#(kinda) helluva boss critical

[orionhelluvaranting]

Stolass has been banished, lost all of his powers and suffered from a nervous breakdown but still...

That's how he kicks Andre's ass right after arriving at the palace. And he lifts a huge ice statue up like it's nothing. And, uh... Elsa's evil rip-off just lies down, squeaks and sucks it up submissively despite he has appropriated ALL of Stolass' powers!!! Bitch, WTF?!

Also a little bit earlier in the same episode:

Vivzie, could you please be consistent at least throughout a SINGLE fucking episode of your own show?! You literally have so little to no interest in something outside of the glorified toxic yaoi you doesn't even try to hide it anymore!

[shitpost-faerie]

Helluva humanizations Pt.2:

*untwinkifies ur twink* Fizzzzzzzz

[randomrandomalright]

Guys remember it’s okay to cheat and leave your wife if your gay…

[hbheavensent]

Lucifer/Lilith

I HATE that TWINK WITH THE TOPHAT, but Lilith is My Girl who I Cry About,,,

HUGE Content Warning for Grooming and general abusive relationships, like,,, I cannot stress this enough. And depression. That too.

Let's start with The Twinks design. Honestly I don't mind Cannon Lucifer all that much- I mostly just wanted more contrast with his outfit but it's not far off from what I would interpret. I like that he's short in comparison to Hell's VERY tall residents and the first humans (who are all between 8ft-11ft tall). I really wanted to lean into a more uncanny/weird look for him, so I got rid of his eyebrow privileges and his pupils. I also let him keep his cheeks and the hair since both are fitting for his look. Lucifer, in Heaven looked much the same but now is a shell of what he was. A Self Made man, a Coin Operated Boy if you will. Lucifer is obsessed with how he is perceived, both wanting to be intimidating and lovable. Wanting no one to dare approach him but to also seem wildly approachable. Lucifer's whole bit is wanting to have his cake and eat it too, not realizing he just cannot have that. His body is.. not organic in the traditional sense, he has skin and blood but his body is hollow except for the shell of it- which does have a thin layer of veins and all that good stuff.

For his Demonic Fuckoff Form, I did keep him the same height and stuff because honestly it IS just funny. His wings are mechanical, he made them himself, which is a bit of an illusion to Daedalus of Icarus fame and leaning into the heavy denial of his own holiness- which is also why his fake snake familiar curls around his horns like a halo! (Something I enjoyed in the cannon look, but it was inconsistently used.) I also made his outfit tear off, as I imagine his wings 'deploy' out. It also happened to end up looking a bit like those pictures of Jesus coming out of his Rock Hole which was accidental but I'm gonna say it was on purpose.

My Lucifer is much... more obviously evil. He's LUCIFER, ya know? He's the guy who kept pressing, interacting with humans despite everyone in his circle telling him not to- then grooming them, getting with Lilith before the apple. Before humans had free will. He fully knew what he was doing, he just didn't care to look at the consequences. If every other sin who fell from Heaven was compelled, driven by fate.. Lucifer was the only one of those seven who you could say was aware of himself, in control of himself. We can talk more about Adam/Eve and Cain/Able later, but since free will only existed post The Apple Incident, that means Lilith had no real life outside of Hell. There was no time for her to have committed sin, besides the marriage to a man when she had no idea what that could mean. Let's talk about Lilith. I designed her to look meek, downturned. I considered using owls in her design but I wanted to lean into the moon aspect of her character more subtly. I found that rabbits were often associated with the moon and they fit into being a common prey for snakes- so I worked with that for her shape language. I also sort of took inspiration from both nuns and wedding outfits for her dress. The crown/veil on her head cannot be removed, it's apart of her body and forever stuck to her.

The flowers I used are Butterfly Weeds, which in a bouquet are a sort of warning to leave the sender alone. That they do not want to be associated with you. They also have the double meaning of vitality, health, and resilience! Which is a sort of cruel irony. I also put horse-skull gloves on her hands to represent her connection to death in general.

As for her role, I decided that Charlie will actually be Eve/Roo's child but Lilith would treat her as her own. Naturally, I'm making it so that Lucifer made Charlie magically and boasts about how GOOD he was to his wives to do so, though it's mainly so he could control Charlie easier. Lilith saw this and took Charlie away from her father as often as she could, and with Lucifer being such a sore loser and not wanting to even TOUCH Sinners- Lilith thrived as the Queen of Hell, showing Charlie what it's like to love purely and care. However as years went on, Lilith became depressed. She was already inclined to this behavior/feeling and only fell into it more so when Adam started executing Sinners by the handful. Heaven was scared of Lilith's power, and so Sera sent Adam with a fleet of his own Angels to keep the numbers down in Hell. Adam sort of does whatever Sera asks, even if he's not a fan but we will GET THERE laterer. (His personality is more or less the same with some added depth.)

There came a time when Lilith was tired. Too tired to continue being a mother to a child of a man she hated, too tired to try living a life that was never in her own control. Being hated. Being idolized. Around when Charlie is 13 (because she is JUST 20 in my version of the series), she found Adam during an extermination. Being that Lilith is not a Hellborn and IS just a Sinner, she begged Adam to kill her. It was a tough sort of back and forth (THAT WE WILL GET INTO LATER) but eventually Adam does so, which will later be dramatized by Lucifer to Charlie as a battle when it really wasn't. I really wanted Lilith to haunt the narrative, it shocked me that this Queen of Hell had.. little to no weight or appearances in the show. I'm thinking large imposing statues, posters, photos by Charlie's bedside... Looming and looking, never with a smile on her face. The First Woman.

There's still a lot more I want to explore here with Lilith/Eve/Adam/Lucifer, but I really wanted to drive home that Lucifer is a HUGE fuckwad and that he's hurt people, particularly his wife.

And as per usual, the Height Chart- of which I've tweaked quite a bit

[hatsampixie]

Okay.. just found out someone uploaded my Stolas parody art to e621.net, about 9 months ago.

Given that the original tumblr post was linked there, and the huge amount of dislikes, the person who uploaded my art there most likely did this on purpose.

And the comments' section is a mess, as expected when it comes to this show.

[thats-ill-eagle]

When I'm preparing to post my criticism of Hazbin, Helluva or Vivziepop, and the Add Tags offers me the general Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and Vivziepop tags.

[bag-of-bones-and-hearts]

slow burn

im still thinking about hb and thought of some cute scenarios that couldve help show blitz and stolas falling in love.stolas during a full moon meeting tries to start a conversation and blitz not really realizing the intent continues packing up.stolas panics and requests a assassin job from him.maybe one full moon stolas says they dont have to do the whole sex thing because he just needs the book to help teach octavia magic.stolas learns about everyone’s name at I.M.P and asks about them to blitz.before they do the full moon thing maybe blitz came in late from a job and didnt get food for him and loona.and stolas invites them both over dinner and all of them cook dinner.one full moon they just have tea in his garden and blitz learns about stola’s plants.dude the ship could be cute if they just gave it more time and the characters had time to call out shit

[orionhelluvaranting]

And remember, kids, you should prioritize wisely!

Alright. I had some kind of tolerance toward these two before. Hell, I had been liked Ozzie even! Unfortunately, after "Mastermind" has released I can't stand them (or the way they're written, to be more specific) anymore! 💢

Bee and Ozzie both are supposed to be that nice and well-meaning individuals who actually care about the commoners unlike the other (bad) capitalists. In fact, they're just two bratty kids who'd rather bully some loser than do philanthropy. But Viv with the standom are so desperate to prove us otherwise. And that's so annoying!

Evidently Bee is a party gal. She's chill 'n cool. But most importantly, despite of being a royal she doesn't give a damn about stupid rules. She considers hellhounds as her equals and throws a parties for them. She cares about her people very much! And of course - OF COURSE! - she'd like to help Loona and co. but... Sigh! Her paws are tied! Besides, there are more important things to do. Like putting Mammon in his place. When else could you find perfect time for this if not at the court, right? Plus, Bee supports slave trade. Just saying.

And Ozzie... Uuuggh, please don't even get me started on him! The topic deserves a separate post because it's large and I don't mean to go deep into this right now. Instead, I'm going to rant about how Bee and Ozz stand up for Blitzø vs how they attack Mammon. So we could figure their true top priority out.

<<< Tw: acephobia and occasional sarcasm under the cut >>>

How they defend Blitzø:

Say "this lil imp guy isn't bad, let him speak up" (they immediately forget about this the moment Mammon interrupts them)

Rise a hand to vote for hearing out the testimonies (and there's nothing special since M&M and Loona did the same)

Bee gives four middle fingers to the crowd of pompous nobles... Wow. That was so edgy cringy!

Geez, what a great performance! So brave,so rebellious, so selfless! These guys are the bloody legends for real! The true defenders for all the oppressed souls. I think they dropped this 👑

Cough, cough! Excuse me, seems like I had a sarcastic attack. Cough, cough!

Okay, where was I? Oh, right! As you can observe the whole defense from Bee and Ozzie seems pretty weak. It's a bare minimum. You disagree? Then let's see...

How they attack Mammon:

Ozzie yells and threatens him with a literal fireball ​immediately

"Nobody wants to fuck you!" Yikes, that was EXTREMELY acephobic* from your side, Bee...

Bee throws a dick-shaped popsicle at Mammon (fail)

"Why won't you keep fucking yourself?" Woah, another corny insult! Bee, could you please stop acting like a cringy acephobic bitch?

Bee throws a dick-shaped popsicle at Mammon again (success)

There are a lot more passion and persistence, ain't it? And what has Mammon done to cause that kind of reaction? Well, he interrupted Ozzie's speech like this:

"Shut up, you two! We all know you enjoy slumming it with the low class plebs. Unlike the rest of us..."

And excuse me, but, uh... Where's the lie? Bee and Ozz both are banging with the lowest of the lowest. That's true. Their reaction seems kinda "You ask me for facing the truth, but you do it without respect" in that instance. Like??? Are they embarrassed by being called out? Or do they've got offended because Mammon marked their lovers as "the low class plebs"? 🤨

Well, sweeties, I have a bad news for you! There's the class system in your society. That system implies division into classes - low and high. Hence your baes belong to the low one. And they won't stop to belong to it even if you pulled them out of that environment. You can't "fix" them like that. Because the moment you've got bored with them they'll be left with nothing. As far as the system is still alive. The system in whose existence you - Bee and Ozz - are involved as deeply as Mammon. And his words about the "plebs" isn't just his individual opinion. It's the whole upper crust's point of view. So maybe you should try beating up the system? What's the use of your hassle with Mammon? You don't even reproach him for bigotry - that would be valid - but for being unfuckable. This whole situation seems not like fight for justice but like expression of your personal aversion. If so, then why the hell are you getting distracted from the court where the fate of one commoner is decided?

Oh! By the way Bee and Ozz doing it right in front of Satan. You know, that horrible and tough dictator who would shut anyone up the second they dare disobey him. Defend Blitz? Woooah, nooo, no way! Satan is a big meanie, he won't allow this! Bicker with Mammon like there's no tomorrow? Ha, easy-peasy! Satan won't mind. And surprisingly he actually doesn't! Instead, he just... suggests to take the vote + facepalms a bit later. Is this some kind of punishment for inappropriate behavior or is Satan simply fine with the whole nonsense he's surrounded by? I mean, Satan has brought Sins together for this event and now these idiots are sitting behind him and not paying attention (Bel's literally sleeping!). Can't this be seen as disrespectful? No?! Apparently Satan could get mad only if Ozzie speaks the truth out, right? Great 😒

Anyway, let's get back to Bee and Ozz. They were doing that childish nonsense... and what have they achieved? Well, they've managed to make Mammon suck a d. Wow, the true heroes we deserve! Now all the imps and hellhounds rotting in poverty and slavery could breathe easily. Bravo!

And look how frigging cheerful these mfs are! May I remind you they're doing this right after the Goetias have voted for Blitzø's execution and now...

HE'S ABOUT TO FUCKING DIE!!!

What were they even thinking about at that exact moment?!

"We've failed to help this imp and now he's gonna die??? Awww, nooo, poor thing... Anyway! Let's push a dick into the greedy pig's throat! Yeah, we're so cool and edgy. Besties goals!"

And then we're supposed to hate Mammon because he doesn't care about the trial and messes around. But when Bee and Ozz do the exact same thing we should root for them? Really!?!!?

My honest reaction for all this crap:

Conclusion: The narrative (and Viv) wants us to regard Bee and Ozz as the good capitalists, although they put in almost no effort. They do the bare minimum and the standom is justifying them by lack of power and "Satan is the law". However, the lack of power and "Satan is the law" don't stop them from bickering with Mammon in the middle of the trial.

Thus Bee and Ozz prefer to get distracted by stupid childish nonsense without any significant value (and they do this enthusiastically) instead of helping Blitzø and his team. They don't try to noticeably change the status quo on a daily basis as well, even support it (Bee's slave trade). Still, they're admired by the whole fandom as if they're victims of circumstance who are simply deprived of the opportunity to do anything. And this hypocritical rhetoric is pissing me off so much.

*No, I won't take the arguments "But Mammon is closeted! Bee didn't know he's ace! She would never say that if she knew!" Yeah, she didn't know, alright... But guess who did know about Mammon being the ONLY grown-up asexual character in the whole show? Vivziepop! Oh, also SHE wrote this episode. So she was the one who has approved the idea of a "positive" and beloved character mocking an asexual for not getting laid. Therefore the fact Bee PROBABLY didn't know doesn't really make this better for me.

[merpdaberp]

Super late to the party. But Hot Take, Beelzebub Should've been a Wolf.

Okay before you ignore this post, please read all of this. It has been bugging me since S1ep8 came out and the whole "controversy". This post is more like me just speaking my thoughts and hearing other peoples opinions. Also, this is not me fixing her design saying that they should change it.

Think of it me just babbling on about stuff.

I'm not gonna lie I never liked Bee's design. I find it under whelming and never really fit with the shows vibe. Honestly I think they could've done more with her design than what they went with in the show.

I think they really missed making her a wolf or a wolf/bee hybrid.

Wolves are a way better symbol of gluttony than foxes. Wolves have historically been seen as gluttonous animals due to their always eating livestock. There's a good article explaining this in greater detail. They also symbolize wrath, and we have seen Bees get angry, so I think it would be a perfect fit.

Also, if you ever watch a nature documentary about them hunting and eating praying animals, it's pretty gruesome. I'm not saying we need to see that happening; I'm just saying how that behavior would fit well with the whole gluttony symbolism.

Also, another thing about wolves is that they are social animals! They hunt in packs and they love to play with each other! Just look up Wolves playing, trust me its really adorable! Like it just fits for the whole party girl vibe and it also fits with here character. As she does care about people. Wolves do take there pack's livelihood very seriously. Also, it would fit well with bees because there also social animals. Like it would make more sense

Another reasons Bee should of been a wolf is that wolves can be really cute.

And can be really scary.

I know people like Bees full demon form. But it never felt intimadting for me. Like imagine wolf Bee full demon form snarling and growling. On top of that with all the bug features, Bee would look fucking scary. Thats just me tho.

Not to mention, dogs are descendent from wolves. So it be a cool detail that Bee made hellhounds and who happens to be part wolf. I know that sounds a bit to realistic but I think it would a neat detail.

Oh and would also really go full circle with Vivs Die Young music video, with Jay Jay. Idk I just find it more sweet.

So yeah, that it.

Thanks for listening to my ted talk.

[jisreal64]

Yeah yeah yeah, the reason you don’t like Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss is because you’re either a conservative christian who hates queer people and/or doesn’t like the idea of the two shows depicting Hell, Satanism, and The Devil in a positive light and Heaven in a negative light; OR you’re a reactionary leftist who thinks that it’s racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, promotes rape, and antisemitic (even though the show was created by an openly queer Latina woman and you’re the exact same people who think that Israelis should kill themselves) all because the characters who are confirmed to be POC don’t look like they’re POC (even though the characters who are confirmed to be white don’t have any white attributes to them and that you’re also fine with characters like Darwin from TAWOG being confirmed to be black while not having any black coding to him outside of his voice actors). The reason I don’t like Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss is because they’re both childish and stupid when it comes to writing and humor, over relies on slapstick and blue humor, doesn’t do justice to the Abrahamic and Satanic mythologies they’re based on, has a cast that mainly consists of characters who are annoying and/or unlikable, heavily plagiarizes other media (such as The Good Place, The Purge, Disney movies, and the filmography of Tim Burton), created a genre that started a one-sided indie animation boom, and has a soundtrack that sounds like it was written by Jake Paul using an AI that was trained on the soundtrack of the Princess Diana musical. We are not the same…

[eyebulb]

Still watching 3BSkyen. I'm on "Just look my way" now and he's so damn accurate in how Blitz and Stolas works. He was all about how Stolas only knows grand gestures cus he's very much a teenager loving for the first time and his reference is romance novels (correct). He's also doing this as both a huge favour to Blitz but also as a love test (correct). But, Blitz is not in a position to understand the gesture. He's too deep into his own perception of their relationship and his own self hatred. So he can't comprehend Stolas' feelings as genuine no matter how clear Stolas is (Exactly). So he thinks that the only way to break through to Blitz is through conflict (UH HUH!!!). Cus that's what happened in western energy when he first realized that Stolas could get hurt. He needs to be backed into a corner where he can no longer find any other explanation than the truth. And it's so exciting to hear him talk about that cus that's exactly what ends up happening and it's exactly why that fight in full moon is both frustrating and just.. nice! Cus they set it up perfectly.. they established these characters so fucking well that if you actually pay attention you can see every thing that led to this point and how it was doomed to fail. That's why it's frustrating to hear what Stolas could've done better or which one of them "ruined it" cus it wouldn't have mattered. Blitz was in too deep in his own head. Stolas has tried everything he can before this to make Blitz understand that sex is not all he wants (by stopping the deal without breaking the deal.. giving Blitz a choice in coming over, interacting with him without sexual intent etc..) and he was as honest as he could be when he actually presented his gift. But BLITZ WASN'T READY. He just wasn't in a position where he could get it. And that's not Stolas' fault. Stolas doesn't have the answers here. On that note. Skyen also mentioned that he thinks that Stolas came to the wrong conclusion in what he thinks is wrong with Blitz. And again.. YES. Blitz has given him nothing but the hint that something isn't right. Stolas has taken that and tried his best to figure out what could been wrong. And his guess is partly that the deal is in the way. That he feels trapped by it and that it gives off the wrong impression. And that's not entirely the truth... cus even without the deal.. say that they were just fuckbuddies, Blitz would still twist the narrative to fit his view of not being worthy enough to love. That's what he did. During their entire relationship. The deal was an excuse he used to justify his already made up narrative. The other part, that Skyen mentioned, was that the world hasn't loved Blitz enough and if Stolas can just be supportive and loving and all that, maybe that can heal him. Which again.. not the full truth.. since a lot of Blitz' trauma is internal, he doesn't love himself.. and just being loved by someone else isn't enough to heal that. I just... love listening to people analyze these two in particular.. cus they're so developed.. and equally too!! It's pretty rare to see that in the main characters love interest.

[victoriansnakearts]

Thinking about rewrite stuff and does anyone think that’s while the hellborn hybrids are cool, that they kinda make it even harder to determine what’s a sinner and what’s a hellborn?

I know one of the given points is that sinners cannot leave the pride ring ( at least I think that’s canon we haven’t actually seen that confirmed in the show) but appearance wise it gets confusing

For my rewrite I’m kinda tempted to remove hybrids entirely and make it that there’s hellborns for each ring that take after the deadly sins in appearance. the other demons like the goetias will be fallen angels (I’d think that hellborns can’t crossbreed since they’re too biologically different. Just to keep things simpler)

I’m might just make striker an albino Imp and take away the loan shark traits from him (that way he still stands out)

If you guys have suggestions or lore from helluva that could help me make sinners and hellborns more distinct, I’d love to hear them!

[hellaverse-critical-confessions]

Since Octavia is technically next in line, (for whatever it is Stolas does/The Goetias do) I bet there'll be a reconciliation with her father only because she'll be put into an arranged marriage by Stella's hand, most likely. It happened to Stella and Stolas, wouldn't some bird-guy be shoved onto Octavia as well?

There's the fact that she's canonically ace too. It's like they are specifically setting up for this plot point/drama, so her only choice is to let Stolas back into her life, to let him save her, and "realize" that he was this loving father all along. It's also another opportunity to demonize Stella again and make Stolas the saint- despite him being an actual blundering idiot that just trips throughout his character arc and still lands face first on being the worst character to touch this show.

Overall, the idea that Stolas will get a happy family ending with Octavia, AND Blitz & Loona, is just so messy I don't know how they'll even handle it. Because that vision Blitz had in Sinsmas is clearly the endgame with how much Stolas keeps getting undeserved happy endings. And with how childishly the show handles complex topics like this?... I can imagine the situation being simplified JUST to get the happy ending (Octavia is just confused/Stella is evil/Stolas has to save Octavia). Whatever other excuse they can come up with to avoid the complexities of a daughter hating her father for abandoning her & cheating on her mother.

There's just no way Stolas doesn't end up with a happy family, anyway, being the new main character and all. Which is why the journey to it will be so hilariously messy. As messy as the show justifying gay cheating (but not straight cheating!) 💀 Which, is also still super funny to me. The morals of HB are so, so, so confused. The story even more so.

.

[veelzebub-the-dingus]

I have so many issues with this show but these two will always be my favorite part

[helluvapurf]

*sips tea seeing HB "Mastermind" making its rounds*

...Sooooo, this latest episode's content definitely was... alot, in more ways than one lol .w. Don't really have the energy atm to do a full "Pros & Cons" list like my prior reviews, soooo... have some jumbled first impressions below lmao:

NOTE: Obv there'll be some spoilers ahead so do keep note of that... aaaaand like usual these ARE just my own personal thoughts at the end of the day, so *please* try to keep things civil if you disagree with anything below. Thank you. 🙏

WOO, nice to see some more Sins introduced on-screen! 🤩Satan is pretty rad with his cowboy dragon aesthetic, the sleepy sheep lady (Belphegor, I think?) looks cute, and I do like the idea of Leviathan being a two-head split creature (tho ngl, I kiiiinda wish her "pretty" half wasn't just a taller version of the Glam twins 😭 might just be the Bi in me talking hlhjk but... Viv y u so allergic to giving us pretty monster ladiessss-)

Great to see Asmodeus, Beezlebub & Mammon back all at once, and their courtroom getups were pretty cool~ 👀Loved Ozzie & Bee's lil friendship, along with Mammon being the most annoying brother-like figure to both Bee & Ozzie lmao

BLITZ'S (almost) FINAL SPEECH TO HIS WHOLE CREW PRE-EXECUTION (+requesting M&M to take care of Loona if he died), MY HEART- 😭😭❤️For all this man's flaws/past mistakes, there's NO denying how much he loves his employees & loved ones at the end of the day (& vice-versa on their ends)... hhhhh q-q

The inner-most squee I had at the Fizz cameo & his frantic worry for Blitz (+texting Ozzie to protect his best friend), aaaaaa~ TwT 💕💕 (*also semi-related side note; but YAY a lil Verosika cameo too (loving her twin-tail hairdo~), even showing fearful concern for Blitz's fate? Aww~ 🥺🩷Plsss let this be a sign her character's not completely done in terms of screentime, I'd SO love for more Blitz/Verosika bonding moments (to maybe a potential brotp forming) as he got with Fizz! 🙏🙏*)

Striker returns, yaaaay!~ 😍 ...aaaand he's mainly just there to act like a dumb grunt to Andre's plotting, oh... 😐'least his court getup's pretty snazzy though, loving the jacket~👌

Blitz + IMP finally getting to receive some hero treatments in the public (Impkind's) eye, fireworks, street celebrations, and potential new clients-included? Sweeeeet~ 👏👏

...well I'll be, Stolas actually getting some narrative consequences here?? 😲😲Standing up for Blitz's life, taking the blame for the Grimoire's misuse, accepting his punishment of the 100 year ban from his status, wealth & powers that were part of his life since forever... daaaaang, now this is some good character building here!~ 👀 Now, with such an honorable & grand gesture Stolas did for the sake of Blitz, their brief duet, and the end shot of them basically becoming roommates now that Stolas has nothing left... does this make me an official Stol*itz shipper now?? 🤩 ...Hmmmmmmmmm, nah lol 🤷‍♀️Now, okay I don't mean to sound like some negative nancy bitch or however, cause I AM proud of Stolas taking the lengths he did to protect Blitz & IMP (and now with him not having a fancy prince title anymore, this could potentially give him the chance to challenge his past privileged/classist mindset, living in the same social class as the same Imps his fellow Goetia society have long-oppressed). However, if there's anything I've learned from shows like Bojack Horseman... big grand gestures are NOT the be-all/end-all answer to proving romantic compatibility 👏👏

When it comes to any sort of relationship, romantic or otherwise... what should matter most is consistent, genuine care & support from one partner to another. And as far as we've seen from Stolas & Blitz's dynamic up til this point... imo, they really haven't had enough positive (non-sexual) bonding moments (save for stuff like their attempts at small talk at "Ozzie's", Stolas laughing at Blitz's sitcom jokes in "Seeing Stars", one photo of Blitz smiling while they slept), to justify them being some "destined-for-one-another" couple? 🤷‍♀️ Not helped by how both men were constantly avoiding & bickering at one another for most of S2 up til now... Iiiii can't be the only one who found it just a tad rushed Blitz was suddenly all "loving/domestic hubby mode🥺🥺" towards Stolas at the end... right? .w.;; Esp. in light of Stolas going through so much as he had to in one trial (+the realization of what'll become of his daughter, following said-punishment) ...he really, really shouldn't be in the mindset for tackling romance rn (at least til he continues to grow & heal better, down the line)... with OR without Blitz😔

....buuut yeah, thats just my own take on the matter; so ofc NO shade at all to those who are genuine Stolas/Stol*itz fans btw (thanks to this ep and/or previous ones), you're valid!👍👍For me, I'll still be vibing onwards with my own personal HCs/ships, so feel free to stay tuned for that if you're curious! :>

Now that we've finally got to meet Vassago upfront, Iiiii'm honestly a lil disappointed he was just... "there" in terms of plot-relevancy (even with all his previous trailer/merch hype)? .w.;; Don't get me wrong, I DO find it refreshing that Vassago's actually a nice guy, and that Stolas did have some genuine support in the Goetia society after all. But other than Vassago wholesomely cheering on Stolas by the sidelines... hmmm, I can't help feeling like not much would've changed had Vassago not been here at all, ngl 🤷‍♀️ Maaaaybe S3 might change things if he gets more spotlight there instead (esp with what I remember everyone theorizing of Vassago (possibly) becoming a 2nd love interest for Stolas .3. idk, part of me's kinda curious how that'd play out with Blitz in the picture- 🤔)?

Andrealphus's antagonist spotlight here... was fine, I guess? Idk, I can't say I've ever been too big a fan of Andre beforehand (mainly from his late-inclusion in the Stolas plot feeling a lil forced + him stealing the spotlight of what could've been interesting villain potential for Stella imo). Not to say I didn't find some of his hammy dialogue funny, along with enjoying the visuals of his ice magic... buuuut yeah, still pretty lukewarm towards him either way 🤷‍♀️could've also done without those creepy af comments about his sister as well... like bruh that in*cest shit wasn't funny the first time, whyyy keep bringing that back- 🤢

Speaking of Stella... ehhhhh, still a pretty flat character as she was in previous episodes (which I guess shouldn't be too surprising with this show's track record with female characters ngl 🤷‍♀️). Interesting to finally see an on-screen interaction with her & Octavia though (granted, not exactly on a good note given her evil smirk at the end... but I guess it does answer some HC questions I had previously of what their mother/daughter dynamic is like, hmmm... 🤔).

As for Octavia in-question... hhHHHH MY POOR BIRD CHILD T-T 💔💔Girl practically watched her greatest fears coming true (aka: Stolas abandoning her for the sake of Blitz), seeing what became of her dad on live-TV. Even if she obviously doesn't know the full story (esp with her mom & uncle pulling strings), its still SO heartbreaking when you consider her trailer sneak-peek ("You never loved Mother, you don't love me, you love him-"). And with only one episode left before S2 wraps up... ooooof, this ain't gonna be pretty ;-;

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-Hoooo yeah, that was alot of rambling my bad... but yeah, thats about as clear of thoughts as I have rn regarding "Mastermind". Even with some of the (admittedly) bloated cast, and some other narrative nitpicks I have with it... I'm honestly hyped to see how the upcoming finale will tie all these big plot points together! 👀🤞🤞

[freakbytvface]

Stolas in Look My Way:

Stolas making amends: