Helluva Boss Hindsight Review: Murder Family
This review has spoilers for Episode 1, “Murder Family,” and later entries for Helluva Boss.
Even though I did an overall review of why you should watch the Helluva Boss and the Hazbin Hotel pilot, I’ve wanted to deep dive into these series individually as I've done with other shows like The Owl House and Amphibia. While waiting for the Hazbin announcement of when it premieres and where it will stream, it’s an excellent time to tackle Helluva Boss episode by episode.
Looking back at how far the show has come, this is a Helluva Boss hindsight review for “Murder Family.”
The first episode of Season 1 for Helluva Boss kicks off with a literal bang in “Murder Family.” Following up on the basic introduction from the pilot episode, the season starts chugging along from here to pick up steam in the following entries.
While I love how the narrative and characters have developed throughout the show’s tenure, there’s something special about these early adventure-of-the-week episodes. These are a lot of fun as Helluva Boss takes time for the audience to settle into the world and the characters. If you are like me, who started with Helluva Boss before Hazbin Hotel, it’s nice to get an idea of how the setting of Hell and the human world function. “Murder Family,” in particular, also allows for Bryce Pinkham and Vivian Nixon to settle into their roles as Stolas and Millie, who had different voice actors in the pilot.
Including the pilot, the first five episodes allow us to grow with I.M.P. through their various jobs while getting to know Blitzo, Moxxie, Millie, Loona, and Stolas. As they are the show's emotional core, it’s vital to take time with each of them before bringing in the bigger story. Still, as we’ll see with the next entry, “Loo Loo Land,” and the following episode, “Spring Broken,” the creators use their time wisely to weave in essential character notes.
The biggest example in “Murder Family” stems from what appears to be a joke on the surface. The plot focuses on Moxxie and his struggles killing certain people, a definite hang up for an assassin. He contemplates over if it’s wrong to kill a family, pauses, and considers it might be okay if it’s a mob family. What a reveal a season later that Moxxie came from a mobster family in the Greed ring with his father Crimson responsible for the death of his mother. It makes sense with the extra context why Moxxie struggles to kill someone else’s mom. This theme continues throughout the next several episodes, giving both weight and re-watchability to these early episodes.
I just have to also note one bit of dialogue from Blitzo. When he and Millie are captured by the human family and set on fire, he very specifically says “your” fire does not hurt demons. This is explicitly noting fire on Earth, not in Hell, where they live. This distinction is an important one, especially come season two in the episode “Oops” where fire plays a big role in the story.
The other standout moment of this early season is the banger performance from Mara Wilson. It would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because Helluva Boss is indie animation, it would have primarily unknown voice actors outside of a few, like Richard Horvitz. I know because I fell into the trap. I was shocked after watching “Murder Family” for the first time and seeing that Matilda herself was a guest role. It made me realize that this show was coming to contend with the best of the best in the animation industry, something it would succeed in. Just wait until I scream about Kesha’s arrival.
The song is another toe-tapper. The reveal of the family of cannibals is hilarious. Stolas’ ongoing bleeped-out phone conversation is a fantastic early joke. The animation is gorgeous. Overall, “Murder Family” is a solid early episode for season one and continues the energy kicked off in the pilot.
Also, the ‘Bless this mess’ sign made out of human flesh is one of my favorite moments of the entire show. That moment is perfection.
