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Lucifer: Dreams of Redemption

Lucifer is my favourite Hazbin Hotel character, so here comes a meta about him, his arc and the themes he is tied with.

OVERTURE

"The Story of Hell" tells us plenty about Lucifer by introducing his character and preparing his story. In particular, it sets up two key themes in his arc:

Redemption

Dreams

ADAM AND EVE (REDEMPTION)

Lucifer is tied to redemption, as his and Lilith's story is basically a revisitation of Adam and Eve's.

As a matter of fact the original Eden's myth goes more or less like this.

There is a man:

Then a woman appears:

And the two fall in love:

Charlie: Drawn in by her fierce independence, Lucifer found her and the two rebellious dreamers fell deeply in love.

They are happy together, but are forbidden to get involved with a strange fruit. They disobey, evil is born and the couple is punished and fall:

Adam and Eve are banished from Eden. Lucifer and Lilith are forced into Hell. It is the same story, but the rebellious couple offers the fruit instead of eating it themselves. The basic meaning doesn't change, though. The two lovers make a mistake, which spirals into a disaster. Adam and Eve are asked to pursue goodness, so that they can be forgiven. What should Lucifer and Lilith do to gain redemption? When it comes to the Devil, his path forward lies in dreams.

LIGHT AND FIRE (DREAMS)

Lucifer is a dreamer:

Charlie: He was a dreamer with fantastical ideas for all of creation.

Who grows into a cynic:

Charlie: Ashamed, Lucifer lost his will to dream.

Interestingly, this change of heart is conveyed through Lucifer's light turning into fire. He gives up on dreams and goes from angel (light) to demon (fire). This thematically frames Lucifer's moral fall as a consequence of his loss of hope. So, it makes sense that his "redemption" will be about rediscovering dreams. Still, what kinds of dreams should he focus on?

Charlie: As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his love into the dark pit he had created, never allowing him to see the good that came from humanity, only the cruel and the wicked.

In Hell, Lucifer stops seeing the good in people. His current challenge is then to find goodness in others again. Specifically, he must better understand:

Charlie (microchosm)

The sinners (macrochosm)

ALL OF THE OTHER REINDEER

Both Charlie and the sinners share similarities with Lucifer. In particular:

Like her father, Charlie is an outcast in her own kingdom. In his younger days, Lucifer is a seraphim, who believes in free will against a world built on order and rules. In the present day, Charlie is a royal demon, who believes in redemption, despite a world full of chaos and violence.

Like their king, the sinners made mistakes, which landed them in Hell. The sinners are violent and selfish, so they are given a world of destructive chaos. Lucifer gives humans free will, so he is presented with the negative consequences of his gift.

Lucifer is like Charlie and the sinners, but he acts towards them like the Elders of Heaven:

Charlie: However, he was seen as a troublemaker by the elders of Heaven. For they felt his way of thinking was dangerous to the order of their world.

Lucifer: Alright, I mean, look, I love that you want to see the best in people, but these sinners, you know, they're just the worst. I, I don't know how much you can realistically expect from them.

This behavior has to do with Lucifer's own sin and banishment. He can't believe in himself anymore, so he doesn't believe in Charlie. He doesn't forgive himself, so he doesn't forgive the sinners. In short, he is projecting his unsolved feelings on both his daughter and his subjects. What the King of Hell is missing, though, is this:

Rosie: Hey, who down here isn't (flawed)?

His Kingdom isn't a place for perfect people, but for flawed ones. Still, it is precisely because everyone there is a loser that they have the potential to understand each other:

Angel Dust: You're a loser, baby Husk: A loser, but just maybe if we Both: Eat shit together, things will end up differently

This is true for the Big Boss of Hell himself, as it is highlighted by two motifs:

The Ugly Duckling in relation to his bond with Charlie

The circus when it comes to his relationship with Hell as a whole

Both are tied to loneliness and creativity. Still, they explore these ideas from different angles.

THE UGLY DUCKLING= FATHER AND DAUGHTER

The Ugly Duckling is about a small duck, who is refused by his peers because different and ugly. Once he matures, though, he is revealed to be a beautiful swan, who flies away victorious. This fairy tale is alluded to in Lucifer and Charlie's flashback, as he conjures a light show for her. As a matter of fact the protagonist of Lucifer's short stage play is a small duck, who becomes a shining seraphim-swan.

How does this symbolism tie to the themes of loneliness and creativity?

Loneliness- Lucifer is seen as weird by the other angels, who do not understand his way of thinking. He dreams of proving himself, so that they will accept him. At the same time, his own situation is a tragic inversion of Andersen's fairy tale. The Ugly Duckling is a duck, who takes flight as a swan. Lucifer instead is a seraphim, who falls as a demon. The Ugly Duckling finds a new family of swans, whereas Lucifer loses his family of angels.

Creativity- Lucifer tells Charlie his past in the form of a fairy-tale and gives it a happy ending. This short interaction shows how Lucifer is using fiction and creativity to handle his trauma. He channels his sadness into creation. Still, as the years go by, Lucifer's creative drive grows weaker:

In the present day, he is stuck building rubber ducks he himself dislikes (aka ugly ducklings). Not only that, but Lucifer's disdain for his creations hints to some self-hate issues:

Lucifer: That's it… Almost there… Now presenting… the magic-tastical back flipping rubber duck! Haha! That spits fire! Hoo hoo hoo! Hold the applause please, okay. Oh, thank you, thank you. Oh god, who am I kidding? This sucks!

The magic-tastical back flipping rubber duck that spits fire sucks. Still, Lucifer himself is a fire-spiting ducky:

In other words, Lucifer feels he himself sucks. He is an ugly duckling that can never become a swan. He is stuck as a duck. Why is that so? It's because Lucifer finds himself in a vicious cycle, where his loneliness and his loss of creativity are intertwined.

As he loses hope, Lucifer becomes less and less able to dream and create. This provokes more self-loathing, which leads to Lucifer cutting off his loved ones:

Charlie: No, we just have never been close. After he and mom split, he never really wanted to see me. He calls, sometimes, but only if he's bored or like needs me to do something.

How can he escape this situation? His only way out is to stop hyper-focusing on himself and to earnestly look at others. Starting with Charlie:

When I was young, I didn't really know you at all. I always felt so small. But I heard your stories and I was enthralled. The tales about your lofty dreams. I listened breathlessly. Imagining it could be me. So in the end, it's the view I had of you, that showed me dreams can be worth fighting for.

When Charlie is a child, Lucifer tells her a story about himself, his pain and his hopes. Charlie makes this story hers. She sees herself as the ugly duckling, who will one day fly free and shine at the centre of the universe. Charlie takes Lucifer's painful past and plans her own happy future. She imagines her story as a wonderful conclusion to his. Lucifer desperately needs to see this story play out. He needs it to heal and dream again. And yet, to have it, he must first accept that he himself isn't Charlie and that Charlie isn't him:

Charlie: Dad, I don't need you to protect me from this. Lucifer: I just don't want you to be crushed by them like… like I was.

He projects his failures on his daughter and opposes Charlie's dream out of fear. In this way, he forces Charlie to live a life she herself hasn't chosen. He keeps seeing himself as the main character, but Charlie is the protagonist of her own existence. She is free to write her own narrative, which might end up differently from Lucifer's. He may be the Ugly Duckling, but she will become the Beautiful Swan.

CIRCUS FREAKS = KING AND PEOPLE

The Circus is a key motif for the Hellaverse as a whole. As a matter of fact Hell is divided in seven Rings ruled by the Seven Deadly Sins that embody different circus acts. So, basically, Hell itself is a giant circus, which is why this form of enterteinment is very popular among demons. Still, it all starts with Lucifer, who used to be the Ringmaster of the sins' original circus troupe. In other words, Lucifer himself modelled Hell after the circus.

Why is that so? And how does this imagery fit with the ideas of loneliness and creativity?

Loneliness- Lucifer is the Showrunner of the greatest Freak Show of the universe. This is one of the meanings the circus metaphor stands for:

Adam: Okay, seriously! How many of you freaks do I have to fight?!

Adam: No… you (Lucifer) don't get to end this! I'm fucking Adam! I'm the fucking man, and you're just some fucking clown or something!

Hell is full of people, who failed in some way. All the sinners and demons are strange, chaotic and imperfect. They are outcasts the world belittles and refuses. They find themselves in Hell. Lonely together.

Creativity- Three-ring circus is a circus with three acts going on at the same time. On a metaphorical level, it indicates a chaotic situation. Well, Hell is a seven-ring circus. It is chaos taken up to eleven, but it is also the greatest show in all of creation. Lucifer is at the centre of it, which makes him the Greatest Showman. This is highlighted also by the King of Hell's preferred business. After all, among his known activities there are:

Its previous shows with the Seven Deadly Sins' Troupe

A theme park called LuLu World

An App similar to Ticketmaster, which is called Lucimaster

Hotels, like the decadent one Charlie uses for her project

These are all businesses linked one way or another to the enterteinment industry. Isn't it strange that the King of Hell has no control over a more strategic part of the economy, like industry, banks or health? Not at all because the enterteinment industry is the most important deal in Hell (thematically). And yet, there is another sin, who is pretty active in this business:

Mammon, the King of Greed, owns his Theme Park, organizes his own shows and even has a clown pageant to find testimonials for his brand. This probably happens as a consequence of Lucifer's depression, which lets him vulnerable to Mammon's attempts to steal Lucifer's ideas:

Octavia: Is it true this park is just a really shameless spin-off of Lucifer's far more popular Lu Lu World?

This detail is interesting because it shows Lucifer is slowly losing control of his own Kingdom. In fact, even his own area of domain is being threathened. This is not surprising, though, because Lucifer himself isn't really trying to be a good ruler. Or a ruler at all, to be honest. As a matter of fact he is shown pretty passive, when it comes to Hell and its people. Not only that, but he openly despises sinners:

Lucifer: Our "people" Charlie, are awful! They got gifted free will and look what they did with it! Everything's terrible!

Still, this is just Lucifer projecting his frustrations and self-loathing on his people. He unconsciously sees their failures, as his own failure. However, he refuses to rationalize it and consciously insists that his family should stand above the rest:

Lucifer: Mhm, you see? What'd I tell you? Charlie, sinners are violent psychopaths, hell bent on causing as much pain and destruction as they can. There's really no point in trying.

By doing this, Lucifer can't be the King of Hell because he is too disconnected from others. This makes him unable to empathize with his people and to create new dreams for them to enjoy. At the same time, this condemns him to isolation with really no-one he can relate to. He is stuck in his own head both when it comes to creativity and to emotional development. In order to move on, he should come down from his pedestal and realize that he can find companionship in his people. He too is in Hell. He too is a sinner. He too is a circus freak.

DAD-HONCHO LUCIFER

Lucifer's first step towards redemption and hope is to leave his studyroom (his own head) and to connect with the people around him. Specifically, he must be:

A better father (microchosm)

A better king (macrochosm)

In season 1, he moves in this direction and his journey is highlighted by 3 key moments:

-In episode 1, Lucifer doesn't appear, but he still kicks off the plot by setting up Charlie and Adam's meeting. By doing so, he fails both as a father and as a king. As a father, he doesn't offer any emotional support to Charlie after Extermination Day. As a king, he refuses to meet a Heaven Ambassador. Basically, he pushes all his political responsibilities on Charlie without giving her any assistance.

-In episode 5, Lucifer makes some progress by accepting to get Charlie a meeting with Heaven. Once again, he has Charlie face Heaven in his stead. However, this time he does so out of trust for her and her project. He starts supporting Charlie and seeing hope for his people. Still, he doesn't get directly involved:

Lucifer: Ok, I can get you the meeting but once you're in Heaven, I won't be able to go with you. Will you be ok?

-In episode 8, Lucifer does what he should have done since the beginning. He confronts Adam, defeats him and ends the exterminations. By doing this, he protects Charlie as a father and saves his people as a king. Not only that, but Lucifer also offers Charlie the emotional support he initially negates her:

Lucifer: Come on little lady, why the frown? In the last 10,000 years You're the first one to change this town You can do this, now I know it! For your story has just begun You can't quit now. Hell, you owe it! There's still damage to be undone You've changed my mind, you've touched their hearts Found the good in souls gone bad The stage is wrecked, the crowd is gone But by God, Charlie! The show, it must go on!

And he helps her and the group rebuild the Hotel. In this way, he starts openly supporting Charlie's ideals of redemption:

Everyone: Twice the bedrooms, we can fill it Lucifer: With more sinners than you can dream!

By the end, he is shown closer to both his daughter and her found family of sinners:

And he finds his creative drive again:

Lucifer: A remedial creation fom me! It's as easy as can be!

Interestingly, after the battle Lucifer loses his coat, which gives him a rather formal and dignified image. He appears more casual, just as he joins the group and works together with them.

Dreams through redemption and redemption through dreams. This is the basic idea of Lucifer's arc, which is centered around Charlie (microchosm) and the Hazbin Hotel (macrochosm). What do these two things represent for the King of Hell?

CHARLIE, THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Charlie is Lucifer's dream:

You didn't know that when I tried this all before My dreams were too hard to defend And in the end, I won't lose it all again Now you're the only thing worth fighting for More than anything, more than anything I'll shelter and adore you more than anything

After losing everything, he gives up on his ambitions regarding the macrochosm and focuses on the microchosm. He can't save humanity, but he can protect his daughter. He can't be a king, but he can be a father. And yet, this isn't the case because Charlie herself wants to get involved with the macrochosm. She doesn't want to be sheltered forever. So, to be a good father, Lucifer must step into the world again:

Lucifer: I'll support your dream, whatever lies in store

In this way, Charlie comes to embody Lucifer's ideals in two ways.

She is Lucifer's daughter, so she is the hope every child is to their parent. She is a small personal dream, when compared to his past ambitions of grandeur.

She is the embodyment of Lucifer (and Lilith)'s old dream:

Lucifer: I've been dyin' to find out who you are Looks like the apple doesn't fall far

Charlie is the apple that doesn't fall far. This means that she is her parents' daughter and shares their ideals. It also means that she herself is the fruit her parents gifted humanity with. After all, she is the fruit of a forbidden love. Not only that, but Overture sets up a very clear foiling:

The Fruit of Knowledge corrupts humanity, but Charlie will save it. Not the apple, but Charlie is the true magic of free will. A person born from a love story, which shouldn't have happened. A child free from her parents' sins. A woman whose name "Charlie" means "free man". Truly a beautiful synthesis of Lucifer and Lilith. A powerful embodyment of their deepest dreams. Still, how is Charlie going to free humanity? Simple, she will do so while pursuing her own dream.

THE HAZBIN HOTEL, A SECOND CHANCE

The Hazbin Hotel is Charlie's dream:

Charlie: I have a dream, I'm here to tell About a wonderful, fantastic new hotel Yes, it's one of a kind, right here in Hell Catering to a specific clientele

It is an impossible and lofty dream, which aims to change the laws of the universe (macrochosm). At the same time, it is a dream rooted in Charlie's personal desire to belong somewhere (microchosm). It is her interpretation of Lucifer and Lilith's legacy:

Charlie: But Lilith's hope remained. And her dream passed down to their precious daughter, the Princess of Hell.

In a sense, it is the evolution of Lucifer's old dream, as it is rooted in the belief human souls can choose goodness. Even after death:

Charlie: Don't you care, Sera? That just because someone is dead, it doesn't Mean they can't resolve to change their ways Turn the page, escape infernal blaze

This is precisely why Charlie uses an old hotel that belongs to Lucifer for her project. It is an unconscious attempt to bring both her parents and their dream back. This duality is well conveyed by the hotel's name:

Hazbin Hotel = a place where you can leave your past self behind and be reborn. A temporary house, where to find hospitality and redemption

Hazbin Hotel = something that used to be a hotel, as it is a crumbling building. It is symbolic of Lucifer himself. A person and a dream in ruins. An empty shell of his past self

So, the Hazbin Hotel is a place where to be reborn. This is true for both the sinners and Lucifer. It is a new dream rooted in another one as old as Earth. It is humanity and Lucifer's second chance.

FROM SHAME TO PRIDE

Lucifer starts the series full of shame. He is ashamed of himself. He is ashamed of his subjects. He is so ashamed Charlie is convinced he is ashamed of her too. Still, the Princess of Hell is determined to make her family proud:

Charlie: Don't worry, Mom. I'll make you proud.

This means that Charlie will become Lucifer's pride. This is set up also by the juxtaposition of Lucifer's two songs in episode 5.

Hell's Greatest Dad is an exhibition of selfish pride: Lucifer shows off his power to impress Charlie. He doesn't consider Charlie's wishes, but is focused on his own insecurities. This is made clear by how he keeps self-duplicating throughout the song. Lucifer's imaginary world is full of his many selves:

More Than Anything is a showcase of selfless pride: Lucifer opens up to Charlie and listens to her. Thanks to this, he creates a pocket dimension made for Charlie. This imaginary world is the Ugly Duckling with Charlie as its protagonist. Lucifer has her play with water, like the little duckling, and fly at the centre of the scene, like the swan:

Lucifer stops putting himself in the spotlight and gives it to Charlie. He goes from a selfish pride broken by shame to a selfless pride empowered by love. He leaves behind a negative manifestation of his sin to embrace a positive declination of it. This is coherent with the other sins seen so far:

Asmodeus, King of Lust, believes that lust is an art to be enjoyed by both partners and is against coercion and sexual violence. Thanks to his bond with Fizzarolli, his healthy lust blossoms into romantic love.

Beelzebub, Queen of Gluttony, enjoys sharing alcohol and food with her community, so that they can indulge into gluttony together. She gains pleasure from her subjects' fun and feels bad when they are down. Basically, she is an empath, who is very sensitive to others' emotions.

Interestingly, Mammon, King of Greed, is the only sin so far with no positive declination. This isn't because greed can't ever be portrayed positively (look at Greed in FMA), but rather because Mammon exhibits no form of selfless love. As a matter of fact love is the force that mitigates and redeems sins:

Romantic love (Asmodeus)

Community love (Beelzebub)

Familial love (Lucifer)

So, our King of Hell is going to overcome his internalized shame thanks to the pride he feels for Charlie. He is gonna deal with his depression through love. This brings us to two conclusions/predictions when it comes to Lucifer and Charlie's bond:

Charlie is going to inherit the Pride Ring. Why shouldn't she? She is the one fighting for the sinners' sake and she is the embodyment of Lucifer's pride. She would be perfect as Queen of Pride.

Lucifer is gonna realize his masterpiece is Charlie herself. She is his greatest accomplishment and creation, who will lead everyone to a freer and better life.

Lucifer means light bringer because he brought to life Charlie as the brightest light and dream:

She is both his dream and his redemption.

#hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar

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