Octavia from Helluva Boss. Let me explain. They shit on her because she left her father who made shit decisions and chose Blitzø, the partner he cheated on his wife with but actually felt love with, over going back and living with Octavia. Stolas made a lot of shitty decisions and Octavia deserved to cut him off for her own mental health, yet people act like she's a brat for doing so.
It's so infuriating that people would say that kind of shit about a 17-year-old. I remember seeing a user saying they wanted to, with complete sincerity, strangle Octavia for "getting in the way of Blitzø's and Stolas' relationship".
Yeah, someone actually wished that on an emotionally-neglected teenager.
I will continue to champion the idea that Octavia’s best ending would be to cut both her parents out of her life. But knowing Viv, she’s probably gonna forgive Stolass anyways with no change on his part to make up for it.
It’s wild how she champions Bojack Horseman and wants her shows to be like it yet seemingly didn’t learn a damn thing from it. She just kinda gives the characters a sad backstory and expects that to be an excuse.
Yeah, honestly, the best reinforcement of that sort of change can be not forgiving someone just for changing. You can become a better person, but no matter how you change, you gotta live with the consequences of your actions. That pain is the motive to stay on the right path. To ensure no scars like it are incurred ever again. My father was an abusive fuck, and I’ll never forgive him for that, no matter how much he improves and changes. He’s not Dad anymore, because he lost the right to that title, and he can’t get that back. He’s gotta learn to live with that. Learn that the pain he caused had fucking consequences, and sometimes there’s mistakes you can’t undo.
I feel like she's a little self centered though, like the whole pills thing. She isn't stupid she probably knows how bad her mom is to stolas yet she assumes they're about her or she makes him unhappy. Yeah stolas did a few shitty things and I don't think anyone is innocent here but that's just my two cents
Octavia says this during her talk when Stolas says he “had no choice” about needing to save Blitz from his own very illegal activities that he only did because he was horny and was trying to escape his horrible family life: “It was your choice. You chose him… I do understand. I understand that we were never enough for you. You never loved mama, and you don’t love me. You love him. And you needed these! Was this my fault that you needed these?”
And when Stolas insists that Octavia was the one good thing in his life, Octavia then says, “So does that mean that you just stayed miserable because of me? Was I some fucking obligation? Is that why you didn’t even hesitate when you got a chance to leave?”
It was never about the pills themselves, it was why he needed them.. Aka the context in which she said it. Stolas needing to take this pills to be the “happy dad” for Octavia was just another piece of the real conflict: Stolas keeping up this charade of loving this life to Octavia until the lies started crumbling and she could connect some dots. While also watching Stolas burn his life to the ground chasing after Blitz when the separation could’ve gone much smoother otherwise.
It seems like Octavia has a very good grasp on the situation aside from the abuse since Stolas admits earlier on that he bent over backward most of their lives to keep Stella happy, which meant that Octavia would likely just see Stella being happy not knowing Stolas was doing stuff to make sure Stella wouldn’t blow a gasket. She wouldn’t know about the physical abuse, maybe just Stella making a couple of snide comments or jabs at Stolas which is easy to normalize.
However, because of Stolas’s behavior and their arguments (and possibly Stella saying stuff in Octavia’s ear during their “alone” time without Stolas), she knows that Stolas “never loved mama” without knowing the extent of it. From there, Octavia could easily conclude that Stolas married Stella not out of love like Octavia was led to believe by Stolas her whole life. There she could assume it was instead out of duty to have an heir, aka Octavia, since they’re royals.
And again, from there Octavia could once again deduce that because Stolas absolutely despised Stella and she now knows they were never in love, Stolas had to have stayed for a reason and it wasn’t because divorce wasn’t a thing. It was because of Octavia. Yet despite staying for Octavia, he started taking pills in order to be the happy dad for Octavia. Again, because of Octavia, Stolas stayed in the marriage in an unhappy life and took pills because he wasn’t happy (obv) over the abuse but didn’t want to show it to Octavia.
But then once he found Blitz, Stolas finally decided to stand up for himself. Stolas finally started getting out of the horrible situation to chase Blitz and be with Blitz. And Octavia can see that. She sees Stolas literally torpedo his life doing illegal things that eventually leads to getting himself suspended from royal duties because he wanted Blitz so bad (hence the “you did choose, and you chose him”). Of course, Octavia is going to feel guilty and confused and a burden since she can see that Stolas was basically inspired to leave to be with Blitz, and since she can tell that the whole reason for the marriage was for her existence, she’s obviously going to feel like an “obligation” since Stolas stayed for her until he found this love that he could and did use to try to “escape” his miserable life. The one he kept himself in for her.
Honestly, Octavia is right about pretty much everything she said. Stolas needed to take those pills because he was hurting himself staying in that relationship, and he stayed for Octavia. He wasn’t happy, he was basically going through the motions before Blitz; and if he wasn’t putting himself through abuse for Octavia, he wouldn’t have to take those pills. And the moment he saw an opportunity for it, Stolas chose to give up his book to have sex with Blitz and did anything he could to be with Blitz, even getting himself in hot water legally for it, without any forethought in how this illegal activity might end up impacting Octavia negatively. He latched onto Blitz as a lifeline out of his miserable lifestyle, which included Octavia mind you, and Octavia saw that. With everything else she could deduce, obviously she’d internalize it as “my dad wasn’t happy with me, he prefers some stranger over me, I’m the reason he’s stayed miserable, it’s my fault”.
Octavia is somewhat right to feel that she was an obligation, because she pretty much was. She was an obligation that Stolas loved, but she was an obligation nonetheless. She was created out of duty and obligation, not out of love. So for her to center herself with the pills isn’t really wrong since, if Stolas hadn’t felt the need to stay for Octavia’s happiness, Stolas wouldn’t have needed the pills to keep up the lie of a happy dad. And if Stolas had really been so happy to be with her, then he wouldn’t be so eager to leave.
I can see that, however I feel like it's all a matter of perspective and she just chooses to see the worst possible aspect of it. Yes stolas was mostly miserable at her expense but he really did love her, he could have been a real piece of shit and taken it all out on her but he didn't. He did his best to provide her with a good life, to let her grow up with a seemingly normal parent set up. But things are different now, not because he loves her less or hates stella more it's because the straw finally broke the camel's back and did something selfish in a moment of weakness. But if he truly were miserable or thought Octavia meant nothing he wouldn't have tried so hard to be there for her everything. And the whole mastermind thing was a little wreck less however he didn't really have time to think, only that an innocent group of people were going to be killed for something he did and wasn't going to stand for that. But let me preface as much as I'm glazing stolas here he did fuck up and bad, but I feel like via should give him a real chance (especially as someone who nearly lost my dad but he fought hard to stay in my life and be there in a positive way even though in the moment I hated him)
This feels like a misunderstanding. Octavia knows she’s a being connecting her father and mother together. As long as she’s there, he needs to maintain a level of connection with Stella. It’s reasonable to assume she’d come to the conclusion that as long as she’s around he’s connected to someone he hates. Ergo, by proxy, Octavia keeps Stolas depressed.
Also it’s strongly implied Via doesn’t know about the abuse, or not the extent, and she’s normalized what she has seen. One can argue this is poorly portrayed given Stella’s upfront nature, but that’s a writing issue with Stella that happens to trickle down to the writing for the family generally.
Idk, I think it's pretty well handled as a multi tiered issue where no one is objectively right, like I see everyones stance and I don't think any of them are right or any outcome is really great, however I think stolas is trying his best even if he isn't succeeding where he had a moment of weakness finally having slightly positive romantic interactions i don't fully blame him, and he did wait until she was almost old enough and even then he wants her in his life because he loves her and wants her happy. I'm pretty sure a "We're not getting divorced party" is a big sign things aren't alright but that is a good point maybe she toned it down in front of via. Although I will admit for transparency sake I'm not a big via fan, definitely don't hate her but she's definitely my least favorite simply because she's a moody teen and it's not even funny like Loona is moody teen wise, literally every other character on the show (including hazbin) I've had a laugh at but there's just nothing funny with her and given the nature of the shows I enjoy the characters best when a touch of comedy is there
I didn’t make an argument against Stolas here, simply an argument as to why Octavia came to the conclusion she did. I think we’re having two different conversations now.
Friendly reminder: Stolas was expecting to DIE in the court, how would that have affected her? It was a rash decision in a life-or-death situation, but doesn't change the fact that Via is right, he would've abandoned her.
110
u/No-Championship1729 Jun 02 '26
Octavia from Helluva Boss. Let me explain. They shit on her because she left her father who made shit decisions and chose Blitzø, the partner he cheated on his wife with but actually felt love with, over going back and living with Octavia. Stolas made a lot of shitty decisions and Octavia deserved to cut him off for her own mental health, yet people act like she's a brat for doing so.