Rock Candy Reviews

Rock Candy

Disclaimer

This is not a rant or hate piece. If you are only looking for a writer to hate the characters you also hate, or pass judgement upon characters and plot points, you are in the wrong place. This post is about critiquing the show outside of the toxic discourse that surrounds the show and its fans and haters alike.

Helluva Boss’ first three episodes of season three have dropped on Amazon Prime, and has come with plenty of highs and lows. The series is making a point to address problems with its character writing right off the bat, but does does it handle it with the care it deserves? Let’s go over these adventures and find out.

Episode 1

This episode definitely had issues with its three focus points. Adding Loona’s frustration around her place in the company on top of both Blitzo and Moxxie’s anxieties, and Millie’s pregnancy and Stolas’ guilt and trauma, felt disconnected. This is because the story does not spend time evening out the comedy and the drama. We spend too much time on long and drawn out jokes, and too little time on creating transitions between each character’s struggles. For instance, we get a whole song about a one off character, just for us to get three segments of Blitzo and Moxxie repeating the same texting jokes. While Loona goes off to take care of the assassination on her own, and we jump back and forth between Millie and Stolas being simply repeating the text joke from the opposite end. When the two of them launch into their personal issues, it almost feels like a separate episode.

Episode 2

Now we get an episode that actually has a beginning middle and end. Instead of repeating the same bit, this story structures itself around Millie’s mindset and experiences. It transitions to different plot points as her emotions change. From stressed to joyful, to accepting, the plot actually reaches a climax at the height of Millie’s emotional state. Seeing the Wrath ring and its inhabitants was great for making the world feel lived in, and it even connected it to the rest of the setting by using new and old characters. This time, we also get to know Millie in a new way by seeing her past problems with asserting her wants and needs. It sheds light on why she values her current relationships by showing what she is not okay with. Her sense of self clearly develops enough, to where she comes to a different conclusion about how she wants to move forward. The jokes in the episode also don’t take away from the story’s goal of exploring Millie’s thoughts and feelings about her life and the pregnancy.

Episode 3

And now for the controversial one. Stolas’ and Blitzo’s diverging paths are at the forefront, and the episode wastes no time in addressing them head on. The writing immediately sets up the conflict between the two, and pays it off with the same sense of urgency. Every moment they are together is tense and awkward, and the moments they are apart establish how out of sync they have become. The moments of levity are woven into the characters’ struggles around communication and intimacy, but not dependent upon the same set up and punchline like in episode one. Stolas’ lack of understanding of love and his own desires makes sense as he is adjusting to his new living situation. Blitzo’s arc also is well explored as the episode shows that he is trying to please Stolas emotionally, but is still having trouble talking about his feelings and expressing affection openly. Despite the oncoming arguments, this is a natural progression of both characters facing their respective issues. Previous episodes have established that the definition of their relationship was never something the two came to a consensus on. This episode showed the consequences of them never actually talking about what the relationship’s future was and their own baggage.