#i was gonna add brennan's reaction but i wanted this to be just aabria

[whichcouldmeanothing]

Dimension 20: Misfits And Magic 2x04 "A Change of Plan"

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Burrow's End and the First Stoats

Hi, invasive investigators!

And speaking of invasive--oof! That ending! But first: What an episode!

My MVP this episode is Brennan Lee Mulligan and his decision to weaponize kindness even when it could backfire majorly. Amazing man.

But I also want to give major props to all the planning Aabria Iyengar has done for this season. The stakes for the stoats would not be this severe had she not mapped the roads that the art department could then pave for the players to take. This was a massive ordeal, and I cannot believe there are three more episodes after this because this felt like finale-levels of heavy.

Guys, one stoat died at the start of the episode. Immediately followed by another one. My heart stopped for far longer than it should have. Honestly, when Aabria said "I'll certainly try!" to Izzy Roland's "Kill them all--" I didn't realize the viewers weren't safe as well.

I mean, she yeeted a player off the table! In the middle of the episode! That is crazy! And then when Sybill was brought in? My thoughts were: "oh no." "Oh no!" "NOOOOOO!!!" and "AABRIA, YOU'RE TRYING TOO HARD TO KILL THE STOATS! NOOOOOO!!!!"

Oh, and I'm not gonna forget: "A WOLF?!", "The flesh easily gives way?! Aabria?!", and "EVOLVE?!"

That was absolutely narsty. And another thing that was narsty? SILENCE. Holy rabbits! Which is something Silence cannot eat--because THEY DO NOT HAVE A JAW. AABRIA.

And then the Natural 1s came rolling in. When Izzy and Siobhan Thompson rolled their twin 1s? Oh. My. Goodness. It was funny when they were rolling against Jasper--who rolled a four and elicited thunderous cheers. But in the middle of a battle? When they are fighting for their lives? Izzy's Lila was down to 2 hit points at one point. And the battle was still far from over at the time!

My goodness. And the thing is, this is a streaming show. I could absolutely pause and take a minute to take a breath. But I didn't. Because the tension is high. And I was already breathing too fast. So I just continued to watch with my eyes growing wider and wider.

And, look: Sybill has a point. What is the plan after this battle? Like, granted, asking in the middle of the battle was not the best time--but she's still right. I can't wait to find out what the answer is next week. Along with what's going on with Aabria's other bombshell. Because, in the words of Rashawn Scott to one Brennan Lee Mulligan, "you're such a secretive bitch!" To which I add, "Tell 'im, Rashawn!"

Stray thoughts time:

I understand that they need to have a teaser at the end of the episodes, but I truly wish we didn't see the second map last week. Because I feel like our reactions would've been just as visceral as the players when Aabria said "now bring in the other map--" had we not known that it was coming.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Tula is fucking scary.

The Wolf of Theseus was a fun pun.

Director Dictator Dude feels like a game akin to Fuck Mary Kill.

This is the first time I felt really bogged down by 5e's combat mechanics. No shade to Aabria or the players. I understand that they're going to do what needs to be done because everyone wants to survive. This is completely a system fault for me.

Now let's get to the screencaps:

Oh, and one more thing:

"You stood here for generations... Was that on four legs or two?" Tula asked as she looked down at the downed First Stoat. "The humans are already here."

Chills.