Blitzo isn't a victim and neither is Stolas in their relationship.

We don't know for sure "how fine" IMP was doing. I'm sure that will be revealed, but we don't know what happened prior to having the book.

While I agree that neither one is a victim, I don't think treating someone like a sex toy is exactly offering them a great deal. Wanting sex as a payment is the worst thing you could ask for. Blitz hates himself and for someone on the higher end of the totem pole to treat him like a novelty? He was originally happy to keep their deal as a one night stand.

They both deserve sympathy as well as major wake up calls in terms of their behavior.

I'm Stolitz shipper. However, I'm so happy people agree that Blitz AND Stolas have messed up.

Octavia broke into a safe to get it. Blitzo broke into a mansion and almost got it.. so I don't think thats the issue.

Blitzo going to the human world WITHOUT DISGUISES is putting stolases balls on the line.. quite possibly literally.

I mean, I agree that both of them are responsible for the failure of the relationship in their own ways, and I also think that haters like to exaggerate the power imbalance and strip it of nuance to paint both the relationship and Stolas as a person as irredeemable.

But I don’t think calling attention to the power imbalance is inherently infantilizing Blitz. Class dynamics and race is a theme in Helluva Boss. Their relationship is a scandal because Stolas is dating down. Stolas has done quite a few of what I can only call hell microaggressions (I.e “are you little things alright?” or “my impish little plaything”). The show wouldn’t call attention to it if the power imbalance wasn’t relevant.

Nuance is always important, and it’s important to recognize characters can do bad things that hurt other people and this doesn’t make them irredeemable. One of the bad things Stolas did was exploit a power dynamic, even if he didn’t mean to, and that’s a big part of the reason their relationship is failing—just like how another big part is Blitz’s rejection of the idea Stolas could be in love with him because he doesn’t think of himself as lovable.

They’ve both done bad things, and one of Stolas’s is exploiting a power dynamic, even if he didn’t have bad intentions. And that doesn’t mean he has to be a Bad Person and a villain, nor does it mean Blitz is some innocent victim.

Honestly, that they are both flawed and made huge mistakes makes their relationship compelling to me, because it's now about growing beyond that and improving. Owning up to the stuff you did wrong and becoming better about it.

They are both adults and I also agree that IMP was probably fine before the deal as well. I don't really understand why people only see the bad stuff in one of them and then end there. This is just the start, right? This is where it gets good and character development happens. Just look at the difference between Stolas in Loo Loo Land only caring about the whole "oh where is my knight in shining armor?!" and him in Look My Way going "It's actually really fucked up if you don't actually want me, so i will set you free, no matter what happens".

Like, they did both hurt each other, but well, something something "the redeeming power of love" something something. So yeah, that they are both at fault is the whole point.

The "minority sex worker" comparaison is kinda dumb given Blitzo was the one who actively pushed things through to get the book.

But hey, Reddit and dumb takes go hand to hand I guess.

We could've thought that, but the duet they'll have next episode kinda says otherwise.

Stolas is a victim of Stella tho

I don’t think there is a good or bad side in the relationship between Stolas and Blitz, both are fucked up in their own way, but Stella is responsible for most of Stolas‘ issues

The problem with bad takes like the one from the post you answer to is that the echochamber it comes from becomes more and more toxic the more the canon material shows they are wrong. Then you start getting posts about how the writers have redconed the original material, how they have betrayed their original idea to be popular or woke and other BS. And eventually you have a bunch of toxic "fans" who hate the franchise and only participate in the fandom to shit on it. You can see this in fandoms such as star wars, doctor who and sadly to many others. I hope before it gets that far we have enough sane fans to keep the show going.

During the first time Stolas and Blitzo met as adults again, Blitzo could totally just take the grimoire and run- Stolas was tied to the bed and blindfolded and he had it in his hands. He still CHOSE to stay and have sex with Stolas- which is perhaps why Stolas thought that Blitzo was more interested in him than in the grimoire since the start.

And like... There ARE other ways of accessing the human realm. Asmodean crystals seem to be a fairly common item among succubi, and an imp can recieve one in order to do a job on Earth, like Barbie did (though if she did so legalny is another thing). If push came to shove, Blitzo could probably get an asmodean crystal on the black market or find a succubi willing to lend theirs in exchange for a cut of the profits.

Their relationship started as a transaction, but it was always a bit of an excuse; Stolas was willing to risk lending Blitzo the grimoire to have him around because he fell in love, and Blitzo probably saw it as convenient at first, but then he also started to feel something for Stolas and wanted to spend time with him out of his own free will. Yes, if they were to become a proper couple, that arrangement will have to be dissolved, which Stolas is working on by getting Blitzo an asmodean crystal.

Yes, their relationship was uneven from the start. Stolas did seemed to fetishize Blitzo being an imp at first, but he pretty much stopped calling him any species-charged nicknames by now. I feel like Stolas might've been a case of Innocently insensitive, which is a trope where someone says things or acts in a way that shows predjudice, but without meaning to be hateful- which doesn't make it okay, but it shows a slightly different angle to what predjudice is. It's clear that Stolas always respected Blitzo as a person, and understood, with time, that his pet names that highlighted Blitzo's species weren't okay. That doesn't mean that he has completely gotten rid of all the ways he sees other species as "worse" in different regards due to the society he was raised in, but I think that he's at least more aware and is shown that he wants to improve.

They both have tons of issues, due to their history, society they were raised in, their species and different socioeconomic backgrounds, relationships with others in their lifes and societal expectations placed on them. I think that people saying "oooh their relationship is abusive/Blitzo is Stolas' fucktoy and nothing more" have a very reductive view of just how complex relationships among people can be. Even good ones, where both parties love and respect eachother often have some unplesant history or tension in some aspects, it's normal! I think that the way relationships exist for some people, as binary "perfect" and "abusive" is very reductive and harmful.

Do Stolas and Blitzo have a lot to work through if they want this relationship to work? Of course. But calling them "abusive" is really stretching it. Not every relationship that's difficult or complicated is "abusive", especially when it's a work of fiction and takes place in a heightened reality setting that HB does.

Not really sure whether I.M.P. even existed before Blitzo stole the grimoire.

ANYWAYS, I also think Blitzo is actually at fault for his actions.

He might be a traumatized and abused imp. But he did a lot of things without ever looking back. He might feel regret over losing the relationship with the people he hurt emotionally. But he never tried to make amends for his actions. And he continued to behave in a way which made other people despise him.

Verosika is the proof. It's clear she's hurt by his actions. Yet, the first thing he does after meeting for the first time in a while is to trade insults and to go on a petty competition out of spite for a parking spot.

I don't really like the whole "let's romanticize a jerk". Sure, may be a loving parent and an upbeat boss. But it doesn't excuse him of his behavior. Specially as an adult.

The comparison sounds on point, and resonate a lot with the way Blitz thinks Stolas is just another royalty using small imps like him as toys, I don't see the infantilization or an unnecessary victimization, Blitz is a (literally) poor victim of this society while Stolas is a victim of his own class in the upper layer. Idk how the post you're refering to was phrased, tho.

In episode 5, Blitz said he didn't mind hooking up with stolas, and ever since the incident at Ozzy's stolas doesn't even require blitz to hold up his end of the deal. So, at this point, in canon, the relationship is no longer transactional and hasnt been for months, according to stolas's texts with blitz. So, blitz definitely isn't a victim. Especially not after he sought out stolas to steal from him, seduced him to steal from him, and then sure enough stole from him. And are we also forgetting that stolas needs the book to perform his duties and if people found out that blitz had stolas's book, he'd also get in trouble.

When people say that stolas deserves someone better than blitz, no one is saying that blitz physically abuses stolas. They take note that stolas is very affectionate with blitz and tries to be honest and communicate with him, but blitz ignores, treats him like a nuisance, and pushes him away. According to the hallucination sequence, blitz is treating stolas just like he treated verosika. That's why people say stolas deserves someone better than blitz. Someone who's actually open to communicating and wants to improve the relationship. It's not infantilizing to stolas's character to say what the show has been telling us forever. That blitz is a shitty partner.

TLDR: they’re bad for each other.

I dont think race is need to be brought in this because its just not relevant in this case (there are way more imps than Goetia)

Its much more about class: a rich person semi exploits a poorer one. Its basically prostitution so I dont find it a big deal.

But its clear the imps somewhat afraid of him, like when they lost the grimoire, they were pretty afraid of Stolas.

Stolas kinda ruined the whole thing by being too horny and making it purely transactional in the first place THEN wanting to turn it into love. Kinda like seeing a prostitute then falling in love then trying to date her. Rarely works out irl