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Fridge Brilliance
- HFIL was established after Raditz broke the Soul Scrubber, which means that it had been in place when Nappa died almost a year later (assuming that "Ghost Nappa" really was a figment of Vegeta's imagination). While his unique mindset probably had him enjoying the community, it explains why he went to Hollywood after being brought back by Exact Words of King Kai's wish. He's Goz and Mez's first successful project.
- Episode 4 establishes that Nappa was indeed in HFIL before the Ginyu Force built the cul-de-sac, though it's unknown whether he left because of his Heel–Face Turn or because he had been inadvertently wished back. The same photo which features Nappa also shows Cui, which implies that he didn't spend that long in HFIL because, as Freeza stated, his biggest sin was simply hating Vegeta.
- Cui getting out also proves how Freeza and the others know you can get out- well, definitively, that is. One could make the argument that we don't know if Nappa had the Heel–Face Turn before or after the Dragonballs. Still, it was the reason that Freeza was able to tell Cell how to get out of HFIL in the first episode.
- Episode 7, "Daddy's Home" brings up a new possibility- King Cold is basically the manager of HFIL, and frequently lectures his "Princess" about how being a jerk is not how to get out of HFIL.
- Nappa being in HFIL could be also a good explanation of his Heel–Face Turn (at least forgoing his homicidal ways), being literally sent to hell really shakes up someone and it doesn't take long for even Cell to realize his situation. Nappa really doesn't want to be sent back to HFIL in case he dies (again) so he wised up and decided to stop acting like a "Morally-Compromised Malefactor" upon being revived.
- Aside from the "father-was-a-brilliant-scientist" thing, Cell and Raditz have something else in common: both were responsible for Goku's two deaths. Raditz and Goku were killed by Piccolo, and then Goku stopped Cell from destroying Earth.
- It makes sense as to why Goz and Mez let Cell talk about his life story despite pushing Freeza to get to the point— he's the new one here compared to how everyone else has been in HFIL for at least a few years.
- Further, every non-Ogre in HFIL (except Super Kami Guru) was once a member of the Planet Trade Organization, and thus worked for Freeza, so they already know what Freeza is all about.
- A very easy to miss one: Freeza mentions he was killed by "the" Super Saiyan. Not "a", not "one", but "the" Super Sayian. This wasn't a mistake. Freeza knows there is more than one Super Saiyan, it's just Freeza being himself, stroking his ego trying to make his death sound more dramatic like he was killed the only Super Saiyan even if he knows it's a lie.
- Cell isn't the first person to make "cutting" remarks to Freeza. He does have his DNA, though.
- This also might be why Freeza froze in apparent rage. Cell's words cut far deeper than he thought since he probably made Freeza remember the battle of Namek where he unintentionally cut himself in half and had to beg for Goku for his energy, and he still failed to kill Goku in one last cheap shot. While not being the cause of his death per se, this, for someone like Freeza, was just as bad.
- Freeza leaving out the "some achieve greatness" part in the Twelfth Night reference in Episode 2 makes sense when you remember that Freeza never had to work towards any of his accomplishments. He was born with his incredible power level and his father gave him control of the empire when he was a child. In fact, this is a bit of foreshadowing- the plot of "Resurrection F" is canonically the first time that Freeza decided to train himself to become stronger.
- Cell's slowly developing Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Raditz makes some form of sense. Aside from a hint that perhaps Cell is starting to believe his only way out of HFIL is be a good person, he has the DNA of Piccolo and Gohan in him
- Gohan is a good kid and is absolutely friendly to most people. He had his issues but he still managed to work through them. Ironically, Cell's killer might be slowly influencing him.
- Piccolo used to be a villain himself but managed to regain redemption thanks to one of Goku's own kin in the form of Gohan. Raidtz, Goku's brother, might be slowly turning into the same Morality Pet Gohan was for Piccolo, just as much Raditz is now for Cell.
- Raditz is also technically part Uncle/sibling to Cell through Goku and Gohan's dna. They're family (kind of)!
- Frog Ginyu repeatedly attacking Cell makes a whole lot more sense when you remember that Cell is part bug and frogs eat bugs.
- Alternatively Cell's coloring and black spots make him look Frog-like, so Frog Ginyu may see Cell as a fellow frog. So Frog Ginyu's assaults may be a form of play, fighting to assert dominance, and/or mating.
- And while the Ginyu Force can't agree on whether it's the frog or the severely traumatized captain in the leader's body, a possibility is that the frog wasn't evil, but King Yemma saw Ginyu's rap sheet and sent him to HFIL without checking whether or not the proper soul was inside. Being a frog (albeit an alien one), the animal wouldn't have grasped the ramifications and simply carried on in the cul-de-sac... which is exactly what was confirmed in Episode 6.
- In Episode 4, Goz and Mez mentions there's Super Hell. Considering we don't see King Cold in HFIL, maybe the German ogres weren't lying about Super Hell being a real thing.
- Or perhaps not- the end of episode 6 proved that King Cold is able to visit.
- In the stinger of Episode 5, Cell yells out Freeza's name in a very "Saiyan" type of way, and Freeza is extremely annoyed by it. Of course Cell could make that yell, he is part Saiyan. It also explains why these two naturally hate each other.
- All the pranks the Ginyu Force pull on Cell, the latter questions how and why they have all the supplies they have, especially the mouse traps. It makes sense given that they built all the houses to begin with and are rewarded with a bunch of stuff as well. They most likely have a lot of supplies built up.
- Furthermore, how did they tip Guru to the floor when all of the MCMs (Minus Cell and Freeza) couldn't budge him? Guldo once boasted that his psychic powers are unrivaled in the galaxy, and the security anklet doesn't block such abilities. This also means that while the Ginyu force can't move Guru with the anklets on, Guldo's telekinesis is strong enough to take him out of his chair and put him on the ground a short distance away. It also can explain how they were able to roll Guru like a steamroller with relative ease in episode 8.
- Guldo's greater use of his time-stop ability (which requires holding his breath) could be explained by being dead, which in canon gives one greater limits (Goku could use Super Sayjin 3 easier in the afterlife).
- Of course Captain Ginyu would be able to go through the Soul Scrubber- DBZA stated that a person's ki level was tied directly into their body (and techniques). When Ginyu died, he had the body of a frog, and therefore could go straight through the Soul Scrubber no problem.
- Dodoria and Raditz hooking up (presuming they are actually sneaking out at night to have sex and Raditz really wasn't just making a Sarcastic Confession) makes a lot of sense. Firstly, whilst Dodoria may be pretty unappealing to our human eyes, Raditz is an alien with experience with a far broader array of sexes and genders... not to mention that Saiyans have been shown to have something of a taste for xenophilia in canon (see: Vegeta's movie-only brother and his alien wife). Secondly, despite her looks, Dodoria is noted in-universe to be an incredibly skilled and satisfying sexual partner, with even Burter commenting on her "maddeningly skilled tongue". Finally, one of the many torments of HFIL is that there's just no very much to do, leaving boredom as something all the prisoners have to struggle with — why not use sex as a way to pass the eternity?
- Cell being a Graceful Loser about his death can be traced to a few factors. First is that Gohan was the most powerful being on the planet when he killed Cell; it's not like Cell exactly got taken out by some second stringer so he can take some pride in knowing it took someone that powerful to put him down. Second is that Cell had some massive Blood Knight tendencies and was thrilled when Gohan lived up to the hype. Gohan killing him was probably the absolute best death Cell could have hoped for for himself—going out in a down to the wire battle with the strongest person in the world. His only real sore point with the affair is that Vegeta "cheap-shotted" him during their climactic Beam-O-War, which proved to be a fatal distraction.
- A small one during the fight between Cell and the Ginyu Force in Episode 6: when Cell goes to hit Guldo he makes sure to tangle him with a spinning kick attack. This isn't just a showy attack, Cell does that to prevent Guldo from using his time stopper, which he does by holding his breath, after all it's pretty difficult to think about holding down your breath when you're being spun as if you were in a blender.
- While the ending of Episode 5 showed that the Ginyu Force was responsible for the pranks on Cell, except the trash bin according to Burter in Episode 6, there was actually a small hint that Freeza was responsible for that one even before the reveal that the Ginyu Force wasn't. In the Stinger, Freeza made it clear via the Running Gag of the Chore Wheel that he simply cowed Zarbon into doing his chores. Yet, he had been outside with Zarbon putting trash out when Cell's trash bin collapsed. In short, he literally had no reason to bother being there unless he had in fact sabotaged Cell's trash bin, and was waiting to see it happen.
- Of course King Cold would know who really killed Freeza... He was there when it happened.
- King Cold's words of "Other HFILs" raises and answers a point that's been brought up before- where are all the other strong souls that have died over the course of DBZA? There's a lot of Freeza Forces that died on Namek that were stronger than Raditz, but haven't been seen or mentioned in the Cul-De-Sac. Well, there's the answer- the Cul-De-Sac is not the only rehabilitation camp.
- There's also the movie villains and Dr. Gero, who are also unaccounted for. Perhaps they are in one of the other HFILs. Except for Kochin, who was a normal human save his laser cane and gatling gun hand and Cooler who was still alive with only a portion of his head as he cursed out Goku and Vegeta. Gero's presence would depend on if his android body controlled by his brain (well over Raditz' level of strength) was measured for the soul scrubber or if his original body was like Freeza getting his back.
- Episode Nine brings confirmation to this, with Cooler and Bojack showing up as "Representatives" of the other HFILs.
- It also implies the presence of Dr. Gero, with Guru's security system having the symbol of the Red Ribbon Army and the code could be read as GEVO, the name of Gero's son, or HEVN, where Android 16 ended up.
- The mere existence of other HFILs make sense when you put people like Freeza and Cooler into the equation. Things are all but granted to get nuclear at a moment's notice if those two were anywhere close to each other (imagine Cell and Freeza but much worse and far more personal) making any potential rehabilitation all but impossible not only for them, but to other HFIL residents as well.
- King Cold also takes a shine to Cell- saying that "You're one of us now," and "Men like you and I can smell our own blood." While this could just mean "You're dead and in Hell, just like everyone else," and "We're not so different," consider that Cell is part Freeza. King Cold could very well mean "You are of my DNA, and part of my family."
- Which would explain why Cell said "Yes, Daddy," when King Cold told him to hush earlier in the episode. In a roundabout way, King Cold is Cell's daddy!
- It would also explain why he's okay with Cell badmouthing him, since Cooler does exist in this canon, as Freeza pointed out on Namek, seeing a family member mock Freeza probably brings back memories.
- Goz purposefully pairing Cell with Freeza in the "Trust Fall" exercise. King Cold is essentially the boss of the ogres and they were all but eager to let Freeza show how much he had improved and make his daddy proud... but Freeza being Freeza either didn't notice or didn't care preferring to see Cell suffer than to impress King Cold.
- In the Freeza Day Special, Freeza dictates that the Ginyu Force won't be rebuilding the house that's destroyed that year in a clear bid to leave Cell (and his housemates) homeless. The ogres only seem mildly concerned about this and stay quiet afterwards. When their own house is destroyed, one of them is heard lamenting that his phone was left inside the house when it was bombed instead of about being homeless. Why? Because the Ginyu's won't be "rebuilding" Goz and Mez's house—they can instead build a new one.
- It makes sense why everyone gave Freeza a lousy gift for his Day. The main reason is that Raditz and Guru's house has been blown up for the past 3 years straight, and with Cell living with them now? No one saw a reason to try hard since it was practically guaranteed.
- Also, despite the gift being lousy, there's a reason Freeza didn't blow up their house: They at least got him a gift. The ogres, as far as we saw, didn't get him anything.
- There were bits of foreshadowing that the Christ- er, Freeza Day special wasn't real.
- Freeza blows up a house with a bomb- which Burter specifically stated that they didn't have access to in episode 6.
- Raditz claims that Freeza Day isn't celebrated on "Ee-arth," despite hearing his computer say quite clearly that it was called "Earth" when he first arrived. King Cold, on the other hand, stated that despite knowing the correct name, he would continue to call it "Ee-arth."
- The Ogres are completely fine with Freeza blowing up houses, when previously, when Freeza acted up, the Ogres would either protest his behavior (Freeza climbing over the other MCMs and claiming that he won) or delivered a beating before violence could ensue (shortly before Cell was about to reveal that Trunks was Vegeta's son).
- In episode one, Cell somehow knows that Dodoria is female despite Gero having no information on anything that happened on Namek. However, it's also established that he has the knowledge of all the fighters' techniques, even beyond their ki attacks. So it makes sense to assume he also has Freeza's knowledge of his soldiers.
- All of the episodes King Cold has been a part of has shown off more of his flamboyant personality, which confirms the reason he has employed The Ginyu Force to begin with, remember that they work for him and not Freeza, he would be one to actually love their flamboyant traits like their dancing.
- The code in Episode 9 could mean either "GEVO" or "HEVN." Gevo was the basis of Android 16, who went to Heaven when he died.
- How come Cooler makes no attempt to be nice to the Ogres when they criticize his sarcasm as lying? Because he doesn't have to be nice to them, he's not a part of their HFIL jurisdiction, so while he can't overall attack them, he isn't about to be pretend like Freeza, who more or less has to do so.
- Bojack not being too bothered about his death makes sense: dead or not he's still ''unbound'' and free to enjoy the HFIL community instead of being confined to King Kai's planetoid.
- This troper never realized how in Episode 2, Zarbon seems to be ashamed about how his manner of speaking were completely filled with innuendo, but as of Episode 10, he's completely fine with it now, with everyone being annoyed at best. It's likely to do with the Dodgeball match in Episode 3. Everyone saw what would happen if Zarbon went berserk, to the point Freeza was worried as well. Everyone likely let Zarbon continue to his way of speaking with no shame because it's better than the alternative.
Fridge Horror
- Imagine what Raditz's time in HFIL was upon seeing Freeza there for the first time who would be very pissed and wanting to vent off his stress, ESPECIALLY on another Saiyan. Episode 2 show us just one of the times he was tortured in there with neither Mez or Goz stepping in to make Freeza and his henchmen stop. It's no wonder he's so moody.
- Freeza is an in-universe sadist- he loves watching people suffer. Given his... proclivities, it's likely that he's cowed the other residents into obeying him, as he implied in episode 9. It's quite likely that it was... most unpleasant for all involved.
