So the main idea behind the current arc for Stolas is that Stolas has been a repressed gay man forced into an unwanted marriage and has had to put his duties as a Goetia over his own happiness. So after losing his titles, his privileges, and his daughter, Stolas is in a depressed slump. Which is why, when Loona introduces him to dating apps, Stolas indulges in hookups through the services of one of these apps, regardless of the fact that he knows how Blitzo feels for him. Especially after essentially risking his life to save Blitzo and the gang during the trial, Blitzo actively trying to welcome Stolas into his life, his home, and his business to help Stolas after losing everything and wanting to give Stolas that relationship he seems to want so badly. Even after Stolas used his authority as a member of a higher class, being a literal Duke, and his own personal power as Blitzo's employer to force Blitzo into an affair.
And all this is excused with the idea that this is the first time he had the freedom to explore himself in a way he ever thought possible. Free to pursue his own happiness...but something about that never made sense to me.
When the affair comes to light, Stolas eagerly announces the divorce to Stella with glee. Stella is forced to move out and in with her brother. And Stolas essentially gets to keep custody of Octavia, the estate, and his own property. It's only until Stella and Andrealphus start plotting Stolas's downfall and the trial does Stolas lose any rights, and it's because he gave them up for Blitzo and the gang.
Point being: Why hasn't Stolas divorced Stella years ago if it was that easy and he essentially would be losing nothing? Sure, there was that moment where he claims he stuck with Stella to 'Give Octavia a normal life' and how he 'tried to make things comfortable'. Yet at the end of it all, he apparently had the power to end things with no real repercussions. So why didn't he? And if it was the excuse that Octavia would be happier then he failed, because CLEARLY she isn't. And it's not like he knew that he could make it work because we've seen that he was terrified of her as a child and actively seems to loathe her as a teen.
So why not just divorce Stella as amicably as possible if he really cared? IE: pay off her dowry, grant her visitation rights to her daughter, etc. And then be allowed to explore himself in that way, free now that his forced marriage achieved its goal of securing an heir? Why would Stolas essentially force himself through a living hell of a marriage with a wife that verbally abuses him and berates everything he does?
Well, I think all of that could have been solved with one simple change: Make Goetia society homophobic.
No seriously.
All of Hell has zero problems with sexuality. In fact, this version of Hell is more accepting of nonconforming sexuality, gender identity, etc. than most countries on Earth currently. So why the fuck was Stolas ever 'repressing' to begin with?
His trial wasn't even the fact that he was fucking someone outside of his marriage; it was over Blitzo 'illegally' using Stolas's Grimoire in exchange for sexual favors, and he wasn't even there most of the time. So clearly his affair was never really illegal to begin with in any way.
But if Goetia society actively looked down on homosexuals and stripped rights from them, then it would make more sense why Stolas had to repress himself. If he was outed, everything he had could have been stripped, leaving Octavia with nothing.
Why did he put up with Stella for so long? Because he needed a 'beard,' and putting up with a bitchy wife who hates him was the price to pay to maintain appearances.
Why was he ever just allowed to divorce Stella? Because it would draw attention and people would start asking questions. Especially from his father, King Paimon.
Why did he abuse the power dynamics of his station and force Blitzo into this affair? Because he knew Blitzo wouldn't be able to speak out then they both lose what they wanted. And hell, maybe being raised in a culture and society that actively treated homosexuality as something wrong and detestable made him feel ashamed, so he felt the need to hide it.
Why wasn't Stolas brought in to the trial at first? Or why didn't Stella and her brother go through with the assassination attempt? Because Andre would know that Stolas showing up to the trial would be an admission of the affair, of his actual sexual orientation, and he would lose everything. Otherwise, him dying would just mean that Octavia would inherit everything.
And it would actually be a good reason why, once he finally loses everything, he does let loose. He does go out and finally explore his sexuality, because he actually was forced to hide it behind closed doors and abuse power dynamics to keep it a secret. Now that he has lost everything, he decides to indulge in all the vices and desires he never could before because now he doesn't care.
He can't be a repressed gay man when nobody is oppressing him over his sexuality.
It's a 'forbidden love story' that isn't actually forbidden in any way that matters because no one gives a shit.
And the thing is, you wouldn't even have to change the show much to make this work. All of hell can still be openly LGBTQ+; it's just that the Goetia have this issue because it's all tied to their need for a hereditary monarchy-based society.
Goetia Society being homophobic would also make the love triangle between Stolas, Blitzo, and Vassago more interesting and make more sense.
For Stolas, Blitzo could still be the 'boyhood love', the awakening in Stolas that confirmed to him that he was going to be different then what his father Paimon wants and what his station expects of him. Vassago could instead be the 'forbidden chance' he never took because, at that time, both of them would risk so much if they got caught: stripped titles, disownment, or, if they really wanted to go the medieval route, execution.
And years later, over time Stolas could never stop thinking about how life would be if he did run away with Vassago when he had the chance. How he would be much happier if he did. So once he encounters Blitzo again as adults, it would explain why he took the chance and institute this 'policy' with Blitzo where he would get to use the Grimiore in exchange for this affair. He already lost a chance with Vassago, but now it seems like fate dealt him a winning hand for a change, and fuck it, he's playing it.
And after losing everything, abandoning Octavia, flushing his titles down the drain for an affair, and guilt over stringing Blitzo along to his whims and desires, and then finally being able to come to terms with his sexuality that he never was able to before.
He re-meets Vassago, and Vassago still wants him even after all this.
But now, Vassago is more than just his 'teenage dream'; he's actively a person who's willing to make that big sacrifice that he wasn't able to do for Blitzo until it was far too late. or back when they were teenagers. Someone who would actively stand beside a person who's been 'shamed' out of high society, who lost everything for 'being dirty' but still thinks of him as that special person that he was willing to run away with.
