Draft:Dad Beat Dad

"Dad Beat Dad" is the fifth episode of the first season of the adult animated television series Hazbin Hotel. It follows Princess Charlie Morningstar of Hell as she calls her absent father Lucifer to her hotel in an attempt to convince him to organize a meeting with Heaven to re-pitch the concept of using it to redeem sinners. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 25, 2024 alongside the following episode "Welcome to Heaven", and was written by Rachel Kaplan and directed by series creator Vivienne Medrano.

The episode received a universally positive critical reception, in particular for Jeremy Jordan's performance as Lucifer Morningstar.

Plot
With the next Extermination only months away, Vaggie awakens to find that her girlfriend Charlie has been up all night trying to figure out a way to prove to Heaven that the Hazbin Hotel can redeem sinners. Left with no other options, Charlie calls her estranged father, the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar, to ask him to arrange a new meeting with Heaven on her behalf. Severely depressed since his and Lilith's divorce, Lucifer initially refuses Charlie's request, only to be overjoyed by her "inviting him over" to see the hotel, informing her he will be there within the hour. After Niffty, Angel Dust, and Sir Pentious ensure the hotel is presentable enough for the King of Hell, Lucifer shows up to the hotel and is unimpressed, quickly clashing with Alastor, whom he sees as a rival for Charlie's attention ("Hell's Greatest Dad"). However, their argument is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Mimzy, an old friend of Alastor's, which eventually allows Charlie and Alastor to give Lucifer a tour of the hotel.

As the two show Lucifer around, Mimzy tells Angel Dust and Sir Pentious about the original arrival of Alastor (whom she had known in life) to Hell. He is said to have hunted down almost every previously reigning overlord of Hell upon his initial arrival before broadcasting their screams over his radio signal, coming into his own as "the Radio Demon." Husk takes Alastor away from his tour to remind him to be mistrustful of Mimzy's intentions, and how due to Alastor's seven-year absence from the public eye of Hell, others may not believe him to be as much of a threat as he was in the past. Alastor brushes him off, but when Husk mentions offhand how Alastor's soul is "on a leash" to someone else, just as Husk's soul is bound to Alastor, Alastor momentarily loses his temper and threatens to tear Husk's soul apart.

As Charlie attempts to convince her father of the hotel's merits, loan sharks looking for Mimzy attack the hotel, leading Alastor to take on his gigantic "Radio Demon" form to "remind" Hell of his power and annihilate the loan sharks. He then banishes Mimzy from the hotel in order to prevent her from endangering it any further. In observing how Charlie feels that Alastor stood up for her where he himself had not, Lucifer reconciles with Charlie upon realizing she is a "dreamer" like him ("More Than Anything"). He agrees to organize a meeting with Heaven for her, before departing. A celebrating Charlie excitedly informs Vaggie that they will both be attending the meeting, unnerving Vaggie.

Casting
The episode stars Erika Henningsen as Princess Charlotte "Charlie" Morningstar, Blake Roman as Angel Dust, Amir Talai as Alastor the "Radio Demon", Alex Brightman as Sir Pentious, Stephanie Beatriz as Vaggie, Keith David as Husk "Husker", and Kimiko Glenn as Niffty. Guest starring are Jeremy Jordan as Lucifer Morningstar and Sarah Stiles as Mimzy.

On Lucifer's characterization in the episode, Jordan described it as:

"'Lucifer's kind of a mysterious figure at the top. We don't really know much about him except that he doesn't have the best relationship with his daughter. When we meet him [in 'Dad Beat Dad'] he's clearly been pent-up and alone for quite some time. What's really cool is because the show has kind of turned everything else on its head, we've definitely turned the character of Lucifer on his head, as well[…] He's very zany. He's not like the sort of evil overlord that you would imagine him to be. He's still very much all powerful, but what would someone be like if they were just stuck in a place forever and slowly went crazy? Also, his relationship with his daughter is a little bit strained because he just doesn't know how to be a good father. I think he wants to be, and Charlie and this hotel sort of offers him an opportunity to make up for not being there as much in the past.'"

Music
Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg wrote the songs "Hell's Greatest Dad" and "More Than Anything." Jordan is stated to have taken influence from Robin Williams' performance as Genie from the 1992 film Aladdin.

Animation
The animation was made by SpindleHorse Toons, and co-produced by A24 and Princess Bento. The storyboarding was done by Nicole Rodriguez.

Marketing
A teaser for "Dad Beat Dad" was released on January 24, 2024, with the episode premiering the next day. Ahead of the episode's premiere, following the promotional reveal of Lucifer's design in November of 2022, the depiction went viral as "the embodiment of a Tumblr sexyman," with the episode's marketing over the following months subsequently being centered around this concept.

Reception
MXDWN lauded the episode as "the best one in the series thus far [that] perfectly encapsulates what makes this show entertaining," in particular complimenting its dialogue as "witty and funny while [the] emotional scenes feel impactful and real within the story and the way each character acts," praising the "incredible chemistry" between Jeremy Jordan as Lucifer and Amir Talai as Alastor. They stated that its animation "takes risks [in] the set pieces and musical numbers being more vibrant and more detailed than those in prior episodes," with The Review Geek similarly bringing attention to the episode's "utilizing [of] its musical numbers well [while] still packing an emotional punch [in] Jeremy Jordan's beautiful voice."