Helluva Boss S2E8 "The Full Moon" / Recap - TV Tropes (2024)

On the night of the full moon, things sure do happen — namely, Stolas and Blitzo agree to their monthly meet where the owl plans to make a life-changing decision. Meanwhile, C.H.E.R.U.B., seeking revenge on I.M.P. for getting them kicked out of Heaven, teams up with D.H.O.R.K.S.

• Alliance of Revenge: After being banished from heaven, the three members of C.H.E.R.U.B. join forces with D.H.O.R.K.S. (after being kidnapped by them) to avenge themselves on I.M.P. It doesn't go well for them.

  Agents 1 & 2: How about it, little guys. Wanna help us hunt some demon scum?
  Cletus & Keenie: [Beat] f*ck YEAH!

• And This Is for...: When the Cherubs finally decide to attack Blitzo, Cletus dramatically declares that they're doing so for the humans, Heaven, and most importantly themselves. His moment is cut short by Millie popping in, followed by Moxxie and Loona.
• And You Thought It Was a Game: When Blitzo finally arrives in Stolas' bedroom and Stolas confesses his feelings about his relationship with Blitzo to him, Blitzo thinks that he's just roleplaying with him.
• Badass Preacher: After the US government gives D.H.O.R.K.S. all the funding they need, we find out they've been creating an army of "combat priests", which are shown to be genetically engineered, tank-grown clones.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: The agents explain that their faulty portal can only open two feet in diameter, hardly big enough to send a child through.

  Agent 1: And we can't very well send children... after last time.
  [a bunch of Child Soldiers run through the portal and are butchered by tentacles]
  Agent 1: Those goddamned American heroes!

• Bigger Is Better in Bed: Blitzo ends up purchasing a comically large vibrating dild* called the Dragon Driller 5000 from Fizzarolli which is so large and heavy that it's held like a Chainsaw-Grip BFG. Blitzo immediately assumes that Stolas will love it the second that Fizz unveils it.
• Blatant Lies: Cletus and Keenie convince D.H.O.R.K.S. that they're demon-hunting Exorcists out to smite I.M.P. next chance they get, when really they were banished to Earth and living as vagrants.
• Bloody Hilarious: The Child Soldiers being horribly slaughtered by eldritch tentacles would probably be more serious if Agent 1 didn't have his hair blown back by the force of the viscera.
• Body Horror: A look at the vats where the genetically-engineered "combat priests" are grown shows their mitres (and likely their robes and crosses) are actually parts of their bodies.
• Broken Tears: In the final scene, Blitzo's "Reason You Suck" Speech towards Stolas makes the latter openly cry.
• Chainsaw-Grip BFG: The Dragon Driller 5000 is so large it can only be wielded by a chainsaw-like grip and is even revved up like one. Except, y'know, it's a gigantic dild*.
• Child Soldiers: Played for Black Comedy. It's shown that D.H.O.R.K.S. tried sending children through their tiny Hellgate, but they were immediately horribly killed. Agent One tearfully calls them "Those goddamn American heroes." Agent 2 isn't even entirely certain Hell is where the portal sent them, since they're still working out the kinks.
• Call-Back:
  • Moxxie compliments Blitzo for wearing something "not bad", calling back his truth serum-induced comment about his boss's commonly wearing tacky suits in "Truth Seekers". Blitzo responds with a "f*ck You".
  • Loona tells CHERUB how ballsy they are coming to Hell after the ass kicking they received last time in "CHERUB". She wasn't there for that, but presumably the imps filled her in.
  • The carnie from "Loo Loo Land" shows up as a Face on a Milk Carton during Stolas' and Blitzo's song.
• Coincidental Dodge: When Collin fires a shot at Blitzo while he's walking down the street, oblivious to the fight going on between his employees and the Cherubs, Loona is a little too late to redirect his shot when she grabs his gun. Fortunately for her, Blitzo spots a coin on the ground and bends over to pick it up, and the bullet ends up hitting a random incubus. After Blitzo picks up the coin and resumes his walk, he stumbles on the incubus' corpse and thinks he's just sleeping on the ground.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Stolas has a bandage on his left arm from where Striker stabbed it in "Western Energy".
  • Agent 1's drawing of Blitzo depicts him firing the rocket launcher he used in the battle against the agents last time they met.
  • The Cherubs tell D.H.O.R.K.S. that they're demon-hunting Exorcist angels from the sister show.
  • Blitzo and Fizz appear to be on much friendlier terms since "Oops".
  • A bus pulls up advertising a Robo Fizz blow out sale, with the tagline "I don't want these anymore", which seems to indicate that Mammon is quite bitter over the departure of his former cash cow Fizz.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: The geared-up Cherubs put up a good fight against Moxxie, Millie, and Loona, but they end up with a homefield disadvantage and are soundly defeated before being sent back to Earth.
• Didn't Think This Through: Played for Laughs. C.H.E.R.U.B. (mostly Keenie and Cletus) is quick to agree with the proposal of an alliance when D.H.O.R.K.S. offers them the opportunity for revenge on I.M.P., especially since they would be equipped with some newly-crafted suits of Powered Armor meant to properly combat the imps as well as a way for them to get to Hell through a portal too small for a human adult to go through but just large enough for cherubs like them to access. Once they're suited up, they make their way to the portal to begin the hunt for their quarry... only to realize the armor they're currently wearing makes them too tall and bulky to fit through the portal compared to if they went through it unarmored. This forces them to take off the armor, go through the portal unarmored, and then have to re-arm themselves after having the suits disassembled and sent through the portal piece by piece.
• Distant Duet: The episode starts with Stolas and Blitzo singing about their upcoming Full Moon rendezvous in "When I See Him". While Stolas is psyching himself up for his heart-to-heart with Blitzo (and going into panic mode when his anti-depressants run out), Blitzo tries burying his own messy feelings with the thought of a long night of sex.

  Stolas: When I see him—
  Blitzo: When I see him, I'm gonna do that thing he likes!—
  Stolas: I will change things!—
  Blitzo: No need to change things, I'll just bring the rope and spikes!—
  Stolas: Oh, gods!—
  Blitzo: We've got a nice arrangement, and it's workin' out just fine! We'll keep it light!—
  Stolas: I'LL f*ckING DIE ALONE IF THIS GOES BAD—
  Both: —when I see him tonight!

• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The more innuendo-laden lyrics of "When I See Him" are accompanied by Smash Cuts to viscous, sticky fluids.

  Blitzo: We'll just stick with what makes sense, like him sucking my—
  Stolas: [squeezes a milk carton, causing it to spurt suggestively] —Oh, this is the worst, waiting for the shoe to drop!
  Blitzo: Who needs words when you've got a mouth full of—[squirts a bottle of maple syrup in his mouth]
  Stolas: —Come to your senses!

• Downer Ending: Blitzo and Stolas' side of the story ends pretty depressingly. Stolas finally expresses his true feelings to Blitzo while granting him the Asmodean Crystal so there would be no more obligations or risks. Blitzo first assumes he's messing with him, and then upon realizing he's sincere, lashes out at Stolas for springing something on this like him after so many months of treating him like a plaything. Heartbroken, Stolas breaks down in tears, teleporting Blitzo away just as the latter starts to apologize.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Blitzo was so used to holding onto Stolas' grimore in exchange for sexual favors with him, he's unable to understand the context behind Stolas presenting the Asmodean Crystal.
• Enemy Mine: After Agents 1 and 2 learn that the Cherubs actually have a thing against Blitzo, they equip them with weapons to hunt them down. The trio, particularly Cletus and Keenie, are more than happy for revenge if it allows them back to Heaven.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • When D.H.O.R.K.S. discovers the Cherubs, their immediate assumption is that they're demons allied with I.M.P. and brutally interrogate them. When the Cherubs are shown a poorly drawn picture of Blitz, Collins called Blitz "peanut head" and the agents thought that's Blitz's name showing that they're still incompetent in interrogation and they haven't improved on that skill since last time.
  • When the Cherubs find Blitzo in the Lust Ring, they all assume that he's collecting instruments of torture for his next massacre when he's just looking for toys to enhance his sexual rendezvous with Stolas. Oddly enough, a lot of the kinky things they find can be considered instruments of torture, just not in the way they're thinking. They also think Blitzo will use the instruments on an "innocent human" rather than Stolas. Not only is Stolas not a human, he's not really innocent either.
• Evil Knockoff: Or rather (Nominally) Good Knockoff in this case, given the status of our heroes as the Villain Protagonist. In order to deal with I.M.P., the Cherubs are given a set of Powered Armor from D.H.O.R.K.S. to contend with them, and each one is based on one of the members of I.M.P. In particular, Cletus wears an armor resembling Blitzo, Collin wears an armor that resembles Moxxie, and Keenie wears an armor resembling Millie. Meanwhile, the Loona "armor" is simply a fursuit that Agent One enjoys wearing and doesn't see any usage in battle.
• Exotic Equipment: This is the first episode where the previously only Word of God fact that the avian demon Stolas has a cloaca (or as Blitzo puts it somewhat vulgarly, a "bird puss") is explicitly confirmed, peeling back the curtain a little bit on what kinds of acts he and Blitzo can perform together.
• Fish out of Water: The Cherubs use D.H.O.R.K.S.' Hellgate to track down and kill Blitzo. Having only ever heard of Hell as a place of torment (which is technically true to some extent, at least for Pride), they have no idea what they're getting into. Finding themselves in the Lust Ring, they confuse all of the kinky sex toys they find there as instruments of torture (though they aren't entirely wrong there), that Ozzie's nightclub is an armory, and that Blitzo is on his way to torment someone when really he's just out shopping.
• Flawed Prototype: The D.H.O.R.K.S. have developed a Hellgate, but it can only expand to a diameter of two feet, too small for an adult human to fit through. The Cherubs have to shove their armor through in pieces because it won't fit as a whole set.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • Stolas' alarm clock has a weather update stating the Pride Ring will be "redder than usual somehow".
  • Blitzo's calendar includes reminders for a "daddy-daughter day", to "kill that f*cking guy", a note to "don't forget the bondage kit" when he meets with Stolas on the full moon and several doodles, one of which is a bunch of anthropomorphic penises walking towards Stolas.
  • The bus that pulls up behind Blitzo has an advertisem*nt for a "Robo-Fizz Blowout Sale I don't want them anymore" across it.
• Funny Background Event: As Blitzo is singing his part of "When I See Him" and making himself breakfast, Loona comes out of her room bedraggled, sees what Blitzo is doing and then slams the door to her room without a word.
• Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: The "combat priests" are genetically engineered.
• Getting the Boot: After Blitzo delivers a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Stolas, Stolas tearfully teleports him outside of his house just as Blitzo is about to apologize.
• Hellgate: The D.H.O.R.K.S. have developed a portal to hell, but it's currently only big enough for children and child-sized entities to fit. Even the diminutive cherubs have a struggle getting through it.
• History Repeats: Verosika and Fizzarolli had called out Blitzo for f*cking up their relationships more than once, and it seems like he has done it with Stolas in this episode. Zigzagged in that Blitzo was dating Verosika and best friends with Fizzarolli, while his relationship with Stolas is more complicated.
• Incompetence, Inc.: D.H.O.R.K.S. really haven't gotten any more competent since their last appearance. They thought sending Child Soldiers through the portal to Hell would work, but never tested to see if it actually lead to there which got the kids killed. They're also still very bad at interrogating their prisoners as shown during their first meeting with the Cherubs. They don't even know the difference between demons and angels despite seeing their features. During interrogation with the Cherubs, when Collin called Blitzo "peanuthead", it was meant to be an insult, but the agents believe that is what Blitz's name is, despite them hearing Moxxie call him by name in "Truth Seekers".
• Innocent Innuendo: Inverted. While the Cherubs are in the Lust Ring, they mistake Ozzie's for an armory and think that a giant dild* that Blitzo got for his night with Stolas is a weapon that they intend to use for killing a human.
• Insane Troll Logic: Cletus and Keenie reason that their runaway baby carriage scam to pick people's pockets is helping those people do good deeds and get into Heaven, which they assume will also help them earn their way back into Heaven, ignoring Collin's protests that their thievery is obviously sinful because they have to eat somehow.
• Jerkass Realization: When Stolas's only reaction to Blitzo unleashing his frustrations on him is to break down in tears, Blitzo tries to apologize, though sadly Stolas had heard enough and teleports Blitzo out of his house before Blitzo can finish his sentence.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: After a solid asskicking, the Cherubs try to flee through the portal. Loona stops them briefly to grab the device they were using to track Blitzo, then chucks them through the portal empty-handed.
• Meal Ticket: Loona outright refers to Stolas in this manner, and IMP's worrying that Stolas is losing interest in Blitzo (costing them the business) causes them to tail him and spot C.H.E.R.U.B. tailing Blitzo in the process.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Agents 1 and 2 have received extra funding for D.H.O.R.K.S. since they provided evidence of demon activity, allow them to be armed to the teeth with anti-demon weaponry. They also have a portal that can take them straight to Hell, though they have to fix it so it can fit more than just children.
• Metaphorically True: It is implied that C.H.E.R.U.B. was taught that Hell is a place of eternal torment and torture. Since their first time in Hell takes place in the Lust Ring, the idea of "torture" is technically correct except, instead of the classically biblical fire, brimstone and pain (though it shows those aren't entirely off the table), there are all of the kinky sex toys and devices they witness.
• Mundane Utility: Loona uses her Human Disguise to shrink herself slightly so she can better hide behind a pillar while under fire.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Blitzo has this realization when he sees how much he had upset Stolas after his "The Reason You Suck" Speech and tries to apologize to him before Stolas teleports him outside of his house.
• My God, You Are Serious!: At first, Blitzo believes that Stolas is playing a new form of roleplay for their sex session after the latter gives him the Asmodean Crystal. But as soon as Stolas makes perfectly clear that he’s sincere this time, Blitzo doesn’t take it so well at all since his confession is so sudden.
• Our Doors Are Different: Fizzarolli's shop door is a pair of giant mechanical feathered wings that swing open to reveal a heart-shaped entrance, with a curtain that rises out of the way.
• Please, I Will Do Anything!: Said by Blitzo nearly word for word when he thinks Stolas is taking the grimoire back for good and effectively shuttering I.M.P. in the process - he outright begs Stolas to let him keep using the book.
• Pixellation: Most of the sex toys are blurred with mosaics, since there's only so much that Spindlehorse can get away with showing on Youtube.
• Poor Communication Kills: Played with in that both Blitzo and Stolas say exactly what they think, it's just full of pain and frustration and ends badly regardless. Blitzo at first assumes Stolas doesn't want him anymore after asking for the book back, then thinks the owl is messing with him when he professes his feelings and Stolas walks away, expressing hurt that Blitzo would doubt him. Incensed by this, Blitzo lashes out at Stolas for springing this on him after months of making Blitzo feel like his personal plaything, for not even giving him time to think after everything Stolas has put him through, calling him a rich, pompous asshole. Stolas breaks down in tears, and Blitzo tries to apologize, but Stolas teleports him away before he can.
• Powered Armor: Part of the D.H.O.R.K.S.' upgraded arsenal includes a series of hi-tech battle armors modelled after the individual members of I.M.P and their respective fighting styles. While the Cherubs put up a good fight with them, their inexperience means they're ultimately no match for the real deals.
• Pretender Diss: Millie disses Keenie after damaging her armor, which is an Evil Knockoff of her.

  Millie: (To Keenie after breaking off her arm blades) Sorry, hon! You can play as me, but that don't mean you're anywhere close!

• Reality Has No Soundtrack: The ending credits have no music accompanying them.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Played for Drama. After Stolas tries to end things, Blitzo lashes out and starts screaming at Stolas. Due to the almost Annie Graham-level intensity and anger of the speech, it's pretty much also Played for Horror.:

  Stolas: You needn't say anything. I have wanted you for so long...the fact that you couldn't believe that I might have these feelings about you, that your first instinct is that it's always...about sex...that's enough to know what this is.
  Blitzo: What? f*ck YOU, Stolas! You spring this "feelings" bullsh*t on me, are you f*ckING KIDDING!? CAN I GET A f*ckING MINUTE TO THINK AFTER EVERYTHING YOU PUT ME THROUGH, YOU POMPOUS, RICH ASSHOLE!? TREAT ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR LITTLE BUTLER IMPS!? YOU CAN'T JUST DISMISS ME LIKE THAT! I MEAN, YOU ROYAL f*ckS THINK YOU CAN DO THIS EVERY TIME, THAT YOU CAN JUST PLAY WITH OUR FEELINGS BECAUSE WE'RE SMALLER AND NOT AS IMPORTANT! WELL I'M NOT LETTING YOU, BITCH! LET'S GO!

• Reformed, but Rejected: Stolas finally admits to Blitzo that he does genuinely love him... but at this point, Blitzo is so burnt out over the flip-flopping of how he feels about their relationship that he rejects Stolas' confession.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: After hearing about Stolas giving Blitzo more opportunities to skip their monthly sex sessions, Loona thinks it's because Stolas wants out of the relationship because he's grown bored of Blitzo as a plaything. While she's wrong about the motive, she is right in that Stolas wants "out" of their relationship... more specifically, their transactional relationship, as Stolas has come to realize just how toxic it is, and wants to end it so he and Blitzo can form a regular relationship due to genuinely loving Blitzo.
• Rule of Three: While in Hell, Cletus insists twice on waiting until the right moment to attack Blitzo. The moment he and his fellow Cherubs see him packing a giant sex toy, thinking it's a torture device on a potential victim, he declares that this is the "moment".
• Screaming at Squick: The Cherubs are horrified after spotting the Dragon Driller sex toy, mistaking it for a torture weapon that Blitzo will use on an "innocent" person.
• Shadow Discretion Shot: When Blitzo shows off the giant dild* he got from Fizzarolli to Stolas, the dild*'s silhouette is all that is shown.
• Shaking the Rump: Loona does this to taunt Cletus as she talks about how gutsy they coming to hell after getting their asses handed to them last time they fought I.M.P. Although she meant it as a mocking gesture, it’s shown from a rather suggestive angle.
• Sheet of Glass: In the midst of the Cherubs' runaway stroller scam, two guys are shown carrying a pane of glass with one of them hoping that the glass won't break as an obvious setup for the classic bit. Instead of crashing right through the middle of the glass per how the gag is usually done, however, the stroller hits one of the guys carrying the glass, causing him to drop his side and shatter the pane into shards. Said broken shards impale both men with the one left standing who tempted fate screaming in pain that the glass broke.
• Silent Credits: The Downer Ending is topped off with no music during the credits.
• Sizeshifter: The Dragon Driller is so comically large that Fizz hauls it out of the warehouse with a forklift, but he's then able to shrink it down to normal dild* size so Blitzo can fit it in his bag of sex toys.
• Skyward Scream: Blitzo gives one when he sees that his "Reason You Suck" Speech has brought Stolas to tears, and that unfortunately, it's too late to do anything about it, as Stolas has already used his magick to teleport Blitzo out of his manor. Blitzo screams in frustration, with the camera panning upwards as he does to end the episode, complete with an Atomic F-Bomb.

  Blitzo: What... the... FUUUUUUUCK!

• Smells Sexy: The candles that Blitzo buys for his night for Stolas are described as "smelling like horny".
• Soft Water: Loona knocks down a building so its rooftop pool will fall to ground level and land where Moxxie and Millie are going to be. Keenie isn't so lucky since Moxxie kicks her so she'll hit the street, but she survives.
• Spanner in the Works: Loona tells Blitzo that Stolas may get bored of him since they haven't interacted often while he has the grimoire longer than usual. When Stolas later asks to finally sever their transactional relationship for a more serious one, Blitzo first feels confused about Stolas' intentions, then lashes out.
• Spider People: The Lust Ring candle shop clerk is a furry, multi-armed creature with a candle on his head who vaguely resembles a spider (the candle on his head also implies that he might be a Baphomet hybrid). The one running the bondage shop takes it further by just being a straight-up Giant Spider.
• Status Quo Is God: Deconstructed and Played for Drama. Blitzo sees nothing wrong with keeping his current situation with Stolas entirely as it is, but he's also clearly doing it to avoid having to confront any of the complicated feelings he has about the goetic prince. Meanwhile, Stolas is fully prepared to shatter said status quo by freeing Blitzo from their agreement, but also retains hope that somehow it will all work out and Blitzo will remain at his side not as his plaything, but his paramour. The status quo is eventually broken, but it doesn't go well for either party.
• Stealth Escort Mission: I.M.P following Blitzo evolves into this as they wind up protecting him from C.H.E.R.U.B. to make sure he gets where he's going. Blitzo remains largely oblivious to this, either missing attacks meant for him or shrugging off the chaos going on in the vicinity.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Loona assumes that Stolas giving Blitzo excuses not to have sex is a passive-aggressive way of spending less time with him. She demonstrates this by disappearing the moment Blitzo turns his back and then calling him to finish her point.
• Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: "When I See Him" seems like it's going to rhyme Blitzo's line "Can't wait to lose ourselves in nasty sex and make that bird squawk" with "We'll just stick with what makes sense, like him sucking my—" before Stolas abruptly cuts back in.
• Tail Slap: After defeating the Cherubs, Loona throws them — now out of their power armors — through the portal back to Earth by swatting them away with her tail.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Cletus and Keenie have been a little bitter after being locked out of Heaven and have been trying to find ways to get back. Unfortunately, they have been fabricating good deeds for mortals to respond to while stealing their money. Collin seems to be the Only Sane Man in the group that sees this as hypocritical or sinful, but is too meek to stand up to them.
• Too Much Information: Moxxie outright says this when Blitzo goes into very specific detail on how he will please Stolas.
• Totem Pole Trench: The Cherubs' "runaway stroller" scam involves Collin and Keenie disguising themselves this way. Collin complains that his face is at crotch height while Keenie is hugging their mark.
• Tracking Device: The D.H.O.R.K.S. have devised a means to accurately track Blitzo, even in Hell, though it's not explained how they managed this. Unfortunately for them, Loona steals the device from the Cherubs before sending them back to Earth.
• Uniformity Exception: The three Cherubs are given mechanized battle suits as they venture into Hell. Agent 1 dons a fursuit that resembles a cartoonish exaggeration of Loona, but Agent 2 stops him from trying to join the mission. He's still in it when the Cherubs return, with Agent 2 having literally leashed him in the interim.
• Visual Innuendo:
  • During the episode's opening musical number, there's a moment when Blitzo sounds like he's going to say "co*ck" only for his moment to be interrupted by Stolas squeezing a carton of milk.
  • During the scene that Blitzo is buying candles for his night with Stolas, one of the candles looks subtly phallic. Doesn't help that they "smell like horny."
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: The episode begins with Stolas stress vomiting at the thought of confronting Blitzo.
• Wham Episode: Stolas gives Blitzo the Asmodean Crystal that will allow I.M.P. to travel to Earth without the use of the grimoire, but the relationship between the two of them disintegrates when Stolas' confession causes a terrible argument.
• Wham Line:

  Stolas: Do you have my book, Blitzo? [...] I need it back... permanently.

• Wham Shot: Right as the Cherubs are getting ready to attack Blitzo, Cletus is suddnely blindsided by Millie, revealing that she, Loona and Moxxie had been trailing Blitzo the whole time.
• With Catlike Tread: Moxxie calls out the Cherubs for not being covert enough in Hell to attack Blitzo, while Loona states that they were following him so he doesn't mess things up with Stolas. A Lust Ring couple spots their stakeout at Ozzie's earlier and sees it as a form of voyeurism.