Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Big Mouth season 5.
Big Mouth season 5 has hit Netflix, and with it comes two new monsters for the kids: the glowing lovebugs and the angry hate worms. The newest additions bring new members to the Big Mouth cast and provide a connection between Big Mouth and its upcoming spin-off, Human Resources. As the show has done previously, the new creatures play an integral part in the overall story arc in Big Mouth season 5.
Big Mouth presents the horrors of puberty as humorous — and sometimes loveable — monsters. As kids begin this difficult stage of development, they're assigned hormone monsters who are designed to guide them through the perils of growing up. However, there is more to growing up than just hormones. Throughout Big Mouth, the kids are forced to confront monsters like the anxiety mosquito Tito, the Depression Kitty, the Shame Wizard, and more.
Big Mouth season 5 focuses on the theme of love and hate. As the kids of Bridgeton take on the eighth grade, they're plagued by blooming romances and festering hatred. When their emotions get too big for them to handle on their own, two new monsters step in to guide them through their feelings — lovebugs and hate worms. Like their colleagues, lovebugs and hate worms both claim to be working in the best interest of their kids. Too much of a good thing can be detrimental — but even more surprisingly, there is good to be found even in hate.
Big Mouth's Lovebug Explained
Big Mouth's lovebugs are some of the more positive monsters in the series. As crushes and friendships bloom into love, lovebugs arrive to help steer the kids in the right direction. As Nick discovers his feelings toward Jessi are love at the end of Big Mouth season 4, Walter (Brandon Kyle Goodman) is assigned the task of helping Nick confess so he and Jessi can have a happily ever after. Sonya (Pamela Adlon), Jessi's lovebug, helps her charge to navigate the confusing line between platonic and romantic love wither her new best friend Ali (Ali Wong), as well as embracing Jessi's exploration of her sexuality. When a lovebug witnesses true love, they glow with a brilliant pink light, making them almost impossible to ignore. However, a lovebug's infatuation can border on obsessive, influencing their kids to act impulsively with little regard for others.
Big Mouth's Hate Worm Explained
The hate worm is the counterpart of the lovebug. As feelings of love turn sour, the beautiful lovebug is corrupted into an ugly hate worm. When Missy's feelings of jealousy toward Jessi turn into hate, she is introduced to Rochelle (Keke Palmer). Rochelle encourages Missy's feelings of petty hate, telling her to cyberbully her classmates and lash out at her parents. Nick's hate worm was born from the corruption of his own love; when his confession to Jessi didn't go as planned, Nick's anger and jealousy toward Andrew and Jessi forced Walter to change from a lovebug into a nasty, bitter hate worm. Like the Shame Wizard, hate worms feed on hate. As the hate festers and grows, so does the hate worm; as Rochelle and Walter encouraged Missy and Nick's hatred for Jessi, the worms grew until they turned into snakes that overwhelmed the two kids. Hate worms can be defeated, though. As Missy and Nick reconcile with their friends in Big Mouth season 5, they are able to convert Rochelle and Walter back into fabulous lovebugs, ready to embrace love once again.