The Animated Series' Showrunner Unveils Rosie and Alastor's Origin Tale Is a Major Season 3 Tease
Dedicated viewers of the series at last received a long-awaited backstory in season 2's fourth episode, called “It's a Deal.” This installment will probably spark a lot of discussion and pose numerous questions about the nature of one particular demon Overlord who seems significantly stronger than anyone previously realized. The new revelations feature a look into the mortal existence of a beloved character prior to his death and condemnation to Hell.
A Major Tease for Upcoming Installments
The series creator disclosed a secret about the episode – it serves as a huge hint for the third season. Additionally, she provided more insight into the process of designing the human versions of her infernal cartoon figures.
Warning: Spoilers for the fourth episode of Hazbin Hotel, season 2.
In “It’s a Deal”, a flashback discloses that fan-favorite character Alastor, the Radio Demon was a serial killer in his human life. Being aware he was destined for Hell, he established communication with the afterlife in advance to secure a powerful role in Hell. Rosie, who leads the cannibal faction in Hell, vowed Alastor he would become “the strongest Sinner in Hell” in exchange for his soul.
This raises the question: In what way is this character powerful enough to raise Alastor above every other Sinner Demons?
“The agreement between Rosie and Alastor is the first stepping stone in a much bigger story that involves so much, moving into season 3,” the showrunner explains. “Clearly that is an excellent question: How is she so strong? The solution might be many things, but the answer is in season three. I am thrilled for people to see it.”
It is uncertain the duration the audience will have to wait for Hazbin Hotel’s next season. The studios have green-lit the third and fourth seasons, but the showrunner frequently notes that animation is a time-consuming endeavor, and subsequent seasons have no release dates yet. Still, she states withholding on those details is an important part of keeping the second season's attention in the right places.
“The challenge of any kind of deal with infernal beings, or narratives that have enigmas, is providing the audience sufficient clues to be like, Something's up here, and then revealing that gradually, and letting that be gratifying,” she says. “So I am quite eager.”
Questions Answered in Season 3
The showrunner assures that season 3 will tackle the questions fans have been posing, such as why the cannibal leader commanded Alastor to vanish for seven years, which diminished his power in the infernal realm.
“The entire seven-year span, and the deals these humans are doing, and all that — it contributes to a bigger narrative,” she says.
In the meantime, the Rosie/Alastor backstory episode offers another glimpse into how the core cast of Demonic Sinners looked like as humans, the second after seeing another character's Victorian-era mortal appearance in the second episode. The creator says that significant consideration went into these character designs.
“The mortal forms of the characters carry great significance,” she notes. “They range from looking quite distinct from their infernal version to looking very similar. With the first character, the first one we see, there was a little bit of a debate within the team between choosing something that represents the personality, as opposed to selecting something that's historically correct. We leaned toward creating a design that just seemed like it was him.”
She says the primary controversy over Pentious’ human design was his lengthy locks: “We were like, ‘Nobody really had extended hair of that style in that historical period.’ But at the same time, we believe the silhouette is extremely crucial, and we also just felt he appeared attractive. We were like, ‘This seems correct.’ We sort of gave the excuse that he's a hermit, so he just let his hair grow out. So there's always a way. As we create the mortal forms of these characters […] it is a very enjoyable process to investigate and determine. I'm excited for people to view additional of the appearances of the human versions.”
New episodes of Hazbin Hotel season 2 drop on Wednesdays on Prime Video.
