Masquerade

"This is my escape. Where I can forget about it all, an' how much I hate… everything. A place where I can get high, and not have to think about how much it hurts. And, maybe, if I can ruin myself enough in the process... if I end up broken, I won't be his favorite toy anymore. And maybe, he'll let me go..."

―Angel, dropping his facade in front of Husk

Masquerade
Series	Hazbin Hotel
Season	1
Episode	4
Air date	January 19, 2024
Writer	Adam Neylan Vivienne Medrano
Director	Vivienne Medrano
Episode guide
Previous	"Scrambled Eggs"
Next	"Dad Beat Dad"

Masquerade is the fourth episode of the first season of Hazbin Hotel, and the fourth episode overall. It premiered on January 19, 2024, on Prime Video.

Synopsis

Angel struggles to juggle his work and his time at the Hotel. Charlie decides it's time to put her 'Princess' status to use with Angel's boss.

Plot

The episode begins with Angel Dust being tied to a chair by a Hellhound mobster, threatening to rape the information out of him if he doesn't tell him where the stash is. Angel tells him to "do [his] worst" before the Hellhound strips himself and starts "raping" him into submission.

The scene is revealed to be a amateur hardcore pornography movie shown by Angel for his part of Charlie's "Show and Tell" exercise. The other occupants are appalled that Angel is showing this, but Angel insists that it counts because it is his best work, winning him the Sex-x-xi award against "Tiffany Titfucker". Sir Pentious and Charlie both find the showing to be painfully uncomfortable, to the point where Charlie shields her eyes; Vaggie is more annoyed that Angel is showing them a porn movie; Niffty appears extremely morbidly interested, and Husk doesn't seem fazed, calling Angel a fake for the movie's unrealistic interrogation scene and insulting Angel for the poorly written scripts. Angel is offended by this and responds by insulting him back. Husk goes on to say that he knows everyone's issues because everyone vents to the bartender, and lists off every resident's problems: Sir Pentious is insecure and lonely, Charlie wants to solve all problems except for her own, Vaggie hates everyone because she hates herself, Niffty is sadistic, and Angel is fake. Just then, Valentino calls in for "emergency shoot" scene. Charlie tries to stop him from leaving because they need to finish the exercise and that Extermination is fast approaching, but Angel leaves because she cannot fix his problem with his boss, which gives Charlie an idea.

At the porn studios, Angel is working on a BDSM shoot involving burglars with a gangbang scene when Charlie arrives, much to Angel's shock and horror. He demands to know why she came to the studio, and she tells him that, as Princess of Hell, she has come to speak with his boss to get some time off for the hotel. He tries to make her leave, but Valentino notices her and invites her to have a role in his studio, but Charlie vehemently declines, and declares her wish to speak with him right after his work. This angers Valentino, who shoots a look towards a frightened Angel, thinking Angel is using Charlie to get out of his job, but the shoot goes on. In the middle of the shoot, Charlie tries to invite some of the camera crew to the hotel, interrupting and further angering Valentino, and ends up causing a fire that destroys the set, before Valentino uses his moth wings to douse the fire.

Valentino takes Angel into his makeup room where he chews him out about having Charlie fight his battles for him, Assaulting him physically and psychologically and reminding him that he still owns him, showing the contract Angel signed with his real name, where he sold his soul to him. Valentino threatens to harm Charlie unless Angel gets her out of his studio and out of his business, and that him he'll be filming all night.

Re-entering the set, Charlie notices Angel's injuries (specifically his bruise) and becomes furious, partially revealing her demonic form, and threatening Valentino for his treatment of her friend. Valentino watches with a smirk as Angel steps in between them, stopping her. He snaps at Charlie to leave the studio at once, furiously telling her that he didn't ask her to come (looking over at Valentino as he says this) and to stop helping him because she's only making things worse. Despite Charlie's pleas and apologies, Angel demands her to leave at once so that he can get on with his work, and Charlie breaks down crying before running out of the studio, to Valentino's satisfaction. Guilty, Angel expresses his suffering during his filming.

Angel returns to the hotel, exhausted and miserable after a long night of work, and consults to the bar with Husk at the counter. He demands to have the hardest drink Husk could make, and Husk knows that Angel wants the one where he can forget the night. When he says Angel looks like shit, the spider demon puts his facade back up and tries to flirt with him, but Husk irritably shoots him down. Husk calls him out for being fake again, and Angel throws a tantrum before storming out. Vaggie and Charlie have Husk get Angel back safe because he's the one who started the argument, much to Husk's annoyance.

Husk finds Angel at an underground dive bar, drinking his miseries away and doing lines of powder with other loan shark (as in, actual shark) gangsters. Husk gets himself a drink and sits to watch until he realizes that one of the loan sharks is spiking Angel's drink with one of Valentino's love potions. He chucks the inciting loan shark aside, grabs Angel, fights with the loan sharks, and drags Angel out. Husk accuses Angel once again of being fake and playing up an unnecessary persona. Finally sick of Husk’s cynicism, Angel snaps, stating that it isn't him being fake nor is it unnecessary because it's what he needs to be in order to survive. Furious, he explains that between his wretched workspace and the hotel, the bar is the only place he can escape to without the stress of dealing with both at the same time, and that he doesn't mind if he gets drugged, high, or commits to any other self-destructive behaviors because of the hope that if he becomes too broken to work, Valentino would finally become bored of him and thus break off their contract and let him go free.

Seeing Angel broken down, Husk decides to reveal his past to him: he used to be a powerful Overlord, but the more power he obtained just by collecting and dealing with souls, the worse his gambling addiction became until eventually, he lost it all, which made him desperate enough to gamble his own soul to an Overlord: Alastor. Husk explains that he knows what it's like to be trapped in the hands of an Overlord with no way out, and expresses his mutually humdrum existence with Angel through a song: Loser, Baby. Just before they finish singing, the loan sharks come out to get back at Husk, and a gunfight ensues between Husk, Angel and the loan shark mafia. Angel and Husk kill them all, with Angel feeling a lot better and Husk saying that he likes this version of Angel more than the persona.

Angel and Husk return to the hotel, angel working up the confidance to start shit-talking his boss, mentioning how it took him 30 minutes to count some bills, followed by a frantic Charlie hugging angel, apologizing for ruining his day and getting him in trouble with Valentino; however, Angel dismisses it, having already forgiven her, and awkwardly thanks her 'for caring about me." Charlie bursts into tears about Angel forgiving her, saying "it's so beautiful" as Vaggie looks on fondly and takes her away, and Husk invites Angel for a drink at the bar.

Features

Characters

• Employees of the Hazbin Hotel
  • Charlie Morningstar
  • Vaggie
  • Husk
  • Niffty (cameo)
  • Alastor (flashback; non-speaking cameo)
• Clients of the Hazbin Hotel
  • Angel Dust
  • Sir Pentious (non-speaking cameo)
• Overlords
  • The Vees
    • Valentino
    • Vox (non-speaking cameo)
    • Velvette (pictured)
• Travis (cameo)
• Lucifer Morningstar (indirectly mentioned)
• Loan shark demons
• God (mentioned)

Locations

• Hell
  • Pride Ring
    • Pentagram City
      • Hazbin Hotel
      • V Tower
        • Porn studios
        • Angel's dressing room
        • Balcony
      • The Black Dot

Objects

• Husk's umbrella
• Husk's playing cards
• Husk's dice bombs
• Angel's sunglasses
• Angel's tommy guns
• Angel's contract
• Love Potion
• Beelzejuice (name only)

Events

• Extermination (mentioned)

Music

Songs

• "Poison"
• "Loser, Baby"

Instrumentals

• "Loser, Baby"

Trivia

• Husk reveals that ever since he became the Hotel's bartender he knows everything about everyone staying at the hotel.
  • Sir Pentious is an "insecure buffoon" who's lonely and watches everyone sleep.
  • Charlie wants to solve everybody else's problems except her own.
  • Vaggie judges everyone and everything because she hates herself.
  • Niffty's deal is apparently too disturbing for Husk to say.
• The film Angel Dust shows the gang at the beginning of the episode has him in his pilot outfit.
• It is revealed that Angel Dust sold his soul to Valentino.
  • Additionally, it is revealed that Husk was once an Overlord, before going to Alastor for help with his losing streak in gambling. And, thus, trading his status and foregoing his soul to him.
• It is revealed that Valentino's coat is actually his pair of moth wings that he keeps wrapped around himself.
• Travis is shown to be one of the directors of Valentino's studio. It is unknown whether this is his job, and if so, how he was hired by Valentino.
  • Additionally, Travis can also be seen typing the scripts for Valentino's shows during the Poison music sequence. This is backed up by the fact that Valentino tells Angel the audience does not care about the dialogue which Travis nervously nods his head in agreement.
• The text that is readable on the script Angel Dust holds says:
  "The Pure Boy——
  (The Pure Boy) Angel Dust
  "Oh Daddy I'm a sleepy little boy, in my sleepy little——
  Purity and praying at holey (sic) little boys school the——
  tuck into bed for some well earned Z's. So sleepy... I——
  cum into my unlocked roomy woomy and fuck me non consen——
  lack clothing however, ima keep my whore boots on because——
  fucking ugly (sic) as fuck."
  Burglars
  Open door and surround the pure boy.
  (The Pure Boy) Angel Dust
  Oh no! Its exactally (sic) what I didn't want to happen. Quick hide my pure (^ gaping ♥︎) virgin holes! Please don't hurt me... unless....
  Burglars
  Don't move you spicy little cock sleeve or else I'll tie you to the radiator.
  (The Pure Boy) Angel Dust
  "Wait no! That's gay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  Burglars
  "Oh its (sic) about to get gayer."
  The robber and his best friends surround the pure boy with various gags and whips and its (sic) super hot cause we see this from Angel Dusts (sic) P.O.V
  (The Pure Boy) Angel Dust
  "Ah noooo. What if I like it nooooooo."
  Burglars
  The burglars proceed to fuck the pure boy for two hours on screen."
• One of the poses Angel does on his bed during the Poison music sequence is a nod to the official artwork of his redesign announcement.
  • Additionally, the scene where Angel leaves with his sunglasses on is similar to an image the official Hazbin Hotel Twitter posted as a teaser during pride month.
• When this episode originally aired, it had no warning. Later, after its premiere, the episode is updated with content warning about graphic depiction of sexual abuse.
• Vivziepop stated that this episode is very special to her because it is an episode that she had the concept and synopsis of since working on the original pilot, and she thinks it is one of the strongest episodes in the season.

Cultural References

• The episode title, masquerade, refers to a false display or pretense, referring to Angel Dust's facade.
• In a Poison scene, a porn actor with a heart and X mark on his chest may be a reference to the Netflix adult anthology animated series Love, Death & Robots.
• Portions of the dialogue between Angel and Valentino in the former's dressing room are similar to the fan comic "Red Smoke" by Raphielle II (credited as Arielle Somerville), one of the series' main storyboard artists.
• The magical glowing contract that Valentino has with Angel's name written on it is similar to Ursula's from Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Continuity

• Angel Dust joking about how Valentino's eyesight is so bad that he once spent a half hour counting a "stack" of bills, unaware there were only three in his hand, is a reference to him looking at three bills in the ADDICT music video.
  • According to Vivziepop, Valentino counting three bills in the ADDICT music video was something that slipped through the cracks in animation from the boards to final and he was supposed to be counting a stack of bills.
• The love potion by Velvette first shown as an easter egg in "Radio Killed the Video Star" makes a more prominent appearance in this episode.

Errors

• When Charlie was dragging Angel Dust away from the hotel entrance doors, his left eye appears on the right side of his eye.
• During the scene where Angel Dust says he is going to "do all of you" his butt freckles disappear.
• In some scenes, the black eye Angel received from Valentino earlier on in the episode disappears and suddenly reappears after he tells Husk that he knows more than just being a sex addict.
• Throughout the scene where Valentino crouches to Charlie's eye level to talk to her, his neck appears and disappears.
  • During the same scene, the three stripes on the side of Valentino's coat also disappears and reappears.
• When the Loser, Baby song starts, the puddle of vomit Husk puts his feet into disappears.
• When Husk and Angel sing and dance in front of a glowing "Loser" sign during Loser, Baby, Angel's second set of arms disappear, but reappear as they sing the last few lines.
• During the scene where Husk gives his opinion on the adult film Angel shows to the hotel residents, the white fur that stops at Husk's elbow extends to a part of his arm.

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

• Masquerade/Gallery