The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On is the eighth and final episode of the first season of Hazbin Hotel, and the eighth episode overall. It premiered on February 2, 2024, on Prime Video.Prime Video Releases Wickedly Entertaining Official Trailer for the New Adult Animated Musical Hazbin Hotel Prime Video press release
==Synopsis==
:In the Season One finale, all bets are off as the confrontation between the legions of Heaven and Hell begins.
==Plot==
As the inhabitants of the hotel and cannibals help out with reinforcing the hotel, Charlie attempts to express her appreciation for how hard they have tried at redemption, whatever it may actually be - though her uncertainty at whether they will actually survive is also clear. The night before the battle, over drinks, General Pentious nearly confesses his feelings to Cherri Bomb (who does not seek redemption, but accepted Angel's invitation to the battle) but gets cold feet - though Angel Dust later suggests to her that General Pentious may be worth pursuing. Alastor observes the group from the mezzanine with Niffty, who expresses her fondness for them while agreeing they are entertaining, Alastor merely says that they might be moving under other circumstances. Niffty then proceeds to place a tiara composed of sticks, leaves, and preserved bugs and dubs the Radio Demon "King Roach", and the two share a laugh, albeit a quite unhinged one.
Later, Charlie shares with Vaggie her fears that she has led everyone to their deaths, though Vaggie replies that even if her actions ultimately redeem just one person, it will have been worth it. Reaffirming the strength of their feelings for each other, the two sing and kiss.
Extermination Day arrives and a portal opens over the hotel, allowing a horde of Exorcists led by Adam to dive-bomb it. Alastor forms a force-field made of shadows around the hotel to keep the Exorcists' main force at bay, trapping a large number of angels inside, where they are picked off by the cannibals, the hotel staff and guests, and various Angelic weapon systems designed by General Pentious, whilst other Exorcists on the outside ram into the force-field and killed by weapons wielded by Alastor's shadow tentacles. However, Adam is able to smashes the force-field apart with a single blow; spotting Alastor and recognizing him as the force field's conjurer, he heads for the Radio Demon while the Exorcists attack the Sinners' main force.
After Alastor introduces himself, the two battle, with the Overlord goading Adam and employing various abilities to maneuver around the Archangel's wild attacks. The Vees observe the duel through their surveillance, with Vox practically crowing for Alastor's humiliation. Alastor appears to have the upper hand for most of the fight, his versatility and cunning countering Adam's sheer power and increasingly annoying him. However, Adam eventually breaks Alastor's microphone when the latter makes a miscalculation (causing Alastor to visibly lose his composure, though not his smile). Adam then deals him a severe wound across the chest, forcing Alastor to vanish into the shadows (much to Vox's fury).
Adam returns to the main battle and begins raining destructive bolts of "holy light" on the combatants, disrupting the Sinners' defenses and allowing the Exorcists to press forward; realizing that Alastor lost and may have been killed, Charlie begins to panic. Understanding that Adam must be stopped at any cost, General Pentious finally confesses his love for Cherri Bomb, kissing her, before sacrificing himself (and most of his loyal Egg Boiz) in a failed attempt to destroy Adam with his airship.
Distraught and enraged by the loss of her friend, Charlie enters her demon form. She and Vaggie ride Razzle and Dazzle, respectively, who have entered their own demon forms, toward Adam, only for Dazzle to be killed by Lute, dropping Vaggie back into the hotel's lobby with Lute in pursuit. Charlie goes after them but is attacked by Adam and thrown into the hotel's sign, electrocuting her. Pursuing her to the roof, Adam mocks her idealism and the fact that she's risking her own immortality to protect the Sinners, condemns her for being Lucifer's daughter and refers to her as 'girlie', only for Charlie to stab him in the shoulder and declare, "That's Princess of Hell to you, pig!" Surprised and angered that she managed to wound him, Adam lunges forward.
In the hotel's lobby, Lute and Vaggie duel as Lute vows to carve out her other eye, increasingly wrecking the room around them. Lute gains the upper hand and manages to impale Vaggie through the hand, but Vaggie reveals her restored wings, crushes Lute under some rubble and spares her. However, Lute tears her arm off to escape the rubble and continues attacking Vaggie, keeping her from reaching Charlie and Adam.
Meanwhile, Adam overwhelms Charlie as the Exorcists encircle Angel Dust, Husk and Cherri Bomb. Just as Adam has Charlie in a stranglehold and all seems lost, Lucifer appears and sends him ricocheting into the Hotel's sign and into a skylight with a punch to the face and catches his daughter, apologizing for his late arrival. Adam climbs out, with his mask half destroyed from Lucifer's punch, revealing his true face, while asking how many more "freaks" he has to fight. Lucifer replies that he's the only one he has to worry about, saying that Adam messed with his daughter, and now, he was going "to FUCK you", messing up the phrase "fuck you up". After Charlie corrects him, the two angels commence an aerial duel where Lucifer easily outmaneuvers, humiliates, and enrages Adam with his shape-shifting, and mocking him over his failed marriage with Lilith (and what Lucifer 'had to offer' both her and Eve, that Adam didn't). In the course of the fight, Adam fires a beam that splits the hotel in two, causing it to collapse; Charlie starts to fall into the chasm, but is caught by her father. Adam tries to strike them from behind, but Charlie intercepts his blow and hurls him to the ground, destroying what remained of his mask. Lucifer then proceeds to angrily beats him to a pulp for threatening his daughter. However, just before Lucifer can strike the final blow, Charlie steps in, attempting to show mercy.
Adam breaks down in a rage, claiming that the fight is not over and begins ranting about how he started everything on Earth, and that everyone should be worshiping him. However, he is suddenly stabbed in the back, much to everyone's shock and Vaggie's amusement. As he collapses, dying, his killer is revealed to be Niffty (who was told by Charlie at the beginning of the battle, "If you see an angel, stab it"). Shocked, Lute and the other angels retreat, cancelling Extermination Day, which is soon (grudgingly) announced by 666 News: "Anyway, congrats to Charlie and her crew for not being totally fucking useless, for once". Observing this, Rosie, Carmilla Carmine, and Vox are each shown to be pleased.
Walking through the rubble after the battle, Charlie mourns the loss of General Pentious, Dazzle, the slain cannibals and the destruction of her hotel, blaming herself for not finding a more peaceful solution. Lucifer and the others comfort her and remind her how her actions inspired them to stand up to Heaven and prove redemption is still worth going after.
Lucifer uses his magic to help rebuild the hotel to a greater state, with a painting for General Pentious in his general outfit and a golden statue of Dazzle in his demon form as to pay homage for their sacrifice, as and with Charlie and the other residents assisting, as they sing. At V tower, Vox and Valentino gleefully observe the destruction and casualties from the battle (which opens a power vacuum among the Overlords that they hope to take advantage of) and the apparent disappearance of Alastor, vowing that "the future of Hell belongs to the Vees!" As they dance in celebration, Velvette, amused, records them.
In the aftermath of the fighting, Alastor stumbles to his wrecked broadcasting-office, severely injured, and displaying extreme anxiety and frustration over both how narrow his escape was, and that someone else owns his soul (as Husk previously implied in "Dad Beat Dad") through song. He expresses his desperation to find a way to escape the deal as soon as possible, remarking ominously that once he does, "Guess who will be pulling all the strings".
Later, the hotel is finally rebuilt, with Alastor reappearing to the rest of the residents, most of whom seem delighted to see him (though notably not Lucifer or Husk). Velvette takes a selfie with Vox and Valentino making out in the background. Meanwhile, in Heaven, Sera and Emily are shocked to see Sir Pentious appear before them as an angel, proving to them that sinners can be redeemed, Emily giving an adorable squeak at the realization and Sera shocked and mortified at this revelation.
Lute, now in charge of the exorcists, confronts Lilith on a beach in Heaven. She presents Lilith Adam's halo as proof of his death and remarks in warning that "Your deal is done" and that, if Lilith wants to stay in Heaven, she has to go down and confront Charlie herself.
==Features==
===Characters===
*Employees of the Hazbin Hotel
**Charlie Morningstar
**Vaggie
**Alastor
**Husk
**Niffty
**Razzle and Dazzle
**KeeKee (cameo)
*Clients of the Hazbin Hotel
**Angel Dust
**Fat Nuggets (cameo)
**Egg Boiz
*Cherri Bomb
*Angels
**Sir Pentious
**Exorcists
***Adam
***Lute
**Seraphim Angels (non-speaking cameo)
***Sera
***Emily
*666 News staff (cameo)
**Katie Killjoy
**Tom Trench
*The Royal Family
**Lucifer Morningstar
**Lilith (official debut; non-speaking cameo)
*Overlords
**Rosie (non-speaking cameo)
**Carmilla Carmine (non-speaking cameo)
**Zestial (pictured)
**Zeezi (pictured)
**The Vees
***Velvette (non-speaking role)
***Vox
***Valentino
*Eve (indirectly mentioned)
*Baxter (non-speaking cameo)
*Arackniss (debut; non-speaking cameo)
*Cannibal Town residents (cameo)
**Susan (non-speaking cameo)
===Locations===
*Hell
**Pride Ring
***Pentagram City
****Hazbin Hotel
*****Radio Tower
*****Angel's room (door only)
****V Tower
****666 News station (cameo)
****Carmine's office (cameo)
****Cannibal Town (cameo)
*****Rosie's Emporium
*Heaven (cameo)
**Sera's office
**Unnamed beach
*Garden of Eden (mentioned)
===Objects===
*Charlie's pitchfork
*Charlie's shield
*Vaggie's angelic spear
*Alastor's microphone
*Sir Pentious' blimp
*Adam's halo
*Lute's mask
*Dazzle's statue
*Sir Pentious' portrait
*Sir Pentious' first week anniversary banner
==Music==
===Songs===
*"More Than Anything (Reprise)"
*"Finale"
===Tracks===
*Angel Dust's theme
==Trivia==
*It is revealed that a sinner can be redeemed and ascend to Heaven, though the exact cause remains unknown.
**Sir Pentious is the first known sinner to ever be redeemed, as he was reborn as an angel in Heaven after being vaporized by Adam.
***Despite being vaporized as well, none of his Egg Boiz were redeemed alongside him.
*The following characters were shown in an alternate outfit for the battle: Charlie, Vaggie, Sir Pentious, Cherri Bomb, Angel Dust, and Adam.
**Additionally, the following weapons were shown to have been upgraded with angel steel enhancements:
***Angel Dust's tommy guns have silver at the end of the barrels.
***Husk's playing cards have silver edges.
***Cherri Bombs's bombs have silver fuse and skull, and explode gold (formerly exploded red).
*Sir Pentious confessed his love to Cherri Bomb.
*Adam is the first major character to die in the series.
*The aftermath of the final battle are as follows.
**Lute is defeated but survives while having lost her left arm.
**Dazzle has a golden statue of his full demon form built in his honor.
**Sir Pentious has a memorial shrine built in his honor. Unbeknownst to the hotel staff, Sir Pentious has successfully ascended to Heaven.
**The hotel is destroyed and rebuilt with a new design.
*Adam is revealed to also be wearing a LED mask.
*It is implied that all the Exorcist Angels are exclusively women.
*Alastor confirms through song that he also made a deal with someone and wishes to be free of it. Though, the constraints of the deal are left unsaid.
*Lilith's whereabouts are finally revealed in this episode, which is in Heaven itself, wherein she can be seen relaxing on an empty beach-side.
**Lute heavily implies that Lilith made a deal with Adam to stay in Heaven. However, since Adam has been defeated, Lute tells her that if she wishes to remain in Heaven, she must stop Charlie.
*Lucifer claims that he had an affair with Eve once. Though, it's possible he only said that just to make Adam more angry.
*It is revealed that Lucifer can shapeshift and that the infamous snake he transforms into is not the only animal he can turn himself into.
*The Vees' table has a handful of photos and doodles on a pin board, one of which reveals Valentino can draw but can't seem to spell.
**Another is a photo of Carmilla with the demon poop emoji beside her taken by Velvette in "Scrambled Eggs".
*The running text at the bottom of Katie and Tom's live news broadcast breaks the fourth wall by asking when the release for the show's second season is.
*"Charlie's Pitchfork" is listed as one of the official trading cards that can be collected in the packs sold by Amazon.Trading card official checklist
*Lucifer reveals in the Finale that Hell is at least 10,000 years old and Charlie is the first one to make a change in that time.
*In the official Latin American dub, Adam instead insults Alastor by saying "Because radio is deader than your mom!".
*Charlie's arm becoming large, dark red and demonic with light red markings and black fingers is a reference to her original design from ZooPhobia having a similar arm.
*Sir Pentious calls Vaggie "Vagatha" before the latter corrects him this is not her name. This is a reference to Vaggie's human name from an earlier iteration of the character and the series.
*According to Sky Henwood, after reading the script she suggested to Vivziepop that Vox take off his jacket for the scenes he's watching the extermination.Tweet by Sky Henwood about Vox without jacket Sam Miller added that Skye also tried to get Vox out of his sweater vest too but Sam didn't allow it as she wanted Vivziepop to live with the consequences of giving him that "nerd outfit".Tweet by Sam Miller about Vox outfit
*According to Vivziepop, the line "you're sloppy" came from her first time meeting with Amir Talai in person when after she had a couple Long Islands he said "oh, you're a little sloppy".HAZBIN HOTEL and HELLUVA BOSS VIVIENNE MEDRANO INTERVIEW! Easter Eggs, Relationships, Updates! (1:01:26)
===Cultural references===
*The episode title is a reference to the real-life phrase referring to having to proceed with the performance despite any interruptions, as well, to the song by the same name by Queen.
*The running text of the news broadcast mentioning "I'm shitting and cumming right now!" is a reference to the real-life meme text format expressing one's excitement and disbelief.
*The self-devouring pose the snake on Lucifer's top hat takes during Lucifer's full demon form is a reference to the real-life Ouroboros symbol.
===Continuity===
*Lucifer asking the gang if anyone wants pancakes after the battle subsides is a callback to Alastor asking the gang the same thing but with jambalaya in the pilot.
*When Niffty is being interviewed by news reporters, she becomes frozen when being on camera just like she did in "Overture" when Vaggie tries to film her for the hotel commercial.
*This episode takes place a month after the previous episode.
*Sir Pentious did everything that Adam had on his list from "Welcome to Heaven": he didn't steal, he acted selfless, and he "stuck it to the man [Adam]".
**Lute exclaiming how she would rip out Vaggie's remaining working eye is also a callback to the flashback from "Welcome to Heaven".
**The group picture of Angel Dust, Sir Pentious, Niffty, and Husk from "Welcome to Heaven" is also seen on the door of Angel's room.
*Dazzle's death echoes Lucifer's song Hell's Greatest Dad, in which he mentions usually charging a "sacrificial lamb". During that scene, Razzle is shown tied down on a silver platter for Charlie.
*Sir Pentious' first week banner from "Scrambled Eggs" is shown.
*The Vees have a pinboard with the pictures of Charlie, as well as their other fellow Overlords, with Charlie's being a candid picture of her first entering Valentino's studio in "Masquerade".
**Carmilla's picture being filtered with a demonic poop emoji on the Vees' pin board is also a callback to "Scrambled Eggs", specifically when Velvette aims her phone at Carmilla while adding the same filter during the meeting.
**Alastor is seen in his pilot outfit from part of Vox's torn photo of the two.
==Errors==
*When Charlie sings "With a little sorcery" her elbow is not colored in.
*In some shots, Lucifer's wedding ring disappears from his finger.
*During Adam's last words, Lucifer's horns briefly disappear and reappear.
*When the group drinks on the night before the battle and Sir Pentious talks to Cherri, Charlie is seen behind him seemingly shipping the two before Vaggie dragging her away, but the pair disappear behind Sir Pentious' head.
*When Charlie tells Lucifer he messed up the verbal expression during the final battle with Adam, she appears without any battle marks on her.
*In some of the other official dubs, despite Adam breaking Alastor's microphone cane, the latter still retains his radio-filtered voice.
*When Lucifer sings the line "The show, it must go on!", Angel appears with all his six arms despite not having them out two seconds earlier nor later.
*When Vox and Valentino sing the line "The future of Hell belongs to the Vees", Velvette's fedora is absent.
*Lucifer's coat reappears at the last scene from the back when the newly rebuilt hotel was shown.
*Razzle disappears for the rest of the battle after Dazzle is defeated.
==Transcript==
View the episode's transcript here.
==Gallery==
*The Show Must Go On/Gallery
==Videos==
Season Finale First Look - Hazbin Hotel - Prime Video
Hazbin Hotel- A Job For Nifty - Prime Video
Lucifer Morningstar Fights Adam - Hazbin Hotel - Prime Video
Charlie's Motivational Speech - Hazbin Hotel - Prime Video
Hazbin Hotel- The Show Must Go On - Prime Video
El enfrentamiento FINAL en el INFIERNO - Hazbin Hotel
Lo scontro tra Lucifero Stella del Mattino e Adamo - Hazbin Hotel
Lucifer Morningstar vs. Adão - Hazbin Hotel - Prime Video
==References==
fr:Le Grand Final
pl:Przedstawienie musi trwać
ru:Шоу должно продолжаться
Category:Hazbin Hotel episodes