I think to me, the point of them meeting as kids is that _Stolas_ thinks all those things you described; it's _destined,_ they're _meant_ to be, the estranged childhood friends having a destined meeting as adult and engaging in a steamy, illicit affair that evolved into _true love!_ Isn't it romantic?! You can see that entire trope in Stolas... like... almost every action. Meanwhile, to Blitzø, Stolas was just this rich kid he met as a child who had a very useful book.
I think the trope of them meeting when younger helps perpetuate the idea of their relationship being transactional as stolas' dad purchases blitz as entertainment for his son rather than them just being natural friends.
I think that makes sense, but I don't like how it kind of seems to imply that Stolas always had a crush on Blitz, when in season 1 it seemed more like a gradual change from transaction to genuine feelings (which I personally prefer a lot more. I mean, if Stolas did love Blitzo romantically right from the start, then why did he make it all about the sex in the first couple episodes?)
@@vickypedia1308 because he has no clue how to enter, maintain or nurture a relationship with anyone. His naive, sheltered inexperienced ass resorted to using charm and his royal position in a desperate attempt to keep the object of his affections close to him i.e the deal.
@@vickypedia1308 I believe because of misunderstandings they both just thought that the other person wanted to have sex and it just escalated from there with them having wrong assumptions about what their relationship was about
@@vickypedia1308 you could say that Stolas have not had a chance to explore romantic feelings before and maybe haven't recognised them/thought it was friendship (which he seems to not really have either), while sexual attraction to Blitzø was really loud an prominent
@@vickypedia1308 It's called being a pent up repressed gay. He doesn't even know himself if it was love or just a crush since he has literally no experience with it.
@@soledadariasaller754 I mean from everything we heard, Blitz is definitely topping in his relationship with Stolas, at least most of the time. Outside of that though, I am SURE he has expertise in all of the fields of fornication, taking various objects up the rear included.
while stolas and blitzo knowing eahc other as kids feels lie a cop out initially, it does work for a couple reasons, in my opinion. First, its how Blitzo even knew about the grimoire in the first place, thus setting in placethe premise of the show itself when he tries to steal it as an adult. secondly, it plays into how stolas misunderstood their relationship. For Stolas he beleived it was like a romance as written in the stars, two childhood friends reconnecting aftr years apart and becoming somehting more. But for BLiTZO he was rented to be the plaything of some rich kid he robbed. Its part of this THING in this episode where Stolas thought one thing about his life but the reality was different.
Yeah they actively play with the trope to show that the trope is what Stolas thinks when he finds Blitz, he feels like he is in one of his erotic novels bc thats what he knows romance as
It definitely took me a couple of episodes and a lot of thinking to enjoy the "they met as kids" thing because I also initially thought it was kind of lame--so many stories do this when they really don't need to--but all the reasons you've laid out actually make this one of the few examples where it actually works
My thoughts about spiderwebs on the shelves. Just to show that, all that wealth, all that gold, was pretty much forgotten by those living there. It's just there to be there, but pretty much no one touched it for a long time.
12:39 I'm surprised Skyne didn't comment in how Stella is strangling what is effectively hells equivalent of a smoll dog/cat here. Like even as a child she enjoyed choking the life out of things thet couldn't defend themselves.
The trope of them meeting is useful for 2 reasons: 1) it shows classism and why Blitz feels always like a servant to Stolas 2) it shows how Stolas romanticizes this thing with Blitzø, like in a fairy tale their love is meant to be, they met as kids and met again 15 years later just when Stolas more needed it etc etc
*I think what a lot of people are missing when it comes to the meeting as kids thing is this: trust.* Stolas isn't stupid, you know? At least, not stupid enough to leave out something as important as The GRIMOIRE out to a stranger, or even a one-night-stand. So not only did they need to have a natural way for Blitzo to meet Stolas & learn about the Grimoire, but they also needed to give Stolas a reason to be FOND of him. Fond enough that, when Blitzo steals it the first time, he DOESN'T get mad or seek it out right away. Because he has that fondness, affection and TRUST towards Blitzo enough to let it slide. Now, is Blitzo *worthy* of that trust? Probably not. Look what happened last time. But the first time I watched the show, by episode 2, I straight-up ASSUMED they knew each other in their youth (albeit not that far back) because of how chill Stolas was about this.
It 100% explains why Blitzo dotes on Loona to the point of smothering...giving her the unconditional love that Cash never gave him. He wants to be the dad HE wanted, but not the one Loona actually needs (she's a traumatized 22-year old, not a kid)
Also as long as I'm spamming comments on this vid apparently, I feel like there's one thing most people miss: Blitz meeting and talking with Stolas when they were kids is the entire reason why he knows about the grimoire and what it can do in the first place. They absolutely could have done it some other way, of course, but it's definitely worth taking into consideration
Plus, something that Skyen didn't mention when talking about how the second meeting scene could've played differently if they hadn't met before: why would Stolas even begin the teasing/talking when Blitzø comes, instead of just having him be thrown out or something? It would need an entire rework of the scenario.
@MattTOB618 I feel like you can easily rework that. Blitzo gets caught, Stolas says I'll deal with him then (considering he's not a particularly malicious person) Stolas would then bluff to Blitzo about how he's gonna disintegrate him or smth (when actually he's just gonna teleport him outside to escape), Blitzo panics and offers a "really fucking fun time" as a trade to let him go, Stolas considers bc honestly this party and Stella is killing him so what's the harm? Esp if the imp is offering? They fuck, Stolas's world is rocked and he's knocked out sleeping, Blitz then takes this opportunity to steal his Grimoire and hightail it outta there. End scene, canon continues. But I can understand if you like the childhood friend angle better! I just found it a lil strange he would basically trade sexual favors for his book with his "very first friend"?
@@stokerbramwell I think it kind of makes sense, the last thing he heard was Stella talking about sex and suddenly his crush pulls up, and stolas is a very naive person whose into romcoms, it's not surpising that's where his drunken mind would go
@@JaserJas as later scenes imply, its implied that stolas is VERY MUCH into romance stories and rally wants to take the fantasies into reality. PLus, its also implid he feels VERY unloved and unwanted (what with his wife nt even finding him attractive let alone loving him), so he latches onto the idea of blitzo sneaing in to make ove to him because that's how it goes in the stories he reads and he REALLY wants to beleive in that idea.
Some notes on the timeline revealed in this episode, and tying back to S1E2… So Stolas and Blitzø were clearly prepubescent in the first section. Then the reunion was 25 years later (and not super long before the beginning of the series). Octavia is 17 years old. And then the final piece is that it is a reasonable assumption for Stolas & Stella to have been 18-19 when they married & had Octavia (given the way they very much don’t sexualize Octavia since she’s a minor, it makes sense to extend that to her parents at her conception). That means present-day Stolas is 35-36yo. And was 10-11 in the starting flashback (with that being as young as he could be and have a 17yo daughter while being at least 18 at conception). It also means that the flashback at the start of LooLoo Land? If we assume Octavia is 5 in that flashback, then Stolas would have been 23-24 when singing that bittersweet lullaby about his death and the world ending and his story being over. Early 20s, and he already considers he’s got nothing left to look forward to other than his daughter. That’s TRAGIC.😢 And then there’s a small thing we learn later on that makes him feeling that way in his early 20s even WORSE. 😭😭😭😭😭 ETA: One other detail that stands out to me- Stolas’ favorite plush is an imp, that’s in all of his childhood portraits, and that he was hugging as he slept.
I do believe Blitz remembers Stolas, the whole reason he's there is for the book Stolas showed him when they were kids. He's just distracted because he's focused almost entirely on the book and not Stolas so he's not responding properly.
Well, there's also the matter of how *much* he remembers. He does remember the book, clearly. That was something that stood out to him. The question is, how much did Stolas stand out in Blitz' memories? I'm speculating here, but I don't think Stolas as a person made much of an impression on Blitz in that memory. He's just some fancy kid with "boring" hobbies and a cool book, he didn't really add that much to the experience other than following along and holding that sack. Kind of like a girl I met in elementary school who had a stick bug. I remember the stick bug. I remember her name - if mostly because it was a really small elementary school and there was a popular song at the time where her given name was in the lyrics - but I can't for the life of me remember anything about her personality, if I even knew anything about her personality to begin with.
I'd argue that Stolas doesn't remember Blitzo all that well either - evidence suggests he's been fantasizing about him for years as his first friend/crush/etc. And Stolas is the sort who runs a lot on the image of other people that he has in his head, rather than the actual person. See Octavia for details. The man means well, but he is /not/ good at paying attention to others.
@@helenanilsson5666 I think it's less Stolas didn't make an impression and more, alot of shit happened. Stolas just got married and had a kid, he wasn't doing anything else so it would be easier to remember, where as Stolas was dealing with the gulit of his mom dying, fizz being injured, starting a company, etc
I think a point of them being together as children is that Blitz knows about the Book Stolas has because he showed it to him and told him what it can do
The shared neglectful father trauma would be enough to draw them together IF they were mature enough to talk about their trauma, which they aren't. Your point is fair, but given who the characters are they do need an extrerior force to push their encounter I think.
Yeah, and I really don't think Blitz would have done his "really fast" (all night) pity fuck if it wasn't for the "first ever friend" comment. That did *something* to him and if it hadn't been for that comment he would have been out of there - because Blitz at that point was a supreme jerk, to a much stronger degree than he's been since Truth Seekers unlocked his ability to at least try to be decent to his employees and by extension possibly some other people around him.
Yes! It would be enough to create a healthy relationship between two mature characters however… yeah, their thing is that their relationship is incredibly unhealthy and they are not the best communicators-
☝THIS. THIS SO MUCH. It'd be a VERY different vibe for them to talk about personal stuff, and even if they did, it'd be their personal perceptions of it, verses say, Blitz physically seeing Stolas hit by his dad for not adhering "properly" to the power hierarchy (and then daddy-praising himself.) That, along with the knowledge that he was bought, gives Blitz a first-hand experience of how "rich people" are. And just the whole bonding moment at the tree, where kids are just.. More real-talky.. Which obviously is shrouded by life experiences as they grow up. 🤔😢
42:46 "Why is there spider webs in all the shelves" I know the real reason is probably to highlight how empty they are but in as someone who cleans other people's stuff in real life I can assure you that if I can *avoid* cleaning behind/around/under a bunch of super expensive shit then I will absolutely avoid the shit out of that. Every time you're within nudging range of an expensive trinket you are taking a gamble and the Goetia family doesn't strike me as the kind of people who would settle with an "oh dear, that's unfortunate" and request a different cleaner next time. Seeing how packed those shelves were, I bet in-universe whoever was in charge of cleaning the shelves just dusted the part of the shelf in front of the shit and the more accessible surfaces of the shit but never touched the surfaces in the back.
The childhood interaction also cements in Blitzø's mind that there relationship has always been, and always will be transaction. feeding into Blitzø feeling that Stolas can never love him.
the childhood friends thing is so. i don’t even care if it’s bad writing. to me it is like many aspects of the show, just shamelessly self indulgent. and its self indulgent in a way that i am all too happy to indulge in. it is one of my FAVORITE romance tropes (which is all ace attorney’s fault) which makes this one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. it’s not for everyone. i don’t care. it’s for me.
The most recent couple of episodes has made it very clear why it was important that they knew each other as children. Trust the show, it's setting up some very important stuff. Specifically, without spoiling: It's not a "they were meant for each other" or "they were destined." _Stolas_ reads it that way, but that's a lot of the tragedy-he's profoundly a romantic person who views things from a... okay continuing would actually spoil things, so just like... believe me when I say that that this isn't gratuitive. ❤
The play scene between Blitz and Fizz is also important at establishing them being good friends at one point, because if we only had the scene when they were performing, they would look more like rivals
Okay so people probably told you about this. This is NOT a spoiler but you should watch the: Just Look My Way music video and the first Helluva short BEFORE you watch S2 ep8. The short isnt "necessary" that important but the music vid kinda is, and it has beautiful animation.
I wasn't sold on the we met as kids idea either, but it is the catalyst to Stolitz Cuz Stolas told Blitz under the tree what the grimoaire does and that's why Blitz was at the house specifically for. If not for meeting when they were young, Blitz wouldn't have a reason to be at the house. Stolas on the other hand wouldn't have been so kind to just any imp, so they had to have had a prior relationship in order for him to take care of the intruder himself. Despite how he's treating Blitz and Octavia, Stolas is not actually a cream puff and is very aware of his position in the world. In s1ep2 he petrified another imo without a second thought, so I doubt he would have treated Blitz any different if they had just met
i agreeee i also really hate the “they have met as kids” trope out of nowhere thrown into the plot but i think it’s really well done and justified in this case. it sets the ground for many aspects of their dynamic that might’ve felt a bit meh or less emotional/complicated without this background
So yes, the runes have been translated and yes on the Helluva Boss subreddit. ''Bestowed to mainly succubi and incubi by the king sin of lust, these crystals allow access to the mortal realm. Any hellborn in possession of a registered crystal may be granted portal summons. It is common practice to have the crystal paired with another object for convenience. Jewelry is the most popular option. This writing in runes shit was fun at first but i know i should be spending more time with my friends and family.'' credit to user Lord_Satis for that.
The childhood thing isn't just to show connections and shard trauma, it is also there to address one of the things that was considered a plothole by the comnunity at the time: How does Blitzø know about the Grimoire and what it can do? The childhood meeting is the best way to do so as a child wouldn't know to keep it a secret. As an adult Stolas would realistically never just tell Blitzø about the Grimoire during their first ever meeting, where it doesn't feel strange for child Stolas to do so.
Blitz found out from Verosika, who also has a crystal to access the human world, and who heard about the power of grimoires from some drunk Goetia failson who was trying to impress her. Problem solved. Or else you can just contrive any of a thousand scenarios in which the secret of the grimoires isn't as secret as it's supposed to be
I feel like the main reason they chose to go with the childhood connection was not for blitz- but rather to have that repetition that you brought up. Having it be that in 25 eyars the only one that has set Stolas free - and twice now - was Blitz... it pushes Stoolas to ONLY seek it from Blitz. Like, Stolas hasn't had that freedom in so long and it#'s BLITZ that brought it back, as he did the first time. Now we have Stolas in the mindset that it'sa BLITZ that he needs, rather than a healthy relationship, it's just something to associate with this one imp.
This might become my favorite reaction channel to helluva boss lol. You see, personally I think the meeting as children trope actually makes A LOT of sense, not because of the "destined to be together" thing but because, again for me, this encounter sets a precedent for how they relate to each other and to their relationship. From Blitzø side, the very first time he meets Stolas he was sold/rented by his father as a playmate to "help his family" and as adults he kinda sells/rents himself (his body/time) as a plaything to Stolas in order to help his business; it also explains how someone like Blitzø even knew about the grimoire (or however the fuck that's spelled). Meanwhile for Stolas this is the first time he has a friend, someone who wanted to spend time with him (because he didn't know his father bought/rented him, he didn't even think about it as a possibility, and to be truly fair I'm not even sure he even thought of it as an adult, for Stolas this was a genuine relationship) and he's also someone who is so "free" in comparison to himself, someone who gets to feel and act and have fun. As you said, Blitzø symbolizes freedom. This translates as their relationship as adults because Stolas thinks he's there for him again, that he actually wants to be there instead of as transaction and he's also someone who took the reins of their own life and achieved his "dreams" instead of just resign himself to his lot in life (as Stolas himself did), so it makes sense that he would risk things by divorcing his wife, defying his "destiny" and most importantly by borrowing the grimoire to Blitzø. Because let's remember that the grimoire is really important to his job, to his rol in the goetia family and a really dangerous thing in the wrong hands, so I can't really see Stolas giving it to just anyone who gets him off after a one night stand. But he trusts Blitz, so he gives it to him. But anyways I loved this reaction and I love how you actually understand the characters. And the way you took the time to explain and talk about everything that goes into animation made me appreciate the show so much more. Pd: I this so funny how Stolas has a stair for his library as if he couldn’t reach the top shelf quite easily without help lol
"His relationship with blitz being an opportunity to really express himself has become so intoxicating to him" FUCK that was a RAW line, poor stolas🥺🥺🥺🥺
1:04:18 "he just lays there staring at the wall" I've always read this as Stolas disassociating during sex with Stella, it's always had very...bad vibes. That might just be my read of it though.
While I was also unsure of this reveal when it first came out, as time has passed and the show has built more from it (not spoiling how), I think it works thematically well, as it encompasses the nature of their relationship; of Stolas finding a sincere and profound experience through it all while Blitzo sees it as simply selling himself to Stolas to steal from him (and maybe also having sincere feelings about it but he won't acknowledge it).
I didn't interpret Stolas's father having many children as him being a playboy, I saw it as him having children as means to extend his influence and power.
Full moon is just the perfect amount of excruciatingly painful. Apology tour fumbled some stuff imo. E.g., the party inviting dennis who Blitz has almost fucked once at a party kinda takes away the weight of it, but the moment of Blitz almost reaching out? Perfect (ly devestating).
The reason I'm ok with the met as kids trope here is it feels more like it's a way of showing the dissonance in each of their views of their relationship. For stolas it was a fundamental and positive experience, for blitz it was a con to get his shit head dad money that he would easily forget.
Skyen we have missed you so much, your deepdives into Helluva are legit some of the best most genuine talks about the show on RUclips, you understand its themes and what it wants to be and its characters and its just- such a breath of fresh air in a sea of people who, with all due respect, dont seem to wanna engage with the artpiece past its superficial elements.
I see now that you had a little trouble with seeing "Paimon" listed in the episode. As you probably realized, that is Stolas' father. And yes, his name is Paimon, and thats a real demon. All the Goetia come from the "72 keys of Solomon" or something like that, most notably the book Ars Goetia. In there we can find all the demons we see here listed, and their summoning circles and descriptions are fairly accurate. Stolas was the first one, and he is described there as an owl who can see predictions and prophecies in the stars. So we have that, and a setup for all the Goetias to have bird motifs. Asmodeus is described to having 3 heads in the book, and he has them on the show. Andrealphus (Stella's brother mentioned in this episode) and Paimon are all there too.
... I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realize it was Johnathan Freman (aka Jafar) until you pointed it out. How the HELL does she keep hiring these A listers?!
1:04:28 I like to think neither of them are bad in bed stolas is just so unbelievably gay that he couldn’t even get into it when he did it for the first time and every time after that until blitzo he was just scarily bored
I personally love that they met as kids, and I especially think it was done really well for both of their characters. It's definitely tropey, but this is a Hella Novella after all
I get you with "met as kids" trope but I do think it works here and makes for a tighter storytelling bc the fact that Stolas knew Blitz as a child let him even start with that "ravish me" persona. I don't see him doing that for just any random imp. If they didn't meet as children they would have to get a separate episode of how did they manage to meet as adults in a way that crossed class boundaries and let at least one of them develop any sort of trust.
2.5 hours? This man is cooking today. And this episode is a LOT to unpack. Can't wait for the thoughts on Apology tour and Full Moon (the latest 2 episodes). Once they're done, we'll only get the last 3 in October onward
I had the same reservations about "they met as kids" as you at first too. I think Disney has beaten that horse to death, and it is beyond cringe at this point. But, given everything that we know about the show and these characters, I don't think it was a bad decision. It works.
Since (without angelic weapons) Blitz can’t “truly” hurt Stolas, he can “safely” be the submissive, and enjoy all the pain and torture as pleasure. Which, probably reenforces Blitz’s view that it is a power fantasy role play kink
The childhood meeting was important, because that is when Blitzo learned about the Grimoire. To take IMP to the next level he got the idea to use that knowledge he kept in his back pocket the whole time. That is why he was there for their second meeting in general. If they never met, he wouldn't know about the book. I also doubt Stolas would have let him get away with what he was doing if they met as adults.
The point of them meeting like that is to bridge the gap between ep1 Stolas and him going forward. People largely assumed Stolas was just a pervert abusing his power based on Episode 1 but this episode shows you that no, he was simply matching Blitz's energy. He thought Blitz liked the aggressive flirting so he followed suit, he saw blitz take the book after fucking him so he assumed that would be an ok arrangement. He acted the way he did to keep the man he was crushing on around
personally i was a little cold on this episode when it came out, but with where we are in the story now, i think it was the perfect opener for the season also, blitz must remember stolas if he came back to steal the grimoire
Idk, I kinda remember the girl in the parallel class that had a stick bug in elementary school - but I remember the stick bug's existence more reliably than I remember the girl's personality.
yeah agree. although im still rooting for the fact that blitz was sold to stolas being utilized a bit more in like future conflict regarding their class difference (especially stolas' reaction to it)
39:46 yes. yesyesyesyesyes. I love it when media utilizes stuff like tails, ears, literally any extra trait that can be used for body language. It's a unique way of showing something like emotions and stuff.
I think the relationship between the two in the past is being explained so that one we know how blitzo knows about the grimoire and two to explain why Solas didn't go all demon Prince on blitzo for stealing the grimoire.
something I love about the song in this episode is it's Stolas' leitmotif given words. listen in earlier episodes and future episodes, that melody is present almost every time he shows up, all the way to episode one. it's so fascinating because the leitmotif was established long before this song was written, and they add to each other. the leitmotif makes the song better and the song makes the leitmotif hit different. now every time I hear the leitmotif in the background I'm reminded of his emotional turmoil.
Georgina Leahy is a Brandon Rogers regular, on his RUclips channel, if you want to see her play much more comedic characters. I think she's very funny and I love her voice.
I mean, I don’t see anything *wrong* with shows that are about daddy issues. There’s a lot of different kinds. Charlie and Luci: Depressive deadbeating w/o communication Stolas and Via: Father distracted with personal problems Blitzø and Loona: Neither was taught how to love Buckzo and Blitzo: Conditional and neglectful Paimon and Stolas: Narcissistic and neglectful.
Don't forget Crimson and Moxxie. The issue is that it seems this is the *'only'* form of trauma that Viv knows how to write and does it to excess. It would be harder to name the major characters who *don't* have daddy issues.
@@PlanetZoidstar But every form of trauma displayed is different. Charlie’s issues with Luci are completely different from Octavia’s issues with Stolas, which are completely different from Moxxie’s issues with Crimson. The only commonality is that they come from dads. It’s the opposite of tokenism and I’m massively here for it.
I'd care more if literally every other example of abuse in the show wasn't played for laughs. For some reason abuse is only taken seriously be the show when it's being dolled out to Stolas. I.M.P kill for money - Wacky black comedy slapstick. Striker kills for money - Iredeemable monster.
I think that their childhood interactions perfectly set up their unhealthy dynamic as adults! Of course, it also justifies the or interactions (Blitz learning about the grimoire, etc.), however it could’ve been differently. But the most important factor is how they see each other and their relationship, and it does an incredible (imo, a lot of people would disagree) job at setting that up. Thank you so much for the video, I was looking forward to your season 2 reactions almost as much as looked forward to the new season 2 episodes:D 1:45:37 there are!
About Blitz and Stolas meeting as kids, two thoughts. 1) I don't read it as Blitz not remembering so much as it just didn't really matter to him the way it did to Stolas. (I think Blitz must have remembered at least partially because he knew about the book, what it does, and exactly where to find it) 2) I don’t imagine Stolas getting with a complete stranger, so I feel like the connection works. I also didn’t particularly care for them meeting as kids when I first watched it, but thought it over again during your analysis, and even now I'm not 100% sure it was the best, but I do like it more now.
There were these reviewers of this show I really liked that were so disgusted by this episode's use of 'they knew each other as kids' that they straight up bailed and haven't been back since. 😔
I lost a lot of respect for them over that. Of course, they can cover or not cover whatever they want, and it is fine to dislike the tropes employed in this episode, but a lot of their criticism towards the show was really weird. Like, complaining that it didn‘t follow the structure of the pilot and Episode 1, when they also argued that episode 2, which didn‘t follow that structure won them over on the show. And then the weird moral grandstanding over domestic abuse, as though it is a topic that is only allowed to be portrayed if it is portrayed perfectly accurate.
This show is a secret soap opera. *Of course* it’ll have these kind of tropes… What mostly got me about all of that is… I definitely thought Stolas would be *much* older than just.. 30-something? That.. still seems kind of weird.
1:43:19 He does read romance novels as we've seen him reading them previously (for example at the dinner table when Stella is talking to Striker) and his "You were here to rrrrravish me, weren't you" was likely him playing on a trope from one of his books, so you were on the right track there I won't say what the asmodean crystal thing is about cause spoilers, but you're right that people on social media translated the runes in the book and figured out what Stolas was planning when this ep came out Edit: oh nevermind chat gives you the translation my bad
Honestly, thanks for pointing out the background designs for characters. One thing I've kinda gathered is that Viv loves making characters. That can be a problem when your main cast suddenly gets too big. But if you use it for the background characters instead, suddenly the world feels much more lived in. (It might also bring the bonus of not cramming every detail and design idea you like into already existing characters. Have some ideas for a Succubus/Imp hybrid? A cool inspiration for a Hellhound? A whole new demon species? Just a design detail you really want to draw but it doesn't fit an existing character? The background won't run out of space, so go ahead and draw those designs). It's also worth pointing out that a bunch of background characters are ocs of people who work on the show and stuff. Which is also amazing, because you really dont notice most of the time.
god stella has such a gorgeous design. if i could cosplay one character from this show it'd be her. she's so awful i love her. edit: also stolas saying 'are you here to ravish me?' and then freaking out at the slightest hint of it gives me the vibe that he either only read books that faded to black right when the 'ravishing' commenced, or skipped over those sections entirely out of shyness. like he knows what sex is obviously, that's how octavia exists. but that's not 'ravishing', which is whatever fantasies he could come up with.
You are correct, the page has a translation explaining what the crystals do. We also are told later on Asmosian crystals are what succubi use to travel to the human world.
Skyen, you are well versed in spotting the Tropes, Themes and Cliches. I have been cackling on my end watching you either predict things, or spot things that rarely get said outloud.
2:02:10 In Genshin Impact, all gods carry names of the 72 demons in the Ars Goetia, this includes all archons (Barbatos, Morax, Baal, Beelzebul (in Helluva as Queen Bee), Buer, Focalor(s), etc...) and more. This is why King Paimon is in Helluva Boss and also featured in Genshin (it also suggests what kind of creature exactly the Genshin Paimon actually is, even though it is never stated in the game). Because of this, it is entirely possible for a future Genshin Impact character / npc to be named Stolas as well. Just a little fun fact on the side.
I'm not sure how you got to the conclusion that Blitz doesn't remember Stolas? Its clear that the reason he's there is for the Grimoire that lets him access the mortal real. Also Stolas explicitly says something like "It has been 2 decades and a half since we've last seen each other" and blitz doesn't react like "What? what do you mean?" or something
@@gearguts7259oh, haven’t heard about that, but I’m really glad! It would’ve been so hard to wait for 3 months straight (I watch HB since 2019 so it wouldn’t be that unusual, of course, but the shorts are nice)
I feel like they write and animate them in batches, thats why. I mean it makes sense, if you have a team, spread them out for efficiency. Everyone can’t work on the same thing at the same time. Writers write a batch of episodes, they get storyboarded, and animated while the writers work on the next batch at the same time.
Huh. Turns out I'm weird for not minding the childhood thing at all, and enjoying what it did for the story. I guess everyone has tropes they dislike... I just didn't realize until this video that this might be a common one.
1:29:35 *sees the 'card' "NOW"* must be getting to the end of the video, only the song left (and some trauma)! *Looks at timestamp* well...skyren must be having fun for an hour for a song (and trauma)!
Sure maybe Blitz could've feasibly been guilty enough to sleep with Stolas while mostly making sense with his character, but then Stolas wouldn't have had any reason to give Blitz the time of day. I also think Stolas having FAR (almost unreasonably) more sentimental investment in their relationship than Blitz is a really nice (half-?)subversion of the "met as kids=destined to be together" trope you mentioned. I think it's less that Blitz doesn't remember Stolas- it would be weird for him to remember the explanation of his grimoire and not remember at least some amount of him/their day together- and more that Blitz doesn't care nearly as much as Stolas... because he has little reason to get as overly invested in this one day relationship as Stolas. We see he has many every day connections, and we see them hinder his life and well being. He lives with other kids, we've seen he has and worked with a twin sister, other children come to their shows probably daily. Blitz could be starved for affection or attention at this point, but there's not really much reason for him to get that from this one day other than getting a day off really. Their interactions don't seem that off his and Fizz's, and Blitz knows from the get-go he was bought for this boy like a toy (to put it nicely), and then he presumably got mercifully thrown out when it was found out he'd stolen from them. This was one day of Blitz's life probably completely disconnected from the rest of it beyond whatever Blitz's dad blew the money on, and sadly he probably even just considered this another (if somewhat odd) day of work. Then he went back to his real friends and likely didn't think that much about Stolas until normal assassination business went to shit somehow and he thought about the book and maybe taking contracts in a whole other realm. Thus why he thought his "Heh, hi, sorry for crashing your party, I can explain-" act would work, but is taken aback when Stolas is like "You're here to RAVISH ME, aren't you?" and he's like "Uuh... You?" like "Why would he think I want to ravish him?? Oh did he have a crush on me or something? Is this a _kink,_ always fantasized about the _plaything_ his dad bought him that one time?" And then all of the sudden Stolas let on that in some little way, he actually mattered to him and made his life a little better, and can still make his life a little better if he just puts a bit of effort in, and boom Blitz is hooked. Sure them having a connection as kids mattered to Stolas because he had so few other connections, but knowing each other clearly wasn't what mattered to Blitz, it's how Stolas feels about it that moves him. I feel that adds an interesting aspect to their relationship and differentiates it a decent amount from the laziness that often plagues that sort of trope. PS- Thanks for calling Blitz out for what he is. I've been "I know what you are." Dog Facing Blitz since he was a brat about Stolas allegedly trying to get him to bottom in season 1 episode 2 LooLoo Land. Me Thinks He Might Protest Too Much.
I like the dynamic set up when they were kids because it emphasizes that this is a major societal issue that has impacted their relationship through two generations and brings up repeating the cycles that their own parents participated in. They were raised to see each other a certain way; Stolas as someone who doesn’t struggle and only uses imps as a Goetia and Blitzø as product bought in some capacity to keep Stolas entertained.
You can join the discord, if you want (link active for 7 days): discord.gg/TbXGPd93
I was gonna join, but damn 10,000 members? Sounds packed lol
It's really not that bad - it's active, but it rarely gets chaotic.
woo, I'm not too late to join this time!
I think because most of us are lurking introvers.
No offence intended.
the link doesn't seem to be working. is it already expired?
I think to me, the point of them meeting as kids is that _Stolas_ thinks all those things you described; it's _destined,_ they're _meant_ to be, the estranged childhood friends having a destined meeting as adult and engaging in a steamy, illicit affair that evolved into _true love!_ Isn't it romantic?! You can see that entire trope in Stolas... like... almost every action.
Meanwhile, to Blitzø, Stolas was just this rich kid he met as a child who had a very useful book.
Honestly the funniest part to me was the fact that Paimon is so rich he probably never even noticed he was robbed
15:38 "why are you WET? what did you DO?" never have I ever related harder to Skyen as a pet owner
I died from the little windows noise that came right after 😭
The cats just broke me. :)
8:04 paimon, the father of stolas, in real life demonology, has over 70 kids, so, that's a lot of names to keep track of...
I think the trope of them meeting when younger helps perpetuate the idea of their relationship being transactional as stolas' dad purchases blitz as entertainment for his son rather than them just being natural friends.
I think that makes sense, but I don't like how it kind of seems to imply that Stolas always had a crush on Blitz, when in season 1 it seemed more like a gradual change from transaction to genuine feelings (which I personally prefer a lot more. I mean, if Stolas did love Blitzo romantically right from the start, then why did he make it all about the sex in the first couple episodes?)
@@vickypedia1308 because he has no clue how to enter, maintain or nurture a relationship with anyone. His naive, sheltered inexperienced ass resorted to using charm and his royal position in a desperate attempt to keep the object of his affections close to him i.e the deal.
@@vickypedia1308 I believe because of misunderstandings they both just thought that the other person wanted to have sex and it just escalated from there with them having wrong assumptions about what their relationship was about
@@vickypedia1308 you could say that Stolas have not had a chance to explore romantic feelings before and maybe haven't recognised them/thought it was friendship (which he seems to not really have either), while sexual attraction to Blitzø was really loud an prominent
@@vickypedia1308 It's called being a pent up repressed gay. He doesn't even know himself if it was love or just a crush since he has literally no experience with it.
Paimon teaches Stolas not to bow to others because they should bow to them, yet in the Ozzie's ep Stolas still bows to Blitz as he leaves 🥹
subtle showing that stolas sees blitzo as an equal worthy of respect
"I see that little back arch, you little bottom." - TBSkyen, 2024
I did the puppet side eye meme when he said that
The funny part is Blitzø is hinted at being the top most of the time
@@ultratog1028 Hinted? it's all but confirmed
@@KingsBard I can't entirely agree. I think he switches. Like with Chaz, I feel he was the bottom. But it leaves room for interpretation
@@soledadariasaller754 I mean from everything we heard, Blitz is definitely topping in his relationship with Stolas, at least most of the time.
Outside of that though, I am SURE he has expertise in all of the fields of fornication, taking various objects up the rear included.
while stolas and blitzo knowing eahc other as kids feels lie a cop out initially, it does work for a couple reasons, in my opinion.
First, its how Blitzo even knew about the grimoire in the first place, thus setting in placethe premise of the show itself when he tries to steal it as an adult.
secondly, it plays into how stolas misunderstood their relationship. For Stolas he beleived it was like a romance as written in the stars, two childhood friends reconnecting aftr years apart and becoming somehting more. But for BLiTZO he was rented to be the plaything of some rich kid he robbed. Its part of this THING in this episode where Stolas thought one thing about his life but the reality was different.
Yeah they actively play with the trope to show that the trope is what Stolas thinks when he finds Blitz, he feels like he is in one of his erotic novels bc thats what he knows romance as
It definitely took me a couple of episodes and a lot of thinking to enjoy the "they met as kids" thing because I also initially thought it was kind of lame--so many stories do this when they really don't need to--but all the reasons you've laid out actually make this one of the few examples where it actually works
My thoughts about spiderwebs on the shelves.
Just to show that, all that wealth, all that gold, was pretty much forgotten by those living there.
It's just there to be there, but pretty much no one touched it for a long time.
My thought was that it's shorthand for empty, but symbolism is always nice.
12:39
I'm surprised Skyne didn't comment in how Stella is strangling what is effectively hells equivalent of a smoll dog/cat here. Like even as a child she enjoyed choking the life out of things thet couldn't defend themselves.
The trope of them meeting is useful for 2 reasons:
1) it shows classism and why Blitz feels always like a servant to Stolas
2) it shows how Stolas romanticizes this thing with Blitzø, like in a fairy tale their love is meant to be, they met as kids and met again 15 years later just when Stolas more needed it etc etc
*I think what a lot of people are missing when it comes to the meeting as kids thing is this: trust.* Stolas isn't stupid, you know? At least, not stupid enough to leave out something as important as The GRIMOIRE out to a stranger, or even a one-night-stand. So not only did they need to have a natural way for Blitzo to meet Stolas & learn about the Grimoire, but they also needed to give Stolas a reason to be FOND of him. Fond enough that, when Blitzo steals it the first time, he DOESN'T get mad or seek it out right away. Because he has that fondness, affection and TRUST towards Blitzo enough to let it slide.
Now, is Blitzo *worthy* of that trust? Probably not. Look what happened last time. But the first time I watched the show, by episode 2, I straight-up ASSUMED they knew each other in their youth (albeit not that far back) because of how chill Stolas was about this.
It 100% explains why Blitzo dotes on Loona to the point of smothering...giving her the unconditional love that Cash never gave him. He wants to be the dad HE wanted, but not the one Loona actually needs (she's a traumatized 22-year old, not a kid)
Also as long as I'm spamming comments on this vid apparently, I feel like there's one thing most people miss: Blitz meeting and talking with Stolas when they were kids is the entire reason why he knows about the grimoire and what it can do in the first place. They absolutely could have done it some other way, of course, but it's definitely worth taking into consideration
Plus, something that Skyen didn't mention when talking about how the second meeting scene could've played differently if they hadn't met before: why would Stolas even begin the teasing/talking when Blitzø comes, instead of just having him be thrown out or something? It would need an entire rework of the scenario.
@MattTOB618 I feel like you can easily rework that.
Blitzo gets caught, Stolas says I'll deal with him then (considering he's not a particularly malicious person) Stolas would then bluff to Blitzo about how he's gonna disintegrate him or smth (when actually he's just gonna teleport him outside to escape), Blitzo panics and offers a "really fucking fun time" as a trade to let him go, Stolas considers bc honestly this party and Stella is killing him so what's the harm? Esp if the imp is offering?
They fuck, Stolas's world is rocked and he's knocked out sleeping, Blitz then takes this opportunity to steal his Grimoire and hightail it outta there.
End scene, canon continues. But I can understand if you like the childhood friend angle better! I just found it a lil strange he would basically trade sexual favors for his book with his "very first friend"?
@@JaserJas it's definitely a little odd! And especially odd that Stolas immediately took it in that direction out of the blue in the first place
@@stokerbramwell I think it kind of makes sense, the last thing he heard was Stella talking about sex and suddenly his crush pulls up, and stolas is a very naive person whose into romcoms, it's not surpising that's where his drunken mind would go
@@JaserJas as later scenes imply, its implied that stolas is VERY MUCH into romance stories and rally wants to take the fantasies into reality. PLus, its also implid he feels VERY unloved and unwanted (what with his wife nt even finding him attractive let alone loving him), so he latches onto the idea of blitzo sneaing in to make ove to him because that's how it goes in the stories he reads and he REALLY wants to beleive in that idea.
Helluva Boss’ team is essentially “We didn’t have to, but we did anyways” and we really appreciate them for it.
Some notes on the timeline revealed in this episode, and tying back to S1E2…
So Stolas and Blitzø were clearly prepubescent in the first section. Then the reunion was 25 years later (and not super long before the beginning of the series). Octavia is 17 years old. And then the final piece is that it is a reasonable assumption for Stolas & Stella to have been 18-19 when they married & had Octavia (given the way they very much don’t sexualize Octavia since she’s a minor, it makes sense to extend that to her parents at her conception). That means present-day Stolas is 35-36yo. And was 10-11 in the starting flashback (with that being as young as he could be and have a 17yo daughter while being at least 18 at conception).
It also means that the flashback at the start of LooLoo Land? If we assume Octavia is 5 in that flashback, then Stolas would have been 23-24 when singing that bittersweet lullaby about his death and the world ending and his story being over. Early 20s, and he already considers he’s got nothing left to look forward to other than his daughter. That’s TRAGIC.😢
And then there’s a small thing we learn later on that makes him feeling that way in his early 20s even WORSE. 😭😭😭😭😭
ETA: One other detail that stands out to me- Stolas’ favorite plush is an imp, that’s in all of his childhood portraits, and that he was hugging as he slept.
Everyone Else: How did they pull NORMAN REEDUS?! How did they pull KE$HA?!?
Me: How the hell did they pull goddamn JAFAR?!?!?!?!?!
This is how I know Hazbin’s gonna go as long as it needs because that lady can NETWORK her ass off.
Yo same
I do believe Blitz remembers Stolas, the whole reason he's there is for the book Stolas showed him when they were kids. He's just distracted because he's focused almost entirely on the book and not Stolas so he's not responding properly.
Well, there's also the matter of how *much* he remembers. He does remember the book, clearly. That was something that stood out to him. The question is, how much did Stolas stand out in Blitz' memories? I'm speculating here, but I don't think Stolas as a person made much of an impression on Blitz in that memory. He's just some fancy kid with "boring" hobbies and a cool book, he didn't really add that much to the experience other than following along and holding that sack.
Kind of like a girl I met in elementary school who had a stick bug. I remember the stick bug. I remember her name - if mostly because it was a really small elementary school and there was a popular song at the time where her given name was in the lyrics - but I can't for the life of me remember anything about her personality, if I even knew anything about her personality to begin with.
I'd argue that Stolas doesn't remember Blitzo all that well either - evidence suggests he's been fantasizing about him for years as his first friend/crush/etc. And Stolas is the sort who runs a lot on the image of other people that he has in his head, rather than the actual person. See Octavia for details. The man means well, but he is /not/ good at paying attention to others.
@@helenanilsson5666 I think it's less Stolas didn't make an impression and more, alot of shit happened. Stolas just got married and had a kid, he wasn't doing anything else so it would be easier to remember, where as Stolas was dealing with the gulit of his mom dying, fizz being injured, starting a company, etc
@@helenanilsson5666 Yup, to Stolas Blitz is his only friend. To Blitz Stolas is that rich kid he spent a day with and stole from.
I think a point of them being together as children is that Blitz knows about the Book Stolas has because he showed it to him and told him what it can do
Also explains why adult Blitzø thought he could get away with stealing from a Goetia-- he's done it before, with this one specifically.
yes! Blitz probably wouldnt know if it wasnt for that interaction
The best part of these reactions is Skyen's eternal struggle against his cats.
Relatable 😂
"WHY ARE YOU WET?!" brought me so much joy
If I recall. The kids were mostly just adlibbing and playing when they were doing the voice over with Fizz and Blitz. So its just so genuinely cute.
2:02:19 (pause) "...thats a Genshin Impact character?" THE LAUGH THAT I MADE IS EMBARRASSING AND TOO MUCH OF A COUGH
the silence before and after THAT keeps killing me.
The shared neglectful father trauma would be enough to draw them together IF they were mature enough to talk about their trauma, which they aren't. Your point is fair, but given who the characters are they do need an extrerior force to push their encounter I think.
Yeah, and I really don't think Blitz would have done his "really fast" (all night) pity fuck if it wasn't for the "first ever friend" comment. That did *something* to him and if it hadn't been for that comment he would have been out of there - because Blitz at that point was a supreme jerk, to a much stronger degree than he's been since Truth Seekers unlocked his ability to at least try to be decent to his employees and by extension possibly some other people around him.
Yes! It would be enough to create a healthy relationship between two mature characters however… yeah, their thing is that their relationship is incredibly unhealthy and they are not the best communicators-
☝THIS. THIS SO MUCH. It'd be a VERY different vibe for them to talk about personal stuff, and even if they did, it'd be their personal perceptions of it, verses say, Blitz physically seeing Stolas hit by his dad for not adhering "properly" to the power hierarchy (and then daddy-praising himself.) That, along with the knowledge that he was bought, gives Blitz a first-hand experience of how "rich people" are. And just the whole bonding moment at the tree, where kids are just.. More real-talky.. Which obviously is shrouded by life experiences as they grow up. 🤔😢
"Oh! That's an ugly noise son"
There were RUclipsrs who made loops of Stolas's crying.
42:46 "Why is there spider webs in all the shelves"
I know the real reason is probably to highlight how empty they are but in as someone who cleans other people's stuff in real life I can assure you that if I can *avoid* cleaning behind/around/under a bunch of super expensive shit then I will absolutely avoid the shit out of that. Every time you're within nudging range of an expensive trinket you are taking a gamble and the Goetia family doesn't strike me as the kind of people who would settle with an "oh dear, that's unfortunate" and request a different cleaner next time.
Seeing how packed those shelves were, I bet in-universe whoever was in charge of cleaning the shelves just dusted the part of the shelf in front of the shit and the more accessible surfaces of the shit but never touched the surfaces in the back.
The childhood interaction also cements in Blitzø's mind that there relationship has always been, and always will be transaction. feeding into Blitzø feeling that Stolas can never love him.
the childhood friends thing is so. i don’t even care if it’s bad writing. to me it is like many aspects of the show, just shamelessly self indulgent. and its self indulgent in a way that i am all too happy to indulge in. it is one of my FAVORITE romance tropes (which is all ace attorney’s fault) which makes this one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. it’s not for everyone. i don’t care. it’s for me.
The most recent couple of episodes has made it very clear why it was important that they knew each other as children. Trust the show, it's setting up some very important stuff.
Specifically, without spoiling: It's not a "they were meant for each other" or "they were destined." _Stolas_ reads it that way, but that's a lot of the tragedy-he's profoundly a romantic person who views things from a... okay continuing would actually spoil things, so just like... believe me when I say that that this isn't gratuitive. ❤
The play scene between Blitz and Fizz is also important at establishing them being good friends at one point, because if we only had the scene when they were performing, they would look more like rivals
Okay so people probably told you about this. This is NOT a spoiler but you should watch the: Just Look My Way music video and the first Helluva short BEFORE you watch S2 ep8. The short isnt "necessary" that important but the music vid kinda is, and it has beautiful animation.
Yep I second this 100% it’s worth it, and I honestly think it could’ve been in an episode if the pacing had allowed them to
I wasn't sold on the we met as kids idea either, but it is the catalyst to Stolitz
Cuz Stolas told Blitz under the tree what the grimoaire does and that's why Blitz was at the house specifically for. If not for meeting when they were young, Blitz wouldn't have a reason to be at the house.
Stolas on the other hand wouldn't have been so kind to just any imp, so they had to have had a prior relationship in order for him to take care of the intruder himself. Despite how he's treating Blitz and Octavia, Stolas is not actually a cream puff and is very aware of his position in the world. In s1ep2 he petrified another imo without a second thought, so I doubt he would have treated Blitz any different if they had just met
This is such a good point
2:02:20 Many Genshin Impact characters ( mainly "Archons") are named after members of a Goetia family.
paimon lol
i agreeee i also really hate the “they have met as kids” trope out of nowhere thrown into the plot but i think it’s really well done and justified in this case. it sets the ground for many aspects of their dynamic that might’ve felt a bit meh or less emotional/complicated without this background
So yes, the runes have been translated and yes on the Helluva Boss subreddit.
''Bestowed to mainly succubi and incubi by the king sin of lust, these crystals allow access to the mortal realm.
Any hellborn in possession of a registered crystal may be granted portal summons.
It is common practice to have the crystal paired with another object for convenience.
Jewelry is the most popular option.
This writing in runes shit was fun at first but i know i should be spending more time with my friends and family.'' credit to user Lord_Satis for that.
The childhood thing isn't just to show connections and shard trauma, it is also there to address one of the things that was considered a plothole by the comnunity at the time:
How does Blitzø know about the Grimoire and what it can do?
The childhood meeting is the best way to do so as a child wouldn't know to keep it a secret. As an adult Stolas would realistically never just tell Blitzø about the Grimoire during their first ever meeting, where it doesn't feel strange for child Stolas to do so.
Blitz found out from Verosika, who also has a crystal to access the human world, and who heard about the power of grimoires from some drunk Goetia failson who was trying to impress her.
Problem solved.
Or else you can just contrive any of a thousand scenarios in which the secret of the grimoires isn't as secret as it's supposed to be
@@3BSkyenThe reason for the childhood thing gets made clear later on in the series.
It's not the asspull that many seem to think.
I feel like the main reason they chose to go with the childhood connection was not for blitz- but rather to have that repetition that you brought up. Having it be that in 25 eyars the only one that has set Stolas free - and twice now - was Blitz... it pushes Stoolas to ONLY seek it from Blitz.
Like, Stolas hasn't had that freedom in so long and it#'s BLITZ that brought it back, as he did the first time.
Now we have Stolas in the mindset that it'sa BLITZ that he needs, rather than a healthy relationship, it's just something to associate with this one imp.
I was not spiritually ready to hear you say "I can see that back arch, you little bottom."
FATHER HAS RETURNED TO THE FANDOM!!!
This might become my favorite reaction channel to helluva boss lol. You see, personally I think the meeting as children trope actually makes A LOT of sense, not because of the "destined to be together" thing but because, again for me, this encounter sets a precedent for how they relate to each other and to their relationship. From Blitzø side, the very first time he meets Stolas he was sold/rented by his father as a playmate to "help his family" and as adults he kinda sells/rents himself (his body/time) as a plaything to Stolas in order to help his business; it also explains how someone like Blitzø even knew about the grimoire (or however the fuck that's spelled). Meanwhile for Stolas this is the first time he has a friend, someone who wanted to spend time with him (because he didn't know his father bought/rented him, he didn't even think about it as a possibility, and to be truly fair I'm not even sure he even thought of it as an adult, for Stolas this was a genuine relationship) and he's also someone who is so "free" in comparison to himself, someone who gets to feel and act and have fun. As you said, Blitzø symbolizes freedom. This translates as their relationship as adults because Stolas thinks he's there for him again, that he actually wants to be there instead of as transaction and he's also someone who took the reins of their own life and achieved his "dreams" instead of just resign himself to his lot in life (as Stolas himself did), so it makes sense that he would risk things by divorcing his wife, defying his "destiny" and most importantly by borrowing the grimoire to Blitzø. Because let's remember that the grimoire is really important to his job, to his rol in the goetia family and a really dangerous thing in the wrong hands, so I can't really see Stolas giving it to just anyone who gets him off after a one night stand. But he trusts Blitz, so he gives it to him.
But anyways I loved this reaction and I love how you actually understand the characters. And the way you took the time to explain and talk about everything that goes into animation made me appreciate the show so much more.
Pd: I this so funny how Stolas has a stair for his library as if he couldn’t reach the top shelf quite easily without help lol
"His relationship with blitz being an opportunity to really express himself has become so intoxicating to him" FUCK that was a RAW line, poor stolas🥺🥺🥺🥺
1:04:18
"he just lays there staring at the wall" I've always read this as Stolas disassociating during sex with Stella, it's always had very...bad vibes.
That might just be my read of it though.
Definitely read it that way too.
@@NeonFraction Yeah, this is comphet at best and... some Valentino shit at *worst.*
7:50 "Theres gonna be so much horny fan-art of the dad..."
I think it's safe to assume theres horny fanart of every single character lmao
While I was also unsure of this reveal when it first came out, as time has passed and the show has built more from it (not spoiling how), I think it works thematically well, as it encompasses the nature of their relationship; of Stolas finding a sincere and profound experience through it all while Blitzo sees it as simply selling himself to Stolas to steal from him (and maybe also having sincere feelings about it but he won't acknowledge it).
yes exactly!!!
I didn't interpret Stolas's father having many children as him being a playboy, I saw it as him having children as means to extend his influence and power.
Did... did you miss the visual gag at 1:21:58? Blitz tries to break Stolas' neck, but fails because Stolas is an owl.
Fun fact, the VA of Stolas actually teared up during the recording of his song and I think they used this take in the episode.
can't wait to see skyen's reaction to full moon/apology tour, both episodes are just beautyfull
Full moon is just the perfect amount of excruciatingly painful.
Apology tour fumbled some stuff imo. E.g., the party inviting dennis who Blitz has almost fucked once at a party kinda takes away the weight of it, but the moment of Blitz almost reaching out? Perfect (ly devestating).
The reason I'm ok with the met as kids trope here is it feels more like it's a way of showing the dissonance in each of their views of their relationship. For stolas it was a fundamental and positive experience, for blitz it was a con to get his shit head dad money that he would easily forget.
Skyen we have missed you so much, your deepdives into Helluva are legit some of the best most genuine talks about the show on RUclips, you understand its themes and what it wants to be and its characters and its just- such a breath of fresh air in a sea of people who, with all due respect, dont seem to wanna engage with the artpiece past its superficial elements.
I see now that you had a little trouble with seeing "Paimon" listed in the episode. As you probably realized, that is Stolas' father. And yes, his name is Paimon, and thats a real demon.
All the Goetia come from the "72 keys of Solomon" or something like that, most notably the book Ars Goetia. In there we can find all the demons we see here listed, and their summoning circles and descriptions are fairly accurate.
Stolas was the first one, and he is described there as an owl who can see predictions and prophecies in the stars. So we have that, and a setup for all the Goetias to have bird motifs. Asmodeus is described to having 3 heads in the book, and he has them on the show. Andrealphus (Stella's brother mentioned in this episode) and Paimon are all there too.
... I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realize it was Johnathan Freman (aka Jafar) until you pointed it out. How the HELL does she keep hiring these A listers?!
1:04:28 I like to think neither of them are bad in bed stolas is just so unbelievably gay that he couldn’t even get into it when he did it for the first time and every time after that until blitzo he was just scarily bored
Oh my god the foreshadowing in this episode is crazy
I personally love that they met as kids, and I especially think it was done really well for both of their characters. It's definitely tropey, but this is a Hella Novella after all
exactly, it helps humanize them. U understand why don't they don't view thier relationship the same way even more
I get you with "met as kids" trope but I do think it works here and makes for a tighter storytelling bc the fact that Stolas knew Blitz as a child let him even start with that "ravish me" persona. I don't see him doing that for just any random imp. If they didn't meet as children they would have to get a separate episode of how did they manage to meet as adults in a way that crossed class boundaries and let at least one of them develop any sort of trust.
2.5 hours? This man is cooking today. And this episode is a LOT to unpack. Can't wait for the thoughts on Apology tour and Full Moon (the latest 2 episodes). Once they're done, we'll only get the last 3 in October onward
Also yes that is jafar
It's funny how both Paimon and Cash are actual angels when compared to another father we'll meet later on through out the series...
Oh lordy I almost forgot
I mean… have you *seen* actual angels? Not a high bar to clear.
I was like: "wait who are you talking about- *oh…him"* lmao
Oh. Right. I forgot. Yeah…
Can you tell me? I’ve forgotten
Viv writing a main conflict that doesn't involve daddy issues challenge: impossible 😅
Write what you know, right?
@@timeneseshilariously, Viv actually spoke up that she has a really good relationship with both her parents!
Don’t forget about the fangirl craze classic yaoi and femboy fan favorite…
@@VaryaTheVillain I’m not talking about her parents, I’m talking about her skills as a writer.
@@timeneses ah, fair enough!
I love how I watched the newest episode yesterday and said to myself "I'd love to see Skyen's reaction to this" I SUMMONED HIMMMM!!!
Two and a half hours? Ohhh this gonna be good...
I had the same reservations about "they met as kids" as you at first too. I think Disney has beaten that horse to death, and it is beyond cringe at this point. But, given everything that we know about the show and these characters, I don't think it was a bad decision. It works.
Since (without angelic weapons) Blitz can’t “truly” hurt Stolas, he can “safely” be the submissive, and enjoy all the pain and torture as pleasure. Which, probably reenforces Blitz’s view that it is a power fantasy role play kink
The childhood meeting was important, because that is when Blitzo learned about the Grimoire. To take IMP to the next level he got the idea to use that knowledge he kept in his back pocket the whole time. That is why he was there for their second meeting in general. If they never met, he wouldn't know about the book. I also doubt Stolas would have let him get away with what he was doing if they met as adults.
Well, a good reprieve from just constantly rewatching the last episode.
The point of them meeting like that is to bridge the gap between ep1 Stolas and him going forward. People largely assumed Stolas was just a pervert abusing his power based on Episode 1 but this episode shows you that no, he was simply matching Blitz's energy. He thought Blitz liked the aggressive flirting so he followed suit, he saw blitz take the book after fucking him so he assumed that would be an ok arrangement. He acted the way he did to keep the man he was crushing on around
I love the fact that Blitz's full name is Blitzo Buckzo.
personally i was a little cold on this episode when it came out, but with where we are in the story now, i think it was the perfect opener for the season
also, blitz must remember stolas if he came back to steal the grimoire
Idk, I kinda remember the girl in the parallel class that had a stick bug in elementary school - but I remember the stick bug's existence more reliably than I remember the girl's personality.
yeah agree. although im still rooting for the fact that blitz was sold to stolas being utilized a bit more in like future conflict regarding their class difference (especially stolas' reaction to it)
39:46
yes. yesyesyesyesyes.
I love it when media utilizes stuff like tails, ears, literally any extra trait that can be used for body language. It's a unique way of showing something like emotions and stuff.
I think the relationship between the two in the past is being explained so that one we know how blitzo knows about the grimoire and two to explain why Solas didn't go all demon Prince on blitzo for stealing the grimoire.
That stolas impression was incredible i must say
i felt the trope of the child meeting was more to establish that blitz would know of the Grimoire and its ability to go to the human world.
something I love about the song in this episode is it's Stolas' leitmotif given words. listen in earlier episodes and future episodes, that melody is present almost every time he shows up, all the way to episode one. it's so fascinating because the leitmotif was established long before this song was written, and they add to each other. the leitmotif makes the song better and the song makes the leitmotif hit different. now every time I hear the leitmotif in the background I'm reminded of his emotional turmoil.
Georgina Leahy is a Brandon Rogers regular, on his RUclips channel, if you want to see her play much more comedic characters. I think she's very funny and I love her voice.
I mean, I don’t see anything *wrong* with shows that are about daddy issues. There’s a lot of different kinds.
Charlie and Luci: Depressive deadbeating w/o communication
Stolas and Via: Father distracted with personal problems
Blitzø and Loona: Neither was taught how to love
Buckzo and Blitzo: Conditional and neglectful
Paimon and Stolas: Narcissistic and neglectful.
Don't forget Crimson and Moxxie.
The issue is that it seems this is the *'only'* form of trauma that Viv knows how to write and does it to excess.
It would be harder to name the major characters who *don't* have daddy issues.
@@PlanetZoidstar But every form of trauma displayed is different. Charlie’s issues with Luci are completely different from Octavia’s issues with Stolas, which are completely different from Moxxie’s issues with Crimson. The only commonality is that they come from dads. It’s the opposite of tokenism and I’m massively here for it.
The way they linger on Stellas hand as shes swinging at Stolas chilled me.
same, it pisses me off how people refuse to acknowledge it
I'd care more if literally every other example of abuse in the show wasn't played for laughs.
For some reason abuse is only taken seriously be the show when it's being dolled out to Stolas.
I.M.P kill for money - Wacky black comedy slapstick.
Striker kills for money - Iredeemable monster.
I think that their childhood interactions perfectly set up their unhealthy dynamic as adults! Of course, it also justifies the or interactions (Blitz learning about the grimoire, etc.), however it could’ve been differently. But the most important factor is how they see each other and their relationship, and it does an incredible (imo, a lot of people would disagree) job at setting that up.
Thank you so much for the video, I was looking forward to your season 2 reactions almost as much as looked forward to the new season 2 episodes:D
1:45:37 there are!
The way I literally yelled for joy when I saw this caught me off guard YESSSS
May I say that I particularly enjoy your commitment to not edit any of this? Your cats are giving me a lot of vicarious joy.
Also I will have to say this, BUT ITS FUNNY AS SHIT TO SEE YOU STRUGGLE WITH THE CATS MAN XD THAT "NONONONO" WAS SO GOOD
About Blitz and Stolas meeting as kids, two thoughts. 1) I don't read it as Blitz not remembering so much as it just didn't really matter to him the way it did to Stolas.
(I think Blitz must have remembered at least partially because he knew about the book, what it does, and exactly where to find it)
2) I don’t imagine Stolas getting with a complete stranger, so I feel like the connection works.
I also didn’t particularly care for them meeting as kids when I first watched it, but thought it over again during your analysis, and even now I'm not 100% sure it was the best, but I do like it more now.
There were these reviewers of this show I really liked that were so disgusted by this episode's use of 'they knew each other as kids' that they straight up bailed and haven't been back since. 😔
I lost a lot of respect for them over that. Of course, they can cover or not cover whatever they want, and it is fine to dislike the tropes employed in this episode, but a lot of their criticism towards the show was really weird. Like, complaining that it didn‘t follow the structure of the pilot and Episode 1, when they also argued that episode 2, which didn‘t follow that structure won them over on the show.
And then the weird moral grandstanding over domestic abuse, as though it is a topic that is only allowed to be portrayed if it is portrayed perfectly accurate.
Yeaaaah. Yeah. That sucks.
Oof
This show is a secret soap opera. *Of course* it’ll have these kind of tropes…
What mostly got me about all of that is… I definitely thought Stolas would be *much* older than just.. 30-something? That.. still seems kind of weird.
1:43:19 He does read romance novels as we've seen him reading them previously (for example at the dinner table when Stella is talking to Striker) and his "You were here to rrrrravish me, weren't you" was likely him playing on a trope from one of his books, so you were on the right track there
I won't say what the asmodean crystal thing is about cause spoilers, but you're right that people on social media translated the runes in the book and figured out what Stolas was planning when this ep came out
Edit: oh nevermind chat gives you the translation my bad
Honestly, thanks for pointing out the background designs for characters. One thing I've kinda gathered is that Viv loves making characters. That can be a problem when your main cast suddenly gets too big. But if you use it for the background characters instead, suddenly the world feels much more lived in. (It might also bring the bonus of not cramming every detail and design idea you like into already existing characters. Have some ideas for a Succubus/Imp hybrid? A cool inspiration for a Hellhound? A whole new demon species? Just a design detail you really want to draw but it doesn't fit an existing character? The background won't run out of space, so go ahead and draw those designs).
It's also worth pointing out that a bunch of background characters are ocs of people who work on the show and stuff. Which is also amazing, because you really dont notice most of the time.
god stella has such a gorgeous design. if i could cosplay one character from this show it'd be her. she's so awful i love her. edit: also stolas saying 'are you here to ravish me?' and then freaking out at the slightest hint of it gives me the vibe that he either only read books that faded to black right when the 'ravishing' commenced, or skipped over those sections entirely out of shyness. like he knows what sex is obviously, that's how octavia exists. but that's not 'ravishing', which is whatever fantasies he could come up with.
Asmodean Crystals
Bestowed to mainly succubi and incubi by the King Sin of Lust, these crystals *allow access to the mortal realm*.
You are correct, the page has a translation explaining what the crystals do. We also are told later on
Asmosian crystals are what succubi use to travel to the human world.
Its a mystery to me why I love these insanely long ADHD artist breakdowns of one of my favorate shows but i do.
Skyen, you are well versed in spotting the Tropes, Themes and Cliches. I have been cackling on my end watching you either predict things, or spot things that rarely get said outloud.
2:02:10 In Genshin Impact, all gods carry names of the 72 demons in the Ars Goetia, this includes all archons (Barbatos, Morax, Baal, Beelzebul (in Helluva as Queen Bee), Buer, Focalor(s), etc...) and more. This is why King Paimon is in Helluva Boss and also featured in Genshin (it also suggests what kind of creature exactly the Genshin Paimon actually is, even though it is never stated in the game). Because of this, it is entirely possible for a future Genshin Impact character / npc to be named Stolas as well. Just a little fun fact on the side.
Oh hey! i recognize some of those names from cult of the lamb bosses. makes sense
I'm not sure how you got to the conclusion that Blitz doesn't remember Stolas? Its clear that the reason he's there is for the Grimoire that lets him access the mortal real. Also Stolas explicitly says something like "It has been 2 decades and a half since we've last seen each other" and blitz doesn't react like "What? what do you mean?" or something
Good thing you're getting back into the show as we are exiting the content drought. Two episodes less than a month appart, can you believe it ?
Hopefully there will be some shorts in between.
@@martins.4240 iirc there are two shorts confirmed before Ghostfuckerz!
@@gearguts7259 Very nice, almost can't wait!
@@gearguts7259oh, haven’t heard about that, but I’m really glad! It would’ve been so hard to wait for 3 months straight (I watch HB since 2019 so it wouldn’t be that unusual, of course, but the shorts are nice)
I feel like they write and animate them in batches, thats why. I mean it makes sense, if you have a team, spread them out for efficiency. Everyone can’t work on the same thing at the same time. Writers write a batch of episodes, they get storyboarded, and animated while the writers work on the next batch at the same time.
Huh. Turns out I'm weird for not minding the childhood thing at all, and enjoying what it did for the story. I guess everyone has tropes they dislike... I just didn't realize until this video that this might be a common one.
1:29:35 *sees the 'card' "NOW"* must be getting to the end of the video, only the song left (and some trauma)! *Looks at timestamp* well...skyren must be having fun for an hour for a song (and trauma)!
Sure maybe Blitz could've feasibly been guilty enough to sleep with Stolas while mostly making sense with his character, but then Stolas wouldn't have had any reason to give Blitz the time of day.
I also think Stolas having FAR (almost unreasonably) more sentimental investment in their relationship than Blitz is a really nice (half-?)subversion of the "met as kids=destined to be together" trope you mentioned.
I think it's less that Blitz doesn't remember Stolas- it would be weird for him to remember the explanation of his grimoire and not remember at least some amount of him/their day together- and more that Blitz doesn't care nearly as much as Stolas... because he has little reason to get as overly invested in this one day relationship as Stolas. We see he has many every day connections, and we see them hinder his life and well being. He lives with other kids, we've seen he has and worked with a twin sister, other children come to their shows probably daily. Blitz could be starved for affection or attention at this point, but there's not really much reason for him to get that from this one day other than getting a day off really. Their interactions don't seem that off his and Fizz's, and Blitz knows from the get-go he was bought for this boy like a toy (to put it nicely), and then he presumably got mercifully thrown out when it was found out he'd stolen from them. This was one day of Blitz's life probably completely disconnected from the rest of it beyond whatever Blitz's dad blew the money on, and sadly he probably even just considered this another (if somewhat odd) day of work. Then he went back to his real friends and likely didn't think that much about Stolas until normal assassination business went to shit somehow and he thought about the book and maybe taking contracts in a whole other realm. Thus why he thought his "Heh, hi, sorry for crashing your party, I can explain-" act would work, but is taken aback when Stolas is like "You're here to RAVISH ME, aren't you?" and he's like "Uuh... You?" like "Why would he think I want to ravish him?? Oh did he have a crush on me or something? Is this a _kink,_ always fantasized about the _plaything_ his dad bought him that one time?" And then all of the sudden Stolas let on that in some little way, he actually mattered to him and made his life a little better, and can still make his life a little better if he just puts a bit of effort in, and boom Blitz is hooked.
Sure them having a connection as kids mattered to Stolas because he had so few other connections, but knowing each other clearly wasn't what mattered to Blitz, it's how Stolas feels about it that moves him. I feel that adds an interesting aspect to their relationship and differentiates it a decent amount from the laziness that often plagues that sort of trope.
PS- Thanks for calling Blitz out for what he is. I've been "I know what you are." Dog Facing Blitz since he was a brat about Stolas allegedly trying to get him to bottom in season 1 episode 2 LooLoo Land. Me Thinks He Might Protest Too Much.
I only now noticed that little stolas' bunny plushy is like a demon version of max from sam and max
To answer the title. Oh yknow... THE SAME GUY WHO VOICES JAFAR!!!
I like the dynamic set up when they were kids because it emphasizes that this is a major societal issue that has impacted their relationship through two generations and brings up repeating the cycles that their own parents participated in. They were raised to see each other a certain way; Stolas as someone who doesn’t struggle and only uses imps as a Goetia and Blitzø as product bought in some capacity to keep Stolas entertained.
Love me a 2-hour Skyen breakdown.