The third episode of Helluva Boss‘ newly-released third season ended with a much-sought-after plant on the floor amidst a shattered jar, Stolas leaving to hook up with a stranger, Blitzo falling apart in confusion heartbreak and anger — and the whole fandom just as much of a mess as that scene itself. Season 3 Episode 3, titled “Gimpy Gimpy”(after the rare plant in question, although the title is a clear double entendre) was a tumultuous journey for every member of I.M.P— except for Loona, who is currently unaware of both the drama unfolding around her and her own role in starting it. As the episode came to a heart-wrenching end, the painfully slow breakdown of Stolas and Blitzo’s relationship— a process that had been slogging along at agonizing pace since the season’s first episode— finally came crashing to its conclusion, leaving the two estranged not only as lovers, but as friends.
Given that Stolas and Blitzo’s relationship was never simple or easy to define, it perhaps should not be surprising that their breakup is not proving easy to follow either, but keeping a close eye and ear to the events of Season 3’s episodes can help us understand how, why, and even if the pair are truly, finally calling it quits.
Following Stolas’ dramatic self-sacrifice to save Blitzo’s life in the penultimate episode of Helluva Boss season 2, and Blitzo’s returning of the favor in the season finale, the two seemed to be on their way to restarting their previously-unstable relationship from a more balanced, stable place. However, as Stolas began to realize the true consequences of his actions, the disgraced Goetian prince would fall into a crisis of identity, purpose, and self-worth. Stripped of his power and title, Stolas was left to wrestle with his trauma, shame, and lack of true identity outside of his noble title.
One especially painful part of this crisis was Stolas’ re-evaluation of his relationship with Blitzo. Their initial interactions had been purely transactional— Blitzo needing Stolas’ grimoire to run his contract-killing business, and Stolas wanting the thrill of a scandalous double-life and sexual gratification outside of a toxic, loveless marriage. Within this context, Stolas had taken advantage of the massive class difference between them to be demanding, inappropriate, and even creepy towards Blitzo. As his feelings for the imp became more genuine, however, Stolas attempted to take the relationship in a more romantic direction, only to discover that Blitzo seemed either unable or unwilling to make that shift himself.
While Stolas had initially responded with anger, seeing this as immaturity on Blitzo’s part, Season 3 sees Stolas understanding the role he played in creating this dynamic. Overwhelmed with regret for this (alongside regret and shame over his life in general) and caring deeply for Blitzo, Stolas eventually makes the call to end the relationship, believing that it is in Blitzo’s best interest to not be around him as the Goetia figures himself, and his desires in life and love, out.
Blitzo, for his part, is also struggling with self-worth and identity, an arc which was explored in detail in the latter half of Helluva Boss Season 2. Blitzo, with a list of scorned exes long enough that they throw a Blitzo Hate Party every year (yes, seriously) has been living for years— if not decades— in a pattern of charismatic flirtation, passionate and steamy romance, and then leaving abruptly as soon as things get serious. Blitzo is, at his core, a man terrified of having genuine feelings— or any feelings requiring serious discussion— with a romantic partner, a fear which, combined with his genuinely charming and fun-loving nature, leads to inevitable heartbreak for those who fall for him.
This inability to have a deep and committed relationship is even more extreme in the case of Stolas, who Blitzo fully believed was only using him for sex until Stolas had to scream otherwise to his face in one of Season 2’s most heartbreaking scenes. Having confronted the depths of Stolas’ love for him, and realizing that he is dissatisfied with his own inability to have a steady relationship, Blitzo tries genuinely to continue things with Stolas— but, not knowing how to speak to him outside of sexually charged banter, only makes their growing disconnect worse by flailing about with a barrage of stilted, confusing, and still very dirty comments. It is this increasingly desperate sexting (and a tip from Millie that this kind of clumsiness from Blitzo may indicate deeper feelings) that proves the last straw for Stolas, and he calls the relationship off— though, as mentioned above, this is less due to Blitzo’s actions in themselves, and more to do with Stolas’ own guilt in helping to create their deeply unhealthy dynamic.
Blitz is unaware of the role Stolas’ shame plays in his rejection and goes on a weeklong trip across Australia’s vast deserts to get a rare plant (dragging Moxxie and Millie along, much to Moxxie’s misery and Millie’s feral joy as she hunts the wildlife) for Stolas in hopes of regaining the affections of the charming, quirky, dirty-minded demon that he once knew. However, as he does so, Stolas takes advantage of his newfound solitude to explore Hell’s larger queer community with the help of a dating app shown to him by Loona— and a shockingly dirty musical number.
Stolas quickly becomes enmeshed in the scene’s more unconventional corners, where he finds a much-needed outlet for his repression, shame, and bottled-up emotions. Returning home to find a transformed— and seemingly at least somewhat happier— Stolas preparing to leave for a date, Blitzo responds with confusion, then betrayal, then rage. Still unable to understand that Stolas’ actions are the result of the Goetia’s desire to preserve Blitzo’s wellbeing while he figures himself out, Blitzo perceives this as the ultimate abandonment, smashing the jar with the precious plant in a fit of tears and anger.
While things seem bleak for the ex-couple at the moment, fans of Stolitz (the fandom name for the ship between Stolas and Blitzo) should keep in mind that everything Stolas does, he does out of care for Blitzo— and currently, Stolas believes that the best thing he can do for the Imp is to leave him out of his romantic life. Blitzo, for his part, also cares deeply for Stolas— so deeply that he lost his usual skill for smooth and effortless flirting and began stumbling pathetically over his words, and when his tangled attempts to flirt only seemed to make things worse, spent a week trekking across the desert in desperate hopes of finding a plant that would bring some happiness into Stolas’ life.
While these are two characters who currently clearly aren’t doing well together— and while Blitzo’s full reaction to Stolas’ new lifestyle remains to be seen— we can be sure that they love each other. Whether that love manifests as a rekindled relationship, or as a close bond between friends, or even from afar, Blitzo loves Stolas, and Stolas loves Blitzo, and the fact that both of them are absolutely terrible at love doesn’t change that.
