A Hell Of A New Episode Of Helluva Boss

Disclaimer:

This is a review and analysis of an episode that consists of content aimed at mature audiences, including:

•        Some strong cartoon violence, including blood and murder
•        Hidden suicide
•        Strong profanity
•        Strong sex references, including short moments of sexual intercourse
•        Mild nudity
•        Hellish imagery
•        Moments of horror, including references to flaying and cannibalism
•        Flashing lights

Reader discretion is advised.

Calling all hellhounds, imps, hellborns, sinners and so on [9]! It has been almost a year since we analysed the trailer for the pilot of Helluva Boss with caution [34] [49] [50]. Apart from how the trailer now appears to have been unlisted, a few sneak peaks caught my attention on Twitter back in September [19] [20]. To not state false witness, I was expecting the new antics of the Immediate Murder Professionals to be in a new episode at the time due to how the pilot was produced faster than the pilot of Hazbin Hotel [12]. I was right all along as it was mentioned in the Halloween sales updates on Vivienne Medrano’s YouTube channel [28] [29]! After discovering that some parts of the plot of the music video for Addict by Silva Hound point to that fact that Angel Dust is a victim of sexual abuse [27] [43] [44], I believe that I am courageous enough to analyse the latest schemes of Blitzo, Moxxie, Millie and Loona after being damned to the Vivziepop circle of Hell to keep an eye out for new character development and such in an expansion of a demonic mockumentary before a few more of them rise from the flames in Imp City [13].

It is about time we get to see an extended establishment of a fiendishly fascinating premise, right? After the acclaim of the pilot back in late 2019 [32], I have been dying to watch and review a new episode of Helluva Boss. Literally, according to a client of Blitzo and his employees who wanted me dead. (Nah, I am only kidding!) [31]

The premise of the new episode that is titled “Murder Family” is about a promiscuous woman who a teacher’s husband had an affair with getting her just desserts [31]. I thought I would not see a primary school set on the animated interpretation of Earth beyond the Vivziepop circle of Hell, meaning that the writers have that ability to make an episode’s premise quite surprising at first. I feel bad for the young students who had to witness their teacher’s husband having sex with another woman and a dash of blood during a brutal murder. I understand that getting cheated on feels horrific, but that is still no excuse to grab a little girl by the neck and throw her at the ceiling. At least Katherine McBride from Catherine never resorted to harming an innocent child [8]! We can see that the new client’s motivation for hiring the Immediate Murder Professionals is quite similar to how a buff devil wanted to get revenge on his wife for having an affair in the pilot [32] [45] [46]. With a somewhat refreshing premise in an episode that begins a season, the series ought to provide some more of them with different locations on Earth in future episodes.

Uh oh… [31]

Before we go into more depth about the teacher, let us discuss the portrayals of the main characters. Is Mr. Blitzo still one hell of a boss, despite how unprofessional the way he loosely advertises his company is on the official Helluva Boss Twitter page [18]? I suppose he is. He still appears to still be irresponsible and disrespectful to his employees as his surprise entrance makes Moxxie accidentally release some electric eels by launching an arrow, thus leading to him refusing to take part of the blame [31]. Speaking of Moxxie, he seems to be hesitant towards murdering a human family, whether it is part of his job or not, which is a sign of how he has his own morals outside of work. This unfortunately shakes him into disrupting the assignment and having a meltdown, thus potentially becoming more relatable to employees who have specific issues in real life. Nevertheless, the episode continues to portray him fantastically as he makes up for his slip up by freeing his wife and boss and gives out a confrontational yet rationally open-minded speech to Ralphie and his children. More difficulties between Blitzo and Moxxie ought to be established in more episodes for further development [32] [33].

Mr. Blitzo is quirky to his clients and nauseatingly friendly to Loona, despite how questionable he can be at times [32] [33]. Despite that, he still consists of that witty charm that enhances the premise of a work-themed sitcom set in Hell [47] [48]. [31]

Moxxie still seems to be rather skeptical about his employer’s actions as his most confrontational employee in the Vivziepop circle of Hell while some Fortnite fighters are battling with a certain Daredevil [24], otherwise known as Matt Murdock [23]. Nonetheless, his love for Millie is still strong and he has shown himself to have his own moral standards, but remain determined to try and make up for a mistake he makes within an outstanding expansion on his character while he still sounds a lot like Zim from Invader Zim [52]. [31]

Millie sure looked fabulous in her black wedding dress in a photograph of her and Moxxie's wedding [32] [33]. Strangely enough, she was voiced by Erica Lindbeck in the pilot, but not in the new episode. This is quite similar to how Betina from Rayman: The Animated Series was voiced by two different voice actresses for the third and fourth episodes [37] [41] [42]. Nevertheless, Lindbeck still got to voice Loona [31]. Aside from how Millie sounds Southern whilst being voiced by Vivian Nixon in “Murder Family”, I admire hope she would still try to encourage Moxxie to maintain mindfulness. In the same scene, Loona at least explains how a family member would at least deserve to be killed for secret immorality as a sign of her consisting of some intelligence that is overshadowed by her grumpiness and attachment to her smartphone. I will be hoping to see a softer and more humane side of Loona soon, despite the grouchiness she expressed in the pilot [32] [33]. As for Millie, I completely understood why she married Moxxie after witnessing Martha’s demise [31]. And as long as the voice suits a character’s appearance and traits, a slight change within the cast is not that sinful, right?

As the raunchiness continues after a time of many Marvel fans encountering an intimidating fusion of Deadpool and Ghost Rider from Marvel Puzzle Quest [25] [36], Millie still gets to express her fierceness when it comes to her job and her care when it comes to her marriage, whether she has a Southern accent or not [32] [33]. [31]

At some point after I watched the pilot of Helluva Boss, my mind was like, “Come on, Loona! I am rather attached to a smartphone too, but at least I can be respectful to others with a smile!” [32] [33]. But in the next episode, I completely understood her point during Moxxie’s struggle to successfully launch an arrow from his crossbow. [31]

It looks like Charlie from the pilot of Hazbin Hotel and her parents are not the only royals in Hell [11] [14] [15] [30]. Stolas may be a prince with a gold crown on his head [17], but it seems like he is up to his old promiscuous tricks again at some point in “Murder Family”. I really like the enchanting design of his bathroom, but I am not sure when he could ever win Blitzo’s sincere affection and shed some feathers if he keeps calling him at bad times. Nonetheless, I believe that the phone calls that gradually lead to a series of censor bleeps might as well be the first season’s hilarious running gag [32] [33]. Furthermore, it would be quite a miracle if Blitzo eventually gained sincere affection for him after that one night stand. It ought to be hinted on his apparently canon Instagram page without leaking any spoilers whatsoever [5]. It is quite odd that the regal yet raunchy prince is voiced by Bryce Pinkham instead of Brock Baker in “Murder Family” [2] [31], but I would be interested to see how an introduction of Octavia [5] [14], his daughter in a future episode and see how their relationship will be portrayed.

Don’t drop your beautifully designed telephone in the water, Stolas…unless you want it to be as…active as you are [32] [33]. Why not give Blitzo a shoulder massage? It kind of worked for me and Deadpool, right [39] [40]? [31]

We all know that Eddie, otherwise known as “Bratty Kid” was a version of Billy from The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy with a foul mouth and much more intelligence in the pilot [10] [22] [32] [33] [47] [48], but what about any other humans in “Murder Family”? Who was that strange shadowy figure lurking past Blitzo in another preview [21]? The teacher named “Mrs. Mayberry” who was transformed into a demon after she slaughtered her husband and committed suicide due to heartbreak and guilt [31]! The woman her deceased husband has cheated on her with by the name of Martha may have been seen as a sweet and innocent “hero” by many human folks in a news report on Earth, but her true colours are later shown after Moxxie makes a mistake. I could not believe that even the children in the human family in a log cabin would be armed with guns! The new antagonists sure are villainous, just like that family in Minions [35], but more violent and far more sadistic as they have hunted and skinned human beings as if they were animals and even cannibalised one [31]! There ought to be plenty more sinful victims of the Immediate Murder Professionals in more episodes soon.

I honestly cannot believe that Mara Wilson, the one who played the role of Matilda in the film based in the book with the same name as a child would voice the vengeful Mrs. Mayberry ad an adult [16] [26] [51]! I like how both of her human form and her demon form have been presents in the episode, thus showing her moral devolution. [31]

It seems like not even strong dedication to obeying the teachings of a bible signed by no other than Belle Delphine could save Jarold from a disturbing fate [6] [7]. To make the successful murder of a human target reasonable in an episode of Helluva Boss, he or she needs to be portrayed as a horrible person, such as the deranged Martha. [31]

I know this probably sounds quite cliché by now, but the art style and animation are utterly and devilishly exceptional as expected by what we have seen in the pilot almost a year ago [32] [33] [34]. As previously shown in a preview on Twitter nearly two months ago, the wood of the log cabin is musky detailed and the yellow light beaming through its windows is vibrant with a suitable amount of brightness [20]. The school at the beginning of the episode is delightfully coloured without too much saturation in with various details, such as a poster and a letter chart in various colours [31]. What makes the bathroom owned by Stolas rather hypnotic are the constellations that hover above a bathtub, along with the light blue flames on the candles. I think setting the team’s next victim’s location in a cabin in the woods and the school where the client works at is a good choice for expanding on the series’ artistic aspects. With wild animation done practically and a cartoonish and exceptional art style with unique character designs, along with brilliant backgrounds, it is no wonder the first episode of the first season of Helluva Boss was worth the wait.

Another example of how praiseworthy the art style is would be how the various shades of red of setting where Moxxie is being held captive really bring out the suspense when it comes to revealing the worst deeds Martha and her family have ever done during the night of a teacher’s revenge. [31]

The feeling of children listening to their teacher in the brightly lit learning environment did not last very long, didn’t it? Speaking of learning, what other aspects further enhance the outcome of the premise? Onto the next paragraph! [31]

Aside from Stolas’ explicit desires and the murder of Jarold, Mrs. Mayberry’s adulterous husband, the elements of horror and humour, as well as a new musical number truly enhance the premise of a group of demons assigned to kill some questionably immoral humans [31]. I adore how Blitzo and Millie’s “fate” after they get captured by the couple backfires…without any pun intended…due to the fact that they are imps from Hell. Logic strikes again! I also found it assuming how Moxxie accidentally turned on the television with its remote instead of picking up a phone in preparation to call 911. There is even an overly cheerful song about the students enjoying their time in school before Mrs. Mayberry’s demise, which is unfortunately not a very realistic song in my opinion. Nevertheless, the music suddenly turns tense after the boy wearing a dunce cap mentions that the date is her husband’s birthday, thus leading to a demonic client’s motivation. After the critical acclaim of the first episode on Halloween, the rest of the episodes in the first season of Helluva Boss ought to provide the same formula of horror and raunchy adult humour, along with new songs to make the series excel even further.

I have nothing against survivors of attempted murder in real life, but how Martha is seen as a “hero” by the human society solely for surviving the wrath of Mrs. Mayberry after Jarold cheated with her in this episode might as well be seen as some form of satire. It can be argued that her relationship with Ralphie could be open, but there still seems to be no clarification on that. [31]

The celebration of Moxxie killing Martha will be me, my boyfriend and some of our friends when 2020 ends [38]. [31]

In conclusion, I am again impressed by the outstanding quality of what Vivienne Medrano and her creative team had offered to expand on the premise of Helluva Boss with the first episode of the first season [31]. What will be next? Millie shooting another victim with a pink assault rifle, resulting in a corpse on pink bullet fire like in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare [3]? Do children still perish for free [32]? Aside from a thrilling expansion so far, many Hazbeans are still looking forward to the Hazbin Hotel series airing on television [1] [11]. Moreover, I could still be up for Emily Youcis continuing the legacy of Alfred Alfer, her crazy cartoon canine in the form of a webcomic series that could take place after his movie [49] [50]. Since a grand merci went to the Hazbin Hotel Version Française team for their très bon French dub of the pilot of Helluva Boss that was established nearly two months ago [33], there might as well be a Japanese dub of the pilot sometime soon since a Japanese dub of the pilot of Hazbin Hotel was also released at the same [30], even though the characters’ hands consist of four fingers instead of five [4]. Stay sinful, murder professionals!

Even though I am pleased that the pilot of Hazbin Hotel can appeal more to mature audiences in Japan [30], I am still somewhat concerned at how the characters have four fingers on each hand might suddenly affect that appeal to a degree [4]. Nevertheless, I will be more than happy for more creative teams within the Hazbean community to establish a few more dubs soon [33]. [30]

As for the new episode of Helluva Boss, what a way to bring some more adults-only animation to the early 2020s! Here is to some more episodes of the first season soon while I continue to work hard on my writing, even after being damned to the Vivziepop circle of Hell. Until then, fellow sinners! [31]

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