#helluva boss blitzø

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Episode 7: Ozzie’s (Stolitz Analysis)

SO! THAT FUCKING EPISODE 7! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

first, we see stolas brooding in his home, moping around, watching hellanovas and having cereal, which is a mood, (gabriella). then, he sees blitzo calling and panics but lighting up immediately. hes extremely excited at the mere prospect of blitzo calling him, no matter the context, which has proved me and probably many stolitz fans wrong. initially, i thought stolas was unable to separate his desires from his love for blitzo, which i still thought was there, he just didnt know about it. im honestly so happy to be proven wrong just by this scene.

(and yes, this proves that stolas likes blitzo for more than the superficial, if anyone needed clarification)

blitzo fumbles over his words, cursing under his breath as he tries to persuade stolas into going with him. blitzo didnt think his plan through, that much is obvious, because stolas was his first option (second if you count him flirting with the bouncer) to sneak in, even if he is taking advantage of the prince by doing so. however, he isn’t aware about how he doesn’t even need to try. judging by stolas’ expression, he’d go wherever blitzo needed him to, and that was what he did.

anyway, we then witness some of the most awkward flirting ever, stolas doing his best to start off the date with blitzo just not paying attention. note how blitzo seems uncomfortable throughout the entire situation, he just used stolas a ticket in and nothing more. the owl is trying to take this date seriously now and it unsettles him. and even later on, blitzo never tells stolas this was a farce. i personally believe its because he doesnt have the heart to ruin stolas’ fun, since when was he ever one to not state clearly what he wanted from stolas?

back in episode two, stolas used money to get blitzo to accompany him to loo loo land and never once did blitzo ever entertain the thought that this was anything but a job. same with the harvest moon festival, where blitzo says his employees would like it and they couldnt do their job that day anyway without the book. i could be stretching though, since this is the first time we see blitzo intiating any romantic gesture with stolas and its to exploit the owl, so maybe he just doesnt wanna deal with it.

then we get to asmodeus’s song and where blitzo stands up for moxxie (CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FROM EPISODE 6 OK HE’S PUTTING HIMSELF IN UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATIONS FOR MOXXIE) and his past comes back to haunt him. this time literally, rather than a breakdown manifestation, and how verosika and fizz criticise blitzo’s love life. im not even gonna get into WHY fizz knows blitzo sucks at romance cuz god, so many theories with blitzo’s past have emerged from this episode, but we know why verosika does.

verosika says he’s selfish and couldn’t reciprocate with love when she gave him all of hers, proving that yes, she was most likely in love with him and honestly i think he was to. his breakdown-verosika in ep 6 said he shoved away anyway that got too close to him until they resented him, so maybe he was starting to let verosika in emotionally, then realized if he did, he’d just get hurt so he ended it.

now, lets go into detail about whats happening here when asmodeus confronts stolas about him being with blitzo.

asmodeus sings: “you used to have a smoking wife, a kid, you had it all! i hope you didnt give it up so you and him could get it uppppp” he immediately targeted the one weak spot stolas sees in his relationship with blitzo; the damage its done to his family.

he doesnt feel ashamed about being with blitzo ever. i’d go as far as to say he wantseveryone to know he’s with blitzo. examples being the scene with the bouncer at the start of the episode, the entirety of loo loo land, and the harvest moon festival during his speech. most moments this episode, it feels like hes worried for blitzo instead of being ashamed of blitzo, but his family is the achilles heel of his love for blitzo and asmodeus hit the nail right on the head.

he once told octavia that he’d never leave her for blitzo in loo loo land with the utmost certainty, and he didn’t, but it seems like stella and him have seperated at the very least, proving to everyone and himself that he fucked up and basically ruined his daughter family’s for blitzo.

stolas then hides his face in the menu in shame and blitzo looks at him in fear, then looks away, betraying shock in his gaze. blitzo probably right then and there, realized this was just yet another relapse of everything, that this wasn’t gonna be any different from fizzarolli (whatever happened there), verosika or maybe even tilla and barbie wire.

(side note: its so ingenious using lust as the destination for this episode where stolitz have their first real conflict, and having m&m there. lust is the ONE THING stolas and blitzo have for each other and the one thing m&m, while have, arent especially focused on it.

it draws a comparison stolitz and how sexually charged their relationship is, and how the expression of love part is the problem here. they love each other, sure, but they really, really, really dont know how to do it healthily.

having a club set in lust, a setting meant to be sexual but also puts heavy emphasis on romantic relationships, juxtaposes stolitz’s problems with romance to their sex shit. showing how stolas, an owl whos horny as FUCK and someone whose introduction was a rich prince that gave off almost rapey vibes, really craves blitzo’s love more than the sex, since he doesnt once suggest anything related to sex during the entire episode to blitzo, despite the whole setting being made for it.

asmodeus and fizzarolli most likely love each other too. being a “implied” (implied in quotes, because anyone with eyes can figure it out from their nuzzling and cuddling) couple, but they’re the primary antagonists towards stolitz and m&m’s relationships this episode. they attack m&m by making fun of moxxie’s song, despite obviously enjoying it in the end, and they just destroyed blitzo’s self-esteem, along with hitting stolas where it hurt.

but they’re two individuals who seem to be able to communicate with each other without a word, if their performative chemistry is anything to go by. they have each other’s back and are partners in crime, and even though they’re fundamentally assholes, they know each other. a parallel they have to m&m in a way, but another thing stolitz doesn’t have. they still seem to hate m&m’s adorable lovey-doveyness, but i’d chalk that up to them being performers in a club of lust for couples and not wanting this sappiness soaking up the sexual tension.)

when the whole debacle is over, stolas reaches out to blitzo tentatively but blitzo retracts his hand, nearly flinching the touch. blitzo tells stolas that they should leave and stolas hurries along worriedly. he doesn’t seem as affected by asmodeus more than he is concerned about blitzo, who had become incredibly defensive and moody.

…now onto the car ride scene.

stolas starts, “thank you for…inviting me out tonight. despite everything that’s happened…i enjoyed spending time with you”, to which blitzo only responds with a “yeah” apathetically. you can see him face-palming in annoyance, but i believe that annoyance is more directed to the fact that in his mind, stolas still has the courtesy to “act nice” when he saw stolas recoil and hide himself when asmodeus confronted him about their relationship. he doesnt want to believe stolas could still love him after that. it’s also just him being in such an emotional, vulnerable state, he doesnt know what to do so he defaults to irritation.

stolas offers blitzo to come in, proving that stolas just reallly loved blitzo enough to stick with him after that disaster. he wants this so badly, why else would he have tried so hard? finally, going on an actual date with blitzo, and sure, it ended terribly, but he doesnt want this to end. he really loves this imp.

but blitzo isnt taking any of it.

“im not fucking you tonight, okay?” blitzo’s voice shaky and desperately trying to hide vulnerability in plain sight, just as he does this entire scene. he glares at stolas, the first time he’s made eye contact with the other this entire scene, even if it’s incredibly brief.

“i’m really…just” blitzo holds a finger up, in a give-me-a-minute gesture before he puts it down immediately after and chokes back tears. he sighs, trying to rein his true emotions back in as they spill out onto his voice, “i’m really not in the mood, stolas.”

“we could talk?” yet stolas still continues to try to make an effort to reach out, “or watch a movie, or maybe cuddle?” his voice is tentative but wistful, and the music accompanies it, hopeful music surging in on the word “talk”.

“stolas, don’t act what we have is anything butyouwantingmetofuckyou.you make that really clear all the time, but i-i-i just can’t do it tonight, okay?” his bottom lip quivers, “i’m sorry.”

as i said in my episode 6 analysis (check it out if you’d like, i’m rather proud of it), i believe blitzo realized he cared more for stolas than he planned to via the drug trip, and knows he loves stolas now, because never once does he say “i dont love you” or “i don’t want you” episode 6 onward. his dialogue is explicitly “this is how our relationship works” or “you wanting me to fuck”. he doesn’t even say anything like “i can’t be with you” and deflects it onto “i can’t FUCK you tonight”. it’s all explicitly about the sex.

and therein lies the problem of how blitzo sees their relationship. he can’t look past the fact stolas might see him for more than the “transactional fucking”, without the sex, without the deal. his past relationships have proved him otherwise before. even back in episode 5, when he first uses the phrase transactional fucking, he has to clarify it is only that.

stolas, hearing this, droops immediately, but he respects blitzo’s feelings and back aways, bowing. “…okay. good night, blitz.”

we all know how this ends; stolas crying on the stairs to his mansion and blitzo crying, curled up in a ball in his apartment, all alone.

Conclusion:

blitzo and stolas are a fucking mess, and i’ve seen people argue over who caused this incident. personally, i don’t think anyone particular was responsible for hurting each other. blitzo’s insecurities were what made him close himself up when stolas tried to reach out and stolas’ for when he was mocked by asmodeus. they were a ship ready to crash, and did they crash.

i honestly loved how this was handled, no matter how much it hurt. it was delicious and i can’t wait for episode 8.