Hazbin Hotel: The annual Extermination explained

Charlie’s hopes and dreams for the Hazbin Hotel stem from a dreaded event that takes place in Hell every year: the Extermination. Here’s what it is and why Charlie is against it.

The Amazon Prime Video series catalogs Charlie Morningstar’s journey to make a change in Hell. Despite being the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, she has a purer heart and sees a way to help the demons. The Hazbin Hotel was created with the hopes of rehabilitating them.

But why? Hell is self-explanatory: a place where sinners and people who have committed indiscretions are sent instead of the pearly gates of heaven. So why does Charlie want to change their fate with the hotel and commit them to becoming better?

The answer is the annual Extermination that Heaven enacts on Hell. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is the annual Extermination in Hazbin Hotel?

Every year, Heaven enacts the Extermination on Hell where angels swoop down to eradicate and kill multiple demons.

Charlie monologues in the first episode that Heaven needed to find a way to ensure they remained in control. As Lucifer and Lilith introduced evil into the world, more and more people were committing misdeeds and going to Hell. Lilith took control as its leader and encouraged and uplifted demons with her voice and song. Soon Hell’s numbers grew and so did its power.

Fearful of rebellion, Heaven created the annual Extermination (yes, it is similar to The Purge). They created an army of angels devoted to flying down to Hell once a year and killing demons to lower their numbers of overpopulation and avoid the risk of an uprising. Charlie sees it as unfair and hopes the Hazbin Hotel will redeem them enough to be sent to Heaven instead of being eradicated and getting rid of the Extermination.

In the middle of Hell is a glowing and bright clock that counts down until the Extermination. It becomes Charli’s ticking time bomb unless her plan works. Charlie meets with Adam in Episode 1 to discuss the purge. She feels it unfair to kill demons when they were once human souls for the sake of overpopulation. Adam disagrees that good and evil are cut and dry.

Soon after their meeting, Heaven announces they have moved up the extermination date and will take place in 176 days. But Adam and/or Heaven have a secret plan up their sleeves.

You can check out our other Hazbin Hotel coverage below:

Hazbin Hotel release schedule: Dates & episodes | How tall is Lucifer? | Is Jason Statham in Hazbin Hotel? | Who voices Adam? | Heaven and Hell explained