Helluva Boss and its Magnificent Emotional Tone

Helluva Boss exploded onto the animation scene in late 2019, by all accounts an underdog given its status as a totally independent production. The show, however, did not disappoint, garnering millions of views (34 million by the time of this post), critical acclaim, and a ravenous fan base. But, I'm not really interested in talking about the success of the show in general. No, I'm interested in talking about five very specific minutes in one particular episode, "Loo Loo Land," the show's second episode.

The episode begins with a character who had a very minor role in the first episode (the audience knows next to nothing about him at this point except that he appears to have a sexual obsession with one of the main characters): Stolas, who is awoken by his young daughter, crying in her room at night. Stolas goes to comfort her, learning that she'd had a bad dream where he had disappeared. Using magic, he conjures a fantastical, cosmic scene before them and sings her a song about impermanence, growing up, mortality, and stoicism.

Apart from being an incomprehensibly well-made and well-sung musical number, the moment is touching in a way that every parent understands on an intimate and fundamental level. It's just a father sitting down to reassure his daughter that their bond is eternal even if physical space separates them. In just over two minutes, we're painted an immaculate portrait of a father and daughter who love each other with all their hearts.

This is, of course, immediately juxtaposed afterwards with a scene depicting the crumbling marriage between Stolas and his wife, along with the obvious resentment harbored by their daughter over the dysfunction. In just over two minutes, we're painted an awkward inversion of the same scene, where a father loves, but is out of touch with his daughter, and a daughter who hates her parents for the experience they're unwittingly putting her through. As a child of a divorced couple, the pain is palpable for me, but Vivienne Medrano does a marvelous job translating that experience to a wider audience in lightning fast time.

Good writing is exceptionally common, in part because it's not all that hard to write believable characters and dialogue in believable scenarios.

Excellent writing is rare beyond words, largely because making your audience care about a new character in just a few short minutes is an art form. Pixar's "Up" gives us a famous example of it. Owen Dennis' "Infinity Train" will likely be remembered for it. And while it wasn't a main character, "Helluva Boss" has certainly displayed its writers' grasp of the same emotional storytelling. For anyone who hasn't seen it, the whole series is definitely worth a watch, but again, this specific episode ought to be required viewing for budding screenwriters.