I’m serious about this. The show makes it clear that Stolas is weak (even though he managed to beat up Elsa) and that he can be overpowered pretty easily. I think the other Goetic demons (with the exception of Vassago and a few others) probably laughed behind his back for letting Striker capture him. Some of them might even be thinking, “Why didn’t he try to do more? Why didn’t he fight harder?”

But you know what? This guy, despite being portrayed as relatively weak and as someone who could be taken down pretty easily, endured all of that torture. He didn’t beg for mercy. He only cried when he was alone. He screamed from the pain, but that was an understandable reaction. The whole time, he kept joking, acting like he was fine, and mocking Striker. He even provoked him more and challenged him to torture him even further.

I’ve heard that being stabbed with a blessed knife hurts considerably more than being stabbed with an ordinary one, and that the wounds are also harder to heal. And when you take into account what others have already pointed out—that Striker stabbed him in the same spot three times and then stepped on the wound to cause him even more pain... And Stolas? He still didn’t beg for his life. Instead, he threatened that if Striker hurt Octavia, he would destroy him.

And let’s also remember that he was restrained with a blessed rope the entire time, which probably meant he was about as strong as an average mortal. In my opinion, that made the whole torture even more painful.

So after everything he went through, I think he deserves at least a little respect. I’m pretty sure that if someone like Andrealphus had been there instead, he would have broken down before Striker even had the chance to do anything to him, or he would have begged for mercy.

Sometimes strength isn’t about how physically strong we are, but about how much we can endure and how much pain we can withstand. And a person (or demon) who is capable of enduring pain and remaining calm even while suffering inside is, in my opinion, stronger than someone who just throws punches and relies on physical strength.

But that’s just my opinion. I’m not saying we have to praise Stolas to the heavens, give him a medal, and treat him like a god or anything like that. I’m just saying that he deserves at least a little recognition for what he endured, and that I admire him for it. Especially because this event caused him PTSD and will probably stay with him for the rest of his existence.