What Is The 'Hazbin Hotel' Eye Theory?

TV & Film

Mar 21

Alastor from Hazbin Hotel — Image Source: IGN Africa

They say the eyes are the window to the soul, which may be true in A24’s smash hit, Hazbin Hotel. The adult animation has become a runaway success, holding fast in Amazon Prime’s top ten since its release three months ago. The reviews have been equally complimentary with an audience rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you’ve not been watching, the daughter of Lucifer sets up a hotel to rehabilitate demons in Hell. But the angels don’t love the idea of letting souls back into heaven. The series has been praised for its quirky animation, but fans have noticed some hints within the scenes. So, what do the eyes of the cast of Hazbin Hotel tell us about their history and personalities?

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The Soul

Black eyes mean that the character’s soul is owned by someone else. The easiest example of this is Husk, the grumpy bartender who lost his soul in a bet to Alastor. His eyes are black with a yellow pupil. Adult film star, Angel Dust has one black eye because he is only owned half the time when he is in the studio.

But the theory doesn’t end there. Red eyes mean that the character owns a soul. Valentino is the most obvious. Both Morningstars, Charlie and Lucifer also fall into this category. As rulers of Hell, it could be argued that they have dominion over every single soul in the underworld. The other interesting case is Alastor, who has red eyes under normal circumstances and has gambled extensively for souls. But when he switches to his true form, his eyes turn black, suggesting that he is hiding his own soul trade. This is mentioned in the show, although it’s not revealed who Alastor did the deal with. Most of the overlords have red eyes, as does Sir Pentious who owns the(black-eyed) Egg Bois.

Angels

When the angels go down to Hell, they wear masks with a cross over one eye, suggesting they are blind to the consequences of what they are doing. We can guess the symbolism because of Vaggie. The fallen angel with one eye has a constant cross over her face. There’s only one scene where Vaggie saw clearly with two eyes, when she took off her mask and let a hell child escape.

But there is an angel who participates in the exterminations without a cross over his eye. Adam.

Adam is in charge of the whole operation, so he goes down to Hell to kill souls with his eyes open. But he’s not escaped the symbolism. The icon he wears on his chest looks a lot like an eye with a cross through it, tilted on its side. This reinforces the fact that he is the source of the misinformation, and his perspective is skewed.

Characters Who Don’t Fit the Pattern

Two characters do not fit into the blueprints of what we know already, suggesting that there is more plot to be revealed. Niffty is supposedly owned by Alastor but has red eyes, not black. The favorite fan theory for Alastor’s owner is Lilith, but what if it’s the little psychotic maid?

Another key character to watch is Cherri Bomb, her pupils are a cross, not a circle. Just like an angel. Vivienne Medrano has said that the concept for this character was originally a bomb-making angel. It’s unlikely that Cherri is another rogue celestial, (even though she is pale-skinned) but that eye could be a hint of something else. At the end of season 1, Sir Pentious’ ascends into heaven, so isn’t it possible that souls could go the other way?

Spontaneous Eyes

If different colored eyes is just a design quirk, why do the surroundings appear to sprout them during major scenes? Creator Vivienne Medrano is dropping some big easter eggs, if only we could figure them out. An eye pops up on Emily’s chest during the fan-favorite song, You Didn’t Know, for a few bars before going back to the flower design.

Season 2 of Hazbin Hotel is reportedly on its way, and clearly there are more secrets to be revealed!

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