is counting 3 bills in the back of the limo.

Hi! 1) Welcome to the Huskerdust ship. It’s wonderful and full of cuteness 2) I think Angel definitely uses flirting as a way to deflect others. I don’t think Angel was mad he wouldn’t be able to sleep with Husk (I don’t think he particularly wants to sleep with anyone at this point in time), he was uncomfortable and scared because Husk is the first person that his defense mechanisms aren’t working on. I would bet that Angel is used to his flirting derailing any uncomfortable conversations. You see him switch into flirt mode right after Husk starts being serious and talking about finding solutions to problems in places other than alcohol. He doesn’t want to have that conversation because he uses alcohol and drugs as a distraction to his life. To him, there is no solution because Val owns his soul. 3) I find Husk and Angel to be such a good match (platonically or romantically but I prefer the latter) because Husks perceptive nature forces Angel to really examine his feelings. I’m hoping we see more of Angel learning about Husk later, but I would venture that Angel would be great at boosting Husks confidence and getting him more engaged in life in general. 4) I was so glad they included the mess that was Charlie interfering in Angels work. She had good intentions but she crossed two pretty big boundaries that lead to that disaster. First, she didn’t ask Angels permission to visit (or even ask for a good time to do so). Second, Angel very clearly wanted her to leave but she stuck around anyways. On top of that, I know everyone wanted Charlie to go demon princess on Val (like me too tbh), but one should NEVER confront another’s abuser. It will always lead to an escalation of violence and abuse against the very person one wants to protect. Like, imagine if she had hurt or killed Val. Death in hell isn’t permanent unless it’s via the extermination. Angel would be free of Val for a short period of time but then would have an extremely angry abuser to deal with afterwords. And I’m pretty sure Charlie can’t break the contract because Val literally says she can’t do anything about Angels situation. Val saw Charlie as a threat. Not only just because she’s the princess of hell, but because of what she represented to Angel. Abusers like Val want their victims isolated and hopeless and dependent upon them. It gives the abuser all of the power and the control, which is what they want. Charlie showing up at the studio that is supposed to be Val’s with no warning already put him on edge because it channeled his control. The same for her talking to Vals employees. And then she offers to fix his script? She must’ve made him feel so out of control and insecure. On top of that, Angel having another person in his life that asked to speak with Val about Angel? As if Val didn’t have a say over everything Angel does? Well, no wonder he took a chance to reestablish control over his victim in the dressing room. And the worst thing is that he used Charlie to help do so by threatening her. Val doesn’t have to actually be able to hurt Charlie in order to scare Angel into pushing her away. He just has to convince Angel that he can. And that’s such a typical tactic that abusers use. Ugh. This episode was so well done and made Angel my favorite character. Oh! Also, the lore is that Angel was part of the Italian mob in NYC around the 1930s, which explains the gun. He also supposedly has a twin sister in heaven named Molly (maybe making him a bit more sympathetic to Charlie?). Sorry for the long ass comment! I used to volunteer for a domestic violence and sexual assault center while I was getting my BA in Psychology, so I’m like super invested in this episode LMAO 😂

9:39 To be fair, some pr0n scenarios can be wholesome. As long as they're sweet, romantic, and most importantly, consentual.

Gotta respect the bartenders, a personal therapist who gives you what you need to let things out and an ear to listen to your troubles.

In case someone didn't already mentioned it: There is a music-video with Angel, "Addict", that came out little less than a year after the pilot-episode. So if you want to feel sad even more, it's worth a watch

its really sad to see how angel is being treated, genuinley just shows how someone can put on an act which can last miles

While I could be wrong, I don't think Angel Dust dislikes being a porn star, just that he dislikes his extremely abusive boss and how hard he gets worked. If he had a healthy working environment, he'd probably be genuinely enthusiastic. It is Hell, though, and he literally sold his soul to said abusive boss, so good luck finding that.

15:04 "I'm still so sad but this song is a banger" 😂😂😭

So uhm, not so fun fact: Valentino's saliva seems to possess certain pheromones that act like a love drug, it's how he keeps all his "performers" like Angel subservient. It's presumably the same stuff those guys in the bar tried to drug Angel with (the love drug is sold by Velvette who obviously works with Valentino). This also means that when he licked Charlie's arm, Val was trying to drug her, which is why he made her that proposition. Luckily Charlie is immune to that shit.

Charlie’s “Fuck no” is a highlight

Adam at the very least has SOME redeeming qualities/sympathetic moments (his genuine care for Lute, his abandonment issues, & the fact that TECHNICALLY most of the people he killed ARE bad people. I mean, not everyone in hell is like Angel & Sir Pentius). Valentino however is pure evil

I’ve heard the phrase “husk didn’t fall in love with angel dust he fell in love with Anthony” a lot and I think it’s adorable

21:55 Well it IS Kieth David, he got to voice a Disney villain and sang one really good villain song. (Friends on the other side) I think the takeaway of this episode is that Angel really needed a platonic relationship.

"I'm so sad but this song is a banger" is a great description of the episode tbh

The "industry" has actually improved immensely since the introduction of OnlyFans, allowing the talent to self-employ rather than relying on abusive agencies and pimps

valentino is actually a moth. and they added squeaks because moths squeak.

Might be just me, but I get the hard impression that Angel flirts with people as a way to exert control over them. It's a way for him to feel like he has the upper hand for once by shoving other people out of their comfort spaces and taking over the conversation. But when Husk calls him out and just refuses to play his game, Angel just loses his cool. He WANTS to be a tease and forget about his troubles, and Husk refuses to let him walk away from his problems. That's why the song is so effective for him. Angel's at a low point and he's spiraling. He wants to do whatever he can to 'ruin himself'. He calls himself a loser and he's expecting Husk to take the high ground by arguing against him, giving Angel a chance to lash out again. But... he doesn't. He gives Angel the autonomy to decide what he is. "You want to be a loser? Fine, I guess you are one. And you know what? That's okay, because I get what it's like and I'm a loser, too." Husk doesn't try to raise Angel up. He comes down to his level. And, by doing that, he allows Angel Dust to realize that things can get better after all. He's not alone, and he doesn't have to be. Angel Dust has other people he can turn to that he can actually open up around who won't judge him for who he is, because we're all just a bunch of losers dealing with crap together, right?

My personal interpretation is that Angel DOES love sex, drugs, and even filming p0rn (he’s also a drag queen but we haven’t seen that outside of old art!), but unfortunately Val is the one who made that difficult for him. Without saying much about his lore, basically Angel did do drugs in life, so that’s not a new thing for him in Hell. It’s just more accessible for him. Also, assuming he wasn’t out when alive, or if he was he faced a lot of homophobia, I imagine Angel genuinely wants to enjoy his time in Hell…except Valentino became his abuser and made everything that gave Angel a sense of freedom the exact thing he wants to avoid.

It makes sense that the gold tooth could be a symbol of the power Valentino has over his actors. This episode is heartbreaking on so many levels. The sheer helplessness of Angel's situation is truly despairing. Charlie would be the best possible scenario for a person trying to help. She has influence, she has power, she has money, and she has a heart of gold. But all Valentino has to do is put on a public face for her and take it out on Angel behind closed doors. Also, Keith David crooning while swearing like a sailor is something I didn't realize I needed.

AFHXJUSAXKA UR GONNA LOVE EPISODE ITS SO WELL WRITTEN AND LOSER BABY IS A 10000/10

This episode is a hard watch but so good. I didn't notice too Loser Baby that I hadn't really laughed since the intro. I was in tears at the end of Poison.

"power bottom at rock bottom" is just another great line that this show keeps stacking up. I relate to Alister way too much but want to be more like Husk; minus the chain & ball contract.

Weeby the song Poison is not Angel confessing he hates his life cause if you look at the lyrics he actually loved his life but as the song progresses you see how he realizes how terrible his life is but can't escape. In the first verse he says he's addicted to the feeling of the poison, then the second verse he's "choking" on the poison but the contract forces him to continue the life. Finally the last verse he's drowning from the poison and just can't see a better life.

I love the fact that the song “Loser, Baby” isn’t like your typical “Be happy. Everything will get better”. It’s more of “Yes, it sucks. But you’re not alone.” Makes the song one of my favorites

I read a post that the VA that played Angel used Toxic by Britney Spears as his tryout song. Can totally see similarities between that and "poison"

I loved seeing Husk and Angel bond! I NEED more interactions between them in Season 2!

You seemed a little confused about why Angel acts the way he does all the time. By acting like he likes his job (and how horny he is) it's pretty much like a cover or coping mechanism. By acting like that all the time, maybe he'll start to like his job. It's a way of gaslighting yourself to fit in the situation you're in. Obviously, this isn't a very healthy way of doing things. (Evidence of this is Angel switching his personality to his usual enthusiastically horny self in a flash whenever he actually feels down due to his job. Like a light switch.) Husk's song way a way to understand and accept that you're in a bad place, but also that it isn't the end, and there's always others that can help you on that journey. That you don't have to be alone.

Man this episode makes me truly appreciate Valentinos design, his wing coat is amazing. The show does a great job framing any scene hes in with angel dust, even though its relatively minor compared to what happens in the rest of the show it still feels serious thanks to how the show presents them. Every reaction just makes me love that shitty moth more.

17:55 just wanted to note that just because someone works in porn, or in sex work in general, doesn't mean they would hate sex outside of work. Even SA victims can still enjoy consensual sex. It'd be really really extra fucked up if every sex worker and every SA victim is permanently disgusted by sex.

I think that Angel Dust does like the sex work (he loves sex and drugs), the problem is behind the scenes he is being abused, and even if he likes the work, Valentino overworks him and pushes him to do more and more brutal scenes and even scenes that he is not comfortable with.

This episode was really screwed up, but I do think it was well handled

And now you know why Valentino is THE most hated character in the whole Hazbin fandom.

I think the line “I disassociate and disappear” hits hard because I think Angel just zones himself out when he has to do the work.

Honestly this entire series needs a trigger warning. I love that Vivzie doesn’t hold back on the sensitive topics for the sake of telling a story

some problems don’t have a solution or aren’t in your hand to change the bad shit in your life and that’s why I love the song that husk sings, he doesn’t have the solution for Angel’s problems but he makes him feel better about it making him know he is not alone

As a 53 year old straight man, I still think what Angel went through with Val is inexcusable, and that Val needs to be slowly fed feet first into a wood chipper, and the slurry given to the people of Cannibal Town.

Husk is voiced by the same guy who played Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog. That's the same voice that gave us Friends on the Other Side. Keith David is a legend.

the teaaaars this episode omg TT also HUSKERDUST OMG

25:16 nah those are Angel’s own guns, u can see the spider web decorations on them. Angel’s backstory is he was part of a mob family when he was alive. I don’t know if he manifested into hell with those guns or he eventually bought custom-made guns when he had enough cash 🤔

Valentino is a moth. The "feather" in his pimp hat is one of his antennae, the other seems to be underdeveloped or maybe injured because we see older pictures of him in the background of the show and he has two that look the same. He also squeaks a little when he talks because Viv discovered that moths squeak and had it added into his sound design.

When Husker is critiquing porn for the dialogue, I am that person, that would be me

Haven’t watched it yet, but I expect tears so.

Fans theorize that the dance sequences are him disassociating from what is really happening, and the flashes of scenes between them is what is actually happening. Same theory goes with the music video ‘Addict’. It’s heartbreaking. Unless Val dies or is somehow convinced to let him go, I sadly don’t think he can break it.

15:05 "im so sad but the song is a banger" The dichotomy of a hazbin hotel enjoyer😂😂

“I’m so sad but this songs such a banger” is the best way to describe this song.

It's minor, but I really like how the cards diring Husk's backstory show him losing all his soul contracts and the just being left cradling one, his own.

Husk's contract with Alastor is that Husk gets to keep his power while being in service to Alastor. So, husk gets his power but since he belongs to Alastor the radio Demon will always remain stronger because he owns the main source. Angel dust's Contract is more Val can do whatever and anything he wants to Angel while in the studio in exchange for what I assume is drugs. thats what ive gotten so far.

Just now I was thinking "I wonder when the next episode of this series will come out?" and I shit you not I open youtube and this is the first thing that pops up

this’ll be fun for a theatre kid!

See, Adam is awful, but at least he's entertaining. His awfulness has some really great comedic timing. Meanwhile, Valentino is just horrible. So I hate him way more.

"Would it be wrong to say I ship it?" Girllll Huskerdust is literally the #1 shipped couple in Hazbin lol

To answer your question at 12:16, the general idea is that demonic contracts CANT be broken. Hence why Alastor was able to just summon Husker from wherever he was. Once a demon owns your soul, you literally cannot refuse what they say. Compelled by magic and all that, which is what the 'magic neon smoke chains' (thats what i call them) represent. Thats why Angel HAS to do whatever Valentino says. He has absolutely no say in the matter, which makes this episode even more saddening.

5:32 interesting choice of words 😅 it was actually revealed by Vivian that the why he died was he drowned himself

Since Husk is a cat you can see his pupils dilate when looking at Angel most of the time after this ep :)

Angel does love sex and being a star and performing and being the center of attention, or at least he knew that was what he was signing up for, but it's all tainted by Valentino and his control and abuse. It's unclear whether he'd still enjoy it once he's free, but that's pretty common across survivors. Some things you're still happy to do after escaping abuse and some things are just ruined for you.

He can't break the contract. It was a soul deal, meaning it's impossible for him to break it

14:40 That's very scary, yet very common for SA victims: They often carry the mentality of "if I [convince myself and the ppl around me I] like it, it cannot be rape" - it's a way of dissociating and coping to endure the horrors of SA. That denial is also why a lot of victims protect their abusers or take a long time to process/realize that they were actually abused... Hazbin Hotel does such good job depicting SA as the horrid thing it is. It is SUPPOSED to make you feel sick to your stomach

Valentino: _breaths_ Fandom: "PEACE WAS NEVER AN OPTION!!!"

The confusion as to whether to bop or cry during 'Poison' is soo real. I swear, 'Addict' and like almost all of Angel dust songs are like that 😭

I love how I got a commercial about praying to god before watching this video lol

re: Angel's and the difference between consensual and non-consensual adult time... this is 100% just speculation but as someone who also went through SA, Angel may be hitting on Husk because he gets to be in control of the situation--Husk isn't really flirty, so Angel gets to be in charge/the initiator. That way, he's using his body on his terms. Using his "fake" identity he tries to get that approval, but Husk sees through it. Only by being real with Husk can he actually have a real relationship with a person, but that opens him up to ACTUAL rejection of his ACTUAL personality AND body, not just rejection of this fake flirty mask, which he can live with. If Husk rejects him while he's fake, it's fine - because Husk doesn't know him. But once Husk sees the trauma, the scars... there's no going back. And the hotel is so clearly the only place Angel can even step a toe out of the fake persona. If Husk rejected the real him, he could never feel safe in the hotel again, so it's no wonder even when Husk calls him out he can't take off the mask. Not until Husk can share his own trauma does he feel like he can do the same.

This episode is so heartbreaking to me not just cause Angel is my favorite character but because I am a victim of SA myself. I see so much of myself in Angel and I can feel his pain. Poison is my favorite song as well because I really feel for him.

Angel is pushing himself onto Husk because the only thing anyone ever wants from Angel is his body...so he meets Husk and he keeps rejecting the 1 thing Angel believes he has to offer. It's a complete rejection of his existence.

There is actually a theory that Val cut off Angel‘s tail, and if you look at him in the song poison, you can see Valentino, putting on and taking off of him a little white fluff

Seeing the scene in Poison with Angel in the penthouse looking down at Valentino makes you realize exactly how badly Angel wanted to be away from there and exactly what a godsend being able to stay at the Hotel was.

I love the parallel between Angel's dance with Valentino in Poison and his dance with Husk in Loser, Baby. In one, he's chained and pulled around, having to adapt to Val's whim. In the other, they're dancing as equals and when they start, Husk is supporting Angels hands/weight. It's great!

Your question about how much time has passed had me curious so I did a little math: it's six months, which have 4 weeks on average per month, for 24 weeks from the start of the pilot. For the sake of simplicity we only count the 8 officially canon episodes. The last episode includes the extermination, so that's our end point. So rounding for simplicity, we have 24 weeks divided by 8 episodes which gives approximately 3 weeks per episode on average, meaning the 4th episode would be at about the 12 week mark or around 3 months till extermination day. Hope this satisfied someone else's curiosity, it sure did mine! :)

I love angel dust so much, probably cause I’ve also been SA’d and have had a similar trauma response (acting overly sexual, stuff like that) This episode hit pretty hard lol

Honestly, I'd love to see their dynamic culminate in Alastor wagering Husk's contract on a game with Valentino, in exchange for putting Valentino's soul on the line, leading to Alastor basically commanding him to hand over rights to Angel Dust's contract, so they both serve him instead, as well as Valentino. (Ngl, I can see him wanting to get control of Velvette as well, so he can leave Vox alone and unsupported to watch him crumble and uh...."fall into the fiery pits of failure". If I was writing for Hazbin Hotel, that's the plot I'd be pitchin' lol.)

Honestly there is a very good chance at 12:40 that, had Angel not interjected and made Charlie leave, then Valentino would have gotten Charlie to snap and kill him, which given who her father is would probably be a permanent death. I give it about even odds between Angel noticing and wanting to not have Charlie regret killing the asshole, not knowing it would stick so stopping her to avoid the expected fallout of Val lashing out, and just not knowing how easily Charlie can actually fuck up the overlords given sufficient motivation and believing his intervention is actually for her safety. For the first two you can assume him asking Val not to hurt her is more because saying she could kick his ass would just result in Valentino lashing out.

I just finished watching the last episode, and was hoping you’d make another one then saw you posted another one 😂

If you enjoyed “Poison”, you HAVE to check out the Italian dub’s version! It’s even more emotional and performed perfectly 💕 (Also: Husk and Angel are great together. Whether they remain friends or become something more - which would be AMAZING - I love how honest they are with each other and help each other cope with their situations.)

It is nice to see people really liking Loser Baby. I personally can’t get past the way my brain interprets it even knowing what it’s meant to be, but even then I’m with everyone in saying Keith David’s voice is so nice to listen to. This is probably my favourite episode of the season, glad Weeby liked it

you said he's defending his abuser, but i believe he just doesn't want charlie to be hurt too so he asks her to leave.

i love how husk was literally MADE for angel 🥺 i don’t know how reliable it is, but i read that vivzie asked a (sister? friend?) who would be angel’s perfect love interest and they drew husk so idk but i love it

One thing to point out is about the interplay between Val, Angel, and Charlie here. Charlie, as Princess of Hell and daughter of Lucifer- a fallen Angel himself, totally outranks and overpowers Val by many orders of magnitude. And Val KNOWS this, and he hates that there’s nothing he can do about it. But he also knows Angel DOESN’T know. Because Angel doesn’t follow politics- he never knew about Alastor until Vaggie told him. He’s never seen any sign of power from Charlie, because she’s way to nice to really use it unless provoked. So Angel is convinced that Val could hurt Charlie, when in reality it’s the other way around. So he drives her away before she gets the chance to do anything, while Val smirks in the background. It’s such a well crafted scene.

I find it funny that weeby thinks that husk is a bat. Viv said that he was an aviation cat because he was designed by vivs sister and husk is a cat because he hated them when he was alive

I remember in an earlier video you mentioned loving Dr.Facilier from Princess and the Frog and Husk shares his voice actor! Poison is one of my favourite songs but it's just so heartbreaking. I took an "s3x work and s3x trafficking" sociology/poli-sci course in university and it was interesting seeing a lot of similarities between Angel's scenes and the lived experiences of the former s3x workers we had speak in our class. All I have to say is that I truly hope Val gets his shit rocked sooner rather than later. ALSO, idk if you read the theories ppl have but you should look into Val's moth/spit/smoke theory and the demon eye colour theory, it's all fascinating. Actually so is Camilla's theory but that gets into spoiler territory so maybe hold off for a bit.

Vals a Moth.

‏‪25:14‬‏ he didnt steal it, that's his gun. I'm unsure if he can aummon guns like that or if he hides them somewhere in his fur, but he has multipule mobster guns because he was in the mafia back when he was alive

Oof this is a rough one with the introduction of Valentino and Angel’s dynamic. The thing about Loser Baby is that if Husk simply told Angel Dust to cheer up or tough it out that would only made him become defensive and ignore Husk. Instead he needed someone who is down on their luck like him to reach out and allow themselves to support each other throughout the rough patches instead of kind formalities that mean nothing.

angels story always makes me bawl. Also welcome adored the Huskerdust ship lol