#Five Years by Bo Burnham! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

quillyfied · 1 month ago

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HELLO, my fellow feral girlies (GN)! How about that episode, huh? Gosh I sure hope nobody was too comfortable with that ending, because as much as I have now built my house inside of the way Blitzo’s fingertips linger on Stolas’ cheek, this episode was as much setup as it was payoff and we have SO MUCH GROUND TO COVER. Buckle up, buttercups, time to dissect Mastermind! In over six thousand words!!

I CALLED IT, BITCHES, BOTH STOLAS AND IMP WERE ALWAYS GONNA BE IN DEEP LEGAL SHIT. I CALLED THAT. I ALSO CALLED BEE AND OZZIE STANDING UP FOR BLITZO. I was NOT EXPECTING this vision to come true so soon, nor for it to be covered in a single episode, but pacing issues aside…holy shit. We have FEASTED. And to be honest, even the pacing issue isn’t so much an issue for me; when Our Flag Means Death was airing its second season, they released the episodes in batches but left the finale to air on its own, and that…woof. It made the finale feel breakneck in a way that was already upsetting, given the budget and episode number cuts and then the subsequent cancellation. However, watching all of season 2 in one shot somehow fixed that issue; the finale no longer felt so fast-paced and sudden when watched in context. I do have to wonder if Mastermind is going to feel the same way upon future rewatches. Obviously I haven’t had the time to test this theory yet. Okay. Initial thoughts out of the way, now for an attempt at more chronology:

Do y’all wonder if Andrealphus’ butler has white fingertips from frostbite after years of working for this ice bitch? Because all of the imp’s extremities being white is kind of really upsetting actually.

Andrealphus is…SUCH a bitch. Like. Dramatic, evil, campy bitch. I would love to know his backstory, like how old he actually is and how much of a hand in Stella’s raising and arranged marriage he had. (There will of course be a Stella introspective later, but let’s focus on the brother for now, since he’s hogging the spotlight.) It’s interesting to me to see this episode just how entitled Andrealphus feels…to Stolas’ power and assets. And how so very carefully he lays his trap for Stolas after learning the crucial information needed to orchestrate Stolas’ downfall. It’s exquisite, actually.

(Don’t start humming Bo Burnham’s Unpaid Intern song under your breath during the intern scene. Don’t do it.)

…do we need to have a discussion about how the photos the Hell Cops use are what seems like a candid shot of Loona at a party, Blitzo and Moxxie’s mug shots, and possibly a wanted poster or another candid of Millie during her solo days? Do we need to pick that apart? We probably don’t but it seems very likely to me that the picture of Loona is a snapshot of Bee’s party, possibly with Bee’s hands on her shoulders (and if not Bee, maybe Tex? It’s been a bit, I can’t quite remember), which…yikes. Feels like a paparazzi shot.

This whole sequence of trying to HIDE EVERYTHING (see: DESTROY EVERYTHING) is so deeply funny and also so…so very dark. Loona grabbing the picture of their first mission together as IMP. Blitzo doing his usual of bullying Moxxie but taking him along as Blitzo goes to get the others. Blitzo doing his best to protect his family from the Hell Cops and ultimately failing. The speed of all of this is disconcerting and it does feel very fast, but consider from a story perspective how deliberate that is. Blitzo can’t schedule a yearly shot for Loona more frequently than every five years, but Andrealphus apparently just needs a brunch hour to pull together an entire ass trial in front of every available Goetia and Sin in Hell. We also don’t actually know when Andrealphus and Stella’s conversation happened, so it’s possible this has been months in the making, but it feels like we would have some indication if that was the case. It’s so much darker and bleaker to realize that all Andrealphus needs to ruin an imp’s life is more or less just a phone call.

Muzzling Loona was just a low blow, though. Like. From a safety standpoint, she has the most natural weaponry there, so it makes sense, but it’s just cruel. I get it, Hell, but still. Yikes.

(CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHY LUCIFER’S SIGIL IS CRACKED??)

And here he is…Satan. Not disappointed by him, especially not by his little relaxation guru (Yogirt omgf), but I do see what Viv meant by his design maybe being less creative or out there compared to, like, Ozzie. And, uh, holy shit, can we talk about the background politics of all of this? There’s just so much, wow, my brain is going absolutely a mile a minute, like—look at the size differentials between the Sins. Lucifer is the smallest, obvi, we stan a short king, but we know that all of the Sins we’ve seen so far have a much larger, more aggressive form. Satan is SO MUCH BIGGER than the rest of them. And he’s presumably in his CASUAL FORM. Size is not an indicator of power but you don’t give a character that size and THAT VOICE and not expect him to be an absolute unit. Likely the strongest Sin present, the one that the other Sins seem to defer to, the self-proclaimed ruler of the dark (and yeah, it was a bit too ambiguous an acting choice to hint that Satan is lying about ruling the dark before Lucifer’s Fall just by Oz and Bee looking grimly up at Lucifer’s empty chair, but with everything going on in this episode, I don’t blame them for not taking the time to make that more clear tbh. There’s always a future episode or short. Or Hazbin Hotel). Crimson would shit himself before ever daring to blackmail Satan. Satan’s name is used in place of God’s in most of the blasphemous swears in this show, except for two very interesting key moments in this very episode. Most interestingly of all, Satan himself is the one who invokes Lucifer’s name on one of these occasions (“What in Lucifer’s Hell is this?” when Stolas hops in to save Blitzo). The other, tellingly, is Stolas, a royal demon who resides in Pride. Y’know, Pride. Lucifer’s ring. Lucifer isn’t the one running the courtroom about to execute Stolas’ beloved, but Lucifer would absolutely be one of the few Sins in that room who could maybe see through what Stolas is doing in trying to take the blame, who MIGHT be even a little bit sympathetic to an impossible love like Stolas and Blitzo’s (to say nothing of Ozzie and Bee), and the ONLY Sin who could interfere with Satan’s judgement. Like. Copyright reasons aside, there is a very real story reason for why Lucifer being in that courtroom might not be a good idea, and I will live with that delusion happily, thank you.

Cannot believe Andrealphus went the rapist angle with Blitzo. It’s so cleverly evil. It’s a multi-purpose motive: first, explain why Stolas isn’t present (didn’t want to make him face his abuser, THE IRONY); second, draw out Blitzo’s fury, bc the madder he is, the less he’s going to be able to articulate (see the “I’d just kill him myself” debacle) and thus less chance of anyone there listening to him; third, to draw Stolas out and make him admit the truth, or at least assume blame. And the ways Andrealphus still just belittles and mocks Stolas even as he’s assuming a concerned brother in law role, the VICTIM BLAMING of it all (“too weak and ashamed to come forward about it” BITCH, also say it louder for every single person who’s been railing about how Stolitz is toxic because one or the other is a rapist, you are literally agreeing with the peacock so far in the closet he thinks pointing out how hot his sister is is what straight people do and he is blending in with the Straights so well by continuing to do that, and on top of that, THE PEACOCK KNOWS HE’S LYING, congrats and maybe consider that more closely). Accusing Blitzo of sexual assault also allows Andrealphus to enforce the class divides, because Blitzo is aberrant in every way an imp isn’t supposed to be: he dares to assault his betters, he dares to run his own business, he dares to steal royal artifacts to access the mortal realm without supervision or restraint, he dares to talk back when accused. He has to paint Blitzo as dangerous, both for Stolas to come to the courtroom and to enforce to the lower classes forced to watch this tripe that this is what happens when an imp steps out of line.

And if Blitzo stepping out of line is the set dressing, then let’s all remember the real reason behind this, the catalyst to Andrealphus’ much-schemed power grab: this is all happening because Stolas slept with an imp. An IMP. Stella called him a treasonous embarrassment over it, raged over it the way she likely would not have had he chosen a more suitable bedwarmer; Andrealphus calls him a deviant freak. The fact that lending out Stolas’ grimoire is a crime on par with sleeping with the lower class really paints what a farce this whole thing is. Because lending out the grimoire? Bad, but if Stolas is being victimized here then at least it makes sense and can be forgiven. Willingly sleeping with an imp? Loving an imp? Unconscionable. Deviant. Unwholesome. Unfit for duties.

Even Oz and Bee catching flak from Mammon about slumming it with the lower classes and getting NO SUPPORT from anyone in the room over it besides each other is so much more than I ever expected Helluva Boss to give us on the class divide front. I worry for this show, because tackling such a heavy and complex topic like that can be really make or break (too little and it’s pandering, too much and it’s not a comedy anymore and we are already straddling that line too hard), but in a lot of ways, pointing out the hypocrisy and the flaws is such a huge part of the battle anyway. Fixing it should be the goal, but…I mean, we can simplify a lot in fiction. Have happy endings and redemptions in fiction that couldn’t ever happen in real life. Fandom and fiction are not activism, but they are important staging grounds for discussion, and I’m so curious about where the discussion is going to go in this show, when the emphasis is so much upon the characters and less the plot and setting (though neither of those are slacking much either).

ALRIGHT TIME TO THROW PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE OUT THE WINDOW, VASSAGO IS HERE. I love him. I love his boots. I love him cussing Andrealphus out in Spanish. I love the Harvey Guillen of him. I love how his very existence proves that Stolas isn’t alone, that there are other Goetia—and likely established Goetia—who aren’t blinded by their own importance. I want to know how long he’s been around too, tbh. I want him and Stolas to become wonderful besties. Stolas needs a friend SO BADLY.

Tiny RIP for how the amount of story and character bits that have to be given priority and thus making it so we don’t get to see Asmodeus realizing he’s in the same room as the guy who kidnapped and tried to murder Fizzarolli. We don’t get to see Fizz realizing that the cowboy fuckface who kidnapped him is testifying against his best friend. We don’t get to see Striker taking Bombproof to the vet. Tragic. (Also, is it just me, or is the scar on the wrong eye? It might just be me.)

“We don’t know who wanted Stolas dead” riiiiight, right, right, right, the only people who know that are Stolas, Striker, Stella, and Andrealphus. Right. RIGHT. RIGHT. RIIIIGHT.

OCTAVIA AT LEAST SHOULD FIND OUT SOMEDAY OKAY. LIKE. OUT OF EVERYONE, SHE DESERVES TO KNOW WHAT HER MOTHER DID.

The many ways this trial is so not about justice at all is infuriating, and rightfully so, but the way NO ONE CARES that Striker literally asked for his line and Andrealphus fed it to him is just—it’s so—AAAAUGH.

Also, I love that Satan just…lets them argue. Just straight up lets the other Sins call each other names until he finally gets bored. Because letting Sins do that is a better use of time than letting Blitzo defend himself at all. Because this was all just a show of power, a pageant for the upper class to pat itself on the back over. (Vassago’s thoughtful looks, though. This fight is only just beginning, I can feel it. Satan had the balls to call Stolas out on his hubris, when really it’s his own and absolutely Andrealphus’ that might be about to bring their own castles down around their ears?? NICE.)

SATAN SAYING THIS WILL BE BROADCASTED TO REMIND IMPKIND THAT THE SINS’ POWER CANT BE CHALLENGED AGAIN. FUCKING AGAIN. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN AGAIN. And, specifically, IMPkind. Just the imps. Not all the demons. Just imps. Only imps. Is he saying this because Blitzo’s existence is really that much of a threat to them in this moment, that his alleged actions are that much of a challenge to Hellish authority? Or is there some hidden lore in that proclamation that we’re gonna get in the future? Gosh I hope it’s hidden lore, I would love to know about how much a pain in the ass imps are despite Satan “creating them to be obedient” what the FUCK, Sin of Wrath?? How does that make any sense?

(Moment of silence for how Oz’s hands are tied; he doesn’t have the power to go against Satan’s sentencing, not even for Fizz, and we all know he’d do almost anything for Fizz. But this is the hierarchy of Hell that Ozzie would be challenging, and as high up as he is…I genuinely don’t know if it’s a CAN’T, or a WON’T. It might be both.)

Hang on have to sob about Blitzo telling his family that he loves them before he’s publicly executed on hellwide television.

ONLY TO BE SAVED BY STOLAS OF THE ARS GOETIA, PLAYING THE HERO AND PROTECTING AN IMP. We don’t know how much Stolas knows up until this point, but it’s very likely nothing. He just sees Blitzo about to be executed while channel flipping; if he saw the part where Andrealphus accuses Blitzo of assault, he would have been there so much sooner. Which is why that bit of pageantry was as much for the royals’ benefit as for Stolas’, had he managed to see it.

Now. The Song. The thing giving me goosebumps this very second. Because Stolas is still catching up to the situation, he can’t address the actual concerns regarding himself that Andrealphus laid on the table, but he sure can lay down a total cover to protect Blitzo and negate anything that might possibly have been said. He doesn’t need to know the specifics. Blitzo is about to be executed and the only thing he’s done that would warrant that sort of response is using the grimoire, something Stolas knew was going to get them both into trouble from the beginning. Might as well go whole hog, then, and claim total responsibility. Not only that, but package it to the court in a way that they can understand: Stolas was using the imp for undisclosed nefarious deeds, very evil, very cunning, isn’t he just a mastermind? All of that was public. Everything else in this song that happens under the reversed color palette? That’s inner thoughts, baybee. And I highly doubt that Blitzo and Stolas can hear each other during their duet, what with Stolas keeping his back turned for most of it, and certainly no one else could hear it, but I do think that people in the know about Blitzo and Stolas and their entire messy situation could probably infer it. AND BLITZO SANG. ACTUALLY SANG. HE IS READY TO COMMUNICATE ON THAT EMOTIONAL LEVEL. SO HUGE. Like. Blitzo doesn’t sing. He doesn’t meet the people around him on that level. But he’s been trying lately. He’s been wanting to change, wanting to meet his loved ones at that level, to meet Stolas at that level. Of COURSE it takes staring death in the face for Blitzo to realize that; nobody else in this show can ever have an emotional epiphany under normal circumstances, so why would this be any different? XD But back to my point: Stolas and Blitzo have admitted now to loving each other, but. BUT. I strongly doubt that they admitted it out loud TO each other yet. I could be wrong. But I don’t think I am. I have to gush about how this inner thoughts part of the song visually mirrors both Look My Way and the Truth Seekers hallucination, what with the golden feathers and the water and the cosmos.

“You’re my light.” “You’re my heart.” “And only death can rend our love apart.” FUCK. FUUUUUUUCK. EXCUSE ME, NEED TO GRIND MY FACE INTO SOME DIRT AND WEEP. (Because, again, I do not believe that they heard each other here. They’re in sync, but not together, not yet. But, oh, the beauty of it—Blitzo is the light, the guide, the one who showed Stolas he didn’t have to live in an eternal twilight of misery; Stolas is the heart, the lifeblood, the keeper of Blitzo’s tender emotional side that’s been hurt so much but keeps persisting because protecting the heart is what keeps him alive. And they’ve always known that choosing each other would be dangerous, social and physical death in the worst ways, but living without each other is worse, these BEAUTIFUL MORONS.)

If y’all needed more proof that the emotional aside was not sung for all of Hell to hear: Satan is directly replying to Stolas’ claim of being the mastermind, reminding him and all of Hell that breaking demon law means consequences from the keeper of that law. (All the Sins, even the sympathetic ones, standing up and agreeing that Satan is the Law, I have CHILLS.) If anyone in that room had heard the emotional aside, there’s no doubt in my mind that Blitzo would have been executed simply for the crime of being beloved by a Goetia, to teach Stolas a lesson about his place in the hierarchy and what that means for him to step outside of his box as well. It would have undone all of Stolas’ work to protect Blitzo through belittling and undermining him to the rest of the court. So that devastating emotional aside is just for them, just for Stolas and Blitzo, perhaps passing in a mere moment of eye contact—enough to see each other, to have personal realizations in sync with each other, but not enough time to SAY anything to each other.

Credit where it’s due, Stolas faces death and the begging of his beloved with impeccable poise. Something that I have loved about the Hellaverse is their understated portrayal of suicidal ideation, particularly in Stolas. From his very first musical number assuring his daughter that even if he is gone, SHE will be okay, it’s been a part of his character. He’s been ready to die from a young age. And to die for his beloved? Protecting him? I’m sure Stolas could think of fewer more fitting ends for himself. Because Octavia will be okay. And so will Blitzo. They’ll be okay without him.

BUT TELL THAT TO BLITZO AND HIS TEARS, OKAY, because even as he reunites with his family, he’s vacant-eyed staring into the distance with tears falling down his face because HIS HEART IS ABOUT TO BE EXECUTED. HIS HEART.

Okay in Stolas’ defense, the executioner should not be lifting his axe like that if they aren’t planning to execute him. Ugh I just need to gush about how Stolas truly did not realize that the punishment for him would be different than for Blitzo. He has a lot to work through. A LOT. But. Like. Can we at least give him that his heart is in the right place? That he was willing to die for Blitzo, fully expected nothing less than to take on this burden for his beloved, only to get slapped with banishment instead? HOLY SHIT CAN WE TALK ABOUT RECKLESSNESS AND CONSEQUENCES? Because Andrealphus said all the way back in Western Energy that KILLING STOLAS SHOULD NOT BE THE GOAL. He knew damn well that Stolas was never in any danger of dying here. Stolas isn’t useful to them dead. But STOLAS doesn’t realize this. He has no idea he’s played directly into Andrealphus’ hands until it’s too late. And his own recklessness, his choice of love over duty, comes with a consequence: Octavia. If he had been given time to consider the choice he was really making, I’m not sure Stolas could do it. Blitzo is his light and Octavia is his Starfire. Blitzo reignited his passion for life, but Octavia kept him going when it was darkest. Blitzo is the love he chose against all expectations and rules. Octavia is the love he found in the midst of his duty, and she is inextricably tied to it, at least for now. His love for her sort of blinded him to how sheltered and naïve she is. Fairness to them both, Stella made it a difficult situation, much more difficult than it had to be, and this family situation is messy even without the power grabs and responsibilities and expectations surrounding it all. But to choose love, only to lose family? Gutting. And all too real for many in the audience, I’m sure.

I haven’t listened to Hadestown, but I wish to express my absolute delight at Patrick Page’s gigglefest as Satan. It’s adorable. He’s having fun. You can hear the fun he’s having. I love this show.

Okay okay okay OKAY OKAY OKAY. Ice Princess Andrealphus…uses FIRE…to get rid of Stolas’ chains. I don’t fully understand the implications of that but I would like to circle this scene several times with a red marker and leave at least four post-it notes for future reference. Is he actually using fire magic? Do the chains just react that way when a Goetia touches them to be rid of them? WHAT DOES IT MEAN??? (Also the silly bird expressions Andrealphus has this entire scene is just. Chef’s kiss, no notes, strip the coat off again bc it’s hilarious.)

I notice that despite this all happening according to Andrealphus’ plan…it still doesn’t happen according to plan. Stolas is stripped of his powers, but only temporarily; the rings never converge onto Andrealphus to give him Stolas’ power and legions and resources. It’s like Satan is just storing them for safekeeping (which makes Andrealphus’ wasted coat-ripping all the funnier, holy fuck I love it). Stolas is about to be way more vulnerable than he ever was before, still immortal but not powerful; I wonder what stipulations are in place for if Stolas dies before his sentence is finished, and before Octavia is of age to take on her father’s place? Prediction: Andrealphus now has Stolas in a place where his death would be beneficial. Despite not getting the exact verdict he wanted, Andrealphus still has the upper hand.

Gotta give it to Hell; they don’t waste any time showing Stolas how they feel. I have SO MANY MANY more thoughts about this situation and what it means and what it WILL mean, but let’s get through the rest of this chronology first before I go off the rails. I admit, I saw a thousand fanfics come true in the last ten minutes of this episode, but Stolas getting a Glee Slushy treatment from every other lowborn demon in Hell was not on my bingo card. Stolas, dear thing, once again didn’t think through consequences, because he didn’t expect to have to live through them. This is a very unexpected one, imo. Stolas painted himself the villain. Now he’s touchable and vulnerable and has to live with that. Wow.

The way the rest of IMP seems very spent but also awkward…I cannot wait to dig into that. Because they were the people picking Blitzo up after the fallout, so I can’t imagine they have some warm and fuzzy feelings towards Stolas. Especially not Loona. Though her giving Stolas her own sweater to wear speaks to me that she’s gonna try, because he did save her dad’s life. AND LOONA SAID I LOVE YOU DAD. THE ONLY I LOVE YOU THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW. And the LOOK on Stolas’ face after it happens?? The realizations, the implications, everything hitting him right now? Like LOL birdy babe you are IN IT now.

Blitzo throwing some casual Spanish words in this episode after the appearance of Vassago. Idk why that’s so funny to me.

And the FUCKING FIREWORKS FOR BLITZO NOT BEING EXECUTED. There’s about to be some class warfare up in here, huh? BRING IT ON, HELLUVA BOSS. I’M EXCITED.

Hang on, obligatory moment to pause and reflect at how pretty Stolas is while he’s devastated, and how sweet Blitzo’s affection towards him is, and ignoring my own uneasiness and sense of impending doom, loving the canon couch fanfics, daydreaming about Secretary Stolas, hold it, hold it—

Got it. Time to ruin my own parade.

Feeling very nervous about the future of Stolas and Blitzo and their relationship right now (they’re endgame but it ain’t the endgame yet lol), because I feel we are just beginning a new phase of shit: Stolas just had his circus fire moment. He doesn’t realize yet just how damaged his relationship with his daughter is, he hasn’t gone through the “slapped in the face by his father and banned from seeing his mutilated best friend” part yet. But he’s in shock, shown best by his pupils not disappearing yet. He’s processing. He’s floating. He’s numb. There will come a break here soon where he has to expel all the venom inside of him, the unfairness of what just occurred, how much he hurts. And a lot of that is going to be him regurgitating some classist internalized shit, some clueless woe-is-me-ness that tbh…at least he isn’t dead. At least that was never on the table. Unlike for CERTAIN BELOVED IMPS. However. To give Stolas grace and put the crock of shit that Stolas has landed in into perspective: Stolas is only to live like a commoner for a century, but he’s a young Goetia with a young daughter to think about. This is destroying him mentally to contemplate. He already thought he had no more stories to be told at the tender age of twenty-three at most; a century is nothing to the immortal royals but it’s everything to an immortal royal who hasn’t even cleared his first half of a century yet. Who hasn’t even hit FORTY yet. No WONDER he’s so shellshocked and listless. One hundred years without Octavia? When they’re both still so young, feel the passage of time so keenly?? You know how to you, an adult, a year passes in a blink, but to a kid, five minutes is an interminable hell? YOU KNOW HOW THE PASSING OF TIME IS WORSE WHEN YOU’VE EXPERIENCED LESS OF IT??

Like again holy shit he isn’t okay at all, and he still doesn’t realize how bad things are still going to get, because the bird had further to fall in this arrangement always. Blitzo gets the raw end of the deal and he dies, like he always expected to (maybe not in a televised public execution holy shit), but his reputation and social worth was always pretty low. Stolas is a prince. Stolas lives on a golden perch. That is a steep fall, baby bird. And now that he’s willingly sacrificed his image for Blitzo, become the bad guy, only to get thrown to the wolves? Andrealphus knew what he was doing and I am positive is going to try to kill him again. He is without powers and without resources. He’s vulnerable as shit.

And the thing which causes me more unease about all of this: their positions are reversed. Socially, Stolas is now the most hated being in Hell while Blitzo has just moved up to most beloved, and that success is more than likely about to affect his tax bracket (or at least what kind of apartment he can afford). Blitzo is soft and caring and protective while Stolas is unresponsive and numb. Blitzo’s relationship with his daughter is thriving while Stolas’ is falling apart. It would be so easy to enter a period of total reversal, where Stolas is rejecting Blitzo’s advances on the grounds that Stolas feels he doesn’t deserve them and Blitzo is somehow lying to him. However. I hope that there is movement forward, instead of reversal and regression (and not just because a full regression would be boring as hell). Blitzo took some important steps; admitting in song that he loves Stolas is HUGE. And nobody changes overnight. This episode likely feels too fast paced and too unearned for many, as it did at first for me, but remember that we don’t know if Stolas and Blitzo could hear each other during their duet; I think not, for reasons I’ve already stated. So no explicit declarations of love have actually happened yet. Blitzo and Stolas aren’t together. They haven’t talked. They are not there yet. They don’t know that they’re emotionally on the same page, because the rest of Stolas’ book just got ripped to shreds before his eyes. Once again, the timing just isn’t right. Blitzo kisses Stolas’ cheek as he sleeps (and kills me dead in my own home), but it’s just another selfie for Blitzo to hoard and look at privately. Blitzo is learning to deal with his shit. Stolas now needs to learn how to deal with his—once the final blow of losing Octavia properly lands. This episode is not an END of their journey; it’s the BEGINNING of the next leg, the next set of circumstances they’re going to have to grow through in order to not just be together, but to BE THEMSELVES.

Blitzo at the beginning of the show could not handle Stolas as he is right now. Blitzo as of Full Moon and Apology Tour couldn’t handle Stolas as he is now. Blitzo had to face losing everything on multiple fronts, then losing Stolas emotionally, then almost losing Stolas physically, before he finally realized not just what he wants, but how he wants to react and treat his loved ones. He loves his family. Stolas is his heart. I think some very cruel and entitled things are going to come out of Stolas’ beak as he adjusts and truly comes to process and realize what being a lower class demon means; I think Blitzo is in a better place to cut through the bullshit and hear the pain and cry for help in the middle of all of that. And I hope to high holy hell that Vassago is going to be a friend to Stolas because there are some revelations Stolas needs to talk himself through without Blitzo taking the brunt of it. Unlearning shit sometimes comes with vomiting up the internalized bigotry and examining it; the would-be victims of that bigotry don’t need to be in the room for that. (And also, I think Vassago is exactly the ally that Stolas needs with the Goetia, and also I love him and want to see him in more scenes and want him to sing and everything.)

Pivoting to Octavia and Stella for a moment: Octavia is a child with a mother who hates her husband more than she loves her daughter and who was prepped and ready to both stop Octavia from running to him and to comfort her when Octavia thought she was losing him for good on live fucking television, no less; the Mother Gothel vibes are off the charts, but Octavia does love her mother. She trusts her mother. She certainly didn’t want her father to die trying to save some weird red dickhead and instead get banished, leaving her behind somewhere Octavia couldn’t follow. She’s vulnerable and about to be manipulated to heck and back by a mother who just wants her ex-husband to suffer and an uncle who wants all of her father’s power for himself. Stella is a shit mother for this manipulation. She can be a shit mother and still love Octavia in her own way. It’s messier and more complicated and realistic than if she didn’t care for her daughter at all tbh.

Obligatory Stella Introspective: Moment of silence for Stella as a character doing everything she can to ruin the man she’s been tied to her literal entire life. Her fucking name is STELLA. She was marked as Stolas’ property from BIRTH. This does not excuse or justify anything she does. I just find it tragic in the way that throwaway character details in a comedy take on a different light when the genre changes to something more serious. Like Davenport in The Adventure Zone: Balance; if you know you know. Also the fact that Andrealphus loosing a pretty impressive show of power right in her face results in her just screaming him back down; she’s a miserable selfish creature who nevertheless found her power in a world pretty set on denying her any and uses it liberally. Of course her own daughter is just another avenue for hurting Stolas. Octavia was only ever a means to an end, a failsafe in case something happened to Stolas. But she’s still Stella’s daughter, and that has meaning, even if it isn’t a healthy or good meaning.

Can we also talk about the fact that it’s entirely likely that Stella’s looks are the only positive trait that Andrealphus can attribute to her because the rest of her personality is so well-known? What’s he gonna do, call her sweet or delicate or kind? He’d be laughed out of the courtroom. Everyone there knows that Stella is none of those things. She never tries to be anything but what she is. The fact that she punishes Stolas for trying so hard when she doesn’t have to try at all is just. It’s so twisted and juicy a dynamic. Yknow? They could have been friends. Two people trapped by social convention in a marriage and forced consummation to produce an heir, likely arranged from birth, or Stella’s birth at least, because again SHE IS LITERALLY NAMED AFTER HIM, or named after something deeply related to him (the stars, in case I’m being too opaque). Instead, she’s cruel and demanding and degrading and the personification of everything Stolas struggles against in royal society. This sweet bird bowed to imps as a child; someone with so egalitarian a view was never going to have Stella’s respect. She is the embodiment too of his own self-hatred and the disapproval of his own family; the tragedy of it all. I hope we get more details about her one day entirely separate from Stolas, but she is explicitly a plot device to challenge and hurt Stolas. Plot devices don’t often get their own stories. She’s literally only ever worth her pretty face and the hurt she causes. This too is tragic. I pity her. I’d pity her more if she wasn’t using her daughter as ammo against her ex-husband.

Anyway. Stella introspective over. I wonder how complicated it’s going to be for Stolas to try and be the IMP secretary when he can’t go four feet without someone throwing goo at him. I wonder how badly it’s going to hurt me when Octavia refuses to see Stolas and he finally hits absolute rock bottom. I wonder if this show is going to go the route of “can’t be together until they’re finished growing” or the route of “they love each other, let them grow into themselves and their relationship together.” I wonder how the cosplayers are going to get them Vassago boots high enough. I wonder how many Andrealphus cosplayers and artists are going to be making the “Grandmama, it’s me, Anastasia” joke. I wonder if I’m ever going to stop clutching my Blitzo and Stolas plushies to my chest.

One more episode in December, gang! Can’t wait to ugly cry with you all!!

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #quilly's hellaverse theories #SINSMAS GONNA MAKE ME AN ABSOLUTE WRECK GANG #BECAUSE MASTERMIND HAS DEFINITELY DONE THE SAME

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