Dirty Deeds

Helluva Boss

2019-

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Pros: Animation, Humor, Voice Acting, Character Design…

Cons: …With One Exception, Arguably Too Dark in Humor at Times

       Being a fan of the Hazbin Hotel pilot, I obviously checked out its spin-off.  Interestingly the short premiered on YouTube the same day as a teaser video for The Rise of Skywalker and got more views!  I know that there are confounding factors to this, like the number of people who watched the Star Wars video through other websites, but that’s not too shabby for an independent animation studio.

       This pilot focuses on a struggling small business of contract killers called the Immediate Murder Professionals.  Its members mostly consist of imps led by the goofy Blitzo (Brandon Rogers).  His employees are Moxxie (Richard Steven Horvitz), Millie, and Loona (Erica Lindbeck).  Their specialty is performing hits in the living realm using a grimoire stolen by Blitzo from wealthy demon Prince Stolas (Brock Baker).  This series focuses more on comedy than Hazbin does, and its humor is noticeably stronger, taking advantage of its premise to show differing personalities bouncing off each other.  The voice acting also enhances this with appropriately snappy line reads.  Fair warning, the show is very bawdy, and there’s brief strawman.

         As with Hazbin Hotel, I love the animation and art style.  The character designs are creative and they generally fit.  Blitzo is quirky-looking, Moxxie looks appropriately staid, Loona and Millie are punk-like, and Stolas looks creepy and elitist.  One exception is Eddie (Horvitz), who’s drawn as disproportionately grotesque for reasons I’ll go into.  I do, however, have a problem with the ancient practice of depicting inherently corrupt forms (such as demons and dragons) as too genuinely appealing.  This is more of a general pet peeve of mine in fiction.  All the IMPs have a dominant red-black-white motif, but maybe Loona's more restrained use of red could have meaning.

       One warning is that this show is not above very dark humor.  There’s a line I draw on these things, but I’ve recently realized it has its place.  I’ve always presumed that enjoyment of it was the result of a twisted lack of earnest mistaken for sophistication, but I’ve heard about how it can be cope for haunted individuals.  At one point Loona vents her frustrations by punting a baby (granted, it’s a hellbaby), and Eddie is a child that’s brutally murdered by the I.M.P.’s.  Still, he is purposely written to be vaguely unlikable for the purpose of mitigating the impact of his death.  It also helps that the scene is rife with well-executed humor involving inappropriate juxtapositions.  I tend not to like things that go this far, but it helps that pure humor is the motivation.  What’s really offensive is when this is done under dubious pretext of moralism.  Such deceits can corrupt one’s mind to the point one believes that any thought criminal deserves suffering and death, but I'm not naming any namesDrag Me to Hell.  It’s also fortunate that the scene doesn’t emphasize suffering. It’s impressive that something can make me laugh and feel bad about it, because I often have a low tolerance for it.  Also, added context of a confirmed afterlife as seriously mitigates the tragedy.  As many puerile attempts at theodicy fail to realize, the IMPs might be forgivien for killing innocents.  It's dark humor done right.

       And now here's an update in light of having seen the first two episodes, which involved deleting some rather embarrassing headcanons I got from the pilot.  While Hazbin focused more on drama, I believed Helluva was going to be the pure comedy.  This was reflected by the latter's stronger, more confident humor.  In fact, I was afraid they were going to Plot a Perfectly Good Comedy.  It's usually a pet peeve when a comedy works by showing the characters' being their ridiculous selves and then derails that with a tedious, formulaic sentiment, but Helluva Boss manages to do it well.  A lot of that success come from the nature of the characters, which are far more balanced and developed this time around.

      Blitzo is a lower-class imp who wants respect and a better life for himself and those whom he identifies as his family.  His past, involving a rocky relationship with his family and an embarrassing stint as a circus clown, influence his motivation.  In fact, he insists on the "o" in his name being silent, since that's much like a clown's name.  His background is also reflected by his apparent lack of formal education; his functional illiteracy often comes to light despite his better efforts.  However, he seems to have a good heart, having adopted a troubled hellhound (Loona) and doting on her as a father would.  He even goes so far as to endure sexual abuse from Stolas in order to procure the grimoire for the well-being of his "family."

      Loona, despite coming off as apathetic and lazy, is far more balanced.  While still a bit surly, she actually does help around the workplace.  She gives Moxxie (now established to be the conscience of the group), encouragement in performing his murderous deeds, although she betrays misgivings with a quick facial expression.  She's also reliable enough to be entrusted with the grimoire, I.M.P.'s most crucial asset.  Perhaps she displays more loyalty to Blitzo in the context of dealing with Stolas because she appreciates what he goes though for her.   Millie is now voiced by Vivian Nixon, and quite frankly I don't care for the new voice; the Southern accent is a bit over-the-top.

      Even Stolas (now voiced by Bryce Pinkham) is given some sympathetic character development (and even a great leitmotif).  He is shown to deeply love his teenage daughter Octavia (very well voiced by Barrett Wilbert Weed, with Juliana Sada as a small child), but his sexual appetite and desire for Blitzo has threatened the stability of his marriage with Stella (Georgina Leahy).  While Octavia acts stoically bitter, her trauma is eventually revealed to Stolas in a raw, poignant scene.  In spite of a rather disturbing pedophilic/incestuous ship going around in the fandom, Octavia is still a frightened, confused child.  Stolas realizes that he not only traumatized his daughter, but he triggered her core fear: being abandoned by her parents.  It's not everyday you see a show about a demon who learns the importance of unchosen family obligations.  Between this and the suggested redemption arc of an exploited and tragically nymphomaniacal sex worker, no wonder the Woke want to cannibalize Viv. 

       While the seductive depiction of Hell is theologically troubling, it can be interpreted as an effective allegory for any struggling underclass.  Hell itself is never romanticized, and even Blitzo's attempt at social respectability is done through it's rules (murder).  As many puerile attempts at theodicy conveniently ignore, homicide has completely different implications from the point of view of a perpetrator who literally lives in the afterlife. As far as the characters are concerned, they are merely balancing those born luckier than they are (the imps are hellborn).  Blitzo even expresses a lack of sympathy when Miss Mayberry (Mara Wilson) complains about her own damnation.  The more sympathetic treatment of the characters in the show proper makes this theme more apparent.  Unfortunately, the humor isn't quite as strong as it was in the pilot.  A few good songs also help.

      Overall, Helluva Boss is one of most promising works out today, and it makes me eager to see more of these characters in their world.  Of course when C.H.E.R.U.B turns out to be a bunch of hypocritical strawmen, that would be sadly predictable.  Other voices include Jayden Libran, Vivienne Medrano, Maxwell Atoms, Jinkx Monsoon, Don Darryl Rivera, and Alex Brightman.