Welcome to Heaven (episode)

"Dearly beloved, it is my pleasure to say unto thee. ♪ Welcome to Heaven. ♪"

- St. Peter, welcoming Charlie and Vaggie to Heaven

Welcome to Heaven is the sixth episode of the first season of Hazbin Hotel, and the sixth episode overall. It premiered on January 26, 2024, on Prime Video.

Synopsis

 * Charlie and Vaggie make their way to Heaven to speak to Adam's manager. Meanwhile an explosive reunion gives Angel the opportunity to show how far he's come.

Plot
The episode begins with Charlie enthusiastically packing in her and Vaggie's room. While Charlie is shown to be thrilled and excited at the prospect of going to Heaven, Vaggie is shown to be more worried, and tries to lie to Charlie on why she can supposedly not go, but ends up failing, and Charlie tells her that she needs her there with her.

Downstairs, Angel returns from working at the studio, and explains that Valentino put him through a rough day of work. As he is about to faint on the couch, the wall explodes, revealing Cherri Bomb, who wants to bring Angel out on a fun night to cheer him up. Charlie, who has also come down with Vaggie, assumes she wants to take all the hotel staff out and introduces herself. Cherri at first says she is only there for Angel, but after Charlie gives her some money, Cherri agrees. Just then, the portal to Heaven opens, and Charlie and Vaggie go through it. As they do, Sir Pentious passes by, sees Cherri and assumes she is there to battle before Cherri explains that she has to bring them all out for a fun night. Sir Pentious is shown to be flustered, asking what he should wear, before Cherri tells him not to touch her.

Vaggie and Charlie find themselves outside the gates of Heaven, where they meet St. Peter and Charlie explains how her dad got her the meeting. Sera and Emily, two Seraphim angels, introduce themselves to the pair, and with the help of St. Peter, show them around Heaven while singing "Welcome to Heaven". As the song ends, Vaggie and Charlie pass Adam and Lute, who recognise Charlie and wonder how she got up to Heaven. Adam initially tries to start a fight right then and there, but Lute reminds him that Sera instructed them that no one but the Exorcists are to know about the Exterminations. Sera appears behind them and tells them to do whatever they need to to stop the problem from getting worse, revealing that she approved of the Exterminations only to protect Heaven. Later, while Vaggie is alone in her and Charlie's hotel room in Heaven, Lute and Adam show up, revealing Vaggie as a former Exorcist who lost her status during an Extermination when she felt pity for a Sinner child and refused to kill it, resulting in Lute ripping her eye out and wings off. Adam attempts to blackmail Vaggie into working for him again, else he'll tell Charlie Vaggie's secret, but she promptly refuses.

In court, Charlie is shown to be irritated at having to see Adam again, especially as he interrupts her attempts to explain what redemption is, as well as telling her to show any evidence she has. Charlie explains they have a patron, Angel, who Adam dismisses as "the porn demon" and sarcastically says he is worth being redeemed. Charlie retorts, asking what Adam thinks it takes to get into Heaven, and although he momentarily panics, he writes down what he believes it takes to get into Heaven: "Act selfless, don't steal, stick it to the man", claiming it's what got him into Heaven, and Sera concedes that he was the first human soul in Heaven. Charlie defends Angel, saying he is probably doing all of those things right now, and Adam allows them to spy through an orb, showing Cherri, Angel, Husk, Niffty and Sir Pentious at a sex club. Sir Pentious attempts to flirt with Cherri by offering to buy her a drink, before quickly saying he is buying everyone in the club a drink. Angel complains about his work day again, and Cherri tries to get him to take some drugs. Husk shows disapproval, saying that if Angel wants to "fuck up all his progress" then he can, but that Husk thought he was better than that. Angel at first refuses, but then gives in after Sir Pentious buys Cherri a shot, and then claims he bought everyone a shot.

Adam uses this to try and convince the angel court that Angel is not worthy of Heaven, but Charlie objects, disbelieving at the idea that he has never had a drink with friends after a hard day, with Adam saying they don't have hard days in Heaven, before putting Vaggie on the spot by asking what she thinks. Panicking, Vaggie runs to the bathroom, and Charlie insists they keep watching, with Emily vouching for her, which Sera reluctantly permits. They resume their watching of the club, with Niffty shown as drunk, making a mess and attempting to eat things such as chlorine and bleach. Angel eventually snaps at her, calling her a "mess", which causes Niffty to cry. Angel calms her down by letting her play with Husk, which Husk begrudgingly allows. Sir Pentious asks Cherri to have sex with him, and then claims he is having sex with everyone there, causing him to get dragged into a room by some other demons.

Husk and Cherri briefly argue over Angel, before Angel spots Valentino, who is also at the club. Niffty runs to him, citing him as a "bad boy", and Angel catches her, accidentally gaining the attention of Valentino. He expresses interest in Niffty (who nearly bites off his fingers when he reaches toward her), clearly seeing her as another potential star/slave for his studio. Angel tells him to fuck off, which provokes Valentino to manacle his arm and remind him he owns his soul. Angel snaps that while he does in the studio, Val technically doesn't have any say in what Angel does or says off the clock, and once again tells him to fuck off. Valentino angrily backhands Angel to the floor and threatens that he will make the next day at work horrible for him, but Angel says it was worth it as they leave the club, Husk clapping him on the shoulder. On her way out, Niffty rips some of Valentino's neck fluff out for her "collection", causing him pain. Angel invites Cherri to join the hotel, but Cherri refuses, going off to have sex with another male demon, much to Sir Pentious' annoyance.

Having watched all of this, Charlie says he did everything on Adam's checklist; unable to refute this, Adam counters by asking why Angel isn't in Heaven as a result. Emily then asks why isn't he there, and Charlie realizes that none of them actually knows what gets a soul into Heaven. Sera tries to stop the questioning, claiming they know when a soul arrives, but Emily begins to sing "You Didn't Know". Charlie soon joins in, and this inadvertedly leads to Adam and Lute revealing the existence of the Exterminations to the whole angel court. Sera attempts to explain herself to Emily, claiming she was just trying to "save" her, but Emily angrily refuses to listen, and she and Charlie join together to sing about how Heaven must be a lie, inversing the lyrics of "Hell is Forever" to point out that the supposedly 'holy' rules are in shades of gray. In anger at being called out like this, Adam reveals Vaggie's past as an Exorcist to everyone, including Charlie, and Sera says that there is no evidence that a soul can be redeemed. Adam celebrates his triumph over Vaggie and Charlie and says that, when the Extermination comes, they will be going for the hotel first, before sending them back through the portal. Emily is angered at Sera, who insists that the demons were uprising, and asks for Emily to let Sera worry about it out of fear that she many become fallen. The episode ends with Emily sorrowfully touching Adam's checklist.

Characters

 * Employees of the Hazbin Hotel
 * Charlie Morningstar
 * Vaggie
 * Husk
 * Niffty
 * Clients of the Hazbin Hotel
 * Angel Dust
 * Sir Pentious
 * Cherri Bomb
 * Valentino (cameo)
 * Angels
 * St. Peter (debut)
 * Seraphim Angels (debut)
 * Sera
 * Emily
 * Exorcists
 * Adam
 * Lute
 * The Royal Family (mentioned; pictured)
 * Lucifer Morningstar
 * Lilith

Locations

 * Hell
 * Pride Ring
 * Pentagram City
 * Hazbin Hotel (cameo)
 * The Consent Club (debut)
 * Heaven
 * Heaven's Courthouse (debut)
 * Unnamed hotel

Objects

 * Lute's LED mask

Songs

 * "Welcome to Heaven"
 * "You Didn't Know"

Trivia

 * It is revealed that angels have an alternate angelic form. This may serve to be a parallel to demons and sinners' full demon form.
 * It is revealed that Adam was the one to suggest the start of the Extermination as a movement to Sera, and the latter had no choice but to agree in hopes of preventing Hell's sinners from a possible uprising.
 * It is also revealed that the Extermination was originally supposed to be kept a secret from the other angels outside of the Exorcists, as per Sera's orders.
 * As of this episode, all of Heaven's Courthouse members are now made aware of the Extermination, after Adam himself accidentally lets it slip.
 * Adam is also the one to have given Vaggie her nickname, with the latter keeping her name after her descent to Hell.
 * Additionally, it is revealed that Vaggie was originally an Exorcist Angel before she spared a sinner, resulting in Lute slashing her eye and ripping her angel wings off, with Adam confiscating her halo and leaving her in Hell.
 * This also means the spear Vaggie has been carrying around since the pilot is indeed the same one she had as an angel, making it an Angelic Weapon.
 * It is revealed that the majority of Heaven do not know how a soul qualifies to become an angel in Heaven.
 * According to Angel Dust, his contract with Valentino states that the latter only has full control of him whenever Angel steps foot within his studio.
 * This is the first episode to show Lute without her mask.
 * This also implies Exorcist angels only take their masks off during their off-time.
 * During the "Welcome to Heaven" sequence, a spider-like angel can be spotted who bears a strong resemblance to an older version of Molly, Angel Dust's twin sister. Whether or not this is the same character is unknown.
 * This is the first episode wherein Alastor does not make an appearance.
 * This episode reveals that Hellborns and Angels abandoned in Hell can visit Heaven seemingly without any repercussions, with the only exception being Lucifer himself.

Cultural references

 * The "Stick it to the man" line on Adam's notes is a reference to the song of the same name from the musical, , of which Alex Brightman, Adam's voice actor, originated the role of Dewey Finn.
 * Additionally, on the same sheet of notes, a "Cool S" can be seen on the bottom left corner.
 * Adam pointing out how Charlie and Vaggie went to see "his manager" and calling Charlie a Karen is a reference to the real-life nicknames given to entitled customers, usually middle-aged blonde-haired women who ask for the help of a store manager, as to try and prove themselves right.
 * In the titular song of the episode, during the scene where St. Peter sings "Where the virtuous reside 24/7", one of the angels in the background resembles a Cryo Abyss Mage from Genshin Impact.
 * Some other background angels seen dancing resemble the and.

Continuity

 * In Vaggie's flashback, both her and Charlie are seen in their pilot outfits.
 * Charlie paying Cherri Bomb to take the gang out to have some fun may be a callback to how she also paid Angel Dust to be the Hotel's first client, as per the Dirty Healings comic.
 * One of St Peter's lines during the Welcome to Heaven song states how everyone in Heaven is hot. This is a callback to Adam guessing how one of Hell's biggest problems is "ugly people" back in "Overture".
 * Cherri joking about how Angel can only rest once he's "double dead" may be a callback to when Angel joked similarly about it to Vaggie in the pilot.

Errors

 * Despite Charlie packing over a day's worth of luggage for her trip, she and Vaggie aren't shown to have brought any of it with them to Heaven. But, some of her luggage is scattered on the hotel floor, with the rest being shown together with them after they arrive at their hotel room in Heaven.
 * When Sir Pentious tries and fails to ask Cherri to have sex with him, the left hand Cherri is resting her cheek on is briefly drawn as her right hand.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

 * Welcome to Heaven (episode)/Gallery