The more i watch Blitzo and Stolas's relationship, the more makes me think that the writers are trying really hard to do something similar Rose and Pearl had in Steven Universe without understanding how that worked in SU.
Usually i think comparing these series doesn't make much sense because different demographic and humor but one thing i can compare is the difference between how Stolas/Blitzo and Rose/Pearl is executed.
One of the main differences is that there were some good things in Pearl and Rose's relationship. They supported and helped each other out. They inspired each other to be better people and see themselves beyond what they were. There was a certain charm to it in spite of their relationship being really messy.
Another key difference is that Rose doesn't take advantage of her relationship with Pearl. She doesn't see Pearl less than her and treats her as an equal. She doesn't demands things from her and she encourages her to be herself, to be more than a gem who follows orders.
The main occasion we get to see her taking advantage of her position is her ordering Pearl to not tell anyone about how they faked the shattering of Pink Diamond. To an extent is understandable why Rose did that, even if later in the series it is shown to be wrong and something that ended up emotionally hurting Pearl indirectly.
With Blitzo and Stolas... well, you don't get to have that.
Sarcastic Productions did a good breakdown of their relationship, and something that is an important problem with Blitz and Stolas is how Stolas kept taking advantage of his power dynamic with Blitz to make him have these sexual encounters in exchange for Blitz being able to have the book that is crucial to his business.
There are occasions that Stolas treats Blitzo as lesser and is pretty inconsiderate towards him, treating Blitz like he was a child. It is something that it can get uncomfortable to watch if you see things from Blitz's perspective. We get to see how Blitz isn't comfortable with Stolas treating him like that but he doesn't say much because he knows that he needs Stolas' book.
That's not to say Blitzo is perfect neither, he is pretty much terrible in a lot of ways that an entire group of people throw an annual party to talk about how much they hate him. In that regard, the episode ¨Apology Tour¨ hints at the idea that he wants to be better as a person- which is a good character development for him, if it sticks.
The problem is that the narrative potrays Blitzo as ¨the bad guy¨ from lashing out to Stolas in the episode ¨Full Moon¨... which yeah, maybe yelling isn't the best reaction but a lot of the things Blitz says to Stolas are understandable from his point of view. Stolas has been taking advantage of him until it came to an stop after Season 1 finale and he is right there is a difference in their dynamic.
The issue comes from how the series doesn't seem to want for Stolas to realize how messed up that was nor the power position he has over imps and other demons. It has to be about how Blitzo made him feel sad that got angry at him for some understandable reasons. It feels like the narrative doesn't want to address Stolas' flaws as character and the episode pretends for us to but that he is in the same position as someone like Verosika.
The writing of Blitzo and Stolas's relationship is pretty messy in some areas but one thing i hope the series explores at some point is how Stolas realizes the power dynamic he had over Blitzo and how he messed up in his own way in their relationship. He has to learn this because it is an aspect that has been pushed under the rug for a while now and it is becoming a real problem in the narrative.
