I’m seeing some weird takes on Stolitz from the most recent episode that I very much disagree with. My biggest beef is with the idea that Blitz and Stolas are acting like the end of season 2 never happened, because… um… no. That is definitely not the case.
So let’s look at WHY that’s not the case, and we’re going to start by taking a moment to look at where the Stolitz relationship was in season 1. Or rather, where Stolitz and Blitz both thought their relationship was….
Stolas sees Blitz as a long lost friend who he has amazing sexual chemistry with. He also sees Blitz as almost an exact opposite of Stella. Stella and Stolas had terrible sexual chemistry and Stella was always mean to him, whereas Stolas and Blitz have consistently great sex and Blitz is… somewhat nice to him. And even when Blitz is mean, Stolas has interpreted it largely as flirting and has responded accordingly. He walks into Ozzie’s thinking they’re on the same page, but by the end of the episode, he realizes that Blitz never saw their relationship that way. Blitz is actually very unhappy about the arrangement, though he is still willing to keep it going for the book.
Meanwhile, Blitz has no idea how much Stolas values the emotional side of their relationship. He doesn’t realize how much Stolas admires him, how much he enjoyed the time they spent together (both as children and adults), or how much Stolas wants to have a relationship with him. And it’s ironic because Blitz very much wants a romantic relationship as well. He’s incredibly jealous of M&M’s relationship and he craves closeness from those around him, while also being terrified of that closeness. All of the people he had been close with or had relationships with are gone now and they all blame him for that, which has done quite a number on his self-esteem. Because of this, Blitz spends the season completely blind to the thought that Stolas might actually like him, and when he acts ashamed of Blitz at Ozzie’s, that only confirms it for him.
While Stolas ends season 2 realizing that his image of Blitz’s feelings was completely wrong, Blitz leaves season 2 feeling like his worst fear about how Stolas feels is completely right.
So what does that do as we enter season 2?
Well the first thing it does is split Blitz and Stella’s dichotomy in Stolas’ mind. While before he was willing to put up with Stella because he had Blitz on the side, he’s now actually willing to deal with the Stella problem head-on, as we see in episode 1. However, it also allows him to be more honest with Blitz, which I’ll get to in a moment.
For Blitz though, it actually doesn’t change much on the surface. Blitz leaves Stolas’s house in season 1 with the assumption that he’s just taking a break for one night, but then they’ll go back to the usual arrangement.
This sets up a dynamic where Stolas is going to be different and Blitz is going to be a little thrown off by that, which I can only hope will push him into realizing that his view of Stolas is just as riddled with misunderstandings as Stolas’s view of him was.
So let’s break down episode 2.
1. “My dick’s good, but it’s not that good.”
When Via goes missing, Blitz knows he’s in trouble. And when Moxie suggests he exchange sexual favors to get out of it, Blitz doesn’t find anything wrong with that idea on principle. He still thinks his relationship with Stolas is only about exchanging sex for favors, so it’s not that he isn’t willing. He just doesn’t think it will work this time around.
I don’t think it’s terribly notable that Stolas doesn’t call him “Blitzy“ here. After all, he’s furious. Why would he use a cutesy nickname? It is notable that he doesn’t call him “Blitzy“ at all in this episode, but we’ll come back to that.
The real thing I want to point out is that Stolas is very much focused on his daughter. He’s not revisiting much about his relationship with Blitz in this moment or in any other moment of the episode. He has much bigger fish to fry. Aside from the occasional horniness, he stays focused.
3. The transformation + “Oh, like your memory is so great?“
First, yes. Blitz is very impressed with human Stolas. Does he think Stolas is hot? Is he just impressed by the magic itself? (We already know from Truth Seekers that he has a bit of a competence kink when it comes to Stolas) Not sure, but he likes what he sees.
Aaaand he’s his usual sunshiny self. What’s interesting though, is that Stolas doesn’t respond with flirting like he generally did in… well, pretty much every other episode when Blitz was an asshole. Instead, he snaps right back at him. It’s more of a response we’re used to seeing from him when he’s with Stella than when he’s with Blitz. (Though not quite as scathing)
Blitz doesn’t seem to notice the difference, but… well, we’ll get there.
I don’t have anything related to Stolitz to say about this. I just think it’s a fucking brilliant design choice for human Stolas. Well done!
Meanwhile, I hate Blitz’s human ears SO much.
5. “Blitz, we don’t have time for this. Via could be anywhere.”
Again, Blitz. Not Blitzy.
But what I really want to talk about here is the way that Bltiz looks at Stolas. He’s seeing a new side of Stolas and it’s really tugging on his heart. But then, very quickly, he puts his game face on. Because if there’s one thing that’s undeniably good about Blitz, it’s that he protects the people he cares about. He will fight like crazy to get them out of trouble and he will focus until the mission is accomplished.
“Don’t worry. I’m on it.“
And then when he tells Stolas that Via’s in great hands with Loona, that little smile that Stolas gives him. Because A. Stolas recognizes the pride and trust that Stolas has for Loona as her father and B. because he always has felt safe and protected when he was with Blitz. Even if their relationship is not what he wanted, he still trusts Blitz to help him with the most important thing - finding Via.
6. “If your performance on stage is half as good as it is in bed, you’ll leave them breathless.“
Once again, Stolas doesn’t call him Blitzy. Not even when he’s clearly about to finally say something flirty. But also, the way he flirts in this episode is different. Before, the flirting was generally Stolas giving very explicit descriptions of what he wanted done to him or what he wanted to do to Blitz. It was a reminder of his horniness, not a compliment. Whereas this was a compliment and an ego boost, and Blitz actually likes it. You can see the way he swallows and the smile right before the camera cuts away.
Not only has Stolas figured out a way to flirt that is not triggering Blitz to think about his fears and unease with their relationship, but it’s also just flirting in a way that really works for Blitz.
This is an exciting new development.
7. Stolas laughing at Blitz’s jokes when no one else does.
I love this reminder that Stolas isn’t just pining after a false image of Blitz formed from their single interaction as children. The things he liked about Blitz back then are still part of who he is now. He has a macabre sense of humor and Stolas absolutely loves that.
Then Blitz winks at him and Stolas… um… yeah, he’s starting to have some feelings again. But this definitely isn’t the time or place for those feelings, so Stolas quickly chugs a bottle of acid water to cool down.
8. “She’s mine and I love her!“
I absolutely love how quickly Stolas realizes that something is wrong. He spots it the moment Blitz goes off script and he’s actually worried for him. Stolas is starting to see Blitz for who he is, baggage and all, and I’m actually really excited for what that means for their relationship going forward.
And of course, now it’s Blitz’s turn to be distracted. He wants to get back to Loona and patch up their relationship (and yeah, I agree with people who wish there was at least a small moment between Loona and Blitz at the end of the episode, but that’s a whole other post), so he stops thinking about Stolas. He grabs Stolas’ hand and he does not let go until they actually find their daughters.
I don’t think that Blitz has consciously noticed a huge difference in Stolas, but he’s starting to react to that difference in the ways that he responds to and allows himself to be close to Stolas.
Again, it’s not much in this episode, but it gives us some tantalizing hints about where they’re headed with Stolitz and I’m very excited to see future episodes.
theartofmadeline
romaincrisis
