Honestly, I kind of want Stella to die? Hear me out. She's been such a waste and terribly uninteresting villain in season 2, and the plans Viv has for her in season 3 don't fill me with any hope. I don't want a Beatrice Horseman backstory for Stella; I just want her current character to be expanded on. Just a conversation with her daughter, or anyone for that matter, that doesn't have to relate to how much she hates Stolas (I get it girl, I hate him too lmao).
Ah, the Chloe Bourgeois Effect, back with a vengeance I see. I don’t know if you watched a show called Miraculous, but there’s a similar character that was done dirty by the writers named Chloe. She’s basically the Stella of the show, and the creator fucking hates her with a passion. Why? No one knows for sure, some think she’s based on an old bully which makes sense, but that’s merely speculation. However, her writing got so bad and so cartoonishly evil for a civilian character, that many of her fans or ‘Stans’ (fucking hate that word with a passion) as some people called them, began to just hope she’d be put on a bus and sent off to part unknown. Thing is the creator decided to go Scorched Earth before he finally did so, devoting a good chunk of the fifth season shitting on a bratty 14 year old, and here’s the kicker, only to decide to bring her back next season.
Yeah, Stella would be better off gone, if only because she’s not that fun with how they’re handling her. And we’d be for it, because, that’s less painful than more episodes for the writers to shit on her. However, never underestimate how much damage someone can do if motivated enough while getting to that point. Yeah, it would be great if Stella just written out, but I assure you, there’s a great chance Viv will drag her down to a place below hell before she does so, because how dare people want something more out of her. And even she might bring her back. Because where will the drama come from if not Stella? we can’t have the fujo ship be too obviously the worst, that might make us have uncomfortable conversation.
I don't know why Viv thinks that when people ask for more depth on a certain character, that means we want a tragic backstory for them. Usually you want a good read on what your character is like in the present, and then you go into backstory territory for an explanation on why their personality is the way it is; what molded them to be the person they are today. Stella is a one-dimensional prop currently, so any sort of character you give to her in the past is just pointless.
I know they’ll do the daddy issues because I think everyone on that crew has them, and this is their therapy, which sucks, but her back story is super easy to write, you just need to have some form of plan and ask how you actually get to point B from point A: She was neglected as a kid as Andre was the favored and more talented child. This was not the tragedy that made Stella the Stella we know. Why? Her Mother/Father, tacitly mind you since they don’t give a shit, and even herself always kept that spark of hope alive that once she married Stolas, her life will be super loving and comforting, and she’s going to make sure her 50 children are all loved equally, and it’s just going to be great. (Have a caring butler try to temper her expectations because he’s been around the block, these rarely end happily).
Wedding day: Stella is super excited, Stolas is visibly checked out. Everything goes off without a hitch ceremony wise. Then comes the wedding night. Stella, like mentioned in Circus does all the work, because she has to, because Stolas refuses to put forth effort. Once he’s finished, that’s it for the night, he tells her that he can’t do it anymore for the night and rolls over once she’s off. She is left unsatisfied though. She tries to make conversation, thinking that he’s just nervous. When he finally turns over to ask her to let him sleep, she is destroyed.
He doesn’t look at his wife with affection or disdain, he instead looks at her with complete and utter indifference, before rolling away from her and going to sleep, because he’s Stolas. He doesn’t really care for her, so why should he try really? She’s not exciting or new, she’s just an obligation. Someone that he’s saddled with. Her hopes of a loving husband? Shattered. Her dreams of have 50 or even 3 children? Dashed. She knows once she lays the first egg that’s it. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, and it turns out that she’s not married to Stolas in the emotional sense that women crave, she’s stuck with him.
THIS is the tragedy that turns Stella into Stella. She learns that hopes are worthless and that you need to focus on reality. So, she takes the butlers advice and tempers her expectations to the point where no one disappoint her, only pleasantly surprise her. (This does not apply to Octavia)
It only gets worse, once she has to live with the guy. Why does she fucking hate Stolas? She’s married to Stolas, a being that runs on pure emotion and fancy. She hates him because of his impulsiveness, and the messes said flaw causes, that she needs to clean up in the background less this moron‘s actions hurt her, or worse, their daughter. Sure, when she was born, they were able to get over it for a time, but then Stolas as always, got bored. Parties? She’s the one that has to rub elbows and makes sure that their little family is still in good standing, while making sure Octavia can do the same, while Stolas is filling her head with hopes and dreams Stella
knows ain’t happening, because they can’t happen, because things are expected from you, and if you refuse to carry them out, the family will destroy you, and that doesn’t always mean you die. She has to slave to make sure their Household and Offices and Legions are running Smoothly, while Stolas drowns in fantasy.
(She can come off as shrewd and stern with Octavia, but if you have them talk during the divorce, she can tell her that she’s just trying to make sure Octavia is ready for the future, because She’s a royal, she can’t do whatever she wants, she can’t love someone she wants to love, because if she tries, the family will do everything they can to make her afterlife a real Hell. Have STELLA be the one to reveal to Octavia why this is all happening and the nature of their marriage. Have her assure her that they’ve always loved her, even if they never loved each other, and DON’T have it be manipulation. Have this be the moment Octavia knows who the actual parent is, and who the man-child that never really grew up is.)
When BLitzo happens, and Stella knows that WHEN, not if, this gets bad, that’s it for Stolas, her and most importantly, Octavia. So what’s she to do? Stolas at this point is a rotting arm. it’s time to amputate. If he can’t get his shit together, his brains get blown out by Striker the only one willing to kill a royal, and she’ll deal with the aftermath as she always has. Octavia is upset her daddy dies? Well, she’s alive to be upset.
Hell, have her dress down Blitzo and CO if they figure out she called the hit. Because where do they get the leg to stand on? “I did call the hit. What’s your point? Suddenly assassination is bad, just because someone you sleep with is in the crosshairs? Tell me, if you never indulged my husband, and I offered you a hefty sum, how fast would you put a bullet in him?”
Then if you need a fun pure evil villain that’s fun, oh, look at that, Andre is right there! And you have two factions that fucking hate him now Stella and Blitzo’s group.
There I shat that out in 10 min, which is apparently longer than anyone else on the crew was willing to do when thinking this through, and it keeps everything from season 1 intact with Stella being pissed at Stolas’s cheating, to wanting him dead and buried. She’s still bitter, she’s hateful towards her husband, but now we know why, and she actually has a goal that makes sense. (God, I can only imagine how the circus scene would have went with this set up. Then again
anything would have been better than what we got)
Also, I just believe it's some sort of curse that when a character gets more screen time in Helluva Boss, the worst their character becomes. The longer they stay on screen, the more I hate them it seems.
I feel your pain beyond belief, but that’s what happens when people that can’t write are given no pushback. I was originally exited to hear that Verosika was coming back, because despite the bitchy attitude, I thought she had some potential as a character and I wanted to know more about her and Blitzo’s relationship. Then I saw her on stage with Stolas and thought ‘Fuck me’ Because that wasn’t a recipe for disaster. Then I watched Apology Tour. I both love (very, very select parts mind you) and despise that episode.
How the fuck did no-one read the script and say to anyone else: ‘This Party Concept is fucking stupid, inadvertently makes every character un-fucking-bearable, and more importantly, dilutes any message we are trying to get across, because WTF is this idea? They could have gotten a group of small intimate characters he can apologize to after his fight with Stolas, but that’s Not possible since they solved Fizz in afternoon and it’s too soon to use Barb again I guess.
So, why not just give us the backstory of Blitzo and Verosika? Keep the Stolas shit at the start minus the party, because fuck the party, I cannot state that enough. You can have a montage of half assed apologies to his various murder victims, the cherubs and DHORKS, and then have him see something that reminds him of Verosika. He doesn’t initially want to apologize to her, but then remembers his fight with Stolas and says fuck it I’ll do it anyway, because fuck him.
Episode is then: Present day journey to Lust so he can apologize to her, wondering what he‘s even apologizing for. This is interwoven with Flashbacks to how they met, how they became a couple, how the relationship was, either their first kiss or night they took the picture that he has on his phone, and then the inevitable heartbreak.
This ends with an actual sincere apology, and maybe a twinge of regret in his voice for throwing what they had away, and not the half assed one that we got. From there he could realize that not only that he needs to be better with his interpersonal relationships, and not actively sabotage them, but also, he really does owe Stolas jack in terms of apologies.
You could still, and should IMO, keep the back story of ‘good relationship, she tells him she loves him, and then he fucks her over very willingly. for doing so’ Thus, giving context to his Verosika hallucination everyone fucking ignores from Truth Seekers because Stolas would be painted in a very bad light if we pay attention to that.
Oh look at that, I shat that out in 5 minutes!
I apologize for the wall of text.
