We’ve covered the relationships of Cuphead’s first season, so now it’s time to do the same
to the characters and relationships formed in the show’s recently released second season!
While there aren’t quite as many relationships here as there were in the first season,
Cuphead and Mugman still manage to make friends of all kinds in this batch of episodes,
as well as a few new enemies, too! But of all these relationships, which ones in the
fantastical land of Inkwell Aisles are healthy, and which ones could use some counseling?
I’m Caleb with WickedBinge, and this is Cuphead Season 2 Relationships: Healthy to Toxic
As usual, we’ll be looking at the healthiest relationships first,
and then work our way until we’re down to the toxic ones. These relationships are healthy.
Making their way into first place, the Golden Medal of Healthiness goes to the adventurous
trio that is Cuphead, Mugman, and Captain Brineybeard! When these three first meet,
they aren’t exactly great friends, to say the least. Cuphead just wants to go on an adventure,
Brineybeard is trying to confess his love to the mermaid Cala Maria, and Mugman wants pretty
much nothing to do with either character’s journey. However, after the trio encounters
Cala Maria and Brineybeard is turned to stone, they start to become genuine friends. Cuphead
and Mugman not only try to protect Brineybeard from Cala, but they also help escort him after
he becomes a stone statue. Sure, they break his legs off, but Brineybeard doesn’t mind this,
as he thinks having wooden peg legs makes him look like a true pirate. Overall, while Cuphead
and Mugman might not be the best crew members to sail the seven seas, they have more than proven
themselves to Captain Brineybeard, making them the best relationship to form in the second season!
Coming up next, we’re going to give the Silver Medal of Healthiness to Cuphead and his “friend”,
Bowlboy! When Cuphead tries to find a new brother after growing tired of Mugman,
Bowlboy tries his best to impress Cuphead with the many tricks he has at his disposal.
Although Cuphead is initially dismissive of him, he soon starts to realize that Bowlboy
is every bit the thrill-seeking daredevil that he is. The two soon begin to bond,
and they remain good friends through thick and thin. However, their relationship does
have a bit of a dark edge to it, which is the main reason we only put it in second place.
Bowlboy is willing to do things that even Cuphead wouldn’t do, and this is what ultimately leads
Cuphead back to Mugman. Bowlboy even states that he doesn’t just want to be friends with Cuphead,
he wants to be Cuphead! While their friendship comes to a pretty sour end, it cannot be denied
that these two had a great and cooperative relationship that was fun while it lasted!
That does it for the healthy relationships! It’s now time to discuss the relationships
that could use a little bit more work. These ones are in the Grey Area!
First up here are the Elder Kettle and Miss Chalice! Though these two don’t interact that
much in the series, it’s two major characters who didn’t really cross paths in the first season,
so we have to discuss their interactions. In the second season’s opener, Elder Kettle is not too
happy to see his boys befriending Miss Chalice. Kettle believes she is nothing but trouble,
and scolds Cuphead and Mugman for going on adventures with her. Miss Chalice,
however, gets him to take a liking to her, thanks to her usual charms. Because of this,
Elder Kettle is no longer bothered by her, and his previously held beliefs regarding her fade away.
We place this relationship here because, while the two are on good terms with one another in the end,
that only happens due to manipulation on Miss Chalice’s part. When it comes to attributes
that make a relationship healthy, manipulation is probably never going to be anywhere near the
top of that list! Even so, Miss Chalice doesn’t do this to get something out of Elder Kettle as
she does to most of her victims. She could’ve easily tricked him into giving her money or
something else of that nature, but she didn’t, showing that there are a few people who Chalice
will not try to manipulate. Their relationship is something of an oddity among the many
seen in the show and as such, we can’t think of a better place to put it than in the grey area!
Next up, we have the “relationship” between Mugman and Cala Maria! We say relationship
loosely because it is a pretty one-sided romance. Mugman forms a crush on Maria shortly after seeing
her for the first time. In a later episode, Mugman even dreams of her and him being in love
while reading a storybook! Unfortunately, Cala Maria isn't exactly reciprocal of his
love. Just like Brineybeard, she tries to destroy him. While this could make the relationship
sink lower on the list, Cala isn’t nearly as annoyed with Mugman as she is with Brineybeard,
so she isn’t quite as obsessed with taking him out as she is the captain. And, of course, how
good or bad can a relationship be when only one character is aware of said relationship? Overall,
Mugman and Cala Maria are a perfect fit for the grey area. Their relationship isn’t particularly
toxic, but it isn’t healthy either, making it a sensible choice for the middle of our list!
Our next spot goes out to Cuphead, Mugman, and Sally Stageplay! When the trio of Cuphead, Mugman,
and Miss Chalice needs some ice cream money, they quickly come up with a little scam
that serves as a way to make easy cash. Sally Stageplay becomes the first victim of said scam.
While she is leaving her theater, Miss Chalice takes on her ghost form and scares the daylights
out of her. She then calls Cuphead and Mugman, who are running a business that takes care of ghosts,
to get rid of the problem. When that’s resolved, Sally gives the boys their reward,
and goes about her merry day. Though the three of these characters don’t interact that much, the
relationship does show the more negative side of Cuphead and Mugman’s characters. When they need or
want something, they are willing to do pretty much anything to achieve it, even if it comes at the
cost of scaring and ripping someone off. This one could certainly be lower on the list, but at the
end of the day, it must be remembered that Cuphead and Mugman weren’t trying to hurt Sally. What they
did wasn’t done out of hatred or anything like that, just as a means to an end. That certainly
doesn’t make what they did good, but it does show that it wasn’t done out of villainy. Trust us when
we say that there are a lot worse relationships to follow that involve Cuphead and Mugman!
Our next relationship is a classic master and apprentice duo, Ludwig and Mugman! Upon his debut,
Ludwig takes Mugman under his wing, attempting to teach him all the tricks and trade of the piano.
Unfortunately, Mugman isn’t all that great at playing the piano, but would you like to know
who is? Cuphead! After hearing him perform, Ludwig takes him on as a student instead,
much to Mugman’s dismay. Mugman starts to become jealous of his brother,
and later makes it so that a piano will fall on the two during their performance. In the end,
only Ludwig is crushed by the piano, but even if Mugman impressed Ludwig, their relationship likely
wouldn’t have been any better. Why is that? It’s because Ludwig actually steals Cuphead’s music and
performs it as his own, which he undoubtedly would have also done to Mugman had they stuck together.
You could make the argument that this relationship should be lower on the list,
but realistically, we don’t think there are enough genuine interactions between these two
characters to do such. But maybe we haven’t seen the last of Mugman and his untrustworthy teacher!
Who knows? Only time, and maybe some improvement at the piano on Mugman’s part, will tell.
Wrapping up the grey area, we have Mugman and the Ice Cream Man! One night, while Mugman is trying
to read a storybook, there is one thing that repeatedly interrupts his reading session. That
is the Ice Cream Man, who becomes quite the thorn in Mugman’s side throughout this episode. Mugman
tries his best to get rid of him, going as far as to straight-up assault him, but his conscience
eventually tells him to apologize. The Ice Cream Man isn’t too phased by any of the things Mugman
did to get rid of him, and thus gives the relationship between these two characters a
pretty happy ending. Mugman is even willing to buy ice cream from his truck in a later episode,
showing that the two don’t really hold anything against the other after this whole debacle.
Mugman and Ice Cream Man have a pretty messy relationship, but since things eventually turn out
alright between the two, we believe this last spot on the grey area is the best place to put them at!
With the grey area done and buried, it’s time to delve into the worst
relationships of them all. These relationships are toxic.
Up first is Miss Chalice and the Birnbaum Quadruplets! While Miss Chalice is known for
using her charm to get out of sticky situations, this is one case where that doesn’t exactly work.
After entering a mysterious building in an attempt to scare anyone inside,
she reads their names on a set of paintings, causing Chalice to be stuck inside a painting,
and the Quadruplets to be set free. If left in the painting, Chalice would not
have been free for a hundred years! However, after Cuphead and Mugman enter the building,
Miss Chalice is able to fight back. The trio and the Quadruplets begin to use the picture frames
to try and put each other into the paintings, with the Quadruplets ultimately being set back into the
paintings, and everything going back to normal. Well, except for the gang’s piggy bank, which is
now stuck inside the painting with the Birnbaum’s. Since this is the first relationship where
a character is going after another with truly malicious intent, we believe it has to be the
first one to be labeled as toxic! The only reason it isn’t lower on the list is because it lacks
the depth that others yet to come have. But even disregarding that, these four ghastly vultures are
definitely not the type of company you want, even if they’re locked away in a painting!
Next up, the Bronze Medal of Toxicity goes to Cala Maria and Captain Brineybeard! Brineybeard is a
pirate who has one thing on his mind and one thing only: making the mermaid Cala Maria his
girlfriend. Brineybeard sets out to find her and, after a short meeting where he professes his love
to her, she turns him into a statue made of stone! This very nearly sealed his fate if it weren’t for
how much love he had for Cala. However, that is also not enough to warm her heart, who then
sets out to devour the captain, as well as Cuphead and Mugman. While things don’t go so well between
them, it’s likely only a matter of time until Brineybeard inevitably tries to win her over once
more. Cala Maria and Brineybeard’s relationship is a classic example of toxic love. While Brineybeard
loves Maria dearly, she wants nothing to do with him. Unless she’s thinking of a tasty snack,
of course! As such, we think the toxic portion of our list is the ideal place for them!
Second to last on our list, the Silver Medal of Toxicity goes to Cuphead, Mugman, and Werner
Werman! Werner is a rat, and just like any rat, he’s pesky and an enormous pain to the duo that
is Cuphead and Mugman. The two brothers repeatedly try to get rid of the intruder, but he manages to
get out of anything they dish out. Werner is also able to pit the two against each other at times,
thanks to his small size. Werner’s main goal is to take over the home as his own, and he’ll do
anything he can to get the family to leave the place behind for somewhere else. From destroying
property to eating cakes, everything he does in the house is for the sole purpose of annoying the
family so bad that they’ll have no choice but to leave it. The relationship formed between these
trio is toxic in pretty much every conceivable way. He tries to get rid of them, they try to
get rid of him, and there is no reconciliation whatsoever between the two. If that isn’t toxic,
we don’t know what is! However, there is one more relationship that manages to outdo this one!
That relationship, our Golden Medal of Toxicity recipient, is none other than Cuphead and Baroness
Von Bon Bon! Upon meeting for the first time, the Baroness seems like a charming, if not a bit
strange, friend to Cuphead. She shows him around the candy kingdom that is Sugarland, and gives
him a few rules to follow before letting him loose to eat all the candy a kid could ask for. Things,
however, go wrong after Mugman is told about the land, and begins to eat the fabled candy castle
that was not to be touched. Baroness Von Bon Bon is understandably upset by this, but her annoyance
quickly turns to vengeance. She turns both of the brothers into treats, and chases after them
in an attempt to devour the two! Even after they get back home, Cuphead and Mugman are still stuck
in their candy forms, making them a perfect treat for one Elder Kettle. We give the relationship
between Cuphead and the Baroness the title of most toxic because of just how nefarious the
Baroness is to Cuphead. While faces like Werner Werman and Cala Maria were certainly not kind,
most of what they did was not to harm Cuphead or anyone else for that matter, but just for their
self-interests. That is not true in the case of Baroness Von Bon Bon. She wanted nothing more than
a new victim, and Cuphead fit perfectly into what she was looking for. For these reasons, we have to
call the relationship between Baroness and Cuphead the most toxic in all of the show’s second season.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking.
And tell us what we should cover next. Remember to hit that notification bell
and binge more of our videos. But most importantly, stay wicked.