The Animated Series' Showrunner Unveils Rosie and Alastor's Backstory Is a Major Season 3 Tease
Devoted fans of the show finally received a long-awaited backstory in the second season's episode 4, called “It's a Deal.” This installment is likely to prompt a lot of discussion and pose many questions about the essence of one particular demon Overlord who seems significantly stronger than anyone previously realized. The new revelations feature a look into the human life of a beloved character prior to his demise and condemnation to the underworld.
A Significant Hint for Future Seasons
The show's creator disclosed an inside detail about the episode – it serves as a huge hint for the third season. She also provided further details into the process of creating the human versions of her infernal cartoon figures.
Spoiler alert for episode 4 of Hazbin Hotel, the show's second season.
In the episode, a flashback discloses that popular character Alastor, the Radio Demon was a serial killer in his mortal days. Knowing full well he was destined for Hell, he made contact with the realm beyond in advance to obtain a strong position in Hell. Rosie, who leads the cannibal faction in Hell, vowed Alastor he would become “the strongest Condemned Soul in Hell” in exchange for his eternal spirit.
This raises an important query: How is this character sufficiently strong to raise Alastor over every other Sinner Demons?
“The Rosie and Alastor deal is the first stepping stone in a much bigger story that involves a great deal, leading into season 3,” the creator explains. “Obviously that is an excellent question: How is she that powerful? The solution might be various factors, but the revelation is in season 3. I'm very excited for people to see it.”
It is uncertain the duration viewers will have to remain for Hazbin Hotel’s next season. The studios have green-lit the third and fourth seasons, but the creator often notes that animation is a time-consuming endeavor, and later seasons have no release dates yet. Still, she says withholding on those details is a crucial aspect of keeping season 2’s attention in the right places.
“The challenge of any agreement with demons, or narratives that have enigmas, is giving people just enough information to be like, Something's up here, and then unveiling that as we go, and allowing that be satisfying,” she comments. “So I am quite eager.”
Mysteries Resolved in Season 3
The creator assures that season 3 will address the questions fans have been asking, such as why Rosie commanded Alastor to disappear for a seven-year period, which weakened his influence in the infernal realm.
“The entire seven-year span, and the pacts these individuals 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 what the core cast of Demonic Sinners looked like as mortals, following after viewing Sir Pentious’ historical human form in episode 2. She says that significant consideration went into these character designs.
“The human versions of these personas carry so much weight,” she notes. “They vary from looking quite distinct from their infernal version to looking almost identical. With the first character, the initial design we see, there was some internal discussion within the team between going with something that symbolizes the personality, versus going with an option that's historically correct. We leaned toward creating something that just seemed like it was him.”
She says the biggest debate over Pentious’ human design was his long hair: “We were like, ‘Nobody typically had extended hair of that style in Victorian-era London.’ But simultaneously, we believe the outline is so important, and we also just felt he looked good. We were like, ‘This just feels right.’ We sort of provided the rationale that he's a hermit, so he just let his hair grow out. So there is always a solution. As we design the human versions of these personas […] it's such a fun thing to explore and figure out. I'm excited for people to view additional of what the human forms look like.”
Fresh installments of Hazbin Hotel the second season drop on Wednesdays on the streaming service.
