Hazbin Hotel 2×01 and 2×02 Review: “New Pentious” and “Storyteller”

Charlie and her allies may have won the battle, but the war with Heaven is far from over in “New Pentious” and “Storyteller.”

In the aftermath of the battle between Heaven and Hell, both sides must figure out how to move forward in light of new revelations in Hazbin Hotel’s second season. The first two episodes show that things will never be the same for both sides and that a power struggle is brewing that will raise tensions even further.

The newly rebuilt Hazbin Hotel is swarming with both press and potential guests in “New Pentious.” Charlie (Erika Henningsen) is lauded for defeating Adam and his angels in the battle, but Charlie is still grieving the loss of Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman) and the other casualties. Though there are brief moments featuring some of the hotel’s other residents, the episode smartly narrows its focus on Charlie and her struggles in the aftermath.

While Charlie is thrilled to see the increased attention on the hotel, she is quickly dismayed to find that her potential guests are more interested in killing angels than redemption. Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz) does her best to deal with the press while attempting to console Charlie. After the revelation of Vaggie’s past, it’s great to see the relationship between the two remain strong. In addition, Vaggie’s quest to pick a new name for herself is an interesting subplot that will hopefully pay off in a satisfying manner.

In the midst of the chaos, Charlie also shares a nice moment with her father Lucifer (Jeremy Jordan). The two discuss the effect of Lilith’s actions on their family, and Charlie ultimately decides to attempt to reach out to her mother. With Lilith’s reappearance in her family’s life an inevitability, their family dynamic will likely be tested further.

The episode concludes with Charlie kicking out anyone who isn’t interested in redemption. Though the majority of the crowd leaves, fresh recruit Baxter (Kevin Del Aguila) stays to prove his hypothesis that redemption isn’t possible. Thankfully, Charlie is visited by Emily (Shoba Narayan), who reports that Sir Pentious has been redeemed. Even with this knowledge, Charlie has her work cut out for her if she is to prove the effectiveness of the hotel to everyone else.

“Storyteller” shifts its focus to Heaven and Sir Pentious’ arrival. After sharing his backstory to the council, he is able to prove that he has indeed been redeemed. Getting the opportunity to learn more about Sir Pentious’ life before death is enjoyable, and hopefully we will get to learn more about the previous lives of other residents of the hotel in the future.

Emily does her best to make Sir Pentious feel welcome in Heaven, but he struggles to adjust to a new life without his friends. Despite his annoyance, Emily’s attempts to help him, even creating a new version of his Egg Bois, are sweet. However, Sir Pentious is still feeling lonely by the episode’s end raises a compelling dilemma of whether redemption is truly worth it if there’s no one to share it with.

Meanwhile, the forces of both Heaven and Hell gear up for a power struggle. Vox (Christian Borle) uses his influence to spin the media against Charlie as he enlists Velvette (Lilli Cooper) and Valentino (Joel Perez) in his plot to take over Heaven. In Heaven, Lute is furious about both Sera (Patina Miller) putting a stop to the attacks on Hell and Adam’s son Abel (Patrick Stump) being promoted over her. She declares that she plans to continue her fight against Hell, though Sera’s decision to close Heaven to the outside and Abel overhearing her plans will make that much more difficult.

While each of the new songs are great additions to the soundtrack, Lute’s song is the standout of the two episodes.

“New Pentious” and “Storyteller” combine to provide an exciting and heartfelt opening to Hazbin Hotel’s second season. With the conflict between the two sides escalating, hopefully the rest of the season continues to live up to its potential.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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