#Helluva Boss Analysis

[nadja-chamack16]

The way Octavia sees Blitzø:

And the way Blitzø sees Octavia:

GUYS PLEASE TALK TO EACH OTHER

[petitprincess1]

I love the double-meaning here. Ofc, Stolas is always going to save Blitzo. He loves him. However, Stolas is also always saving Blitzo. Can't wait for the turn to table.

[elcarimercanto]

My Personal Favorite Thing From Apology Tour

I like the terms that Blitzø and Verosika are on right now. I like how they seem to have a mutual understanding. She doesn't want to or need to forgive him, but she wants to see him be better.

As our girl Charlie would say, "it starts with sorry"

She can tell he cares about Stolas a lot but she also knows Blitzø needs to work on himself and give Stolas a break before he pursues him again.

Also notice how when she saw Blitzø was at the party she wasn't furious and asking him to leave. She just says he was brave for showing up. She seems almost not surprised that he's there. This is because Verosika knows that Blitzø hates himself probably more than most of the people at the "I hate Blitzø" party. He belongs at this party more than anyone. Verosika realizes this when he talks about wanting to change his ways, and this is why she offers him cake.

I saw the piece of cake as a peace offering. She's letting him know she understands how he feels about himself and how it makes sense why he's at the party.

[cookiesaddict]

Figured Andrealphus is a sexually repressed closeted gay man, trying to act straight by mentioning his sister’s attractiveness almost everytime he speaks.

Okay so here’s when everything what I’m about to say from now on becomes far fetched. It might not even happen.

But I wonder, will Andre eventually get a gay awakening, a darker version of Stolas’ awakening? Andre is very entitled and full of himself. Giving his personality and how sexually repressed he actually is, I have no doubt that he will handle his attraction to another person very poorly.

Take this with a grain of salt, but apparently Viv said we’ll get a “hellfire” type of song in the future. She also apparently said that Andre would continue to play a bigger role in s3, so it could suggest that the song could be sung by him.

I’ve seen other fans talk about this. But If the “hellfire” type of song is true and it is indeed sung by Andre. What if Andre develops some twisted feelings for Blitz? You know, Esmeralda style? I feel it’s very in character for Andre to act like Frollo in that regard.

Even though it desturbing and terrifying, it would really be interesting storywise to see Andre losing his mind for a being he should find repulsive and unworthy of his attention, just like Frollo with Esmeralda. It’s like the worst thing that could happen to him. We know how Andre view imps.

If you haven’t listened yet to “Hellfire” from the hunchback of Notre Dame, I highly recommend it. It’s sung by Frollo and it’s about his lust and obsession with Esmeralda. It really is such a good villain song.

Edit: Okay so I’ve noticed some people discussing that it could very well be Stolas instead of Blitz. I can really see this being true, haha. I love the way you all are thinking.

[onehelluvafan]

Perspective

I’ll end the arrangement // He’ll end the arrangement

You’re letting me go // I’m setting you free

Please don’t leave // Please stay

You’ve never respected me // You’ve never respected me?

Why can’t you come back? // Why can’t you stay?

// Why can’t you understand? //

// How could he possibly understand? //

Perspective…

is everything.

[geekgirles]

Ok, but you don't understand. This is such an understated moment for both of them.

Most of the time these two don't get along, partly because Loona can be a nightmare to work with and is horrible to Moxxie, the one thing Millie will never forgive, and partly because, if you think about it, Millie never really makes the effort to reach out first and level with her.

Out of the entire IMP, it's always Millie who treats Loona like she's just Blitzo's hellhound. Not his adopted daughter, not even a real part of the team.

But here, she's reaching out to Loona, being vulnerable with her and trusting her to do the right thing and keep an eye on Moxxie because Millie can't keep up with both him and Blitzo at the same time.

And Loona gets that. She gets Millie needs help and, whether she likes it or not, she's the only one she can rely on right now. So, begrudgingly, because that's Loona for you, she accepts the responsibility.

And Millie's response? That little pause she makes before saying her name? Pretty sure that's the first time she's ever said Loona's name since the pilot. It's meaningful, and they both know it.

[tealvenetianmask]

Stolas's Subtle Growth in Sinsmas (Social Class Edition)

I sat down to write a post about Stolas's bitchy, out of touch reactions to "normal" hellborn society. I was going to praise the show for allowing him to struggle to adjust, to be imperfect and disoriented and repeatedly put his foot in his mouth without realizing it. And yeah, I stand by that. These moments are funny and in character and just fantastic (have a run-down below). But that's not the point of this post.

Something else about Stolas's behavior struck me as I grabbed screenshots. And it's that despite coming off at times as super insensitive about "poor" life, Stolas is really trying to make things easy for Blitz, so much that he's willing to be very uncomfortable. The meds are . . . arguably an example, but that's complicated (mental illness stigma might play a role too?), so instead let's look at Stolas's initial reaction to being uncomfortable with the food that Blitz prepared.

His reaction is disgust, BUT he really tries to eat the food and make the best of it.

He doesn't start listing off the fancy foods he's used to until Blitz outright asks. And yes, his list is kind of ridiculous, but it's his reality, and when he asks for rats, he's uncomfortable about making a direct request.

Then, when Blitz offers to go hunt rats in the alley for him, he's appropriately grateful. Even more, this is entirely Blitz's suggestion. Stolas doesn't ask him to go get him different food. He's willing to eat something "off-putting" even if it makes him very uncomfortable.

Stolas goes along with Blitz for every errand, and then goes to work with him because Blitz asks him to, even though he's exhausted, out of his element, off his meds, and missing his daughter.

He also answers the phone at I.M.P while crying because Blitz wants him to.

We even see him empathizing with Blitz's perspective AND DEFENDING HIM when the horrible Karen client insults I.M.P.

It gives, "ugh, they have to deal with people like you," and it had me cheering.

This is all to say that Stolas WAS marinating on some valuable lessons about social class while our boys were apart, whether consciously or not.

He's used to having his needs met and routines followed by a staff, but he's making an active effort not to treat Blitz like one of his butler imps, and is trying to keep from being a burden. Arguably to a fault, if his choice to not bring up the meds to Blitz has to do with this.

Owl boi is trying so hard! And that makes Blitz's easy compassion more understandable too. He's not just indebted because Stolas saved his life. He's not just trying to win over the guy he loves who he pushed away. He also doesn't see Stolas's behavior regarding the social class stuff as very insulting. He sees Stolas trying to adjust but struggling hard. Of course he's going to do everything he can to help and keep his snark to a minimum.

[timkontheunsure]

Like father like daughter

Ok thought it's be interesting to compare Stolas action on Full Moon, and Via's in Sinsmas. Because they're very similar people.

Via isn't trying to hurt her dad in Sinsmas, like Stolas wasn't trying to hurt Blitz.

She's pulling the same "freeing" rubbish that Stolas was trying to do with Blitz.

She's unilaterally deciding what's best for her loved one.

Because she assumes she's was only an obligation, a burden to him.

She thinks that just by being in his life she was actively making his life worse.

When Blitz appears to not choose Stolas freely, (yes Stolas is a dummy), Stolas thinks he's a monster, that was abusing Blitz. Someone Blitz's hates.

Via's in the exact same headspace, thinking Stolas didn't pick her.

That's why she assumes that she's unloved. That Stolas has lied to her about loving her.

When neither Stolas or Blitz were lying here. (Seriously Blitz was using roleplay as a excuse to say it. Can you imagine him every agreeing to doing this with Verosika. Nope, he'd have run several rings).

But like how Stolas would have done better asking Blitz what he wants out of their relationship. (Not blindsided him about ending the deal. Making Blitz cry, panic, and get rightly angry). Via would have done better asking her dad questions and listening to the answers.

Stolas hurts Blitz here, because he badly misreads the situation, and by not involving Blitz in how to end the deal.

Like how Via hurts her dad badly, by assuming he would be better off without her in his life.

But also because by doing this she's hurting herself too. And her dad would never want Via isolated and alone.

Especially because by shutting down the questions she doesn't the important safety information that Stella is dangerous, now that Stolas can't protect her.

[fujosh1dreamer]

Guess we're talking about millie being preggo I originally didn't want to discuss this, I wanna talk about stolitz lol. Unfortunately I forgot this fanbase is filled with misogynistic scum, so let's talk about millie.

First off, she didn't cheat, she's not having an affair, she didn't get assaulted, and she's not selling her body for money.

It's stupid that I have to say any of that, but if any of those statements are things you genuinely believe you need to take you're misogynistic beliefs and shove them and afterwards get away from my page.

You know what is going on with her... she's found out she's pregnant which is not always a happy thing, nor should it be. Having children uproots your entire life, and changes everything. The way people think about you and the way people see themselves.

We have already established multiple times that millie is a character that only sees value in her strength and abilities.

Now, let's get into the moments in the episode and the things that are foreshadowing the pregnancy reveal. If people perceive the only sign as the one where she is throwing up and when she lashes out at moxxie there's more. When the client comes in a blitz initially declines the offer both moxxie and millie too absorbed into sinsmas wrath to notice the reason why. Moxxie even laughs and goes "really?" They're not paying attention, which is actually out of character for millie (ie hormones) millie is usually really on point and supportive when it comes to Blitz and his emotional needs.

After she throws up, we get this small moment at the window where she's not even looking at the scene. She's no feeling well she wants to get out of the cold, and we can also see the concern in moxxie as he looks at her.

Then there's this moment and it works well to reestablish that millie loves her job, and it also works to show she's no all there emotionally. Everyone including moxxie her husband is walking away, but millie wasn't in that moment that everyone one else had. So she's confused and upset, which is understandable.

This results in her lashing out again.

She insults moxxie, and of course immediately apologizes, and she doesn't even know why she responded that way. Millie is usually pretty well in control with the exception of seeing Chaz and later in happy campers (which was justified) and ghostf*ckers (also justified) are the only times she gets upset and lashes out.

Moxxie once again is not upset he's just concerned, he knows something is wrong, he just doesn't know what it is.

Want to take this moment before the in episode reveal to talk about how hard it is to rewatch these two scenes knowing that millie is preggos. The stress is real omg.

Next this scene of millie deciding to use guns is also interesting because it might be setting up for season 3. If millie keeps this a secret for a long time in season 3 I can see her doing more long range killings in the future. At least until she decides what's she's going to do.

I love that she decided to talk to her sister, and I also love the small detail of their mom being the first to notice something is off.

This is a hard transition for millie because she loves the life she lives, and she loves her husband. We hear her say in ghostfers that's she's happy, we've also seen their lives be uprooted already. Now millie feels like after finally finding stability things are ruined again.

[implydone]

Stolitz, Helluva Boss, and Genre

Moving this over from the other apps... i may come back and add more to this, but here's some thoughts i jotted down about the genre conventions and whiplash in this show.

--

a common critique or observation about Helluva Boss is its tonal dissonance, the way that the episodes shift from drama to comedy, tragedy to slapstick, etc. many fans of the show understand that this is a feature of the narrative, a purposeful thing.

i also think it ties back to the way the show, and primarily Stolitz, are tied to different genres and genre conventions. Blitz lives in an action comedy, with all the slapstick physical comedy, raunchy humor, and nonsensical gags befitting that genre.

Stolas, on the other hand, lives in tragic melodrama. High emotions, high contrast, loneliness, isolation, crying, love and yearning. Physical comedy doesn't really exist here, and any physicality is weighted seriously as befits the genre.

which also explains why most of the physical comedy and gags, whether they land for the watcher or not, are in the I.M.P. world - most often depicted on blitz and moxxie, sometimes millie (murder family with the bottle smash/chicken noise lol)

and those genres also affect how character information is given to us - for blitz, background comes in the form of flashbacks that interrupt the action. Oops and Ghostfuckers. for Stolas, they come in the form of solitary songs, often sung in a tragic, minor key.

the cool thing about the two main characters, who are also the main couple, living in different genres is that it also fits for the different worlds they've lived in. it makes a lot of sense for a prince to be in a melodrama and a ragtag business team to be in action comedy

and then the show gets to do really cool things about MIXING the genres when the two of them are together in the same space - when they get pulled into each other's worlds. ozzie's being a melodramatic episode, seeing stars being comedic

and we get to see how the characters fare being pulled in those directions, their comfort and discomfort. blitz in emotionally intense moments, stolas actually enjoying comedy and finding a home there.

full moon - blitz starts in the action comedy area of I.M.P. but then is pulled in the melodrama as he tries to find toys for him and stolas, IGNORING the action behind him. the duet being an exact example of their different genres colliding and making communication hard

Apology Tour being INTENSE emotionally, not very comedic aside from one cutaway joke (which belongs to stolas!). Ghostfuckers being a mix of heart and comedy, but largely lighthearted. the sneak attacks of horror and gore are there, too, though.

in a way, as the story of stolitz took center stage, the genres mixed more and more and colored each other's lives.

by the time we get to the end of season 2, mastermind and sinsmas, we see a blended version of the genres happening because stolitz are FINALLY in the same fucking room. mastermind is HIGH drama, BIG stakes. grand sweeping songs and gestures

and how do they both fare? well, andre is determined that things go to shit, but stolitz are on the same page even if they don't hear each other.

sinsmas is probably the BEST blend, with a mix of comedy and heart. stolas is pulled fully into blitz's world and I.M.P., and notably he gets to BE comedic more, he's even animated more goofily

AND he gets to crash out and fight! he gets unleashed and feels/expresses his feelings! the fight with andre is largely comedic and cathartic, becoming high fantasy when blitz arrives to the battle

blitz gets his grand hero moment and he brings romance into the equation, but he keeps the humor as well. the mix feels a lot more blended rather than clashing. one thing i look forward to in s3 is how their genres continue to blend as they become more and more tangled.

more could be said also about the way the show uses the "body genres" (cred. theorist Linda Williams) - comedy, horror, horniness, melodrama, all focusing on bodily responses in the viewer

in helluva, these different genres match the characters and their situations and reflected their errors in communication and why they might struggle to understand each other

and lastly, my very FAVORITE thing about this genre mixing is the way that stolitz affect each other's genres - a mirror to how they affect each other's lives. storytelling/narrative form matching the beats and characterization!

from a storytelling perspective, the genre mixing works on so many levels and i really enjoy it as another vehicle of characterization. blitz's sweet, romantic doting side being let out because stolas is with him all the time and pulling him into melodrama/romance

stolas getting to be snappy, sassy, silly, getting to crash out and have a lil violence as a treat lol, getting silly faces and smear frames and being his cute, awkward, dorky self, even getting to be outwardly, obviously sad in front of others without masking

and i'm thinking too about the ways that each of them hid parts of themselves or kept them away because they either felt they couldn't express it or it wasn't in line with their world/genre. the parts of them that couldn't find a place before finding a home now in the other.

blitz brings the lightness and freedom of comedy to stolas' world, stolas brings the heart and earnestness of melodrama to blitz's.

almost like blitz is stolas' light and stolas is blitz's heart idk

[nadja-chamack16]

Ok but let’s be serious about Blitzø’s argument in this scene real quick.

He mentions how Stolas just sprung this on him and barely gives him anytime to react, he asks for time to think. Stolas ignores that (NOT BC HES A DICK) because they have different focuses here.

Stolas wanted to have a relationship, everything that involves it. He never once mentions sex. He’s serious and expresses himself to the best of his ability. AND STILL Blitzø assumes its role play, that he’s not genuine (NOT BC HES A DICK) because before this moment he had no tangible reason to think Stolas was serious about a relationship, about him.

Stolas sees this as “I’ve fucked up so fucking bad. This can’t happen because there’s nothing meaningful to build off of. While Blitzø is out here just confused as fuck. When he thinks he finally gets it he assumes “Stolas is mad about me assuming this was a sex thing. What the fuck. Fuck this guy”

It takes Stolas being irreparably heartbroken at how Blitzø views him and how he has treated him. It takes those tears and that goodbye for it to TRULY register.

Then Blitzø immediately panics and tries to apologise, even tries to REACH OUT in order to not be pushed away. Too bad Stolas has fucking magic powers.

He ends up outside. Sad. Confused. And with the portal echoing his unfinished words back to him.

What. The. Fuck.

[pixelatedtaken]

Blitzø's Name In The End Credits

A while ago, I saw someone point out that Blitzø's name on recent episodes (in the credits) had an X over the O and went to check it out. It turned out to be true and decided to keep track of it until it'll change again.

I wasn't going to search deeper than that, mostly waiting on how it'll go but I decided to check if it was any different than the ø that we're supposed to know. So...

When I saw this in season 1 episode 1, my jaw was on the floor.

I'm sure people have pointed this out before, I've only seen about the recent X over the O but I'm sure this ain't new. Part of me had noticed but when months pass between episodes and you don't actually pay attention to the credits, the change is so minor that it kind of never happened in my mind.

But the fact of the matter is-

all of season 1 had Blitzø's name written with the o. No "silent O", just Blitzo. Until...

Queen Bee.

If people were around, they know Queen Bee did not release after Ozzie's but we're pretty certain it was done way before season 2 began (even though it released in the middle of it). Anyway.

Maybe the change from the o without a line and the ø with the line wasn't so weird when it happened, especially since season 2 was out and the change had already been implemented, as seen below ↓

But it only lasts up until Western Energy. After that...

The X appears.

This is definitely on purpose, I simply can't figure out the purpose. My only theory is that it's supposed to represent Blitzø's declining mental health and severe self-hatred/low self-image taking a hold. I do not know. I can only point out the events on the previous episodes before the changes were done.

Ozzie's/Finale: Blitzø was faced with his past in the most disastrous way, ending with the start of his relationship with Stolas falling apart. His self image crumbled further.

Western Energy: Blitzø was faced with the fact that Stolas can get/be hurt. His view of the immortal/untouchable Stolas crumbled. Assumption, he might blame himself for not being there.

I don't know, I'm just thinking and I'll probably be obsessed with this until we see what else they do.

[the-irreverend]

There were a lot of things I loved about this finale, and one of my favourites was how they wrote Octavia's conflict with her dad, and the inner conflict within herself!

This little moment y'all see above perfectly captures what I'm talking about. Just look at her expression when Stolas is begging her to her him out. It's not one of bitterness, rage, and simple hatred, it's one of sorrow, regret, and even sympathy!

It perfectly captures the conflicted feelings that she has about the whole ordeal. It demonstrates that even after all that's happened, she still loves him and cares for him and doesn't want to leave him behind, but the feelings of betrayal and resentment that Stolas's actions caused her are just too much for her to let go. It reminds me a lot of how Toriel was toward Asgore when she met him again in the Pacifist Route of Undertale.

That's so much more interesting and narratively compelling than just having her turn against him on the spot and just straight up hating him!

[disguised-duolingobird]

GUYS I KNEW I SEEN THAT MAN (THE ONE NEXT TO THE TV) AND I REWATCHED MASTERMIND AND THAT IS AN EXACT FUCKING MATCH YALL.

[onehelluvafan]

Is Octavia afraid of Stella?

This brief scene of them together in Mastermind confirmed for many of us something we’d long suspected—that Stella is not close with nor very maternal towards Octavia. But after watching this a few times, I think it might go even deeper than that. I think there are subtle hints that Octavia might actually be afraid of her.

There is evidence as early as Loo Loo Land that even when Stella was more involved, she may not have been a source of comfort for Octavia.

When baby Octavia is crying for them at the beginning of the episode, Stella says, "You get up," before Stolas sighs and goes to comfort their daughter.

There’s been some debate in the fandom that maybe this exchange was more about “taking turns” than anything else. But the sigh that Stolas gives is clearly a reaction to her response and he is already sitting up before she has even finished her sentence.

I think the implication is that he was going to get up either way and is annoyed that she has no interest in comforting Octavia, whether it be alone or together. The intensity of the sigh may also indicate that this was a regular occurrence at the time.

In the same episode, there is a photo and drawing of just Stolas and Octavia. Then later, in The Circus, we see a another photo of just the two of them.

The only pictures we see that include both Stella and Octavia are family photos with the three of them together. Over the span of 17 years, these are the only two photos that seem to exist and she is not physically touching nor looking at Octavia in either of them.

In Mastermind, Octavia is clearly very upset, but there's more being shown than just her hesitation to embrace Stella.

When she first runs from the television, Stella swoops in front of her so forcefully that there is a *whoosh* sound effect. Octavia briefly puts her hands up as she comes to a stop, so that they don’t collide.

Then, arms back down at her sides, she stands there for a moment with a look of confusion and concern on her face. At first I assumed that this was her reaction to being blocked from the doorway, but then I realized that they are in Stolas’ palace, where she wouldn’t expect her mother to be in the first place.

But the thing that startled me when I first noticed, happens when Stella reaches out to engulf her in a hug. Octavia's reactive instinct is to raise her hands, palms facing outward, and back away.

Once in Stella's embrace, she then stands there limply until she begins to cry. Only after that does she move to hug Stella back, but even then, there is another moment of hesitation when her arms are halfway up before she finally embraces her back.

It makes sense for her to be startled and confused at first, but seeing her recoil when Stella raises her arms, paints a concerning picture.

To be clear, I don't think it's meant to imply that Stella has actually hit Octavia before. Honestly, if she had, I think we can all agree that Stolas would have absolutely kicked Stella's ass straight out into the stratosphere.

We do know, however, that she has seen Stella be physically violent towards Stolas. While it’s possible that she’s never witnessed them fight previous to his cheating, she was at least exposed to it enough afterwards to be completely unfazed when her mother hurls an imp at him in Loo Loo Land.

So, I suspect that, on some level, she does not feel entirely safe around Stella.

Either way, I think we’re supposed to assume from their exchange that Octavia has likely never been comforted, or possibly even held, by Stella before.

Because the fact remains that, even after finding herself merely in an embrace, she still hesitated to accept comfort from her own mother.

[imp-in-simp]

Blitz-Fizz Dance Analysis

I feel like this little moment was Fizz’s way of showing Blitz forgiveness after his apology!

At first, Blitz was only planning on throwing the confetti here. He turns away immediately.

They’re not partners anymore (the fire destroyed that, and it’s been 15 years)

But also… performance is Fizz’s thing and Blitz feels he’s only there to enhance his performance,

But then Fizz pulls him in to join him, in what I feel like is an implicit sign of forgiveness

He’s letting Blitz perform with him again, as a sign that the fire is now water under the bridge, they’re okay, they’re back to normal

At first, Blitz is too shocked to react

But then Fizz does this, and it’s like Blitz’s performing muscle memory kicks in (he does the tail thing too)

That’s when he smiles,

That’s when the joy and memory of joy performing with Fizz kicks in

Free of insecurity about his talent/pain surrounding the fire

As well as the understanding he’s truly been forgiven

Look at that smile

And it ends perfectly with this little flirty moment

(Love how he pulls him closer ^^)

I do believe they had a ‘homoerotic best friends’ type relationship - so this is yet another confirmation that it’s all forgiven and they’re back to normal <3

(Fizz then drops blitz, which is a gag I know, but it still feels like another return to their silly goofy ways!)