Recap / Helluva Boss S1E5 "The Harvest Moon Festival"

Blitzo: If you promise this isn’t some "fuck fest" invite, it does sound like it could be a blast-and-a-half. Plus, it’s not like we can do jack shit without your book, anyway.
Stolas: Aww, I’m sowwy your clients will have to wait.
Blitzo: Oh, fuck my clients!

When Stolas invites the members of I.M.P to the Harvest Moon Festival, things sure do happen - specifically, everything going south when Moxxie finds a hotshot cowboy named Striker who steals the spotlight from him.

---

Tropes for this episode include...

• All There in the Script:
  • As revealed in a couple of tweets, some of the background imps that make up the crowd folk actually have names.
  • Another tweet revealed that Striker's Hellish Horse is named Bombproof.
• Always Someone Better: Striker is this to Moxxie, and doesn't let him forget it. While Moxxie is Weak, but Skilled, Striker is skilled and has the physical strength to back it up. When Moxxie consoles himself by saying at least he's better at other things, like singing, Striker pulls out a guitar that moment to sing about how great he is and how much Moxxie sucks.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Striker considers killing Moxxie and Millie when he has them in his clutches, but decides they'd be better leverage against Blitzo alive. Plus, he considers them Not Worth Killing.
• Ascended Fridge Horror: Because some Exorcists might leave their weapons behind during exterminations, there has been a lot of discussion of how dangerous a demon with an angelic weapon could be and how much damage they might do. This gets brought up in this episode when it's revealed that Striker has a rifle that's an angelic weapon, and it's one of the few things that can kill demon royalty.
• Assassin Outclassin': Thanks to the interference by I.M.P, Striker fails to kill Stolas, and even has the crap beaten out of him. He probably would've been killed or captured by Blitzo and Moxxie had Loona not accidentally slammed the door in Moxxie's face.
• As You Know: Stolas reminds Blitzo, and the audience by extension, that the Ars Goetia grimoire that contains the portal spell to Earth is never meant to be lent out to lower class creatures such as imps like Blitzo. The main reason why he continues to borrow it for I.M.P is because of the agreement they have at the start of the series. As Blitzo words it to Striker later on, it's a "transactional fucking".
• Attack Its Weak Point: Striker tells Moxxie the demon pigs have a carapace that deflects bullets, requiring him to stab them in one specific spot. Moxxie lassoes one and jumps on its’ back effortlessly, but misses, giving Striker a chance to upstage him in front of his in-laws.
• Back Stab:
  • Millie gets Striker to stop choking Moxxie with a surprise knife to the back. He even screams in pain as she does.
  • When Striker holds a knife up to Blitzo's back with his tail, Blitzo acknowledges it as a cliche.
• Bait-and-Switch: When Millie's parents suggest the boys enter the Pain Games to see who is the "roughest, toughest bastard in Wrath," Millie grouses that she wishes she could play. The viewer might be forgiven for assuming it's due to sexism, but it's actually the opposite: Millie has been banned for life due to going overboard slaughtering the competition each year, while her sister Sallie May still gets to compete.
• Bear Trap: Millie gets her leg caught in a bear trap after she and Moxxie are thrown into a cellar by Striker. While her conveniently landing on it is humorous at best, the context and the fact she was bleeding also makes it Played for Drama.
• Bittersweet Ending: Moxxie finally begins to earn the respect of Millie's parents, but Striker escapes and still intends to collect the hit on Stolas, with it being revealed that his own wife ordered the hit for cheating on her with Blitzo.
• Blinded by Rage: Seeing Moxxie being choked by Striker made Millie savagely attack Striker, including with a knife to the back. However, her anger clouded her ability, as Striker was still able to get the upper hand because Millie got sloppy and resorted to just stabbing over and over.
• Boomerang Bigot: Striker makes a few comments that imply that he hates most imps despite being one himself, even giving Blitzo a speech with You Are a Credit to Your Race elements when trying to recruit him.
• Brick Joke:
  • Millie's Pa tells Moxxie that a takes a "real man" to kill a hellish beast with his bare hands, rather than a gun, which Moxxie is skilled at more. When Striker has Moxxie try and kill a pig, Moxxie reaches for his gun, but is stopped, being told to use a knife instead. Later, while he and Millie are trapped at the basement thanks to Striker, she assures him that he has a different kind of strength that he's good at that doesn't involve hands. It takes Mox a moment, and his wife's annoyed face, to remind him that he's still a gunman... And that he still has his pistol on him the whole time.
  • Stolas frequently calls Blitzo by his pet name "Blitzy", even singling him out from the participants and audience during the Pain Games, much to the imp's annoyance and embarrassment.
    Stolas: The winners are…Striker, and my darling Blitzy!
    Blitzo: Just say my name right, fucking dick!
    • Since Striker keeps hearing that name, he throws it back at Blitzo during his escape near the end of the episode.
      Striker: Maybe you'll get me next time, "Blitzy".
• Call-Back: The time that I.M.P tried to be bodyguards for Stolas in "Loo Loo Land" is referenced early on by Blitzo. He claims they did it badly and, based on the fire caused in the end of that episode, he may not be far off.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Moxxie calls Millie's parents out for giving her a hard time for getting hurt by Striker, who they hired. Millie's father actually seems to acknowledge it.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: Loona at first ignores Blitzo's attempt to whistle for her help against Striker, and when she does show up...
• Chekhov's Classroom: At the beginning, Moxxie tries and fails to impress his in-laws by spouting angelic weapon trivia. Later, he discovers an angelic rifle in Striker's possession and correctly deduces that he plans on killing Stolas with it.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Striker has Moxxie and Millie locked in the cellar and seems like he'll get away with assassinating Prince Stolas, Moxxie mournfully tells Millie he can't break through the cellar door to stop him since he's not strong enough. Millie tries to give him a pep talk by assuring him he can use what he's good at, only for Moxxie to think she's saying he's not good with his hands.
  Millie: Not with your hands, baby. Use what you're good at.
  Moxxie: I'm not good with my hands?
  Millie: [Death Glare]
  Moxxie: [sheepishly] Oh! Right...
• Competition Freak: Millie is revealed to be banned from the Pain Games because she tends to go overboard. The last competition ended in fifteen funerals, nine of which Millie caused. She also apparently got very roughed up catching the bouquet at her brother's wedding... but she "caught that fucking bouquet, and it was fucking Worth It".
• Continuity Nod: In "Murder Family", Stolas had Blitzo agreed to a deal that allows the imp unlimited use of the grimoire after a monthly night of intimacy, following whatever duties the owl needs to do with the book. At the start of this episode, Stolas apologizes for making their session early since he needed to use the grimoire for the moon itself during the festival.
• Contrived Coincidence: Striker just happens to be hired by Millie's parents as his cover for the hit job instead of one of the many other farmsteads that were part of the festival. If he wasn't, he could've easily killed Stolas as I.M.P would not be nearby. Though it's revealed that they lost a farmhand to a fire tornado the week before, making it likely that they had the opening he needed to get hired quick.
• Conveniently Timed Distraction: When Blitzo and Moxxie have Striker in a corner at gunpoint, Loona accidentally whacks Moxxie in the face with a door when she finally answers Blitzo's call. With Blitzo distracted, Striker disarms him and escapes through a window.
• Creator Cameo: The imp that Striker kicks during his song is the impsona of one of the show's crew as revealed in a tweet.
• Curse Cut Short: During a mud wrestling match, a shark does an elbow drop on Moxxie from atop the fence. Moxxie screams "MOTHERFU-!" before the shot Smash Cuts to Wally and Stolas back onstage.
• Darkest Hour: Striker almost suffocates Moxxie in a very cruel and sadistic way that is not Played for Laughs, and is thoroughly savaged by Millie who is Blinded by Rage, but manages to gash open and break her arm before throwing them both in a cellar, where Millie's leg gets caught in a Bear Trap. He then gloats that he's only keeping them alive to use as leverage against their boss, and because he considers them Not Worth Killing. There, Moxxie almost gives up, before Millie reasures him that You Are Better Than You Think You Are.
• A Deadly Affair: Stolas still having sex with Blitzo has angered Stella to the point that she has put a hit out on him.
• Didn't See That Coming: Blitzo and Strike tie for first by the end of the Pain Games, something that Wally claims has never happened before.
• Doesn't Like Guns: This view is held by Millie's family and possibly inhabitants of the Wrath Ring in general, not for any moral reasons, but because they prefer to kill hell-beasts with their bare hands.
• Epic Fail: When cornered by Striker, Blitzo whistles to summon Loona. Her ears perk up, but she ignores it to keep looking down at her phone. Loona does eventually show up, only to whack Moxxie in the face with a door when she does, allowing Striker to escape.
• Everyone Has Standards: Blitzo is so impressed by Striker's performance all episode, that he invites him to work for I.M.P. Blitzo later rescinds the offer after learning that Striker plots to kill Stolas, since the owl allows Blitzo to borrow the grimoire so his team can travel to Earth.
• Fade Around the Eyes: The episode ends with Striker saying "I'll get him next time" while spinning a revolver and turning off a bedside light, showing just his glowing yellow eyes in the darkness before fading to black.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Both Moxxie and Striker never considered that Moxxie himself still had his pistol in his possession, which proved useful in escaping the basement that Striker trapped him and Millie in, but would have been useful in their initial fight. Millie is especially annoyed when he realizes this after the fact.
  • The end of the episode reveals that the one who hired Striker to kill Stolas is Stella. Despite Stella screaming into her phone just a few feet away and giving him a Death Glare, Stolas doesn't seem to notice. Octavia also doesn't notice, but it's justified because she had on headphones with her music turned way up and couldn't hear anything else. It's also implied that the two are so used to Stella screaming that they tend to just tune her out.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: Usually, the violence in Helluva Boss is very cartoony and Played for Laughs. But after Striker almost suffocates Moxxie, the camera shows a close-up of Millie stabbing him in the back and side again and again with animalistic fury, before Striker manages to gash open her forearm, exposing her broken bone. It's as disturbing as it sounds, and shows how high the stakes have gotten.
• Fantastic Racism: The episode makes several acknowledgements that there seems to be a class-divide between imps and other demons, something that was hinted at in previous episodes. The part of the Wrath Ring they visit — a country-setting where Hell's agriculture is done — seems to be almost completely populated by imps. Various demons like Stolas make Innocently Insensitive remarks about imps and it is implied by Striker and Millie's parents that imps that try to go freelance outside of farming and make something for themselves like I.M.P suffer an uphill battle because of their race.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Wrath Ring (at least the part we see) is based on a combination of the Wild West and the Southern US.
• Filth: Stolas can be seen reading a book titled "Imps in the Sheets" at the end of the episode.
• Forced Friendly Fire: When Striker realizes that Blitzo and Moxxie have him cornered, he forces the former to fire at the latter.
• Forgot About His Powers: Moxxie completely forgot to use his gun in his initial fight with Striker. He lampshades this later when he uses it to shoot through the basement door.
• Foreshadowing: Throughout the Pain Games, Moxxie kept getting outclassed by the other contestants while Striker and Blitzo are the winners going for a tiebreaker. This is reflected in the fight to stop Stolas' assassination, in where Blitzo is the only combatant among the I.M.P trio that can take on Striker in single combat.
• Funny Background Event: While Blitzo and Striker are mud wrestling, Stolas can be seen leaning forward excitedly and fanning himself while Wally looks at him quizzically and with a bit of concern.
• Given Name Reveal: Downplayed as no one makes a big deal about it, but Millie's full name is revealed to be Mildred. It's mainly what her parents call her when she's not present or when they're stern with her.
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Millie and her sister Sallie May seem to have this dynamic. Every second she's on screen, Sallie May seems to get a kick out of heckling her sister Millie, earning a Death Glare from the other. Sallie even taunts Millie by asking "how pissed would [she] be" if she bet that Moxxie died during the Pain Games.
• Good Is Bad And Bad Is Good: Stolas' role in the festival is to "curse" the harvest by summoning a harvest moon.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: Subverted. Blitzo tries to whistle for Loona to help take out Striker, only for her to ignore it initially, then show up too late and end up kicking open the door in Moxxie's face when he gains the upper hand, allowing Striker to get away.
• Hate at First Sight: Striker seems to instantly dislike Moxxie and wastes no time humiliating and upstaging him in front of his in-laws. Given Striker's disdain for other imps as "weak" and "inferior," and Moxxie being Weak, but Skilled, it's likely he sees Moxxie as an embodiment of everything he hates about fellow imps.
• Hellish Horse: Striker makes an entrance riding one. Said horse is dark gray and black, has multiple spikes across its body, and has a mane, tail, and underbelly that are all on fire. Blitzo is later seen admiring the hell horse as it chews on some random creature's carcass.
• "The Hero Sucks" Song: "Striker's Song", a rock ballad performed by Striker and filled with lyrics that proclaim how awesome he is. He takes it a step further as he improvises the song just to get under Moxxie's skin, even throwing in "Moxxie, go fuck yourself" near the end.
• Hidden Disdain Reveal: Moxxie doesn't hide his dislike for Striker. However, after learning his true agenda, Moxxie expresses how said dislike has been validated.
• Holy Hand Grenade: What keys Moxxie in that Striker is up to something is when he finds an incredibly rare Carmine-crafted, blessing-tipped rifle in his room, such a weapon being one of the few things that can kill demon royalty like Stolas.
• I Can Live With That:
  • After numerous failed attempts at proving himself, Moxxie admits that he's not as manly as he wants to be and, in the end, is proud to admit that his wife Millie can carry them both.
  • He also receives a mere nod of acknowledgement from Millie's father after standing up for her. Despite being desperate to earn her parents' approval all episode, he's willing to settle for this small gesture as "progress."
• Irony:
  • At the beginning of the episode, Blitzo stated he had no intention of being Stolas' bodyguard again after last time, but ends up having to save his life from Striker's assassination attempt regardless, and more amusingly it's done completely for free since he already turned down any potential payment.
  • Despite being essentially a hellish version of The Wild West ^note perhaps the one setting where you can expect everyone to be armed to the teeth with guns, the Wrath Ring's inhabitants (at least of the part shown in the episode) have a general disinterest in guns, favoring Good Old Fisticuffs instead. See Doesn't Like Guns above.
• I Surrender, Suckers: Blitz seems very tempted as Striker gives his We Can Rule Together pitch, and finally concludes that he's in... only to reveal he was buying time for Moxxie to line up the shot.
  Blitz: Took you long enough, Mox! Ha-ha! You should have seen your dip-shit face!
• Lecture as Exposition: Early in the episode, Moxxie eagerly lectures his I.M.P coworkers and in-laws about how he's researched weapons history extensively and is fascinated by the use of angelic weapon technology to revolutionized Hell's warfare... before Millie silently signals for him to quit it since he's losing his audience. Later, Moxxie discovers that Striker has exactly that kind of weapon.
• Malicious Misnaming: When Striker escapes, he insultingly calls Blitzo "Blitzy", Stolas's pet name for him.
• Mood Whiplash: When Striker calls Stella it's revealed that she put the hit on Stolas... then it cuts to reveal that Stella is having this supposedly clandestine call during a family dinner, feet away from them, but her husband and daughter are too distracted to realize this.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Loona ends up letting Striker get away when she accidentally whacks Moxxie in the face with a door.
• Noodle Implement: The episode opens up just after one of Blitzo and Stolas's intimate sessions. We never see it in action, but it's shown that Stolas is bound and initially gagged, and Blitzo is later seen removing one of the owl's feathers from his mouth.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Millie isn't allowed to participate in the games because she got carried away the last time and ended up killing nine people.
  • Millie managed to catch the bouquet at her brother's wedding, but got rather roughed up in the process.
• No Sympathy: Millie's sister Sallie May has no hesitation telling Millie that there is a slim chance their parents will respect Moxxie. She even bets that he may die during the Pain Games.
• Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: When Millie complains that Sallie May still gets to compete in the Pain Games (despite presumably causing some of the fifteen funerals after the last competition), her mother responds that Sallie May doesn't have a neighborhood head count. When Millie retorts that she so does, Sallie May replies that it doesn't count if they don't find the body of the people she's killed.
• Not Helping Your Case: Millie's parents refuse to let her compete because the last time ended in fifteen funerals. Millie protests that only nine of those were caused by her.
• Not Worth Killing: Striker opts not to kill Moxxie and Millie when he has them at his mercy, not because her parents would grow suspicious. Instead, it's partly because he figures they'd be better leverage with Blitzo alive, and partly because he considers them not worth the cleanup.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Downplayed since they don't go out of their way to be rude to him, but Millie's parents don't approve of Moxxie because he isn't strong and manly enough for them.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Striker appears standing in a doorway during a rotating camera shot the moment Moxxie's head is between the door and the audience's view.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Seeing Moxxie in danger from Striker causes Millie's eyes to turn bloodshot red as she savagely attacks Striker. This is actually deconstructed a bit, as her red eyes are a literal representation of her "seeing red", being so Blinded by Rage she's actually less dangerous than normal since she can't fight properly with a fury-clouded mind.
• Running Gag: Moxxie gets repeatedly attacked by sharks throughout the Pain Games. Including during a mud wrestling match, when it does an elbow drop on him from atop the fence.
  Moxxie: MOTHERFU-
• Shipper on Deck: Millie refers to Stolas as Blitzo's boyfriend, much to the annoyance of the latter.
• Shout-Out: During Striker's song, an image of him appears in the sky, a reference to the music video for the EDM-country song "Big Enough" by Kirin J. Callinan.
• Side Bet: When Moxxie declares his intention to enter the Pain Games, Sallie May asks Millie how pissed she'd be if she bet on him dying.
• Smoking Hot Sex: Blitzo smokes a cigarette after his sexual encounter with Stolas at the beginning of the episode. He also uses it to burn through Stolas’ rope cuffs before Stolas takes it to smoke himself.
• Stylistic Suck: "Striker's Song" has a catchy hook, but he clearly wasn't kidding when he said he wrote it "just now", and the second half of it has no structure, just mumbled, clearly improvised lyrics. This has the weird result of Stylistic Suck being used to make him seem even cooler, as it shows he's nonchalant and has self-confidence.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: The sign for the Hideaways Motel says that "The guy that tried to kill U def isn't here".
• Tempting Fate:
  • When discussing the Harvest Moon Festival with Blitzo, Stolas says that he doesn't need bodyguards because the whole affair is completely safe. Naturally, this ends up being the year that someone tries to assassinate him there.
  • Moxxie says that he can sing when Striker can't. A second after, Striker sings a "The Hero Sucks" Song mentioned above to further spite him.
• That's What She Said: Loona gets one on Blitzo, who actually believes she's referring to someone badmouthing him.
  Blitzo: Oh I am always down to skin the manly meat with a manly man.
  Loona: That's what she said.
  Blitzo: What who said?… wait, what BITCH is talking shit about me?!
• Threatening Shark: Moxxie gets attacked by a demon shark a total of three times during the festival games. The first two times are understandable as he falls into water hazards, but the third time the shark jumps out of the water, onto a fence, and gives Moxxie a flying elbow drop.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Moxxie defending Millie's abilities, while at the same time calling out her parents for Victim-Blaming her when they were the ones who hired Striker (and thus allowing him to get close to the family and Stolas). This earns him enough respect from his in-laws that Joe has no option then but to acknowledge Moxxie's input with a nod.
• Touché: Moxxie gives Millie's parents a "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how they brought Striker onto their farm in the first place, and thus are ultimately responsible for Millie getting hurt; they have no right to blame her for what happened. Joe can only nod and slightly shrug his shoulders. It's not much but, to Millie's surprise, it's the most that Moxxie's ever gotten from her parents in the way of acknowledgment. Moxxie wonders if that counts as progress.
• Trauma Conga Line: The entire episode is one trouble after another for Moxxie. He has to deal with Millie's parents (who hate his guts), watch as the much more talented Striker upstages him, gets kicked around during the festival's competitions, fails to stop Striker after learning what he's up to, gets thrown in a basement, and finally gets a door slammed in his face by Loona just as he's about to get the upper hand over Striker.
• Underdogs Never Lose: Subverted. You would think Moxxie, one of the weaker imps, would be scripted to miraculously pull off a win in the Pain Games. Sadly, despite wanting to prove himself, he fails and loses overall, leaving only Blitzo and Striker to tie for first place.
• Villain of the Week: Striker, though he’ll likely be back in a later episode, as he vows that he’ll keep trying to assassinate Stolas in the closing moments. There's also Stella as the Greater-Scope Villain who orchestrated Striker's antagonistic role.
• We Can Rule Together: Striker tries to convince Blitzo to stand down by saying that Blitzo was meant for more than what he had. It appears to work at first, but Blitzo was just stalling for time until Moxxie lined up a shot.
• We Will Meet Again: Based on his escape from Blitzo and Moxxie, and that Stella warns him not to fail again at killing her husband Stolas, it's hinted by Striker himself that this may not be the last we see of him.
• Wham Line: Moxxie finds an angelic rifle that Striker has in his guest room, and wonders how he manages to get it. Striker arrives and dares Moxxie to ask him in person, which he does, soon learning of the bigger imp's true intentions.
  Moxxie: You are aware that this kind of weapon can kill—
  Striker: Demon royalty?
  Moxxie: Yes, that.
  Striker: No shit. [throws his hay straw, then scratches the door with his claws before closing it] That's kinda the point.
• Wham Shot: At the end of the episode, Striker talks on the phone with his client about failing to kill Stolas. The shot eventually changes to show the person on the other end of the line, and thus the one who hired Striker to kill Stolas, is none other than Stolas' wife Stella. Though the drama of this is somewhat mitigated as when Stella yells about how she wants "that cheating prick" dead, the scene pans out, revealing that Stolas is literally sitting right across from Stella at the dinner table, and somehow didn't hear her.
  Stella: I want this cheating prick dead. I don't care who you have to go through, MAKE IT HAPPEN!
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Millie expresses some annoyance that her husband still has his pistol in his possession, which is used to escape the basement Striker locked them in, but would have proven more useful when fighting him the first time before she attempted to rescue Moxxie.
    Millie: I love you, hon. But, for fuck's sake!
• Who's Laughing Now?: Moxxie tries to exclaim a variant of this as well as This Is for Emphasis, Bitch! before shooting Striker. Unfortunately, Loona knocks him out before he could finish and lets Striker get away.
• Would Hit a Girl:
  • When Millie teases Blitzo by calling Stolas his boyfriend, he retorts that he's not above smacking a girl in front of her parents.
  • Striker kicks a fan girl in the face when she tries to rush him from the crowd (though she has a star-struck "He touched me!" look on her face), and later breaks Millie's arm and leg when she tried to defend Moxxie.
• Worf Had the Flu: Millie says she lost her fight with Striker because she was too pissed off to think clearly.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Millie gives Moxxie a pep talk along these lines near the climax of the episode. Having internalized her family and Striker's belief that real men must be physically strong, Moxxie feels he's too weak to break out of the cellar or stop Striker. Millie gently reassures him that he doesn't have to be strong with his hands, his skill with weapons and strategizing is more than enough. It took Moxxie a moment to understand what she meant.

---

Episode can be viewed on YouTube here.

---