Staticbelle nation, how are we doing? I really wish the commentary didn't drag this up. There's already enough people acting like putting Vox with a woman is off limits and this won't help. At the same time it's like, tough shit I love Staticbelle and hate Staticmoth and Radiostatic. I'm not going to pretend I feel any different.
Nobody is just born being a bad person. No, not even that real life person you hate. I don't expect the show to dig much deeper into his story, but Brighter takes place well into his adulthood. You can't just say "yeah he was always this way" when there's decades of his life that preceeded all this. The idea that some people just are bad, they're just innately evil, is so antithetical to the show's entire message. I don't GET people that think this would be a good writing decision.
I suppose I should start by pointing out I'm biased because I want this for Vox. I really want a redemption arc for him, specifically with Charlie's involvement. Something fans have brought up at times is whether or not she should involve herself with him at all because of his behavior towards Angel. Before I really get to the meat of this I want to say that this does raise a question about the show that it has not addressed. What do you do when somebody that mistreated one of your residents shows up wanting to rehabilitate themselves? It's an interesting question to pose to someone like Charlie. However, much like the question of "how would winners feel if someone who abused them got redeemed and sent to Heaven" this hasn't been directly confronted. I'm reminded of when I wrote about the political implications of Vox's story in season 2 and how Charlie never stops to consider why a sinner would prefer his rebellion to her hotel. I believe the show's failure to address this to be discouraging when it comes to other equally complex questions. I can't help but worry that Viv doesn't feel comfortable addressing these topics even though she opened up space for fans to ponder them. Maybe it will happen in another season, but quite frankly I'm tired of having to say that all the time.
Okay so hypothetically if Vox showed up at a time where Angel is with the hotel, should Charlie allow him in? I think the answer is yes. She has her mantra about everyone having the ability to change, if she denied someone the chance to prove it then she becomes a hypocrite. To say that she should turn him away because making the hotel a safe space for Angel is more important than following through with her own ethos and helping anyone that asks for it, well I'm sorry but I'm not sure you understand the show. At that point it's saying Charlie needs to play favorites and only help people she happens to personally like. As an Angel fan I get people's nervousness at the idea of Vox occupying space with him, I'm kinda dreading them sharing scenes next season, but I also think it paints a bad image if Charlie essentially says "no, my hotel is only for people I think are worthy". Because that's exactly what all this implies. This idea that Vox or anybody else involved with certain bad shit isn't deserving of staying at her hotel.
I also find it interesting that people will talk about how Vox probably wouldn't seek redemption for "the right reasons". A lot of people think he'd only do it because he's trying to pull himself out of the hole he made for himself, but I don't think this is a bad thing. Angel only stayed at the hotel to get away from Val and to have a free living space, he didn't care about redemption until well after the fact. Pentious stuck around because Charlie offered him forgiveness. Is this doing it for "the right reasons"? Through wanting to overcome the problems you created for yourself you can become a better individual. In a way that's actually a big part of Angel's story. If Vox hit a point where he realizes he's only made himself miserable and needs to try something new then that can still serve as a foundation for positive growth. It is also possible he could start feeling guilty for what he did while knowing he can't undo it all. Just because season 2 didn't end with him sobbing for forgiveness it doesn't mean this is impossible. People also act like Vox just shouldn't show his face again after season 2. That he did something so awful he should never be around anybody. Apparently he should just become a hermit or try killing himself again? I don't understand this line of thinking, I really don't.
All of this is hypothetical obviously. There's so many places his character can go. I just think a lot of the arguments against Vox potentially improving himself with Charlie's guidance are deeply flawed. If the show never tries to redeem an antagonist then it's message feels weaker. I also think Vox is too interesting of a character to just never try developing him in a new direction. But that's just me.
For how much people say Vox is obsessed with Alastor, and how he acts in the last half of season 2, its actually interesting how long he left him alone. They don't have a scene together in the same space until season 2 ep 4 (idk if you count Stayed Gone, I don't). After Stayed Gone and the scene where Alastor gloats through Pentious's video watch (an interaction he instigates btw) they just don't interact. He has his cameo at the end of Poison and then we don't see him until the finale where he's just an observer. Vox doesn't go out of his way to fight him or actually does anything until Alastor starts his plan. The closest you get his Vox asking where he is in ep 3, but Alastor leaves at that point. So yeah Vox was doing a good job minding his business. I'd ask "who is obsessed with who", but I'm not actually sure if Alastor is capable of caring...
Pandering, fanservice, whatever you want to call it we do have to admit the Hellaverse loves dipping into it. It happens with a lot of characters and ships, in fact I'd argue it happens more for Helluva Boss. Regardless, it happens all the time. Even if the characters aren't doing anything romantic or sexual in nature, putting them together for a scene or merch can still scratch that itch. It's your babies and they're together! I've seen enough anime in my life to recognize this and I think Viv and her crew are wise to it as well. I bring all of this up because I wish the fandom would just admit this is what's going on. People will argue stuff like "it's not fanservice, they're just the most popular characters". Yeah, you're still describing a form of fanservice. It's honestly okay to admit this, I know I wish Radioapple shippers would accept that they're being catered to and move on. For me it becomes a problem when the fanservice dominates the content for certain characters. I'm sure somebody isn't going to like me calling this out in regards to certain things of Vox and Alastor. I'm sure somebody paying attention to my other posts would say "but if they ever make more Charlie and Vox merch would you call that fanservice" and I will tell you "yeah". That would be them trying to appeal to the people that like the two of them together. Likewise the newest Adam and Lute merch was designed to appeal to their fans and it worked, I bought them. It's just that in some cases, like Vox with Charlie, it doesn't happen often. However, it happens constantly in and out of the show for these two bozos.
Radiostatic, Radiosilence, Murdermedia, its all the same thing to me and its a lot to deal with. I met Christian Borle recently (he's lovely btw) and they sure give him a lot of prints that include Alastor. Way more than prints of Vox by himself, unless that's just how it was at this specific con. It's no surprise to me that artists working on the show actively ship it. Silentzound has talent and I'm not trying to take shots or anything, but its hard for me to see their official print without remembering all their Radiostatic art. The day that print dropped it was everywhere and then it just felt like "yup, here they go pandering to that ship again". The infamous Offer card is another example, I kinda don't like seeing Box Vox anymore because they often use this design to pander to this ship.
Now if we're talking in the show, not factoring in merch, there's still a lot to their rivalry and how it's presented that reads as pandering. Vox getting in Alastor's space the way he does is intentional. Many fans noted how sexualized things were on his end and it certainly happened often. Same goes for establishing that Vox had an infatuation with Alastor even though it doesn't actually feel necessary. I know I'm biased because I openly dislike the ship and how it consumed season 2, but that's just it. Once the deal with Alastor was made it felt like so much of Vox's character was orbiting around him, which in its own way felt like fanservice to me. I still think it's absurd that Vox was apparently only ever vulnerable and affectionate when he was with Alastor. Yes as Vincent he was a villain, but I'd also like to think he was still a complete person that experienced a range of emotions. They made Alastor too important to his story. Sure, just have Vox stop involving himself with his other subplot with Charlie and focus more on Alastor. Make his downfall hinge on how obsessed he is with Alastor to the point where he looks uncharacteristically stupid. Who cares about other things they set up for him? It should still boil down to how desperate he is for Alastor. Just go and give the people what they want! Well what if I don't want it?
So, again, fanservice in and of itself isn't always a bad thing. Even when it's for things I don't like it isn't an automatic problem. I'm not immune to it for the things I like. It becomes a problem when it makes up so much material you find for the characters though. It's exhausting seeing them always winking to specific ships when you're somebody that doesn't like them to begin with. I really do just want Vox by himself sometimes, but it feels like the show and the marketing is trying to force me to like his big ships. After all, they're canon unlike the things I enjoy and Vox is so tied up in these relationships. And conveniently enough its also what sells. Sometimes its hard being part of fan spaces for Vox while disliking Radiostatic and Staticmoth (because that ship isn't off the hook either). At this point I just keep complaining about these topics and people don't seem to like it, sometimes I need to get it off my chest though. Being able to voice these thoughts is what drew me here to begin with. Let me have this.
Okay I'm not saying this proves anything, but its more than a little interesting they omitted Vox from this entire collection. And don't tell me its because it's a friendship theme and Staticmoth is something different. They made Guitarspear merch in this same collection. I know people are gonna think I'm nuts and probably shit all over this post since my Hazbin takes haven't been doing too well lately, but my impression of Vox's relationships with the other Vees being fractured feels validated. If I can say something wilder, I wonder if we may see them break apart in the show like I want to see. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but just like Vox being unhappy in merch this is more than a little interesting.
I just think it could have been great.
Imagine being dragged into a decades old beef between some dude from Louisiana and a glorified weatherman and you know nothing about it.
Not my meme, and I genuinely don't know where I can post all this so sorry I guess. I just...really wanted Charlie and Vox to fight. It could have been great. Instead we get to see the men go off and have their big dumb fight while Charlie is off helping sinners from the rubble even though that can't kill them and now Vox is RIGHT FUCKING THERE using the stupid cannon and you're not even gonna TRY to do anything about that!? Not worth any attempt!? No, because we need to give that moment to the Vees because fuck our protagonist I guess! Not like Vox wasn't trying to ruin her hopes and dreams all season and also turned her dad into a battery and berated her about her mother. Yup. No personal stakes in this whatsoever! In the end the stuff between Vox and Charlie just kinda ends, but it didn't feel very important when you gave all those bigger scenes to other characters. She didn't even get to be the one that starts Hear My Hope! You know what I'm saying? I know a lot of people hate the thought of sweet little Charlie having to dirty her hands, but dammit I wanted to see it. I wanted this thing with her and Vox to lead to something big. I guess in the end there's just no space in Vox's story for anybody outside Alastor and the Vees. Yippee.
I see this sentiment that Charlie is like a daughter to Alastor and I'm always rather perplexed by it. In Hell's Greatest Dad it seems obvious he doesn't mean it and just wanted to get a rise out of Lucifer. Alastor is also clearly using Charlie for some unknown purpose. We know now that Rosie made him go to her hotel and whatever reason he has for returning definitely isn't because he just wants to help Charlie. He doesn't do anything without a reason and those reasons are generally always self serving. I also just wanna remind people he forced Charlie to say that thing in season 2 despite her begging him not to. And the way he touches her and gets in her physical space...is not how a father should treat a daughter. Never forget he grabbed her face and said she should smile more. I'm mostly saying this to illustrate the lack of respect he seems to have for her boundaries. Viv has echoed this idea he's like a dad to her in the season 1 commentary and it just baffled me to hear her say that. At no point in either season am I convinced he thinks of her as more than a means to an end. He may come to care about her in his own Alastor way by the end of the series, but currently I don't believe this.
Now from Charlie's perspective, she does value Alastor in spite of him obviously being untrustworthy. She was the only character besides Niffty that even cared he was gone. However, to me the way she interacts with him never reads as her thinking he's like a father. She does him though and I think part of her arc going forward will involve realizing she puts too much faith in the wrong people. But fatherly? I don't see it. Erika has also used these kind of words to describe them (to my memory I don't think Amir has?) and it makes me wanna ask what I'm missing. Either something is just lost on me here or this isn't being communicated well to the audience. In any case I just see a woman being manipulated.
I'm always surprised by how rare it is to find Mediabelle fans. In any case I like the idea of Vox and Charlie together and Alastor is trying to process the fact that he's now trapped between two very similar people.
A criticism I keep seeing is that Charlie should have been more considerate to Alastor's situation in season 2. Specifically his wound and all that he did for the hotel. People bring this up a lot. The problem is that Alastor straight up wasn't doing his job, he even gloated about it. He also avoided her when she tried talking to him, he literally does not speak to her until the finale, and he kept his injury a secret. Then he quits and does his whole thing with Vox the rest of the season. How is any of this Charlie's fault? I know a lot of people don't like her arc in season 2, I have issues with it, but all this Alastor stuff isn't among them.
Sure she could have ignored Vaggie and tried going off to get him back, but Alastor was doing exactly what he intended on doing. His whole plan revolved around this silly deal with Vox and he definitely wouldn't have allowed Charlie to intervene with it. Everything going on with Alastor this season was the result of his own choices, Charlie had nothing to do with it.
All credit to the original writer, but this quite literally is how I feel about Vox and some of the fandom. I know people here hate hearing that he's a miserable self hating weirdo, but that's honestly kinda why his character works. He feels like more of a person because he's a big wet cat of a man doing the absolute most to conceal it under a persona. If he was only the persona he wouldn't connect with the audience as much as he has. This is also why fans calling him hypersexual is so strange to me.
I feel like I've been waiting so long for this to actually come out. So happy to have it.
Alright. So more than a few times when the subject of Vox getting a redemption arc comes up I see people say they don't want this because they want him to stay the villain. People will talk about wanting everything about him to remain the same, but why do people even want him to be a static character? The entire show is built around character development. Why deny a character you say you like the opportunity to grow? I understand people resist change, but him developing doesn't have to come at the expense of who he is. There's more to him than his capacity for violence and cruelty, or I at least think there's more. I just don't see what is so appealing about holding a character back like this.
It's my birthday and these are my gifts. I'm so happy. The only one I haven't seen yet is Network, very excited to see that. Very excited to rewatch His Girl Friday too.