THIS STORY IS SO DEEP - Hazbin Hotel: Episode 4 - Masquerade 

“Why is he scared of this dude?” Right after seeing a contract that shows he literally owns angels soul lol

Out of context, Poison is heartbreaking. In context, harrowing. So, to think about it, Charlie went from 0 to sickomode very quickly when she saw Angel *just* being pushed onto the bed and snapped at by Val. Imagine if she'd seen what happened behind closed doors.

Angel is scared of Val because he is an Overlord, yes, but mostly because Val literally owns Angel's soul and is his actual pimp. So it is a VERY toxic dynamic, especially since the red smoke Val breathes is a literal drug that is HIGHLY addictive. Val is like a walking date rape drug.

"Loser Baby" kinda hit the heart for me, I''m sure most people has felt like Angel at times, at their rock bottom and felt like they're all alone, but Husk omg, the way he pulled Angel out of that dump through showing that he ISN'T alone and that it's ok to feel down at time, IT'S THE BEST

Husk: "You know I was an Overlord once" The Heck: "really?" Husk: "yeah"

Val owns Angel's soul, which is the scroll he took out while he abused Angel, in that same scroll you can see Angel's real name before he came to hell which is "Anthony", that's why Angel is so scared of him and why he does everything he says, they're also in an abusive "relationship", which just adds to Angel's fear and trauma

"why is he so scared of this dude?" Oh you sweet summer child 😂

You said several times that you dint get why Angel was so afraid of Val. This was before the little ‘chat’ in the dressing room. Which is ok but the abusive nature of this relationship had been demonstrated through out the series. (The angry possessive rant about Angel moving out to stay at the hotel rather than in Val’s penthouse . “How Dare he !!”. The text messages, the alternating voice messages….). And then after val smacks Angel around and physically, emotionally, and physiologically abuses him into yet again breaking Angel in which his ONLY push back is “don’t hurt HER!” You again say “why is he afraid of this guy?” . This is a model and mirror for so many for so many toxic, dangerous, violent, abusive relationships where the victim feels trapped and helpless. Are gaslit into believing they are scum, that they are nothing without the other and that there is no escape (in Angels case this is literal). The fear that the victims feel towards their abuser is visceral and very real. There is no escape and one wrong word or look will get them shouted at beaten or worse, so they live in fear of putting that foot wrong. Angel feels powerless and trapped. Violence and abuse can come at him at anytime for no reason whatsoever and the abuser accepts not responsibility for this,absolves themselves of all blame, claims it’s their right.. Part of me is actually glad you seemed blind to this. It hopefully means you don’t have any direct experience of this (a good thing) or that you don’t know anyone who has had direct experience of this (again a good thing). You seem a strong, upright dude. You strike me as someone who doesn’t often get given any kind of shit, and I’m glad that you couldn’t immediately see the shit show Angel was in, but…. Dude.. You SHOULD be able to recognise it when you see it. You need to be able to recognise it in people so you can reach out and try and help them or avoid abusive people should they cross your path.

5:58 "Where did she get that huge, charismatic , overly nice personality from?" Logical answer: Lilith Actual Answer: Lucifer, he is a sweetheart 😅 unexpectedly 😂❤

The creators of the show have already confirmed they have plans after season two.

I love how in a lot of reactions I see, when people hear that Husk used to be an overlord, a lot of them go “really?!” And husk immediately answers with “yeah.” 🤣🤣🤣

"Blew his head up with dice" Maybe they were loaded dice😅

For context an Overlord in this universe isn't just a powerful demon, the reason they're an "Overlord" is because they own souls (think selling your soul to the Devil sorta). If you own someone's soul you have complete power over them in accordance to the contract they signed. So Angel (Anthony as he was named when he signed the contract) is afraid of Val because not only is Val powerful on his own, he also owns Angel's soul and can do whatever he wish with it. Edit: The same is true for Husker and his contract with Alastor. That's why he can relate to Angel.

I think people complaining about the pacing need to understand that once animation is serialized, it's a huge gamble as to whether a show is going to get canceled or not. Unfortunately, these bigwig streaming corporations don't care too much about animation and some shows are set up to fail, some aren't. There are so many animated shows canceled after 1 or 2 seasons that aren't able to tell their stories. Amazon Prime only ordered 8 episodes for the first season, so they needed to condense the season's worth of writing into 8 episodes with NO guarentee they were going to get greenlit for s2. I think they're doing a really good job with what they were granted.

2:53 what i love is that husk never directly insulted the ACTING of it, he specifically calls the scripts hot garbage

Something to be aware of: One of the more counter-intuitive manifestations of sexual abuse is compulsive sexualized behavior, aka hypersexuality. Now, obviously we don't really have enough information to assess Angel Dust, especially given that we haven't gotten to see what he was like when alive, but given comments like "This is how I HAVE to be", I don't think it's out of line to say that's what we see in him. Husker was saying it in a fairly harsh and un-empathetic way when he called it "fake", but he's identifying that on some level Angel is not naturally this hypersexual all the time. That this is a coping mechanism and a defense mechanism. As for why Angel Dust, who seems outwardly tough and strong, is cowering before Valentino, yeah part of it is that he's an Overlord and part of it is the ownership of Angel's soul. But only PART of it. Abusers IRL can and do exert a level of dominance and control over their victims out of all proportion to what someone on the outside might perceive as their their "objective" level of power/threat. It's not always the 6'6", 250lb. guy abusing the 5'4", 130lb. partner. It can be the other way around. There are people who were famous athletes and even martial artists who were abused. In theory, they had both the physical conditioning and the skills to absolutely DEMOLISH the people who laid hands on them. But when it comes to domestic abuse and especially sexual abuse, the leverage is usually emotional and psychological FIRST, and physical violence second. In most cases, abusive relationships don't start out abusive, even with folks who are serial abusers and sexual predators, because there's a period where the abuser is basically establishing that emotional and psychological leverage, fostering dependence rather than independence, fostering addictions that make them easier to manipulate like drugs and alcohol, and so on. The red flags ARE going to show up eventually, but it can be months or even years before they do.

keith david has such a buttery voice

It's kinda odd/funny that you kept questioning why Angel is scared of Valentino, when it's clearly because he straight up abuses him and has his soul in a contract Good reaction though! Angel might be the most complex character we've gotten so far. He's easy to sympathize with, the poor guy deserves better

Angel's situation with Valentino is alittle bit caricaturized with allegorized drug use and so, but holy fuck is it realistic. I can say from first hand experience say that this is eerily authentic to what some of the most horrific abuse people go through in the adult industry. Especially Angel's behaviour is so spot on, just turned to 11, most notably when he confronted Charlie about her intervening with his "work". That struck a bit too close home for comfort.

Also, yes Valentino is an overlord. He owns Angel’s soul and like we see he’s very abusive towards Angel. Another reactor pointed this out when Angel Dust says: “Angel dust come on to them?” He’s referring to the character he uses and doesn’t refer to himself as “How lucky anyone would be to have me come on to them?!”

This is one of those times where knowing the backstory and lore would have helped. Angel is not really that powerful. He's just a regular demon. Not an Overlord. Valentino is. This was already established in episode 2. The Vees (Valentino, Velvette, and Vox) are 3 overlords who work together. Val may have seemed a bit of a himbo but he's a manipulative and explosive abuser. If you had watched the MV for Addict you would have seen their backstory. He's basically a pimp that suckered Angel in and abuses him when the need arises. Also, in hell, contracts are unbreakable unless the person who drew it up chooses to. That's why Val told Angel Charlie couldn't do anything. He literally owns Angel. He owns his soul. Charlie cannot break that. So angel just has to suffer until Val tires of him or chooses to let him go. That's also why Valentino smirked with his hands on his hip when Charlie started to get angry. Because he knew Angel would step in and Charlie wouldn't be able to do anything anyways.

The artists changes in Angel's eyes and the choking back tears in the voice acting just pulls the heartstrings. The pain, desperation of checking out, rebellion all there.

Knowing Husk is an overlord, I really wanna hear Keith David go full 1997 Spawn while voicing him at some point.

Valentino is a lust overlord and has full control of porn studios and the red light district. Valentino is a moth demon and fun fact, it is thought that the 'poison' Angel is getting from Valentino are his pheromones(red smoke, pink saliva) which are like a drug. Also the potion that the sharks use to try to drug Angel is the Love Potion that Velvette made from Val's pheromones.

They were only given an 8 episode slot for this show. Of course the pacing will be fast! This show should have had at least 12 episodes but amazon calls the shots with that..

Fun fact: alastors been away for seven years. Lilith who is Charlie’s mother has been gone seven years. Pretty sure these two are connected and it’s possible alastor is a guardian sent by Lilith to keep Charlie safe in his way.

This episode by far the best one that we get to watch the formation of HuskDust ship. As it’s quite a sweet and wholesome between Husk and Angel to in the same boat and being into a very tight leash by dealing with Overlords as their master. So with all said, there is a song called “Addict” that have Angel Dust in it with his Pilot voice actor singing the song with Cherri Bomb’s VA or Singer VA. I highly recommend you watch it and witness the start on why the community hate Valentino.

this is by far my favorite episode, it just concentrates on the strongest aspects of the show, being the stories of broken people trying to get better they would have benefited so so so much from haveng just.. more episodes, to dive more into that kind of stuff and show how hotel actually helps the sinners hence the pacing problems, but the team did the best they could with what they were given, so i don't hold it against the show also also, if you think about it like it's an actual musical, it feels much more right anyway great reaction, can't wait to see next episodes

Yeah, in Loser, when Angel gets in the groove, you can see the performer right there ! Kid's got natural talent ;7

Angel Dust fell in love with Val before the contract and Val did that to sucker Angel into the contract and then allowed his sadistic side out to abuse Angel/Anthony. LOVE your reactions and how you see the show with your eye and love of music.

'Loser, Baby' is my favourite song from this show!!! It's sooooo good!!!!! ('Hell's Greatest Dad' is a close second tho)

this ep was probably my favorite so far. the storyline, the songs and the important character moments. i can’t wait to see your reaction to the next two episodes!! edit: valentino is an overlord and owns angel’s soul btw- that’s the scroll we see him holding in the dressing room scene

Her dad is Lucifer, who is sometimes called the Devil, but he's separate from Satan, who is the Sin demon that rules over the ring of Wrath. And yes, Valentino is an Overlord.

"Blew his head up with dice?" Yes... loaded dice. lmao. A lot of us knew some context of Angel and his pimp/soul owner being the most abusive r**ist out there. But this episode showed some sever shocking images during such a powerful song so it hurt a lot. Then we have the soul cleansing song "Loser, baby" which was not about trying to sweep away the pain by saying stuff like "your not broken, your not a loser Angel", but more yes you are, accept the situation and try to handle in the moment. And that its ok to be at rock bottom, cause you got company and can climb together. Yes I cried during this episode lol. OH and yes there is multiple seasons planned, season 2 is being recorded as we speak. I can understand some complaints about pacing issues, but I love the show so far.

From learning a little more about Husk to somewhat understanding the pain Angel goes through, definitely a great episode!

This episode and the song Loser, Baby are what made me fall in love with Husker and Angels characters. 💞 They have the perfect dynamic and potential for a relationship. That relationship could be romantic or just friendly, and I'd be happy either way! 🥰

Out of context, Poison is such an amazing song. In context, its so freaking painful and heartbreaking. Despite the fact that I love Charlie, Angel is my favourite character, by far, so this episode was really rough for me to watch, I teared up several times and for the first time I felt like yelling at Charlie to stfu because her enthusiasm unfortunately made things go horribly wrong for him, On the other hand, I fcking hate goddamed Valentino. Rumour\theory has it that they were a couple at some point but I feel this is just about dependence, addiction, obsession. PS: Husk tellin it like it is is *cheff kiss* I love how they start the episode in a sour note and end it as besties. Also, Charlie is the spitting image of her father, even her personality, she has all the angelic nature Lucifer had at the very beginning of his existence. She has nooooothing from Lilith.

Now you know why Poison was first released as a lyric video without any footage from the show. The Addict music video Vivziepop had made in 2020 gave us a glimpse of Angel's heartbreaking situation. But despite being prepared, the abuse is still so gut wrenching for me sit through. Angel was always my favorite. I wasn't a huskerdust shipper and Loser Baby is not my style of music but I like the bonding moment. Maybe I'll warm up to them with more development.

I think this is one of the best episodes so far

Just don't forget to rewatch each episode, there is so much in the background that give hints or are just fun.

Jesus Christ. Poison... The scene with Husk... Everything Angel does is meant to push people away, or... to make others push him away. He finally met people who either are too persistant or see right through him from the beginning... Jesus.

Him being sad with the poison mv and then happy with loser baby is so real

valintino abuses angel non-stop, he also gets sexually abused, and valintino has made him think that hes only good for looks and sex, but angel always drinks and gets high to not think about it, and puts on a mask to make him seem happy, and he has to always make things be sexual because valintino forces him do that.

❤15:13 is sad because he is hiding his real self because of his acting skills and not showing how he really feels. Husk is definitely the person Angel lives in his life now. Husk sees and likes Angel for his true self and Angel doesn’t need to put on a mask and act out his fake feelings. I love the relationship, platonic or romantic!❤

This episode is beautiful and heartbreaking and I'm really glad people get to know AngelDust more. One of the things I love is the comparison between Angel's dance with Valentino and Husk. While Valentino is controlling all the steps, leading Angel and push him down to make him fall - Husk is making sure they will be coordinated. I think it's really show the difference of how any of them treat and see Angel. Even if I don't think I shipping husk&dust because of the huge age gap (from what I know Angel is around 30 while Husk is around 60) I really love their connection. Husk is really gentle with Angel and I'm glad Angel can be himself with someone who wouldn't judge him. Btw, Valentino is overlord, he one of the Vees and he is the one who send voice messeges to AngelDust in episode 2, include the one that said to angel that "addict trash like you can't change". He's really toxic and abusive to Angel. They in kind of relationship. Great vid!

Wait until episode 5, you will get a better idea where some of her personality comes from.

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS ONE! WOOOOOOOOO!

Just a quick clarification since you asked. Lucifer is the Sin of Pride. Satan is the Sin of Wrath. Two different sins/people. In Helluva Boss we have seen 3 additional sins, Lust, Gluttony, and Greed. The only Sin's who haven't had an on screen shot yet are Satan and Leviathan (Envy).

That’s one big “oof” with a large side of “yikes”.

She gets her bubbly attitude from lucifer. She is hells equivalent too a certain angel of joy because she represents Lucifer the childishly inventive ball of happy from before his fall

The first season only has 8 episodes that A24 backed. The entire 1st season is limited to what they can show which is why the show has been so fast pace. In the middle of making the show they were given a season 2 which also only has 8 episodes. They're working with what they got so the pacing is fast because thats all they have to tell a story. They're not at fault for that, the company is and animation industry as a whole with making seasons shorter than ever and putting episodes out faster than TV broadcasts due to streaming. They're doing a great job with they time they have imo. If they had more episodes or even more time in each episode (like hour long episodes) it would give the series more breathing room to really invest in these characters more than what they're giving us instead of relying on old lore/info fans have dedicated their time to and really lift the series.

There is actually a “prequel/companion” song to poison. It’s called Addict. It was originally a fan song but Vivzie kind of made it canon by reanimating and posting it to her RU-vid.

Me before watching Masquerade: "I wonder why Poison doesn't have an official music video?" Me after watching Masquerade: "Oh."

Valentino is an overlord and Angel is scared of him because Val has control over his soul through a contract

Poison is so good. such a banger song and the last line never fail to bring a tear in my eye.

Double Hazbin Hotel upload today? We are EATING today folks! Much love my dude!

I LOVE THE HAZBIN REACTIONS!! Also please continue helluva boss as well.

I love the ending song been playing not stop. It’s good to hear dr vodoo sing!. She takes after It comes for her dad form what I’ve herd!. Lol

Yeah, in regards to your little story analysis at the end, you're pretty spot on. When the first trailer for the show was shown, a second season was already confirmed. And Vivziepop did confirm at one point that she envisions the story in Hazbin Hotel to take place over the course of 3 seasons, and Helluva Boss for 4 seasons. Hazbin is very likely to get a third season, it has been a huge success for Prime, and Viv and the crew are already working on the 3rd season of Helluva Boss. And yeah, this episode is a very heavy hitter for those who have experienced Sexual assault and abusive relationships, or known someone in the same boat. Being at the whims of a violent psychopath who could ruin your life if you don't follow his bidding. Also yeah like others have pointed out, Valentino is an overload. One of the "Vees" in fact, so in the same group as Vox (the TV guy in episode 2) and Velvette (the Social media girl from epiosde 3), who all own countless souls to do their whims for them. Basically slavery. And yeah Blake Roman, the guy who voices Angel just hits it out of the park! Apparently he was a bit of a nobody, like he has very few credits to his name but just blew everyone away at the auditions. Some people were initially mad that the actor from the pilot, Michael Kovach, didn't receive the role for the full series, but Blake does an amazing job! Both are great!

So I’ve heard an interesting theory about poison. Apparently throughout the song it’s angel dust his name given by Val. But at the end of the song he finally breaks and it is Anthony who’s singing and then he blacks out.

Always interesting to watch reactions to this episode from someone who isn't already familiar with the lore behind Angel and Val and just how bad Val is. Most of us already knew from the "Addict" music video (it was a fan-made song made canon and animated like "Look My Way") and from lore dropped by Viv and the team

As for your question about pacing? I think this show isn't really about the plot. It's about the message, which is that no one is just one thing. Sinners aren't JUST sinners; they're also often good people in bad situations. Angel Dust isn't JUST an addict, he's also a tragic, thoughtful figure. Husker isn't JUST a misanthrope, he's also a man broken by a fall from power. Lucifer, the literal Devil, the bad guy of all bad guys, isn't JUST [spoilers[, he's also [spoilers]. And so on, and so on, and so on. So from that read of the series, I do have a slight problem with the show: I think it's moving a little too fast. I'd love to spend more time with these characters and watch their personalities in slower, more realistic timing; but that's not a big deal for me. If anything, I hope it's a compliment to the show that my biggest complaint is, "I wish there was more of it for me to watch."

Everyone sees Angel Dust, only Husk sees Anthony

in the bar fight there was a demon very similar to alastor "when husk lunch the guy", Random info.

"Why is he so scared?" Watches Valentino beat the shit outta Angel. "I just dont get it." HUH?

If only at the time of you watching this did you realize how much Charlie takes from each parent.

I believe they were signed on for 3 seasons. :D So excited!

Hazbin Hotel crammed so much into 8 episodes it really does go too fast, but I LOVED it anyway, and it makes sense - Vivzie probably wants to make every season semi self-contained to keep it from having a million cliffhangers if it gets canceled like so many other shows. Not to spoil anything, but if ep 8 was the last, it would still be a great show. But I'm giddy waiting for season 2.

Lucifer, Satan, & the Devil are names for the same being: the Enemy. There's some weird fan fiction that for some reason says these are separate, which makes about as much sense as saying "God" and "The Lord" are different creatures.

He’s acting like himself he’s not fake he’s forced to be this way he’s forced to act like sexual Valentino forces him to act this way because he’s owned in the studio and when he acts like this he’s so easy to get used and people use him.

5:37 just a clarification after watching the latest episodes, Charlie defo takes after Lucifer if you think about it

this is awesome! I love angel dust and husk. This is one of the best shows ever

"Does Charlie take after her Mom, or. . . ?" No. Mostly, no, she . . . She takes after her dad, trust me. XD

I absolutely love Nifty, whenever she’s on screen her whole personality reminds me of Carol Kane 🙂

Lucifer is Pride and Satan in the sin of Wrath - different people. All the other sins are in Helluvaboss

Ah yes, it is time to react to the heart renching episode 4 🥹

I sincerely love this show so much. That said I wish that either the episodes were longer, or that there were more of them. It feels like it moves at breakneck speed without the time I would have liked for characters and relationships to simmer and better develop. Just my personal opinion, but the story feels rushed even if the songs, animation, and overall quality does not feel rushed.

having seen up to episode 6, I agree that the pacing is super weird. I love the show and all the episodes, and I think the reason why the pacing feels so weird is because they only have EIGHT episodes for the whole season! I know animation is expensive but and 8 episode season is just soooo short. I hope another season is greenlight and I hope it's longer. I love the show

Possibly the best or second best episode of the show. Personally, I do think that there are some problems with the pacing of the show, but it is not a serious problem at all, because the story and the characters are very interesting and deep.

I'E NEVER CLICKED ON A VIDEO SO QUICK BRO

Val is literally a lecher. The root of the word lecher is 'licker' in old English

Valntino isn't just an Overlord, he's a pimp.

hes got angels contract of his soul so he has to obey

i can tell this reached you... well done dear!! Loving sharing these with you.. and you are quite a gorgeous man btw!! ❤

I can agree with people saying the story could be told better or actually pace it properly because it makes it seem rushed (Which I also believe, there's a 5 months jump in the next chapter I think?) but like... Does it really matter, is your option to watch it and as far as they're concerned, there's a lot of people enjoying it and most of us here are watching it as well. It is what it is, is already done too, so those 'what ifs' are a big shrug. I'm enjoying the music and I love the characters and I feel like that that's the most important part because I'm still very invested and want to watch the next episode.

THE Devil, Satan, and Lucifer are the same exact character from biblical ref.

Addict was another great Angel song that came out much earlier. I'd also recommend the fan song One Hell of a Team

This is my favorite episode ❤

Angel is my precious boi I wanna protect him. Should check out the song addict as well 💜

I guess Lucifer and "The Devil" would be the same, but Lucifer and Satan are two different entities in the Hellaverse

The thing that flies into the opening title screen is Charlie's demon cat keekee ( I think that's how it's spelt) so no it's not Sir Pentious 😂 & also this episode had a lot of reactors crying due to how abusive val is to Angel & as someone who never really like Valentino due to his stuck up attitude this really made me hate him more because Angel is a sweetheart deep down he just has a hard time showing it & like Husk said he puts on a false narrative when he doesn't need to especially around everyone at the hotel

Spoiler for upcoming Episoes: Charie is definitely coming after Lucifer in being a dreamer, idealist and charismatic, while also having a bubbly personality.

The thing turning into the Key on the title screen is Charlie's cat

I remember people saying that the plot progression is going too fast which I can defienently say isn't a bad thing I almost didnt watch this show because I couldn't finish the pilot cause it was so slow But when I watched the first episode I was soooooo happy that it pulled a 180 cause now I see its amazingness

Here is one thing im not seeing people mention. As a deal in his contract while angel is in the studio anything val says go. Angel can literally not refuse him in the studio and val makes him do some of the most fucked up shit ever. Like omg the waterboarding mention later on in the series like wtf. I saw on another reaction someone commented that it seemed like before he made a deal angel and val might’ve had some sort of relationship but this dependence on val could also be due to the literal drugs val gives off like he drugs angel pretty much everytime they are together and angel is addicted to it

I can’t wait for you to watch episode 5!

i think necessary context for this episode is the music video "addict"

angel dusts actor needs a raise

the key flying into the intro title is Kiki, her cat which is also a Key. the key her mom gave her which is also apparently a demon of some kind?

Fun fact this ep as of rn is the only one that's 18+ the rest of the eps are 16+