#theoryrebuttal

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Theory response: why Stolitz might actually be Stockholm syndrome

In regards to Helluva Boss, I believe that Stolitz is in fact an unsettling example of Stockholm syndrome (a hostage or prisoner falling in love with their captor) ever since I saw the hallucination in “Truth Seekers” which has Blitz blushing while Stolas holds him on a chain, as can be seen in the image below (keep in mind that this is Blitz's honest mindset under the influence of truth gas).

@stolitzy, a (now ex-) friend of mine, has made a rebuttal of this view which, while an interesting read, does not in my opinion actually invalidate or disprove it. I’ll go through some of the main points of their post and address them one by one. “There is NO kidnapping and no falling in love with the captor” – while this is true in the literal sense, by effectively holding Blitz’s company (and his life’s dream) hostage through the sexual arrangement, Stolas can be seen as trapping him in the arrangement, which could be seen as a figurative form of captivity and thus Blitz falling in love with him could still count as a form of Stockholm syndrome. It's also a MAJOR misinterpretation of my argument – as Stolas is the one who came up with the arrangement and forced Blitz into this arrangement, he would be the one holding Blitz captive, not the other way around. “[H]e’s had a lot of hardships in the course of his life and the whole show is about dysfunctional relationships and what real life is all about” – again, Blitz is the victim of the Stockholm syndrome, not the captor. “Stolas saw it as “oh wow the love of my life came back after decades of disappearing and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him” and you can even see it in his compassionate face; we can see he’s not the hurtful type as Blitz portrays him as” – Just because Stolas isn’t intentionally nurturing Stockholm syndrome within Blitz’s mind doesn’t mean he isn’t doing it at all. “But what we do know is that Stolitz is her favourite ship; so of COURSE she wouldn’t do anything to harm with it since it will be canon and claimed as a healthy relationship” – While Viv is a great artist, she’s (IMO) an AWFUL writer; examples of this are: . Her giving Verosika only 1 set of lines in “Ozzie’s” (the episode she should have WAY more prominence in had since it’s set in the Lust Ring and she’s a lust demon) in order to make episode 8 (as far as I understand from Viv’s statements and the footage that she released of it) about random hellhounds we’ll in all likelihood never see again rather than making the Lust Ring stuff a 2-parter in which Verosika is more important. . Going straight from the tragic lament of “Stolas Sings” in “the Circus” to business as usual (flirting and all) in “Seeing Stars” at the expense of all narrative consistency in order to support said ship.

As such, it’s VERY possible that Viv accidentally wrote a Stockholm syndrome ship without realising it and is now frantically backpedalling (if she’s even noticed it at all and isn’t just carrying on like nothing is wrong). “What IS unhealthy is shipping Blitz with Verosika; which was a been there done that type of relationship; if they had gone back they’d only be a recipe for disaster and go back to square one again” – while I agree that getting them back together right NOW is a terrible idea, I genuinely think that once Blitz has grown as a person and he and Verosika fully articulate the hurt they are harbouring inside to each other, they would be a FAR better couple than Stolitz since they (as far as I am aware) genuinely loved each other as the result of an organically developing romance rather than the transactional mess that is Stolitz. For more information why I think Blitzika is a better ship than Stolitz, check out my video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q2GV6hvjVU “I mean if you really think about it if Blitz had Stockholm syndrome and if it was really THAT bad then why the FUCK would there unlimited fan art of Stolitz being TOGETHER?! Having a child together!” Do not underestimate the fucked-up elements of fandoms… Why are there people idolising the clearly abusive relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker? Why is there art of people shipping Hazbin and Helluva characters with Valentino? Combine that with how much it’s being pushed by Viv and the team in as positive a light as possible and a large amount of the fandom’s lack of critical thinking (as evidenced by protagonist bias making people automatically side against Verosika simply because Blitz is the protagonist despite her clearly being the INNOCENT party in their relationship) and well… that’s why. Stolitzy also cites the following source: https://doodle-empress66.tumblr.com/post/660206487268982784/i-need-to-direct-everyones-attention-to-the-fact?_branch_match_id=link-1152086027557405904 As far as my understanding of Stockholm syndrome goes (and I know I’m not a professional psychologist, so this will probably not be as in-depth as if I was), a key part of Stockholm syndrome is the captive coming to believe (whether of their own accord or through the captor’s manipulation) that the captor is protecting them from a hostile outside world that they could not survive without them (a bit like how Judge Frollo in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame convinces Quasimodo to stay in the cathedral by telling him that the people of Paris will hate him, though this example may not strictly qualify as Stockholm syndrome due to the former being the latter’s parental figure). As such, this source doesn’t do anything to disprove my theory. Stolitzy also cites numerous other sources showing Blitz’s romantic/sexual affection towards Stolas that, again, does NOTHING to disprove my theory; remember that Stockholm syndrome is all about the victim falling in love with their captor and so all the examples of “heart eyes” and Blitz’s human form kink could be equally argued to represent his Stockholm syndrome towards Stolas taking hold as the show goes on. Viv’s writing makes it even worse, since the way the show goes from “Ozzie’s” and “the Circus” straight to “Seeing Stars” makes it look like Blitz went to get some space only for his burgeoning Stockholm syndrome to make him come crawling back like a beaten wife and hide that anything was wrong. So remember, just because all the creepy elements are glossed over and Blitz gets lovey-eyed doesn’t mean there isn’t any Stockholm syndrome; if anything, that’s the version of reality the victim’s (in this case Blitz’s) mind is conjuring to convince themselves that their situation isn’t abusive when it clearly is.