Stolas' BREAKING POINT: Helluva Boss Season 2 Episode 1 Review

[@SarcasticChorus]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoPbdIOHjbaNntE Here's the link to the Original Composer's version of Stolas Singing. Yes I do think its better.

[@crystal-sr1322]

it doesn't work, at least not for me...

[@Neoluver1]

I really dislike the composers version and i legit love sam haft ,but Bryce is way better in the new song.

[@jammygamer8961]

yea i don't agree. Your only point against it was just a subjective nitpick still even then liking these songs is just opinion

[@bigrdog5352]

Personally, I find the version in this episode to be better even though it may not be the best, but compared to the composer it makes the composer sound like a cartoon character. I didn't really care for the last solo but I thought this one was really good

[@skoilerFUJI]

I wouldnt agree honestly. I love the shows version. The music fits the moment. it's not a jazz song in a club, the vocals and the music don't have to be on a 1 to 1 level. It's a broken ballad of someone drowning in their own grief. Of course the music isn't going to work properly with it. It felt intentional to me.

[@matthewmcshane399]

The moment when Stella is insulting stolas at the party may actually show her being somewhat dismissive of Octavia, since she just referred to her as just "an egg." it's also telling how Stella didnt even discuss how octavia would be affected by the divorce at the end.

[@tyrant-den884]

I really want to see one of her "taking Via on the weekends"

[@OrangeDragon04]

@@tyrant-den884 That is something I didn't know I want to see. But it'd probably be just Via listening to music, while Stella is calling her friends trash talking Stolas.

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

@@OrangeDragon04 the public thinks stolas likes Stella

[@OrangeDragon04]

@@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7 True, he didn't say anything about the abuse. He never could and now he's in the worst shape to do so.

[@vincikeeper1581]

I don't think Octavia even loves her mother

[@lucilucid]

At the start, it was clear that Stolas was jokingly flirting and wasn't really trying to start anything. But Blizo tried to go along with it anyways, not reading it as a joke. And then he actually got Stolas into it with that bite. It's all too good-

[@arcticflames6932]

So he is a masichist(spelt it wrong)

[@mochiidollie9153]

@@arcticflames6932 no he is a massachusetts

[@lucilucid]

@@mochiidollie9153 No, that's a state. What you meant to say that he is a muffin.

[@marystratford7549]

@@lucilucid No, that's a food. What he meant was that Stolas is a Manchurian.

[@sadpossum6520]

@@marystratford7549 no that's an Indian Chinese dish, what you meant was he's a mantel

[@thenerdbeast7375]

Should be noted that the Asmodean crystals DO NOT mean Stolas is tempted to "love potion" Blitz. Someone translated the text and it talks about how Succubi and Incubi use them to travel to Earth. Stolas is probably going to gift one to Blitz so he doesn't need the book anymore and release them from their deal. Stolas doesn't want Blitz to be hurt by his bad decisions or suffer the consequences because of them. You know what they say: "If you love something set it free."

[@0racle.sunrise3570]

Oh yh, I saw a picture of someone's twitter account translating it.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

Well, that explains how Verosika and her crew go to Earth.

[@mayatijerina2756]

Great point but it could also mean that he's done with blitz's manipulation because let's not forget, blitz started this whole thing by going after the book and even after getting caught and stolas proposing the wrong idea, he went through and used intimacy to get what he wanted. Even after the "real fast night" the Ozzy's date was pure emotional manipulation, All just to stalk moxie and Millie. It's another form of toxicity that Stolas needs to remove himself from.

[@sanugi16]

Oh, that would be something, I knew someone would translate the book since they focus so much on it. That would make sense. Now I've even more excited to see what happens next :D

[@ThinCrusty]

I WILL CRY

[@harpycartoons2695]

I actually loved Bryce's singing and the off key notes felt natural to me. It left the impression he had been sobbing all night which added to the feels.

[@ALiteralBee]

It also definitely feels more raw. I love those tiny little “mistakes” in music because it feels so genuine. Auto tune is great an all, but you can never truly portray emotions through it.

[@falconeshield]

@@ALiteralBee A survivor of B&TB 2017 I see

[@Nella_nova]

He needs more love imagine being compared to broad way singers. Like not hitting a note is embarrassing enough. Any I tend to like the covers better that the OGs so I will continue doing so.

[@velvetvanillabean]

@@Nella_nova ong hes taking it WAYY to personal

[@aynjohl]

Dude Idk why but when Stolas sang in the s2e1 episode, I kinda got Night Before Christmas vibes. Am I the only one?

[@spamuel98]

Finding out that Stolas was in his early 30s was by far the most surprising part of the episode for me; I genuinely thought he was thousands of years old or something.

[@ragiansteel8944]

Same but it makes his vibes makes sense. He’s always felt kinda immature to me considering I assumed how many years demons lived. Being 40 for Stolas is probably like being a 14 year old for the Goetias

[@Idfkidc-p2o]

​@ragiansteel8944 so would that mean he got married at like 1 in goetia years

[@0_-Error-_6]

He seems so old

[@Idfkidc-p2o]

@@0_-Error-_6 not really

[@0_-Error-_6]

To me he does 🤷

[@therwbyfamilton8023]

I like how he is doing it FOR Octavia. I’ve known People who had to live with toxic people and keep face while rasing a child. And Coming from a family that divorced while growing up, it really emotionally fucks with you. (For years I thought I was the reason they divorced. And it was until my grandma sat down and told me what happened I made peace.) And him standing up to the abusive and manipulate wife made me tear up and cheer.

[@Silamon2]

It was a similar story with Johnny Depp's parents. He was on the stand talking about how horrible his mother was, and how his father eventually just left . I barely even knew my father, it sucks growing up without both parents. Stolas was doing his best in a relationship he didn't want from the start....

[@killme9909]

i WAS the reason my parents broke up though

[@arcticflames6932]

@@Silamon2 kinda like a anime i watched Where a girl saw her father going to a love hotel with another woman she who is 5yrs old not knowing tit was cheating told her mom which lead to a divorce the child not going on went to the father wanting him to say and this bish of a father say its the child fault which lead to her running away crying and as she growed up she barely talked because she believed her words only cause problems

[@willowarkan2263]

Same, though in my case it was pretty clear it wasn't either my or my brother's fault, though i don't know his feelings on the matter. They'd been fighting almost as long as I can remember and my mom had clearly cheated for a while with one person and if my dad's to be believed she had another boyfriend before that she had been cheating on my dad with but ended up rejecting when he wanted the relationship to go further, though I was too young to remember. While my mom claimed he had emotionally cheated on him, by buying an ex of his in his home country flowers on her birthday, which feels like a stretch and more of a way for her to justify her own behaviour. Anyway they finally broke up when i was around 10 and she moved in with the guy she'd been seeing, then the fucking propaganda war started. At least my feelings on the matter are that both of them cared more about having us, then how we felt. So my dad, the parent who lost primary custody for reasons that differ on who is asked, started putting huge pressure on me to leave my mom and live with him, while my mom put pressure on me to do the opposite. Not clear how much he pressured my brother as I was the elder and he'd always expected me to do things, he's also the elder sibling. This wasn't helped by my mom taking my brother and me to the other side of the planet, for work, to her new boyfriend's home country, which also fucked with the custody agreement I suspect. However my mom's demonisation of my dad was definitively done in front of both of us. That bit about Stolas grabbing her hand when she tried to slap him actually happened between my mom and me, though I deflected it away instead, turns out self defence training also helps when your mom tries out hitting you. She wasn't fast and I had that defensive stance drilled into me at the time. I was luckily old enough to not internalise that as my fault and she didn't try again. I just hope Octavia doesn't become her mom's next outlet for aggression.

[@rroes7319]

As a kid of divorce myself, it was much better to visit them in separate houses than to listen to them yell at each other constantly. It was still rough. And it will be for every kid, but my parents are on good terms now that they wouldn't have been if they stayed together. Before the divorce, my parents sat me down and explained. Communication is key when dealing with divorce and kids.

[@halomoon_]

Honestly, seeing everything through Stolas eyes got me to understand him a bit better now and why he is the way he is and his actions towards everything that goes around him

[@starkiller6tothe9gaming81]

Why saw alot of stolas's prospective yet little of blitzo pov outside having to steal from him , and that he's a clown

[@lucilucid]

You are everywhere, huh? XD

[@Kanekonagase]

@@starkiller6tothe9gaming81 guessing we will get a Blitzø focused episode too, soon.

[@Ginkgo_Dinosaur]

@@starkiller6tothe9gaming81 I think episodes 1-4 are from Blitzø’s perspective

[@Ronaldo-eu1nz]

Yo 🔥kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJWtapWpg5x9d9k

[@vilmublues752]

The limbless balloon horse stuff and Blitzo repeatedly talking about gore and blood and how it got its legs taken while it grosses out Fizzarolli feels like ominous foreshadowing to Fizz violently losing his limbs in the future, with Blitzo probably having something to do with it (also showing that Blitzo already liked gory stuff as a kid while Fizz was a more sensitive kid with a caring side.) Kid Fizz also talks about his balloon horse making people happy and dancing with its "magical feet," and he later becomes an entertainer using his mechanical limbs.

[@a_little_demon]

your theory blew my mind !

[@bitbit5598]

I wonder, what if Blitz and Fizz got a dangerous job and Blitz was the one that talked Fizz into it...Or some kind of horrible accident happened involving the two and Blitz was either distracted or was too inexperienced

[@electrobob992]

I personally imagine that, sometime in the past... The family got in a circus acts, making use of slight amounts of angelic weapons. Since as we know they are the only thing that can really kill demons in hell. Sure other means would hurt, like guns and such. But basic weapons would just temporarily kill them. Said circus act went wrong, maimed Fizz losing his arms and legs, possibly killed the father, most definitely killed the mother given blitz tears when remember his mother, his bodily white burns, and of course led to his sister taking drugs and ending up in rehab. I mean it would explain things.

[@eol6632]

@@electrobob992 imp's can be killed normally. Only the High level demons and sinners need to be taken out with the Angelic weapons . That said it would be easy enough for a accident of some kind to do everything you mentioned.

[@Flourikum]

@@eol6632 the real question is how did Blitzo survive a headshot. It's really not suddle that white markinsg are scars for imps

[@CallicoJackracham]

A little note on Stolas' song in this episode, it is being sung by a depressed, hung over Owl probably semi-high on anti-depressants. Course it is not gonna sound stellar. But you rwally feel his hurt and i think that is what counts in this scenario.

[@McCammalot]

Apparently the VA sang it around four times so he could sound properly miserable (and made his fellow actors cry as well)

[@curtisleblanc5897]

Yeah I never saw a problem with his singing. but, I'm not an expert on music.

[@pearberryyy]

@@McCammalot and bryce actually cried in the take they used too, not only that but in order to make it more real; he sung the entire song in a single take rather than stiching takes to make it more authentic.

[@Claudia_Crimson_585]

*Of course, *really. Why is everybody's grammar so bad on Helluva Boss videos? Lol

[@Claudia_Crimson_585]

The song was great to me, I really felt the poor Owl's pain.

[@ronanknight8415]

I feel this episode did a fantastic job of showing why Stolas is so invested in Blitz - because everything else in his life was chosen for him. His relationship with Blitz is the only thing in his life that he chose for himself.

[@RandoSando.]

The fact that Stella was surprised stolas grabbed her arm instead of letting her hit him shows exactly the kind of person she is and I'm surprised no on else is talking about it. She's so comfortable with verbally abusing him in public and beating him in private and it shows in their body language. I hate that stolas has been keeping this from octavia, yet Stella has the audacity to spin the narrative to Octavia that Stolas was the one who ruined their relationship when he was only enduring it for Octavia. Its so manipulative. Stella is a great example of an abuser in so many ways. Its so realistic for a cartoon.

[@Sleepy_Cabbage]

im kinda disapointed they went in the direction they did, I get its a realistic depiction of one note jerks who exist irl and their are plenty of them, but I think it would've been better to give her more nuance then just her being a very cruel and abusive person.

[@Sleepy_Cabbage]

it lines up with what we know of stella already, but I think it be a surprise if we saw her in a bit of a positive light in the past, and their relationship is more grey then just her being downright abusive. Maybe she cared about their daughter, and was doing the best she could to keep their finances high enough to support such a lavish style of living, or even at one point stella and stollas genuinely liked each other. All this episode does is sorta solidify what we already know about blitz, stella and stollas, stollas likes blitz, stella is a cruel person, that's it

[@JackDurnenkii]

And the fact what she manipulated everyone AND the fandom. Because before this episode I've seen not only like opinions about Stella being right in her rage but also theories what Stolas is the abuser here. Like almost everyone was agreeing what Stolas is completely in the wrong here and was a jerk for cheating on Stella and using Blitz. Like if you recall in episode 2, even Octavia was blaming him for it(because she probably wasn't even aware of abuse): "Home doesn't feel like home anymore... You ruined it.", from her perspective and our, at a time, Stolas was totally a dick. And now it's like... Holy shit...

[@rurijo3169]

@stupid Caesar Yeah, I can say I was (to an extent) one of those people I just thought that they had a pretty okay marriage and that Stolas cheating with Blitzø was the breaking point, but other than that I never thought Stolas was an abuser. Just that he might have been a bit…is “tone-deaf” the right word?

[@twilightzone7141]

@@Sleepy_Cabbage I mean this was through Stolas eyes so it makes sense as this is how she is too him and i agree she is an awful person NOW and yeah while Stolas cheating ain't a good look and that was bad what she was doing was worse but I really want to know how she was as a kid beyond the picture we saw. How did she feel about being told she had to marry someone she never met and have a kid? cause, did she grew up to be the abuser in the relationship, was it always like that? or did she grow into that? we know it was shown in the picture she had a temper but it would make sense if she was spoiled normally and got whatever she wanted but being engaged may of been the one thing she didn't get to pick and was forced into along with having a child she may of never wanted in the first place. She has been shown to care a LOT about how the family thinks of her and she mentioned her brother which i theorize might be a driving force in how she acts as he was the person she mentions specifically beyond just the family about what HE would think about a divorce. I think due to this she grew hateful and filled with spite over her situation and instead of taking things and trying to make the best of it like Stolas, she blamed him, she took all that anger on this awful situation and focused that rage and bitterness on Stolas for this situation as he was someone easy to blame and he just took it with no fight and he became her outlit. this is a theory i crafted on Stella when trying to look at her as not just a one note jerk as yeah a lot of people are jerks for no good reason irl but in media it is more interesting to take apart characters actions and try and make a reason why they are that way and this was my take on Stella as we only got her right before the series starts and after the cheating with Blitzo.

[@julietteporcher709]

I 100% agree with Stella being one of the best part. Her voice actress did a phenomenal job to really fit her personality and how awful she actualy was. I can't wait to see what's next !

[@spectra5407]

I think she's the blonde one that Brandon (Blitzo) has in the British people videos

[@dejanbeep6293]

Ye it's the same as in Harry Potter with Umbridge. The actress did such a great job to play a hateable character that if I hear the voice of Stella's VA in another series I will immediately dislike the character

[@meh4294]

@@spectra5407 she was the queen of England

[@aliceveil622]

@@meh4294 She was both!

[@Joe-xx7nd]

@@meh4294 I CANT TAKE HERSERIOUSLY ISTG HELP

[@_marshP]

I feel like Paimon shapeshifts at the beginning because he's trying to match the species of his child because there are just so many and they're all different things

[@ParsureArts]

Ohhhhh, that’s interesting-

[@victorlannister5606]

I was thinking the same thing

[@yaoi.devil.]

:OOO

[@jf_kein_k8590]

Probably more something that happens depending on where he is, rather than him actually paying attention. Also fits as Paimon according to the Lesser Key of Salomon is depicted as a man with an effeminate face, wearing a crown and riding a dromedary. While Stolas and Asmodeus do resemble their descriptions, he has none of that except for the crown.

[@pop_dog7034]

Agreed

[@Drag0nS1ayer]

I actually love stolas's songs, i love how raw they are. The voice doesn't need to be braodway to convey the emotion. I get chills everytime he sings "You raise your voice you have no choice." I play that song on REPEAT. I can't get enough. I wish stolas had a solo in every episode

[@hisf4tm0misd34d]

My brother in christ Bryce Pinkham IS a Broadway actor

[@qualityconcepts5762]

Even with all the complications and drama shes ran into viv has proven that its extremely possible to animate your own show. Despite her having Hazbin Hotel picked up, Helluva Boss is very successful. I only hope that her ambition and hard work inspires other indie artists to try and bring their stories to life too.

[@Atlassx0]

I mean, people have been animating their own series' for years, even before Viv- and typically it really is only one person animating it and directing. Only issue lies in the fact they get no traction at all from the accursed youtube algorithm. I speak as someone who is friends with a KZbin series creator who's very talented but not as popular

[@qualityconcepts5762]

@@Atlassx0 I know this. Shes still different from them as shes used her resources to make her show successful. There are a few youtube shows i could think of but their episodes come out maybe a few times a year. One of them makes no sense to me because its a sucessful channel but they wont hire a team lol

[@Atlassx0]

@@qualityconcepts5762 teams are expensive, and KZbin is not as rewarding as one would hope. Not only that, but having a team doesn't necessarily help your series. The only real reason Viv got so far (so fast) that I can tell is because she happened to be on top of the trends and because she had prior moderately successful videos beforehand- also most importantly she had connections to a lot of people that most can only dream of. KZbin is very cutthroat and getting a team that will benefit your series is a lot harder than it seems when you don't have a lot of reach to begin with. Even if you do have reach paying a ton of people for work on a barely even monetized original series would be difficult. Though yes in some cases creators who do have the means for a team won't typically out of an extreme attachment to the series or because it seems daunting- yeah that definitely happens and I'm sure I've seen it happen

[@qualityconcepts5762]

@@Atlassx0 anyone is capable of doing what viv did. She grinded since before college. She was persistent and built herself a fanbase. Others could do it. They just have to be willing to go that distance for it. And you can make a stupid amount of money on here so thats not the case unless they arent letting their videos get monetized which also cant be the case as most if not all that Ive seen are. Viv used her connections and yeah she was supposed to but others are capable of doing this too. You just need to be willing to work with others and i think thats kind of the issue some others need to work on I think. Some people are afraid of how others will handle their baby or dont have the connections but you need to put yourself out there. As an indie artist myself its just inspiring to see this and know that it can be done in this way with regular(at least attempting) a regular upload schedule for the series and the budget seems to get larger with each episode cuz the animation and frames keep getting smoother. Im not putting any other artist down. Just hope that they can utilize their channels and hopefully budget to start out with even a small team. The investment would help them in the long run. :)

[@Atlassx0]

@@qualityconcepts5762 I really do see and agree with your point and this does ring true for a lot of people- yet at the same time unfortunately it isn't something anyone can do- a lot of us are barely able to afford to live in this world and don't have the audience for monetization that would help. Again, I agree with you that some people just want total control over their series because of how attached they are and that refusal to get a team is one of the biggest issues- I just like to view series-making from all perspectives. Also it would be almost impossible to create a big series without the connections Viv had. Viv was able to hire a ton of talented people very early on- but it's hard for smaller channels to get the attention of all these people to help without getting drowned out. Just my thoughts. Viv is an inspiration to all indie artists who want to get somewhere with our ideas- just like you and I, but sadly a lot of people are just not in a position to get where Viv is on this specific platform- especially since the yt algorithm has the attention span of a toddler

[@nyancat2221]

I thought it was implied that the “sexual” behavior at the start was just a joke that blitz didn’t pick up on and it eventually *did* turn that way, by _accident_ on blitz’s part. Mostly because after the “I knew you were here to *~ravage me~* “ line he acts quite normal and even tries to distance himself a bit when blitz continues thinking that seduction was the actual interest. Up until the bed part, stolas was continuously stepping back and moving away to create distance. Ans blitz was continually moving in to fill said gap, for the book of course but stolas seemed to be ignorant of the actual goal. So from his perspective yeah, it did seem like his first and possibly only friend was genuinely trying to seduce him, albeit quite awkwardly

[@jazzie9247]

I like it

[@RafilaWan]

I took the backing up thing as him getting scared of Blitz after he mentions he kills people for a living

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

@@RafilaWan stolas was trying to know him better when he said his name isn’t blitzo

[@inukoexo]

Actually, I’m pretty sure he says “ravish me”. Likely hinting to how imps have tried to kidnap him before.

[@McCammalot]

@@inukoexo I thought that was a combination of him being awkwardly posh and trying to joke around. I think this mainly because he can kill imps with a glance without much effort.

[@emerald10808]

I thought the Stolas and Blitzo reuniting scene was more of a miscommunication issue than Stolas initiating something. The line about “ravishing him” felt like a joke since immediately after he tries to sit and talk, and it’s Blitzo that takes it seriously and tries to use it to his advantage. The fact Stolas was so nervous and confused when Blitzo started coming onto him made me think none of that was intentional

[@OnePolishMoFo]

I hadn't considered that. It makes the scene make more sense.

[@googoogaga7986]

YES, that makes perfect sense, he really didn’t seem to actually want to be with him like that at first

[@spoolysnail32]

Exactly, he tried some soap opera stuff but didn’t think ahead

[@demongrl81011]

also Stolas is drunk on absinthe, i totally agree that it wasn't a real flirtation ,just "oh I'm drunk and you snuck into my room ,that MUST mean ...." but he's depressed and touch starved so when his childhood crush runs with it out pops 25 years of repessed gay owl ass. ....i have loved Stolas since the very beginning and its so obvious even the blind could see how much he actually loves blitz and the episode with the dhorks shows that if blitz would pull his head out of his ass hed admit his feeling too.... who knows whats in part 2 of S1 finale..honestly I don't care. lets say S2E1 was it.....i know its not gonna happen but all I really want is for E2 to start with Stolas looking up and Blitz is standing in his yard and tells him he's fucking sorry ........sorry for the stupid rant

[@helihollow]

stolas did mention that he was just kidding when blitzø came onto him

[@jayisdecent]

I'm so happy Stolas stood up for himself. The incoming slap made me worry, and I kind of wonder if Stella has hit him before (I wouldn't be surprised). This entire episode was beyond worth the wait. The horny shift had me dead 💀

[@DrVella]

He's definitely been hit before, you don't just randomly gain those reflexes.

[@gaugemogle0779]

@@DrVella True I wonder if one of the future episodes is Striker trying to Kill stolas again with a rematch between Blitz, Moxie, and Millie (and loona) vs Striker and Stella

[@ifeeldead463]

The fact that she swung at him without any hesitation and he reflexively caught it gave the impression its happened before. Then again, I shouldnt be surprised since she was comfy throwing shit at him at the Loo loo land episode

[@gaugemogle0779]

@@ifeeldead463 I hope she Is a full blown villain and Have a fight between Stolas and Maybe see Octavia have to choose who to side with

[@amayaokamiden6412]

Yes stolas already said said "the only reason I've put up with your abuse" (not word for word but you get the point) meaning Stella has hit him before, probably even before stolas cheated on her

[@krys9463]

"Its weird seeing Blitz with actual hope in his eyes" That is both sad and true 🤣 Poor guy.

[@TestyCool]

Weird seeing him without that white mark on his eye too.

[@RhamanaChan]

I think the singing in both scenes mentioned for Stolas were fine with the VA singing. In the You Will Be OK song, hes just been woken up, had Stella basically shove the responsibility off on him and hes tired but trying to focus on Octavia's needs. In this new episode, hes just woken up again, with a hangover, hasn't slept in bed or even really had a drink or woken up, dealing with thinking he's lost Blitz, so hes heartbroken and probably very emotional, if he had just started singing in either song and it had been highly polished, it would have taken him out of the context of the situation and felt less believable I feel.

[@gergenthequietmetalhead4226]

I'm here to come to bryce pinkham's defense, he is a very accomplished musical actor, and every solo I've heard from him in his other shows have been stellar. I think the issue with this show is that they don't give him musical numbers that fit his voice and vocal range, which is a shame.

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

He’s always sad so that’s why he has ballads

[@whalesaph]

I just wrote a stupidly long comment about this, but hard agree. Listened to the demo and it's vocally complex and really out of his usual range on top of that. Even his first ballad of the series was more suited to his voice than this. The writers didn't change anything between the demo and the final version and that's its downfall. I commend Bryce for just doing his best tbh

[@NightoftheLivingcookies10]

I was more thinking this song required a more louder and grander instrumental to suit his voice and the emotions behind the lyrics. The instrumentals sounded a little too soft to me

[@TheLawlessRogue]

I had to search up Bryce Pinkham singing just to confirm what you said and holy fuck??? That man's voice is literally angelic, just look at his cover on a song where he can sing comfortably. The difference is literally worlds apart: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXm4iaCYfrBphac&ab_channel=ChicagoTribune Definitely agree though that the song's pitch didn't match his vocal range. It's already one thing to stay in character, and a whole nother one to sing in their voice. While making it believable. Especially if their voice is different than your own.

[@dio_hoestar_4204]

It's possibly a little bit of that. As well as, stolas being mega fucked up when he sang that. Sam (the original singer) seems to have a slightly higher octave reach than bryce, but to be fair he was using falsetto. Not a fair comparison to bryce maintaining the soft Stolas voice while going for mixed or chest. But calling bryces singing weak? the man has a GREAT voice. His vibrato is absolutely stunning. Like the "You can find me in the sky" part of "you will be okay" is amazing, it gives me chills everytime. But yeah, all and all, I think this song was mostly supposed to sound slightly unstable in some parts. It wasn't just a song, but an emotional performance after all. You can tell the person in the video listens to more conventional music and not the type that stolas sings.

[@j.c.2240]

When I see Stella and Stolas' unhealthy relationship, I cheer for a divorce. When I see Blitz and Stolas' unhealthy relationship, I cheer for them to get healthy

[@chloev543]

@biyao kiti YES

[@pichona5210]

@biyao kiti l think that many forget the dialogues of Stolas, Stolas already haf the right words to tell the truth but how to do it without hurting you deaughter? After this chapter we already unberstand what Stolas really wanted to say...

[@justsomewritingfan2202]

Because one is salvageble, and the other includes Stella.

[@salatieljyrustumanan4929]

Blitz literally puts Stolas on a heavenly spot in his acid trip. Hell, whenever I have a vivid visual while I'm trippin' I have a good image of my crush/partner at that time

[@reichr]

All of us do, dont worry/

[@mothbugg9403]

With this context now it gives "if I hadn't slept with that rich asshole none of us would have access to the living world" a whole new perspective. As technically. He didnt have to at all. He was free to leave and leave stolas tied there. And when he decided to stay his "real quick" became an entire night long. That's just his excuse to himself to cover up the moment of genuinely feeling bad for stolas and probably also the moment of getting carried away and caught up in sleeping with stolas Or In other words stolas x blitz canon

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

Or stolas made blitz stay longer

[@akirakhan4790]

@@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7 Did he though? It's heavily implied that Blitz enjoyed his time with Stolas and literally fell asleep in Stolas' arms like he was a comfort for him. I mean your interpretation is valid, but I don't necessarily see it myself. Maybe it's possible...

[@McCammalot]

Apparently Bryce Pinkham *actually straight up wept* while singing it!! 😮

[@PeachiBug]

"That was the sound of a FÆKiNg DIVORCE" is my favorite bit, especially the way stolas says it

[@DerekHubbard]

You say these things about the singing, but I appreciate an everyman voice still expressing the emotion. It's not about the song, it's about the expression. It feels more REAL.

[@DevoteaSings]

As a singer myself, the clips you showed as comparisons is the vocalists simply putting different spins on the same phrase. Bryce actually made it harder for himself to mix that note, whereas the demo had that higher note simply in a head voice. It definitely was a conscious decision as he could've no problem (imo) made that sound just as good in his head voice. I'm not saying either of the singers is better than the other, I just think Stolas' VA is doing his best to convey the characters emotions through his voice, even if it means taking the high road. Personally, I always listen to his versions on repeat, so I might be a bit biased.

[@DevoteaSings]

As for the ending note in the clip, I don't think they wanted the vibrato there, it wouldn't be a problem to reshoot it if they wanted it there. The thing with singing is, everyone has their own style, no two singers are going to instinctually sing the same. I understand you prefer the composer's version and that's fine :)

[@LightHelzin]

you are obviously biased

[@characterblub]

I'm not even biased and I very much enjoy his singing 👌

[@RaptieFeathers]

This. It's like the difference between Elsie Lovelock and Annapantsu. Anna goes for a more pure, pristine sound and Elsie goes for a more emotive and performance-based approach

[@ALunarLight]

honestly the original composer is kind of Milking the notes which makes everything sound like disjointed to me. I don't like it when people grandstand so the actual stolas singing sounds a lot better to me. Think when somebody sings the national anthem at a football game they go through this whole vocal scale of making it their own when the notes are actually a lot shorter some people it works on and some are just too much get the game going. The person singing is a good singer technically a better singer, but it sounds worse. And if he had tried to get those notes while sounding sad I think it would have sounded less pretty and sincere

[@SailorGeekCosplay]

If I can make a comment about Bryce’s singing, I think his raw natural recording was perfect for Stolas IN THAT MOMENT! Imagine you woke up with a hangover after getting your heart broken and you decide to break out into song, your voice would crack and strain too. Stolas was at the end of his rope in that final scene. I think Bryce nailed all that. He stayed in that moment and carried Stolas all the way. Autotuning his voice to make it sound pretty would just fake it all out. This is done differently and Im glad they stuck with the raw recording.

[@emilyl5078]

I was looking for this comment!

[@aniumusshinshoku320]

^ same here

[@queenj8886]

I personally think it fits I& love his voice! I was surprised by the comment

[@bbew2914]

it also feels like he's gonna break out in tears in the "confortable lie" line ! heart wrenching :(

[@queenj8886]

@slowed tunes Yeah I think the voice overall is pretty good!✨ But I do get where he's coming from when it comes to reaching certain vocals on the 2nd so g. But like main commenter said it kinda gives it a raw recording feel 💫

[@andrewwilliams8951]

You know, I always FIGURED that the reason why Stolas was unhappy in his marriage was because it was arranged, and the drama it was causing with Stella with cheating had this morally grey "It's not right." Energy. But now that it's been revealed that Stella has been a bitch all along before they started cheating, it just. . .gets rid of all the drama and tension for me as Stolas is now 100% in the right instead of that morally grey area that was the impression of season 1.

[@MahouShoujo-Studios]

I mean, the girl threw things at him, hired someone to kill him right in front of their daughter and verbally assaults him. Are you surprised? He still isn't in the right with how he treats Blitz, but it makes sense why.

[@andrewwilliams8951]

@@MahouShoujo-Studios It's just that there was more tension in the fracturing family bond before it was revealed "Oh, she was a bitch all along."

[@elfmonster1476]

@@andrewwilliams8951 You know, I'm with you on this. This episode kind of soured me on the character of Stolas as a result.

[@GeorgeTheIdiotINC]

@@andrewwilliams8951I think they want to transition the tension to focus more on personal issues like blitzos lack of self-esteem and need for a stable relationship as opposed to characters that arent main characters.

[@blade1hunter100]

Agree 100% I think it makes Stolas too sympathetic as a whole. I mean, aside from the adultery (Which can now be "justified) Stolas doesn't really seem like a prince/noble of hell, as he comes across as too good of a person.

[@abcxyz-dp4rl]

I was quite surprised demons from hell had negative reactions to blood or murder. Young Fiz saying blood is gross and Stolas being a little shocked when Blitz said he killed people for a living.

[@RadiantPercival]

While Stolas's voice actor may struggle with pitch (though I do still love his songs in the show), his voice acting is absolutely phenomenal. The emotion he puts into the climax of this episode is insane. I replayed the part where Stolas tells Stella he wants her out of his life over and over just to take in the amazing voice work.

[@seasonsstarsstudios]

That’s exactly why I like him - he’s not technically great at singing. Therefore it sounds real, grounded, and believable. It’s just one more aspect about him that feels real.

[@nitebreak]

@@seasonsstarsstudios i think his voice is nice, if not the most skilled

[@ShinobiPXO]

6:14 I think the idea is that all of Paimon's children have different animal forms(snake, goat, etc). His true form is unknown and he just morphs into the form of whatever child he needs to interact with to *appear* more approachable to them.

[@_SPQR_]

I wonder what form he’ll take if all of his children are there in the same room 🤔

[@shadow_shine3578]

@@_SPQR_ an amalgamation or just a generic bird?

[@ShinobiPXO]

@@_SPQR_ Doubt he'd ever make the effort for more than one.

[@_SPQR_]

@@ShinobiPXO True. Now I’m just wondering where Stolas’s mother is. Unless I missed something from the previous eps

[@eol6632]

His mother was most likely a bird type demon. So setting him up with a bird demon bride for a backup makes sense. Dude just takes a form closest to the type he's trying to fuck...

[@anhtheton]

from the day he met blitz to the last time he saw him, he didn’t care that he was an imp, he still bowed..

[@BijouluvsJewels1234]

B R O‼️ And then Blitzo pulled off, I didn't realize how deep that was and now that scene hits different

[@crumblemuffin1257]

I just loved how this episode pulled the rug from under the people who sided with Stella and how her anger towards stola,although abusive,it was justified. Chief,she's like that since childhood.

[@OrangeDragon04]

I remember saying somewhere that Stolas deserved to be punished for what he did (Although not by death). That was before this episode and I have never wanted to take a statement back more then I do now.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

It was a little lazy, but hay someone has to be the villain!

[@ParsureArts]

Well maybe not a villain, but someone for the main characters to oppose.

[@ShipperTrash]

@@ParsureArts an antagonist, then. Abuela from Encanto is one, but she's not a villain

[@rando1474]

No, actually, it just made me like her more. Allow me to enlighten you: Was Stella ever shown to hit him before? No. Why did it seem like this wasn't the first time she was going to slap him? They made Stella a bitch to justify Stolas. Maybe she does hit him off camera, but I can tell they made her really, really mean, like calling him names or saying he's bad in bed. They just made her like that to make Stolas innocent. And, do you ever think that.. her violent tendencies stem from somewhere? Abusive household, neglectful parents, pressured into carrying their legacy and family name? Do you really just look into one person's side of the story, without thinking about the other person? Stella may not be the ideal mother, person or wife, but neither is Stolas. He cheated. That's final. They're all terrible people.

[@birubu]

I know story tropes demand that Blitzo making up with Stolas to “fix” him, but I’d personally prefer Octavia being the one to get him back on his feet.

[@cannabishornliu6119]

That would be good! Octavia is (sadly) the only honest and healthy relationship Stolas has in his life.

[@Hadeshy]

I don't want Blitzo and Stolas to make up to "fix" each other. I want them to get better first, to be able to have a healthy relationship.

[@artisticbeautybyhanako6801]

​​@@Hadeshyyep, as much as not getting the immediate gratification of a steady relationship to end season 2 would break my heart (bc I worry there won't be time to watch them navigate life as a couple) I can admit that they need a few more episodes of self growth to mature first. Stolas needs to prioritize his daughter's magical education and emotional needs first (he lets crushes distract him just like me and he needs to not miss out on his daughter growing up) and Blitz needs to either see someone else treating Stolas the way he deserves so he realizes what he took for granted, OR to tarnish another relationship (Moxie kinda seems primed for that tbh, 3rd times the charm and all that) so that he can be smacked with the epiphany that he's been the one contant in all his failed relationships and his trauma is causing him to bleed on those who (mostly) aren't responsible for his internal damage

[@kellybean7995]

Stolas is my favorite. I love his singing the most actually. Something about our lonely prince's voice just hits a little deeper and I love it. I want more of it

[@birdsonbread9363]

Stolas’ high note sob (“You have no chOIce”) just made my heart break in half.

[@melrandomness1705]

In Bryce's defence I love his singing in this series so far. Like I feel he doesn't get a lot of love because 2 Broadway people are on the show aswell. Fizz and Ozzie are Spectacular but so is Stolas. I hope though he does get a happy song though!

[@brookelynnneag2198]

YES! I think his singing is beautiful!

[@ALiteralBee]

His voice matches the songs beautifully. I don’t understand why homie doesn’t like his singing :((

[@Atlassx0]

his singing is amazing, it's just easy to get overshadowed by and compared to people of higher calibre when they're all placed in the same piece of media. I do adore Stolas' ballads but I feel like it's no competition between these singers who's- at least objectively- the best and the most popular, which makes it very easy to compare all the artists unfortunately

[@brookelynnneag2198]

@@Atlassx0 yeah he really went a little too hard on his debatable opnion of Bryces singing in Helluva Boss. Bryce is an excellent singer and shouldn't be compared to other singers in the show, or at least not so harsh like he did in this video..

[@Atlassx0]

@@brookelynnneag2198 yeah. I think in all honesty that most of the negative reaction is taken from the fact that Viv's team for this song kind of did do an injustice to Bryce- they did give him a song out of his forte and then didn't do the minimum pitch-adjustment that really would have helped. It makes it feel more genuine but also from an objective standpoint it teeters between "vocalist displaying emotion" and "vocalist actually kind of struggling with the big tone shifts and no one really helping" Bryce is an amazing vocalist though, it's just hard when in a situation like this the team (inadvertently) works against you and you're surrounded by bigger artists than you and you get compared to them

[@gamingloser5909]

I have a prediction for the future of Helluva boss, Octavia is going to get hurt due to Stella sending Striker after Stolas.. While I don't really want that to happen, to me that seems like it's going to happen, that or there's going to be a major character death in the future

[@tyrant-den884]

big high stakes prediction will be that IMP calls upon the fallen Cherubs to do, sort of, their job and save Stolas.

[@Tismdylan]

Also when she calls striker in the dinner scene stolas on left Stella on right. And guess who is smack down right in the middle? Octavia

[@T_Teobokki]

Oh, that reminds me of that comic where, (SPOILERS FOR THE COMIC) After Striker fails to kill Stolas, Stella takes his gun and aims at Stolas, he begs her to stop while Octavia is held by Striker while she also begs her to don't do it. Just about she was about to press the trigger, Blitzø and the gang comes to the rescue, they all fight and in an attempt to save Stolas, Blitzø stabs Stella making her shoot a "missed" bullet, Stolas comes running to her and apologies saying he didn't wanted anything of this. She (obviously) doesn't accepts it while bleeding to death, but just before she dies, Octavia talks and everyone notices that the "missed" bullet actually ended up going through Octavia. After noticing this, Stolas leaves Stella and runs to Octavia, while Stella finally regrets what she has done, saying something along the lines of "no, my baby, What have I done?" while she finally dies Stolas runs to Via, screaming for help to the I.M.P to heal this but Moxxie tells him that there's no healing for a blessed-tip bullet, Stolas comforts and begs for forgiveness to his daughter while she says she doesn't wants to die and that she's feeling cold. Octavia finally dies in his arms and Stolas screams in agony of loosing his whole family. Really heartbreaking, and the artist did an excellent job, worst, it looks like something that could potentially happen in the future of Helluva boss

[@abc-zq8yt]

@@T_Teobokki I've seen that comic! That was absolutely heartbreaking!

[@T_Teobokki]

@@abc-zq8yt I KNOW RIGHT?! The art was also INCREDIBLE! And I've seen several dubs of the comic and They're all AMAZING!

[@Broomer52]

One thing I don’t see many people mention was the fact Stolas pulled the same move his Dad pulled when he was upset. He dragged his daughter to the circus to make himself feel better rather than bothering to cheer up Octavia, all under the belief it will make her feel better.

[@mrbeastfan8079]

Though at least he went with her physically and took her home when ge realized she didn't like it there

[@Claudia_Crimson_585]

​@@mrbeastfan8079*he

[@FlamingoSnot]

i really appreciate you complimenting the artists, i feel like they so often go unappreciated. and considering this is free to watch online it’s just like absolutely gorgeous 🤭

[@TheCommenterDragon]

I loved everything about the season 2 premiere, especially the ending seeing Stolas finally stand up to Stella was ever so satisfying! and i was also proud of Stolas for not even trying to deny what he did with Blitz because now that we have thw backstory and after everything Stella put Stolas through she deserved to have it rubbed in her face. And i loved seeing young Stolas and Blitz form a childhood friendship, it was adorable but also sad considering what happens to the two of them in the present. And finally, i still can't believe that Paimon was voiced by the same person who voiced Jafar in Disney's Aladdin it was awesome!

[@OrangeDragon04]

„I don't care what your arrogant brother thinks.” That was such a powerful line. Plus the dried tears in his eyes. He didn't even need to look where Stella's slap would land, he's probably too used to it and knows exactly how to defend himself, yet he couldn't ... until now.

[@Septic-Hearts]

The show really knows how to make you sympathise with assholes, just about every single character is one to an extent (except for Millie to the extent that she hasn't been developed enough to establish that she's an asshole, she's more like a desensitised assassin thus far) but that just makes the characters all the more interesting and relatable. They actually managed to get me to care and like characters with traits I would despise in a real world person. I LOVE Stella, she's one of my favourite characters, but it's because she's a total (probably) irredeemable bitch. The writers just made it so fun and gave them all arcs to still be assholes but possibly develop better build or burn relationships despite that. And I know that Stolas is less of an asshole than Blitzo, but you can't say the toxicity in their relationship is one-sided, even if you sympathise with him he still objectifies and belittles the guy and also hurts his relationships. Like an asshole.

[@cartoonmaster2401]

Do you think that Moxxie is an asshole I think he's actually on the same scale with Millie (literally)

[@kokopuff5836]

Agree 100% im wondering on what they are planning for stella like is she gonna be a bigger threat? And with stolas yeah even tho hes my favorite character, during S1 he makes blitzø uncomfortable, belittle and even tho they both possibly have feelings for eachother it's still like in the beginning from childhood that blitzø is forced into this one-sided relationship like stolas being forced with stella

[@Brute_Studios]

might just be a coin flip if Stella gets an episode or something

[@deede2378]

Stolas has probably got to be around 35. Why is because if he was, say , 10 in the flashbacks, he would have gotten married at 18 since that would make him old enough to take his rightful place in the Goetia family and that would be enough time for octavia to have been born since she is 17. But, yes, I was expecting these two to be in their late 30s or 40s. Man, were we off! :)

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

Blitz is like 33

[@nightmareshadow1420]

He was about 10-12 in the flashback, has a timeskip of 2 decades by the time he met Blitz again, and now he says he had Octavia 17 years ago. Meaning he and Stella had Octavia...

[@eol6632]

Or time goes by at a different pace in hell......

[@McCammalot]

I had been seriously assuming for the *entire run* that Stolas was a good few *thousand* years old, because demon. HIGHER demon, even. With the whole not-aging-unless-you-want-to-trick-someone thing. So I am thrown right now like you would not believe🤣

[@nightmareshadow1420]

@@McCammalot Yeah, I think everyone did, which would of played well into why it seemed Blitz thought he was basically a sex toy. Only to learn they are the same age. Jeez

[@kingpin1498]

Now that we know Stolas’s backstory, I want to see the other characters as well (although I know that would make the season really heavy on backstories but I DONT CARE) I have so many questions. How did Loona get adopted by Blitz? What was Moxxie doing before all this? How did Moxxie and Millie meet Blitz? Is Stella’s “arrogant brother” going to come into play? So many questions and only time will tell.

[@Wumbo_Sloth]

I had a problem with the fact that Paimon had trouble remembering his child's name, considering he is supposed to be near omniscient. He knows the past present and future in completion. It adds comedic effect, but it adds a little inaccuracy.

[@crocodilerock4662]

I honestly just think that was a joke to reference the “Ars Goetia”, a glossary of 72 Judaic demons of which Stolas is one of them. Presumably, this implies that Paimon has 72 kids lol

[@Wumbo_Sloth]

@@crocodilerock4662 True, although he knows everything, so not knowing who someone is kind of doesn't make sense.

[@universalpower419]

@@Wumbo_Sloth It's canon that He knows everything or that it's just Demon folklore?

[@SleepyStreak]

Exactly where was it stated he's near omniscient? As far as we know he's below the seven sins, let alone Charlie, Lilith, Lucifer, AND whatever archangels are in heaven and God. I have trouble believing he'd be near omniscient.

[@Wumbo_Sloth]

@@SleepyStreak I am going by demon folklore. According to demonology, Paimon is Satans right hand man, and is among the most powerful demons in all of demonology. In fact, he is mostly a knowlegde based demon. And going by this episode's reference to Paimon having many children, I was supposing they would retain accuracy.

[@d1n383]

Whilst I agree stolas singing isn’t the best, I believe he legit can’t get better because I believe his broken voice is because of the emotion he’s showing and to me he nailed it Edit: Thx for likes!

[@ennygalaxy]

Oh yes exactly actually! As a person who loves singling along to music, sometimes whenever I try to sing along to a particularly emotional song or just a song that has a lot of meaning for me (aheeemmm like the Persona 3 Dancing opening) I just can't keep from nearly openly weeping, I know what an overly emotional voice close to crying sounds like, and it sounds exactly like that :D That's why I loved thiss one including the vocals, you can feel the heartbreak!

[@MooksMookin]

exactly! like the dude JUST woke up from being blackout drunk and must have an absolute killer hangover (he downed ABSINTH. AGAIN.) that he almost throws up from and he just. bursts into song. of course its not gonna be pretty, its raw and its broken. and as someone who has cry-sung more than countless times before, i can relate to how it sounds. its not meant to be perfect. i also love the canonical addition that he does just burst into song when he's sad, as per stella's entrance at the end saying as much. a wonderful touch

[@sebsdemise]

i agree 100%

[@aureliarossi5897]

the singing wasn't top tier but it wasn't supposed to, the way he sang it was perfect and literally nailed the mood they were going for

[@undeadblizzard]

If I was in charge hw would sing Mask Off by Future.

[@shadow_shine3578]

I think its interesting that Blitzo apparently loved pirates and Fizz hated them. Why does Fizz hate pirates? Also I'm glad they skipped over his stealing being important. Instead he got away with it because he's good at what he does. I thought they would have Blitzo's scar be a punishment of what he did.

[@RukoHanaji]

Fun fact! Paimon is traditionally portrayed as a beautifully androgynous man riding a camel, and is supposed to be Lucifer's most ardent supporter. Also Paimon is the demonic antagonist in the movie Hereditary. Aside from that, I have to wonder if the balloon horse play time is supposed to be foreshadowing to Fizz losing his limbs?

[@ladisneyprincesse]

Is that why he takes on another form in front of each of his children??

[@crazycogerboy7456]

Something I noticed with paimon was that whenever he was ‘inactive’ his white mask had no detail but when he started moving and talking it got red lines. Maybe this can explain how he has so many kids yet also needs a heir like he has different bodies and each body needs a bloodline/family. Ive seen ppl talk abt why he needs a heir yet has so many kids so this is my lil head canon

[@heyheyitsjae2475]

6:21 Actually, yes! Can't remember if it was in a tweet or a livestream, but at one point Viv said that most, if not all, of the Ars Goetia in this show are going to be bird themed. That actually leads to one of my favorite character designs in the show. Asmodeus. You see, Viv *also* stated at some point that hell in this show is going to have a bit of a circus theme, with Lucifer as the ring leader. This lead to a popular fan theory that the Seven Deadly Princes are all going to based on different circus preforming roles. The thing about Asmodeus, is that according to the Binsfeld Classification of Demons, he is one of the Seven Deadly Princes. However he is ALSO a member of the Ars Goetia. So to reflect both groups, for his design he appears to be a lion tamer + rooster. Only the rooster element is confirmed by the staff, but if he really is a lion tamer and the circus theming turns out true it's such a great design!

[@artisticbeautybyhanako6801]

I mean, if you compare the concept of taming a lion to taming your own formerly wild lust in order to pursue monogamy the way he seems to have done to get serious with Fizzaroli, it's a creative stroke of symbolism, but I could be looking too deeply at it😅

[@jessicaable5095]

Oh, it's a shame about your feelings on Bryce's singing. I find it absolutely gorgeous. Sure it isn't polished but, I don't know, I like it that way. His voice is different, and fits the situation, emotions and character.

[@ALiteralBee]

It doesn’t sound auto tuned. I believe that that’s why I, personally, love it so much. It feels more “human”

[@McCammalot]

I've just bought the soundtrack to "Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" and 1. Bryce is better than even I thought, and I've loved his Helluva Boss stuff and 2. They need to let this man unleash his proper opera voice 😳 Good LORD

[@PM-pr9ds]

I loved his singing 🥺 I do thing it’s beautiful

[@cvpid13]

in my opinion stolases voice is great especially in the last song cuz its so imperfect because he's so in his feelings

[@T_Teobokki]

I feel like, Blitzø's and Fizz's relationship breaking point was right after his playdate with Stolas We see, even though briefly, That Blitz is jealous in some way of Fizz, he was always in the spotlight and overall always loved by the audience, but even with all that, Fizz never rubbed this on Blitzø's face, After the curtains closed, They would still hang out and be best friends, he (as far as I know) was never toxic towards Blitz, suggesting they were incredibly close. (Probably growing up together) Now, Imagine how he would feel when, just after a day, Blitzø's started talking non-stop about this little Prince and how wonderful was the time they expend together (I imagine Blitzø's would ramble about it non-stop as soon as Fizz asked him how all was) and I can also imagine Blitzø's dad treating him a lot better after stealing so many things from Stolas' house, hell, maybe even became his favorite, resulting in Fizz getting jealous It's pretty obvious something happened during that time, something REALLY tragic and traumatic between those two that ended with Fizz loosing both his arms and with Blitz getting that scar on half his face (that looks like a water splash, could be holy water maybe?), Probably a fight between them that caused a horrible accident of maybe Blitzø's going berserker and his violent tendencies finally kicked in (since in S1E7 in the picture with Fizz, he still didn't had that scar, it's possible that was the result of that fight) I also find curious how Fizz didn't had any violent tendencies, he was even grossed about the thought of murder and death, maybe that fight was so brutal it changed Fizz perspective completely, maybe he hated Blitz so much after that that he wished nothing pure gore and agony to him. Anyway, I just wanted to point that out, great episode! Can't wait to see what's next

[@carlwheezer2808]

theres a pic of the two on blitz's phone and they look a bit older

[@T_Teobokki]

@@carlwheezer2808 Yeah I know, im not saying that the fight happened exactly after his play date with stolas, but it was the beggining of the cracks on their friendship

[@fictionjunkie360]

Fizz is a lover, not a fighter. RoboFizz does fight Blitzo but the real Fizz has yet to show any violent tendencies.

[@Ashmxte]

I personally love Bryce’s singing. It sounds so beautiful. Imperfect sometimes is perfect.

[@madisonchapman2369]

"I'm so good at daddying." Absolute favorite line.

[@clodz_7456]

Also, something that I thought was worth mentioning was that another cycle that seems to have come up from childhood, was blitz being a "playmate" for stolas. In childhood, a literal playmate. In adulthood... well, you know.

[@veronica-wolfmaiden5383]

I love Stollas' singing! Yeah, this episode his voice was shaky but I think it was on purpose. He was crying after his date with Blitz, full of "happy pills", and drunk all at once so it wouldn't have the same clarity as his lullaby from episode 2- which is my favorite song in the series!

[@catchyname1081]

I personally love it anytime Stolas sings, but that's just me.

[@queenofawesome2550]

Same "You will be okay" became my comfort song during the pandemic.

[@jessicaable5095]

Oh don't worry, given the comments under Sarcastic's pinned post, you're not the only one. His voice is beautiful and the imperfections make the scenes so much better

[@onebilliontacos3405]

I still think it's strange that Stolas isn't around 6,000 years old, I have very mixed feeling about that though it does explain a lot about some aspects of his character. 6:20 My guess is that the other Goatian demons are different animals similar to their real life mythological counterparts but come from a race of the same animals, similar to how we see many other owl demons in this series that look like Stolas, but to my knowledge don't have the same goatian blood as Stolases father even if many of them are royalty or rich. 7:26 Also, that is insane!

[@falconeshield]

I just add a mental 0, make him 350 in human years. It's Hell.

[@Anti2020s]

Hell age is diferent than real life age thought

[@Claudia_Crimson_585]

It isn't strange at all, Stolas was with Stella for 17 yrs and he was the same age as Blitz when they were kids.

[@alli1222]

I do agree that the far past part was the weakest. Definitely doesn’t mean it was bad, it was just very strange to see how innocent and hopeful these characters used to be knowing full well what their adults versions are currently like.

[@Marrianno]

You said that "I called it, so its not necessary to show", but I will not agree. If Stolas is main love interest and focus, we absolutely need to see his backstory, give him big focus and show in details why he became the way he is. If we want to fix the problem, we need to see the birth of this problem

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

So now I know why stolas liked telling his affair to the public

[@yoonyiachang1390]

I could tell that stolas was flat in the songs but it felt more like a strained voice, and yes it's not the best musically, but I love it. that's how I sound when I do cry singing and it's ok to sound of key because sometimes making things bad and slightly off or uncomfortable can be better

[@gaugemogle0779]

The episode was good Seeing stolas Finally stand up to Stella Was Great so see And can't wait to see IMP come Back in future episodes Hopefully a flashback of IMP getting recruited by blitz

[@chrnehmke]

There is nothing cuter than young stolas owl laughter

[@chrnehmke]

Also i like stolas songs and the fact, that he doesnt hit all the notes. it feels fitting, since he isnt really a singer and just uses them to cope or comfort his daughter

[@Annimations]

This review is super funny having just watched a livestream with the whole HB team just absolutely praising the VA of Stolas for being a super advanced broadway singer who is max talented and handpicked for the role precisely over his singing voice for more than 2 hours. I like the VA singing btw. But the juxtaposition here is super funny to me.

[@BrandonJames2016]

Before this episode people has sympathy for Stella and now all of it has been thrown out the window. I missed this series and the fact it was a Stolas episode was great way to start season 2 and love that his father is voiced by Jordan Freeman the iconic Jafar.

[@gustavofring5674]

The sympathy for her went out the window faster than the support of South Africa after the Cold War

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

@@gustavofring5674 i knew he was nice guy because all blitzos lovers are nice

[@Angelic_Marzzz]

Unfortunately people are still giving her sympathy, even after this episode

[@TheDapperDragon]

@@Angelic_Marzzz Because 'lul, just evil' is such shit writing, people like me want to see more about what made her the way she is. SH is better than that.

[@Rey_Palpatine]

Ngl I was kind of surprised that they went with the "evil psychopath from birth who has absolutely zero good qualities" route with Stella tbh. I thought it was going to be more complex, even if she's the villain and did/will continue to do bad stuff to mess with Stolas

[@dubwubwubstek244]

I think the singing being a little sub-par fits especially for that scene. stolas just woke up from being hungover and is an emotional wreck. it's not gonna come out that smooth, just pure raw emotion

[@summerwolf7197]

Yeah, it helps the feelings of the song too!

[@12ush.]

I really loved this review and agree entirely with your thoughts; however, I do have one opinion on the singing I wanted to share. I like Stolas' singing voice but personally, I also like the natural, untrained sound that some characters may have because it just really completes that on-the-spot break-into-song feel. I get why other people think differently though, especially when you mentioned how the sound doesn't fit the deep and beautiful lyrics. However, in my opinion, comparing Stolas' voice to Asmodeus' voice as characters may not work considering that Asmodeus is the owner of the hottest club in Hell and will probably perform nightly if not every other night. Whereas Stolas is just a depressed demon prince who watches telenovelas while drinking himself into a stupor and crying himself to sleep every night (or getting hammered in a different way, but that's another story.)

[@JustJupiter4207]

I personally love the imperfection in the voice. It adds to the emotion for me.

[@Bag-Head0]

the fact that the clip u put the said "I've seem to have spotted a c**t" is perfect bc the person who voices Stella plays the wife of the man in Brandon Rodger's videos

[@doodlexd8661]

I can't get over the moment Blitz cracked Stolas' neck, since he is an owl haha funny

[@Steve_SBU]

I disagree on stolas’s VA being a bad singer, yes his voice isn’t the most polished because it’s insanely hard to sing while doing a characters voice, and I can respect the talent it takes to do that, yeah it’s prolly not for everyone, and I’m sure there are other singers who could sing the song better, but I wouldn’t call him bad exactly, I completely respect your opinion though as music is highly subjective, love the rest of the video though!!

[@vearydays9974]

I think it's intentional! Stolas sang like a lullaby in 2nd episode, in this one he was heart broken so the actor tried to made it fit the mood of a heartbroken someone singing out their misery.

[@kimchu82]

I agree. Actually, probably an unpopular opinion, I like the VA's singing better than OP's version, because there IS emotion in there, where OP's cover is lacking. (Sorry OP. No disrespect. You sing great as well. It is just my preference.)

[@kirin1230]

I think he's excellent, but when you're singing a song where your character is crying, it's going to sound imperfect. Imo that makes it a lot better and more real.

[@Atlassx0]

yeah, Viv's team just did him a very big injustice by giving him songs not suited for his voice and not doing at the very least basic pitch-correcting. It does give an authentic feel, but objectively Viv's team really did under-utilize him to an extent

[@Atlassx0]

@@kimchu82 yeah, I feel like OP really was just hitting the notes rather than singing as a hungover heartbroken man- but that was intentional given he's supposed to be the bassline for compositional direction so the *actual* VA can add personality and feeling to it for the end product

[@bruhservices5942]

Octavia: “home doesn’t feel like home anymore. You ruined it 🥺” Me: honey THAT WAS YOUR MOTHER. NOT YOUR FATHER.

[@McCammalot]

And it says so much that Stolas took the blame and said nothing. This poor man needs a BREAK

[@McCammalot]

I keep flipping so hard between wanting more story depth for Stella so I don't just want her... offed... and just wanting her offed. I despise her right now. I'm reading so much unsavory, nonconsensual stuff into her "he just lies there" speech. I would like to be wrong.

[@MarveyDrP]

you shouldn’t attack Octavia based off what they showed us she didn’t know

[@falconeshield]

Via will probably realise that next episode

[@viersamstagsfliege1594]

Removing most of the character conflict in that department

[@realCharlieBlue]

I didn’t like the singing in this episode but the lullaby for Octavia was sung soooo great and nobody can change my mind. Like how he raises his voice at the „when creation goes to die“ part - ugh I love it

[@di5963]

I think its interesting that stolas probably takes Octavia to a circus because before Octavia was born going to a circus was the best thing to ever happen to him

[@Nitzah]

I think my favorite background details this episode were the portraits that just add to their family dynamic. The two side by side that worked well was the one of Stolas and Stella next to the one of Stolas and baby Octavia. The unhappy couple really look like they’re trying to be stoic and regal but are also sort of irritated to have to be there in the first place. That juxtaposed to Octavia and Stolas where the two look super happy and just full of uncontainable joy it really cements how their house is full of examples of their family dynamic and how for Stolas that very household had both joy and pain all mixed up together

[@samueltrusik3251]

13:30 To be honest, the original composer felt really jagged and jumpy, Stolas` VA did a much better job at singing the songs.

[@SmileyTheJester]

Fr idk why people jump on the internet then shit on something but says "I'm a fan"

[@InquisitiveBadger816]

Here's my take on Stolas' singing - his voice really shines singing patter songs (like a lot of his songs in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder) and so far he's been stuck with slow ballads instead

[@Shortsonic37]

Honestly Stolas’s “THATS THE SOUND OF A FUCKING DIVORCE” was iconic, good for him in that moment.

[@daltoncady4038]

Sometimes you can sing flat to portray emotions so long as it doesn’t clash. Which works honestly. Both songs are about his life falling apart somewhat. So only being able to get so much when everything is out of control is wonderful.

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

Stolas might die because his eyes are very red

[@brooksburson2641]

Am i the only one who absolutely loves episodes just dedicated to Stolas. I want more of these. Yes, it’s basically S1 E2 and now S2 E1, but if they continue doing more episodes just focusing on my favorite owl demon I would love it.

[@101damnations7]

Personally, I’ve got no issue with Bryce Pinkham’s singing. The only issue that I can really get from his most recent song is when he has to suddenly go high and the transition can sound rocky, but a re-listen can iron that out. I think at least for this most recent song, what’s important is that Bryce is singing in character as opposed to the composer you gave an example of. Now that isn’t an excuse, since Viv and the team could’ve done it differently upon noticing the dour difference. But Bryce’s version carries the required feel. Stolas is exhausted and mentally torn, lamenting his situation in the beginning and building himself up, briefly angry at the “lie” between himself and Blitz before falling off and building to the final climax, projecting his emotions towards the stars. I understand the hesitation to have Stolas start belting and to keep him in a toned down voice for fear of losing his mood, replacing sadness with bravado or anger, and so he cries out in his toned down voice only to climb back down for the final line and Stella’s interruption. I can fully understand the composer’s version being nicer to listen to, I just do think there’s more reason to Stolas’s songs besides “Well this is the best Bryce could do”

[@seamusryan6580]

Yep, this is the one. From a music standpoint, a tritone is a horrible noise, but you try telling that to a Jazz Musician and you'll understand just how much the context can make certain usually unorthodox element all the more important. If I'm listening to the song, I'll listen to original composer's version, but I would never dare switch that out while watching the episode.

[@ericasutton3147]

I’m glad that Stolas finally told Stella off and said I want a divorce and get the hell outta my house. And I don’t know how Octavia is going to react when she finds out the truth about how she was just born from a crappy arranged loveless marriage. But it’s going to be heavy and heartbreaking. But I do hope that she’ll be more mad at her mother than her father

[@capismycopilot9393]

this is probably what’s going to lead to the episode where Octavia steals the grimoire from IMP and runs off, ending up stuck in the human world (we saw a sneak peek of this episode a few weeks ago while it was still in development)

[@ericasutton3147]

@@capismycopilot9393 I saw a video of that. Can’t wait to see that scene fully animated

[@lordwillibur438]

One of the hard part about singing is generally conveying the story and the emotions the song is trying to convey. Stolus nails this and other than the low note, his accuracy was pretty good too

[@alli1222]

This episode was truly amazing and I enjoyed every bit of it! Seeing things from Stolas’s point of view really opens your eyes to his character and just helps you understand why he acts and says the way he does

[@kaydawriters5767]

“That was the sound of the f**king divorce!” The most satisfying sense ever.

[@reiyujigo]

Learning how Stolas and Blitzø met was honestly so wholesome to me. Yes, TECHNICALLY Stolas got tricked into helping Blitzø steal from his own castle, but it was still cute seeing how exactly the two met before they did this whole (s)exchange deal🤣☺️ I really liked the episode. Also, definitely agree with you about the dad. He honestly had me laughing💀😭

[@teethforrent]

My input on the song, the way it was written, the way it was sung, the context of Stolas being exhausted, broken, driven over the edge. I personally really like the way Stolas' second song had been sung. It was perfect, it showed us how WEAK he was in the moment. How much he had drawn himself out to keep his family happy, how thinly strung he is..

[@jessdragon1214]

I all ways love your take on these, I never actually thought of the None-divorced party being a Reversed-anniversary Celebration until you had brought it up The Ars Goetia character Interpretations are Definitely interesting

[@gut853]

It's become a tradition to watch Sarcastic Chorus' review after every new Helluva Boss video

[@nena9778]

I'm pretty sure the scene of Blitz and Fizz playing with the horses was foreshadowing for when Fizz loses his limbs, thats why it was longer than it needed to be otherwise.

[@user-Jay178]

Great episode and I now have a much better understanding of Stolas and feels so bad for everything that happened. So happy that Helluva boss happened.

[@lightharms7000]

I would like to propose my theory about the horses balloons and his potentially relations within the imp brothers futur. Isn't that odd that one of the horse has no legs at all, mulitated ones because of a "pirate war" when he wasn't able to "run fast enough". And it's Blitzo who carried the horse while fizzaroli seemed disturbed by this "blood everywhere" I BELIEVE (and I'm actually hyped af lmao) that this particular scene actually display the brothers' future among a potential circus incident (maybe pirate related?) where the mutilated horse represents Fizzaroli's fate after the event (no limbs, blood) along Blitzo unable to rescue him at time (the "can't run fast enough) To sum up, this scene is just a hidden prophecy that portray the fate of the imp brother within the circus life. Thank you for reading, I'll be happy to share thoughts with you!

[@tsunertoo9149]

That wast immediate though too. I even saw it as it being that eventually blitz and fizz would switch outlooks, with blitz being the positive one trying to get fizz back on his feet but failing to do so resulting in more blood. This could be foreshadowing fizz and blitz eventually trying to reconcile but unfortunately might end in an even graver wound, if not outright death.

[@eyeballs8285]

THAT MAKES SENSE because fizz is always green and Blitz is always red 😁👏👏👏👏 smart

[@real_chichicherry123]

10:46 Agreed with you there. Cannot get enough the beauty of the animation's other parts, such dedication from such many people. Storyline focus is important, yes, but so is the settings for moods, and music and related things that make up the whole episode

[@emilyrobinson4103]

“It’s just weird to see blitzo with ACTUAL hope in his eyes”

[@sqxbarto9229]

I don't agree with the singing part, sometimes I listen to "You'll be okay" on repeat, and "Stolas sing" will be the same. :)

[@amethysttvgl1601]

I agree! I absolutely adore stolas' songs! Of course singing is subjective but something about Bryce's voice enhances both songs for me.

[@spectre9340]

I'm so surprised at how much bearing on the main story that Stolas actually has, considering how he was introduced in the pilot. I'm glad they decided to explore his character more instead of just making him some sort of background character.

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

I think he will lose his powers

[@abimaellopezmaylord27lopez7]

But why can’t stolas hide or transform into an imp

[@suncricket]

I completely agree with the analysis on the child section- something about it is way wayyy too sweet. Stolas, I can understand being naive, but Blitzo felt.. weird. I feel like it would have been a lot more impactful if Blitzo was the one who decided to steal for his family instead of being pressured into it.

[@caryweaver7045]

I think Georgina Leahy did a fantastic job voicing Stella. Seeing Stolas finally stand up for himself and stop her hand when she tried to hit him was soooo satisfying. Excited to see more of her in future episodes!