Murder Family

"Murder Family" is the series premiere of the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, following the demonic employees of the assassination company I.M.P on a mission. It premiered on YouTube on October 31, 2020, was written by series creators Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano and Brandon Rogers, and directed by Medrano and Rick Zieff.

Receiving a universally positive critical reception, "Murder Family" was also nominated for the 2020 Ursa Major Award for Best Dramatic Series.

Plot
In the opening scene, a schoolteacher named Mrs. Mayberry is shown teaching her students before realizing she forgot her husband's birthday ("Teacher's Song"). One of her students suggests they video call him as a surprise, but the video call reveals him to be cheating on her with a woman named Martha. Enraged, Mrs. Mayberry storms out of the classroom, and shoots her husband and Martha. She then comes to her senses, and immediately regrets what she has done, as her students witnessed the entire event via the still-active video call. She shoots herself after apologizing to them.

Some time later, now a demon in Hell, Mrs. Mayberry is revealed to be telling the story of her death to Blitzo, intending to hire his assassination company I.M.P. to kill Martha, who healed from her injuries and was viewed as a hero for surviving the attack. Using a grimoire to travel to Martha's home in the human world, Blitzo and married imps Moxxie and Millie approach the house to find Martha, her husband Ralphie, and their two children sitting down for dinner. Blitzo and Moxxie argue about whether it's right to destroy a family by killing a mother, accidentally setting off Blitzo's gun and alerting the humans to their presence. Revealed to be a family of sadistic devil worshipping cannibals, the humans chase the imps into the woods, capturing Millie and Moxxie. Blitzo initially escapes, but is caught when a phone call from Stolas, a powerful demon who lent I.M.P their grimoire, alerts Martha to his position. Millie and Blitzo are tied to a stake to burn, and just as they're about to be killed, Moxxie shoots and kills Martha, having escaped his earlier captivity.

Moxxie frees the pair from the still-burning stake, and Blitzo calls Loona to open a portal back to Hell. Returning to the house, Moxxie confronts the family, telling them that while they're "monsters", he is not going to kill them, instead reporting them to the human authorities. Rejoining the others at the portal, Moxxie watches the police arrive at the house and immediately destroy it with a missile, killing the family, which Moxxie did not expect would happen. On returning to Hell, Mrs. Mayberry and the I.M.P staff congratulate Moxxie for killing Martha with a party celebrating the job, while Moxxie sits, traumatized and guilt-ridden to have caused the death of the family.

Production and release
The episode stars Brandon Rogers as Blitzo, Richard Horvitz as Moxxie, Vivian Nixon as Millie, Erica Lindbeck as Loona, and Bryce Pinkham as Stolas. Guest starring are Mara Wilson as Mrs. Mayberry, Jinkx Monsoon as Martha, and Maxwell Atoms as Ralphie. The animation was produced by SpindleHorse Toons. The storyboarding was done by Samantha Ambriz, Thomas Brooks, and Nick Swift. Horseless Cowboy voice directed the episode. A teaser for "Murder Family" was released on June 9, 2020, while the episode's release date, October 31, 2020, was announced three days ahead of its premiere.

Critical reception
Amari Allah of Wherever I Look described the episode as "feel[ing] like what would have happened if Ren & Stimpy [and] the other insane and dark cartoons of the 90s [had] evolved and continued to have a platform", praising the series' "delicious" premise and the "dysfunctional family vibe [for] giv[ing] the show heart".

Hope Mullinax of The Geeky Waffle complimented the episode's exploration of "Moxxie and Mille's marriage [a]s tooth-rottenly sweet, [that] it's nice to have an on-screen happy relationship with little drama which is actually fresher than one would think." Comic Book Resources praised "the chaotic humor of Helluva Boss' first episode", Brendan Kachel of Flayrah complimented its "horror movie tributes a[s] well done", in particular praising the episode's opening scene, where "the poor teacher [o]nly snaps when someone does something genuinely terrible to her, [a]s a good encapsulation of the show's themes".