The Devil/TCS

Here's the original photo for the editing

Cozy glow is my oc lady chalice

Look who also did the death pose in Roadkill

HE KEEPS GETTING HOTTER EVERY EPISODE

HELP

HIS DANCE IN THE FINAL EPISODE

I SO BADLY WANTED HIM TO WIN I'M SORRY TO THE CUP TRIO LIKERS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

HIS VOICE IN THE SECOND TO LAST EPISODE

WHEN HE'S TALKING TO CHALICE

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY IS HE SO HOTTTTTTT

ALSO

WE MIGHT BE GETTING SEASON 4!!!!!!!!!!

Also A Very Devil Christmas made me cry i am not even kidding

And the Devil's "it's showtime!" in Cupstaged is literally the best

We have a second Beetlejuice reference

Also Luke knew exactly what he was doing there

You could TELL he was trying to make it sound like the Devil and Beetlejuice at the same time

Also Roadkill is my favorite episode

"MRS. MEOW MEOW" XGFHIUCGYTFXGVJBHK

The part where the devil is talking about how he doesn't know what to do with his hands when he doesn't have his pitchfork is literally just me before i started taking my devil plushie everywhere with me, and one of the many reasons he is my biggest kin. I LOVE THIS SKRUNKLY BOIIIIIIII

I'M COSPLAYING THE DEVIL!!!!!!!!

if we get literally anything devildice related in season 3 i will die from happiness

Ok, so in the last episode of Season 2 (The Devil's Pitchfork), Cuphead & Mugman find the Devil's pitchfork, mess around with it, and then the Devil tries to take it back but he can't, so he takes Mugman to hell with him instead, just to spite Cuphead. Yea yeah, we know how it goes. But why couldn't the Devil take his pitchfork back? In the show it seems like Cuphead is using it against the Devil, but if you look more closely, it seems like the Devil just can't grab it. Similar to the invisible sweater Cuphead wore in Sweater Off Dead/Sweater Luck Next Time.

Cuphead and Mugman playing with the Devil’s pitchfork for 3 minutes

Timestamp 1:27.

Cuphead actually tries to give the pitchfork back, but can't. You can see in his face, his 'What the heck" expression. He clearly didn't intend to use the pitchfork at that time.

Which makes me believe that something is in fact preventing the Devil from taking it back.

The shocks around the Devil look similar (if not identical) to the shocks he received while trying to touch the invisible sweater.

The Cuphead Show! Invisible Sweater off Dead.

So, is it possible that some of that 'magic' is still within Cuphead himself? Maybe.

The weapon you get from Elder Kettle at the start of the game itself is the Peashooter. It looks like this:

Does that look similar to something?

A specific shock, perhaps?

So what exactly am I saying?

Well, the show is supposed to take place before the game's events, right? Cuphead and Mugman don't have powers to begin with. So it's likely that he'll gain them during the show, in season 3. And there are two ways this can happen.

One: He gains them from Elder Kettle, like the game shows

Two: He already does have them, but he just doesn't know it.

But what could give Cuphead the powers if not Elder Kettle?

The sweater Mugman knit for him.

Think about it. What key element did the brothers need to make the sweater actually work?

The Cuphead Show! Invisible Sweater off Dead.

Timestamp 0:22

"Mugman made it for me. It works on account of our brotherly love."

The sweater is only effective when knitted by someone close to Cuphead (in this case, Mugman). This 'power of family' trope is shown again when Mugman hugs Cuphead to stop him from taking the sweater off, and that also protects both of them from the hellfire unleashed by the Devil.

The Cuphead Show Season 2 Ending!

"I will take something of great value to you."

And what does the Devil take?

Mugman.

Cuphead's. Brother.

The one he's done everything with. The one who's love saved his life. And unless I missed something, they still love each other (AS SIBLINGS) by the end of The Devil's Pitchfork, so who's to say that the sweater's magic isn't still (sort of) working?

It's a stretch, I know. But it's the only other option here. The sweater worked through the 'power of love', so it would kind of make sense that any magic similar to that would work the same way.

So, yeah. I'm starting to run out of theory juice.. so TL;DR:

The reason that the Devil couldn't take back his pitchfork is because the magic of the sweater is still in Cuphead (in a sense). This same magic will later allow him to use the powers we know as the 'peashooter' in-game. All due to ~brotherly love~ (ngl that sounds really corny when i read it aloud but oh well).