Radiant is The Blood of the Baboon Heart

C-C-C-Changes

Season 14 had a LOT of hard work it needed to do: It needed to establish a new status quo that wasn't radically diffrent, but was diffrent enough to shove the show in an intresting new direction: Hank and Peggy were now retired after what we find out this season was a 5 year stint in Saudi Arabia, Bobby was now a 21 year old buisness part owner in dallas reconnecting with Connie and roooming with Joseph, Kahn and Minh had to go public with thier divorce and Dale, Bill and Boomhauer, the recently rechristned by the hulu summary "Alley Guys", which I like as the guys was a tad generic for such legends.. were really in about the same spot except Boommhauer now had a step son to look after and Dale was now Mainstream.

All this catching up meant Season 14 was more seralized: Almost all of hank and peggy's plot dealt with them being retired and how they dealt with that, and Bobby had almost every b plot to himself as he and connie slowly got back together with some stops along the way for sexy rats, his girlfriend taking a dump on jerry jones desk and connie getting all the way high on morphine.

Season 15 gets to ease up a bit: There's ongoing subplots as Bobby dates Connie and goes on reality show King of the Grill, Kahn and Minh adjust to being bittery divorced, and Kahn Rooms with Bill but now the viewer's used to this new world it can take it's time with thsoe things.

It also means we get a lot of the things that last season just didn't have time for back. The biggest and best is we get FAR more episodes with the Alley Guys messing around and doing stupid shit. The season premier has them investigate a mysterious electric truck someone parked in front of Hank's house, with Hank not loving everyone assuming it's him. It nicely splashes in Peggy who badly wants to solve the mystery in some true crime fashion, but easily could've fit before. Naturally the culprit ends up being Dale as it's Nancy's truck and he parked it here to avoid theives. I love the ending of the plot so much too with Hank, understandably, sounding exausted he has to kick dale's ass and Dale trying to flee.. in a truck he forgot to charge.

While season 14 was great i genuinely missd these 3 morons and hank doing stupid shit and projects together. We also tget way more pop ins in the alley and way more stupid shit. We even get a full subplot without hank where bill wears a toupe and acts like a dog because it's the only way Kahn can get Bill to practice self care.

We also get one of the best alley guys messarounds in the series: while Reality Bites a plot is a huge nothingburger, it's b plot has Dale try the new trend of magnet fishing while the guys are regular fishing.. and end up with a civil war canon. We get the guys cleaning it up, and Dale really wanting to fire it and naturally stealing it in the night while hank's eating. Just as naturally this ends up going horribly wrong with it hitting something.. and the guys only checking after hank finds out. I love how too as Dale backs the canon in claims hank will never know.. right hank? Whose probably been waiting for these idiots to get back all night but understandably didn't want to hurt his back waiting in a chair or something in the garage. The payoff of Dale having shot Big Tex's fingers off is glorious,a s is hima ctually helping save hank with his magnet. Then getting stuck to the car as it's dale after all.

We also get more flexiblity in the plots as a whole: We still get Hank and Peggy as they get a new dog, attend a marriage retreat ran by the Gribbles to Peggy's ego bruised fury, raise chickens to help BOomhauer bond with his stepson and dale gets the eggs he needs and have Hank help Peggy with menopause, but we also get Peggy writing with Minh, and Hank having to realize he's beng an ass at a sci fi convention , deal with being a victim of elder fraud by going full gribble, and Hank having to save Bill from somethingn resembling a cult for the third time. The world feels wider again this time. We spend plenty of time in Dalls but even there we get more variety: Bobby has to put up with Chane for an episode, goes on a road trip to mexico, helps Connie mascot, goes on reality television, goes to a sci fi convention and we get to uncover how he first realized he wanted to be a chef the rest of his life during his k pop phase and job at whattaburger. With the hard parts done the characters can go back to doing whatever and get a lot more range, while still taking full advantage of the time skip for new fun setups like chicken raising, dealing with people being butthurt about trans chickens, and more.

The joke density is also up: While I found season 14 very funny, season 15 packs in way more jokes and all of them hit. There's more casual small ones like when Boomhauer's girlfriend, now fully fleshed out and named Wendy, asks why she can't find her son luke on his tracking ap, Hank just casually remarks "Yeah that won't work anywhere near dale's house". In the same episode we get Dale casualy breaking into the hill's house via "the dale door" , blaming the price of eggs for why he's taking the hills, and then bringing them a chicken to raise next scene rather than the eggs he was told to get and taking Peggy saying he's better at killing than nurturing with a proud curtsey. A lot of this is simply having way more Dale this season, but Emilio, Connie and Minh all get in a good one any time they show up.

The season's only drawback is, due to the short episode count, a few characters either get sidelined or don't show up at all. Season 14's second biggest breakout Willow is missing as is

KEITH DAVID MOTHERFUCKER

Though neither seem out of spite: The former likely wasn't easy to work in and they were likely waiting on the reception to season 14 to see if it was worth bringing back Bobby's two episode ex to complicate his life. Given how popular she was i'd say "Hell yeah" and both joseph being triple extra horned up and Hank's new buisness situation give us easy ins for her: Joseph would probably ask bobby first, who'd ikely be cool with it, but the weirdness both gets us an episode and gets her into the friend group, while she did bond with hank and while he did watch her shit on a desk, that again is something an episode of hard work from her could fix.

As for Brian it wasn't as some figured Keith David being super fucking busy with multiple shows, including the launching tonight President Curtis.. they just didn't find room for him and made it a priority next season.

Joseph meanwhile whie still present, only gets two episodes and one is just coming in to comment on the plot. We really need WAY more of him next season and more plots of just him and bobby as their trip to mexico is a delight; Joseph naturally proposes the strip by strutting into Robata Chane and asking everyone present "Who wants to help me get laid in mexico?" made even better by Bobby's deadpan response of "What's in mexico" That he's so used to Joseph's nonsense this dosen't phase him anymore. He also tries to pickup Conni'es friend Ola, who I honestly did not expecct to come back but is welcome giving Connie her own support and another addition to the friend group. WE got less JOseph but she filled the gap best she could. We need more of these four.

So they go to mexico where predictably, Joseph forgot to hit confirm on thier reservation so they miss out on nurse con, but do find two nice sisters owning a bnb... thankfully Bobby's able to ignore the murder van for some bone marrow. Joseph stil proves to be a manchild, always running to Sabrina Carpenter, and gets their power cut off and his head stuck in a chinese food container, as we all expected one day. Sadly this isa bout all he really gets to do, and hopefully we'll get more of his bullshit next season. Want to see him interact with his dad more.

His bio dad meanwhile is also largely absent, but Johnnnnnn Redcorn is more understandable. With Jonathan Joss' tragic death, they resue a few of his lines for one scene of Nancy turning him down, but don't really use him, likely having mmostly written the season already and using the next one to figure out where they go from here.

Happily Ever After Here We Are

At the start of the season the seeming impossible has happened: Hank Hill has comfortably settled into retirement. It dosen't mean he's stopped living or enjoying his life but Hank's exestntial dread of what to do NOW with the time is gone. It's given a nice subtle symbolic nod at the start of the season where he wakes up making coffee.. and it's daylight. It's still defintely the morning, but he's no longer on his old rythum of waking up at the crack of dawn, he's , as much as Hank Hill possibly can, relaxing a bit. He's still hank: his first plot of the season is hunting down the driver of an electric car because he, correctly, assumes other people will think it's his. But he'll still go from a stakeout to go get his guitar, spend more time in the Alley again. The listlenss he felt in "Chore Money, Chore Problems" seems to be gone. He's realized he can have new routines. It's something the series dosen't lampshade, like a lot of its great developments like Hank accepting luann as his own it's just something that happens organically in the background as time moves on and Hank slowly adjusts. The man will never full change but he will if he has to, he guesses.

Hank does have one new thing to adjust to, a new family member. Ladies, Gentlemen and everything in between and both , I present the greatest character of season 15, the one the only Ceaser Salad Hill

Yup the Hills get a new job and in typical Hank fashion, all he wanted was some toothpaste but Peggy instead fell in love with a foster dog with a LOT of care needed. Peggy does fully volunteer to do all the care needed for her new dog and to her credit Peggy fully commits, from stressing her new puppers anal glands to teaching bobby how to swaddle his new fur brother like a baby to giving him his MANY medications, Peggy is all on board. Hank being hank isn't and dosen't like that his new hopefully temporary dog is frail, looks like he'll keel over and that he has to wak the little puff ball in an adorable little raincaot and boots.

This shockingly dosen't take a full episode for Hank to get over as usual: midway through the episode Ceaser smellsa stranger and goes barking at them. Its only connie but the fact Hank catches her in a visiting Bobby's bed is enough for a father son Bwah and hank to just.. have them take the sheets with them. Still Ceaser's adeptness at barking at strangers, in this case Connie and her parents when the latter two show up to the window, and the fact he'll do the same to a ski masked dale means we don't have to live through racist Dawg again

Dale warms up to his boy as a guard dog. The real conflict is the ghost in the room: Ladybird was gone last season and while it wasn't talked about given Hank's general emotoinal constipation, it's not a suprise. It's still nice to deal with it in an intresting way like this: hank finds out his new beloved pooch is not 2 like the adoption told him, but ten and only has a few years left. He tries to return him because he genuinely CAN'T bare to go through this again and as someone whose lost 4 pets in the last 4 years... I completely understand. I worry for the three cats I have now dearly despite knowing two are kittens and one is only two and meowring constantly with life. Anyting can happen and it's hard to move on.

Yet it's also nice how Hank... ultimately reaizes this when Ceaser brings him Ladybird's old toy.. and Hank truly processes his grief, going to visit her grave, talking to her and asking that if she dosen't approve to come back from the dead. She dosen't.. and whiel Hank's scared he accepts he loves his new dog and what time he has is worth the pain to come. That it's scary to possibly take that again but well worth it. We see Ceaser casually napping under the table or happily jumping onto the couch to get pets the rest of the season and he truly is precious. A nice 180 from the stoic but adorable ladybird who I still miss.. but Ceaser scoots right into my heart.

Peggy has also largely settled htis season, and naturaly mmore smoothly than hank but still has a big change of her own to deal with: This season Peggy, while practicing for a husband and wife golf tournament, begins menopause.

To Hank's absolute credit while he's awkard about it a little, when trying to ask Peggy he reads symptoms of his phone and were this not 2020 would defintey have gotten a printout, his immidite response to every new symptom is to do SOMETHING to help it without being too smothering. He adjusts the air flow for hot fashes, gets her an ice bath, simply does nice things. He is working from his usual problem solving toolkit but he's far more patient about it. You think he'd take an episode alone to just TALK about it but this is a hank in a more emomtoinally stable place who just .. does.

And when he can't seem to do enough he dosen't force it, he dosen't complain like the old hank would've he instead genuinely asks Nancy and Minh for help. And while Minh of course takes the opportunity to terrify him by talking about her orgasms, one of the highlights, both are not only symapthetic but Nancy offers advice: Peggy needs to smoke a bowl. For real it helps with crampms and I ike that whiel Texas still criminalizes weed, as someone who has a sister who smokes medcinally, the show itself treats it as perfectly normal and something Peggy needs and while Hank is understandably terrified to do this.. he does it. It's another nice show of growth: Hank only dithers a bit.. but he dosen't need an alley discussion: His peggy is suffering, bitterly watching golden girls at 2 in the morning which I relate to and this could help.

So Hank Hill goes to a weed store, a sentence I'm just gonna.. bask in for a second. Hank Hill.. goes to buy weed. Hank Hill did through research on weed's effects on Menopause and recites them to the cerk. Said CLerk is a really chill nice guy who not only has plenty of customers on the spectrum but is on it himself and understands Hank. And this isn't me reading into it, to my utter delight the Autsim Spectrum was mentioned on king of the hill and the writers impictly made what i'd already talked about last year and many of us suspected clear; Hank Hill is on the autism spectrum. It dosen't go deeper, this guy sells weed and Hank has no idea what a spectrum is, but it's genuinely nice to not only acknoledge that for those of us who relate to hank on somel evel, the difficulty changing the hyperfixations, but to do it in such a sweet offhand way. They likely didn't intend for Hank to be autistic before the revival, but they warmly welcome it now and it fuels so good. I"m tearing up just a little at how.. nice it feels to be seen.

So Hank brings his wife what minh later dubs "the good shit", because hank founnd a very nice weed store mman who knew exactly the right strains.. but really Peggy just genuinely touched Hank Hill of all people bought her some pot. THat's real love.

Hank still has his trials over the season, but the rest are a bit less impactful save one. His struggle with being phone scammed is both relatable, i've had friends fall to the old discord reset scam, and almost did myself before realizing things didn't add up. No one is completely immune to this kind of shit or the mind games they play. Hank is told bobby is in a mexican prison, but Boby's really at his resort. Hank lashing out blames bobby for not being responsible thus making him worry.. but really it's just Hank facing a problem with an unkickable ass.

It's not the first time, the show would be a lot shorter if hank could just kick everyone's ass and the world better for it, but it feels unique here: at least when dealing with con men previously like when Jeff Goldblum scammed Peggy with a phony genius certificate or Hank found out his car dealership Ted Danson was conning him for years and years, there was a face to it a big highprofile guest star for Hank to find some way around eventually. We saw that last year with Eli: Hank is dumb on many subjects, tech being a big one, but he is very emotoinally intellgent and Crafty when boxed in.

Yet a phone scammer is a faceless person the police can't be bothered to track down because it's near impossible, they can't really prosicute anyway, and his odds of finding even with Dale on his side are pretty much zero. It's the perfect crisis to give hank: He protects his family.. but he's facing an enemy he dosen't understand and the class that's supposed to help mildly condecsneds. Not enough to be a villian of a week but enough to not realize hey maybe this person is prideful and needs to be eased into this. Your teaching a class on Elder Fraud man, your very lucky Cotton is still very dead or you'd meet the same fate as that idiot who called Cottn, a wII vetran, a nazi and was promptly murdered for his hubris. You have to have some patience and tacct

Instead Hank goes to Dale whose Daleightful as ever, making an ai hank say "Propane is the devil's oxygen" and having apparenlty gone from just one ID he had to give back because the person he stole it from wasn't dead to a MONTHLY rotating set. The montage set to Paranoid is excellent. The show has a solid music budget and it's something I forgot , but it clearly got it back for the revival as we also get a great Bobby/Connie montage to I think we're alone now and one more i'm again saving for the next section. I may not be doing episode capulses, but I still have to pace myself.

To prevent Hank from spiraling further after realizing Hank sees him the same way Bobby sees joseph and that he really DOSEN'T need to keep putting off simple things his dad asks out of stubborn pride, belive me I have the same issue with my sister and feel bobby here. Someone well meaningly but constanlty telling you to do something can get you all defenstive. YOu KNOW thier right but just dont' want to admit it. And given all the times Hank's been stubborn, I completely get why Bobby has this issue.

How he helps hank is delighfully batshit: Bobby makes an ai voice clone of sylvester stallone asking for funding for an over the top sequel... which Hank was a big enough fan of to be on the fan forums. Yes the heartwarming father son trucking but also arm wrestling based Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top. Hank is able to get his groove back and spot something Bobby got wrong and all is good.

So while we're on the subject a quick plug, I promise it wont' be long but in these hard finaical times I COULD use more money coming in than my usual comissions allow. So to help with that, I've launcehd a new series on Patreon and Substacks: Movie Mondays. For the low price of one dollar a month on Patreon every monday you can read an exclusive movie review, along with all the other exclusives i've tried over the years including reviews of Godzilla Vs King Kong and Adventures of Tin Tin. And to start with a bang I reviewed Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, with Spider-Man Brand New Day and my lovely subscribers who pitch in 5 dollars or more are picking between Evil Dead Rise and The Odessy as we speak.

And as an added incentive exclusive to this review, if I get at least 5 new patrons and or substackers before two weeks after this review I will do a monthly review of a king of the hill episode from here on out, with my 5 dollar subscribers once again getting to pick what I review. But even if you only have an extra buck amonth to spare that's perfectly fine. Just as long as 5 new people total sign up i'll commit to this new series. So sign up today to both get access to a gaggle of fine film reviews AND to ake sure I keep the propane fires burning between seasons.

Jacob Mattingly | creating Animation And Comic Reviews | Patreon

After that plug, while Hank has many an adventure repairing big tex, buildling a chicken coop because he heard how hard it'd be and saving Bill from a cult again, there was one last challenge for him to face, a battle of the soul that would answer the question looming over the series since it came back: Why DID Hank Leave Strickland Propane?

Coronation of the Hill

Propane Recall was my most anicipated episode going into the season for one simple reason: We'd FINALLY found out why Hank, who spent years putting out the endless fires left in the wake of human dumpster fire Buck Strickand, who looked up to the man despite his very obvious faults, lack of grattitude 80% of the time and ya know once trying to frame Hank for Murder would ever leave, let alone for Saudi Aramco.

It's something that hung over last season and made it's own finale frustrating: Having Buck show up without even hinting at why Hank left is one of the revivals' biggest mistakes. They should of thought out the why before they even thought of using him and while this episode is able to write around that, it's still a weird thing not to plan ahead on. I do get waiting to tackle it: Saladin K Patterson wanted the show to settle in it's new form before they broke this episode mid season and that's fair, they just shoudln't of used buck till he was ready as it felt like a middle finger to just.. not adress why the hell one of animations greatest Workaholics wasn't working at a place he built propane can by propane can and loved more than his own son on most days.

The lack of pre planning is even more baffling as the solution they land on.. is perfect. Propane Recall is such a fantastic episode that explains everything so well without overfocusing on it that i'm genuinely shocked this WASN'T planned in advance and was floored when reading that in an interview. Propane Recall would've been a perfect new series finale and still works well as an excellent end to this batch of episodes, closing one chapter of the revival and opening an exciting new one.

Hank gets an emergency summons from his old strickland friends I dearly missed after two seasons away: Jo Jack, Enrique and Buddah Sack, the former having faked needing a sober ride home. He IS day drunk but things are more than bad enough to warrant it. The guys badly need hank's help and it's nice and subtly telling that Hank "genuinely suprised a pimp would ignore traffic signals" HIll is not at all bothered by the deception and seems entirely off his game when talking about STrickland.. and when his old friends ask him to save it.

Hank goes back to his oldest coping mechanism, doing a smoke , getting one from a sketchy alley man and flashing back to 5 years ago. I was completely suprised that the Hill's leaving was not right after the original run ended: the intro implied it and that bobby went with them.. but i'm fine with ignoring that in favor of a more compelling story.

With Me Too starting, Buck understandably planned to get the fuck out of there before the charges and planned to pass the Batton. Hank understandably thought after years of loyal service this would finally be it, as did Peggy and all his coworkers.

We sadly know better and unsuprisingly Buck instead promoted his son Ray Roy who he and we met towards the end of the original run. It sounds like one of 80 "Buck is a complete ingrate plots"... and that's part of the magic. Buck isn't acting any diffrent than usual, he hasn't changed at all.. and that's the problem. Buck can't even fathom what he did wrong or expect that Hank would react any diffrently: Buck's let him down a thousand times, why would he at all expect hank to be upset he was passed up for a promotion and asked to clean up another messy horny drunk's mistakes for the rest of his life? Hank was his goden goose, would do just about anything he asked, Buck kknew what buttons to press.

So why was this the breaking point? Simple: Buck showed he never respected hank. Hank respects buck: he may be annoyed by his bullshit, but he respects what he built, who he used to be, and what Hank desperatley hopes he will be again someday. Hank's feverent loyalty to me reads as him badly hoping the surrogate father he once had will return to the man he idolized when it's incredily likely that version of Buck never existed: he wasl ikely always like this and only got worse and more transparent with time... and it takes buck outlining just what Hank had been doing to really let it finally sink in. Buck likes hank, he thinks he works hard.. but he'll NEVER be anything to Buck other than his golden goose, never more than a very good worker, and he never thought of him as anything else. Buck can call him old top and show affection.. but Hank saw Buck as a father, Buck saw him as a walking dollar sign to exploit. Buck NEVER cared and finally realizing that leads Hank to do the unthinkable: he quits. I like that he later states it was unconcious: he didn't even realize he'd done it at first... but doubles down. After 13 seasons of Buck taking advantage of this poor man, Hank leaving Buck to deal with the consequences of his own actions for once is satisfying. Being hank he's civil and professional enough for them to talk between, explaning last season's finale, but their never going to be friends again and it's telling even as Hank struggles to find another job he NEVER considers going back. He would rather attempt to worth for THATERTON! (Who predictably tries to get company secrets and has hired Jimmy Wichard, who was a delight to see again) and Dale (Who Hank only lasts a minute with and still nets the deserved position of Greatest Dale's Dead Bug Employee of all time from Dale. ) than even think of groveling back.

It also makes the Saudi move make far more sense: You'd THINK Hank would be swimming in propane and propane opportunities, but its likely the start of the great recession put Buck's non thaterton competitors out of buisness and the lack of competition again is likely the only reason strickland lasted another 5 years. He has nowhere to go till he gets a call from Dallas.. and thenf inds out it's from Aramco. By making it both hank's last option AND one that includes a handsome nest egg it makes perfect sense and explains Hank's early retirement: he had the chance to, his old dream job was dead too him, it seemed like a good idea till he had to fill all that time, and then became one as he succesfully filled it.

It's also nice that despite being the job of a lifetime and one that despite the cons both Hank and Peggy are game for Hank is more than willing to cancel if Bobby isn't willing. And Bobby, with blue hair as he's mid k pop phase and having not only taken a job at whattaburger to help during this, instantly "Nutting up" like peggy wanted, but having found his calling isn't ready to leave.. but has matured enough to offer a viable alterantive: They go, he stays with Lucky and Luanne (Who we STILL dont' know waht happend to them), mirroring how LUan's own adult life started, and he'll visit and skype and finish high sccholl. I also like that while product placement it fits Bobby's easily impressed but open personality that a fast food job is what finally mamkes everything click. We didn't NEED to know the exact origin for Bobby's love of cooking, his love of meat, fruit pies and excellent sauce skills were good enough hints, but it's a satisfying one: ther'es a diffrence between having a taent and knowing you have it and this is bobby relaizing it. "I"ve found my propane and propane acessories" and hank's look of pride says it all

One Bill scream of ultimate anguish later we're back in the present and we get proably the most satisfying scene in the entire show: Hank goes to Buck to beg him to fire Ray Roy ... and Buck once again is too Chickenshit to do it begging hank to "be the daddy, be the daddy" which while funny.. shows just how pathetic Buck is. That despite his uisnesss taking, despite Hank telling him to nut up , of all people, despite all evidence the needs to take fucking responsiblity he can't. And as a result Hank vows to never work for him again. Hank once and for all sees buck as he is: a man with some taent but a pathetic selfish ass who can't do anything for himself and who Hank is tired of carrying. It may be the end of something he loved... but Hank will not sacrifice his dignity or self respect to work for a man who has none and will give him none.

So Hank and Peggy head to Robata Chane to ceebrate and I love this scene: I love Hank just ccasually agreeing with Peggy saying he loves her more than propane, that despite how much he loves it (Bobby correctly said it was sometimes over him), he loves her mmore and their relationship has only strengthend with this extra time.. but that as bad as the split was.. it was good. If he hadn't he never would've gotten his nest Egg, Bobby never would've become an incredibly young buisness owner, and Hank , while not saying it, never would've found his self respect. Hank is utterly content with where he is fitting the season: he may have challenges and sturggles like anyone else.. but he's happy.

And it's hank being this settled that akes the story work: Hank a season ago very well might've broke and went back out of bordeom or at least considred it. Hank no longer NEEDS Strickland and defintely dosen't need Buck anymore. He's happy where he's at and has moved on. He's at complete peace.. and that's exactly where he needs to be when he decides for the first time since coming back to pass Stricland.. and finds it in disrepari. I love Peggy's support: She simply says "Your going in aren't you" and while Hank responds with a "your right i Probably should", she knows this buisness matters to him, that as settled as he is.. he can't abandon it as he sees it in ruins: the sign vandalized, the propane cases open, the showroom soked in urine and Ray Roy also soaked in urine and passed out Drunk. All it takes for Hank to get back in the game is a simple exchange

"Peggy?" "I understand"

It's really sweet just how far these two have come, that with just two words Hank changes his life again.. but dosen't go backwords. He was good on his word: He dosen't work for Buck ever again..... he BUYS 51% STRICKLAND PROPANE WITH THE NEST EGG. I didn't catch at first that this was likely the conversation to do that.. but it's all they needed. Hank hestiated on his last investment because he was scared and didn't belive.. but there's nothing he belives in more than propane and Peggy knows it's the only thing hel oves more than her son and that betting on Hank Hill to succed with hard work, honesty and determination is the smartest investment.

So we end the season with Hank replacing the manager sign as "Down on Mainstreet" plays and all the old famiiliar faces, and a few new ones, clean strickland up. Hank is welclomed back.. and subtly encouraged to not answer with hank hill assitant manager.. but hank hill: owner and manager of strickland propane. After years of cleaning up Bucks messes, Hank isn't just manager.. he is the boss his friends and employees deserve. The king has been crowned and while Buck will no doubt be an issue as minority shareholder, when hasn't he been an issue, it's nothing but awesome to see Hank not just get the promotion but become the true boss of Strickland he always was and nothing but sweet to see him settle back in.

Hank's promotion works because Hank isn't trying to fill a hole: he was completely satisfied..and that's hwere he needed to be. He's not back because he has to be.. he's back because h wants to. Because this is his other home and like Rainey Street, it needs him. It'll alwasy need him and he'll always be there... he's just where he was always meant to be.

They Call it Bobby Love Part Deux

WIth this season Bobby and Connie have happily settled down as a couple and thank god for that. While i'm all for letting the relationship slowly rebuild, last season leaned too heavy on tropes I don't reay care for: introducing another love intrest just to slow things down? (Even if Willow was awesome), the object of our heroes affections seemingly being unaware of his feelings for them despite them having no chill, miscommuincations to help the plot keep going. The COnnie/Bobby stuff had it all and a weird hatred of ethical non monogamy and polyamory and general, semeingly agreeing with WIllow's tonedeaf "Side dick comment' , only presenting it as a coping mechanism for Connie's newly minted but understandable commitment issues and making me eyeroll this season when Bobby brought up Chane's man whore nature when he was with Connie.. when they both could if she wanted and he was within his rights.

Thankfuly as last seasons finale foreshadowed, the two are far more fun to watch as a couple and I suspect the series did a speedrun of the necessary slide back and fun bobby dating shenanigans so they could just get to their preferred status quo of the two being together, the fun setups that come with that, and the conflicts that ccan come out of that. It may of been mildly annoying to get here but it's adorablle now we are.

When we open the season, Bobby is frequently leaving the restraunt early to go spend time with Connie with Emilios blessing, with Emilo correctly pointing out Bobby overworks himself and i'ts not a shame to take some time out for himself. He's still being repsonsible and leaving his #1 guy in charge. Emilo continues to be the best wether it's pointing out LA is where Raven's Home is filmed, saying closing your eyes to feel something is how you enjoy it, or pointing out he used to sneak out to see his girlfriend.. then sneak out of her place to see his other girlfirend.. then sneak around everywhere because both found out. This man is both a treasure and deeply fascinating and he needs a spotlight episode next season. I want to know what this man's home like is life besides filled with guns and raven's home reruns.

Bobby and Connie are just cute together, with Connie's giggle when Bobby surpises her being the most adorable thing. Props to Lauren Tom for that noise, it's truly precious. We get a really fantastic montage to I Think WE're ALone now of the two hanging out, being cute and generaly happy. Their ready to go public.. or at least Bobby is but Connie cautions a soft launch, something I hadn't heard of as i''m desperately alone thank you for asking. Basically it's a photo of a date but not the couple themselves that lets people know your in a relationship, but not with who.

This fails to actually stop Chane's petty douchebaggery as he immdietly wants to kknow who "This fat fingerd fuck" is when Connie and Bobby post a photo of them making a heart. Emilio tries to take the heat and whiel Bobby understandably dosen't let him, he gets fired for trying to anyway because Chane is a fucked up little whiny bitch. He is entertaining though and his racist assumption he could throw a rock and hit two emilios that he learned at buisness schol leads to bobby's on point "They teach you to throw rocks at mexicans?". predictably he just hires two guys off the street and starts to tank the restraunt.

Bobby takes Connie's advice to go to one of the only men Chane fears and since the Babadook isn't real, Ted ends up putting his son in his place. I"m genuinely shocked that Ted was a self made man, working up from the Mail Room to being a buisness man with a buisness plan who mamkes you money in buisness land. It makes sense and it's a nice addition.

He naturally does the rich person with a fail son he dosen't ike tactic of making Chane actually work which actually works. Chane is terrible.. but his hatred of having to get a real job and the close quarters clues Bobby into why Chane is crashing out over the relationship: he caught feeings. He won't admit it of course because TEARS ARE FOR CUCKS BRO, but Bobby being bobby shows genuine empathy for Chane having apparnetly PROPOSED after connie dumped him and "busting a nut.. in my heart". THe two end up locked down in the cellar, but thankfully Emilio has the key.. and enough good sense to ask for a raise, a promotion to executive sous chef which, as that's his job, is more than earned.. and for his band to play Steely Dan every friday. Fair and now I REALLY want to hear emilio sing "Hey Ninteen". Or in general. Please let us see this.

While order is restored there and Chane and his dad peace out for the season there is another big problem in the young couple's way: Kahn and Minh, who not only react with horror to the coupe going offical, but are now bitterly divorced. That decision paid off big time this season: Kahn is not only back to main character status, but the two's ways of dealing with it provide some of the seasons biggest laughs: Minh tries dating and dating around again , starting with a guy she meets in a writing class with Peggy that Peggy predictably ruins for her own selfish bullshit, and terrifying hank with the power of orgasms.

Kahn meanwhile is depressed as he's not only now living across the strett while still not over Minh entirely.. but living with Bill, something leaked in last years story board leaks that ended up being for this season, and soething i'd been looking forward to.

The dynamic dosen't dissapoint as Bill is as clingy as ever... yet the series does one better: while it does let Kahn be a little humiliated by his new roomate, Bill is genuinely supportive, and easily helps get Kahn down from his bitter siraling and makes him dinner.

I fully support these two and wish they'd become a couple as they shockingly bring out the best in one another: Bill breaks through Kahn's layers of anger and blame and Kahn gives bill a second person that cares if hel ives or dies and unlike Hank actually takes solid steps to help him remove. WE get a later fun subplot where Dale, not for nothing for once, thinks Kahn is training bill like a dog. Which he is, taking him for rides, feeding him treats and using a can to ward Bill off drinking too much beer... but doing all of that because it's the only way to get Bill to practice self care which given Bill has been in at least three cults as of this season and sent a lot of money to the phillipines, tracks. It's honestly sweet to see someone do more than just the ocasional gestures the guys do. Sure Kahn gets nice meals and his laundry I assume done, but he genuinely appreciates everything Bill does. He may knock living with him but he looks out for him. ANd of course when Kahn, feeling it's time to move on moves out.. it only lasts a second. Kahns lonely apartment has nothing and while he won't admit WHY he moved back.. everyone else can tel and wether bill can or not, he's not going to argue. Kahn DOES backslide later in the season, letting Bill's ccuddling addiction spiral so he can get more freetime.. but it's just as likely with all the shuffling of episodes that happens on the show this episoe was meant for earlier and it certainly cocmes off that way.

Old Man Yaoi isn't enough to get Kahn to treat Bobby well, nor Minh to the point Connie ends up sneaking over. As we've covered this dosen't work out thanks to Ceaser but Connie finally lashes out at her mom for her bullshit when she tries to cancel the birthday dinner, pointing out A) she can fuck who she wants and B) BObby's been the ony one genuiney supporting with her instead of bickering with their ex. This leads to Kahn offering to et the couple stay with him with Bill being more than happy to oblige. Connie agrees and thankfully Kahn has made bill's house less sad, and its a treat watching Connie abuse the fact Kahn's pretending to be nice to bobby, as she's smart enough to know her dad isn't being genuine and if she can't get her parents to argue, she might as well take advantge of their bullshit to spite her mom, who throughly deserves it.

Bobby is able to get the two to make a truce, telling Kahn what Connie wants most is the two to just have dinner with her and not kill each other and while it's a big ask to have the two have dinner together.. i'ts not a big birthday wish. So Kahn and Minh manage to at least coexist in the way that's most natural: by abusing Bobby's good nature to order everything on the menu and Kahn stealing his idea for a birthday present. BObby is able to rebound witha backstreet boys parody because he's the best, and Connie appreciates the effort and knows who reay got her birthstone. She's not dumb.. but she appreciates the effort.

Connie in general is a delight this season: now the show is done with all that will they or won't they crap, Connie's personality as an adult gets more and more fleshed in: She's increidbly snarky, indpednent and one of the shows constiently funniest characters.

While Connie has a sharp tounge and isn't afraid to use it the relationship is mostly drama free: Even in the first two episodes while their's tension it's nothing that actually hurts the relationship, just them dealing with idiots reactions to it: Chane trying to spite Bobby for dating her and Kahn and Minh thinking Connie could do better when he's a restrauntuer with a stake in his place at twenty fricking one. Most of it's just them being cute and talking things out like adults with Connie helping Bobby see why hank crashed out.

The one time the two have a legit fight that isn't related to anything else is also their best subplot of the season: During Hank Ruffles Some Feathers while hank is wondering if a rooster is on steroids, Connie needs a job for the semister and finds one that to her seems easy: be a mascot. A short four hour work day, minimal work.

It's the perfect thing to create conflict as Bobby continued mascotting into high school, suprising me only because of the Mascot Beatings he took as the Landry Longhorn. Maybe like me he just tries to forget the second and third acts of "See Bobby Run" ever happened.

Connie thinks the job will be easy and in classic sitcocm fashion her lack of preperation bites her in the ass and she fails hard and hilariously at doing even the msot basic things. She begs bobby for help and he pinch hits next quarter.. and for the next few games, with it supposdely being so she can study him doing it. It takes Joseph of all people to point out this is just like when he had nerds do his homework, and Bobby indeed finds Connie is just studying extra.

I like the nuance here: Bobby is understandably mad as he DOES have a full time career he's taking time out of to do Connie's job for her. She even comes to him at the restraunt to ask him to do it again. Finding out she was lying to him. And honestly had she just honestly asked "Can you please sub for me I'm really stresed about finals" he might've still done it or founda third way around. Connie meanwhile finds it beneath her and storms out.

Emilio helps Bobby see that A) no one fight is not the end and 2) that Connie hasn't failed offten and that plus the stress of finals is making her spiral a bit and not in the mood to study one more thing she's struggling with.

So Bobby gives her a needed pep talk: Connie fears failing, and while she has failed he's realized she never tries again, and needs this: to just try something and not care about failing and to fail in a way that really dosen't harm her. No one knows it's her, this school isn't sports obsesed enough to dox her if she screws up again. At worst she gets fired and has to get another job, which while sucky, is something we've all been through. Connie was raised by parents who gave her grindy perfectionist mindset and while she has thankfully grown more ofa backbone against them, lashing out at them satisfying often for their racist bullshit, it's intresting to explore how parts of that less than great upbringing still haunt her and I give the show props for not even bringing it up. I didn't even think of that connection till writing this, but it makes all the sense: Connie has spent her life with A as her minimum and needs to get an F that isn't the fun time that I assume sometimes comes with impersionations. BObby's gotta use them sonewhere. So Connie fails and hilarously so.. but it's genuinely cute to see Bobby cheer her on and to hear connie's triumphant "Look bobby i'm failing!" It's nice to get a story that while about their relationship, let's connie grow and we need more of that; She is a fantastic character and I wouldn't mind her getting a spotlight episode that's about her again, similar to "Isle 3-A" or "The Bluegrass is Always Greener".

Their only other fight all season is part of Bobby's other subplot and one that's just.. meh. For something they teased last season, that was mentioned in the wrap party for last season , and had such a good pun Bobby going on relaity show King of the Grill is really just two episodes of basically the same plot played diffrent ways; The show's producer wants bobby to be less awkward bud on camera and he ends up doing a full gordon ramsey, but it makes his employees too miserable for him to go thorugh with it. Thankfully the Producer simply didn't realize Bobby was only 21, lampshading alll his 90's pop culture refrences in a fun way. I honestly thought he COnnie and Joseph were 23 but I was wrong.

The actual compettition COULD'VE been a chance to show how Bobby shines and have him grapple with the disconnect between wanting to be seen just for his cooking and how these kinds of shows probably go more. As someone who has become obessed with reality cooking shows lately, having watched just this year Next Level Chef, Master Chef and BBQ Brawl with my mom, that angle would've been more intresting. THey kinda do that, as Bobby ends up partnered with another young chef whose cocky because of her training, pissed he took her spot, and doubts him till bobby uses stones to cook on the fly after she burns their dish... but it's about them faking a relationship. And bobby dosen't tell connie ahead of time which should play out more like this

But instead has Connie begrudignly accepting it.. till Bobby gets kissed. She storms off and is mad thought htankfully not because of the cliche "OH NO SOMEONE ELSE KISSED ME AND YOU WON'T BELIVE ID IDN'T CHEAT". SHe's rightfully mad that Bobby put himself in a situation this risky where she told him this was goingn to happen and read the room better than him.. and he ignored her and talked away her concerns and is STILL going back.

Thankfully Bobby tanks his time on the show to profess his love for Connie, complete with T-Shirt, and all is well with hte two moving in together.

This plot line was an absolutely frustrating waste. Bobby, a born performer, going on a cooking reality show was genius. But instead they just go with the shocking take that these shows are a tad fake, and don't use that for anything intresting. BObby is genuinely disappointed it seems more about the story than the food, but instead of focusing on that we get relationship drama that had me rolling my eyes when I saw the kiss in the trailer and dreading that they were possibly breaking Bobby and Connie up just for the DRAMMMAA. They didn't, but it instead mmakes this whole thing a waste of time. They did three episodes for this... and got almost nothing out of it. I mean Emilio mentioning "That's where they film Raven's home" is still something, but it's a waste of time. Id rather Connie's moving in focus on Joseph agreeing to it and adjusting. WE'll defintely get that episode next season, but it woudl've been more fun to replace Really Bites with that.

That mistep aside I DO like seeing this relationship slowly progress and can't wait to see her now living with Joseph. It'll be fun to see how they deal with it, how traditionalist Hank reacts to it, how Joseph deals with a third roomate. I assume he isn't moving out as they haven't said anything and with Bobby and Connie being together they can just share his room. It'd also be nice to see Bobby's room as i'm not sure we have. They mostly use the living room set for scenes at the boys apartment or the balcony because it loosk dope. We also need more balcony next season. I missed it too.

Before we leave the Bobby section there was one plot this season that was Connie free, and made me realize that so far Emilio hasn't properly interacted with ANY of the older legacy cast. He talked up Bobby to his parents and met dale, and rolled his eyes at Bobby not wanting to use explosives on the rats, but he hasn't actually talked to any of them. And that's a shame: He and Dale would probably have a blast smoking a j and going to the gun range as I assume Emilio does every wedsday night, and him having to handle peggy for bobby or run interfernce could be fun.

I say this because this plot has Peggy, Minh and Nancy show up day drunk at the restraunt, having been kicked out of applebees and Bobby trying to get her to run interfernce. Emilio announces them but it'd be fun to see him actually interact with Minh... I honestly kinda ship them now. He's not TOO young for her, he's genuinely sweet, but he's also a freak enough to match hers. Plus Kahn crashing out overminh dating the nicest and chillest guy ever would be a lot of fun, and it'd be intresting to see how Connie's taking her mom moving on or how Emilio navitages Minh's treatment of bobby. I could easily see him dumping her if she didn't at least try to be better to the boy.

I get why we haven't had a lot as Team Strickland didn't interact with the Alley Guys hardly ever, Dale mcing fo the propaniacs is about it, with Buck being the only one of them to ever really cross over into Rainey Street as Hank keeps his professional and personal lives seperate as possible. But it's still weird to not at least take advantage of this rare chance to have them mingle or have him play off peggy. I"m curious what their dynamic would be. Instead he just tells Bobby he thinks hismom's outside.

As for why Peggy is spinning a sign apros of nothing, i'ts because she decides to talk to said critic.. who decides to opt out when he realizes his current review subject is Peggy Hill's son, having had her as a teacher.. and resented her for giving him an F. To the man, David's , credit he does try to recuuse himself, but Peggy being peggy talks him into it and being Peggy pisses him off further by not realizing he resents her.

Bobby is understandably annoyed and Peggy, unsuprisingly, dosen't admit she even caused it at first... and when she does we get one of the most cathartic moments in the series: Someone FINALLY calls Peggy out on her bullshit.. and it STICKS. While Peggy has been called on her massive ego and refusal to listen to anyone before, things that have made her a pariah with the fanbase and justfiably so, it was usually forgotten and even in episode she often talked herself out of actually admitting she was wrong.

Here... Bobby fully lays into why she's wrong: That she steamrolls people, dosen't listen and worst of all can NEVER admit it. Even being challenged to name just ONE time she was wrong, she can't bring herself to. Bobby doing this is cathartic as he has steamrolled her before, paticcuarlly in one instance that's refrenced this episode.. and because it's bobby that might be why it works. Anyone else Peggy can just point to their flaws and write it off. But Bobby is her special special boy.. and thus she realizes she fucked up.

To Peggy's credit she DOES acctually fix the situation but in a far more measured way than usual and by rightinly pointing out David ISN'T much better targeting bobby.. but also by taking Bobby's advice to heart, realizing she made a key mistake any teacher could: she didn't tell David WHY he failed. She goes through the paper and explains why. but also walks back her grade and gives her student genuine praise as while his article was a lie... it was overly harsh.

What's even more impressive.. is that Peggy DOSEN'T take the credit. Bobby does put two and two together since David came back to do a rewrite at all, but Peggy calls not to gloat.. but to genuinely apologie for the episode goodbye normal jeans, where, in a fit of jealously, she stole the thanksgiving turkey bobby cooked instead of you kknow, telling her grown ass husband he was making her feel like crap. It's a genuinely sweet callback that feels well earned and shows growth in peggy. It won't stick entirely but it's satisfying to see Peggy's usual shit called out and to see her grow as a person. She HAS been toned down for the revial, thank Boulder, but it's still satisfying after SO many episodes of her bullshit

So with the big three out of the way, let's talk about

God Emperor of Gribble Feat the Rest of Rainey Street

Dale finally resumes his place as the best character on the show after an understandably awkward Season 14: Toby Huss had to step into the role of the show's most iconic character while having to try and mimic Johnny's performance to fit what Johnny had already recorded before his tragic passing. It is an extremley hard and likely emotoinally draining process and while I applaud him for getting through it and i'm glad that we got to hear Johnny's final performances (BOBBY'S A BIG FAT LOOSERRRR), i'm also hapy Toby Huss got to settle in.

Toby found his groove this season, with the writers helpfully giving him a lot of plots to work with. Over the season Dale screws around with AI, fires a canon, tries to gaslight his friends over an electric truck, tries to flee in said truck without charging it, calls hank's dog a salad, casually breaks into the hill's house with a dog door calling it the dale door, gets hank and peggy to raise chickens for his own benefit, gets thrown out of a sci fi convetion, gets into magnets, and works as a church marriage counsler. Gribble truly does win again as Dale is finally allowed to be fucking weird. We still aren't getting weird dale subplots again, but he's around a hell of a lot more and getting a lot momre weird pop ins. Neither Close Encounters of the Hank Kind nor Hank Ruffles Some Feathers required dale to be in them, but their better for it paticuarlly the latter: While Dale is only relevant for the first act, him setting off the plot by stealing the hill's egg's via his dale door because nancy likes him fit and he sees just stealing their eggs as more resonable than buying them at high prices, gets them a chicken instead to get eggs for him, and bows at Peggy's glowing customer review. And somehow it all works. I also love this scene for how Hank and Peggy are more.. tired and mildly annoyed at Dale breaking into their house. Original Series Hank would've threatned at least one ass kicking but this is hank 8 years later, older and more tired. He dosen't have to say it, Dale knows what'll happen.

Dale does get one episode with some focus, Best LIttle Marriage in Texas where it turns out he and Nancy are the Chruch's Marriage Councilers and incredibly good at it. It's genuinely nice to see the two doing couples stuff and genuinely happy for the most part. Even with her cheating again Nancy DOES love dale. I personally don't love that she DID start cheating again: We don't find out why, and her turning down John Redcorn for Jonathan Joss' final apperance confirms it started up again but

We don't know why it started again, why Nancy drifted from Dale enough to do so. Its one of only two times a character was moved backwards all revival and with Buck it at least fit. With Nancy we had SEVERAL episodes with her showing her clear guilt over what happened, her attempts to move on and even sacrificing her hair if it meant being loyal. It was clear things were done and weird to just start it up again for no reason, especially to end it this quickly. If you wanted to adress the affair just have Joseph FINALLY find out. It'd be intresting and while the him thinking he's white jokes are a little funny, they mostly just make me feel bad for him having his best friend hide this from him. With Dale at least we got it'd destroy his family, they tackled this. Like with dale I either need a good reason why Joseph can't know besides "he'd freak out", or to finally explore this. Instead nancy cheats again and it feels superflous, something the show never needed to do and didn't even for this episode.

I do like the concept here: That Nancy is genuiney good at this despite having cheated, and while she acknolwedges she's not the best canditate she both dosen't take peggy's passive agressive crap and sees it as a way to atone. Would be stronger if she wasn't actively at it again, but it still works as does Dale's devistation when he's removed.

As for why their removed, Peggy is pissy over having to join her after Nancy takes her down a peg and vents about the ffair.. and Reverend Stroupe not only hears but is somehow the ONLY person in arlen besides this class not to know. I get younger couples not knowing, but come on. She's had to have seen joseph. She could just be as trusting as peggy or assume he was adopted and being a classy person didn't point it out because why would you. It makes sense.. I just find it funny.

Hank and Peggy naturally realized they fucked up... well Peggy did all hank wanted was to repair chruch fixtures. They do by basically guilting the reverend over her own bullshit in being so judgmeental, then accidently showing off how good the gribbles are after hank breaks the boat their on with Dale, in a truly glorious moment, stripping naked and using his clothes as a sail/flag while singing micheal row your boat ashore. Peak Dale is back as are shots of his pasty ass and i'm here for it.

Since we've covered Dale, Kahn and Minh that just leaves Boomhauer and the Billdozer. Boomhauer as usual sticks more to the sides of plots. He does show up as a jehovah's witness and we see his impecable resume, but otherwise he's just dang ole back to the same schtick man outside one episode.

Hank Ruffles Some Feathers is one of the seasons best and has a nice setup: We finally get a name for Boomhauer's mysterious formerly offscreen girlfriend: We get to meet Wanda and it helps explain Luke Junior's shyness and panicky nature; She too is panicky and is a tad overpotective, giving Boomhauer an overly long list of things not to do.

Thankfully Dale giving the hills a chicken and Hank's love of carpentry paves the way for the two to bond and I like getting an expansion on thier dynamic from last season: Boomhauer and Luke Jr do care about each other, but with Boomhauer's dang ole way of talking and formerly bachelor lifestyle, he dosen't quite know how to handle kids. Given his advice to a 13 year old was "hit on every woman till at least one says yes" in the original series, this isn't new. He wa good with bobby outside that, but he was also a cool emotoinally distant uncle. Here he's the daddy and dosen't know how to connect with a kid.

It's cute as hell to see Hank nudge boomhauer, to suggest activties with almost no subtley and even THAT sometimes not getting Jeff to understand. He rolls with it regardless, i'ts just a funny runner and nice to see Luke open up emotoinally, make friends in 4H and bond with the hill's chicken birdtrude with his aunt and uncle nudging him on. It's also sweet to see someone as distant as Hank help with this, that for all the walls he puts up , he goes all in without any prodding or dickering to help these two awkward idiots bond as father and son. Peggy doing so is less suprising but it's equally nice she never takes credit or gets a swelled head. They both simply care about Boomhauer and Luke JR and want them to be happy. It is also comedy gold to see Boomhauer half ass his way through parenthood in his own way despite using his whole ass , suggesting stripper names for Birdtrude and wearing his suit. I'ts fun seeing him be so awkward.

The fun temporarily stops thanks to what always stops the fun temporarily: some asshole complaning as King of the Hill uses a chicken to talk about anti-trans bullshit

So it turns out one in 300 chickens can transition naturally, mmostly in flocks without a rooster like Hank and Peggys. So Birtrude becomes a rooster and Luke and Boomhauer, and the class, all think it's cool. Hank for all his issues has none with this and just thinks i'ts kinda neat. This was the right route to take: You COULD'VE had an episode about Hank learning about gender norms, but it's been so overplayed in comedy by hacks who think it's an unfair inconvience to have to.. use prounouns slightly diffrently that it's better to just use a metaphor. We know Hank's likely encountered a trans person, we know he's likely accepted trans people. I would defintely like a trans charcter on the show, nonbinary and ace would also be great, but i'm fine with not doing a very special episode on it.

Ithelps they do this well as Luke punches a kid for calling Bertrude not a rooster because his parents suck, accusing Hank of teaching alternative lifetylstes and other conservative talking points. I also like how modern conservativsim just.. baffles hank consitently. Eli just no sold him on blaming women and he quickly saw him as the con artist/mysoginst he was, conspiracy theorists just annoy him as does the lack of a truth, and these guys just confuse him. Hank indeed wasn't teaching anything; the teacher did and she was right to. They just want to bitch because it's trans adjacent and this is texas. It is disapointing to see Carl Moss still here: It hought we got rid of him but sadly no. It's nice to carry the character on since his va passed, but there were ways to do that without putting this apthateitc son of a bitch around children.

So Wanda plans to come get Luke Jr and Boomhauer, seeing how upset the boy is, decides to pull an executive decision and Hank , after wanda comes to him distressed , figures out they went to the contest. And the same two assholes are bitching about it, but Hank mamnages to translate boomhauer's speech and the judge genuinly does not care. Bertrude looses because he's new at this and I love that joke with one rooster crowing really loud.. and thena nother which has hank wondering "Is that one on steroids?" Mike Judge's delivery is magical. Boomhauer's relationship and fathership are saved and it's entirely sweet and I hope we see more of wanda, that she properly moves in and joins the ladies.

Bill has a slightly better season 15: He's still desperatley lonely, getting catfished so many times a nigerian princess scammer had to teach him how not to and asking bobby for some hentai as "there's only so much" on the internet. I both badly needed to and never wanted to know Bill was into Hentai and the less I think about it the more I can actually sleep at night.

Yet that's no longer BIll's enitre personality. We get more of him as Hank and Dale's eager sidekick, the welder's kit joke being fantastic, see him taking care of his new best friend and future husband, get just a little more variance in his jokes than being the series punching bag.

His spotlight also takes his problems seriously again, even if it uses a formula the series has used a lot already: Bill gets obesssive about something to cure his loneliness wether it be bodybuilding with Macho Man Randy Savage, having roomates and thinking it'll be a sitcom, joining an acapella group or keeping his Christmas Decorations up for month to chase the high of being santa and impress some drunken teens, and Hank and Co have to pull him out of it. Even outside of the more unhealthy ones like this episode BIll does have a penchant for having the most "gets a new hobby or job" plots of the series: He's gone back to high school, pretended to be a gay hairdresser, tried to sell his sauce, stolen a tank, been a market research guinea pig, sold an mlm with peggy, stalked peggy while Hank was out of town, been a volunteer fire fighter and gotten into wheelchair basketball. Hell the whole hentai thing probably started in an episode we missed during the time skip at this point and must remain missing lest I star in the sequel to in the mouth of madness.

So this episode didn't really blow me away on that front but was intresting in how it explored an issue we know more about these days: Touch starvation. That losss of human contact from prolongedlonliness. It's not even just the sexual aspect, we live in a society with less third spaces, less places to hang and meet people and someone whose dealing with both that and anxiety, I feel bill.

Granted his solution is to sink all his money into a cuddle clinic, which is exactly what it sounds like, which is apparently a real thing and I couldn't find much on it. The idea isn't bad, but this paticular one does seem really shady to be taking all of bill's money and not asking "Hey does he have this much. Should.. should we be doing this?". I don't expect that from a buisness, the free to play games economy sprung entirley out of taking advantage of people with autisim and poorimpulse control like me, but a medical facility should pump the breaks.

While the plot's predictable it is intresting to take Bill's loneliness seriously: Yes he comes on too strong, yes he dosen't take the best care of himself, oth aren't okay.. but it's understandable for him to miss a human touch and feel he couldn't turn to the guys. While they don't bring that up Hank has a stellar track record for rescuing bill from cults, with dale having to exactly once.

I miss you Johnny.

Hank isn'nt as great emotoinally.. he''ll step up for bill but as seen with "Pretty Pretty Dresses" he's awful about actually talking about therapy or anything mental health related and unlike a lot of his earlier issues, it's not not one that faded with time. Of course Bill would think Hank would just tell him to stop or think it's rediculous.

I do like that Hank , as always but always appreciated, goes to bat for bill, inflitrating the cuddle clinic so they can extract bill then doing some touch football. And for once in one of these instead of a solution that's temporariy they do seem to take actual steps to help Bill land a lady: Hank will help get him cleaned up, they all will cover his next three dates since he's in finacial ruin and Boomhauer will give him some one liners. There's no reason to give up if you want to find love.

Who Is Supergirl?

Supergirl as a charcter is this weird paradox; She's fairly reocgnizable as while not every version of superman's used her, most have: Superman the Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, Smallville, Dc Superheroes Girls (Both of them), the Tommorowverse, several of the other dc animated original films, The Arrow Verse, Super Best Friends Forever, and Justice League Action. She hasn't gotten as many apperances as she deserves, but she's far from forgotten.

Yet despite this she's easily one of the most mailable: while her genuine heart is almost always there, how an adaptation can appraoch her can very willdly: She can be a naive but skilled warrior, a seasoned heroine who wants to make her mark on the world, a rowdy fight happy lass, a determined teen wanting to find her own way, whatever smallville did. It can vary a lot.

The comics have been even less consitent. At first her personality mostly was, a tad feister than her cousin but no less good with her initial status quo being superman what dumped her at an orphanage because he had to go marry Jimmy to an ape then fake marry Lois to batman. She eventually got adoptd by the danvers, found her groove and found her people becoming a member of Clark's old superhero team when he was a boy , the Legion of Superheroes, cool teens from the future, getting a cat, a horse that was in love with her, her own rogues.

Eventually though Kara was allowed to become a grown woman and exxperinced hero and had to suffer the constant weird status quo shifts a character goes through when they don't get a monthly book or backup for a while. As lampshaded in a backup story helping bridge her silver age history with her modern one from the recent Summer of Supergirl Special, a special well worth picking up with a main story about Supergirl taking care of Lobo's dog after getting him sentenced to much needed therapy whie Lobo's daughter goes on a date with a thiccc shark that happens to be supergirls friend after Kara freed her from a sea hag's curse. This run is the best and I love it dearly. Didn''t even get to mention it's very gay and Kara is in some very sapphic friendships with Lex Luthor's daughter and a former nemisis turned roomate/her ward. Now I have and your welcome.

Anyways the special points out via everyone's faviorite fuckboy of the 90's COner Kent and Superman's aged up son Jon just how much of a non sequinter her adult life was

DC struggled just a smidge to figure out what the hell to do with her, each new writer trying a new idea till DC flat out gave up on the character in the run up to Crisis on Inifinite Earth's, one of the first comic book crossovers and one of Kara's most famous moments... and her last

Yeah Crisis was also DC"s first reboot, and Supergirl was one of many things they were phasing out, deiding to let her go out in a tragic blaze of glory and a headband that I think is dope but apparently it's just me. Seriously I love that 80's as hell look. Needs to make a comeback.

After Crisis Kara's rich history was erased as was most of Superman's in favor of a more grounded reboot. The Reboot wasn't all bad, giving us Lois' history as an army brat that heped redefine her, fellow reporter and brief clark love intrest Kat Grant, bringing the Kent's back from the dead and letting them actively guide thier son and most importantly redefining Luthor from just a mad scienst to a buisness ghoul who used his genius to glorify himself and put his boots to the common man.

The reboot helped streamline superman.. but also ripped out a lot of the weird wonderful stuff that made him special, with Krypton reduced to a sterile craphole to make him more "american', whatever the xenophobic fuck that means, most of his foes made more grounded and his enitre extended hero family gone. No other Kryptonians were allowed and his rich history with the LEgion fo superheroes was fucked so horribly they eventually had to reboot them after ediotiral said nope to every attempt to streamline things.. and every attempt to bring Kara back somehow.

Instead a new supergirl who looked just like her was created Matrix. Matrix is a fantastic character and will be getting a new take on her in the current supergirl run, if an inherenlty weird one, a shapeshifting being from a pocket universe who came into ours, not understanding a lot and having had a relationship with her creator Lex Luthor, a goodie, that lead to our Lex, at the time pretending to be his own son after cloning himself a younger hairier austrlaian body to beat cancer, seducing her and gaslighting her. Luckily this tragic relationship did end in her beating the piss out of his degenerating clone body.

Matrix had a tone of potetial but it's clear DC had no idea what to do with her, never splashing her into any other teams or trying to really define her and eventually fusing her with Linda Danvers, a teen satanist who'd been through some stuff to try a new take on the character by my boy of boys Peter David, RIP. David's take is fucking weird and one I haven't read in full, with Linda eventualy getting fire wings and angelic powers. For some reason this never quite caught on.

So instead DC unfairly dumped Linda and brought back Kara.. as a cool teen, refitting her origin for the modern DCU. Her reinroduction, the Superman/Batman arcc supergirl is pretty damn good and a nice update of her original silver age origin. It was also sadly the last good story she got for a while as the writers on her solo.. had no idea what to do with her. Havne't read it but it involves evil clones, a lot of uncomfortable underage fanservice, and some domestic abuse. None of the runs for a whiel did anything and it took Mark Waid, who wrote the backup I mentioned before and about 15% of the dc universe as a whole, to fix her in the second Legion reboot, giving her a more defined, kind personality while keeping some fo the edge. Sterling Gates would follow this with a truly excellent run, one of Kara's best and unquesitonably the best till the recent run by Sophie Campbell, it's equal.

Redefined as a bastion of peace but one struggling to fit into this world Kara seemingly finally found herself again.. only for the new 52, dc's second and dumbest reboot, to happen making her angrier. I still want to read this run to give it a fair shot but it was far from a hit with fans, taking a full arc to have her get back to where Gates had her personality wise. Rebirth, dc's course corret for this nonsense, would have her closer to the tv show, but while a great run in my eyes, it didnt realy hit with anyone and once again DC spent a while struggling to figure out what to do with kara: She got possesed, went on a revenge quest, joined the superman family proper again, had beef with power girl, had a solo adventure.. but nothing really landed till Sophie Campbell's run started last year, bringing back a lot of her silver age shine while also reinveting a lot of her old rogues that had been lost time, specicially Lesla Larr who went from some random person who happened to look like Kara to a sad young woman whose parents were dicks from Kandor who tried to steel Kara's life and parents because they were objectively better and then tried a genuine heel face turn after Kara, despite having EVERY reason not to, agreed to take her in as her wardern and help rehabiltate her. Most of that wasn't really relevant, i'll cop to it, but the more of you who read this excellent series the better.

All this is to say DC has often had no idea what the fuck to do with Kara so who she is can change at the drop of a hat. It's stayed SOMEWHAT consitent, but you cacn never fully count on that. while some of that's just writers in comics never being agreed on anything, it's left her pretty open to interpritation.

It also meant it was easy to boil this down a bit for a mini series as Tom King did with the excellent basis for this film, Supergirl: Woman of Tommow, an 8 issue mini where Kara, drinking to forget her pain on her 21st birthday under a red sun, finds a child who just lost her father to the barberous and cruel Krem of the Yellow HIlls, and ends up trying to steer her from vengance. It's a beautifully drawn comic, Bilquis is amazing on the art, with vibrant colors that wonderfully gets the character and while Tom King can often be punchable as a writer.. this comic is objectively great and I can see why, with how jangly Kara's history is this comic that nicely sidesteps most of it and was so good it became canon, this was picked as the basis.

All this jangly canon also meant the DCU was free to make it's own Kara; take the best parts of the past, and make something fresh with it. Director Craig Gillspie and writer Ann Noguia craft a Kara who has the edge and snark of her early DCAU and second DC Superhero Girls versions, but still has the deep heart we expect of her. Yet they take the idea of a sassier Kara in a diffrent direcction than before: DCAU Kara was sassy because she's younger and Clark tried to prevent her from being a hero, projecting his need for normalcy onto her before accepting it, and DC Superhero Girls is just a straight up hellion, if delightfully so.

This Kara has a hint of that... but takes it in a far sadder direction using that Woman of Tommorow Blueprint. Instead of her being drunk at the start but still mosty fine, this is a Kara whose pain is obvious and is only drowned out by distraction: Music, booze, never going anywhere she'd have to stop and thinnk about what she's lost: how her entire city slowly died of radiation, her father sent her off as their last hope and how she found herself on a strange world with a well meaning DOrk who could never understand what she'd lost, who dosen't even speak Kryptonian, with only her fluffy hellacious goodboy to remind her of home. Clark tries , David Cornsweet continues to be one of the best superman ever and is as adorable and kind as ever... but he just can't understand and while given how weird this universe is there are defintely therapists who could help Kara with this issue, sepcially ins pace, she chooses to run. Shes on a constant not give a shit mode, ready to let loose and only seeming to genuinely enjoy herself in combat. Otherwise she's weary, surly and only doingn things because circumstances demand it and the alternative is a dead chid or dog.

This is a Kara that works well: She's not her usual optimitstic self.. but it's for good reason, for a ton of Trauma she can't let go of because letting go feels like truly acceting her parents, her world, and her past are gone instead of realizing that she needs to move on and build something new. She never has to forget.. but she can't live here forever. It makes sense narratively: while having her like Clark is fine in the comics, she's a tad snarkier but in momst of those upheaves above like him, with circusmtance being enough, it makes sense to do like the DCAU and My Adventures, make her an inhrent contrast. Kara has Clark's drive to do good and unlike his parents, who are still evil as this film confirms yes the message was real, Kara's genuinely rejected that facist eugenics bullshit and just wanted her to "Be good". To be a symbol.

What's most intresting and waht keeps this Kara is that despite her pain, grief and determination to stay out of shit.. she can't. She may want to just ignore the world.. but her heart is simply too good to. Kara may roll her eyes when retreiving a child's sword from a dickhead who stoe it, may be incredibly drunk.. but she still rightly kicks the man's ass because stealing a sword from a child who just lost everything is a dick move and letting him keep making that momve is just.. not right. In a cold universe where said child, Ruthye, watches her father, mother and brother all get murdered by the sadistic jackass that is Krem of the Yellow hills, he of the wacky facial expressions, weird bead things and absent personalit, she can't just let this kid loose more.

Ruthye, played to perfection by Eve Ridley, is a transparent mirror to Kara's own pain, a chid who badly wants to stab a grown man to death for vengance. And while Kara can't get revenge for her own planet as it's own people caused it's downfaul, she recognizes vengance wont' fill the void in this child's life. She'll complain about Rutheye being along, annoyed she has to taker or she'll die as Kara has to save Krypto after Krem shoots the best boy and her only friend giving our heroine only three days to get the antidote, but she does every time. She may be annoyed with her companion.. but it's only because deep down she knows it means she has to care.. and can't help caring. It's an old arc sure, the surly worn out hero gets saved by a child they meet, but it works fine here as you feel WHY Kara's so worn out.. yet despite this there's no change in having to care. Kara may try to act like she dosent... but the second she meets Rutheye she has a baby sister to protect. Krypto may be her main motive... but Rutheye is just as important. She will not let Rutheye become her.

Admitely the comic does do a little better on that, each stop showing by why Kara is so great and helping slowly chip away at the need for blood. The film just takes the barest bones of the comic and it's first chapter, and even then it switches it from a barbarian world with no space trave to one with a dingy cantina and bucnehs of aliens. I get why, it's way cooler to look at those changes aren't bad.

I also get why cahnge the narrative; The original bones are great.. but while it's one big story woman of tommorow is also fairy episodic. It makes sense to create a more dynamic hunt for Krem while keeping a few choice scenes: The first issue in almost it's entreity, just streamlined with Krem now being a brigand, space pirate asshole, from the start and Rutheye loosing her whole family, the space bus trip, and Rutheye caring for Kara. The story is vastly diffrent for better and worse.

The worse... is the colors. While the film isn't as brown as reported or feared, it's still fairly dingy and unpledsant compared to the vibrant, even in dark settings, poppy colors of the comic, a far more distinct and engaging look. It helped contrast the dark nature of the story and is something they badly shoudl've dkept. The fim dosent' look horrible.. it's not Snyder levels of disaturation, but it looks a tad more generic outside of the aliens, who largely disappear for human aliens with weird stuff on their head for act 2. I get it's trying to ground the story, but it instead just saps it of it's vibrance and visual identity for something i've seen a ot and found eh then.

The story itself isn't bad mostly relying on character focus; Kara slowly opens up just a little and Rutheye gets more and more frustrated wtih not getting ot Krem. They have a falling out as you'd expect.. but it's a gutting one that challenges things: Our dynamic duo end up on a planet where the brigands reguarlly kidnap children to make into brides. Yup this film decided to tackle sex trafficing and MOSTLY handles it well, but it defintely feels like it could've been cut out and replaced the child brides with generic prisoners. I mean.. Sex Trafficing is fucking horendous , but it feels kinda tacked on here, like we needed to make the bgrigands TRULY irredemible.. when we've already seen the main one slaughter a whole family AFTEr they already gave him what he asked for just because he could.

Still it leads to one of the best moments of the film: Kara so dtermined to save Ruthye from herself stops her from killing Krem.. but doing so leaves Krem free to ill a family they'd met including the recently freed child. All blood on Kara's hands. And while not letting Ruthye kill him WAS the right thing.. Kara still focused on that over tackling krem, doing both. She's so determined to save Ruthye,.. but can't save herself. It's only on a desdoate planet with a green sun alone the two reconcile, Rutheye realising Kar'as strength and Kara realizing Rutheye.. wasn't wrong, suting up and going to save her from herself.

The end of the revenge quest is better in the comic, a whole issue of Rutheye forced to spend time with Krem, a hrose blocking her from killing him and her decision not to kill him being entirely hers and how she's change.d Here it's compressed. After a big ole space battle featuring Lobo, more on him in a moment, and a needledrop i'll also get to, Rutheye has him and Kara gives a speech to talk her down. It's similar to what happened.. but has a tad less impact. I do get the change though: Kara opening up here carries more weight as she's TRIED not to... but here she's honest, wanting this child not to kill not because moral good.. but because she needs to live. Ruthye isn't incredibly fleshed out, shes' resourceful, she wants revenge, she dosen't get the narraition from the comic... but like the comic she's more a way to explore Kara as a person and in this case hep her momve on, help her accept her own grief to stop someone else from going down the same path.

Granted... Kara isn't soft and when Krem starts bragging about how he's going to go kill Rutheye and once she's sure her young ward isn't looking.. Kara stabs the shit out of him for what he's put this child through and so he wont do this shit to anyone else. While it is marred a bit by Lobo likely sporting 3/8's of an inch partial and going YEAH during it, it's a nice scene and dosen't feel hyprocitical or unearned. Kara was stopping a child from commiting a murder she coudln't live with and from becoming a worn out husk of a person from never truly greviing for what they've lost like she has.... but Krem was just gonna keep doing this otherwise.

It's been shown nicely all film that Kara isn't her cousin when it comes to superheroing: Kara only dons the uniform when necessary, to both inspire ruthye and to throw her enemies off. She's only happy in battle, being downright giddy every time, throwing out jokes and enjoying how much power she has. She revels in how outmatcched her enemies are.. but isn't stupid. When she spots Lobo she begs Ruthye not to talk to him then quickly improvises when ineveitbly the naive child dosen't listen. Kara knows when to not engage and when to strike, and when poisoned by the couple mentioned, trying to get their daughter back, she quickly finds milk and drinks it to oat her stomach. It's clear she HAS heroed more than just saving some cats in trees, as reported on, can handle herself.. it just dosen't mean she has to be stoic about it or in her cousins case goofy but compasionate. Clark holds back, tries to talk and won't punch until it's necessary. Kara... has no such issues: She isn't a brutal monster, but she will HURT her opponent... she just won't put them through walls or laser them to death because she's not a monster. SHes just not nice. And her opponents are grungier and in the last acct pedophiles which nicely makes it worse: these aren't foes to go easy on, so we don't care she dosen't, and it gives another subtle reason she likely prefers space to earth: ON earth Clark would give her an earful: here she can just cut loose get in bar fights and easily clear a group.

Kara in Combat is a joy to behold, mostly seen off screen or out of focus... but it really helps it feel like it's from Ruthye's view as we see just how screwed momst opponenets are. Krem is the only one genuinely on Kara's level.. and even he has to cheat with Kryptonite arrows. Lobo is.. but the two never fight on diffrent sides. At worst the main main is fully on board with a child getting a revenge murder and Kara isn't. We see Kara in danger plenty, but while it isn't to the extrmee degrees of the comicm, we see in awe just what a super person can do.. and it makes the facct she kills Krem unsuprising. The fact she only stabbed him could be mercy.. but it isn't. She's not sadistic enough to kill him fully nice and slow... but she's not going to give an opponenet mercy theyd on't deserve. Its great contrast.

By the end of her space Odessy Kara and her slightly less defined pal go to celebrate her birthday for a few days, Kara finally accepting other people in... and finally going to the closest thing she has to home, with Clark showing up the second she shows up at his planted. I like to think that Clark... genuinely kept an ear out for her returnning home and does so every time. It's why he wasn't at all suprised at her drunken pickup of Krypto last time. I mean it happens a lot clearly, she has a serious problem and Clark was probably one more drunken bender away from hosting a one superman interventino for her, but I think he genuinely worried about her as her big brother figure and her coming home meant for a second she's sake.. and you can tell in Corensweet's face he's holding back best he can.. but is so happy she's home. Less so Krypto, but it's so sweet seeing him hold back knowing the big hug and "good for you" he's probably wanting to say might spook her. Also that he prevents Krypto from eating choclate even though come on cark, the poision probably can't hurt him. He's a super dog. Then again he could eat a super amount of choclate.. fair point clark. Also not remotely suprised Clark keeps a bunch of choclate. It could be baking choclate but given he's a big kid he probably has a costco size bag of hershy's or something, what i'd have if I had decent money. Living the dream there clark living the dream.

Supergirl's arc.. is fantastic, nice and subtle but still good to follow. There's no big gotcha no big aha just someone slowly chipping away at their own cynisim and reaizling someone needing them.. may not be a bad thing. And that she needs to listen to herself and like Ruthye just.. live. Ruthye plans to make swords like her dad and Kara... plans to try and be a better cousin, a better friend.. and maybe just hang around a bit. Find her people The Main Man

So starting the rest of the film with one of it's most advertised, hyped up aspects; Jason Mamoa, who becamem a movie super star off the DCEU and making Aquaman as badass as he deserved gladly double dips and enters this univverse as the main man, a part he's wanted to play for years, lobbied for and said he'd be up for the second the unvierse rebooted. It's no suprised he showed up this fast and even less he's great at it.

For those less familiar with my faviorite rock n roll party cowboy, Lobo was originally a pretty generic bounty hunter, who was retooled into a leather jacket wearing, cigar chomping boisterous bruiser, liable to hit on any lady and take on any job no matter how greasy as long as he gets paid. As the 90's dawned his creator saw an opportunity to take the piss out of 90's anti heroes and Lobo became a bonafied star, a hit with both fans tired of this bullshit delighting in the piss take and genuine fans of this sort of thing not getting the joke. Lobo became such a staple in the DCU he joined superman the animated series for a two parter, with Brad Garret owning the role and being how I met the Main Man. His justice league return was even funnier; With superman presumed dead he just kinda... crowbars his way into the justice league and they don't know how to make him leave. He's great.

Mamoa perfectly nails him: While the first scene is a tad awkward playing him up, his second with Ruthye is hilarous, with him not wanting the child to die.. because he's trying to nap and annoyed she won't let him sleep, but genuinely agreeing to help when he finds her revenge vow awesome and calling her a little shit when she escapes without him while stil somehow genuinely proud. The DCU nails lobo and I hope Mamoa gets that R Rated Solo Fiml he wants. Unlike Disney I do think the DCU could float an r rated blockbuster without getting squemish and taking several years. ITs how we got here with the Suicide Squad.

While I do wnat that spinoff... I question why they didn't wait till man of tommorow. I get it a little; Jason Mamoa's a big name, Milly Alcock isn't yet, they wanted someone marketable to splash in there to promote... but Lobo just.. does not fit this film. He works at first as the first half's a bit more spacey, star warsy and fun despite the dark family murder... but as the film goes on the weight of everything sets in, the stakes increase as child slaves need liberating and revenge is in sight. So plopping in a space biker who blew up his own home planet for a school science project and is riding around on a bike blowing up pedophiles, while fun, takes you out of it. And it bears repearting; we did not need him going YEAH YEAH with his face while Kara murders the main villian of the film.

I like Lobo as a character. He's always a good time. I want to see him more and see Superman have to deal with this prick. But he did not need to be in this film. If their confident enough to just launch a clayface film out of the blue, I dont' understand why a lobo film in a univverse with creature commandos and peacemaker was such a tall ask that he needed to be crowbared into another film or couldn't wait one year for a superman sequel. I know Man of Tommorow wasn't in prodcuction yet, but he just fits so much better with Superman which can get serious but is weird enough. Supergirl just.. wasn't.

Other Stuff:

So.. Krem of the Yellow Hills sucks ass as a villian. While I can forgive most changes from the comic , they somehow drop the ball on a really easy concept: Krem is just a bad person, simple as that. No complexity, no reason why he's just a dickish barbarian who likes hurting people.

The problem really speaks to the films bigger issues; the tone. The film tries to do what James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy did, ballance some wacky stuff with some really dark themes. The proble is Guardians knew when to cut the schtick for the most part. I mean we didn't need the whole scene of Drax gagging at teh idea of mantis being into him. But when we're getting the depths of Ego's depravity or the High Evolutionary's "perfection", the true monsterosity on display... there's no bits. Here.. they again kinda just throw lobo in there and their pedophile famimly murdering villian mugging for the camera.

Supergirl never really meshes being both a dark gritty space adventure about revenge with being a lighter one also about revenge but with wacky set pieces. It tries to do both but really just cuts itself in half. Neither half is bad, the road trippy first half is full of great set pieces and cool alien designs and the second has some excellent character work and action, but it dosen't feel ike a choesive film at times. It's enjoyable and has enough of an emotoinla core to be good in my eyes, it has a great arc and Alcock is amazing.. but I can see why some hated this. This film is good.. but it's far messier than superman, which while messy was more intetional with it. It was a fun overstuffed burito. This is more an overcooked steak: still delicous but you can tell wehre the potetial was.

Supergirl.. is a fun film and one I genuinely love. Alcock is amazing, Ridley is incredible and deserves more praise and amoa is fun if out of place. The fight scenes are a wonderful spectacle and yes that includes that the Middle Needle Drop. The Lyrics perfectly synch up with Kara and Ruthye's arcs, it's goofy enough to fit the fim but slowed down enough to work. Ya'll are over reacting to it. If you can't embrace it , that's fine but don't pretend this is the dumbest musical moment in a film or that superhero films haven't been so much worse.

Supergirl is a decent time.. but really coudlv'e been so much more. It needed more time in the oven and more faith from the studio as you can feel unlike superman where they tried toa dd in momre marketable fun stuff. Gillspie makes it mostly work... but if this isn't your thing I get it. As someone who loves this character and is happy to see such a unique version that still nails her compassion down perfect... I enjoyed the hell out of it. It's a messy , fun momvie like the 80's one, but not nearly as much of a trainwreck.

From here i'd love to see a sequel.. but fialing that i'd love to see a Titans or Legion movie with kara. More the latter, the Legion fo Superheroes, a bunch of space teens and 20 somethings from the future, is a great franchise.. but I get James Gunn isn't a huge fan of time travel stuff, so odds are if it does happen theyll be in the present.. but I could live with that both to let them interact with this uninverse more, and to let us get bouncing boy or matter eater lad in live action. MEL ate a whole dennys once , he has some shit to explain to both the rest of the legion and Peacemaker. But given Kara's never had a fair shot with the titans in the comics, i'd be just as fine seeing her join an older version fo the team along the lines of the new teen titans, play with the roster a bit. Gunn's already throughly proved you don't need tog o 1:1 with a team's roster to get the spirit down multiple times.

The Pilot:

Before we can dive into the full canon version of the relatoinship.. we have to talk about what we all saw first: the pilot.

The Helluva Boss Pilot is still deeply entertaining having a ton of quotable lines ("WHy ar eyou in our fridge?!" "Are you FUCKING filming us?!" "Sorry it was spiders" "Sorry I fucked your husband" and "You What") and a fantasticly dark punchline to the episode. As a pilot it does a solid job seling the basics of the series: A group of enterprising imps (and one hellhound) in hell consiting of needy attention starved extra horned up asshole Blitzo (the o is slient and shall remain tha tway for the rest of the review since umlauts are hard), approval desperate yet haughty Moxxie, his bloodthirsty wife Miliie and Blitz adopted 20 something daughter Loona who coudl give less of a shit about anything running an assaination buisness, targeting humans on earth for the sinners trapped in hell with the help of Stolas, a royal from hell Blitz iz dicking down in exchange for his fucking heavy book to get up there.

The basics are in tact, it's hella funny, the series got greenlit for good reason.. but it also changed a bit between pilot and series: Vivian Nixon took over for Erica Lindbeck as Millie, the humor kept it's wacky over the top energy but became more grounded in character stories, both changes for the better that helped define it.

The biggun though was stolas. The original Stolas, Brock Baker, was replaced by Bryce Pinkham and in the process the character shifted entirely from what he was in the pilot.

Baker's Stolas is out and predatory with Blitz, his sexual demands of his impish plaything being far more agressive and far more dominant and his requests of Blitz being far more sinister, wanting IMP to kill a climate change activist to keep climate change going so he dosen't get so lonely. He sounds sinister, a villian who uses our heroes for his own ends and uses Blitz in ways we'd rather shit off a freeway than comptemplate.

It's easy to see why this Pilot was later declared canon and why it left a bad taste in fans mouth that didn't quite wash out for some time, as it was hard to forget Stolas was this and not everyone closely pays attention to what's canon or not. THe pilot being made non canon... was simply necessary was both Stolas and Loona, whose way angrier and more hostile versus her passive agression in the proper series, were assholes and making the pilot non canon makes them just the right amount intended by the series.. but when you have so little material to start it's easy to see why fans didn't let that shit go right away.

The story easily could've gone that way but didn't as Vivian has admitted she let co writer brandon rogers pick if both Stolas and Blitz' relationship would be played less for comedy and if Stolas would be more sympathetic or the big bad... with him wisely choosing to go a bit deepre and make him less evil respectively. Yet for years with teh pilot as pretty much the best way to start the series, Murder Family isn't all bad but it's a rougher episode, this left fans starting with a version of one of the main cast that didn't remotely match what he'd become.

So unlike Hazbin, where the pilot voices aside still serves as a perfect starting point, they decided to do something drastic: Replace it

Mission Zero:

The more I think about Mission Zero the more I realize just what it had to took: you needed the budget for a full episode, to take time out of making season 3 and the shorts to make said full episode, and to release it and hope people were cool with finally defintevely replacing the pilot in canon. This was going out on a limb to do something I don't think any show HAS done. Many a show remade their pilots but few do so mid series and mid hiatus. Yet I get why wait till now: Before they didn't have the time or budget.

You have to remember despite this show's now white hot popularity and amazon pickup... making an indie cartoon is fucking hard. Most other creators get maybe one episode or pilot made then have to hope they get enough for a few more and that once the shows out the Merch Sales are good enough to fund more. Even GLITCH which has mroe than proven itsel fas THE biggest company in indie animation still has to make sure a show's merch sales are strong enough and views hold enough to greenlight a series no matter how instantly popular the pilot is. Amazing Digital Circus, Gaslight District and Knights of Guinivere were all huge hits on launch, but all still had to wait and Gameoverse, despite being a huge breakout this year, is STILL waiting a month later. Indies are great, they allow more freedom and have helped animation florish in one of it's darkest times and AMDC's big theatrical win opens the door for bigger money sources to come knocking to indies while letting the creators keep the rights in case they get fucked over instead of the fuckery we have now of

Being many a CEO's mantra. Indies are a net good but it is a hard space to break into and a harder place to stay in. So most indies have to have the pilot be the first episode, as you just cannot afford to spend an episode hoping for a pilot. It's why some shows are even just flat out doing animatics first instead: to get a foot in the door.

So my guess is part of why this happened was finally truly having security: by the time season 2 ended Hazbin had been picked up, the shorts were there as a buffer. Even if the Amazon Deal didn't work out, and I suspect it was on the table just waiting for the many layers of corprate to confirm Hazbin was profitable, there was space to do this and with Hazbin bringing in a new audience once again, it was time to clean things up. Viv had security , a very rare thing in animation at all these days and the rare opportunity why not take it. It would also have the bonus that probably wasn't intended at the time but certainly worked out of being a fresh episode for Amazon during the hiatus. When Amazon reran the show last year, it could still launch with a brand NEW episode that still served a purpose while giving Spindlehorse time to finish season 3 this time and release it weekly instead of months apart, making the giant space between episodes no longer an issue. There'd be a gap between seasons, sure, but all other shows already had that. It's a win win.

Mission Zero is the intro the series needed as from the start it sets up something the series proper just kinda ..vaugely hints at in season one and only gets into in season 2: the sucky position of imps in hell , how their the bottom of the pecking order far behind popos stool. Their lower middle class if their lucky.

The problem is the series only really gets into class differences on really big scales: Stolas is rich , Ozzie and Bee are deadly sins. When it comes to class divides in relationships it's such a big swing we assume it's just goetias and sins then everyone else. There's no real friction between succubi, fish people or others and the only clear divide is that hellhounds are bellow imps.

I'm not saying the whole series needs to be a treatise on class inequality but it just needed a few more hints at how hard it is for imps to build their own businesses. We're just told it's rare.

MZ helps with that but has to point blank laynit out. The series needs to genuinely try harder at world building. I get its charcter focused but just saying imps face descrimination dosent solve things. It clarifies things but you don't need blitz or Satan himself to say it.

While it can only do so much to fix the series issues there it is a far smoother intro: IMP tries to plan out their first assassination, firmly establishing how new the group is and how half assed they are at anything that isn't the actual killing part: blitz wants to charge in and be all badass neglecting self or worries about being caught , Millie just wants to kill em all and let Satan sort it out and maybe get a catchphrase despite blitz's protests and Moxxie prefers the boring but practical method if sniping then which is the correct one for the job.. just not the crew he has. Loona suggesting to just wing that mother

Ultimately winning. Along the way theirs leer pressure to kill children , pasgetti, pda and of course blitz telling everyone not to curse when as Moxxie points out his daughter is 22 and the f word is half his vocab. It gets across everything necessary: blitz is kind of a mess, clingy to his daughter and employees and also films his employees having sex though this time it's in public so it's a step down from ARE YOU FUCKING FILMING US dialing back the staking and dialing back loona to just being passive aggressive.

The biggest switch is stolas...charcter wise , he's a bottom 4 life. With the series knowing what he's doing we now meet him as he is: a love starved royal whose blind to both the reality of his one night stand with blitz and the massive power imballance. When blitz realizes stolas knows he took his fucking heavy book his reaction is to prepare to run. Stolas..just thinks it's a very horny game and can't understand why aggressively asking to fuck on a work day us an inconvenience and has fuck me blitzy baloons set up before blitz can understandably hang up..

So Stolas assumes okay I'll just come over for some afternoon delight. It better sets up his nature: that he doesn't really think about blitzes wants or needs and just assume blitz fucks him and wants to hold onto the grimoire out of genuine interest. He doesn't get a) this book is the only way blitz can be free financially and b) even consider this is a transaction fucking. The latter is on blitz to a degree who blurs lines for his own benefit and plays into stolas delusions but these two don't really know how to talk. But damn they know how to fucckkk which gets blitz his book but traps him in arrangement he hates. It helps set up the relationship as two people who want opposite things but neither is honest blitz out of fear and stolas because he's that naive believing romcoms are real and thus blitz will love him the same way eventually right? Right ?. It's a messy as fuck situation that tilted the sympathy towards blitz but this helps tilt it more evenly going into the rest of season 1.

Murder Family:

Murder Family certainly tried to establish the relationship but while I don't feel the stolitz scene here is bad it wasn't a great way to restablish it as it's very easy to misinterpret it.

Stolas is having some tubby time and sitting in blitz saying he needs the grimoire back after blitz borrowed/stole it. So wanting an excuse to see his sidepiece again makes an arrangement: once a month stolas gets the grimoire back to do his job and blitz fucks his lights out. Blitz is being shot so he hastily agrees. This sets the relationship up as a more permanent thing and does nicely show stolas obliviousness. Not able to see the full situation he dosent register blitz is in danger, putting him on a massive pedestal and never once thinking shit he's in danger. It's heavily implied by truth seekers he scrys/stalks blitz regularly but we see his view is limited. He gets turned on by the danger but never fully grasps blitz is in any.

Now is staking blitz okay? No. But many took this as Stolas taking advantage when really he's just an idiot

He doesn't grasp how creepy his actions come off in contrast to blitz who does he just doesn't care and is trying to push you away. It doesn't make his actions fine the series is clear on that, but it keeps him sympathetic. Stolas has never been in real danger in his whole life. He can't understand he's putting blitz in it or the concept of a bad time to ask. He's been surrounded by either servants, asshole royals or his daughter he dosent know how to relate and blitz is both too scared of loosing his company and took convinced stolas is a selfish prick to actually set boundaries. And this gets fully codified with the series best episode and it's first real masterpiece

Loo Loo Land

Loo Loo Land is where both the series and stolitz really snap into focus making it clear this is less about the job and more of a charcter focused series while still looping in IMP..

It also thoroughly defines Stolas after a pilot where he's not the same charcter and a transitional first episode. Loo Loo Land defines him as a person.

Stolas loves and loves hard. When his baby child baby has a nightmare, he sings her a whole musical number while showing her the end of a moon all assuring her shell be okay and is loved. Octavia is one of only two people in Stolas very sad lonely life he loves. Hes a gay man stuck with a screeching bully for a wife.. but he suffers it out for his baby girl baby.

The problem is while Stolas loves hard his love is selfish.. he adores Blitz and Octavia but dosent engage with them as people. He sees blitz as his knight, his roughish imp, his escape from his life and Octavia as his small baby and the only other good thing in it. He doesn't engage either on their interests or lives. With blitz he thinks sex is as good as talking so he's fine and with Octavia he's desperate to shield her from the truth. He prefers the two as fantasies on his pedestal because his reality is so miserable..

Stolas doesn't ...talk about his issues he internalizes. He drowned his awful marriage with booze and pills and fucking blitz is just another escape. You can't blame him for the marriage, that's jafars fault .but you can blame him for choosing numb complacency then avoidance. Octavia is almost an adult. He's had a few years to get the divorce but even after sorryifuckedyourhusbandgate, the one gag that made it to mission zero, he's still here.

He can say it's for his daughter...but the crumbling marriage is hurting her more than an earlier divorce would. Octavia , my adopted precious emo child, wakes up to her mom screaming about her dad's affair and given it had to have started at least a week ago, long enough for two missions and an I'll advised billboard, she's been doing this EVERY DAMN DAY screaming, breaking shit and not even noticing her daughter exists.

Many fans thought the show was trying to woobify Stolas with his backstory, demonize Stella...but really she was always horrible. The series does fumble the bag with her another way well get to next time but she's introduced tossing her servant around like a prop , emphasizing the imp part and calling Stolas getting a hotel plebian. She's established as a shrill classist bully who rather than just leave Stolas ass would prefer to scream every day. She was never good and never intended as such and unlike Stolas her intro makes that VERY clear..

So Stolas decides to run, to escape into the past by taking Octavia to loo loo land, a tacky rundown ripoff theme park in greed. What's telling is she says she's not interested, she's very clear about it ...and he just ignores it. Stolas is so used to blocking things out he tunes out his own daughter in favor of a version of her that no longer exists.

Now this would be bad enough ...but then he decides to throw Blitz in the middle of this. Stolas wants to have his cake and fuck it too and somehow, somehow sees this as remotely okay and not waving his affairbin his child's face. Then he does exactly that calling blitz the only man who can fuck me and my big dicked blitzy in rapid succession to a predictable and glorious response

He then just ignores that and offers to pay blitz. Pay him what? MONEYYY sonits enough for Blitz to ignore the red flags. His announcement after perfectly sums up imo. Blitz and Millie's exuberance, moxxies confusion and loona asking them to shut the fuck up.

So Stolas takes his daughter, his transactional fuck buddy, and his fuckbuddys two employees and it goes horribly on both ends. Blitz understandably wants professional distance , Octavia wants to leave and Stolas wants to flirt with what he thinks is his boyfriend and spend a family day with his daughter. No one is happy and it's all because rather than talk Stolas chooses action. Instead of actually introducing blitz to his daughter he tries to hang with both and force a memory.

The funniest thing to me in all this is that blitz and Octavia...are fairly similar. I mean blitz is hypersexual and Octavia ace but personality wise their both tempremental, push people away and hate fizz for very different reasons. Blitz is genuinely sweet to her the one time they interact and treats her like his own. Had Stolas just waited this might if gone ..okay.

Instead Octavia runs off in tears and blitz torches the entire park trying to reinact happy Gilmore.

The ensuing talk is heartbreaking: Barret does a really fantastic job selling how scared sad Octavia is that underneath the grimace and snark...is a scared child worried her dad will leave her for his dickhead boyfriend. She's terrified he'll leave when he dosent want to....he just wants to leave her mom but can't find the words. And for now their okay m..for the first time Stolas asks what someone else wants...what Octavia wants and while baffled by her love of taxidermy is willing to try. So for now their good....for ...now. sorry I'm tearing up next one please

The Harvest Moon Festival

Harvest Moon festival is an important step for these two as it hammers in just how little Stolas realizes their is a power imbalance. To him teasing about blitz' job being on hold while Stolas does his harvest moon duties,mcing a festival in Wrath and cursing the harvest and inviting blitz to visit so he can shamelessly flirt with him, it comes off to blitz as several days of pay lost and having to beat off a thirsty owl with a stick. Joke's on him, Stolas is into that shit.

Harvest Moon fleshes out how blitz feels about the arrangement. We knew he was uncomfortable, he was never happy dealing with Stolas but Blitz is, how do I put this.... A dick. An asshole. A selfish prick. Abrasive as a box of porcupines. Self destructive as an Ultimate Warrior. Like a coked up chiuaha with daddy issues. He's not pleasant you see.

On first watch I wrote off his treatment of stolas as just... How Blitz generally treats people who aren't Loona or a Horse. The man's very first still likely very canon apperance was checking out the princess of hell's ass on live TV, his first non canon apperance was blaming Moxxie for their finacial issues just cause... I could go on but this man is just a casual shit head to anyone he doesn't see as a child in his care, it's easy to write it off as just a normal day.

The Harvest Moon helps flesh that shit out by showing this really bothers him. It shows in the normal ways of course: Stolas calling him Blitzy in public gets a very irate "Say my fucking name" and Millie describing Stolas to her parents as "My boss' BOYYYYFRRRRIIIIIEND" has him ready to hit her in front of her daddy. Half jokingly but given how he rarely targets Millie with his bullshit, it stands out.

It's Striker that tears things wide open: With someone he's actually trying to impress and mildly crushing on.. Blitz stammers to explain ,embarrassed that his business relies on a transactional fucking and only recovering when Striker plays to his ego, framing it how Blitz WANTS to see it:as a manipulation and not as something he's trapped in. It's the first time the mask he puts up for well.... Everyone slips on this issue. It's no wonder he's immdietly trying hard to impress striker: the man is a sexy cowboy with a horse who validates him without remotely judging his bullshit or going way too far with it.

What's neat is that while Striker IS deceiving Blitz he does clearly respect him. His reaction to getting caught trying to put a bullet in where the money comes from is to offer blitz a more exciting life burning it all down. I do think Striker genuinely respects Blitz... But he doesn't understand him. He sees Moxxie and Millie as weak and disposable and working for Stella as a means to an end.

Where Striker fucked up... was not UNDERSTANDING blitz. For all Striker's kill your masters rhetoric, for all he's correct about Blitz being insecure about stolas, for all he blusters about moxxie being weak... He's made no less concessions than blitz with far less of an actual plan. Striker is selfish, only carring about himself and lashing out at other imps more than his actual opressors and targeting one of the most harmless Goetia he could possibly pick. Granted Stolas is still no pushover, we get proof of that next episode,but he's still not really a threat to anyone or opressing anyone on puprpose. He talks about killing overlords... but doesn't take a contract for them despite The Vees alone being a net loss for hell. Striker is a coward who uses this rhetoric as a shield for being the same kind of contract killer hell has dozens of and being one of far too many imps having to work for someone else.

For all his carnival of flaws, Blitz actually... Does shit. Sure he fucked stolas and continues to for the book... But he uses that to help others. He gave two other imps a better job, started a buisness for them, adopted a child who needed him. Blitz is working to improve imps station. It's slow and rickety...but it's actually something. And in turn he's not alone.Moxxie backs him up and together they almost beat striker. Blitz has a lot of underlying issues...but at least he has integrity. Speaking of underlying issues.

Truth Seekers

Truth Seekers dives deep into Blitz' insecurties to give us a better picture of why he's like this, and of course he's only forced to face this with the magic of drugs. Usually the people around him either don't care enough to ask (Loona), enable him within reason (Millie), poke at him till he gets defensive (Moxxie), antagonize him enough despite having legit beef to cross a line (Verosika), or are just plain assholes (2/3 of CHERUBS). Stolas of course is too wrapped up in his own shit so no one realy.. thinks that Blitz iz more than just a dickhead.

And while he is indeed a dickhead he's a very.. sad .. insecure one. He pushes people away because he assumes sooner or later they'll leave him like everyone has and by pushing them till they get upset, he's proving their point. That he hates himsemlf so much and considers himself so inhrently gross and unloveable he decides to manifest it. It takes him from someone trying to be a loveable scamp and failing.. to someone who just badly wants to be loved but simuletainously thinks he dosen't deserve it. Who despite always getting compative with anyone he's wronged.. gets deep down he has and will never stop beating himself up over it. It dosen't make up for his behavior, it explains it. Helps make him a very sad but far more fleshed out person. We also seee how he feels about Stolas above but we've been over all that and why that is. The truly revealing part is some small part of him despite understandably feeling trapped.. wants Stolas. He just can't admit it because he understandably fears it means nothing to Stolas and he has too much to loose. He wont' risk getting hurt on a good day.

Blitz does take his first of MANY steps to being better as a person. While Moxxie after his own drug trip to reveal his insecurties and why he gets it up the butt, lucky boy, Moxxie is honest about just wanting a little more praise, while BLitz admit he's fucking bad at it but respects Moxxie. While he usually takes being called Sir easily the "You know my name fucking use it".. feels like the biggest bone he could throw. How he GENUINELY wants Moxxie as a friend. He even crashes out over the fact Moxxie is ALWAYS with Millie and won't make time for him which.. fair. Blitz shouldn't stock them, but the couple don't have to do EVERY single thing together.

The end does give us the most positive interaction Stolitz has ever had as Stolas rescues Blitz and while he gets genuinely angry with him for the first time, and understandbly for making a shit show of stealth and getting noticed so much the goverment is after them, it leads to some mild flirting. It's sexual as usual, but maybe it's a sign things are about to get better.

Things Sure Do Get So Much Worse

Ozzie's is a gut punch to end all gut punches. The drama bomb at the end of the fuse thats been going all season. Till this article, and having to write this section twice because Tumblr ate my ending, I didn't realize just how perfectly we're set up for this: We slowly go from Blitz sleeping with Stolas being a bit... to seeing just how much this isn't working for him and wondering does Stolas actually care. With the power of HINNNNDSIIIIGHHHT... yup a whole bunch, but like Blitz the audience ccouldn't really know that. There were hints in the character instagram, a nice thing we aren't allowed to have due to a combination of some asshole spamming the Octavia account with porn of her, a minor, and the sheer work it likely took for the crew to draw up new posts, but it dosen't seem like enough to fully nullify things and show wise it does a good job making it ambigious: does Stolas care or does he just want that tounge in his holes. We have this episode and a whole ass season to go yep now, but props to the show for making it ambigious.

So long story short Blitz, not having ever met a boundry he coudln't fuck with, decides to crash Moxxie and Milie's anniversary date despite Moxxie, now having learned to set boundries FIRMLY telling him he's not invited and please, please don't stalk us. He says suggestion noted and stalks them to swanky sex club Ozzie's and gets thrown in the garabge as it took Moxxxie MONTHS of planning in advance to pull this off and Blitz is an inherently bad listener who just heard BLAH BLAH BLAH I'M NOT INVITED BLAH BLAH BLAH OKAY THAT'S WHERE TO STALK THEM TO BLAH BLAH THEY'LL BE AT THE RING STATION BLAH BLAH WAIT TILL THEY SHOW UP BLAH BLAH STALKITY STALK.

So Blitz decideds to drag Stolas into his bullshit and ask him on "a daaatttttteeee"... and dosen't remotely realize how much this means to Stolas who like Blitz has nothing else going on and is drwoning his sorrows in cereal and tellnovela. "That's a mood Gabriella" might be Bryce's best delivery show wide. Stella took Octavia just to hurt him, he has nothing, and suddenly OH SHIT MMY CRUSH IS ASKING ME ON A REAL DATE.

It's a clusterfuck of awkward as blitz can hardly be assed to care while Stolas is doing nothing but, genuinely excited by the setting in part due to mistaking sex for romance and in part because it's likely the first date he's ever been on. He can actually try and be romantic.. but is too nervous to really try beyond dressing up a bunch and Blitz is checked out.. till both get a reality check as Blitz realises the MC is his one who got away who very much wants to sue his ass for destruction of property and the clubs owner.. is Asmodeus.

I talked about these two loveable hypocrites a previous pride, and while they start bullying MOxxie for singing a love song, like Blitz making their underlying issues the poor imps problem, their happy to change targets. Couples gotta have hobbies and theirs is roasting people in the audience. Though weirdly not the guy with like.. 6 Fizz sex dolls.

So when Blitz tries to well meaningly save MOxxie from the consequences of his own actions, he makes himsemlf a target, Fizzy calling im a looser and verosika calling him selfish in bed... which I genuienly thought for the longest time was just her bullshitting but "Moxxie i'm a top" proves no... he really is that bad Stolas just dosen't know any better. And no i'm a top isn't an excuse Blitz, Millie is clearly also good at things. Your just a dick. Though props to Verosika for making even a song telling her ex he sucked in bed fucking hot.

What's damming though is for all he simps for Blitz... stolas does nothing. The one time Blitz actually wanted him to step in.. and he won't. Blitz stepped in for Moxxie despite blowing his own cover, possibly blowing up his friendships in the process to help one of his ony friends. I do wish he at least got a talk with the M's over this bullshit, he needs to stop... but I get on some level as pissed as Moxxie understandably was at the stalking.. Blitz at least was willing to drop it to help a friend. Stolas meanwhile is on a daaaattteeee with Blitz... and tries to hide behind his menu to save face, proving to Blitz he genuinely DOES not care, and showing on some level Stolas still cares about society and shit.

And OZZIE being unafraid to throw stones from his glass house.. rubs it in that he destroyed his marriage all for the nookie. Which.. not the burn his hotness thinks it is, given he knows Stolas i'm shocked he's never met Stella as that's the only excuse anyone could have for thinking this relationship was remomtely funcctional enough to razz someone over it failing. Not thinking about his daughter, fair, that's a recurring issue. But the ony person in universe who actually think's STella is attractive .. is her brother. I mean i'm sure there are other royals who MIGHT be just as shitty but come on man. If your going to mentally destroy someone do it right.

It still works and the two end up leaving even with Stolas willing to stay and try and tough it out. We then get probably the most gutting scene in the entire series, somehow even moreso this read as i've realizzed just how uncomfortable blitz is... and how HARD it is for him to say no, that he knows if he sets boundries he might fuck everyone's lives up... but he HAS to because he's just too emotionally spent to put up his usual walls. Having his childhood crush and one succesful till it wasn't relationship he ruined really fucked up him up and he just can't put on the pretense anymore even when Stolas is just asking to cuddle and drink wine.

"Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you. Okay? You make that really clear all the time. But I just... I-I can't do it tonight. Okay? I'm sorry."

It's a crushing momment, one of only two timmes all season Blitz is actually emotoinally honest, and you can see Stolas face just fall as his mind likely repays every single momment they were together.. and sees just how many times he belittled Blitz, called him a nickhame Blitz was very clear he hated , toyed with him.. all waht he thought was flirting.. was instead to blitz rubbing it in what this was and how little he cared. All both can do is collapse, Stoas sitting on his stoop destroyed and Blitz going home to mull over his past.. before breaking down sobbing at seeing his mother.

Thanfully once Dr Luke's Label Provided Lawyers were thrown back in the styigan pit from wence they came, we got a followup that softens the blow for Blitz very slightly. To make a ong story short: Loona went to a party with her crush and made the mistake we all have of thinking "Oh I can beat whoever their dating" instead of finding someone else.. only to find he's dating a goddess in every sense of the word and taht she's also really nice and sweet and maybe wants a three way but Loona isn't mentally prepared for that so she bolts. Someday, somehow, she'll get in that godly pussy but not right now.

So Loona calls Blitz who drunk drives over to save her, both deciding to stay after Loona realizes some of these people knnow blitz and thus she has what any introvert needs at a party, a social buffer. Blitz has a great time at first outdrinking a good and getting her genuine friendship and respect. I was so focused on shipping the wolves and the spectacle in general that is somehow sexier fox Ke$ha that I never noticed just how sweet this is. How Bee lacks any of the classim of her peers. Even Ozzie, while slowly weeding out that bullshit, was willing to razz stolas for dating an imp to save his own ass. Bee befriends the biggest douche that's ever douched in an instant and has nothing but respecct.

She also has nothing but concern as Blitz is drinking and tounging his way through his depression and has to convince Loona to stop fronting and take care of her dad, even going god ode for it.. but soley because Loona like her dad isnt great at eotoinal stuff. But seeing Blitz ready to fuck a dennis mmakes it clear "Oh shit she was right" and has Loona leave her new friends to drag her dad home.. and assure him when he worries about dying alone that she has him. It's the moment that bulldozes teh wall she put up between them.. and finally asssures BLitz he's not alone and never was. He just needs to work on himself