#critical role s2e1

[keylethsraven]

Kiki, can you give it a try?

[venator-signum]

im going to throw up the last half an hour of c3 e77 was one of the most stressful things I've watched in my life and this is only WEEKS after watching loki s2e1

[ravendruid]

My husband, asking about the little girl with green eyes: "Am I supposed to get that or I'll get it later?"

He knows about Raishan, but I don't think he's expecting the difference lol

[hauntingofhouses]

arcane rant. spoilers for all of season 2 #caitlyn-critical

yeah okay i was scared to say this which is SILLY but ALAS. anyway yeah seeing that im not the only one i feel like i have to get this off my chest as well.

i wanted to give caitlyn a chance in season 2, especially in the beginning of this season during her """corruption""" arc wherein she was turning into a tyrant and a bad guy. because see, to me that was caitlyn at her best. not as a person but as a character. before this she was just so uninteresting and downright annoying to me, but starting with s2e1 i started really enjoying where the writers were taking her journey. i would've loved to see her continue down that path and caitvi evolving from reluctant allies to lovers and then perhaps to enemies-WHILE-lovers. i wouldve loved seeing caitvi hatefucking, and i thought that was where this arc was taking her. but no, instead she's still the good one, while maddie turned out to be the bad guy all along. plot twist! but it made me feel nothing but more annoyance not only at caitlyn but also at the way the narrative seems to baby caitlyn and excuse her for everything despite the supposed anti-cop messaging intrinsic to the way vi was written throughout season 1.

i understand that caitlyn's whole thing in season 1 is that she's a naive rich girl just trying her best in the ways she knows how, and that's by being a cop. like yes i get that, which is why i didnt mind her very much and gave her a chance to grow, and even though i didn't care for her as a character at all because she's boring AND a cop, i did like that she was in the story as vi's love interest, and primarily served the story in that role.

but when season 2 decides to give her a bigger role and allow her to shine on her own, they do a good job! until... they don't. because caitlyn still has to be a good guy, because she's SO loyal to vi. and why? the two barely know each other, they're attracted to each other but I don't understand why and how caitlyn could so easily put aside all her rage and grief and desire for vengeance and retribution, to be loyal to vi. to betray ambessa and work with jinx?

like i think my biggest problem is how little conflict there is for vi and cait to end up fucking in that prison cell. like if it was angry hate fucking, that would be perfect and honestly a natural followup if you really do wanna implement a sex scene right there and then. but it wasn't. instead it felt more like "okay my suicidal sister gave me her blessing to fuck you so i can finally do it now yippeee" meanwhile jinx literally went to kill herself over and over again while ekko had to keep trying to talk her down.

like the thing is i'm here for the drama and im here for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and i'm here for character development. but more than anything else i'm here for the drama where vi and jinx's story as sisters, as family, is ultimately the driving force of the story. so for them to just push that aside SO quickly, felt JARRING. like "okay sister MOVE i wanna fuck this cute cop who was acting like a tyrant in the city for the past few months (?), and btw the cute cop works for an institution that killed my parents and destroyed our whole lives ❤️ #lovewins"

like okay. i dont mind if the final ending finds both jinx and vi distanced and estranged because they both need to heal and move on from the past (and each other) in order to grow and invest love in their own new found families. but for it to have been done just like that, for caitvi to get together in the same prison cell where vi's suicidal sister had just been suffering in mental agony and grief... I don't know. i don't like it.

[drconstellation]

The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1

Future Echoes from the Past #2

Let me take a moment to try and explain the process of how I approach meta writing. I’m not new to this. I might be new to this fandom, but I’ve been writing metas for twenty years in other fandoms. I’m an old hand at this, and I learnt how to do it with some pretty critical masters of the game. I’ve been wrestling with this meta for several days, which never a good sign. I thought I was on the right track here but got to a point where I was trying to make my biased square blocks fit into the round holes I was expecting to see, and they weren’t, and thought, nope, it’s time to back off and see what is there instead. When things don’t fall and click into place, when you can’t see the next connection easily, when it becomes too convoluted - and actually, I think some of the story is missing in the crucial places - that's a dead end for the time being, so the meta I was expecting (and hoping) to see didn’t emerge. But there is still something there to be revealed, and it was from a bit that I didn't think had much importance.

A few days ago I posted a meta about how the paintball fight at Tadfield Manor was a loose re-creation of the Great War in Heaven that lead to the formation of Heaven and Hell. It was more a description of events and the two sides, and I didn’t assign any of the S1 characters to the celestial characters that we would have expected to be involved with the rebellion. For example, the manager Nigel strikes me as standing in for Gabriel, and jaded old Norman, who is on the verge of retirement, and who organized the “team building exercise” is most likely to be Lucifer  - he is the leader of the Yellow team, who are quite unhappy and full of complaints about the others in the office. But other than those two, the other bit players amongst our regular cast were missing, or unclear. And this was a problem, a BIG problem, because while there hints to who was Crowley, the match to Aziraphale was nowhere to be seen, and he should be there. So, let’s leave that for the time being, and move on.

In the middle of all this is Newton Pulsifer. He oddly arrives in the office, destroys the electrical system, then leaves before the war begins. And there is an even odder follow-up exchange in the car park of the office as he departs. I had to ask why - why add this in?

[It should be noted, at this point in the discussion, that while the paintball fight was written in the original book, the office scene that is the prelude to the fight, and the scenes with Newt that I’m about to discuss, weren’t. They are from the tv series only.]

I have been building up a library of notes and screenshots to help me with my metas, and Newt and Anathema have been on my radar. I came across this screen shot of Newt lying on Anathema’s bed after his accident in Tadfield and went “Huh, he looks very Crowley-coded there with this black/grey clothes and yellow and red socks. That’s not the line I of thought I had been following..”

I kept going and then @ennas-aesthetic posted this meta about Jesus in S3 and mentioned that Anathema was an Aziraphale parallel, so that would make Newt a corresponding Crowley parallel – which would explain the screen shot mentioned. Then the final pieces for this meta were these two posts, one from @mouseonamoose about their thoughts on angel!Crowley and one from @cornchrunchie on part of the exchange between Aziraphale and angel!Crowley in Before the Beginning, at the start of S2E1. I’d already had a thought about another set of lines in this part that formed a parallel to Newt, but getting a second set of lines to tie it in to this S1E2 segment was a bonus, I must say.

So where am I going with all this rambling? Right. Let’s get down to business.

Hopefully by now I’ve established that one of Newt’s roles in the office scene that sets up the rebellion is to be not just a parallel to Crowley, but a mirror – he’s kind of the opposite, in a way. It’s like they are on opposite sides of the looking glass.

At the beginning of S2E1 we are shown angel!Crowley, the Starmaker – the Engineer. And what is Newt supposed to be? A computer engineer. Only, angel!Crowley engineers light, while Newt engineers darkness. Everywhere Newt goes, he turns out the lights. Which is why when he runs into Shadwell shortly after and is given the newspaper advert that declares “ASSISTANT REQUIRED TO COMBAT THE FORCES OF DARKNESS” if he joins the Witchfinder Army that I was cackling at the irony of this. Perhaps we’d better not get sidetracked with that though.

There’s a critical point here that I’d like to highlight that I noticed, and how I made the link, because it may have implications in the future, maybe in S3. In Before the Beginning, Crowley sets everything up to get the nebula started, then there is a slight pause.

Az: …is something meant to happen? Cr: Oh, right, sorry, yes yes. Knew I'd missed one. Let there be light.

It struck me that Newt’s efforts in making anything with electricity, the modern source of light, don’t work because he doesn’t check that he’s got everything right. He blacks out his neighborhood as a child without checking the circuits, he shuts down the entire office without checking his work.

Why would you need both light and dark? You can't really have one without the other. It's the yin and yang. Its balance. To see the light you need darkness. And to see shadows you need light.

So we get a short scene of Newt heading off to office, with his Almighty mother handing out some lunch rations, and wishing him luck. Hmm. He’s holding a box that contains, amongst various things, a pot plant (a bromeliad) with a deep red flower, for all love. Ngggkgk.

At the office, Newt is given the cold shoulder by the senior co-worker opposite him (I call her “Pearls,” because I don’t have the S1 script book and I’m not sure what she’s called.) She asks his name, but never offers hers. Sounds familiar, where have we seen that before…?

Az: Um, hello. I'm Aziraphale. Cr: Nice meeting you. Okay, here goes!

@mouseonamoose mentions that angel!Crowley wouldn't feel the need to mention his name if he was a high ranking angel here, he would expect other angels to know who he was. [op adds another item to their list of pointers to angel!Crowley being a senior Archangel...it's up to 18, btw. Yes, I know its only fanon at the moment...] Just like the Supreme Archangel "fucking" Gabriel hasn't got time for a bit of social chit-chat before Aziraphale!Crowley is supposed to be executed in the hellfire in S1E6. Just get on it with it, pleb! We've got better things to do with our time!

Outside, we see Newt has been given his marching orders. He's leaving already. A sharply dressed woman in a masculine-cut suit approaches quickly. I don't know about you, but she looks like a demon to me. Black suit, red hair, pink (which is a tint of red) shirt - she's a copy of Crowley. This is another Crowley-copy about to give some internal criticism to a Crowley-mirror.

"Need a hand, Dick?"

Then she power-walks past. Newt is not even worth her time stopping for.

*Snort* - and ouch. That's a below-the belt joke.

She's just called him a wanker. In the US you might use the term jerk instead. Someone who's a bit egotistical and more in it for themselves than others. (and I never thought I'd be fact-checking the meaning of this word ever, but there's always a first time...) She's basically just equated him Gabriel, in my book (and in more ways than one.)

That doesn't sound like the Crowley we know, does it? Maybe, maybe not - but it does reveal to us a world of information about what the other demons think about Crowley, and more importantly perhaps it gives a hint of what he was like pre-Fall and why he was cast out as a sacrifice for the team, a scapegoat and example for the losing faction, in addition to the asking of questions reason.

It's quite notable that Crowley doesn't have any other demon friends or allies, even after 6000 years. Plus, he seems to have gotten special treatment during that time. Furfur complains about this in the dressing room in 1941, remarking :

"No, what's ridiculous is demons like you doing what they please. And somehow still getting on, while demons like me graft for hundreds and hundreds of millennia and never get a sniff of a promotion! Well, not this time. Expect a Legion to come for you first thing tomorrow. Enjoy your last night on Earth."

Hastur calls him "Mr Slick," and thinks he's been up on the surface of the Earth too long. And you kind of get the idea that Lord Beelzebub is holding back their hand somewhat in their conversation in S2E1 when they summon Crowley down to Hell for a little chat about the missing Gabriel.

CROWLEY: [waving flies away] Augh. Oh, I thought we had a [spits out flies] generalized understanding. BEELZEBUB: We don't. You're still a traitor. I could put a price on your head any time I wanted to.

But they haven't put a price on Crowley's head. And they don't intend to. Crowley is still being given the special treatment. Also in that particular conversation is a hint that he was once on a similar footing to Beelzebub, and Beelzebub was also a high ranking angel before the Fall - they aren't Grand Duke of Hell and Satan's right-hand demon for no reason.

Its ever-so subtle, but its there. Those traces of privilege we were pointing out that Gabriel and Beelzebub flaunt when they abscond? Once upon a time Crowley had them too. But the passing millennia has slowly worn them away until we can barely see the traces of it. Although, it still shows up occasionally.

We should finish off the scene back in S1E2 with Newt, though, because he does show us s little bit more of our mirror-Crowley in the car park scene. As the demon-lady walks past him he calls after her:

"My name's not actually Dick, it’s the car's name. You can ask me why if you like."

Aww. Poor Newt. While Crowley was stopped from asking questions, and cast from Heaven because he wanted to ask questions, his mirror-character Newt is offering to answer questions for other people. It's just that they aren't interested in doing that either. Either way, the conversation stops, doesn't it.

To finish off, I'm going to leave you with this. I know, its about Newt not being a computer engineer, but since we've been discussing how Newt is a mirror-parallel to Crowley, perhaps it's something we need to tuck away in the back of our minds for S3 as well, when the past comes back to haunt us.

Further reading in this series:

#1: The Great War of Tadfield Manor

#3: "Not Even At Gunpoint!"

[hexcrystals]

so i need each season to have like 20 more episodes bc the pacing of the crew's arc with ed vs the pacing of the crew's arc with izzy feels super off

and that's my only criticism of an otherwise incredible s2 so far

like izzy is a completely different character to how he was in s1. he is unrecognisable. and that's fine. we love development. but it feels like it's all happened off screen. like i genuinely feel like i've missed an episode somewhere. how have the crew gone from mutinying him in s1e9 to 'he's our dick' in s2e1 and 'the new unicorn' in s2e4. how has stede barrelled through from ignoring him in s2e3 bc he just tried to kill ed to asking for him to be the deciding vote on ed's banishment in s2e4 and asking him for training in s2e5. the development is happening but we're not being shown where or how

especially if you compare that to how the crew are with ed - it's completely justified that they're unhappy with him and don't trust him anymore, but there's such a stark difference between their response to a guy who nearly got them all killed and, well, their response to a different guy who nearly got them all killed

and there's absolutely no acknowledgement of izzy's major role in causing ed to be the way he was at the end of s1 and start of s2

anyway. 'they just get away with it and we move on' i guess

back to thinking about how ed and stede kissed and held hands in the moonlight

[doopcafe]

TV Recap! (Part 3) 

No Spoilers! 

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance: E1–5 or so

When creators care enough about their content that they take the time and expense to tell their story with puppets, it adds a certain refreshing quality and elevates their content beyond mere “thwack something together because the studio paid us.” It really makes things enjoyable to watch. That said, the story itself is a bit simplistic, the overall experience a bit hollow, and it’s littered with de-immersive scenes where it's clear these are puppets. Despite that, it’s a shame this was canceled because this level of dedication should be praised and promoted. 

My enjoyment: 4/5 

Star Trek: Prodigy S1

Akina and I finished watching all of it. Overall this was fairly competent and—despite its flaws—was nevertheless an enjoyable watch. It’s obviously not “Star Trek” to me, but as a kid’s action/adventure show, it did what it needed to and I have no significant criticisms in that regard.

My enjoyment: 3/5 

Star Wars: The Dad Batch S2E1 and S2E2:

I properly “reviewed” S2E3, but for completion here’s a note on the first two E’s of the S. These two were essentially a two-parter split by a proper cliffhanger and involve the Dad Batch—together with a more tolerable, mature Omega—on a mission to steal a crate of Count Dooku’s gold. Fun shenanigans and action ensue. I really have no serious complaints so far and there’s plenty more positives than negatives. I plan on posting “reviews” of individual episodes as I watch them. 

My enjoyment: 4/5 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: S1 

Speaking of “not Star Trek”... It took years, but I can now articulate a main gripe I have with “new trek” content. It comes down to the writing of the characters. The people in “old trek” were always portrayed as mature and intelligent. They behaved with poise and acted like professional adults. Growing up with that, it was a huge influence on me and many of my personal role models came from Star Trek, shaping me as an adult, grounding my morality, and influencing my career choices. So when “new trek” shits all over those characters (my role models), it’s unpleasant in a deeply personal way. But even when it makes its own (new) characters, the new creations act like immature teenagers rather than professional adults. It’s uncomfortable to listen to them sharing personal feelings, making snarky quips, or spouting insubordination to superior officers without repercussion. Anyways, regarding the show itself, it’s not atrociously bad. There’s at least some funny bits and it benefits tremendously from its episodic nature.

My enjoyment: 2/5 

Johnny Quest, S1, E1 and E2

In the first episode, the Quests discover a mad scientist with a laser ray in the Sargasso Sea who intends to use it to destroy the launch of the first space shuttle. In the second episode, the Quests bring along a racist stereotype to the Arctic to recover a lost missile. There’s some seriously creepy vibes here between Race Bannon and Johnny, akin to the cockpit scene in Airplane. (“Joey. You like movies about gladiators?”) Aside from that, Bandit (the dog) is fucking annoying and distracts from everything happening. Go away, you ceaselessly yapping piece of shit. Hadji should smother it with his turban. 

My enjoyment: 1/5 

[lostsometime]

thinkin about the very first episode of the campaign, when caleb tells frumpkin to “jump up and sit in the lap of the woman in the monk’s robes who just made a big scene and hopefully keep her occupied with being cute.”

thinkin about last episode and beau asking her friends to kill her if she gets mind-controlled by lucien and caleb sending frumpkin to cuddle into her lap and purr.

thinkin about these two and how their relationship has grown and how some things are completely different and yet some things are still very much the same.

[nobirdtennis]

i want this framed. except i CAN'T get it framed because i will look at it and CRY.

[psychicdamaged]

Goofy lil review of tlovm s2e1-3 bc i totally didn’t forget it premiered today today bc of my crippling insomnia

-i made it 3.5 minutes before i started to tear up

-the way they showed a kid being killed. no blood but he’s dead. they aint messing around fr

-vax seeing the raven queen i fucking SCREAMED

-the gore and blood. they really didn’t half ass it.

-keyleth being the primary focus of the frame when they see raishan and vex when they see thordak

-seeing the absolute devastation of emon. fire and acid rain everywhere.

-i thought they’d spare us the vax and injured gil scene. i was wrong.

-the broom. the cards??? THE BELT

-“lock the gates” LMAO and for what that was cute

-scanlan and vex banter my beloved

-really thought someone was gonna get cut in half by the portal

-WIFE CASS WIFE CASS 🥰

-“no i can take care of him”

-blatant raishan is blantant raishan lmafo

-scanlan vs vm its fine its fine its fine

-vm being able to see that they made a difference in whitestone 🥲

-dragon animations and voice acting SO GOOD

-music banging as always

-destroyed emon augh holy shit

-VASSELHIEM!

-wondering for the first time if scanlan is going to be cut out of the title sequence when he leaves

-BIDET

-vax seeinG THE RAVEN QUEEN AAAAAA

-ANOTHER BITCH WITH GREEN EYES

-vax and vex being wanted how iconic of them

-i really like the way they compressed things and combined stories. so well done.

-earthbreaker groon music rad as hell

-WHY HELLO KASH

-ZHARA !!!!

-zhara and vex flirting arguing

-sphinx rad as fuck

-she really read them for flilth

-“no one will live long enough to see you achieve [your aramente]” OW FUCK OW

-“nobody cares about you” OWWWWW FUCK

-“fuck dignity” THATS MY GIRL THOSE ARE MY HEROES

-fuck the vestiges pls i just. i just. want them to be ok.

-dont even talk to me about the raven queens armor.

-VICTOR MY BELOVED !!!!!!!! you crazy bitch. I love you much.

-kash and keyleth my horribly awkward loves

-purvan hehehe

-HAPPY LIL BEARDED GROG

-do not go far from me. let me die.

-baby vax and vex. let me die.

-i hate this fucking tomb i hate it i hate it i hate it

-so happy to get more trinket!!

-wait vax and vex are separated. in the sunken tomb. wait. wait no.

-“I’ll save you” GIRLFRIENDS

-fish orgy made me fucking snort

-hahahahaha watch out for traps! ahaha!

-NOOOOOOOOO VAX DONT GO INTO A PIT ALONE WHILE VEX AND EVERYONE ELSE FUCK AROUND UPSTAIRS

-the flashbacks are so good. and so.

-vex dying with her brother’s name on her lips. in a burst of raven fragbers

-their screams and yells. professional voice actors indeed.

-THE MUSIC

-the light literally leaving vex’s eyes and the next shots of vax and his eyes.

-do not go far from me. reprise and the original.

-closing out the episode with vax’s sobs. oh my god.

[handbellanon]

One true wish to be an archivist in the Librarium Incantatum

[handbellanon]

#child me would have been utterly and irreversibly obsessed with this screwdriver concept#adult me is too but im being NORMAL about it. anyway laerryn i love you tell me your secrets

I'm not gonna be normal about it

"she's tossing a screwdriver and catching it, and every time it flies in the air it turns into a different tool" i am already enamoured with Laerryn, and I am especially enamoured with her screwdriver, that is so fucking cool

[myth-carver]

“I’m not used to things like, turning out... good.”

“Then you’ll do well on this side of the empire.”

Rewatching the episode and this got a simultaneous oh no Beau and lol Matt reaction from me pffft

[exhaustedwerewolf]

the mute, radical face (2014) // the world's most broken person, wishing (2015) // bojack horseman s2e1: brand new couch dir. amy winfrey (2015) // the magicians s1e5: mendings, major and minor, dir. bill eagles (2016) // critical role c1e57: duskmeadow, taliesin jaffe & matthew mercer (2016) // donwhill, lincoln (2017) // wolf 359 e61: brave new world, gabriel urbina (2017) // the bright sessions e50: rose, lauren shippen (2018) // the immaculate void, brian hodge (2018) // 4chan reply, anonymous (2018)

[eliksniapologist]

I'll be honest, I was super worried everyone was going to get all upset at the new characters but I'm glad I was pleasantly surprised

[the-punslinger]

Critical Role campaign 3 classes

It’s uncertain how long campaign 2 is going to be, and some of the cast have already started to think about campaign 3. So I’ve been thinking about which classes I think would be interesting to see them play.

Travis: rogue. I want him to unleash all the chaotic energy.

Laura: bard. Preferably with the Scottish accent from Narrative Telephone S2E1.

Sam: sorcerer. I miss Sam with a high CHA character.

Taliesin: barbarian, but with the complexity of Percy and the heart of Caduceus.

Ashley: ranger or sorcerer. The latter because it would be pretty interesting to see her play a spell caster.

Marisha: warlock or cleric, for the sheer contrast with Beau.

Liam: artificer. If he can make that wizard tower, I want to know what else he’s capable of dreaming up.

I’m interested to hear if anyone else has any thoughts or hopes on this, so feel free to reblog and share them