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marcussour · 1 month ago

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EXU Divergence E04 random thoughts and bits

One last time, let's do this

Into the Sam Riegel verse

Now we know Matt should play Rogue (?)

What even was the continuity of the ads anyway

We're starting with a quote by Seven Samurai, that's how you know its gonna be good

That nat 20 for Crokas after becoming smart, was super appropriate

Loved Brennan's explanation of the change in gears for Vasselheim, and how that also ties with how we see the city centuries down the line

What's with the fancy dude and the child?; EDIT after I realized who they were an hour and a half after the episode began: OH, the rich assholes in the Strife Emperor's court and the evil child

Oh, that "self taught?", it kinda stung

Power move with the letter opener by Nia

I've just noticed that Alex has been moving and swaying like a monitor lizard all the episodes, in order to match Crokas' being a dragonborn and like, overall vibe of being like, Godzilla in a small scale

Morgana Thundershield, amazing name

I love that this episode is, thematically, a sorta epilogue of C3. Of course it's not exactly the same, but seeing Vasselheim react to the gods going retreating behind the gate and the impact it had in them, compared with what happened with the gods at the end of C3.

Also, Brennan making the connection between hubris and humility regarding the connection to the divine and faith. *chef's kiss*

"Learn to learn again"

Oh, the explanation to the change of paradigm was brilliant. How divine magic used to be just a call for the gods to intervene, but now, they're based on faith and belief, and the clerics are the conduits, not just people who call upon the gods for them to act

Rux Tallheart, paladin of the Platinum Dragon, another certified Brennan Lee Mulligan's small guy

Oh, that's interesting, not all the gods are accounted for

Welcome to the New World, Erro's telling jokes now

"Nia? Rai'nia?"; "How does this possibly keep happening?"

"the feel when confirmation bias becomes confirmation"

Crokas settled immediately into the routine of showing the Orb whenever someone needs to hear what happened to Liana

"Am I a god?"; "NO"; "Thank you"

Well, we can certainly see where Nia got her charm

"Why do I call you boss?", OH CROKAS GAINED INTROSPECTION

"You were the best victory prize I ever got"; "I think you need to examine those words a little bit. And how that might make me feel. That you don't refer to me as your child, but as your bodyguard"

Oh, I've been waiting for the first episode for this conversation to happen. You could tell that despite everything, Fiedra always had a wall between her and Crokas, and how he wasn't able to even articulate what that meant or how did he feel. And there's a lot to unpack about Fiedra, she was sorta kinda "thriving" (for lack of a better word) in the Strife Emperor's prison, and she's never like, hide that she isn't what you may call a "good person" in the traditional sense due to the circumstances surrounding her upbringing, you know, experiencing all the cruelty and violence while growing up an orphan. I get that she cared about him in her own way, and tried to do the right thing with what she had available, but there's also some utilitarianism in the way she treated Crokas that, of course was gonna come up into the surface the moment Crokas could finally put words to those feelings.

See, Crokas knows it, the rest of the roaches were "her boys", but he was just "the bodyguard". Again, this whole "I get what you were trying to do or where you are coming from, but those intentions never translated into actions, or at least you never expressed what those actions were supposed to be" kinda way

"I needed a mom, not to fight for a boss"

Oh, now I'm starting to suspect the Key, like, that's like a suspicious timing

That "There Will Be Blood" reference was spot on

The Key has an awakened state?

Fiedra, honey, I'm sure this isn't going to end well

See, told ya

I knew there was something else going on with the key

Garen Hearthheart

Oh that Predator handshake between Matt and Brennan was just, incredible

"The Gate is built by heart alone, though hearts be held by flesh and bone, and flesh and bone by earth and stone. The door we make, when lock we break, will bridge the waters, roads to take. The stones that stand to staunch the flood, freedom found by toil and blood. By stone betrayed, the seal is made. The hand that holds the heart that prayed. The stairs it shaped, the debts it paid. The gate is shaped, the keystone layed."

Yeah, that little moment gave me all the emotions.

Also, intended or not, the dwarven script?prayer?chant? kinda sound a bit like a poem about the structure of this mini campaign, doesn't it?

It seems to me that Erro's got some type of connection to Bahamut that goes beyond what his parents' faith and what they used to do

Loved the idea of like, the spell rules are basically the new rules of Divine Magic, and they're still being settled, so the Moonweaver can kinda bend them a bit

Look at Liana just, giving the ultra abridged version of the events of Downfall

Of course Brennan wouldn't resist having Asmodeus back again one final (?) time

Oh, so there was something else regarding the way the gods made themselves mortals and why they forgot who they were supposed to be. Also, many more came but never found out who they were.

Ok, I'm calling it now, Erro is Bahamut.

Look at Fiedra trying to make things up and good with Crokas. Good for them.

Love the idea of Crokas going full Batman in Vasselheim. Like, imagine a monk that's basically a miniature Godzilla (which is still huge in this case), jumping through the buildings. Kinda like Absolute Batman I guess, in terms of size.

It is amazing in retrospective to think that Nia is basically the founder of the way divine magic will be practiced in Exandria up until, basically, the end of Campaign 3 (and probably even after that, like, divine magic is still there, even if the gods reverted to mortal form). This kind, young girl who had to endure so much, became a self taught cleric that in a way became the standard for most of religious practitioners, at least of the Prime Deities.

NGL, I'm gonna miss the sound that Celia's hair and their braids make and how it goes through the mic

NOT THE FIREWORK EXTRAVAGANZA AGAIN??!!

All that Batmaning helped Crokas with that Nat20 in stealth

Glad that Jasmine went straight into singing System of a Down

They're rolling inside a chapel, I'm kinda surprised that nobody has done a "Chapel Roll" joke

Satan?!

Oh, thankfully Jasmine remembered the change of DC

"STOP FIDGETING", fuck yeah, nice callback

Oh, the way the dice conspired for Garen to just, obliterate the stone pillar

68 points of damage to the pillar, as a level 0 character, freakin' Matt Mercer

Crokas going full Godzilla vs the Muto

Seriously, thanks to Alex for finally showing the world the idea that the coolest fucking thing ever is basically Batman Godzilla

ASMODEUS

Fuckin' key man, I knew there was something shady

Oh, the fucked up boy was a vessel for Asmodeus

Brennan's got the Lord of the Hells just, nailed to a T, he basically made how he's supposed to be in Exandria, there's an edge and a special charisma to him that I really kinda missed when Matt played him in the final episodes of the C3, where it kinda felt a bit more, stereotypical evil. I remember writing in one of these posts something similar, there was a moment when Asmodeus talked with Braius and that was the best moment when Matt kinda channeled Asmodeus the way Brennan played him. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a dig at Matt, is just, Brennan basically made the blueprint so whenever it kinda veers a bit, it feels odd.

"It's dwarven for 'get fucked'"

I was waiting for someone to roll into the "ASMODEUS" part from Ghost's "Year Zero"

We went full Kingdom Hearts with the key going into Timothy's chest and giving it a soul

You can add a Timothy to your inventory

Why is Asmodeus so focused on Garen btw?

And down goes Erro, like a fucking boss, saving Garen in his last moment, what a legend

That "thank you for setting me free" sounded like a thing a God would say to me

"I Lied"

The Moonweaver went to the Lord of the Hells and told him "you can't bullshit a bullshitter", and it was glorious

See, the Platinum Dragon returned just as Erro died

Oh Liam

"I think you have a second chance to be somebody's mom... Don't fuck it up"

I WAS BORN TO BE A HOME FOR THE DEVIL

Kephekedriel!!

"I wanna be different"

Crokas founder of the Cobalt Soul confirmed

I love Crokas so much, what an amazing character

And now I'm sobbing

To teach people that no matter how lonely they feel, they're never alone

Oh, now only Matt and Brennan are at the table, I just know this is gonna be special

Dragonstrike!

Look at Garen founding Kraghammer, we've seen already 2 cities being founded

A town named Bend you say? In a swamp? This is Stilben isn't it?

It's still Bend, hahahaha, amazing

Oh, Liam's back, what's going on

Erro was Bahamut, I knew it

Oh wait, wait... is Garen the All Hammer?

That "gotcha" from Brennan

"That world that YOU created"

Oh, and it was special in the subtitles

I just joined the dots, this was all a love letter to Exandria and to Matt's work, incredible

Oh man, Liam describing everything with such joy like, the love letter to Matt

The voices weren't memories, they were prayers

What a world he made

It's clear that Matt had no idea this was going to happen

This brought me memories from Liam's one shot and the way he basically expressed his love for his friends back then

Two brothers, from eternity until forever

Well, that ending was marvelous. What a way to cap 10 years of storytelling.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #exu spoilers #exu divergence

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