Hazbin Hotel S1 E4 “Masquerade”: Review
Previous Review: https://medium.com/@roryaphunter/hazbin-hotel-s1-e3-scrambled-eggs-review-ba2018911945
Vera Wylde’s great video on this episode, and sex work rep in media in general: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQPf5W_IW3s
Content Warning, just in case: Abuse
Score — 10/10
Wow. just… wow.
I’m not going to lie, how “Masquerade” makes me feel is going to be hard to put into words. Hazbin Hotel’s fourth episode is easily its best yet, not even close. It takes Angel Dust, a character who so far has been hinted at having a lot of baggage but baggage that has never been fully unpacked, and puts a spotlight on that baggage to devastating effect. It examines how Charlie’s naivety can lead to unforeseen circumstances, and also hints at her having a lot more power than she appears. It takes a hard look at abuse and predatory relationships in the context of both this version of Hell and the porn industry. It grants Husk, who has previously been fun but mostly one-note, a surprising amount of depth. It does all of this insanely well, and it does it in 25 minutes. Again, wow.
The plot goeth thusly: Charlie (Erika Henningsen) is concerned about the amount of time Angel Dust (Blake Roman) is spending at the Porn Studio owned by his boss, Valentino (Joel Perez). She visits the Studio in an attempt to get him some time off, which infuriates the abusive Valentino, who takes his anger out on Angel and manipulates him to get Charlie to leave. The only one who seems to be able to help Angel is Husk (Keith David), if Angel lets him in…
The exploration of Angel’s abuse is the centrepiece of the episode, and it makes for truly uncomfortable and disturbing television. That scene in Angel’s dressing room is simultaneously heartbreaking and scary, and works so well because Blake Roman’s voice acting so utterly sells Angel’s terror, both for himself, and for Charlie. We don’t really know if Valentino could actually take the Princess of Hell in a fight, but Valentino has his hooks into Angel deep, and that would naturally make him susceptible to suggestion and threats. That subsequent scene where he blows up at Charlie is heartbreaking, because Angel has just been manoeuvred into angrily rebuffing someone who really cares about him AND has the power to wipe the floor with the person making his life hell.The scene also serves as a wake-up call for Charlie at how difficult her friend’s situation is, and it also shows that Valentino can hurt her emotionally despite being vastly less powerful than her, making him all the more hateable and threatening. Erika Henningsen and Joel Perez also deserve praise for their performances in the episode’s first half.
Diving a little deeper into why the depiction of Angel’s abuse is so affecting requires more breakdown. That scene I mentioned before is an example of a common abuse tactic, where the abuser will cut off potential support structures for the victim in order to make them weaker. In my review of Episode 2 (https://medium.com/@roryaphunter/hazbin-hotel-s1-e2-radio-killed-the-video-star-500cadadfdf2), I talk about how the scene with the text messages, where Valentino yo-yos between faux-kindness and vicious scorn, is another abuse tactic, and that threads into the patten we’re seeing here. “Masquerade” takes all the clues that Medrano has been building up in the background and pays them off here. We see the walls Angel puts up around himself, how Valentino controls and hurts him, and we also start to see his hedonism as more than just a part of his lifestyle. As Angel himself puts it, it’s his escape.
The first half of the episode is capped off with the song “Poison”, which, along with “Happy Day in Hell”, was released before the series premiered, and it’s a song that I was hype-listening to for days. I feel pretty confident calling it my favourite song from this season, for a number of reasons. First of all, it sounds AMAZING. Second of all, Blake Roman’s singing is c’est magnifique. Third of all, it sums up Angel’s citation in a fantastically edited montage that almost bleeds together to create a hazy collage of horror. It’s bravura storytelling, and Medrano and her team deserve all the praise in the world for it. It also shows Angel at his job for the first time, which provides me with an opportunity to discuss how the episode frames the porn industry in relation to Angel and Valentino’s dynamic.
Before we go, I obviously have to acknowledge my knowledge of this subject matter is extremely limited and pretty surface-level. I’ve done some research, but this isn’t coming from a place of authority, just testimony.
So, Angel is a pornstar, and Valentino runs the Studio he works at. Okay, normal sex industry stuff so far. The fact that Valentino’s sexually abusive and coerces Angel into sex makes this whole situation much more f*cked-up, and frames Angel’s participation in these films as exploitative and depraved. The pilot also shows us that Valentino occasionally pimps Angel, adding prostitution into the mix. I mean, Val is dressed like a stereotypical pimp, so this isn’t surprising. The episode explores how this abuse takes on a whole new ghoulish context when sex and money is involved. Angel’s reaction to some of the more hardcore stuff he’s forced to perform suggests that at least part of this job scares him, However, note the key word being “forced”. You see, Valentino signed a contract with Angel at some point that means in the Studio, Val can do whatever he wants. This ties in with the setting of Hell, where souls are currency. It also places Angel’s predicament in a slightly unique situation, partially from the trappings of the sex industry.
The issue I’m dancing around here: Does “Masquerade”, and Hazbin Hotel as a whole, treat the entire sex industry and sex work as inherently coercive and unethical? From where I’m standing, not quite. I think there’s some legwork done to show Angel’s burden is Val, and all he represents. Even in his freer, more true moments, he does seem to enjoy flirting and being sexy, but at the same time, the episode indicates at least part of his persona is a response to his abuse. I’m not a massive fan of the “they’re in Hell” argument for excusing when a character from Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss acts crappy and isn’t called on it, and I don’t think it can be used to justify any of what happens to Angel, but I will bring up the contract once again and say that the fact that Angel’s being forced into these things DOES somewhat create a case that Medrano is exploring the worst case scenario when it comes to sex work and abuse. Abuse will obviously happen in this environment, just like any environment. But I think it’s a fair criticism that the decision to explore the sex industry through the worst case scenario does make it part of a larger pattern of how sex work gets portrayed in media. And that’s where Vera Wylde’s take on this issue comes in.
Vera Wylde, of the YouTube channel Council of Geeks fame, released a really interesting video entitled “Angel Dust, Hazbin Hotel and the humanity of sex workers” (link at the top of the article). In this video, she explores Angel Dust’s portrayal in this episode from her own experience as a sex worker. She acknowledges that on its own, Angel Dust’s story is powerfully told, but that in a wider context, it’s part of a harmful pattern of sex workers being portrayed as forced into it and all sex work as inherently abusive. Regardless of how much you agree with her, her points are well argued and genuinely thought-provoking. Her nuanced and careful analysis of the situation actually made me look at Angel Dust’s story a little differently, and also brought to my attention just how poor overall representation of sex workers are in mainstream media. Neither Vera or myself are saying that “Masquerade” is any less impactful because of this trend, merely that it fits into this troubling pattern, and a conversation about it is healthy and necessary.
Okay, now that I’ve finished my lengthy tangent, I want to wrap my review by talking about Husk. Like Nifty (Kimiko Glenn), Husk’s role has so far been pretty small, and mostly static. Here, he gets elevated to co-protagonist of an episode as his tense relationship with Angel bubbles over before resetting into something a lot more genuine and tender. Angel spent most of the last three episodes, and the pilot, flirting incessantly with Husk to the latter’s increasing annoyance. This culminates in a scene midway through the episode where Husk angrily calls out Angel and labels his sex-mad persona “fake”, which results in Angel yelling at him and storming out. Charlie then implores Husk to find Angel and check that he’s okay, mainly out of guilt and worry. Once Husk finds Angel and pulls him out of a situation where he was about to drugged, their argument resumes and Angel finally breaks down after Husk again calls him outward persona an act, tearfully confessing he finds escape in the drugs and debauchery, and hopes that maybe if he breaks himself enough, Valentino will find him boring and let him go. Husk then opens up in turn, admitting that he used to be an Overlord before he almost went under and sold his soul to a certain Radio Demon. These scenes are perfect, expertly showcasing these two characters at their most vulnerable and human, finally dropping their guard. Blake Roman and Keith David put their absolute all into the performances, and this all leads to the episode’s second song, “Loser, Baby”, an alternately touching and hilarious number that sees Angel and Husk reflect on the fact that they’re both miserable, and how by sharing their grief and accepting that they’re screwed, they can find some comfort. Combining inventive visuals,whip-smart lyrics and great vocals, “Loser, Baby” has rightfully earned its spot as one of the most well-known songs of the show so far. Even the way it ends is funny, with an interruption by gun-wielding sharks that Husk rescued Angel from previously.
The final scene is small but powerful. Angel and Husk walk back into the Hotel to be greeted by a tearful Charlie, who tries to apologise for earlier, only for Angel to assure it’s OK, and then says five words that just kill me, and Charlie for that matter: “Thanks… for carin’ about me”. This is the pay-off of this whole episode, as Angel finally allows himself to connect with Charlie and begin to heal. Whilst Charlie cries with happiness, Angel and Husk decide to finally get a drink, capping off a truly special piece of television.
If “Scrambled Eggs” showed Hazbin Hotel could be something truly special, then “Masquerade” seals the deal. I had the feeling that when the show focused on Angel Dust, we’d get a whole new level of storytelling, and dammit, I was right.
