What Happened to Striker? - Helluva Boss
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2023
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TELL ME ONE THING YOU LOVE ABOUT HELLUVA BOSS!!!!
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This comment section is gonna need the positivity.
I love that even though it's set in Hell, they DO make it a point that there's a SPECTRUM of bad in Hell. Also some of the cinematography is the BEST I've seen in ANY cartoon. Not to mention the rigging and lighting like in the seen Truth Seekers "now who wants some quality time with daddy?!" the lighting, the sound, the close up, the voicework ohhhhhhh MUAH. And the transitions between the vet fight and the striker fight were fun as hell. They DO utilize the fact that it's animated to the fullest extent of creativity which is nice to see vs just a lot of static shots in some fights you see in other toons.
I love the comedy and the storytelling.
I think they have been telling Blitzo’s story well. Same with the others.
The artstyle, the voice performances and the hyper energy the show has overall. What about you SH?
The characters are definitely the aspect that got me invested by this series, along with their character designs, the animation is consistently incredible (the fight scenes are well choreographed as well) the voice acting is incredible, and the narrative when it's done well, there can be interesting and genuinely impactful moments that the cast can have.
I like the very diverse character design and how they often take advantage of it. They especially play a lot with size differences which can lead to very interesting shots.
Honestly the thing i missed abt Striker the most in the new episode was the snake hissing and rattle sound effects they had given him in his introductory episode. It really added to his identity and dangerous aura and i really missed it this time around.
THATS WHAT WAS MISSING
what do you mean? there was a lot of those sound effects in the latest episode
@@zatywy6706 it felt like there was a lot less, I know they have some hissing and stuff for him but it feels less present, where in the harvest moon episode we get a ton of great shots of striker rattling his tail and making his snake-ness a key element of his identity. In the new ep he whips it around a lot but it just felt like there was a lot less intentional snake noises and rattling
Yesss that was so good in Harvest Moon!!
@@zatywy6706 The timing/level just wasn't right in this episode :/
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the statue gag felt more like a Chazz joke than a Striker joke.
YES
theory, Striker and Chaz were originally one character
@@gamerstheater1187Wh-wha… 😨
I think they were trying to play off that cowboy joke, you know, where it’s big enough to hang a ten gallon hat off : )
To be fair? Striker is just a more competent & dangerous version of the loan shark fratboy
He went from a threat to ALL characters to a guy that had sex jokes bounced off him in a torture scene.
I feel like he was still in character for the bit when he was torturing Stolas. Stolas was purposely doing it to mock instead of just quivering in fear, and Stryker was furious about it. He hated that Stolas didn't take him as the threat that he was actually trying to be and tried even harder to hurt him. The statue was a bit much though for sure.
@@julianaragan7955 I would agree with you if Striker had actually killed Stolas at that point or repeatedly stabbed him after every insult. But sometimes Striker would just sort of throw him down half-frustrated, having lost the upper hand in the dialogue.
@@ellag3265 i agree
well moxxie and millie did improve they combat skill before mox did lack some of it now moxxie is more confident about he skill like he did deal with these 3 rider gang with no difficulty before he couldn't do that alone
there not much surprise i really think next time they meet striker he will be more dangerous then before because now he know he can't take mox lightly now
I thought the fact Stolas is into BDSM was a hilariously clever of showing him resist torture why highlighting the depth of kinky stuff he and Blitz get up to. Dude probably uses the CIA Water Boarding manual like it's the Karma Sutra.
The show doesn’t treat him like a threat enough. He is literally the first person to ever physically hurt Stolas, yet they treat him like comic relief in western energy.
Edit: top comment (for now) on a sarcastic chorus video? This is very cool and awesome
Its like the show really wants to shove comedy and leave the seriousness for the gay noble melodrama.
@@guilhermehank4938 Honestly Blitzo's "he can get hurt" doesn't feel deserved? Yeah like we see him get hurt but it doesn't even feel like it was serious enough. It's kinda thrown in for the drama and it feels weird.
@@Wurmss it's also weird because Blitzo KNOWS that Striker's an actual threat to Stolas. So of course Stolas got hurt like duh?
@@SomeBoyHere Exactly! He literally saved Stolas from being shot, I don't think they should've completely scrapped the line but they shouldn't have led up to it the way they did, Blitzo is a relatively smart guy who can put two and two together.
@@Wurmss yeah I feel as though they’re retconning season 1 canon to make it more emotional and to force Stolitz. Like in season 1, both Blitz and Moxxie are very much aware about what blessed weapons are AND the fact that they are utilised to kill royalty, but in Season 2 suddenly Blitz seems to just forget that just so they can add that extra emotion.
Another really big issue I think is that Helluva Boss was just written as a break-away from Hazbin Hotel to do more of the vulgar humour and comedic stuff, but now that it’s been nearly 4 years since Hazbins release, this is becoming the “main story”, and the vulgar humour and joke scenes just aren’t as funny as they were when it was just seen as a spin-off show.
I really thought I was the only one who thought Striker felt a little bit different. I'm so glad this is now addressed.
Would’ve been more hype if it was played straight and everyone ganged up on him, Loona getting injured letting Blitzø’s guard down which could lead to the M&M vs Striker bit.
@evanillus yea! Have loona get injured and that's more of a reason to have her go to the vet
Anyone else notice the absence the of loonas voice actor
@@mathew7878 her boyfriend died, she's taking a break off work.
@@malaksafa4074 y am i not surprised
I feel like Vivzie knows how to setup characters well at this point, but has trouble keeping them interesting after that point. At the very least, she’s showing signs she isn’t the best with keeping a consistent tone
I feel part of the problem is Vivzi and Brandon are pulling in opposite directions with the tone of the series.
Vivzie's strength is definitely emotional scenes and drama (specificially melodrama. God the melodrama.)
Brandon's strength is lowbrow, vulgar humour (the dick jokes 100% were written by him)
In isolation they can work, when you're flip-flopping from one tonal extreme to the other, you're going to get whiplash.
Vivziepop as well as Adam and Brandon seem to write episodes where they’re meant to be watched in a vacuum rather than binged. Cause oh boy this show would be straight up hell to watch in one sitting.
@@PlanetZoidstar then there’s Adam with the uh, inconsistency or lack of context (since he wrote season 2 episodes as well)
@@devilheartcandy Adam feels like a fanfic writer whom Vivzie decided to hire, who substitutes his own headcanon for the Season 1 canon.
@@devilheartcandy Yeah, which is really bad for a show that's trying to be serialised.
It's written to be episodic while having an ongoing narrative.
I agree, Even I could tell that in the latest episode he felt more like a comedy relief villain than the serious villain he was back in season 1. And I don't see why they thought downgrading Striker's character like that was a good idea.
he's not that comedic, he's pretty dark at times
Hes just being made fun of. Its like what they did to moxie during stryker's apperance. Then it gets the oh shit got real moment.
Same
They didn’t downgrade anything. You just overhyped him.
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Strike felt smart and competent in his first appearence he acted as his was always in the control even when losing. Now in this ep he feels so unstable, always too angry.
Tbf Stolas was not helping with his mood
Striker is not ruined in my opinion. He's still threatening.
I see what you mean, but also, think about what actually happened in the episode. Striker WAS in control. He was going to succeed in killing Stolas before getting called off. Stolas not dying was a direct choice from Striker, not a condition forced upon him by M&M. Even in their battle, Striker demonstrated a very high level of competence.
@@gigachad3925 I know what happened and I agree he was for most part in control. But the problem its not his actions but the personality, he gets pissed off way too easily for basically anything that happens to him. In his first ep he lost to the imps and he still acted as if he had won.
@@rainbowtoyfunrandomess1982 well good for you, I just cant feel the same when he easily gets pissed off for anything that happens.
Personally I feel like the "he's actually just a loser like you and I" reveal happened way too early. We only had him in the Harvest Moon Festival episode, where he was set up to be extremely professional, competent and in total control of everything he was doing. He did lose at the end of course, but it felt more like a tiny battle defeat, like he still had tricks up his sleeve. This episode however wanted to humanize him a bit, which isn't COMPLETELY bad, but honestly just too early. I think they should've had him doing badass stuff a few more times, with his truly impatient and "pathetically" cocky nature slowly unraveling itself more and more until boom, loser reveal. It could've been a lot less jarring that way.
Would’ve been cool if we slowly saw the mask slip with each encounter, before finally having a breakdown.
Kinda like Handsome Jack, seeing him in his rawest form before his end.
God, please let Hazbin Hotel be good, and please tell me the show will get better.
@@Dr.Oofers I completely agree! Most if not all Helluva Boss antagonists are comedic in some way, so I got severely disappointed with Striker becoming a bit of a joke too. Sure, it's a comedy, but having some variety between them would be great, like having one villain that's genuinely just intimidating. Either way, it the loser reveal had to happen, a slow mask slip would've been a lot more successful imo.
Yes!! This is what I was thinking too!!
This is exactly what I was thinking. I dont think its wrong of them to bring Stryker down to everyone else's level and call him out on his hypocrisy, but they needed some build up to it. Maybe the gang fights him off and on throughout the season, before finally beating him for real in the finale, shattering the cool façade he'd been projecting and causing him to have a villainous breakdown. This episode feels more like what should be his first appearance AFTER that hypothetical defeat. He's no less dangerous, but you can see that the edge he used to have is gone. He doesn't stalk his prey like he did before, but rather bursts into a cafe and grabs him, like he's TRYING to cause a scene. He doesn't go for the kill, despite having Stolas at his mercy, but instead takes the time to rant about how royals keep other people down and torture him to try and make himself feel powerful. There's an insecurity to his actions, like he's more concerned with trying to prove he's the badass, royal killing, cowboy he says and convince himself, than he is with actually doing the job.
@@GearShotgun Definitely agree! I think the show has a habit of introducing more and more antagonists, despite rarely letting them appear again. Striker was probably one of the best ones they've had, making his behavior in this episode a little bit of a bummer. He had loads of potential.
While I do think his egocentric personality was always there. I mean he literally sang a song about how much better he was then Moxxie in his first appearance. I do get why this version of him feels different to people.
Striker in his first appearance had this aura of confidence that allowed him to belittle others and put himself on a higher pedestal. But now I feel they leaned more into him being this vengeful cowboy who hates the rich and I’l admit that it does feel different. While I don’t think they ruined Striker necessarily, I do get why people said he felt out of character. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for him.
Exactly. While personally I'm fine with how Striker is written, I can understand people who would have preferred him to be written differently overall. The issue is when people try to treat this like a retcon when in reality Striker showed pretty much the same traits, but was just framed differently.
@@gigachad3925 Exactly, very much this and the original comment. This felt like the same Striker to me, just with more focus on his anger. Absolutely not a retcon, just an expansion. And honestly, this one's better imo XD
@@47ratsinahoodie Yeah totally! Also I feel like I'm in the minority but I actually prefer Ed Bosco to Normal Reedus. Don't get me wrong, the original worked very well. I just like how Bosco adds more of a country twang which I think better fits the aesthetic of the character.
I find the difference is fitting because he is talking to different people. When facing Moxxie he sees a wimp who cannot fight in a world of 'self made man'. When facing Blitz, he is facing someone who tries to be self made, but in the end has to suck up to the upper demons. When facing Stolas however, he is facing someone whom he sees as born to position, and you can kinda see his resentment to those kind of demons when he invited Blitz to join him. There's this both feeling of feeling unjust, but also kinda needs these bourgeoisies to get work (it is implied that blessed weapons are rarities, and since Stella might pay him a lot just to spite Stollas, it is very likely he needs this job anyway).
Striker doesn't work if you put him as a 'socialist revolutionary', but he does fit perfectly to the trope of people who believes in self might to climb their own selves up through the system.
@@imageez Well said! Also, it sounds like he's basically a pick-me imp 🤣
For me what made Striker a threatening villian in episode 5 was not his strength, but his cunning, socially smart and manipulative side. He knew when to be charming to the crew when they first met, but when the others found out the truth, not only was he able to take both Millie and Moxie down (who have been shown to be capable fighters especially Millie), but was able to manipulate Blitzo to lower his guard down for a moment, even if Blitzo was only faking it for the most part so Moxie can take a shot, its clear that Striker's words did get to him. He wasn't just a angry brute he was surprisingly cunning and that's what made him dangerous
While I don't have a problem with the show wanting to make jokes about Striker having a ego (especially when they did so in episode 5) the problem I have is that they went a little too far with them, like the statue joke could've work if either 1. It was used for Chaz 2. The statue was different. Or 3. Make it clear it was a gift from a obsessed fan and that he hates it I also feel like him being a hypocrite with him still working for a royal could be potentially interesting but we'll have to wait and see. I still like Striker as a character and think he has a lot of potential but I do think they went a little too far with the jokes
Edit: after watching the most recent episode I actually like that at the end of Oops they hint that Striker could end up loosing his sanity the more he looses to I.M.P making him more potentially dangerous and I do appreciate that they toned down the jokes with him, there still there but there not as tone breaking as before
I personally don't see the humor of "the dick joke". Honestly felt the episode would've been so much better without it.
I also percieved him as more of a cunning villain on top of his strength and ego. And I felt like that ego came from him being smart as much as it did from being strong. Maybe I read into it too much but in his first episode it felt like he had so much more going on and a bigger plan in his mind in regards to the royals. An actually tempting offer for Blitzo and a look into the world where he could be in control of the destiny he takes despite being an imp and relying on Stolas (especially since their relationship is very rocky). I didn't even mind him working for Stella or some other rich guy since realistically where else he would have gotten the necessary resources like blessed weapons to accomplish his goals. He still could have had plans brewing. I figured there could have been more to him than just being Stella's prop and it could have set him apart from the other villains in the series. It could have actually been something different and interesting when we already have a VERY large cast of villains that are starting to blend together with all the cliff hangers and unfinished storylines. This episode, yet again, seemed to serve the relationship between Stolas and Blitzo more than anything else. And it seems to be the storyline this series aims to follow in the future. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to your opinion I suppose. Don't get me wrong, there are still aspects of the show that I like. I just think the choises made could have been more interesting. But hey, it's Viv's show. She can develop her characters how she likes and the best ways for the story she sees fit.
All they had to was keep the statue as a sign of his ego but with no dick joke and it would have worked.
I think you bring up a good point mentioning Chaz- did they see the reaction to Chaz and think they had to apply that energy to Striker? Or was the team just on a high from that episode and carried that energy over to this one?
I think what would of made the hating royals but working for them anyway work would have been a simple line like “I’m gonna kill that b*ch then you’ll be next” after the phone call I don’t think it would have solved everything but it still would show that even though his is working for Stella doesn’t mean he likes it.
I don’t think the problem is so much his characterization changing, as it is the show thinking he needs to be mocked for what he is. There’s no reason for them to be here parodying how he fits into the cowboy aesthetic. When we met him, it was at this big fiesta in the Wrath Ring where he was working as a ranchhand. He didn’t seem any weirder or more thematic than any of the other imps that lived there.
Its like mocking Green Goblin for wearing a silly costume and really drawing attention to it. Spiderman does it a few times but still recognizing that the GG is a serious threat. Or the Joker for dressing up like a clown.
You may mock them but it still doesnt change the fact GG and The Joker can and will kill you in the most painful fashion if you let them.
Yeah, nobody was thinking he stood out then, they treated him normally. Now suddenly his cowboy asthetic is supposed to be a joke.
@@Nigaki23333 Yeah like all of them seem to lean into their respective aesthetics. Like Moxie's dad was every mafia boss that's ever lived all put into one evil little man but that didn't seem like that was supposed to be a joke to me, and it worked for him.
Yes!!! I genuinely think the visual gag of him being an over the top cowboy is funny and charming by itself. They didn’t need to make every character address it over and over to make us think it’s funny.
It does not mock what he is though it mocks his ego. They are not parodying that though.
It's still funny to me how Striker got more development in this episode than Millie has in the whole series so far.
Lmfao so freaking true, lord this shows writing and pacing could definitely be better ngl! I love it so much but it could improve in some areas of its writing
You could honestly extend that to other female characters like Stella, and arguably Loona as well (Stars gave her some background on her but it's not much). The female characters of this show really just feel like extensions of the male ones rather than their own characters.
Millie doesnt need any development though. She's a pretty healthy character as is
@@Theatricsanddramatics You could argue that but I would honestly still kill for an episode just about Millie that doesn't start with it being about Moxxie or Blitzø
@@Theatricsanddramatics this is still an awful excuse. Even if she doesn't have any obvious internal issues, you could make her arc be more external driven and STILL have her character go through growth. Just going off the top of my head, maybe she could have an arc around the fact that she feels consistently drained emotionally by having to deal with others issues and never has enough time for herself.
Hell, if we wanted it to be the traditional paragon character who has their shit together already, then just have her have an arc focussing on how exactly she helps others with their issues, but highlight WHY and HOW, and I specifically mean someone besides moxxie, or else her character will still revolve around him. Maybe have her connect with Luna, willingly, despite their differences.
For a flat/paragon character arc to work, they need character-defining moments/choices, without those two things they could easily well...fall flat.
Sorry if this reply seemed obsessive, but this excuse is always a pretty bad one, considering how easy it is to give her an actual arc. Though the show isn't over yet so I don't want to be overly-critical. I love this show a lot, but sometimes it's...yeah.
I saw something someone else said which I think would’ve made him much better: Instead of him saying “ok ma’am” to Stella when she tells him to not kill Stolas, he should’ve said something like “sorry ma’am, he’s already dead” and then hanging up. It would’ve made him seem like a much more intimidating villain.
and then he is swiftly killed by Stella because shes a Demon Prince vs a #$%ing Imp... ya not smart on his end...y'all want him to be "smart" but then say you want him to do the stupidest shit...you all understand he was only able to do what he did to Stolas because Stolas literally cant fight for shit yes? thats not normal, most upper tier Demons are murder machines...he is the exception not the rule he simply doesnt like fighting for whatever reason (he can literally turn this guy to stone with a glance but chooses not to for WHATEVER reason...).
@@Ceriu you misunderstood my point. His whole motivation is “I hate demon royalty, so I’m going to KILL demon royalty”. And also, the original plan was to kill Stolas, so I feel like Stella would be mad, but still not care. “Aw, but I want to kill him so badly!” Lines like these are what lead me to believe what I said. She simply hates Stolas so much, I don’t think she would care.
@@Synthesyn342 Yeah stella would have probably liked that he already killed him. She barely cared about her brothers plans anyways.
@@Synthesyn342nah but striker doesn’t know that, he’d think stella would kill hum for disobeying cause he doesn’t have the full context, it’s smarter to just go along with it for now and plan to kill them later, when he wouldn’t be held responsible by the few who knew about him, in this case stella. since if stolas ended up dead, they know it was him, if stolas was dead say, a month afterwards, he could have a better chance of getting away with it, or he could go for stella first, point is making sure he can survive so that he can kill as many royalty as possible
@@_chishika_ that’s true
I dunno man, I just feel like Striker should have been the exception when it comes to "humor." Almost every antagonist has SOME level of humor, so it was refreshing to have one that make us go "oh shit" whenever they're on screen and the laughing stops. I wouldnt say this ruined Striker, but it didnt do him any favors either...Shoutouts to him holding his own against Moxxie and Millie though. Lol
I think the problem is that the humor continued into the fight scene and the torture scene. Little bits like jokes about the statue, the statue falling on striker in the end, taking a call right before killing stolas, the radio changing to a pop song (I loved the concept and the song, but it didn't fit Striker.) Things like that kept Striker from feeling properly intimidating. In Strikers debut episode, the jokes came to a hault as soon as he got serious.
@@Tijopi11 everytime it was almost intimidating it was ruined by a joke
@@thecreatorofthedark when he's torturing stolas, stolas makes 3 consecutive sex jokes. When he's fighting m&m, there's corny music playing in the background while transitioning back an forth to a tom and jerry style persecution between luna and a vet. The only serious moment he got is when he was about to kill stolas (but that scene got ruined by a phone call anyways so it doesn't count). This episode was kind of dissapointing. I hope they return Strykers character from ep 5, but some of the damage done to his personality is irreversible
Imagine Death from Puss in Boots getting this treatment lol I would def not treat Death as a serious character after they made some joke on him
Striker was such a good villain, because he was exactly who both Moxxie and Blitz wanted to be. Masculine, capable, intimidating, talented, strong and independent. He tortured them not physically but psychologically, like in the trip out scene in Truth Seekers, and gaslit the two of them so well. And now, that essential characterisation is gone.
I really think they did his character dirty in this episode. He was one of the only genuinely cool characters in the show that made you feel genuine fear when he was on the screen. Having that aspect be turned around and be played as yet another joke just makes me sad with the direction they're taking the story. They can't let anything be serious for serious sake. It diminishes all threat factor we had before and I just can't respect that choice as a writer myself.
there wasn’t enough of this character to really say if he was ruined or not just because of one perspective being seen
@@gammacxy I do believe we have had enough. We had an entire episode which established him showing that he was that he was an awesome as heck assassin with morally grey motives making him an instant fan favorite. The second he's brought back his intro is disrespected turning him into a self absorbed killer who's made to laugh at. From the boner statue to his labeled saloon are all evidence of a pretentious wannabe cool guy instead of the naturally slick smooth talking person he was. It's like taking the intro of the joker in the dark night rises (one of the best examples you have of establishing a character in a shorter time than striker) and turning that around to nah he was faking his persona to just look cool and spooky
@@mrforgetmenot It only seemed like he was cool because that’s was there surface view you got in that whole episode, he was in his full element with nothing really disrupting him. In this episode, we get a whole different perspective with stolas cracking jokes and breaking striker’s bubble of coolness and things like that. There was nothing to really break the bubble in his first appearance causing him to look cool in this one sided perspective
@@gammacxy what I'm trying to argue is they shouldn't have done that. They handled what they set up poorly and took the one threat they had and threw it away for the sake of laughs. It's very inconsistent characterization and pretty disappointing especially in a show that I believe has so much potential
Exactly.
My main issue with, not only this episode, but the whole series, is that there are way to many antagonists. They introduce us to one basically every episode, and the only ones theyve gotten rid of were the kid from the pilot and the murder family, who weren't really important. Characters like the cherubs havent even been hinted at since their debut and i think having human antagonists, while interesting, is a bad idea because they've barely fleshed out the villians in hell. Thats why i think Strikers chatacter was so weird, they have so many interesting villians, but its clear the writers prioritize the romance more and Striker wad merely just a plot device. With some lazy exposition at the start, any character could have taken his place. Honestly, i feel as though this episode was only made for the divorce and the final scenes
Right. This episode was too "crowded". Could've nixed the vet clinic and focused more on Stella and Andrealphus and the pacing would've been better.
Shouldn't the murder family be in hell?
@@nobodys_here07 Plot… hole? Potential plot relevance? Idk.
I look forward to Crimson’s return. I hope Moxxie gets to kill him
I dont think you see what they might do in the future.
IMP is creating enemies left and right, someday down the line, all of those enemies will "band" together and decide to try and take down IMP
Striker had a great introduction as a foil to Moxxie, and the distinction could have grown after we saw Moxxie's backstory. We now know how he disappointed his father, how he was constantly put down for failing to be the mobster he was expected to be, how he was made to be ashamed for being himself. For Striker to exhibit the brutality and greed his father wanted in a son, and for him to have gotten along with Millie's family, it's like he's everything Moxxie was supposed to be, but isn't. I'm wondering if the plan is to strip him of his genuinely threatening persona to make Moxxie more authentic by comparison. Moxxie's insecure, but he doesn't really overcompensate for his shortcomings, which is exactly what Striker does with his "super badass secret lair" and statue.
If that’s true then I’m personally disappointed that the direction they took with Striker. In my opinion
I'm still convinced that the song and the statue were not Striker's idea. Pointing them out are things that put Striker on the defensive.
If that's what they were going for, they missed their shot with this episode then. The M&Ms were relatively background characters in this episode only there for the action. And it doesn't help that Blitz had more lines while waiting for the vet than both M&Ms did in the whole episode.
Agreed, Striker wasn't ruined for me but I am a bit worried for how Ozzie and Fizz are going to be portrayed this season. I love the revealing who the characters truly are bits but I don't want those two to become misplaced or used awkwardly
I tought fizz And Ozzie will be the anti stolitz, And i think vivz dont will use that only to make Fizzarolli as the thipical jester And Ozzie the hipocrit but brain of the relationship
yeah, on one hand im super excited to see them again cause theyre my faves, but like... 😔 though it seems at least fizz is going to be taken at least somewhat seriously so
They turned out good actually
Striker was one of the few characters in Helluva Boss played mostly as a straight-up threatening presence which, for a show about demons is surprisingly lacking. It would be nice if we had at least one non-comedic villain who leaned more into the horror angle.
Which is why I'm crossing my fingers that they introduce Andras at some point, maybe as Andrealphas and Stella's back-up in case Striker keeps failing to finish Stolas. Not only is he among the most bloodthirsty of the Goetia, but he's a Marquis just like Andrealphas and is all about brutal revenge. Plus he's an owl demon too so he could serve as a reflection of what Stolas would be like if he went full rage-mode 24/7.
Right, I'm thinking similar to slade from teen titans. Been a while but I can't remember the team having any fun when he was on screen, even quippy one liners. Just pure undiluted menace
@@spenceroconnor3841 Something like Slade crossed with the Darkness Devil from Chainsaw Man would be incredibly ominous.
@@cassie6146 you have your hopes way too high if you think Helluva Boss will adequately portray anything close to that description.
Stolas leans into the horror angle. So im assuming someone else of his rank or higher will too. Imps are scary, but they simply arent threatening enough lorewise to be an actual threat imo
@@_Emrakull He does, but not constantly. Nor do any of the other demons except for when they get really pissed. We've yet to see demons who are played 100% seriously scary. Even Alastor, the closest thing to that, has his goofy moments.
I think the moment that really soiled striker for me personally was when he just gave up killing stolas at Stella's request. I guess i more imagined him using stella as much as she used him. She granted him the tools to do what he wanted. But he always had his own agenda. Like he does what she wants for now but eventually he's fully willing to turn on her kind of deal. But then she calls him up and he gives up killing him just like that. Yeah he was still gonna torture him but i was expecting more a moment if "you don't make the rules. I do. I'm in control here."
Yeah, really feels like Stellas and Striker kind of had major downgrades and then we are told we were simply "overhyping them", as if its our fault for expecting better.
Exactly how I felt the relationship could have gone as well. I don't think I even wouldn't have minded if he stopped killing Stolas if there was a proper motive. Maybe he actually really needed the money? His hypocrasy could have been the result of the conditions of the world they are living in. He might hate the rich but he has no other alternative ways to gain money (there is way too little world building around the effects of the class system in hell, outside (and inside) of Stolitz). Or maybe he wants something from Stella/Stolas and he is waiting for the right time to strike. It would have been so cool if Striker had stolen Stolas' book or something and used it to escape with the blessed weapons. Thus becoming this looming threat who could appear when the time was right and would have been deadly to anyone. Indicating that Striker is waiting for the right time could have been told via visual clues. Him growling or pulling his lips back while listening to Stella (clearly making him look disgusted), him contemplating whether he would listen to her or not, breaking his phone after, some visual clue in the background...
I think it actually works.
The only way he can keep killing nobles is to keep getting more angelic weaponry/ammunition. Stella's the one providing those resources, so if he disobeys her he gets cut off and then there goes his crusade against Hell's nobility. Sure he may have offed Stolas then and there, but an assassin is only as good as his reputation; if word gets out that he won't listen to orders from whoever hired him, *no one* would trust him enough to give him an angelic weapon for a job ever again.
I honestly think when he gave Blitzo the talk about going against the upper class wasn't because he generally cared (He literally works for stella) but more he either a) would distract him or b) have him join him. I just feel it was not touched on at all in S2 and then just dropped by stolas calling him a hypocrite. No build up. Just Striker and essentially his anime weeb basement.
You can always tell when the show wants you to take it seriously based off how well the lightning is done
Ah yes just like the scene when the kid at the hospital called Blitz a slur, very serious 😂
I’m still confused why the shading in that scene had extra effort put into it, it was so random
I think that was done just to emphasize Blitz's expression more. The shading helps convey that offended "not this racist bullshit again" look better than if it were done with mostly flat coloring.
I think that the bigger problem is how Striker acts, in Harvest moon festival, when his plan didn't worked, Blitzo finding out about him trying to kill Stolas, Moxxie finding his angelic weapon or when they both defeated him in a fight, he haven't seemed to fear, he was stil smiling and was proud of himself, the new episode lacks small things like that, that really adds into his character, rattlesnake sounds, his always present smile.
I also think that Striker's character really suffers from his core, the core of Striker is being Moxie's wanna be, and once Moxxie realised that he doesn't need to be the jerk, who's only thing are muscle's, there's really not much for Striker to do, so they tried to conflict him with other character, that explains why he seems so different, even though it's still the same character with the same personality
He is not the same character with the same personality. Striker from his first episode didn't let failure get to him. He was lazing on his motel bed, casually reassuring his employer the job would be done. Even when found out by Blitzo he had a moment of fear, only to quickly reassert control over the situation and charm Blitzo, even for just a moment. Even when pinned by 2 guys who were hindering his chance to off royalty, he never lost his cool, even willing to mock them while guns were pointed at him.
In this episode he is too thin skinned. He is sensitive to Stolas' jabs and never recovers. I wouldn't mind momentary anger or frustration, hints in his expression, breaths of resentment, but Striker from the previous episode would take control of the situation again, because "Everything I do, I always win". He is confidence border-lining arrogance, backed up by his sheer ability to actually achieve. He was an exposed nerve this episode and it wasn't the same, it never will be the same.
@@jessicaberry5596 Lower the melodrama a little hun, a character you like was changed, you didn't lose a family member to a terminal illness
@@metaloverlord7465 I'm not distraught, I'm not sad, I'm disappointed. I want to be entertained. I give money to the creators of this show in buying their merch and I want to continue supporting them, but I cannot justify it if I don't like their product anymore. They won't like the lack of money as I'm not the only one disappointed, and I won't like not seeing the show as I enjoyed it.
Let fans be passionate. We're not your slaves. You do you, don't waste your life.
Also I legit wish that his old VA was still voicing him cos it kinda gave him a certain menacing aura that the new one just didn't have
Yeah but unfortunately he is too expensive
@@srwilsonmr5924 It wasn't expense. Norman was just too busy.
Hiring Norman was a double edged sword. As a one off villain, he would have been great but for a recurrent one with a very expensive VA? Yeah...
Agreed. Don’t get me wrong, the new VA is also great, but something feels off. It doesn’t feel like the intimidating Striker, and paired with his slightly altered personality or whatever you’d call it currently, it’s making me like Striker a bit less, I still love him, but he’s just, off.
Norman Reedus had a busy schedule, but it’s kinda sad that he didn’t come back😢
None of the villains are intimidating at this point. Stella, while having plenty of means to get rid of stolas, is now on a leash due to her brother's long game. Striker is now a joke. Moxxie's dad doesn't seem like the type to leave his stomping ground. Most of us have forgotten about the cherubs and dhork agents at this point. I just want one antagonist that's revealed to be a menace and stays a menace. It just seems like Viv knows how to introduce an antagonist but can't keep them scary. Sorta like how stolas seemed to be an antagonist in the pilot, but direction complete changed in the show.
To add to Crimson, he may be a bastard, but his introduction episode doesn't present him as a character who's particularly cunning or badass on his own. There's also the fact that Millie wiped out his gang single-handedly, so even if he does come back, what kind of threat could he really pose?
The main issue with antagonists in HB is the hierarchy of hell. All of the main characters are SUPER weak compared to like anyone else.
If there's an antagonist that's threatening to them, it CAN'T be threatening to Stolas, otherwise they'd get destroyed. So Stolas can bail them out of ANY situation they get themselves in.
The only way to fix this is to write out StolasxBlitz.
@@QrowxClover Or to kill Stolas
@@ambe7157 That can't happen without IMP all dying as well though
I agree the dick joke was too much. I was a little let down by stolas only surviving because Stella called off the hit and not because IMP stopped Striker. It seemed like even if blitz came, Stolas still could have died.
Was some of the mystique from Striker taken away by making more jokes about him, I agree. But like he said it’s a matter of opinion if it was too much. Personally I don’t think there were too many jokes that took away from his credibility as a threat. I’m happy he seems to have gotten away, since so many fans were afraid he’d be killed off.
Considering the amount of damage he did to Stolas, I still see him as a huge threat. But now that Stella called off the assassination, I wonder what that means for him
yeah i wonder where striker went
Unfortunately the pressure to have "peak" episodes is waaay too overboard. The episode was indeed all over the place but the structure is the problem not the characters. I do hope the crew gets their personal love for comedy on the necessary.
Ive noticed that this occurs with many shows which deliver amazing performances early on. People start to scrutinise every single detail and the slightest dip in quality is taken as an absolute and irredeamable disaster.
The problem is when humour is used as a crutch tho
@@guilhermehank4938 In the sense that a crutch can be used to bludgeon somebody to death
@@blackbloom8552 I do find it weird how hyper critical people have been over stuff in this show. Especially since in the pilot it portrayed itself as essentially a sketch show, have wacky scenarios happen as they go round murdering folk. Granted I feel this show has flopped back and forth a bit from a crazy comedy show to drama which can feel a bit like whiplash from one episode to the next episode. But I still enjoy it overall.
Yeah they're trying to pull a rick and morty tonally. It was funny when stolas was just a manwhore but now they're trying to make it serious and it doesn't really add up.
The biggest downgrade to Striker is Western Energy is one I knew was coming but still hurts: No more Norman Reedus. I fully expected Striker to be recast in subsequent appearances, even if money wasn't an issue Norman has a super-busy schedule so the odds of being able to get him back were always monumentally slim, but it still sucks. That said, Edward Bosco did a great job taking over.
Norman is busy filming the Daryl Dixon spin off in France. It makes sense if he was unable to return for Striker.
@@NyxMoonReads like I said, I fully expected that he wouldn't be back. It's disappointing, but not at all surprising.
Striker just didn't feel nearly as badass as the first time he appeared
Striker really kinda just felt like a big joke and had no fear in him at all until he started to beat stolis but the jokes he made didn't fit him
This type of character archetype happens to a lot of the bounty hunter/cowboy/hired assassin. They have great reputation and skills but due to plot convenience, they just fall flat, in the grand scheme.
This is exactly what happened to Boba Fett lol
Actually this is something that occurred to me recently: Does Striker have a reputation? Because during the Harvest Festival he was bring attention to himself solely to fuel his own ego with no worry someone would recognize him.
It doesn't actually seem like Striker has any reputation.
It definitely feels like Striker was taken less seriously than in his last appearance. With a lot more jokes being at his expense, his return being attached to a "visit to the vet" subplot, and both Stolas and Moxxie making sex jokes while he's torturing them, it certainly lowered the gravity of when he shows up.
I think its bc hes rlly just isnt important anymore honestly hes just a assassin that was hired by stella but now that it was called off there’s no reason for him to be seen in the show anymore but maybe they have something planned for his character in the end but honestly i feel like blitzo will kill him or try to if stiker goes near any of the main characters bc of what he did to stolas
The sex jokes ruin everything. It was cool when Blitz did it maybe bc it’s his personality, but why is everyone overly sexual ?? There’s a time and place man
@@belughlegosi yeah. The scene where Moxxie's dad is in the room after threatening to kill both him and Millie while the dildos are still out also ruined the seriousness of the scene. The sex jokes are getting too repetitive, out of character and predictable. It's all about stolas's relationship with blitzo now
Yeah the sex jokes are getting way too much now in this season. with the whole abundance of dicks scene after Crimson's intimidation scene to Moxxie, Striker statue with the huge Dong, and Chaz's...everything.
y'all put too much stock in a lol IMP...im sorry to say it...they are the lowest tier Demons period, this is knocking him down a few pegs and showing you hes barely different than the rest of the crew and in the end just another hired assassin, it needed to happen, Striker is cool but way too bloated up...the emphasis of "bad ass" should be focused on actual high tier demons like the Capital Sins and Demon Princes and the I.M.P crew /shrug mainly cause the latter are the main cast. I dunno I just think people took Striker too seriously when this show is a COMEDY about DARK topics etc...tldr stop taking shit so damn serious.
It was quite noticeable the way Striker was posed in the episode. Like the first time we saw Striker, he was cunning, manipulative and dangerous. He knew how to act in public and when to turn things around, like when he was in front of people, he played with Moxxie as if they were just roughing around but when it in private, he became more serious. It was the same with Blitzo, in public, he complement and treated him almost as his equal but then in private, he tried to push him into a corner to agree with his philosophy.
In Western Energy, it's not the same. The setting, mostly the statue and the way he brought up about royal treating imp as dirt, didn't really make him that serious.
If I were to change it, I would have removed the statue or change it to someone else (maybe someone he had and used it as a target practice or something) as it's not really his style but I would have him taunt Stolas about Blitzo. Try to bring him down emotionally while inflicting physical damage.
And when Stella calls him to call off the kill, I would have him deny that order no matter what offer Stella would give him. This would have fit in more with the hatred he has for the royals that he would reject their command when he's close to killing one.
I would absolutely love to see the show gain a consistent big bad who isn't there for shits and gigs, someone truly and wholy evil with all the menace and screen presence, the kind of character that makes the audience shit their pants as soon as they're on screen without being reduced to comedy.
And i bet that Will be Mammon
I think Andreas is the true villain here. Stella looks terrified and disgusted by him in her last scene with him. Plus, we know Stella is projecting her awful bedroom business onto Stolas in the circus episode, since she displays the habit of looking away from others on the matters.
Striker himself is the most vulnerable to sexual themes above anything else that it’s reinforced by his episode counterpart, Loona, taking a huge needle in the bum as her defeat. When Striker runs away after his statue breaks apart, what’s left of his spot is an erected penis stabbing on his scarf.
I wonder if Striker and Stella doubles down on what their races are best known for since their real selves are broken apart by one man’s mighty dong a long time ago.
Anything that challenges the status quo at this point 😩 I definitely think the show would benefit from having some kind of a goal the IMP tries to reach. At least we would know the direction the series is going. It helps with handling a large cast of characters as well since we all know how each character would relate to the larger narrative. They seem to be moving towards a more story driven way of writing.(maybe??? It is almost like they forcefully want to stay in the episodic format even if the story needed more room to be fleshed out)
I just prefer the cool, menacing, Striker we got in Harvest Moon Festival simply because well... he's cool and there isn't another character like Striker who has that amount of stage presence. The new direction they're taking with him just isn't as appealing or as fun as the Striker in Harvest Moon Festival.
Then get him join up the team that fit to him
I really feel like this video dances around the recast of the voice actor. Not having Norman Reedus really does make this feel like a completely different character, and not for the better.
I think people dont realize that striker is the kind of guy that picks up odd jobs for cash and lives place to place.
The stuff in his home are 90% gifts or winnings hes gotten over the years. It fits with his character that a fan of his made the statue and he really couldnt say no even if he was revolted. Shown by his own disgust of sexual advances in both episodes.
It being a gift also makes sense because immediately after getting flack for the statue he goes on a speech about not having the same privileges that the goetias get.
That makes a lot more sense honestly.
This is entirely headcanon. There is no basis to assume his statue or anything else are gifts or something. It is implied his work as a hitman is based in his unprivileged status, but everything else you basically just pulled out your ass. (Not being mean, it just is literally all headcanon you're presenting as fact.)
@@starsiadraws everything anyone discusses and analyze from these characters are in fact headcannon unless it's said by the creator. Now you can infer things based on shown behaviors and personality traits, at the end of the day, if you're not vivzipop, your thoughts and perspective in character discussions amount to nothing.
So we can either have fun and enjoy making conversations about characters we like or we can be at each other's necks because they don't hop on the bandwagon of hating everything about the show.
I'm sorry but no, a larger then life sized stone statue with a giant dick popping out doesn't scream a fan made this and it's mine now, when you make a statue for someone it's generally to display, and striker would have been asked to pose for it, that's a very weak explanation for it tbh
@@calebbarnhouse496 Well it's hard to believe the guy the recoils in disgust with fans running up to the stage, moxxies joke, and the entire scene of stolas's making striker uncomfortable with the same sexual jokes would make that statue himself. And if he did make it himself it wouldn't make sense why he would go on his following rant as it doesn't answer stolas's question.
But if you don't like the idea then you do you. I'm going back to watching House MD.
I love striker as a character I hate that they did him dirty that much
What was ruined Because basically he was the same exact character from what we saying in the 1st one
@@davidspearim5552 it just wasn’t the same they made jokes about him the hole time I don’t know it just wasn’t the same cool striker like in the 1 season
@@davidspearim5552 ask yourself how the first episode striker would have handled stolas, he's paid to now torture then kill stolas, he's made it clear he hates royals, which should indicate that he hates stella, but say he needed the money to buy angelic weapons to do anything about it, when he's torturing stolas he'd tell him that his family is next, stolas would threaten him for octavia, but then striker would say he was planning to go after the big birds first, but if he cared that much he'd make the detour, in the second episode he just stabs him a few times gets frustrated when he's told he's not allowed to kill him, instead of just saying he's dead already
@Caleb Barnhouse Legit at the first Episode we saw him in at the end of that episode we saw him talking to to Stella so he clearly is a hypocrite
@@calebbarnhouse496 If he really hated royals as much as he says he did he wouldn't have he did he wouldn't have hesitated to try to kill everyone at that shop cause the majority of the people in there were royals but he would have died
I’m starting to think one of the biggest problems Helluva Boss is running against is it’s production schedule. So much time happens between appearances that Fanons develop and are cemented before a character has been on screen more than once. And the community is ride or die for its fanons.
Not necessarily. I don’t think this is a case of people misinterpreting Striker from the first episode, because the beginning of Western Energy addresses the fandom’s excitement for Striker’s return pretty obviously. Vivzie knew what people wanted from Striker, and she knew what she established with him in Ep 5, but chose to make him a recycled Chaz instead.
@@Meowzipan What do you mean? The only thing that changed was a new, singular flaw being added to him.
He is still a hypocrite believing the rich to be suppressing and constantly belittling those lesser who clearly doesn't care about that cause much, and is only using that and his aesthetic to look more attractive to clients to hire him, him being a recycled "Chaz" because of one joke with the statue and his ego(WHICH WAS ALREADY HEAVILY ESTABLISHED HE HAD, CONSIDERING HE LITERALLY VOICED A SONG ABOUT HOW GREAT HE IS IN HIS FIRST EPISODE) being a big weakness of his, as he hates being taken less seriously now.
Nothing has changed; You developed your own fanon about him, and suddenly decided it *MUST* be canon at all costs, and got disappointed when it wasn't.
@@darthnox8286 I have to respectfully disagree. I understand what you are trying to imply, but I don't think this is the complete case. While yes, I do believe that people are overreacting to strikers new character flaw, I think it is really just the tipping point of issues that people tried to ignore, sarcastic chorus included. I doubt the backlash would have been this bad if it wasn't for the tonal whiplash of previous episodes. Striker just became the mascot for this criticism, even if potentially underserved. I don't think it's the fans at fault though, rather the shows writing.
@@Meowzipan Striker was not a recycled Chaz at all
Disagree. There is an immediate difference to how Striker is portrayed between his two episodes. The themes are there, like his ego, his cowboy aesthetic, his love of violence and hypocrisy, but one makes him an extremely engaging character and the other makes him a joke. Episode 5 made me want more Striker. This episode does not.
What happened to the guy who could manipulate and trick anyone who came his way not to mention the mysteries behind his character
Comedy happened
That's when things were going in his favor. Basically nothing in this episode happened the way Striker wanted it to so he had to recalibrate accordingly
@@47ratsinahoodie He was legit getting his ass kicked and still stayed badass and insulted moxie and blitz during the harvest moon.
@@davidc. Yeah, but that was Moxxie and Blitzo, not ROYALTY. The situations in the episodes are not the same.
@@davidc. I dont think you understand how the tier in Hell works...one does not "seem badass" in front of Demon Princes or capital sins for example...he calls Stella Ma'm and follows instructions or he dies...im sorry he stands 0 chance against an actual willing to fight Demon Prince or higher.
Hopefully they can bring back the ACTUAL striker in future seasons
Yes with Norman being his voice again he was what made striker
You’re not hearing what sarcastic chorus said. This IS the actual Striker.
@@H240909 except he isnt in any way.
@@ARandomEliatrope Minus the fact that he is in every way.
@Senro Bot He isn't what you wanted Striker to be, but he is the actual Striker.
The dick statue was awful in my opinion, it’s just really stupid and unnecessary. It might be funny at first, because it’s so out of left field for a character as serious and dangerous as Striker, but after the shock fades you realize how lame it is.
i couldnt agree more
This commet spits so much facts, it should be called a f*ing factory 🏭.
@@grav8455 lol
My opinion, they did ruin him a good bit. He's not the same menacing villain that he was when we first saw him. Striker is actually a literal danger considering he has weapons that could end the royals. He needs to be handled like an actual menace. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Why does him suddenly not being constantly taken seriously change this? They established *ONE* flaw about him, which was that he hates when his stoic persona is interrupted and he is belittled, and suddenly he's no longer a menace? If Stella didn't call him off, Stolas would be dead; End of story. He is still a threat that couldn't be stopped without his client changing his mind, as he was close to just offing Stolas right then and there. He's handled like a menace, is a menace, and behaves like one. He was just handled with a bit more humor in mind as well, which admittedly wasn't well done.
@@darthnox8286 ye the humor is the main problem really. its true that he always had jokes in his debut episode, but the difference was once things got serious and his plan was revealed all jokes stopped and everything was serious. but in this scene the jokes continued on even with the torture/fight scenes
YouCantSeeMe seems to be overlooking the fact Striker nearly killed Stolas, Moxxie AND Millie this episode. The idea that he isn't a genuine threat anymore is laughable at best.
@@minaropaa7535 I mean it works to show his flaw and it is not a bad thing.
I think what also doesnt help in the Stolas and Striker scene is that everything is super bright. It doesnt give Striker any sort of menacing aura, like in the past where he was cloaked in darkness and flame. It doesnt have any punch or feeling of actual dread, aside from his obvious attacks on Stolas. I think they could have made Striker unconfident and all talk no show, but the environment didnt help his case at all and ruins any tone of suspense or true danger that we expect from a rattlesnake villain.
I swear, sometimes it seems S2 has a smaller budget.
Agreed, the mood of the scene could have been improved so much. Colors and lighting tell a story by themselves. But since the tone was sort of all over the place, going from jokes to serious murdering, maybe they had a hard time committing to anything. And thus the colors and lighting are very bland. Completely opposite to the S1 ep 5 when Striker's true colors were shown.
I thought it was pretty well forshadowed that he was working for Stella in Strikers first appearance.
heavily, but many dont "watch" shows they just consume and dont think at all...
I'll bet Striker's statue made a lot of kids cry in shock and horror.😭
the thought of that makes it so fkin funny 😭 (still sad about it existing)
I think one more reason Striker feels different is because of who he's bouncing off of, and where he is right now.
The first time we meet Striker, he's undercover. He's working as an assistant farm hand for Millie's family in order to gain access to their house for the perfect assassination point. His charm is up to 11 so no one finds him suspicious, and the people he's around are smaller than him but able to stroke his ego the way he likes. He's in full control and acts as the big fish in a small pond with only Blitzø who can match him.
But here in Western Energy it's a bit different. He's not surrounded by people who idolize him (outside his theme song stalkers), but he's with Stolas. Stolas who is a cheeky bitch and uses snark to hide his fear. Who's sex life is so extreme that everything Striker tries he can mostly blow off. And is using this time to hype up Blitzø because he saw right away that someone with such a big ego would hate to be compared unfavorably to someone else.
Also gonna say it: having a different voice makes him sound like an entirely different person. It's not the VA's fault. It's not Viv's, it's not ours. It's an unfortunate event that happened and it just added to the fact that he just felt really different.
Actually, it IS Viv's fault for not having long term thinking in hiring Norman for Striker. Clearly the guy is very expensive and this clearly wasnt a wise move for what was meant to be a recurrent villain.
@@guilhermehank4938
No. It's not.
Striker seems the type of character to be in 1-2 episodes per season and developing one episode takes a LOT of time. I'm sure she talked to Norman and they both knew what was expected, but stuff happens. Just like she could not plan on Loona's VA's fiancee dying and her being unable to speak after it, but adjusting the script to accommodate her, she could not anticipate not being able to get norman in a booth at all for a year+. And look at her whole cast: She has MANY famous people and online personalities who manage to make it.
And we don't know the whole story. All we got was "time conflict" as an excuse and that could lead to a number of reasons/ people/ companies who could have been responsible. Most of Viv's cast have other responsibilities but they all managed to make it. And the fact she got such a good replacement shows her ability to work on the fly and adjust to unforeseen problems.
At the end of the day, I'm sick of all these people ganging up and blaming Viv for things she can not control, while she independantly creates an incredible high quality show that is released to the public, FOR FREE.
Yes, him being with Stolas I was okay with the belittling speech because of the power dynamic so of course Stolas is going to look down on him and talk shit but then they had M&M adopt his same dialogue just out of nowhere.
What also annoyed me is that he just doesn't kill Stolas but instead grabs him, drives far away, talks a bit and just as soon as he's about to kill him, Stella calls him off right before. It's so dumb and conventional... And this issue could have easily been fixed, just say Stella wants him captured instead of killed.
And also, it such a waste that there was no confontation between him and Blitzo. They even teased it with his line in ep 5 "maybe you'll catch me next time Blitzy" and this just goes nowhere.
He does flat out say Stella payed him extra to torture him first. But I wish we would have seen that more
@@fallenking578 That's just stupid. Like, how is she gonna even check if he actually tortured Stolas. Striker would be like "he's dead but yeah I tortured him trust me 100% im not lying now pay up extra"
@@STPstudio47 she's arrogant enough to not even check and he's just professional enough/ has enough of a hard on to actually do it. We literally see it in the episode
@@fallenking578 Whatever excuses suits you I guess... Am I talkin to someone who worked on this episode?😆
@@STPstudio47 it was literally said in yhe episode, he tells Stolas, as he laid him on the tracks "she paid me extra to take my time and make this hurt. She must really hate you".
I don’t think they ruined him per say, but they definitely de-fanged him
There wasn’t a single scene he was in before where he didn’t seem commanding, strong and intimidating.
For an example- I feel like season 1 Striker wouldn’t have hesitated to smack that band that was following him, where season 2 Striker just kinda gave them angry eyes
Season 1 Striker kicked one of his fans in the teeth for getting too close to him. Now I'm supposed to believe he wouldn't shoot a bunch of imps that were annoying him.
@@Nigaki23333 I mean those imps can still sing so they are still talented and useful
@@Nigaki23333 That poor girl getting kicked by Striker.😅
Is in one episode showing only one aspect of himself...second episode shows the real Striker...Fanons lose their minds... heres a statement how about... you only knew one side of him and made 100 assumptions based on barely any information whatsoever?
@@Ceriu Yeah, no. When you introduce a character, you can't suddenly do 180 next time we see them as some 'gotcha!' moment. That's bad writing and not a big twist.
Striker in Harvest Moon is confident, manipulative, charming, and don't lose his cool even when cornered by Blitz and Moxiee. He's clearly full of himself but not "I have a big statue of myself with big dong" in your face kind of narcissism. He was treated seriously, rightfully like a threat because he's a skilled, sadistic assassin.
In Western energy he's suddenly easy to anger, can't handle a little sex joke, can't talk over Stolas who is at his mercy and doesn't shoot imps that annoy him on the spot despite having no problem to kick his fan in the face before. The only thing that was left of Striker from Harvest Moon is his sadistic nature and skills.
In Harvest Moon, he's treated like every other character, no one points out that he's dressed like a cowboy. In Wester Energy, suddenly he becomes a butt of a joke because of it.
I'm fine with adding a bit to him, like further exploring his hatred towards the royals that implies he once had someone he loved dearly. It's really cool and makes his character more interesting, but it was executed so poorly, he never get to explain why he's working for Stella despite hating demons of her status, because we just had to see those pointless moments of Loona getting vaccinated.
How are we supposed to treat Striker as a serious threat and a villain, and be nervous about his return when even Vivz don’t treat him like that?
I’d love for Striker to get a backstory that truly explains his motives :’)
I also feel like the situation with loona's VA made the writers switch things a bit at the last moment. Not blaming here, just clearing a few points i feel
That's the only part I didn't understand. Clearly Erica Lindbeck was unable to record, but why do they even have Loona be there in the first place then? The episode would have been improved if they kept the focus on what's important in the story and cut Loona and Blitz entirely after you've shipped them off to the vet.
@@Mediados not sure, but maybe they already had the lineart or concept of the episode, and this probably threw production a bit off, so they had to scrape sections and make with it what they could.
This is mere speculation, but remaking even a fraction of an episode from scratch is costly
@@Mediadoshad to keep the mandatory appearances for the merch of course
I think the biggest thing that bothered me is that the IMP crew forgot Striker had an angel weapon last time they saw him, and was trying to kill Stolas. I mean I guess it shows how confident they (and possibly the audience) were in thinking Stolas can handle himself because in Loo Loo land he literally could have freed himself at anytime and and the big rescue he did to save them from the conspiracy agents.
For me, it was never a problem for how pathetic Striker actually is. Doesn't suprise me at all. My only problem is how his motives changed.
Also did he die at the end? I always thought he got crushed by the statue
He escaped
I thought he got crushed too, but they did say he escaped.
Im agreed with how His motives changed, but at the same Time a see a oportunity to turn striker into a major character like others
i mean...why WOULD you think he died/ there wasn;t a corpse and they lingered on the notable lack of a dead body.
and we know for a fact demons don't like disappear when they die in this series.
@@sarafontanini7051 I mean you do have a point.
Writing striker as an imp uncle ruckus is actually perfect in its own way
Not a “Imp Uncle Ruckus” 😂😂😂
Sometimes hype can really ruin a A character in fans minds if the character don’t live up to it
I do get the feeling that Striker *does* hate legitimate hate at the in injustice of how Hell is run, but that doesn't excuse or mean that his sadism isn't centered on his own self-worth and ego rather then the injustice put upon other like him.
I think it's because idolizing Striker was a narrative problem. Striker is pretty much everything blitz pretends and in some aspects wants to be. Skilled, independent, cool horse, can't be emotionally hurt. If striker is flawless it fucks with blitz's progression. And come to think of it the interaction with stolas works great. Striker's persona doesn't work with stolas but stolas gets seriously hurt by him. You can just change striker for blitz and have it make sense
I don't think Striker was downgraded.
Keep in mind, his debut episode he was doing everything as an act until the big reveal. He's a cocky, manipulative prick who won't stop until he gets what he wants.
NOW look at the new episode. Of course he's getting frustrated and pissed off because the ideal torture scene isn't going his way. Idk if we have any confirmation of if he's killed other nobles or not, but if he has then he's definitely not used to them meeting him eye to eye in sassiness and sarcasm. When he tortures someone he tortures them. So having his biggest target LAUGH at his face? Of course he's going to be mad. Hell, I'd be too.
I think the episode wasn't bad. I do agree with the issue of tone but I do think this episode was to reframe Striker from the perspective of I.M.P and specifically Stolas. NONE of them take him as seriously as they did in season 1. So why would any of their jokes and sarcasm, NOT go against him?
I think if you think about it in that aspect, that the storytelling for the episode is in the perspective of them, it makes a lot of sense as to why he feels like a gimmick, because to them he is. Especially after knowing his deal
But why the statue though? That seemed extremely unnecessary.
@@samuellanghus1455 He still likes himself a lot 🤷♂️
@@samuellanghus1455That could just be the creators sense of humor.
His character is fine I'm pretty sure the biggest arrangement to this episode was how all over the place it was .
But why would I.M.P. Not take him seriously? What changed?
Personally, some of my fave aspects of Helluva is how the plot surprises me, and discovering additional character traits example, S1 Stolas appears confident, poised, level headed, he's still those things later on, but S2 Stolas shows that he's a dorky loving dad with a back bone that has masked alot of his pain from everyone. I think the fact Striker started off seeming loved by all to living under his means in a train tunnel was interesting/amusing to see. There are layers to people why shouldn't their be for for fictional characters? People can have thoughts about how the character progresses but sometimes I think ruined is the wrong word for it.
I never understood why people hated striker, if you actually interacted with people like him IRL, you'd see everything he does here as being REALLY in character
On the bright side, they finally gave Moxxy a chance to shine throughout the episode without any bad screwups
You claim striker is the only one who dresses like a cowboy when there are LITERAL COYBOYS in THIS episode at the gas station fight scene.
They have cowboy hats but they’re more bikers than cowboys.
I feel like everyone took the striker episode way more serious than I did
Same.
They did and its a cancer lol...if you take anything too seriously in this show your a damn fool.
My life is simple, I see Sarchastic Chorus post, I gain instant happiness and click the notification
Same 🤣
I feel like this was building something up. I think Striker was trying to play Stella, killing Stolas would've gotten her to trust him, maybe get him more angelic weapons. I also thought he was going to turn around and kill Stella too once the time was right. I think he was serious when he asked Blitzo to join him and that they were going after Stella next. Despite the jokes I was still scared of him, especially with how far he got. If not for Stella's call, Stolas would be gone. Moxie and Millie had nothing to do with that. Looking back, I think the episode wanted us to think he's just a narcissistic dork compensating for something. He's smarter than he presents himself. That, to me, would be why he got annoyed with the singing. I think he had all of that set up to make him look self-centered, then he got annoyed because it went on too long. If he really did hate royals, he could've just said, "Sorry ma'am, Stolas is already finished," and then actually finished him off. He didn't have an answer when Stolas mocked him for working with another royal because he didn't have a cover up for the double cross he would eventually do. I kind of thought the shift was meant to show us this. I could be completely wrong, I just thought they did this intentionally
I know I've commented these thoughts on the other video talking about the episode more broadly, but I want to lay it all out here more concretely. While I understand how the way Striker was framed could have contributed to his character coming off a bit different from before, ultimately, the show isn't really giving us anything we haven't seen from him before. Bear with me as I go through these elements.
1. Narcicism: Striker was always an egomaniac, from showing off in killing the hog, to his vain and petty song, to his speech directed at Blitzo about being "superior to most of their kind". This self-centered behavior is just a core part of his character, along with all the cool, more serious elements.
2. Subservience to a larger villain: Striker has always been working for Stella. Anyone who calls him a hypocritical bitchboy for obeying Stella's order to not kill Stolas after giving his rant about royalty isn't considering the true implications of that very same speech. If the class divide between royalty and imps is so bad, how is it a surprise that Striker would swallow his pride if it meant making MORE money than he would have? He obviously needs it as a member of the imp class, and who else is he going to get it from other than a royal? Actually, the fact that he would swallow his pride given his obvious egocentrism says a whole lot about the seriousness of the class struggle. This business relationship doesn't say anything about his real feelings toward Stella, which are most likely filled with the same animosity he holds toward Stolas.
3. Humor: Yes, I agree that Striker wasn't played off as humorously in 1x5, but still, it's naive to think that any character is immune to mockery in a show that primarily is an adult comedy. People forget that at its core, Helluva Boss is simply a comedy with deeper plots being a nice addition to make the series more cohesive, not the other way around. Overall, I don't think the humor detracted from the moments where Striker did get serious in the episode. If anything, I feel what really detracted was the humor of the B plot, which had nothing to do with Striker.
If you've made it this far, thank you, and I'm happy to discuss any disagreements anyone may have! I think my ultimate point is just that like with many other characters in this show, Striker has an issue with people having certain headcanons and then calling him retconned when those headcanons are proved to not actually be canon. It's fine if you personally would have written Striker differently, but my issue is when people pretend like this is some sort of "great decline".
Honestly the b plot really is my biggest issue with the episode. If they really wanted it, they shouldve just have the set-up for blitzo taking loona to get her shot and then cutting back to it at the end because the only way it even connects to the a plot is by being the same hospital Stolas gets sent to.
Cutting the b plot down would help fix a lot of these problems by giving more of the screentime to Striker and Stolas + Millie and Moxxie.
When it comes to Striker as a character I feel like people tended to interpret him as one thing and leave it as that. Its kinda the opposite of Stella in that regard. (I could talk about that more but that would be too long)
I have a lot of thoughts about Striker and his role in the narrative and just his personality in general. (He’s one of my fav characters) Striker being taken super duper seriously by the plot in every episode he’s in akin to Harvest Moon would have been nice but I feel like that would only work if the story went in a completely different direction. Striker’s not the big bad main villain, so playing him up as such wouldn’t work.
In my opinion I feel like there could’ve been some more jokes that weren’t at the expense of Striker since it felt like most of the humor of the A plot fell on him, but the stuff that did poke fun at him wasn’t bad per say. I just think there could’ve been more of a balance, I guess.
Whatever they have planned for future Striker episodes I’m cautiously looking forward to it in the future. But if they have the same issues Western Energy has then I’m afraid I won’t be as invested as I could be, but I’m gonna be optimistic about it.
I wanna touch on your second point. The show somewhat touches on the class struggle but also not really? We know imps are viewed as less than but we never really see how it affects our characters in an actual deeper way. The class devide only seem to be somewhat of an issue when we are touching on Stolas and Blitzo's relationship and even then it feels quite hollow to me. Racism, poverty, violence and crime are all balancing on this weird line when in some cases they are funny jokes and in some case they are serious issues. All of these stem from the class devide to some degree (and I suppose some are just cartoony slapstick homour). If our characters are suffering from this class devide, why aren't they suffering on screen? Stella abusing their butler imps and flinging them across the room is seen as funny. If this was actually framed as the imps suffering, Striker's motive would be less confusing. Same thing if we saw the imps struggling to get by (Blitzo counting the company's money for example and realizing they are running out). I have no idea if the imps are actually desperate for money or not and thus it makes Striker's character feel hollow to me. And maybe he is just a hypocrite that does what Stella tells him to do cuz she is his boss. I have no idea
@@JazuNeon Imps are meant to be portrayed as the ‘lowest of the low’ yet we only get reminded of it when Striker either shows up and talks about it, or when Blitzo and Stolas aren’t suppose to be together because Blitzø is an imp. (And even then they dont really seem to have any repercussions for that besides being called out, even though Stolas lending Blitz the grimoire is suppose to be illegal)
I think the issue is that its focusing more on comedy than the dramatic aspects. The world-building its setting up so far kinda falls apart for me because I think “how am I suppose to take this seriously if its a joke one second and then something important the next?”
Hell, Crimson owns some sort of shark mafia yet nobody in universe brings up the fact that he’s an Imp with that sort of power, which seems incredibly difficult to achieve.
@@JazuNeon You’re right. I’m making a lot of assumptions for the sake of my argument. Unfortunately, you kind of have to do that with this show because a lot of the lore is not explained in the show and you have to rely on external materials from the writers to piece together a coherent setting. The material I’m mainly working off of is content from harvest moon festival, such as the wrath imps grumbling at the “spoils of your labor” comment, and Striker telling Blitzo “not many imps start businesses on their own”. My working theory is that the majority of imps work jobs where, to use the terminology of Marx, the workers own a very little proportion of the means of production. So, it’s a big deal when an imp (like Blitzo) is independent and receives all their profits. It would then follow that the primary customers of imp-run businesses would be non-imps who are higher in class and thus have the means to pay (sinners for Blitzo and royals for Striker).
@@moonpath460 Exactly how I feel about it too. The tone is a huge issue for me which I feel very iffy about. Like you said, it makes it hard to take certain scenes seriously (S2 ep3 dick jokes being the hardest for me to handle) and certain subjects seriously that the show sort of mentions but doesn't explore (for example through world building). And some things that are seriously pretty fucked up are treated lighter that I think they should be. If the leaks/spoilers about upcoming episodes are true, this is only getting worse.
Even ignoring that voice change and apart from his different temper, there have been many frames in a row in which he doesn't even look like striker itself, besides I wonder if he survived the statue
Seems like he survived
Nobody's born hating people or having the personality that they have now. Striker's back story is definitely something that made him the way he is now, depising Imps despite being one and hating higher ups but not enough to not take a job from them if ever hired to do so (or maybe he knows that no matter how much he hates them he's still only one person what can he really do against them) Maybe he's someone where he had a parent who was like a higher up or just had power in general (Ex: Moxxie's father Crimson) and was abandoned by them, Maybe that's why he hates him so much but not enough to like actually really rebel against them. Also I'm pretty sure by now we all know for a fact that Striker is definitely not fully Imp, Maybe he also hates how despite being obviously mixed he's still classified as an Imp. (When according to him, he's so much better than them, which could possibly be true) Like Blitzø for Ex: Could possibly be half succubus but looks more like an Imp so obviously it would be easier to just classify him as one and not classify him both ways (don't know if classification is by where they're from or what they are)
Okay, this is going to be long, but hear me out:
Maybe - just maybe - Striker's hometown was known for producing blessed weapons. Rifles, revolvers, knives, ropes, etc. The town weaponsmith was one of the very few in hell capable of producing such items. One of the Goetia might have been aware of this town and may have seen it as a looming threat for the oppressed denizens of Wrath to have access to such powerful weaponry. Not just a threat to themselves, but to all of hell's nobility - their relatives, friends, royal affiliates. This Goetia ordered the town and its inhabitants to be bombed into oblivion to eliminate the weaponsmith business and everyone with the knowledge of how to make blessed weapons.
Striker was one of the very few demons to survive the bombing of the town - alongside his horse, whom he named Bombproof, as a testament to their survival. Striker lost everything - his family, friends, all his belongings - and had to restart his life from scratch. He'd quickly develop an intense hatred for hell's nobility as a result of this incident.
This theory would also help explain how Striker owns blessed weapons - his hometown was a producer of them. Maybe one or both of his parents were involved in the weaponsmith's business, and they used that connection to gift their son a collection of blessed weapons.
The self-hatred could be him wishing he'd been born as a snake demon rather than an imp. It's pretty clear that Striker is an imp/snake hybrid; maybe he hates himself just for being a hybrid demon born in the form of an imp. Maybe other demon types like snakes, sharks, and succubi/incubi are treated slightly better than imps. Striker could be of the mentality that if he'd been born as a snake, his life would be a little bit easier. But as an imp, he's treated like shit by society, so he hates himself and possibly dreams of the "what if" of how things could be...if only he'd been born as a snake.
Maybe. It's all just a theory until Striker gets a proper backstory.
I actually like the fact that they showed another side of him since it may mean they are going to develop him more unlike what they did with Stella
I think in this episode they showed a different side to Striker. Like SC said, they showed how he's insecure about his personal image and builds up his own ego. I'm not so keen on how he seems to have a hair trigger temper. Granted he is from Wrath, but going by what we saw in his debut episode, he seems more like the "I don't get mad I get even" sort, who might get miffed but doesn't snap and throw a fit, instead just waiting to get vicious, savage revenge on somebody while sadistically grinning about it all the while.
I think the moment they messed up the most with Striker's character, however, was how they had him respond to Stolas throwing his employment by Stella in his face. In the first episode, Striker seemed to have a plan to get the means to kill hell's nobility and royalty and to do so. When it was revealed at the end of the episode that Stella had hired him to do the job, I'd credited Striker with using hell's upper class to his own ends. Those divine powered weapons of his can't be easy to get, and were possibly provided by his employers to get the job done. When Stolas pointed out Striker was doing Stella's bidding, I'd thought they were about to confirm my suspicions, and Striker was about to say that it was a means to an end, that hell's aristocracy is its own worst enemy with all their bickering and in-fighting, so he's using their squabbling to his advantage. He provides them with his services as an assassin, they give him the tools to kill their rivals, never realizing in their aristocratic arrogance that once Striker's done, he intends to turn the weapons he was provided on his employers and dethrone them.
Instead, Striker just gets butt hurt over Stolas' comments and steps up the brutality. Now it could be argued that Striker didn't want to tip his hand to a demon prince, but at the time, he was still under orders to kill Stolas, and he definitely seems like the kind of self-absorbed, egotistical villain who would brag about his master plan to somebody he didn't think was going to live to tell anyone about it. Overall I think they definitely brought Striker down from a deadly assassin and cunning manipulator to a deadly but short-sighted killer with grudge against the upper class.
I still enjoy Striker as a character and as a villain in Helluva Boss although a lot of people complain about Striker's character in Western Energy. But I still think he's very intimidating and scary plus he's still pretty cool.🤠😈
Thank you. This needed to be said, I was SO mad
I truly found him good he seemed like a good balance of superiority and genius phsyco so his just plain hilarity as to be mocked relentlessly and his attitude barely buckles despite the sheer insanity is amazing
One thing that sucks is that now we're never getting a Striker origin story, unless he somehow survived but I really wish we did get one, especially when he says "And some of us get everything we care about taken away!" it feels like an origin story screaming in your face.
I still liked the episode and I like striker but it is juggling lots of things. Helluva boss humor, striker’s threat level, and humor. I’m sure it’s not an out of character moment but it is a nice layer to see this badass assassin being a bit more dorky than what we initially realized. I like it. Just hope when he comes back again the original actor can come back and show how threatening he actually is like he did the first time. Hopefully soon vivzipop can try to find the balance in the editing or writing to not jump from one scene to scene with a sudden tone shift but she is trying so no fault on her. She’s improving. Love her show. Can’t wait to find out what she has in store for striker
I honestly liked how goofy he was
Striker wasn't ruined, he was simply explored a bit more. He was always portrayed as a sadistic narcissist, and now he just showed that he had flaws, comedic moments and could be overcome by Moxxie and Millie. He still put up a good fight, even got away with the abduction and torture of Stolas. The Striker fans seems more pissed that Striker isn't the near-invincible, cool and suave powerhouse they thought he was.
I honestly like the angle that Striker is mostly for show, I never thought about how cliche and showy his attire is, he wants the cowboy life and look, talking about a person tied to traintracks as a classic, the whole outlaw aesthetic. He's as in love with Cowboys as Blitz was in pirates as a kid. His whole intent to kill goetia might just be a part of being an outlaw, which may be his childhood dream.
And I love the idea. It frankly makes him a bigger foil to Blitz than before.
Honestly, I feel they kept his character consistent. Scary, unhinged, sexy jerkface. All boxes checked. Like, first time I saw him, I was like, "Cool design, but I hate him." The latest episode, "Still cool character design, and I still hate his guts as a person."
He almost killed Stolas, and then he almost tore out his eyes. I still see him as a threat.
I think that despite the fun moments, he also has the cool and threatening moments, like when he says "Nobody is coming" and when his guns are gone and he becomes a lot more dangerous because his lasso is the weapon he's used to.
I’m so curious on whether or not strikers backstory involves paimon
seems more like fans leaned into their sexy renegade cowboy headcannon too much and never questioned why first appearance striker was using all that confidence and bravado just to be petty towards Moxxie and now that we got a more in your face answer, the magic headcannon character they wanted isn't being fed into (thus "ruined" according to them)
Really sucks norman reedus couldnt voice him agaon but given his new VA is also alastor i say he atill did good
I was disappointed to hear they recased Norman he did such a fantastic job it really is a disappointment in my opinion 😕
@Aaron Atkinson I mean yeah it's disappointing, but do understand that Reedus has other projects, like he's got his own show coming on AMC. The fact that they got him at all was an achievement. It's fine to prefer him, but do understand it most likely was a logistical issue that you just can't get around.
@Philip Smith you do have a good point sorry I understand 👍
I liked how Striker was handled, and I enjoyed this character analysis you give. Some points I didn't catch until you pointed them out, like how hard he leans into the Cowboy identity.
On Striker and his being dorky and joke of big dick= I don't see it as bad, but a continuation of his first appearance. Striker is full of himself and very self-confident. He has the "I'm the man" ego going on. That statue is just more of that, showing how self-absorbed and arrogant he is.
I remembered that Stolas is a hybrid imp. We've not been told what his other half is but his eyes and shape of face ('muzzle') remind me of the shark demons like Chaz. He identifies with other imps, even full blooded ones like I.M.P., but never mentions or hints of his other half. Seems to indicate he was raised to identify as imp only, yet, as you point out, he looks down on other imps. ... he suddenly reminds of Delores Umbridge from the Harry Potter-verse, she wasn't a pureblood but pretended she was and never addressed (actually hidden) that she was a half-blood and she looked down at those she saw 'lesser' such as other half-bloods and muggleborns.
I feel like Striker has a tragic past that has a LOT to do with either him or someone he loved having their life wrecked by a royal. I don’t mind that they’re making him seem less of a brilliant, powerful, and charismatic villain like he was in his first episode, because him being more spiteful and rage-fueled than cunning isn’t a bad thing when you have Stella and her awful brother already playing mastermind. It wouldn’t surprise me if Striker lost control completely and turned against his employers later on.
They perfectly explained Strikers backstory in every bit of his cave.
He WAS a Rinestone Cowboy probably from greed and his lively hood was destroyed in some money grab. He probably does come from money, was in a house of or ajacent to a Royal and through everything that lead up to where he is now in the show he has lost the fame, lost the money and is a little salty about it.
He could easily be Crim’s son. I wonder if the erected penis was him trying to form a confident sexuality since it was broken a long time ago.
We'll have to wait and see Striker's sad backstory (in a few years) so that everyone will feel sorry for him and he'll be the fan favorite again.
But that means no more badass cowboy
@@karinasilvanaramirez9025 It’s always been implied that he has a tragic backstory though
I think this issue stems from the cutting back to the hospital stuff so much, we knew he wasn't going to kill Stolas. Like audience are hard to shock, like either he kills Stolas and shocks and probably upsets everyone or he doesn't. Instead of this dicking around, maybe M&M are right behind him, and Stolas wife says no payment if you don't really torture him first. So he's on the run while trying to torture Stolas, and fight M&M and when he finally beats them and gets ready to go in for the kill THEN the call not to kill Stolas comes in and in his anger he does maim Stolas a little before M&M come back in and saves him.
or he gets his ass kicked like he did and thats the end of it...hes not as "bad ass" as you think hes a $%^ing imp dude...it only goes so far...he was plenty "bad ass" in the episode about as bad as as an IMP can get.
@@Ceriu I'm talking about the issue of him show boating and not really being a threat to Stolas and crew. You clearly have some issues to work through and I hope you get the help you need.
Man I rlly like the perspectives you're giving on this episode over the last few videos, they make me appreciate the episode a lot more!
Everyone has to have humor, and i dont think this ruined him whatsoever. I liked seeing him being more vulnerable and being hurt in some way.
it didn't theyre just fanboys who want to put him on some god tier pedestal and forget hes the lowest class of demon...only reason he could snag Stollas to begin with was Stellas support and the fact he doesnt like to fight...AT ALL...despite being capable of just turning the dude to stone or worse...any other Demon Prince or higher tier would flatten Striker in an instant.
Okay so hear me out;
Remember when there was that controversy of writers and artists leaving, some because of stolen ideas? Well when it first happened I didn't believe that Viv had stolen or used these ideas like the writers claimed. But now those writers are gone, and almost right after they left the writing and world building went completely down the drain. This makes me wonder if there actually was something to those claims, as if they really weren't behind those ideas, the writing should theoretically still be the same, and yet.
All that said, I also noticed that season 2 is FULL of blows against the people who left, Moxie's side plot about art clearly being a dog at the artists who left because they wanted to be paid more. I wonder if Strikers character was an idea of one of the writers or artists who left, and this was Viv sticking it to them? Idk man, it's just something I wondered about.
I’ve never heard of this controversy how interesting
It's so sad that your idea actually makes sense
I think striker needs to go back to that menacing tone he had in The Harvest Moon. That really fit his character more and I wish I got to see more of that in Western Energy. I feel like he’s just watered down.. but his character is alright for the most part. The rattle snake sound effect was the cherry on top. I don’t like his character in season 2, he feels like a loser trying to be a cowboy. At least they kept him being more powerful than the main characters.
I personally like Moxxy's character development. Especially in this one.
I love him, hes cool, funny, cunning and we dont know alot about him yet so theres endless opportunities
Honestly this did help put some things in perspective for me. Especially pointing out that the joke'y nature of him was always there, it's just our attention was so focused on Moxxie being the butt of the joke, we didn't necessarily notice. I think it's going to be tough work for Viv and the team to redeem the plot and Striker after this episode, but it's 100% not impossible and will probably take more than one episode to do. Very interested to see where things go next
I really enjoyed Striker in his first appearance as he seemed like a genuine threat to I.M.P and Stolas, when he is treated like a joke, its funny and shines a different light on his serious persona but also takes away the stakes. There hasn't been anything at stake unless Stolas' and Bltiz's relationship. I feel this way as well with the episodes with the humans as they are treated as a joke too, but I'd think it would be interesting if Blitz's overuse of the book in the human world would affect Stolas' standing and relationship with his superiors?
This is actually somewhat realistic. I've been told things like "I look intimating" or I have a face that looks like "someone who holds authority", so it makes me wonder how people see me without knowing me. In truth, I'm just something of a awkward goofball half the time. I crack stupid jokes that make people's eyes roll and there are times I'm clueless about certain things or try to please those around me. However, I'm guessing the people who think I'm "intimidating" would be shocked to learn this.
The same logic can be applied here. The earlier episode was an outsiders perspective of Striker while this episode was moreso an insiders perspective.
Realism doesn't always mean good imo, and personally they could've dwell into the pathetic douche behind that charismatic persona in a different way - I'm not sure. The execution might've been the issur, rather than characterization. He can be pathetic but still threatening, yet in this case strike doesn't even feel like a villain anymore - just another laughing stock
Difference is that Striker still acted threatening and scary in his OG episode, he didn’t just have the appearance of that
I feel like at this point Sarcastic Chorus is doing half the writing for the show runners.
Ex: the show introduces some idea, SC makes an entire video extrapolating on said idea way more than the show itself delves into it, then everybody praises the show for its character work, half of which is actually just the community’s own extrapolations of how we think the characters are
I like your thoughts. I don't feel like they ruined Striker. They just revealed more what was already kinda obvious from ep5 that he's a liar. And he lies even to himself. He is pretentious and narcissistic. Striker's doin well man.😅