#d20 burrow's end spoilers

[recycledraccoon]

Burrows End is SO SO good and Aabria is such a master of story telling. This season, despite being genuine DnD vs other systems Aabria has used, hasn't actually seen all that much full blown combat. Like, of course they've fought things throughout, but it's been so much more information hunting and puzzling together all the lore. But this obviously means those scenes we do have such full blown COMBAT with sets so much more important, which was obvious in the reactor....but the bear....so obviously it's been focused on in reference to Tula's reveal, or as a show of how fucked up biology wise this world they live in is and how dangerous it is in the forest.

But it's also Aabria laying such incredibly subtle groundwork. It's showing us "this is possible in this world. This happens. They can get inside of you, burrow into you, and you will be their walking warren. Parasite and host intertwined."

And then we move on...we focus on the secrets of the first stoats and learning of all these human things, and the chipmunks and bear are just fun tidbits to throwback to about how scary and fucked up things are, but no longer relevant.

Last week we heard those tapes, and I thought "that voice change there...the 'they're so sneaky'...was that a first stoat, who we only heard as squeaks, instead speaking through Dr. Wenabocker as he died?"

And I forgot about the bear too.

But the SECOND it was revealed that Wenabocker left, that his body was gone and that Phoebe left too? It all clicked.

The Bear wasn't just a fun, really cool fucked up battle set for an episode, it was incredibly important foreshadowing. The foundation, the trap, the big bad all at once hidden behind a cool, fucked up bear in the second goddamn episode of the season.

[hyphen-8-it]

my mood since episode 4 honestly

[luciiferous]

literally the best option for establishing first contact

[fisherrprince]

brennan is all like ohhh i want to do pvp ive been trying to do pvp forever but when aabria wants him to kill his son NOOOOO pvp is BAD now

[criticalsyourroles]

[jq37]

For all of Burrow's End, Rashawn has consistently said, "I am a Black woman first, and a stoat second" and I love that for her.

[5ftboy]

"Can I cast Divine Sense on my kids?" "Jaysohn constitutes as a fiend."

[counterspelling]

Endless Burrow's End

[samglyph]

They gave the stoat a degree

[merverelli]

tula burrows end you are everything to me.

[mintcrows]

who's ready for burrow's end last episode!!! im not!!!

[recycledraccoon]

[hyphen-8-it]

Having just rewatched Episode 3, what I love is that Jasper is doing such a great job as Thorn of seemingly subverting Tula's expectations. Where of course she rightly presumes that he will be interested in and open to investigating new intel about the Blue, but not at the expense of family and not rashly. Also not disregarding anyone's apprehensions, always open to hear everyone out first and letting them make their own decisions. There's so many moments of Thorn being so (unexpectedly?) nice, like acknowleding his future children when he's talking about choosing investigation over immediate safety [while Brennan in his head was already lining up the shot], like recognizing Tula's fears and gently "pitching" new ideas, like offering his head to her to touch after her breakdown, so willing to connect.

It makes me think of that conversation with Viola where Brennan as Tula was like "that must be nice" when Viola said Thorn listens to her and does what she says. That in turn makes me wonder what Tula and Geoffrey's relationship was actually like in life. As of yet she's only really spoken about him positively (though with great sadness) and gotten quite upset when Lila tried to blame her dad for his death or imply that he deserved it, thinking it would make her mom happy. I wonder whether, when he was alive, it may have been a serious point of conflict between the two of them, that Geoffrey would do brave but dangerous things in search of the Blue, that eventually led to him not being able to be there for his family. But now that he's dead Tula feels guilty about having/having had those feelings, because it wasn't his fault that he was brave enough to try to investigate the unknown even though it ended up killing him. In hindsight, her past worries have been validated but what help is a potential "I told you so" in her grief now? And does being 'right' taint the memory of the man she loved by highlighting his flaws, especially when he's not there anymore to defend himself from the criticism?

Did she 'make peace' with his death and forgive his rashness and now, seeing her sister's relationship with Thorn and how different it is, is that causing a fresh pain in a wound presumed healed, because it didn't need to be like this? That bravery could be mellowed out by consideration and the search for the Unknown does not always leave behind grieving families?

Or was Geoffrey just like Thorn, gentle and considerate of Tula's fears, and she is witnessing Viola's relationship with a dreadful sense of foreboding. Like she's watching an action replay of her life in the eyes of her younger sister.

I don't even know what I'd prefer, I'm just intrigued to see what more insight into what the Tula/Geoffrey relationship was like they're going to give us heading into Episode 4 and beyond.

[Also, added to that, her own children being so open to the Blue and excited to fight/investigate it, albeit tinged by their childlike innocence??? What a tangle of feelings that must be, no wonder she's hella overwhelmed! It seems to me that Tula's constant mental state is "everyone around me is going to die going after the Blue and there's nothing I can do about it". Like they've already been seduced by this frightening power and are leaving her behind, alone, in favour of their pursuit.]

[haleyusesherwords]

Normal DM: my players can’t solve basic puzzles

Aabria, our production design queen: I put the answer to the giant mystery on the back of my player’s clipboards and literally no one bothered to flip them over until I told them to.

[johnnyspells]

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.