#stolitz analysis

Maybe this is old news but I am so tired of trying to understand where people with these opinions are coming from. I just so fundamentally disagree with this take but I can’t put into words why it’s wrong. Any thoughts?

🤖: Beep Boop! Bullshit detected!

💁🏽‍♀️: Thanks for the submission! The “Stolitz is toxic” argument is so tiiiiredddd 😩 The only thing that’s old news is that these people are STILL refusing to put forth the literary analysis skills I’d expect in a 6th grade Language Arts class. Let’s get into it 😈

1. “Selling His Body”? That’s a Reach.

Let’s address the claim that Blitz is “selling his body” like he’s some helpless victim in a one-sided arrangement. First of all, Blitz isn’t some wide-eyed innocent here—he’s a grown, street smart businessman who agreed to a transactional arrangement. Was the arrangement generally fucked up? Of course. Is it sex-work adjacent? Sure. (And that’s not even unpacking the creepy hangup on “selling bodies”. Are farm workers selling their bodies? Are massage therapists? Sex work is selling a service. Don’t be weird.) But, anyway, to flat-out call it “selling his body” strips away the nuance and agency Blitz demonstrates throughout the series. He’s not being coerced or forced into anything; he’s making a calculated decision to gain access to the grimoire in exchange for sex—a service he’s fully in control of providing. (And one that he is implicitly shown to enjoy.)

And let’s not forget: Blitz has made it very clear that he’s comfortable saying “no” to Stolas whenever he wants. From turning down flirtation (“Loo Loo Land”, “Harvest Moon Festival.”) to leaving Stolas right on his literal driveway (“Ozzie’s”), Blitz shows us time and again that he’s perfectly capable of setting boundaries. So the notion that Stolas has this overwhelming power to impose “extra stipulations” whenever he wants? It’s not just a bad analysis—it’s outright fanfiction.

2. Stolas: Power Dynamics, Accountability, and Trying to Do Better

Now, onto Stolas. Yes, he held the upper hand in their initial arrangement, but—and this is key—he took active steps to dismantle that dynamic once he realized it was harmful (Full Moon, anyone?). He didn’t just say, “Eh, it’s fine,” and keep exploiting the situation. He found a way for Blitz to retain access to the Human World without the sex, prioritizing Blitz’s autonomy over his own desires.

Does this sound like a man hellbent on abusing his power? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s a rare example of a character in hell actively reflecting on their flaws and attempting to grow. The argument that Stolas could have added “extra stipulations” at any time is irrelevant because—surprise!—he didn’t. If anything, his actions suggest he’s gone out of his way to not impose on Blitz unnecessarily.

3. Subtext Is Not a Dirty Word

This take also commits the cardinal sin of ignoring subtext, which is borderline comedic given how much of Helluva Boss thrives on it. From the very beginning, the show has been laying the groundwork for Blitz and Stolas’ emotional connection. Blitz’s walls of self-loathing and fear of rejection are juxtaposed with Stolas’ desperation for love and validation. The result is a relationship that is messy, imperfect, and full of potential—not “toxic” as this take lazily asserts.

The idea that “neither of them care about the other” is demonstrably false. Did we all watch Western Energy, where Blitz nearly sacrificed himself for Stolas? Or The Circus, where Stolas sings an entire ballad about finding joy in Blitz? The claim that their relationship lacks personal depth isn’t just wrong—it’s willfully obtuse.

4. Art ≠ Moral Instruction

Let’s address the pearl-clutching over the show supposedly “justifying a toxic relationship.” First, calling their relationship “toxic” is a gross oversimplification that ignores their growth as characters. Second—and more importantly—morality has no place in media analysis.

We’re watching a show about literal demons in hell. It’s not Sesame Street, and it’s not obligated to provide morally perfect examples of relationships. The beauty of Helluva Boss lies in its willingness to explore the messy, complicated dynamics that reflect real human struggles. Art exists to provoke thought and explore complexity—not to handhold us with squeaky-clean moral lessons.

Final Thoughts: A Hot Take That’s Ice-Cold

This take is a masterclass in bad faith. It distorts the narrative, ignores subtext, and weaponizes morality to dismiss a nuanced and evolving relationship. Blitz and Stolas are flawed, yes—but their relationship is rich with depth, vulnerability, and the messy reality of two broken people trying to connect.

So here’s my advice to whoever penned this take: Watch the show again. Engage with the text and the subtext. And stop treating Helluva Boss like it’s supposed to be your personal guide to moral behavior.

Well hello, my lovely peoples! I feel like I haven’t written a Fizziepop Take in a good minute, and I know I'm putting my two cents in a lil late, but I am back and so ready to talk about everything that we’ve seen in the last few episodes because it has been wild…. So, you know the drill, let’s get into it.

So, if we wanna talk about the beginning of the end, we need to be honest with ourselves; the real beginning of the end of one of the fandom’s most beloved ships started back with the incident at Ozzie’s. If you've followed my takes for a while, you know I talk about this night a lot, but that is because this was a real turning point for the couple; the relationship has been strained ever since Blitz felt what he felt that night when Stolas pulled away from him in public when all eyes were on them. Ever since that exact moment, Blitz felt like he was being used and taken advantage of, and despite things going back to a kind of normal for them, those feelings just ended up festering and since our loveable little horse-loving imp doesn’t have a lot of healthy ways to process things and has already had it imbedded in his brain that he ain’t shit, I don’t think he ever fully processed what that night meant from any other angle than “he’s embarrassed to be seen with me”. What does this have to do with how things ended? I’m so glad you’ve asked! Since Blitz never fully processed the events of that night and therefore was only ever able to see it as a royal being embarrassed to be seen on a date with a lowly imp, Blitz didn’t get to see the sweeter side of being gifted an Asmodean Crystal by Stolas in “The Full Moon”. To Blitz, the crystal was more of a “you’re being let go” type of thing because Stolas essentially terminated their contract and since they had never talked about their relationship being anything but contractual, Blitz had no reason to believe that this was really anything but Stolas telling him that he was no longer needed by him.

Now, we as the audience know what the real intention behind the crystal was, and I think Stolas put it beautifully when he tried to explain it to Blitz when he gifted him the crystal….. but I don’t think that words really do much for Blitz in most instances, let alone in the long term. Blitz is more of an “actions speak louder than words” type of imp, but here’s the thing about that: for this saying to be true, actions must be consistent. Because, yes, actions do speak louder than words, but if that action is only done here and there, it doesn’t always show what it should. In terms of the end of Stolitz as we know it, Stolas isn’t the only one who’s actions matter, and unfortunately, I’m not talking about just Blitz’s actions. Being that Blitz has been abused (probably way more than we’ve even seen), those actions matter. Abuse of any sort does a lot more damage to the victim than we sometimes realize, and because of that, it can do a lot of damage in how a person looks at things like relationships and love…. And given the transactional nature of their relationship, and the fact that Stolas hadn’t consistently been a genuine partner to Blitz outside of the bedroom, his reaction to the crystal honestly makes a lot of sense. First, he treats it like an elaborate role play, because sex is the only love language he’s consistently known in their relationship, then when he realizes that it’s a serious conversation, he’s pissed rather than grateful…. Is his anger perhaps a little misplaced? Probably, but the feelings are all real. Blitz does feel used and discarded by Stolas, something he’s obviously felt before since we see in his bad trip in "Truth Seekers" that he feels very much chained to the prince by the design of their relationship, and the fact that Stolas doesn't give him much time to really sit with what’s just happened between them after handing him an out of their relationship doesn’t help…. And then we see the panic when Blitz realizes that unlike what he’s used to, Stolas isn’t going to match his anger, he’s just going to remove himself from the situation and let that be the end of it….

This brings us to the events of “Apology Tour”. I actually really loved this episode despite the fact that my favorite couple literally just called it quits the episode before. We see the aftermath of what happened the night of the full moon, and we see the way both men start to grieve the relationship they had in their own ways, which I would argue is the true end of the relationship since this is where we see both men really accepting that they are no longer a thing the way they were before. We see Stolas taking all his eggs out of the Blitz basket and actually letting himself be happy with someone else, even if that happy is only gonna be for the night… And we see Blitz realizing that he not only truly loved Stolas more than he had wanted to admit, but we see him start trying to let go of what he had with the man despite the point of the episode being that he hadn’t really been ready to in the beginning…. Unfortunately, Blitz letting go leads to his spiral which we see in “Ghostfuckers”, and we see him get himself into a rough spot with his little found family; working Loona into exhaustion burning owl figurines as a form of therapy, not paying M&M while also fucking away all of I.M.P’s money, and using the job they get in this episode as a chance to just roleplay as someone who wasn’t him and therefore wasn’t going through what he was…Really, Blitz did go into a deep, rather dark place, and I suspect that he might be there for a while when it comes to love, which leads us to the big question….

What does this all mean for the fan favorite ship? Will Stolitz really be endgame if we just watched them break up the way they did? 

If you ask me, a humble Tumbr blogger who probably cares way too much about fictional demons, I honestly don’t think this hiatus will really affect the ship too negatively. The time apart may be just what Stolas and Blitz need. Both of these men have trauma they need to start working through individually, and while having a support system can be a helluva help when you’re reopening old wounds to try to get them to heal properly (hehe, see what i did there?), I don’t think either of them is really in a place emotionally to be the best support they can be for the other while they both individually try to do that. Stolas also needs time to learn who he is as a person considering he went from being a baby prince to being engaged, then straight from being engaged to being married, then married with a kid, and directly after that, he jumped into bed with Blitz and just proceeded to place everything he had in that "relationship"… He never really considered anything outside of loveless marriage with an abusive cunt or amazing sex and *hopefully* love with an old childhood “friend”. I think he needs some time to be alone and live just for himself as much as he can as a Goetia, and I don’t think he could have done that with Blitz right now, at least not fully. Vivzie is a smart woman, and she does a lot of things in her shows very intentionally, so I do think that she is setting the pair up for a happier, healthier relationship down the line and I think once they come together again and have more experiences apart from each other, we’re probably gonna get a sort of happy ending for the pair, or at least the start of a new beginning for them.

blitz is clearly a very lonely man. He truly believes that no one loves him.

Despite the fact that his employees, his daughter, and Stolas were out of their minds with worry when he was kidnapped and went missing for a few days.

He has never experienced someone wanting him and believes that no one ever could.

Yet he desperately wants to be wanted and have a happy, fulfilling relationship.

This is why he's such a disaster around M&M. He sees how happy and loving they are and desperately wants to have what they have.

Which is why he tries to wedge himself into the relationship by breaking into their house.

The thing is. M&M already love Blitzo. But as a friend and colleague.

And they would be more than happy to spend time with him if they all talked about it.

But Blitzo hasn't really had friends before so he doesn't realize this. He assumes that he has to shove his way in.

I get the feeling that all of the relationships Blitzo has ever had have been purely sexual. So he assumes that what he wants with M&M must involve sex somehow.

But what he really wants is the emotional intimacy from a relationship.

Sex could be a part of it, but since neither Moxxie nor Millie are interested in him that way, it won't be.

Now let's jump on over to Stolas.

Stolas actually DOES want Blitzo.

They enjoy a sexual relationship, yes, but it's clear that Stolas has a major crush on him and wants to be with him in other ways too.

The fact that he invited him to a day at Loo Loo Land, with no intention of making things sexual beyond a little flirting, is evidence of just enjoying his company.

So why is Blitzo not over the moon with joy about someone wanting him?

Because both Stolas and Blitzo are completely disasters about expressing their feelings.

Blitzo assumes that Stolas only wants a sexual relationship with him. Because Stolas is essentially a horny teenager with a crush and has no idea how to act. (Since he's in a love for the first time in his life.)

And to be fair, Stolas is just as bad about things as Blitzo is with M&M. It's why he came up with that Full Moon fuckfest thing. He needs a regularly scheduled event to insure that Blitzo has to see him.

So Blitzo puts up with him both to keep the Grimoire and because the sex is good. But all his emotional energy goes into thinking about M&M.

Both Stolas and Blitzo are horrid with boundaries because they simply don't know what to do.

Stolas assumes that his flirting with Blitzo sends the message of "I am head-over-heels in love with you and want to spend all my time with you."

But the message that Blitzo receives is "I'm a rich horny bird man. Look at the power I have over you, tiny imp. Let's fuck some more."

I think eventually they will get better at communication and Blitzo will probably fall for Stolas as hard as Stolas has for him.

They definitely have an endgame vibe to them.

But to get there they are going to have to get to know each other and their respective love languages a lot better.

The upcoming episode about going to a Harvest Moon Festival together will probably be a big help. Because Stolas isn't bringing Blitzo there for work, merely to spend time with him.

Hi there!! It's not a strange question at all, and if you want the [way too] long answer to why Stolitz just doesn't work for me, you can check out this post here where I talk about it in detail [comparing it to the BlitzStrike ship and why it was way easier for me to get on board with that ship than Stolitz]. :)

For a shorter[-ish] answer, let me clarify something very important: I don't dislike the concept of Stolas as a character. In fact, when I first got into Helluva Boss, I really liked him as a character. I followed the Instagram accounts, I read all the extra content, and I was completely HOOKED on the Stolitz ship. However, what happened around the time that season 5 came out is that I started to really think about things from a full story perspective, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had some maaaaaajor problems with Stolas's character as he was being presented in the show, as well as how the relationship with Blitz was being interpreted and presented and supported by fans and the show's creators themselves. I had gone into the Stolitz ship thinking that it was going to be the classic "here are two people who are in a fake relationship that isn't actually a healthy loving relationship at the start, but as things go on they're both going to realize that they were assholes and things are going to progress into something healthier". What I started to realize was actually happening however is that the relationship wasn't actually showing any kind of progression at all, but it was being treated as though it had even though nothing had changed between them in the show. Not only that, but the show suddenly seemed like it was trying really hard to set the foundations for pushing towards a healtier relationship kind of out of nowhere, and it did so at the expense of setting aside the very interesting plot points that had been building up throughout the season [i.e. Stella as a villain, Stolas's marriage and Octavia, the latest plot thread with D.H.O.R.K.S, etc] in favor of just putting the full attention on trying to make Blitz and Stolas work through their relationship right there at the finale. I had thought that the Stolitz relationship was something that was going to be MULTIPLE seasons worth of sorting out and exploring, seeing the two characters grow and change as they grow closer together. Honestly I would be so, so, so much more open to the idea of their relationship if the showrunners had just taken their time to really let their relationship develop slowly over time--properly balancing out the complexities of their relationship with the really creative and suspenseful story/plot points that they've made. Instead....it feels like they're just trying to squish all of that development into the last two episodes of season one. I'm not sure why, but it feels very unbalanced and really kind of awkward.

Also, and I apologize if this offends anyone--that's absolutely not my intention here at all--but I'm going to be honest and say that the other big thing that's kind of turned me off from Stolitz and Stolas as a character.....is the fandom. I know there are so many lovely people out there who ship Stolitz, and I'm sure there are even some lovely fans of Stolas who also are willing to acknowledge his flaws and don't excuse his shitty behavior as being shitty behavior, but I can also honestly say I haven't come across many of them. Most of the people I've seen in the Stolitz ship are strangely aggressive towards people who aren't on board with it and openly hostile if you say any kind of criticism against Stolas's character in general. I don't really get why he's treated like this perfect being who can do no wrong when I really do think that his flaws are what make him an interesting and relatable character, but who knows? I honestly don't understand it and actively try not to be a part of it. To clarify again just in case someone missed it before though: I'm not saying that everyone who ships Stolitz is that way, or everyone who is a fan of Stolas is like way. I'm fully on board that you're free to ship whoever you want to ship if it's making you happy and isn't hurting anyone else. All I'm saying is that there are people out there who are far more hostile and unforgiving than I'm comfortable interacting with, and there's enough of them to make it extra hard to get behind Stolitz and Stolas in any kind of positive way.

In Ozzie's, Ozzie tells Stolas, "You sold your life for a thrust," which is where Stolas hides his face, and Blitzø looks really hurt. It doesn't feel like an "Oh he rejected me" thing, but more of a, "Rich person got caught with something that he's not supposed to have," "He's going to leave me the first moment he gets," and " that's just proof I was a plaything to him" thing.

Oh yeah, that. Stolas calling Blitzø his, "Impish Little Plaything" in truthseekers. Probably added more confirmation of that for Blitzø.

And then in Oops, Blitzø goes on a little rant about how Stolas 'pretends' to care about him by doing all these these little things like asking about how his day was and commenting on his photos and laughing at his jokes (fr that quote got me at 'laughing at his jokes' bcuz ain't no way someone can laugh at their fake crushes jokes). Fizzarolli is all sarcastic and saying that it's proof that it's all bullshit, and Blitzø just agrees, saying that he's just a rich privileged asshole.

Honestly, it makes sense for Blitzø to feel that way. These two come from WILDLY different worlds. Like, to help understand, imagine you're just trying to survive for scraps (like everyone is in this gen), and a rich deity comes down and starts crushing on you. It'd be pretty weird to think, right? Or very hard to believe that it can be real. And we combine that with all of Blitzø's self-loathing, which makes it a whole mess of denial and all of that.

Back on track! He mentions how royal demons don't care about lower demons like them, and I think that's what shows his true feelings. Stolas is very much near the top of the hierarchy, while imps are just barely above hellhounds, who are treated as literal dogs, despite being sentient. What's stopping Stolas from being like the rest of Hell's nobility and just viewing Blitzø as an object?

like how Val gifted fat nuggets to angel from keeping him from leaving

Well. That’s a parallel to give me nightmares. And yes grand gifts like that instead of apologies are something I experienced too. Only one person said sorry. The wrong person. Twice he’s apologised when he didn’t have to.

Would it have killed the writers to have stolas say “may I?” Then have Blitzø give a simple nod of consent? Or to engage in conversation with him at all? Because when you watch it, he’s just talking at him. He has no respect for him at all. Giving him the hand: commanding him to stop talking, saying “I’ve heard enough” and “I have my answer” then walking away having to be chased, and shutting doors. Horrendous body language.

All he had to talk about was: “I have wanted you…I have these feelings about you” me/my/I all the time, and then, removing him from the room. A pretty big act of censorship there.

CWs for mentions of non-con and abuse