YMMV / House of Black

• And You Thought It Would Fail: The entire concept of 'Julia Blackhart' was viewed with skepticism when it was clear AEW was heading in the direction of Julia being corrupted by Malakai while she was still the manager for the Varsity Blondes. A large part of this was the fact that before said storyline she was a bubbly cheerleader character played complete straight, with no indications that she would be able to fit in with the House's gothic Religion of Evil gimmick. It didn't help that the actual feud with the Blondes was considered very underwhelming and overly long, with several people wishing Julia's turn would happen mostly so the parties involved could move on to something else. Once the trigger was pulled, however, it turned out Julia was able to fit in with the House's tone perfectly and smoothly transitioned into being the group's manager and herald of sorts, and is now considered to be as much an iconic aspect of the House of Black as Malakai himself.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Julia Hart's hat has taken on an absolute life of its own to some members of the fanbase, considered as much a character as the actual wrestlers in the group, and whenever Julia takes a bump when acting as manager fans jokingly scramble to ask of the hat is okay and undamaged, rather than, you know, be concerned for Julia herself.
• Evil Is Cool: From its formation, the House was always one of the most popular acts in AEW despite the fact that they are pretty firmly in the Dark Is Evil category, thanks to both the immense in ring talent of the core trio of Malakai/Brody/Matthews and the unusual but alluring dark charisma they exude whenever they show up. Eventually AEW had to throw its hands up in defeat and turn them into a more Wild Card faction who would feud with Faces and Heels in equal measure.
• Nightmare Fuel: The Mist. If you have any darkness in your heart, it slowly turns you evil and you can't do anything about it.
• Heartwarming Moments: Julia said in an interview that Brody took an almost parental protector role to her, and helped her shop for a bunch of goth clothes to fit in with the group's aesthetic.
  • After Julia lost the TBS Championship to Willow Nightingale there was a video showing Julia in the place the group does their pre tapes in in tears over her loss, Brody then appears, takes off his coat to put it around Julia, then puts his hand on her shoulder and gently says "Now, we rebuild"
• Spiritual Successor: Could be viewed as one to fellow AEW faction The Dark Order, as both are portrayed as darkness oriented cults that aggressively target any opposition. In a way, the House effectively filled a spot left by the Dark Order, as they would become more comedic due to getting over with their Being the Elite skits and turn face altogether after Brodie Lee’s death.

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