#let! vax! be! happy! matt!

[ravenquingvax]

ignoring the horror of whatever the fuck campaign 3 episode 51 was

I am thinking about...

What if Vax was a dad.

What if Vax didn't have to go away with the Matron at the end of campaign one and he became a dad instead?

Whether he's with Keyleth, alone or with someone else; whether the baby is adopted, surrogated or what have you; just imagine Vax as a dad.

He'd be terrified of fucking up, but he'd work so hard to give his kid the best life.

Idk about everyone else but I'm picking this over whatever the fuck the canon reality is.

[meadowsofmay]

there's an indescribable amount of pure joy i get watching liam in the crown keepers campaign — his reactions to all the familiar things, not familiar to orym but to liam himself. his happy smile at ashley when sherri was described, his content sigh when gilmore said he was married and overall just gentle look in his eyes during this whole segment, his quick smile when aabria mentioned syngorn and heart grab followed by an exaggerated fall under the table when they arrived to byroden is just precious to me. this man needs to be protected at all costs.

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM Season 3 Eps 1-3 Ramblings

Ep. 1

Vax showing off his new powers, fuck yeah!

Raishan... such an interesting villain and I love that we're getting to see these flashbacks and cut aways we didn't get to see in the campaign

I love angry Kiki always. I really hope we get the "Call me child one more fucking time." bit.

Vax'leth has my heart... fuck this is going to hurt

Jesus these visions are really going for the kill goddamn...

And Perc'ahlia also has my heart

Trinket is the best little guard-bear. So protective of his mama.

I love how well they've translated the natural group dynamics onto the screen. Moments that happened organically still feel natural even though they're scripted just because of how the cast play off of each other.

I know the use of CGI for the dragons is disliked by many, but I personally love it. For me it makes them feel other-worldly.

New Setting! Ank'Harel. I love seeing all of these places brought to life. It's especially great when a setting or character matches so well with what I imagined.

Ripley... it just occurred to me that we're likely going to get the "How do you, Vox Machina, want to do this?" moment and it's going to break me

Scanlan Solo Adventures! Spice?

I love when part of the music is just Sam doing random vocalizations over the music

As always, you can tell just how much fun this is for all of them and how much love has gone into creating this series

Ep. 2

Again, I love the villains in Critical Role so much and I love that we're getting a more in-depth look at them now that we can explore things away from the party

I love hearing the cast pop up as the other random NPCs

I forgot how much I loved the Twins' dynamic

"A Taste of Tal-Dorei" chalice... hell yeah

Grog being good with children is everything. Also the fact that it's Ronin Willingham voicing the little boy is great.

Ugh... Scanlan trying to be a good dad and lacking confidence for the first time ever is killing me. This spiral is going to fucking hurt... Calling it now that this season ends with his departure... my heart is not ready.

The Phoenix Wright reference... well done.

ZERXUS ILEREZ!? That was not a name I was expecting to hear.

Matt needs to sing more. That is all.

Ep. 3

Dragons being Dragons. I love their different designs so much.

Kima will always be my favourite.

Cassandra already being so over Percy's lovestruck dumbassery is everything

Vax. Shut the fuck up and let yourself be happy. You made Keyleth cry you asshole.

It took way longer than it should've for me to realize Dohla is a direct stand-in for Tiberius

In addition to Villain backstory we're also getting some great Ally backstory and I love every fucking second of it

Shield-tobogganing away from a dragon is peak D&D

General

I love seeing the different setting and NPCs come to life and them being exactly as I imagined they would be

I love the lowkey "what could've been" moments with Pike being here for the whole story. I always wonder how things could've been different if Ashley didn't have to be away so much for campaigns 1 and 2.

This season is going to fucking hurt. Between the different realationship dynamics, Scanlan and his downward spiral, Percy and Ripley... I'm not ready

[eddiephobic]

Maybe this is a hot take as a Vax’ildan stan

but i truly don’t want him to come back and here’s why.

1) I think it’s lazy writing. Vax’s story ended years ago there’s no need to bring him back to a story or world that he’s not apart of anymore.

2) Vax was brought back numerous of times and this was his final moment, the whole crew cried hours he had a huge speech and now that’s gonna be pointless and a waste of energy that even happened if you bring him back.

3) I want him to be with Keyleth but what good is that going to do? Let her have happiness for a few years and then take it all away from her again? She’s going to out live him anyway, he’s going to die again and she’s going to be miserable again. She needs to grow and move on now .

4) Vax won’t be the same Vax’ildan he’s been through hell slaving for the raven queen and he’s not going to be emotionally okay for the real world, real people all over again. So more added Hell for Vax , Vex and Keyleth ! (tho i enjoy angst so.) Vax is going to revisit a world that moved without him, his twin is no longer his twin, everyone’s older and different.

Idk i just think Vax should stay dead and if Matt really brings him back after everything just so he can be with an NPC then that’s lazy writing 🤷🏽‍♀️ unless Liam gonna play him in the next campaign leave that GUY DEAD!!! Bringing him back makes his death scene less emotionally impactful.

this is just my thoughts and opinions you guys are open to disagree or agree on your own

[keylethshari]

keyleth being unable to move on from vax broke me in so many ways.. please matt , please give keyleth her happy ending - please let vax come back to his sister, his lover , his friends, his family - please don't let him suffer in that orb/ from matron's punishments any further , i'm on my knees.

[genderlesssinner]

4-frighted dive tonight

Should be a fun ep with Ashley, Liam, Robbie & Matt

This is just gonna my dumb thoughts and reactions probably nothing big or important

We got dorym on set,,, I wonder if we will get any crumbs tonight

Oh right I forgot about the costumes. I don't even remember what they're supposed to be. And Robbie hosting!! Love it

Oooh dorym sitting togetherrrr 👀

Oh my god Ashley really does look like baby Taliesin

"the other way of the sword" I love him

Did Liam steal all of the iPhones in the studio?? 😂😂

Braius and Nana : I, too, have questions that I do not want answers to, Liam.

Oh no Matt why the voice oh god I was already struggling to take you seriously

I missed a few minutes here; came back to talk of letting Gloamglut free. I love Ashley so much

Abu truly did such a wonderful job - and for someone who had never run a game, doing it for the first time for a group like this and on camera for the internet?? I could never. I'd die.

I'm so glad they don't try to do these dressed up eps in character as their costumes.. I wouldn't be able to deal

Booyyys oh my god

Spit roast predathos

Wobbly H with a god

It wasn't Italy but I've seen an eiffel tower

LORD.

The temple of Laura Bailey 😂

No I'm not commenting on the big heavy stuff cause it's all been said I think. I'll just be happy once they get stuff moving and decisions are made.

You know I really didn't expect to get the blood pool moment. Like, I knew they'd eventually talk to the Matron, but because it was such a big moment in c1, with Vax, I didn't really think we'd see the same thing. But then again, it wasn't really the same, being a group visit and all.

I love listening to Matt talk about stuff. Like I know he's not really gonna give away anything more than he intends to (most of the time at least) but like. Hearing why or how he makes certain choices and things is just. Fun

"30 or so Oryms?" "Yeah Dorian's dream." THANK YOU DANI YES

"I'm tending the garden, and they're part of it." I love that

I love Robbie,,, I love them all so much oh my god. They're so goofy oh boy

♥️

[elliesgaymachete]

fandom wank under the cut if you don’t like some of my cr opinions don’t read i just wanna complain lol

I totally understand it’s their game and they can do whatever they want with it and if this is what they wanna do that’s totally cool and i’m sure i’ll still enjoy it but IN MY OPINION it would really cheapen vox machina’s story if this VM sidequest to get rid of the bloody bridge and de-orb the Matron’s champion brings Vax back to a normal, mortal life

Like I GET IT HAPPY ENDINGS ARE GREAT but I thought the ending of Vox Machina was a beautiful story about the cost of war and about happy endings. I love a good tragic, bittersweet ending and campaign 1 had that perfectly. And after the tragedy, people grow and change and keep living! But it sucks that it seems like Keyleth hasn’t (and it’s partially Vax’s fault for sending her ravens so often instead of letting her move forward and live her life)

Lore wise, Matt has also said that Vax was absorbed into the avatar of the Champion and that there isn’t much of him left anymore. It’s him and purvon and anyone else who became the Matron’s champion. It’s not Vax anymore, but might still have his memories and some of his personality. If they DID bring him back Liam might want to lean into this idea, and I would perhaps be interested if they decided to take it in that direction. He’s back, but not really, and Vox Machina has to get to know this new person that they used to know.

Anyway i’m just tired of people saying omg they need to get vax back so he and keyleth can live happily ever after blah blah like that idea is so boring to me. Give me a bittersweet ending.

I’m gonna start shipping pikeleth just because she’s gonna be the only other one to outlive the rest of vox machina anyway lmao

[zeephyre]

CR3 EPISODE 65 SPOILERS HOLY FUCK

IMOGEN AND LAUDNA KISSED?!!?!-72828_ LAURA BAILEY ALMOST GAVE ME A FUCKING HEART ATTACK LIKE OBVIOUSLY I COULD SENSE THE TENSION BETWEEN THEM THE WHOLE EPISODE AND I KNEW THAT AFTER SEPARATING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WOULD SHIFT BUT I WASN'T EXCEPTING THEM TO ACTUALLY KISS TONIGHT???#?1)£ I LITERALLY YELPED IN TERROR I THOUGHT I WAS HALLUCINATING IM SO GIDDY RIGHT NOW

god chetney totally clocked them, it's so funny bc they were NAWT subtle -- also, patê low-key exposing them and laudna very subtly (not) changing the subject... chef's kiss.

this episode????? was so good??? i am so happy that my hellians are back together??? i can barely focus rn so I'll try to remember all the good bits (which was the whole episode).

fcg and ashton -- im really glad ash specifically told fcg to hold onto the feelings they have for frida to give them smth to come home to, bc he's brought up how self destructive fcg can get bc they don't consider themself important. it was a very cute moment, and i almost cried bc i love ashton and... idk. he's not coping.

ashton gave me very manic energy this episode. a lot of emotional distress disguised as an epiphany, but that moment of them telling fcg that they can't afford to be useless explained every second of flustered panic.

(not to be that person but i uh...i am starting to ship milo and ashton. i liked it before but now i REALLY like it).

i need to know wtf talie and matt have cooked up those little bastards.

chetney getting caught in a trap almost immediately after ajit warned them to be careful or whatever was pretty funny. the whole time that was going down i kept thinking, "the world is ending. we have better shit to be thinking abt than this fr," and not in a bad way. it's just ??? bro who cares who hired you, we are BUSY. i knew chetney attacking that shop keeper was gonna bite him in the ass, and it honestly was hilarious.

i know it was just casual and also sort of a trick, but i loved fearne giving chet a little kiss. they are so real to me y'all don't understand.

i have a very complicated relationship with the matron, bc i love her aesthetic, love her vibe (tho i hate birds, but i love a raven motif), and i also will never forgive her for taking my skrunkly wunkle away from me. that shared vision between orym, chet and fearne was... fucking amazing. matt outdid himself this episode fr. it's probably one of my favourite scenes of this whole campaign.

speaking of which... VAX SCREAMING???? HE'S IN PAIN????????? LET MY BABY GIRL OUT????? I STARTED FUCKING BAWLING NO JOKE. The imagery was so visceral i felt sick to my stomach and i just started tearing up. ludinus your days are fucking numbered.

SPEAKING OF THAT WHITE HAIRED OLD BITCH. HE'S ON THE FAWKING MOON WITH LILIANA???? IRA IS ALSO ON THE MOON???? WITH A REILORA???? AND WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO THE MOON AT SOME POINT??????? I LOVE THIS CAMPAIGN RAHAHWHSHJSJ

:( still no caleb safety confirmation but i think he's fine guys what could have possibly gone wrong /s.

we're in zephrah 🥺 i knew the episode was about to end, and it was so damn beautiful, but i can't wait until thursday. we're gonna see kiki. we have to tell her abt vax, but i also don't want her to know that he's suffering.

is it thursday yet :(

[counterspelling]

day 2 of non-stop thinking about the return of vax. i'm rotating the orb in my mind. i'm trying not to let more than 1% of me hope that this is matt's way of bringing him back and finally giving vax and keyleth the happy ending they deserve bc i simply cannot!!! live through that heartbreak again!! if it doesn't happen!!!

[hopenight]

Let’s Talk About Velora, Vax, and Vex

One relationship that has always low-key fascinated me (and simultaneously warmed my cold dead heart) is that between Vex and Vax and their half-sister, Velora. 

It’s not a relationship that is really explored in much depth in the campaign proper. She appears for like 15 minutes of game time, is generally adorable, and the twins know about her and have a relationship with her. One that is very warm and some sort of balance between like sibling and vaguely paternal. It’s that weird sort of dynamic that happens when you’re so much older than your sibling. 

But it’s very sweet. And then she shows up in the final episodes of the campaign because why not twist that knife in a little more? But she’s not mentioned much outside of those instances. 

Even so, I think the dynamic between the three of them and this includes the Legend of Vox Machina is still really fascinating and, again, extremely heartwarming along with saying a lot about the twins’ character in that while they aren’t nice people, they are kind people. 

In the campaign, the twins are interested in seeing Velora. In fact, they are genuinely happy to see her. Vex picks her up and puts her on her lap. They tell her about how Scanlan takes magic blue shits. Vex gives her an owlbear feather to match her plushie. And at some point previously, they gave her some sort of special necklace. 

Velora is so excited to see them both. And it’s clear that she’s not a “proper” elven girl. Or what we would image them to be. Matt calls her a bit of a tomboy and Vax encourages her to “keep scraping up those knees”. She’s mischievous and listens to what they have to say.

And it’s clear that however shitty a father Syldor was to the pair of them, and he was a shitty father, that any animosity toward him is never put on Velora. And, yeah, you should never hold the sins of a parent against the child, but given how much Syldor shit on their beloved mother? A little resentment wouldn’t have been out of line for the plot.

But no, in the first campaign, they adore Velora and probably consider her the only good part of their father. 

Something to keep in mind, however, is that in the first campaign, they’ve known of her for awhile. They’re re-meeting her. 

In The Legend Of Vox Machina, it’s changed into a first meeting. We see how the twins react to their sister upon first meeting her. And their immediate reaction is one of utter love. Vex gives her her iconic feather. Vax says that never meeting her would be “a travesty”. 

In the show, in particular, they really build up how Vex wanted her father’s approval. And here’s a little girl who has what she always wanted, her father’s love. But not even for a second does she get upset with Velora for that. It’s her little sister, why would she?

And it even shows that, again, while the problem is clearly Syldor, it never went to the other people in the household. Vax and Vex great their stepmother warmly and seem to have a good relationship with her. 

Ultimately, it shows that the twins are kind characters over nice characters. And what I mean is that they don’t much care for manners or social niceties outside the moments where they have to do those things. But, when it comes down to them, they have a lot of empathy and kindness and want to have relationships with others.

In contrast, Syldor is presumably a “nice” character. By “nice”, I mean he does the social niceties that is expected of him, but without any understanding or deeper level of emotion behind them. And it leaves him looking cold and callous as a result.

I don’t know. I just think that the twins relationship with Velora is neat and would like to see more of it.

[blorbologist]

OKAYOKAYOKAYOKAY

With One for sorrow, Two for joy now complete, I do feel the need to address the obvious alternative ending that could have happened (and was indeed actually my original idea before I plotted things out more carefully).

Mostly because it's fun, partially because I? Think it's important to know why I chose this ending despite how bittersweet it is, and to encourage other fic authors to consider *why* they're making certain narrative choices and what they mean about their relationship to canon and their readers.

Under the cut to avoid spoilers for my fic and late/post Campaign 1:

The original plan was for Scanlan to use his Wish during the Vecna fight - not a 9th level Counterspell, circumstances would have been dire enough to require a whole Wish - which, given how his Dalen's Closet Wish goes, would have been his last. Or he would have just waited for spell slots to regen (see why below), Wish'd, and not actually fixed anything, which would have been harder to justify.

As a result:

Given the timeline, Vex was pregnant in canon come the final battle (given she's experiencing morning sickness in Search for Bob, which occurs at most two weeks later, despite only a few long rests passing between Grog pulling the card n them coming back. So likely before then).

The Raven Queen is reluctant to take another life and as such lets Vex stay until Vesper is born.

It Sucks. Shitty good handful of months before Vesper is born, Vex poofs into feathers, and Percy raises their baby as a single dad with VM's help. (Vesper being a magpie-looking aasimar is extra bittersweet, because the dark hair makes her look even more like Vex.)

Given Vex isn’t nearly as accepting of this fate as Vax is, it’s likely that Scanlan, Vax and Percy especially devote the next few decades for trying to figure out a way to fix this. Percy especially would be at high risk of Briarwoods behavior if not for Vesper.

Speaking of. Vesper probably would have had a near-death experience or two where she got to see her mom, even if she has no attachment to a woman she can’t remember.

My original planned epilogue was Percy dying and confiding to the Champion that he knows she no longer has her name, but her titles are forever hers so Whitestone will always bare her name. There will never be another Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone or Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt (though titles fulfilling similar roles are made, those are devoted to her).

Vex likely would have visited Laudna while she was dead and helped fuck up Delilah with the Hells, because she's Death's Champion and knows she's why Laudna died in the first place :c

And, of course, a more recent development/change would have been making Percy or Vesper the bait so Ludinus could still get his Vorb.

So. Why didn't I do that?

A) It’s just. Ludicrously angsty. Sure Vax gets a sunshine ending, raising the aasimars n living with his loves, but... idk if he or Percy could truly find happiness again without Vex, while Vex and Keyleth can find joys in the world again due to their dispositions.

A.1) This is a fic centered around Vex, Perc'ahlia and the relationship between the twins. Knocking two of those out in one go is far more likely to leave a bad taste in readers' mouths than just one. I love a good tragedy, but there's a point where it crosses over into just being pointlessly mean to readers and myself without any catharsis.

B) The Raven Queen making judgements on death and destiny for a pregnancy that's at best a month, month and a half along is stupid. It's incredibly stupid and denies Vex any agency in favor of a clump of cells. I'm a biologist, I know if I read a fic where that happened it'd lose my shit. We have enough sexist, 'oh what of the baaaaby' media, I have no desire to contribute to it.

C) Speaking of agency! From the word go I incorporated the table dynamics/logic into this fic, so not only am I juggling in-universe implications, but the context of the game as well. Matt would not fucking do that to Laura. It's gross, especially given she is expecting a child not too long after the end of Campaign 1. Matt wouldn't do that to her character, just like Artagan strangling her would cross a line. I never want to imply Matt would do that.

C.1) Vax's arc and sacrifice is incredibly important to Liam, and he clearly tries to maintain the weight of it in the oneshots and going forward. I felt a bit like I'd robbed him of some of the catharsis Vax's RQ arc brought him, but on a meta level I have a deep respect for his devotion to tragedy and did not want to make light of it.

D) Why not just... save both twins? Well, I still felt there had to be a cost for this happy ending to matter. The imperfect ending to Campaign 1 is what gives it so much weight, the love between siblings, and I make a point in my AUs of trying to avoid them neatly being better than canon, because it feels cheap to neatly solve most of their problems. And nothing quite compares to losing your twin, your other half. I wanted everything to matter, I wanted the joy to mean something, and it’s so much more precious if it's at a cost. If someone else had gone in his place (say things messed up n took Scanlan instead), it'd still feel cheap compared to the agony of canon. It had to be one of the twins... and this destiny suited Vax best. I also made a point of involving faith and nodding to Vax having Some odd connection to the Raven Queen, so it felt like good payoff.

Do I think there are versions of this story where Vex remains Champion into death, or a perfect happy ending happen? Sure! But they’re not ones I wanted to write, or that supported the tale I wanted to tell.

The point of this, I think, is that there's always another story you could create, another path to take. And as authors, fic writers, creators, it’s in our best interest to examine what our choices at these forks mean - what they symbolize, what they say about the world and the characters - and what we want them to mean to us and our readers.

(I also seriously cannot recommend finding people to talk to about your fic if you're conflicted - @essayofthoughts, @katia-dreamer, @rightpastnowhere and @burr-ell were instrumental in helping me untangle where I wanted to go with this and why and what pros/cons there were to each!)

[samuraiko]

CR musings - Orym, Vax, and where the Hells go next (SPOILERS AHOY)

HERE BE SPOILERS

YOU KNOW THE DRILL

LOREM IPSUM

So after letting my brain mull over the most recent episode for a day or so, now I can finally write about it. This is, of course, just my OPINION on the subjects -- your mileage may vary.

ORYM

Yes, I legit cried for Orym at his new title, and his recognition by Keyleth for what he and the Hells have done. I was so happy for my favorite little cinnamon roll. I still think he's going to be struggling with his anger for a while because there's still SO much to be done, and he still feels so very small, but Keyleth's choice of title was an incredibly apt one.

Saviour Blade of the Tempest.

A marvelous callback to two episodes prior, where he begs her, "Allow me to be your blade, Tempest," in response to her intention to utterly destroy Ludinus and the Vanguard. But not just that - by calling him her Saviour Blade, she is reminding him that his job is to SAVE people, to PROTECT people, *NOT* just vengeance.

(I admit, I briefly wondered if she might name him the Shield of the Tempest, in memory of Derrig, but a shield is solely to protect. A sword can attack as well as defend - and that's what Keyleth needs right now.)

This coming on the heels of the 6-Sided Dive episode where Liam talks repeatedly about how Orym's 'bedrock' is crumbling, and how he feels so small and tries to shoulder so much of his burden by himself... to have the woman he refers to as "the boss lady," "our leader," "the Voice of the Tempest," and so on refer to HIM as HER FRIEND... oh, you could see it in the widening of Liam's eyes when Matt said that, he never expected to hear something like this.

(That WHOLE affirmation speech, Liam just sits there and you can see the hint of tears in his eyes. He NEVER looks away from Matt the entire time.)

So, yeah... when I mentioned in another post about wanting to see what he'll do to try and shore up that bedrock before it completely gives way, I think this is a solid step. But it's not over yet - not by a long shot.

VAX

The dark angel stuck in an orb... there's (apparently) been a lot of discussion/argument/whatever about what Vax is, and what it means about him being stuck in an orb, and what will happen if/when he's freed.

I look at Vax's role as something similar to Charon, Thanatos, or Hermes in Greek mythology - the psychopomps whose job it is to shepherd souls to the afterlife.

The MoR tells Vax (both in-stream and in LoVM) that her purpose (and now his) is to safeguard the moment where the soul transitions to whatever its new purpose may be - passage to the Astral Sea, to the realm of whatever deity has potential claim to that soul, or even to consecution, I would suppose. And the moment that Vax TRULY accepted that deal, he stopped being afraid - he was more at peace with himself, he saw his purpose and understood it. And even more than that, it made him so much more aware of the inherent need to live life and enjoy it while you have it.

--

My theory is that Vax being trapped in the orb is why resurrection magic doesn't work. Don't get me wrong - souls can still transition WITHOUT him - the MoR had no champion (as far as we know, lore-wise) between Purvan Suul and Vax, and yet people still died, and people could still be brought back. But presumably their souls were more vulnerable to outside influence.

And right now, the MoR (in addition to mourning) is doing everything she can to protect the moment the souls pass… but only in ONE direction (life > death > beyond), and whatever safeguarding of the tapestry that she can muster. She has no energy to spare to protect or facilitate that moment in the OTHER direction.

--

I also don't think that if/when Vax is freed, that's going to end his service to the Matron. That deal was PERMANENT - "you will return to me, my champion, evermore." I think MAYBE, *MAYBE* when Keyleth FINALLY dies and her soul passes on, the MoR might let Vax go so they can finally be together. But otherwise, nope - he is the Matron's.

NEXT STOP?

Part of this is me conspiracy-theorizing again, part of this is just my personal hopes. Again, your mileage may very.

I am HOPING that the Hells head straight to the Shattered Teeth, instead of faffing around trying to collect allies before they even know WTF is going on yet. They will have far more success trying to recruit people when they can provide concrete evidence of what they're doing, whom they're fighting, and SOMETHING REMOTELY APPROACHING a strategy on how to defeat him.

I'm not 100% saying I don't want them to go to the Menagerie Coast in search of Devexian because anything that helps FCG better understand his own capabilities could certainly help, but I DO NOT want them going to Nicodranas just so they can relieve C2's Greatest Hits. Send them to Port Zoon or something - where they will not run into Fjord, they will not run into Jester, they will not run into Yussa and Marion and the Brenattos... save all that for the live show.

Get them on a boat and heading toward the Shattered Teeth ASAP.

Also (here's the conspiracy-theorizing part) I think that Kathula is a possible language-shifted name for Cathmoira, the land-based half of Toramunda from ExU: CALAMITY. And the tree that Keyleth is talking about (Evontra'vir, the Great Tree of Atrophy) is almost certainly the tree that Laerryn Blight-ed. As far as the woman that Keyleth was talking about, I'm wondering if she's a member of the Ossended Host, one of the two prominent groups that inhabits/controls the islands of the Shattered Teeth.

(I also wonder if Keyleth is perhaps hoping that Jirana will help Orym deal with his grief over losing Will and Derrig the same way that Jirana helped her try to deal with losing Vax.)

--

I can't wait to see the next episode - give me Orym visiting the graves of Will and Derrig, give me Ashton and Orym's new outfits, give me Alma's reactions to her boy getting a promotion, give me more of Ashton's conversation with Thollo about the Hishari... I WANT MORE.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 66

Stray Gods? Ooooh ... yeah, that does look pretty cool. And yeah, shout-out indeed to our own girls on board! And ... oh boy, here we go ... Sam's singing ... great ... and it's bloody awful as always ... that's it, Sam, make my ears bleed ...

Yes, last Candela Obscura ep coming SOON ... but I heard it's only the FIRST story, apparently there are more on the way?

Oh sweet, Daggerheart? Cool. Can't wait ...

And so we begin. Again. And I'm like STUPID excited about this one ...

Yay! Zephrah! Sweet! I've missed this place ...

And yes, Orym is home ... I'm so happy for our boy ... super nostalgia for him ...

Wow, that's a SHIT roll for Chetney's sense of smell, Travis ...

Strength Save? Already? Gah ... roll good, guys ...

It fucken wimdy ... and now we're losing THREE OF OUR PEOPLE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh, so it's just a welcoming committee? Sort of?

Yes! Hello Orym, yes, he's a welcome defuser of tension, definitely.

Maeve? Half-elf? Wait ... HIS SISTER?!!! Really? Awesome! Awwwww ... hello, cutie! :3

Take forms? Oh, so she's a druid? Cool! I mean yeah, of course she is, but still ... COOL!!!

There's a Nexus close? Crap ...

Whoa ... Maeve was AT THE BATTLE!!! Okay then ... and now it's all fucken CRAZY ... yeah, it would be ...

No communication with Whitestone? Crap ... but not unexpected ... and folk got scattered? Again, not a surprise ...

YOUR mom ... oh, so she was WILL's sister ... yeah, I get it. But slso awwww ...

No, I'm ahead of you, FCG. They're IN-LAWS.

Yeah, he was in love, very much ... and my heart's breaking all over again just remembering ...

Matt once again reminding us that Zephrah is one of the most beautiful places in all of Exandria ...

Maeve (regarding Laudna): "Is that her? She looks cooler than I thought." Awwwww ... :3

More reunions ... yeah ... awkward ... but yeah, hello Leeta ...

Red dragon? Thordak, yeah ... cool ... Nice trip down Campaign 1 memory lane ...

KEYLETH!!! Yay!

FCG tries to bow and just faceplants cuz he ain't got knees ...

Ouch ... that's gotta hurt ... that looks NASTY ...

Oh yeah! THE Staff! Nice!

Yup, just as we thought, it's that nasty shit poison again ... a remedy? Blue Perennium flower? Oh boy ... no, not LIKE THAT!!! Matt is irritated by the smutty jokes that now ensue and I don't blame him ... oh, how many PCs is he gonna kill for this? XD

So this COULD heal her? Oh yes ... so ... quest time again, maybe?

It grows in places marked by strife? Hmmmm ...

So there are THREE others hurt like her? Two dozen more dead? Ouch ...

The last thing SHE saw ... yeah, OF COURSE it was Vax ... this is gonna be hurting her WAY worse than her wounds ...

The white light? Hmmm ... so what, Illianna might have sent them all away to SAVE THEM? Interesting ...

Ah yes ... so here we go ... revealing Imogen's connection indeed ... Keyleth: "But you're here to help?" Oh yes ...

So the Ruby Vanguard are OPENLY recruiting now? That can't be good ...

Orym: "I've been struggling with the blood in my eye for weeks now. I've never been so fucking angry!" Oof ...

Keyleth: "Sometimes it's just what you need, so don't let go of that anger. Learn how to use it."

Orym: "I promise you I'll give you every last breath to make this right."

Keyleth: "Together we'll rain the fury of every power in Exandria down on these ... shitheads."

Get hold of the toxin, reverse engineer an antidote? Smart, Chetney, smart.

Yeah, Keyleth never really had that much to do with the gods, generally.

"The Ascension and the Sealing". Oh yeah ... so cool ...

Letting the Voice of the Tempest rest, then ...

Laudna: "We dropped the airship." Leeta: "That was you? That was GREAT!!!" Yeah ... :3

Ah yes, finding out what happened after they all got shunted away at last ...

27 ... Whispers! Yay! What's Leeta hiding, Fearne?

Wait, MOLES? Really? Like another Bor'Dor situation? Hmmmm ...

Thollo? Okay ...

The Scattered War of Gwessar? Intriguing ... so the Grey Valley is ... a creepy, fucked up place ... sounds about right. And apparently this is the SAFEST place for them go look for the flower? Ye gods ...

Liam: "We all know what you WANT to hear, Travis Willingham." XD

The Hishari helmet? Intriguing ... oh, here we go, then ... so Ashton COULD finally get some answers after this? Cool ...

So, going to meet Orym's mum ... sweet ...

Home sweet home! Cottagecore? Cute! :3

Awwwwwwwww ... she's the sweetest mum ever, hi Alma! Oh yeah, she DOES know Fearne already. And she's definitely fascinated by FCG ...

Oh yeah, Laudna does love her some biscuits ...

Oh, intriguing, the possibility that Chetney might hit on Alma ... XD

Such a lovely cosy place, I love it ...

Muffins? Really? Cool ...

No stealing stuff, Fearne. "I would never steal from a mother." Okay then ...

Yum! Freshly baked goodies! Yay!

Alma: "I worry about you, Orym. You carry a lot of weight on your face."

Whoa ... the Ashari have means to delay births to prevent babies from becoming Ruidusborn? Intriguing ...

Alma:"Just don't be a hero if you don't have to." Orym: "I just do what I have to, mom."

So Orym was a truly TINY baby? I mean OF COURSE he would have been ... awwww, the cavalcade of baby memento-based embarrassment for Orym, I love it ... XD

Recipes to go for FCG? Adorable ...

Chetney's carved a little wooden Orym for her? That's so cute ... is this Chet flirting? Wait ... Orym ACTUALLY HAD C-POP toys when he was little? Oh my gods ...

Orym: "Did you invent Optimus Prime?" Chetney: "I killed him, too." LOL

FCG trying to work out if Orym looks a little like Chetney ... 4 perception roll? Yeah ...

To Torth's shop for fresh armour, now ...

Sage and herbs in the metal AS IT'S BEING TEMPERED?!!! Intriguing ...

Old Fanny Z? Hmmmm ...

Oh, this place looks FASCINATING ... oh, and Fanny is too ... wow ... oh yeah, she is just FABULOUS, definitely ... XD

Fanny: "Anti-hero chic?" Oh yes ... that's perfect Ashton, definitely ...

Marisha: "Whitestone's for lovers, Zephrah's for fuckers." LOL

Meanwhile Laudna's flying Pate on a string like a kite. Pate: "Hey, there's a big hawk up here, circling! I think he wants to be friends!" O.O

Big-ass backpack? Okay ... so they need to fill THIS with the flowers ...

Oh boy ... a shit ton of healing potions ... NEVER a good sign of things to come ...

Whoa ... so Orym's fighting style is like THE regimental style of Zephrah? That's so cool ...

Maeve can do the tree portal thing too? That's so cool!

Matt: "And we're gonna go to break!"

Oh, so they're actually Blue Perennum flowers? Ah ... so basically Matt dug his own grave there ...

Liam: "I'm just glad we don't have to find some Taintweed." Snort ...

Always nice to get to see a pair of Jesters drawing little cartoon dicks in the air ... XD

Back to the game ... and the Grey Valley ... hmmmmm ...

The smell of ash and BURNED FAT?!!! That's not, like, foreboding at all ...

The whole place is COMPLETELY monochrome ... fascinating ... in a really creepy way ...

Perception check for blue flowers ... 30? Fucking hell Orym ... no joy, though. Not here ...

FCG doing a Divination spell on the inside of Orym's shield to find the way from the Changebringer ... oh ... is it working? Intriguing ... cool, another genuine divine visitation ... ooooooh ... and a marker? Cool ... go west, young man!

Chetney trying to get a read on the burned fat smell ... what ... a Religion check? Hmmmm ... oh, it's a smell of demons? Oh shit ... not great ...

Hello again, Pate ... he turns invisible and goes looking for possible demons and blue flowers ...

Single file, to hide their numbers ... and Pass Without A Trace? Okay ... sneaky sneaky ...

Lightning split trees? Yeesh ...

Bits of tarnished metal? Hmmmm ... that's suspicious ... not fresh, at least, but ...

So it's a helmet ... with a skull still in it? Not good ...

Nothing inherently fancy about any of it ...

Pate sees fuck all ... with a Nat 1 ... oof ...

FCG casts Death Ward on Orym in order to make sure they can get him back to his mum ...

Something's flying in ... TWO somethings, in fact ... bug and black ... black SMOKE?!!! Oh hell ... they don't spot thd party, but ... creepy ...

Chetney climbing a big rock to get a look round ...

Smells like a volcano? Lovely ... that's not a good sign ... and part of the forest is smoking ... great ...

Everybody's doing Pate impressions while Matt looks stuff up ... it's adorable. XD

Oh, the TREES are smoking? Hmmmm ...

FCG casts Owl's Wisdom on Fearne? Intriguing ...

Orange glow under the tree bark? Hmmmm ... FCG casts Detect Thoughts ... nothing in particular ...

Some kind of potential damage site? Hmmmm ...

An ash MARSH?!!! Seriously? Urgh ... hard going now ... no surprise there ...

Back onto solid ground without incident ... phew ... or not ... some kind of ancient battlefield now ... lovely ...

Something got badly charred here ... and there's some kind of dark crater? Hmmm ... AND there are flowers ... okay ... is it a trap?

Bollocks ... turns out Pate is colourblind ... THAT'S not exactly useful for finding the flowers ...

Pate land on the bush ... and falls into it. "They're thorny!"

Chetney goes in to try and see what's what ... and starts doing an English accent when he finds himself interacting with Pate.

So THESE are the flowers ... BINGO!!! Chetney starts cutting blooms, also casts Hunter's Bane just in case ... and he gets a little prickle of SOMETHING ... hmmmm ...

Oh fuck ... some of the bodies start moving ... great, it's undead time ... and there's something else there too ...

Okay, this thing definitely SOUNDS like a demon ...

Chetney pretends he doesn't actually see this thing znd starts to nonchalantly walk away ... yeah, this thing ain't convinced at all ...

Oh yeah ... "Roll initiative." HERE WE GO!!!

Battlemap time! Wow, that shit is BLEAK!!!

Top of the round, then ...

Here come the undead! Aaaaaaaah! Chetney's under attack ... crap, and he is now GRAPPLED ... oh shit, they're Ashari! It's some of the missing warriors!

Chetney: "Nuke us!" FCG: "I'm a healer! I don't Nuke!" Chetney: "Bring the falling fire!"

FCG casts Compulsion and they both FAIL!!! Now they're dragging Chetney through the nasty ashen mud ...

Imogen's up ... Laura has a very dubious plan ... Watery Sphere? Interesting ... she tries it on the demon ... a strength save? 17 plus more ... nuts ... then she uses her Telekinetic Shove to try snd free Chetney ... nope, it's like FREAKISHLY strong ...

The demon just SINKS INTO THE GROUND ... andnow it's FUCKING CLOSE to them all ... CRAAAAAAAP!!! A Soul Rend Vortex? WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

38 points of Necrotic damage to Orym and FCG, 19 to Fearne ... ouch!

Ashton RAGES!!! YEAH!!! Yeah, he's making some crazy gravitational wave as he charges the thing ... Density Well? So cool ... BOOM!!! 18 points of bludgeoning damage AND it's knocked prone ... AND some fire damage? 8 points! Nice .. but it's fiendish, so not yhat much of zn effect ... another attack ... another 19 points of damage because it's BIGGER than he is? Awesome ...

Orym performs a Disarming Attack to free Chetney ... yes! Success! AND 11 damage on the undead! Second hit ... only 8 points more? Not so good ...

Oh man ... Orym KNEW this guy? Crap ...

Chetney wolfs out ... he charges and while taking damage from the undead (8 Necrotic) as he moves away, inflicts LESS damage on the demon within ice attack than he'd like ... hmmm ... how CAN they kill this thing?

Fearne speaks Infernal? Of course she does ... "Stop it!" And here comes Mister ...

Laudna casts Mirror Image on herself, then ... oh man, that is HORRIFYING ... oh! Hey! It's the wolf! Laura is DEEPLY impressed! Matt: "That's your girlfriend!"

Here we go ... the wolf attacks the demon ... 14 piercing damage! Nice!

Oh crap ... now there are creepy shadow wraiths coming out of the marsh... great ...

A TOTAL MISS on Imogen! Phew ... now Ashton ... Erratic Defence? What is THAT?!!! Cuts it down to 11 points of Necrotic damage, but Fearne's fancy aura softens it ... now he's just chucking one of the wraiths around ...

An attack on FCG ... but Silvery Barbs from Laudna AND Fearne's spell saves the day AGAIN!!!

Undead longbow attack? Really? Both miss, though ... but the other one hits Orym with its sword ... crap!

Orym strikes back HARD!!! 15 points of damage! Nice ...

Spiritual Weapon from FCG ... a chainsaw? Really? Crazy ... attack on the undead! 7 points of radiant damage? Hmmm ... not THAT impressive ...

Imogen tries to get the Watery Sphere to actually DO SOMETHING this time ... okay, that's more like it ... ooh ... 4th Level Lightning Bolt AND it's Quickened by Ashton? Wow ... double hit INCLUDING the demon ... okay ... NINE D6 OF DAMAGE?!!! Fucking hell ... 24 points ... wow ...

Demon boy VANISHES again and reappears in front of Fearne? NO!!! Shit ... 10 slashing damage PLUS 13 Necrotic? Oof ... second attack CRITS ... 13 slashing and 21 Necrotic? AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Damn, that hurts ...

Soul Rend? Crap ... EVERYBODY but FCG has to save ... oh man, this is all round SO BAD ... pain all round, but SOMEHOW Fearne still maintains her concentration ...

Ashton hits HARD on one of the wraiths ... POW!!!

Orym jumps over Mister and charges in to pull Bait and Switch on Fearne, then attacks the demon! POW!!! 18 points of damage all round! Oh shit ... another Ashari inside the demon? Not good ...

Chetney tries to just JUMP attack the demon ... in the end just GRAPPLES it ... okay ... second attack then ... still not that heavy with the ice damage ... hmmm ...

Fearne casts Daylight right on its chest ... oh shit! Oh, and that HURTS IT BAD!!! Nice! AND it repels EVERYTHING!!! Okay, then!

Mister chucks some flaming shit! XD 7 points of damage ... meh ...

FORM OF DREAD!!! YES!!! Always awesome ... Laudna sends Pate into the Watery Sphere and then twins a Shocking Grasp through him ... NAT 20!!! Oh shit! Pate: "Special delivery!" She electrocutes the guy ... and gets the HDYWTDT!!! Nice ... oh shit ... TWO kills? Way to go, dead girl!

Now the wolf attacks the demon again ... 11 damage! Sweet!

Undead attack on Fearne! Crap ... Laudna casts Silvery Barbs, but it still hits ... 12 slashing damage! Double crap ... and she's unconscious! NO!!!

FCG casts Mass Cure Wounds! Phew! 16 points all round! Nice! Fearne's back up!

Buzzsaw attack from FCG! Oh, Divine Strike? No ... ALMOST killed that zombie ...

Imogen chucks a 4th Level Witchbolt at the demon ... 42 points of damage ... and she gets the HDYWTDT!!! YESSSSSSS!!! Oh yeah, she full on LIGHTS THIS FUCKER UP!!! Oh yeah, the demon is TOAST.

For the sake of brevity, Matt lets the rest of the thralls die ... yeah, seems fitting ...

Orym finds a fading spirit within the demon's body ... oh man ... it's tragic, but bittersweet ... at least he gets to put her to rest in the end.

Ah, they at least found enough flowers before they died to fill a 3rd of the satchel ... cool. Meanwhile Orym's looking for personal effects, then performs last rites in the Ashari manner.

Moody, mournful wind ... hmmm ...

Matt: "And that's where we're gonna end the night."

All round, EVERYBODY is in awe of Ashley saving the day so it wasn't a TPK ...

[aspiringsophrosyne]

Episode 5: Pass Through Fire

Is it hot in here? It seems hot in this theatre. Maybe their air conditioning's on the fritz. Better get yourself a drink, because it seems like the temperature's going up and staying up.

The Good.

Janet Varney. Of course they got Korra to voice Keyleth's mom. Of course they did. This whole opening sequence screams Avatar, and I'm here for it. And it's nice to see such tenderness between Keyleth and her mom, given their separation. Also, just seeing Good Parents in TLOVM is a joy, given the majority of the group comes from less-than-ideal families or home situations.

Raven Queen's not the most tactful conversationalist, is she? I like that this is something that just won't let Vax go until he deals with it; it might be easy for him and the audience to think it'll go away without those little flashes. Similarly, it fits that he cannot get the armor off; there's no escaping it or what it represents. 

Yay, Vex and Scanlan banter. I love what the runes say if you look close enough. Nice nod to Viridian, too. I'm happy to see more between these two in particular. Laura has talked about how they both put up fronts and that this was something Vex recognized in Scanlan and related to. They have their own interesting dynamic it's good to see more of.

I like that the show portrays Keyleth and Vax's concerns as equally valid. They are trying to fight something that could affect everyone in Tal'Dorei and perhaps even the world, but Vox Machina had previously backed each other up in their personal quests.

Very cool getting to see Keyleth just beat on something. Her magic is always a treat for the oculars, but there's something fun about watching her hit a monster in the face.

Yes...! Flashback to Allura and Kima's adventuring days!! I would watch an episode focusing on that group. It's also nice to see it so quickly and casually established that the two are a couple. In the original, they had been together before the stream, then split off to do their own things. Matt left it up in the air whether they would get back together or not. They eventually did, but that left us with hours and hours of ambiguity until it became clear that Allura and Kima were very much in love.

Hey, Robbie! Robbie Daymond was a player on Exandria Unlimited and a guest player for Campaign 3 of Critical Role. He's fabulous, and I didn't even realize that was him playing Cerkonos.

Keyleth's whole transformation scene is beautiful and cathartic. She spends so much time unsure of herself or struggling to control her abilities, but then she gets that extra bit of confidence to let loose, and it's awe-inspiring. Her surrendering to the fire has a certain painful, uncertain beauty. You don't know if she'll be able to do whatever she needs to without hurting or destroying herself.

Neal's score compliments the moment perfectly; it's a musical epiphany spliced with the triumph of a battle won. There isn't anything more I can say about the music without repeating myself; it's always amazing.

Keyleth gets a little costume upgrade, yay! I like that the characters' looks change to represent their development and growing power. We saw something similar with the character art starting in C2, and it was always fun to see the new looks.

The Bad. (Or at least, not great.)

Grog and Craven Edge

So here's the thing about the original shitting scene. And yes, that is a sentence I just typed.

Originally the second Sphinx was not on the same continent as Vasselheim, and the crew went back to Tal'dorei to meet with Osysa's mate, to get the Vestige and some other treasures Identified, and to rest for a bit. Whitestone, in particular, was where the scene with Grog and Scanlan happened. Even if you didn't see the original, you might be able to guess it was transplanted from a more populated setting because Grog asks Scanlan for a song so that no one else will hear.

When they're in the woods. Away from the group and far away from any other people.

Grog's dumb, but he's not that kind of dumb.

It's not a huge deal, but it's one more instance on a growing list of the writing CRew's inconsistencies.

To fix it, I'd change the line to something different (Grog asking for mood music instead, perhaps) or, hell, have it chronologically take place in Whitestone when they first escaped the Conclave. Just have Grog flashback to it in this episode. You'd have to change some things in a few episodes, though. Have Grog fight some residual undead or monsters hanging around the city so he can see what the sword is capable of first, for instance. But you could make it work. 

Nitpicks:

I need more damn banter.

Not just because we had more banter in the original stream and not just because it would be a great way to organically world-build and establish and develop these characters and their relationships...

But because none of these people have books, iPhones, or music to listen to while they travel, presumably for hours if not days. All they can do is talk. So it makes sense that they would.

There's another reason, but I'll get into that next episode.

~ * ~

Again, I wished they'd added some visual effect to indicate Allura was at least trying to cast a spell when those rocks fell. If you know the original story, you know she lives, and if you know D&D wizards, you know they have tricks for that kind of thing, but if you're new, it can look cheap that they got out without any previous indication that they had.

Aramenté

So...to pass through the fire.

For various reasons, the way this moment was presented in the Campaign can't happen here. And even if there was no getting around that, it breaks my heart that the way it went down, so much of the original meaning of this phrase was lost.

The long and short of it was that it was part of a pep-talk for Keyleth that was a metaphor for enduring adversity. And it's such a disservice to Kiki's anxiety and her struggles with her confidence to just have her suddenly understand the concept out of nowhere when we have everything we need to give it more weight.

We have the whole prior season.

Instead of Keyleth just suddenly realizing what she needs to do, what she's capable of doing, have her flashback to the Blue Dragon she helped kill. The badass magic she used on the road to Whitestone that saved Vox Machina's lives while they were chasing after Scanlan. When she healed Cassandra. Her ice magic against the zombie hoard. When she killed Sylas. Hell, you could throw in her escaping the Conclave, which was her almost literally passing through fire.

Then hit us with her mom's voice. Because then both she and the audience can connect her mother's phrase with all she's endured up to this point. Hammer home what it means.

And then it's clear that Keyleth's already done what Air Ashari are made to do. So she can do it now.

Pyrah And Future Conflicts

Keyleth is told that Thordak had help getting out of the Fire Elemental plane, which led to the death and destruction that's come to Pyrah. In the stream, the confrontation between Keyleth and the being that provided that help was electric, charged with her anger and outrage in a moment where all her lack of surety fell away and was the foundation for some incredible moments later. There could still be more coming to set up for it....but as it stands, I can't see this episode providing the same heft that its stream counterpart did.

Mainly because, in the stream, we got to visit Pyrah before the attack. We saw it thriving, calm and peaceful. After the Chroma Conclave's initial attack, Allura showed Vox Machina the devastation the dragons had wrought outside Emon. Pyrah had become the sight of a smoking crater and mounds of dead. It left Keyleth and Marisha both in tears.

We're not getting the same impact here, but maybe we could've gotten closer to it by having Keyleth's flashback with her mom occur in Pyrah. We could see how the city was meant to be, and then we could've further empathized with Keyleth when she gets there and sees how devastated it is.

Heading into the next show, we've got one hell of a performance coming up. Don't miss it!

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Legend of Vox Machina: Those Who Walk Away (2x04)

I got the Vax punching Percy scene, I'm a happy camper.

Cons:

I can't overstate how much most of my complaints about this show are nitpicks. It feels like we've gotten such a bounty, something so much better and cooler and more intense than I ever could have hoped for. So when I'm talking about things that missed the mark for me, it's really only a matter of being thorough. Of being so impressed with this show that I expect the absolute best from it. My complaint is a little difficult to articulate, but during the pivotal Vex resurrection "take me instead" scene, it felt like the pacing, or the blocking, or maybe both, were just slightly... off.  Pacing-wise we go from the weeping at the end of season three to suddenly everyone being like "oh yeah, shit, we should be trying to save her", which just felt like they prioritized the fucking stunning ending of episode three over the beginning of episode four making sense, a little? Vax is sobbing like he believes she's really dead, and then suddenly he says "somebody do something!" like he's still in the middle of figuring out what's going on. Just a little awkwardness there.

There's this particular shot where Vex's spiritual self has flowed upward, and there's the golden thread connecting the twins, and the Matron of Ravens is looming over them, and it just looked kind of awkward with Vex's form laid out in this weird ghostly way... I think if I were going to do this, I wouldn't have had Vex's soul float out of her body at all, I would have kept the string connecting Vax to where Vex lay on the floor. Or I would have done a less tangible representation of Vex being taken away, like an orb of light or something. Like I said, this is nitpick-y to the extreme.

I'm also a little torn about Anna Ripley popping up there at the end. When I first saw her I actually wasn't sure who she was and had to think on it to figure it out. I guess it makes sense to want to keep her character on people's minds during this season, since I assume she's going to become relevant again in season three, but it still feels a little random. I'm willing to see how they take it, I'm just not sure how to feel yet.

Pros:

I'm so happy with everything we're getting!!!

Trinket backstory has me weeping. It just makes me think back to Laura writing up a little short story about her D&D character for Matt, and how it was this special little thing she'd thought up for their home game, all the way to now, seeing it in glorious animation. And what a cool way to set up the theme about fate. It's not so much that you have no control over anything so life is pointless, it's that, as Vex says, whatever happens is out of our control, so you might need to try and embrace what's in front of you. She took an opportunity, and got Trinket out of it. Now Vax has an opportunity in front of him as well.

The resurrection scene, while I've lodged a few complaints above, still gave me so many things I absolutely loved. The details of the whole group and how they respond to Vex's death... you've got Keyleth taking her hand and weeping, and there's the moment when Kash takes over and is going to try a resurrection rite, and Vax just kind of stumbles and falls backwards to the ground. Both Grog and Scanlan reach for him as if to catch him or steady him, but it's so clear that Vax is beyond their reach in that moment. And then the contrast between Vax sitting there watching the Matron of Ravens approach slowly, eerily, and the frantic sounds of the group talking as they try and save her... so chilling. You've got Scanlan trying to suggest another potion, you've got Grog saying "can we move her somewhere else", when it becomes clear that the tomb of the Matron isn't going to let her be resurrected. You've got Percy, begging Kash not to give up. That's the good shit.

All of the Matron of Ravens imagery is STUNNING. I'll talk about the fight stuff later, but just soup to nuts, the way she moves, the creepy mask, the size and scope of her, the music, the way the visions/flashbacks work for Vax... it all looks so cool and has me so hyped for what they do with her and Vax moving forward. Towards the end we see Vax witnessing a moment of death. We're starting to see the Matron of Ravens as a being heavily associated with death, but also death being a natural thing, something the Matron helps to usher along at the end. Vax is going to have to go on a journey to figure this out.

I'm sure some people are going to be pissed off with the degree to which Zahra is kind of the villain of this episode, what with her unleashing a not-Beholder on the group leading to the majority of them getting petrified, but I think this change is really smart. We're dealing with seven main characters here. There's a lot to juggle, and there's not really room to have a couple extra people tag along who are just there to be nice, uncomplicated allies in moments of stress. I thought it was such a fun way to have a fight sequence that isn't low-stakes, precisely, but is more there to showcase the power of our first Vestige of Divergence. This monster takes out the entirety of Vox Machina, along with Zahra, and yet Vax on his own is enough to defeat it because of his new cool armor and status as a champion of a goddess.

We've seen what a big deal these dragons are, we know how outclassed our heroes were in the face of them. So now we see how hunting down these Vestiges is going to make a big difference in that fight. Super smart! And as always the fight choreo is so fun and chaotic and exciting, with so many good character details. Kash calling out "Z! No, no!" when she got petrified got me in my feels about those two, and Scanlan reaching for Pike's hand, only for them both to be turned to stone, it's all so good and fun. And when Vax emerges to finish the fight, the speed, the music, that stunning shot of him in the air with the image of the Matron behind him... holy shit, I totally got chills.

Those Calamity/Purvan visions! Holy shit, this show is GORGEOUS. We've got a glow-up in terms of visuals even from what the first season managed to give us, and I am living for it. The images of the gods during the Calamity, those giant embodiments floating in the sky... we saw the Everlight again, among others we'll get to know about more later. And we see Vax start to embrace his fate, even though he doesn't know what it is, exactly. It's so terrifying, it's so upsetting, how from this moment on, Vax never gets to be quite the same person he was before.

I've got to shout out Percy for being so sweet and solicitous of Vex, checking up on her, guiding her through the tombs, helping her up after her petrification is undone by Kash. He's being so gentle and timid, and he's so clearly horrified and forever changed by  what his moment of carelessness nearly cost him. I'm living for it. And we got one of my FAVORITE scenes in the whole streamed campaign, where Percy goes to apologize to Vax for getting Vex killed, and he gets decked in the face for his trouble. Fucking excellent. I love how they streamlined this moment by having Vax say "I don't want to talk about it", and then Percy pushing through to talk about it anyway. It's such a good character moment for Percy, because he really is sorry, and all that, but ultimately he still thinks he knows best. He can't respect the way Vax needs to process this, and wants to get the apologizing over with. At the same time, Percy just wants to prove his worth to the group, prove that he is no longer the monster that sought to hurt them last season. I... love Percy so much, and I am so, so excited to see how things develop for him in terms of his relationships with the rest of the group, particularly with each of the twins.

So for now, we say farewell to Kash and Zahra! I loved that Zahra was the one to give Vex the necklace, that was a good way of streamlining, although I'll miss our fun wolfy friend from the stream at the same time. And while we didn't get the legendary Kash/Keyleth kiss between these characters, because so much has changed about the circumstances of their first meeting, we did at least get Kash asking Zahra if "antlers" is watching him walk away. That was so fun!

I hope that other people watching this appreciate the gravitas of the choice Vax has made. Yes, they managed to save Vex from death itself, but it's not a cheap moment, it's not something someone could just do any old day. It's going to be so exciting to watch the implications spill forward from this moment!

9/10

[captainsspnanon]

C3E43 part 2 reaction

SO MUCH INFORMATION!

I’d known that they were going to meet Planerider Ryn and that they’d learn something about a god devourer from internet spoilers, but didn’t know more than that.

Delighted to see that they actually realized where they were and figured out the Planerider Ryn bit, though I had to see afterwards how Liam knew she was a tiefling.  He probably helped with art for the Tal’Dorei campaign guide, as that’s the only time her race was mentioned.  I admit, I’m surprised Matt kept poker face through the entire conversation, I would have thought he’d be happy/proud that his players remembered the setting and NPC.  Perhaps he just wanted to keep the mystery a little longer.  (I AM surprised that they just dropped the bombshell that Nott’s kid dies in C2 during this, but then again, I’m pretty sure that they reference Vax being dead in C2, so *shrugs*)

I am fascinated not only by the information about the two lost gods, but also by the fact that none of the gods have mentioned this before.  I was checking transcripts, and I 100% believe that in campaign 1, there only WAS one moon.  Matt never references two moons, but repeatedly references THE moon.  However, in campaign 2, episode 3 is the first time that it’s made clear in game that there are two moons.  So I wonder when Matt came up with this idea of the two lost gods.  Between campaign 1 and 2? later on?

Shout out to What the Sheet podcast.  For ages, they have been obsessed with Tharizdun being imprisoned on Ruidus.  You guys were very very close!!  Hope this was validating to you and your conspiracy theories XD

Despite this being a massive lore dump, it didn’t feel like it.  It flowed very smoothly and felt like true conversation, especially with the give and take between the groups.

PLEASE LET US VISIT MORRI YES YES YES YES YES I am SO excited to see this!  Plus, Ashley/Fearne is CLEARLY in her element for these bits, so I expect she’d go full ham in the Feywild, and she deserves it!

I wonder if Delilah is in any way involved with the stuff going on in the Shadowfell?  Controversial opinion time, but I hope not?  I didn’t find her very frightening in campaign one, and even less so in campaign three.

Very much looking forwards to January!  Lots of exciting C3 and TLoVM to come!