#c2e26 spoilers

[aspiringsophrosyne]

The Mighty Nein are getting a series: let's talk about, arguably, the make or break moment of a possible season one.

So, let's talk about some of the things the CRew can do with an animated adaptation of their second group of adventuring, world-saving chucklefucks.

EDIT and NOTE: This is based on the pacing of The Legend of Vox Machina seasons one and two. If we can take it slower with the Nein, all the better; I would love stretching things out so that all this goes down in a possible season two. But this is the set up I see where they go as fast with the Nein as they have with VM.

MAJOR SPOILERS for episode 26 and every episode after of Critical Role Campaign 2. Last chance to turn back if you care about those.

Let's get right to the elephant in the room: Molly's death. This is a bit that's incredibly important to get right because: it was a big moment on stream for both the viewers and the characters, there was a lot more time with Molly in the stream before it happened than we will get in the animated series, and because this moment sets up the endgame.

Matt, Taliesin, and the cartoon CRew may take advantage of the opportunity presented here: to do more with the backstory Matt originally had planned for Molly that he didn't get to use. And there are pros and cons to doing that.

However, we can't know what, if anything, the cartoon CRew will change or add to Molly's story, at least as of now. So just for this thought experiment, we'll assume it will play out more or less the same as it did in Campaign 2. And assuming that...

Structure of Season One:

Here's a place to end season one: Lorenzo's defeat. If you do that, let that be the focus of the last episode and 1-3 before that dealing with Molly's death: the fallout from it, then Cad's and Nila's introductions. For the rest of the season prior? Focus on the group as a whole, particularly on Molly.

While I think everybody needs significant attention in the first season to set up character establishment, future events, future revelations, and future character development, I'd like to focus a little more on Molly in particular at this point in the show; for three reasons: 

He will be out of the story for a long time afterward.

It can make his exit hurt all the more and come as that much more of a shock to show-only fans.

It will make the quotes in Cognouza hold that much more weight if they get enough focus here.

Otherwise, keep the rest of the season comparatively light until Fjord, Jester, and Yasha's abduction. Keep the ominous dreams, but make one significant change: move Caleb's backstory revelation to after their first fight with Lorenzo. Have it still happen in the show when it happens in the stream (while Molly's being the worst roommate ever and dropping that "Long may I reign." quote) so we can keep some of the mood whiplash, but with none of the sound.

Show Beau, Nott, and Caleb sitting around a campfire. Show the ladies reacting to something Caleb's saying, but don't give us any sound. Leave the newbies wondering what the hell is going on, and don't clue them in on what's being said...until later. (This has the added benefit of giving us stream fans narrative blue-balls for a bit.)

After the battle at Glory Run, have Caleb flashback to the night of his backstory reveal; the audience sees the same scene again, but now with sound. Splice it with Nott's talk about surviving vs. living, possibly Beau's eulogy (if you don't want to move that so it's later, with all the Nein together again), and have Caleb deliver the soliloquy he makes in E26 of the stream here, at Molly's makeshift grave, but with some changes.

("Look at this one. He is....was like a walking rainbow, what was this? Why were you with him? It made no sense. He is a circus performer; he isn't going to help you. Was. Wasn't. Couldn't.")

This tells newbies not just that Caleb is about ready to bolt but why, and it makes it that much more of a relief when he doesn't. It also makes the darkness of this season (and by extension, seasons yet to come) hit harder if they hold off on it until here. The CRew can give a false impression of the M9's adventures: that they will be lighter fair than VM's. (After all, until we meet Lorenzo, there won't be a Sun Tree equivalent.) Only to have the first-time viewers realize they're in for something just as nasty, if not more so, than anything VM faced once we get where we're going.

Plus, they can save on animation; they only have to animate a scene they use twice once.

The fights themselves:

None of the fights in the animated adaptation of Critical Role's campaigns will be as long, tense, or stressful as they were in the original stream. Nor should they be. Those fights were sometimes longer than two episodes of TLOVM together at their shortest. That will not work for an animated series; for several reasons.

However, the CRew can pull some tricks to make some fights longer and more suspenseful (or feel longer and more suspenseful) than just a shot-for-shot action-for-action adaptation of them would be.

Let's talk about editing and cutaways.

If any fight should be a little tense, (at least) it should be the battle of Glory Run. We need to make this battle seem longer than it is. To do this: flashbacks and flash-forwards. For this purpose, don't show Molly and Beau's fireside talk ("What's the best lie you ever told?") until now.

When the focus is on Beau or Molly in the fight, show a flashback to that fireside talk. Show these two characters, who have been at each other's throats up to this point, opening up to each other. Starting to see things from the other's point of view. Do this a few times until we've seen the whole talk or as much of it as the show wants to include.

Then, as the fight starts to go south, you flash forward. You show Beau freaking out and Caleb coming up from off-screen: taking her by the shoulders and telling her she has to calm down.

Go back to the fight.

Flash forward, now Nott comes up to the Empire Sibs from off-screen, yelling at both of them, doing terribly at de-escalating things. Everyone's words are getting more indistinct, and the arguing figures fade farther into the background.

Go back to the fight.

Another flash-forward. Now Kegg joins the argument. It's impossible to hear what anybody says now, just that everyone's very worked up. It looks like, in the foreground, there's some splash of vibrant color near the camera, near the ground.

Back to the fight, Molly's knocked on his ass, bloody and beat to shit.

Flash forward. Everyone's still fighting in the background, and the camera focuses on a limp, blood-splattered, lavender hand lying across what is now obviously Molly's coat. The audience is given a second to realize there's no changing what is about to happen/what's already happened; we've been in the room with the body the whole time.

Cut back to the fight. Molly's "With blood." and Lorenzo's final blow. (Possibly, all of Molly's eye tattoos glowing, as if in protest.)

Then cut to black.

In place of similar notes on the final Lorenzo fight, here's all that I know I want right now: to let Yasha, Fjord, and Jester participate. Not much, because they are in bad condition; it should show, but let them get in a few good hits.

Have one of the Nein either accidentally or purposefully destroy a cage with slaves inside during the fight at the nest. The freed people run off, find some keys and start unlocking some cages. This can be something we can cut back and forth to keep this fight slower paced, but don't show the rest of the Nein's escape. Don't let us see them until, at some point, we get an eldritch blast from off screen. Then a healing word or a guiding bolt (Laura's choice) from off screen. Then we hear an unholy scream and see skeletal wings unfolding from the shadows like a spider's legs. Yasha, Fjord, and Jester emerge, all exhausted and beat to shit but determined and angry.

For bonus points, we could cut to them in the trailer, bound and gagged, during the first Lorenzo fight.

..Yeah. More ideas to come, but that's my take on the possible climax of Season One.

[stone-stars]

Transcript:

Zirk: But I know this much, Mom, I-- I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make it real. I've got a couple leads, I've got more knowledge than I've ever had, I learned a lot while I was away. I think I know how to make the All-Cure Elixir. It's gonna take a lot of work, like you said, and… I don't know if I can do it on my own, but I also don't know if I can trust you to help me. Caldwell: Um, while I'm working on this, I think that the way that this kind of-- the way that this looks visually is I'm… basically crafting like a metal music cylinder. [Murph: Mm!] 'Cause I feel like one of the things that this needs in addition to like, the complex spell work to cure wounds but also hold a body in stasis, kind of using some of Fia's time magic, is some sort of like… beacon. And I think that, as opposed to like the single chime of a bell, it needs almost like-- a song. And as I'm like tinkering with this I turn to Hank and I say-- Zirk: Hank, that song you sang about Ill Luck Henry. That-- that was like a sea shanty, right? Henry: Yeah, yeah that's right. Zirk: Do you know any other sea shanties? I just need something that could maybe… help a soul find its way back. Caldwell: Zirk reaches into his pocket. And he pulls out a golden cylinder with little notches on it. And around that cylinder is wrapped a scroll with the instructions on it for how to replicate the Revivify spell. He presses it into Henry's hands, and then puts Fia's hands on top of that. Henry: Hey. You're the doctor, buddy. What are ya-- What are we gonna do with this? This-- Fia: Mister Zirk-- Zirk: Sometimes-- Fia: Mister Zirk we can handle her. We really can. Zirk: Sometimes you think that you're the ending of the equation, but in reality you're just the messenger. You're just there to get it to the right hands. It's been an honor being a Third Mate. Murph: So, Fia, Zirk gave you the stuff for Revivify. This is a near impossible task, the spell has not been cast in forever, normally this would be a DC 30, the DC for something that's near impossible, but since Zirk took it down 5 levels from level 9 to level 4, we'll take 5 off of it and make it a DC 25 arcana check. Emily: I got a fucking 27 right off the fucking bat. [Everyone laughs in relief.] Emily: Oh I didn't even [rolls] technically a 28. Murph: A 28. Caldwell: Oh, yeah. [Sighs in relief] Okay. Okay. Murph: Um, you see Fia goes over, reads-- reads the um, spell that Zirk has put together. Um, and for the first time since Old Zelbuldar was banished, a Revivify spell is cast. Um, you guys see Zirk on the ground, whose body has frozen… Zirk as you died, you felt like-- as if you had like hypothermia. You felt like, a warmth, and you just went to sleep, and then all of a sudden [gasps] you come back. [Zirk coughs. He continues gasping and coughing as Fia talks.] Emily: You wake up to me crying just being like-- Fia, distraught: It should've been you casting this spell. Why is it me? It should've been you, you did all this fucking work, for what? Me to waltz in and fucking do it? Henry: It works! Hey, it works! Fia: It should have been fucking you! It should have been fucking you! Henry: Hey-- Open you-- Open your eyes, Fia. Fia: What? Henry: It-- you did it Zirk. The All-Cure. [Fia breathes heavily, relieved.] Zirk, weakly: They should call you… Doctor Fia. [Henry and Fia laugh.] Fia: I am not accredited. [Caldwell and Murph laugh.]

[bestdamnavocxdosatlaw]

It's crazy how FUN episode 26 was before, you know, someone died.

[abardwithnoname]

Assuming this is another Critical Role reference. Wondered if anyone else spotted it (possible c2e26 spoilers under the cut)

[badxwolf]

Critical Role C2E26 spoilers under the cut

Messages with my friend who introduced me to CR

[sandstormcz]

Guess who's NOT ready for the next CritRecap animated?

THIS BITCH

[personalityisnice]

I think what's interesting about Lucien is that even if Molly's memories are never returned to him, he's probably still got a very good chance of falling in love with the Nein. Because it's an Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind kind of situation.

For those of you who haven't seen that movie (and aren't worried about spoilers) the central conceit of it is that there is a facility that will wipe requested memories from your brain. There's a lot that's really cool about this movie, but what's in it that's relevant to Critical Role's current story arc is that couples who wipe their minds of each other tend to get back together or at least be drawn to each other again. Because even without the memories they're still the same kind of people who would be intrigued by each other.

Lucien, even without Molly's memories, is still the same kind of person who would be intrigued by the Nein.

Now....this may not be great. I have a feeling the people Lucien likes don't get to keep their thoughts to themselves for very long. But any affection they can foster could potentially buy them time.

We're just going to have to see.

[jester-loverre]

I’m watching old episodes of Talks Machina for some background noise, and I’m currently watching the one for c2e6 and Talesin literally jinxed himself. He said “Assuming I (Molly) don’t die by level 5”

Guys, Molly literally died at level 5. What the actual fuck.

[sigma-science]

some years old Critrole related doodles with some new edits

[shitpunsforshitnuns]

Matt: Molly is dead

Me:

[thevalleyisjolly]

Is this a stressful combat?  Oh yes.  Have I also sat through four episodes of fireworks extravaganzas and the longest microsecond in D&D real play history and loved every minute of it?  Also yes. 

[mintyfangirl]

I just think it would be very funny (albeit unlikely) if Matt accidentally kills Lucien the same way that Talisen killed Molly

[holly-batali]

Current mood after episode 34 of CritRole last night:

[sonicskullsalt]

I think this is how Matt pictured the first fight against Lorenzo in Campaign 2. He said he wanted Lorenzo to get away and be this kind of threat for the Mighty Nein. And then they killed him there and then.

As we see, Matt has learned from his mistakes.

[sandstormcz]

So I'm still not caught up, I'm like ep94 now (just figured why they're called the Stone family and I'm currently crying like a little baby)

But from the spoilers I found unintentionally

Y'all keep saying that we're not getting Molly back any ethical way

So I propose a very unethical but if I'm right (and she hasn't died in the episodes I didn't watch yet) very doable option

THE HAG

[personalityisnice]

PSA.

Even if Molly comes back or his memories are restored, he's never going to be a PC again. So those of you hoping for or are worried about that....you probably shouldn't be. Tal wouldn't toss his new character because of a decision Matt made, and Matt would neither expect nor want him to.