C.H.E.R.U.B (episode)

"It's all starting to make sense, now. Life is worth living because we only get one, we must cherish it! If creatures far beyond this living world are going through these lengths over my life, then, certainly it's worth living. Killing myself is not the answer. Plus, I'm still rich. I can just buy all the things! I no longer crave death!"

- Lyle Lipton, contemplating his life's worth

C.H.E.R.U.B is the fourth episode of the first season of Helluva Boss and is the fourth episode overall. It premiered on March 14, 2021, on Vivziepop's YouTube channel.

Synopsis

 * When Cherubs and Imps clash over the life of a shitty old man, things sure do happen.

Plot
The episode opens with an advertisement from Heaven, showing the Pearly Gates opening as Cletus introduces himself and his group, C.H.E.R.U.B., to the viewer. The C.H.E.R.U.B. Jingle plays as a montage of people being killed or accidentally dying before it shows those people being saved by C.H.E.R.U.B. As the song reaches its chorus, it zooms out, offering the I.M.P. meeting room where Blitzo has been watching it. Blitzo shoots the T.V. in pure frustration, which Millie compliments him for as Moxxie replaces it. Blitzo asks Moxxie to switch the channels. Moxxie switches between 666 News, a risqué Betty Boop cartoon, before finding another ad for Wally Wackford's Wacky Idea Factory, which Blitzo asks him to stop on. After watching the advertisement for a few seconds, Blitzo shoots the T.V. out of annoyance, and as Millie compliments him as being on a roll, rustling from outside wakes Loona, who asks if they felt it.

Blitzo complains about the "hellshake" as Millie and Loona tell a calm Moxxie to stop panicking, as he asks how a "hellquake" is even possible. Loona then throws him into the wall as a demon bursts through it. It tells them not to be afraid before Blitzo asks if it has "that insurance thing," Millie brandishes an axe and asks who it is and what it wants. Loopty Goopty introduces himself as an inventor. Loona asks him why he didn't use the door, and he tells her that he's eccentric and has to do bizarre things before Blitzo notices he reeks of the living world.

Loopty tells him that he had just died a few moments earlier, and as such, he wants to hire I.M.P.'s services, holding out a photo of his prospective target. Blitzo takes it, saying he can respect someone who has only been in Hell a few minutes and is already plotting revenge, introducing himself to Loopty and asking for more details. Moxxie, still trapped beneath the wall Loopty destroyed, enters the building and requests help. Still, Blitzo ignores him to focus on Loopty. Loopty tells Blitzo that the target was his business partner and that they ran a robotics company when he was younger. They were both testing a device meant to de-age people, but they accidentally set it to age them forward. Loopty died of rapid old age in the machine, but his partner, Lyle Lipton, managed to survive.

Loopty wants Lyle dead so he can't benefit from their shared company alone and potentially become the world's fourth trillionaire. As Moxxie begins blacking out beneath the rubble, Blitzo points out to Loopty that if they do kill Lyle and he goes to Hell, then he will be there with Loopty for eternity. Several torture devices spring from Loopty's suit as he states that he's counting on it, which Moxxie weakly says is "kind of hot."

It then cuts to the living world, outside Lyle's mansion, as Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie are riding a tour bus in human costumes, as the tour guide mentions the house to the tour group. Drawing weapons, the trio hop off the bus and rush towards the house, as the tour guide says that they're going to see three tacky stalkers commit a murder and how this happens all the time. The imps reach the house and see Lyle in bed, connected to a machine, kissing a photo of his one true love (a free stock image of $100 bills). Mourning the loss of his body and unwilling to live as an infirm old man, Lyle decides to commit suicide, knotting his IV line into a noose, as Moxxie asks if they should go in and tie it for him. As Lyle puts the noose around his neck, a burst of divine light radiates, and C.H.E.R.U.B. descends from Heaven.

The light pushes Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie away from the house, and the Cherubs introduce themselves to Lyle. Moxxie, remembering the ad they had watched earlier, tells Blitzo what they're dealing with. The Cherubs tell Lyle, convinced he's being haunted by ghost orphans, that all the people his technology saved that made it to Heaven sent them to protect him. Blitzo crashes through the window as Moxxie and Millie use the door and attempt to convince him to go through with the suicide, asking him what he can do with his money now he's old.

The Cherubs ask if that's a serious question, as he can commit his fortune to philanthropy, which Lyle disagrees with, asking the Cherubs why they won't let him die. Blitzo tells Lyle they can help, asking Moxxie what they brought. Moxxie empties his coat of weapons, including several rifles, shotguns, and chainsaws, tossing Blitzo and Lyle rifles. The Cherubs say Lyle is classier than that, taking the gun off him (as he tries to shoot himself) and having plenty of reasons to keep living.

Millie disagrees, saying it smells like he hasn't been out of bed in months before leaning in for a better smell, which causes her to vomit. The Cherubs tell him life can be beautiful at any age and that they'll show him, to the disappointment of Lyle and I.M.P. The Cherubs take Lyle to a hill overlooking a forest and tell him that if he commits suicide, he'll miss out on all of nature's beauty. Blitzo, who, like the rest of I.M.P., is now in an animal costume, insults the Cherubs and tells Lyle that nature isn't that beautiful, showing him a group of rabbits and squirrels being attacked by wolves through a pair of binoculars. As a bear attacks the wolves, the Cherubs ask Lyle to stop looking, but he tells them he can't and that he has never wanted to die more than he does now.

The Cherubs then take Lyle to a shopping mall during the Christmas season, where a large crowd of children is gathered around a mall Santa, intending to show him the joy of childhood wonderment. Lyle calls the children disease-ridden vermin but finds them inspiring, and he thanks the Cherubs for showing this to him. Blitzo then calls out to Lyle before ruining the Christmas spirit for the children by ripping the suit off the Mall Santa, revealing him to be a pedophilic gnome that scares away all of the children and causes Lyle to cry. It then cuts to an open field, which Lyle complains reeks of teenagers, as the Cherubs say they want to remind him of life's greatest joy. Lyle asks them if it's money, but the Cherubs tell him love. Lyle says he has never been in love before but imagines it's pretty nice.

The Cherubs tell him it's not too late to find love, but Blitzo cuts them off, using a megaphone to ask if anyone would want to sleep with Lyle, causing everyone to leave. The Cherubs then confront I.M.P., calling them cruel, saying they're trying to give hope to someone in need. Moxxie responds by asking if they're "so superior to (them) just because they want a greedy authoritarian capitalist to keel over dead," which Blitzo says is making things too real, spraying Moxxie from a bottle marked "PISS."

The Cherubs try to show Lyle the wonders of art and music at an opera house. Above the stage, Millie asks how they will make this look bad, while Moxxie says they can't because there's nothing terrible about opera. Blitzo says they should ruin it somehow, grabbing a spotlight and shifting it around the stage, disrupting the opera singer by having her run around trying to stay in the light. Lyle comments that the singer isn't excellent when Blitzo's frantic moving of the spotlight causes it to break loose and fall, crushing the woman to death as she sings a final note.

This causes the Cherubs to snap, and they all leave Lyle alone to confront the imps. Getting into an argument with them, as they aim their magical crossbows at them, the Cherubs ask why they won't let them do their jobs, and Moxxie retorts with the same question. The Cherubs say they're saving Lyle whether he wants it or not, and Blitzo tells them someone wants him dead. They paid in advance, and Lyle's got to die because he had already spent the money on a jewel-encrusted horse statuette. The Cherubs berate the imps, calling them "disgusting, loathsome beasts," referring to Hell as dirt that the deceased, or in Keenie's words, "shitty dead people," tread on, all while accusing I.M.P. of trying to meddle with living people.

Millie angrily points out that they are also and insults the Cherubs, causing a fight. As Keenie grapples Millie off the catwalk, Blitzo and Moxxie run away from the other Cherubs. Moxxie dives off the catwalk, grabs a rope, and swings out over the stage, shooting a sandbag so it falls onto the cherub, fighting Millie and then catching her. Millie and Moxxie then begin spinning around the stage, firing wildly as they passionately kiss, which causes Lyle to realize.

Having two groups of otherworldly beings fighting over him makes Lyle realize he only has one life. If they're fighting over it, then it's undoubtedly one worth living. He also realizes since he's rich, he can buy all the things C.H.E.R.U.B. tried to show him. The fight between Blitzo and Cletus causes a row of stage lights to fall onto and partially destroy the stage, launching a piano into the air that kills Lyle. Moxxie points out that the Cherubs did their job for them, and Cletus tells them this isn't over as the Cherubs attempt to return to Heaven. However, they are confused when they are mysteriously repelled out. Another portal opens, and a group of Cherubs tells them they are blocked from returning, as their actions caused the death of a human. There isn't anything they can do to be forgiven. C.H.E.R.U.B. attempts to blame I.M.P., but they've already left the theatre. As the second group of Cherubs return to Heaven, C.H.E.R.U.B. cries.

In their meeting room, Blitzo tells I.M.P. that they failed because the Cherubs killed Lyle and that Lyle is probably in Heaven, and they have to figure out how to break the news to Loopty. Moxxie asks how Blitzo plans to do it, and as he looks out through the hole Loopty made entering their office, he tells him that he sent a text, figuring it'll make him less angry. Loopty enters the meeting room, breaking through the wall again and narrowly missing Moxxie, who scrambles to the other end. Blitzo apologizes to him for failing when the wall breaks a second time, crushing Moxxie, and Lyle enters the room.

Lyle explains his actions meant he was going to Hell anyway, and Loopty reveals the two have reconciled. As Lyle asks what two expert robotic inventors will do in Hell, Wally Wackford breaks through the ceiling, asking if he heard someone say "inventors." Blitzo asks everyone to stop breaking the walls because Moxxie will have to fix them before it cuts to him beneath a pile of rubble, frothing at the mouth. Blitzo complains about his day, which Wackford makes a bad joke about, angering Blitzo enough to tell everyone to leave his office.

Characters

 * Employees of I.M.P
 * Blitzo
 * Moxxie
 * Millie
 * Loona
 * Wally Wackford
 * Employees of Lyle-Loopty Robotics (debut)
 * Lyle Lipton
 * Loopty Goopty
 * Cherubs (debut)
 * Employees of C.H.E.R.U.B
 * Cletus
 * Collin
 * Keenie
 * Deerie
 * Rachel (non-speaking cameo)
 * Bea (non-speaking cameo)
 * Beau (non-speaking cameo)
 * Honey (non-speaking cameo)
 * Verosika Mayday (drawing only)
 * Robo Fizz (drawing only)
 * Barbie Wire (pictured)
 * God (mentioned)

Locations

 * Heaven (debut)
 * Cherub Towne
 * Hell
 * Wacky Wally Wackford's Wacky Idea "Factory" (mentioned)
 * Pride Ring
 * Imp City
 * I.M.P Headquarters
 * Earth
 * Lyle-Loopty Robotics Industry (debut)
 * Lipton Mansion (debut)
 * Unnamed forest (debut)
 * Unnamed mall (debut)
 * L♥vers’ Lookout I guess⋯ (debut)
 * Unnamed theater (debut)

Objects

 * De-age-ifier machine
 * Blitzo's gun and megaphone
 * Moxxie's gun
 * Loona's phone
 * Mare-ajuana

Songs

 * C.H.E.R.U.B Jingle

Trivia

 * This episode is shown to take place sometime in December, as evident by the Mall Santa and the flyer by the wall advertising a Christmas Sale at 25% off.
 * Two running gags in this episode involve Moxxie keep getting crushed by debris, as well as Blitzo not remembering Loopty's name.
 * This is the first time that Heaven is fully shown in the Hazbin Hotel universe.
 * The episode is dedicated in loving memory of Adriana Margarita Rodriguez Hernandez, the mother of animator Adolfo Rodriguez, who worked on this episode.
 * According to FX animator, Andrew Statler, the reason for the captions blocking the faces of the suicidal victims as well as their blood splatters being censored in the "C.H.E.R.U.B Jingle" musical sequence was due to YouTube's restrictions on blood and gore violence.
 * Despite this, the sequences where Lyle witnesses the violence and cruelty of nature and the massacre at the opera house were not censored.
 * Interestingly enough, in the scene where the de-aging machine first appeared, the switch appeared to be at the correct setting right before they entered the machine. However, the lever changed position to forward when it is seen it again. It is unclear whether this is a continuity error or intentional sabotage.
 * The ending originally had everyone awkwardly laughing at Wally's joke, but there was a problem with the audio when Vivziepop sent it to the animator, Logan Niblock, who animated it all awkward and silent, leading Vivziepop to decide to leave it as is and felt it was funnier that Wally would laugh at his own joke.
 * Lyle Lipton's demonic teeth resemble piano keys, a reference to the piano that killed him. This further supports the idea that a sinner's demon form is partially inspired by what caused their death.
 * It is revealed that Sinners have a different smell from Hellborn demons, as Blitzo was able to figure out that Loopty had just been sent to Hell recently judging by his scent.
 * Just like all the released episodes of 2021, this has scenes shown in the trailer for season one, to which some shots were improved.
 * It is unknown why one of Heaven's channels can be viewed on televisions in Hell, and if it's normally possible.
 * Blitzo hints at the Hell-equivalent phenomenon of an earthquake, a hellshake or a hellquake. Although, it is unknown if this is an actual thing or not. And, if so, it is also unknown if this phenomenon only happens in selected areas in any of the Rings, since, according to Moxxie, such a thing does not happen or seem to exist.
 * The scene wherein the C.H.E.R.U.B Jingle plays up until Blitzo shoots the TV was shown as a preview during the BLM Helluva Charity Stream hosted on Ashley Nichols's YouTube channel on June 10, 2020.
 * Additionally, "C.H.E.R.U.B" was initially supposed to be the third episode of the first season, as revealed in the description of the BLM Charity Stream, with "The Harvest Moon Festival" being the fifth and "Spring Broken" presumably being the fourth.
 * The reveal for Collin's character and voice actor were also a part of the stream.
 * According to animator, Kaden Westbrook, he initially animated Blitzo with a human nose for a brief second when he sniffed Loopty Goopty, but was toned down per Vivziepop's request.
 * This episode, specifically a scene where Loopty Goopty speaks to Blitzo (albeit muted), recently made a cameo on Brandon Rogers' final video of his character, Deeno the Filipino.
 * This is the final episode to have its title in the thumbnail.
 * Blitzo posted on his non-canon Voxtagram about the lion costume he wore in this episode during one of his monthly visits with Stolas.

Cultural References

 * In the "C.H.E.R.U.B Jingle" musical sequence, one of the humans is run over by a train that resembles James the Red Engine from Thomas & Friends.
 * The poster of and the stuffed  doll seen in the "C.H.E.R.U.B" song when Collin is doing paperwork are an in-direct reference to his voice actor, Jayden's, puppeteer career.
 * ‌Near the start of the episode as Moxxie is switching through TV channels, one of the channels has a character that appears to be a demonized version of.
 * Blitzo's disguise when they arrive at the mansion resembles his voice actor, Brandon Rogers' Bla Bla the Clown character from his YouTube channel.
 * One of the paintings in Lyle's manor is based on Salvador Dali's .
 * Moxxie advising Lyle to continue on with killing himself by telling him to go "commit die" is a reference to the popular  meme.
 * The katana that Moxxie lends to Blitzo resembles Leonardo's ōdachi from .
 * A plush of Jack from Zoophobia appears next to the Mall Santa.
 * One of the kids at the mall was wearing a "Craft Mine" shirt, a spoof of the game .
 * The boy sitting on the Mall Santa's lap is wearing a shirt with Pikachu from  on it.
 * During the shopping mall scene, a grumpy Moxxie is seen wearing a costume.
 * When the Mall Santa has his costume ripped off, the sound he makes is a reference to the "you've been gnomed" internet meme.
 * The shirt the Mall Santa was wearing underneath as a gnome is labeled #CUTIES, a reference to the heavily-criticized Netflix live-action film of the.
 * When Blitzo unmasked the mall Santa, the kid who was sitting on Santa's lap can be seen doing Peter Griffin's falling down the stairs pose before the mall Santa scares the kids away.
 * The cat-themed outfits for the I.M.P gang are a likely reference to the  Broadway musical and its 2019 movie version, with Blitzo cosplaying as Rum Tum Tugger, Moxxie as Mr. Mistoffelees, and Millie as Victoria.
 * The opera scene between I.M.P and C.H.E.R.U.B was influenced by the shorts "" and "".
 * Both Loopty and Lyle bear some resemblance to, the main antagonist of the  video game series. Both are hammy, villainous inventors and pollutive industrialists with large mustaches who wear decorative uniforms and eyeglasses that conceal their eyes.
 * Lyle Lipton's demon form resembles the same body shape of the character Bigweld from the Blue Sky animated film .
 * Loopty Goopty's extendable mechanical limbs are similar to Marvel's.
 * The website the man in the car crash was looking at on his phone is called "Chirper", a parody of.
 * Additionally, the billboard featuring the nurse and the doctor from the pilot is a reference to the real-life "Injured? Good." meme.
 * Wally Wackford's "factory" name displayed onscreen is a homage to the opening and ending cards of classic Looney Tunes episodes.
 * Deerie's design bears a passing resemblance to Disney's.

Continuity

 * Several callbacks to the pilot are made in the episode. Examples include:
 * The doctor and the pink-haired nurse appearing on a billboard during the car crash scene in the C.H.E.R.U.B Jingle.
 * Millie telling Moxxie not to panic, highlighting his tendency to have panic attacks.
 * Loona referring to Moxxie as being overweight.
 * Blitzo mentioning his unfamiliarity with insurance after Loopty Goopty breaks into the office and crushes Moxxie with debris.
 * While the Cherubs are showing Lyle Lipton the Mall Santa, one of the students from Mrs. Mayberry's old class is seen in the crowd of children.
 * Drawings referencing previous episodes are seen shown on the whiteboard in the meeting room.
 * Robo Fizz getting devoured by the dragon during the climax of "Loo Loo Land".
 * Verosika Mayday in a different parking space after the events of Spring Broken.
 * The gang have traveled to Earth with a handful of costume changes after being told off by Loona about it in the previous episode.
 * The costumes consist of normal wigs and clothing and not via shapeshifting, which still begs the question if they are physically incapable of doing so or merely did not bother.

Errors

 * When Cletus tells Lyle to look around the forest, the IV is drawn to look like part of it goes under his bed. Additionally, the IV moves alongside his bed without any of the Cherubs pushing it.
 * When the cherubs confront the imps after they ruin the opera, Millie is missing her gloves in one shot, while regaining them in the next.
 * The fight music that involved the piano kept playing even after the pianist stopped playing, as shown during the scene wherein Lyle declares he does not wish to kill himself any longer.
 * Additionally, the pianist was not animated during this entire scene.
 * The audio for Deerie telling Keenie "No" (regarding C.H.E.R.U.B. no longer having any access to Heaven) was not recorded.
 * The color palette of Cletus's wings change throughout the episode. It starts off missing the purple coloring it normally has, to his wings becoming fully purple, and back to his wings having the normal white and purple color scheme.
 * When Deerie heads back into the portal to Heaven, Cletus's halo is missing, but then it reappears in the next shot.
 * Blitzo's horns do not align with the rest of his head like it normally does throughout the scene wherein he is wearing his drag outfit.
 * The people in the opera audience keep changing throughout the entirety of the latter half of the episode.
 * Keenie's necklace loses its color during the scene wherein Millie pulls on it.
 * Despite Collin's wings being absent during the scene wherein he tells Lyle to stop looking at the violence of nature, he can still be seen floating in midair.
 * His wings disappear once more when he corrects Lyle, saying that "Love" is the greatest treasure of all.
 * Loona briefly disappears during the scene wherein Millie asks Loopty what his intentions were.
 * Loona appears out of nowhere and is seen standing next to Millie during the scene wherein Moxxie comments "That's kinda hot." when she can be seen sitting on a chair in the previous shot.
 * The IV Lyle uses to tie a noose out of is not connected to any part of his body.
 * Lyle's IV gets its tubing back (despite being removed by the Cherubs in an earlier scene) when Lyle is taken to the mall.
 * Additionally, the height of the IV changes in the following scene.
 * The Jack doll that could be briefly seen to the Mall Santa's right disappears after Blitzo unveils the gross man in the Santa costume.
 * The replacement TV Moxxie brings in immediately starts working despite not being plugged in.
 * Additionally, the first TV was never plugged in either.
 * The same poster of a horse surrounded by flames appears in two different areas of the office. One was behind the TV and the other next to the picture framed behind Loona.
 * The student from the first episode that appears in the crowd of children is shown to have injuries supposedly reminiscent of her being catapulted through the ceiling by Mayberry, when she was never shown to have any injuries after she somehow got back to the classroom in the first place.
 * When the cherubs get banned from Heaven, the order from left to right went Collin, Cletus, and Keenie. However, when it cuts to Deerie arriving, Collin and Keenie switch places, but then switch back after they're told that they can't re-enter Heaven.
 * During the scene where Loopty settles in the middle of the room, Loona's phone case is incorrectly colored white.

Transcript
View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

 * C.H.E.R.U.B/Gallery