The Circus

"I don't care what your arrogant brother thinks! And the only thing the Goetia family wanted from our marriage is already seventeen! So, it's over! I'm done!"

- Stolas, to Stella

The Circus is the first episode of the second season of Helluva Boss and is the ninth episode overall. It premiered on July 30, 2022, on Vivziepop's YouTube channel.

Synopsis

 * So, you guys like backstories? Cuz' things sure did happen.

Plot
On his birthday, a child Stolas is excited to find out what his duties in life will be and happily gets ready to meet his father Paimon. As his Imp servant takes him inside his father's chambers, Paimon reveals that Stolas will be learning astrology and the stars along with prophecies involving the mortal realm; to do so, he is granted a grimoire and told his studies will begin immediately so he can become a mighty and powerful leader of followers to pass on his knowledge to. As Stolas swears to do his best, Paimon also reveals that he is also required to sire an heir to the Goetia family and is betrothed to another demon named Stella; seeing a picture of Stella strangling two dogs, Stolas begins to cry. Flustered by this, Paimon decides to take Stolas to the circus to cheer him up.

As they arrive at the circus, Stolas is sitting glumly while his father (viewing it from a mirror instead of being there in person) excitedly claps at the various attractions. When the ring leader brings out several imp clowns, many of the other audience members are frightened by it while Stolas remains dejected. However, two young Imp performers named Blitzo and Fizzarolli begin their routine and Stolas is immediately captivated by Blitzo. As the Imp tries several times to make a balloon animal and fails, the audience begins losing interest while Stolas remains fixed upon him. Later on, Paimon and his servant approach the ringleader, Cash Buckzo, and inquire about hiring Blitzo as a playmate for his son. While Blitzo and Fizzarolli play with their balloon animals (Wormhorse and Banana Pudding), Cash approaches Blitzo and tells him he is now to spend the day with Stolas; before leaving, Cash tells Blitzo to try and steal as many items from the Goetia house as possible.

As Stolas begins sharing about some of his many books, Blitzo becomes bored and suggests they play a game of gathering up all the most valuable items in the house. Even though Stolas is a little perplexed by this, he soon joins in and the two begin to laugh as they go all around the house; Blitzo briefly stops to toss out the bag of treasure to his father before returning to Stolas. They both head outside beneath a tree where they share their dreams in life: Blitzo to run his own business and Stolas to join the ranks of the Goetia.

Twenty-five years later, Stolas gets up one morning and checks in on his daughter Octavia; he then goes to the kitchen where he overhears Stella insulting him during a phone call. He then discovers a party is to be held later that day, where Stella half-heartedly invites him to come if he desires. Later on, during the party, after hearing Stella throw more insults towards him, Stolas drinks half a bottle of absinthe before learning that an Imp was found to have been trying to break into his study; seeing that it is now an adult Blitzo, Stolas recovers himself and requests the Imp be given to him for punishment.

Entering his study, Stolas comments how it has been a long time and offhandedly quips that Blitzo must have been sneaking in to seduce him. Blitzo (having actually come for the grimoire) is perplexed but adapts quickly and begins to seductively claim that was indeed the case. An embarrassed Stolas backpedals but soon finds himself on his bed. Blitzo (now addressing himself as Blitz, keeping the "o" silent) keeps the charade up by blindfolding Stolas and tying him down, much to the latter's surprise and pleasure. Blitzo grabs the book and prepares to leave, but after a passionate speech from Stolas, he decides to have sex with him "real fast." The next morning, Stolas groggily gets up and hears Blitzo crash into a table down below and apologizing to Stella for sleeping with her husband. As an angry Stella demands answers, Stolas confirms that it did happen and happily laughs over the idea of a possible divorce.

We cut to present day, where Stolas wakes up after returning home from his disastrous date with Blitzo and groggily takes a few pills. He goes through his phone and reflects on Blitzo's words regarding their relationship, pausing on a photo with him making a funny face and Blitzo looking off to the side and indifferent. After singing a brief song on the balcony, Stolas is approached by Stella who chastises him for doing so. Stolas asks her why she is there despite the affair, and Stella replies that it is fun to torment him over it. Stolas sticks up for himself and admits that he would feel bad for doing so if the two had any feelings of love for the other; reminding her that their duty as husband and wife have been fulfilled with Octavia's birth. Stolas admits that the only reason he puts up with Stella's cruelty and insults was so their daughter could have a normal childhood. Then Stolas angrily demands she leave and they get a divorce.

Taken back by this, Stella angrily tries to shame him by mentioning the Goetia family and her brother will be ashamed of him and is about to slap Stolas when he grabs her wrist and admits he does not care what they think, making it clear that he is fed up with her once and for all and reminding her the only thing that the Goetia family wanted from them was to have an give birth to a heir, who is now seventeen. Frustrated that she lost her power over him, Stella sees no point to stay with him any longer and agrees to leave, but swears Stolas will pay for the transgression. After Stella leaves, Stolas slumps against the railing and solemnly stares up into the sky.

Characters

 * Goetia Royal Family
 * Stolas
 * Paimon (debut; flashback)
 * Octavia (flashback; non-speaking cameo)
 * Stella
 * Andrealphus (mentioned)
 * Blitzo's family
 * Cash Buckzo (debut; flashback)
 * Blitzo (flashback only)
 * Barbie Wire (pictured; flashback)
 * The twins' mother (pictured; flashback)
 * Fizzarolli (flashback)
 * Mister Butler (debut; flashback)
 * Goetia family butler (non-speaking cameo; flashback)
 * Seven Deadly Sins
 * Asmodeus (name only)
 * Belphegor (name only)

Locations

 * Hell
 * Stolas's mansion
 * Unnamed circus
 * Earth (mentioned)

Objects

 * Stolas's Grimoire
 * The King of Lust - Asmodeus book
 * Balloon horses
 * Worm Horse
 * Banana Pudding

Songs

 * "Stolas Sings"

Instrumentals

 * "Stolas Speaks"
 * Blitzo's theme (xylophone cover)
 * Spring Broken beach theme

Trivia

 * From this episode onward, the SpindleHorse logo at the end of every episodes' end credits now has an animated sequence.
 * This episode has scenes shown in animatics and storyboards from the 2022 trailer, to which some shots were completed and improved.
 * This marks the first episode for neither Moxxie nor Millie to appear or be mentioned in Season 2.
 * This is also the first episode for Loona doesn't make an on-screen appearance in Season 2 and the first time where she isn't heard or mentioned at all.
 * Based on the flashback at the beginning and the time skip, Stolas would be in his 30s.
 * Per the revelation that Octavia is 17 years old at the time of the series proper, this suggests that she was born when Stolas was either in his late teens or early twenties.
 * Octavia's age was first revealed in the non-canon Voxtagram post by Stolas on August 2020.
 * It is revealed that Stolas and Stella were arranged to be married since childhood, and have been engaged to each other ever since, up until their marriage.
 * As of this episode onwards, Stolas has initiated a divorce from Stella.
 * It is revealed that Stolas and Blitzo were childhood friends and that the former had developed a crush on the latter since he first met him on the same day he was betrothed to Stella.
 * Before being given to Stolas, Paimon's mansion used to have his goetic seal on one of its outer walls.
 * The family's former butler, Mister Butler, had white splotches on his left eye resembling a monocle.
 * Paimon reveals that he has several other children besides Stolas, which leads the former to forget their names, or at the very least, Stolas'.
 * After being reminded of Stolas' name by Mister Butler, Paimon refers to the former as "The owl boy", insinuating that his other children are of other bird-like breeds or different animals, entirely.
 * The instrumental used during the montage of Blitzo and Stolas playing treasure hunt is a xylophone cover of Blitzo's usual theme.
 * It is revealed that the heart-skull marking on Blitzo's forehead is present on all the performers at the circus, being presented as like the symbol of that circus.
 * Young Blitzo's tragic story for his balloon horse, Worm Horse, may be a subtle parallel to Fizzarolli's current state of an amputee with artificial limbs.
 * It is revealed that Stolas takes Belphegor-branded "Happy Pills" in his adult-hood.
 * This is fitting, as Belphegor being the Prince of Sloth works well with the intended effects of the medicine - a means to tone down the consumer's stress.
 * The page on the book that Stolas stops at during his song, "The King of Lust - Asmodeus", is on "Asmodean Crystals" written in Nordic runes, which translates as:
 * "Bestowed to mainly Succubi and Incubi by the Sin of Lust, these crystals allow access to the mortal realm."
 * "Any Hellborn in possession of a registered crystal may be granted portal summons."
 * "It is common practice to have the crystal paired with another object for convenience."
 * "Jewelry is the most popular option."
 * The final section of the page is written as "writing in Runes shit was fun at first, but I know I am def not doing it right, OK, I should be spending more time with my friends and family."
 * Blitzo taking an interest in murder and violence and starting his own business as a result is foreshadowed by his dialogue of finding blood "cool".
 * One of the names young Blitzo suggests for his future horse to have is "Stapler", which is first mentioned in a post from his non-canon Voxtagram account.
 * This episode aired the day after Richard Horvitz's 56th birthday.

Cultural References

 * Stolas' plush jackalope is based on Max from .
 * The twin imps in the circus audience are modeled after the Grady twins from .
 * One of the books Stolas owned as a kid is a reference to the  book series.

Continuity

 * The morning after Stolas wakes up from a night of sex and Blitzo runs off with the grimoire after apologizing to Stella for having done it "real fast" with her husband is a continuation of the scene from pilot from Stolas' point of view.
 * This episode is a direct continuation of "Ozzie's".
 * Stolas mentions that Stella had started taking Octavia with her for the weekends and was not just for that particular weekend, following up his statement from the latter episode.
 * The same instrumental used during the introduction of the beach in "Spring Broken" is briefly used after the scene where Stella tells Stolas that he could come to her Not Divorced party if he wanted.
 * Stolas' censored vulgar remarks of what he wants Blitzo to do to him make a comeback in this episode.
 * Paimon taking a young Stolas to the local circus parallels the latter taking his own daughter to a circus several years later in "Loo Loo Land".
 * An extended version of the instrumental used during the end credits of "Ozzie's" is used from the chandelier scene up until the beginning of the scene where the young Blitzo and Stolas were hanging out under a big tree, where it blends into the instrumental for "Stolas Sings".
 * Blitzo first brings up how the "o" in his name is now silent during the second flashback.
 * It is also revealed that this was the first time Stolas refers to him as such, and not during the previous episode.

Errors

 * Fizzarolli's tail is missing during the scene where he makes a balloon horse.
 * Fizzarolli disappears during the entirety of Blitzo's solo act.
 * The ball Blitzo was performing on disappears during his solo act and reappears on the next scene.
 * Blitzo's shoes briefly turn from heeled to flat ones as he lands on the ball.
 * When Paimon pats a young Stolas' head, his hand looks as if it is patting a rounded surface rather than having Stolas' crown underneath.
 * Blitzo's horns alternate from having smooth curves to edged curves throughout the episode.
 * Mister Butler's horns go from being in front of his hair to sprouting from in-between his hair during the scene where he opens the door leading to Paimon's room.
 * During the scene where Stolas is drinking at the Not Divorced Party, his wine is near-empty. But, after the scene following Stella's dialogue to her friends, his glass is back to half full.
 * The wine glass Stella throws out the window in the same flashback is also empty, but when it hits the window, it left a huge splash stain of wine.
 * When Blitzo dips Stolas from the sliding ladder attempting to seduce him for the grimoire, one shot shows his arm is positioned behind Stolas. Then, in a second shot, his arm is positioned in front of Stolas.
 * Young Blitzo briefly alternates from having three and four fingers during the scene where he explains how playing pirates work.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

 * The Circus/Gallery