#tlovm s1e9

[aspiringsophrosyne]

Episode 9: The Tide of Bone

Zombie invasion! Bar the doors and fortify the mall, because all they wanna do is eat your brains.

The Good

Right off the bat, I loved the extra story we got for the Briarwoods. This is something Matt talked about at the wrap up, but we didn't get to see in the Campaign.

Plus, this justifies Delilah not letting her husband help with the fight in Whitestone, which could've turned the tides. She's too desperate to hold on to him. So much so, that it could've ultimately cost them their victory.

And not only does this flashback establish character and motivation for the couple, but also.....as bad as the Briarwoods are, the thing they serve has the potential to be so, so much worse. That scene with Delilah drawing her own blood is honestly still hard to watch.

Hey, I never noticed that poor family wriggling on the tree in that wide shot. Ew.

The fights were fun. The jokes weren't bad. Seeing Bad News used in to take down a giant was damn good. Seeing Kiki flex with some truly impressive magic was another hell yes moment, and good set up for the Sunbeam spell later.

Nice use of Percy's full name. I'd honestly started to wonder if they were going to leave that on the cutting room floor, but they picked a very good moment to use it.

I liked how they handled Vax and Keyleth here. While you get why Vax is doing it (he's liked her for a while and he doesn't want to die without her knowing it) you also get why Keyleth reacts the way she does (she does not need the distraction when they're fighting a hoard of zombies). It's surprisingly cute. And leaves the door open for further romantic development down the road.

Of course the lady of the episode is one Ms. Pike Trickfoot, swooping in at the last second to take out a shit ton of zombies, mirroring what went down in the campaign. It was such a cool moment in the original (especially since this was the first time Ashley could be back in a while) and they did it justice. Thank your Clerics, everybody! Her giving the common folk of the town some holy weapons was a nice touch.

I also just have to point out Vax repeatedly exclaiming "Ew!" or "Gross!" over the course of the episode because....mood.

The Bad

This...is another episode where the pacing does it no favors. There are multiple points in the episode where staying attached at the hip to our protagonists was unneeded and actually hurt the story.

For instance, while they were catching their breath in the safe house, we could've cut to outside. Where a bigger and bigger group of undead was accumulating out there. Then they attack. This breeds suspense and "The zombies are coming, get out of there!" type reactions. Which are always fun.

Meanwhile, the action doesn't grow; just stays constant throughout. That might sound like something you want. But you don't.

What you want is for the action to ebb, flow, and build. You want slower, safer moments that give a false sense of hope. You want the characters to think they're safe while the audience is shown that they absolutely are not. But you want every subsequent lull to be shorter, every new attack to be longer or more brutal. You want a feeling of escalation. And since we don't have that, Pike's entrance doesn't feel like the relief it should. It just feels like more action. It's great, but not as great as it could and should be.

As for Archie....not a fan of fridging. It just feels cheap. I know both Dominic Monaghan and Rory Mccan were not going to be sticking around. But they could've done something more interesting with Archie's exit.

Thinking about it now, I actually wouldn't have minded mixing Father Reynal with this version of Archie. Have him be a posthumous character, (which justifies Dominic not sticking around) but let VM find his notes. They could be read in Archie's voice and include flashbacks to resistance efforts he was up to before he died. Have the last note be specifically addressed to Percy, telling him not to give up, expressing complete faith that he was still alive and would eventually come back to oppose the Briarwoods. And that's what inspires Percy to use his full name and lead the rest of the town into battle.

Or, you know, something else. Not saying that's the best thing that could've happened, but it was another option.

Whelp, were winding up for the endgame now. See you in the next episode.

[ravendruid]

Wait, what? Now? I mean, this is, like, the worst time!

[nobirdtennis]

long hair sylas might just convert me to being a briarwoods fan

[sparring-spirals]

yadda yadaa TLOVM S1 e9 liveblog GIVE ME THE ZOMBIES

oh, or briarwoods flashbacks, that’s okay too I guess

cannot stop thinking about the posts re: the briarwoods choosing to revamp their style after the vampire-ing and evil-ing. Like they look good here too (even with Sylas half dead), but wow they really did go all in on the aesthetic after huh. i respect that.

So like, if being a vampire stops you from aging, does that mean Sylas’s silver streaks were... manually put in. Did Sylas go “i want to be a silver fox and no “lack of aging” is going to stop me", and then sit in his bathtub to dye his hair? This is great, I love this so much. Hell yeah.

also: nice, love villains getting fleshed out :)

Sylas, at any given point in time: oh there goes my wife :) look at her she’s so great :) what is she doing? no idea. who knows. maybe summoning an undead army. maybe doing occult rituals with a prisoner in the basement. :) isn’t she lovely :) 

laud-

*scanlan, somehow finding the breath to complain AND shriek in terror about the undead* cass, already having had one near death experience today, flipping a zombie: god someone please kill me this gnome

“percy how many undead are there in your city???” love the implication that this is just a whitestone issue. fucking whitestone, full of stuffy nobles and also the ZOMBIES, also terrible nightlife! only nightDEAD am i right haha

Grog is RIGHT! Zombies DO come from under the ground! normally! listen to the man!!

Well... at least Keyleth and Vax are not flirting with long gazes mid battle. genuinely glad for that. Look at these two awkward beans.

CHRIST Vex. “well, that was kind of hot, but-” ksdlfkjaafhlajfhljzh sjfh i mean mood, Scanlan vex is really, truly, terrible, at expressing softer feelings for people isn’t she. I would say “other than Vax” but no, she really is just. Absolute trainwreck at it.

The zombies DO seem to love Scanlan, i guess they do know he’s delectable.

“Could be worse.” “HOW?” “Could be my arm.” See previous bullet about Vex. Vex you are a menace. (Affectionate.....?) Inside of Vex’s brain, probably: *thumbs up* successful comforting of friend acquaintance we are begrudgingly fond of this FUCKING gnome

*watches them climb out of the roof hatch* I’ve seen this TWDG episode! ... it was pretty upsetting if I recall correctly.

Percy, with VM: can’t believe I’m the only adult in the room.  🙄 Percy, in whitestone: can’t believe I’m the only adult in the room?? 😧😠🥺 (PERCY... you are NOT the adult in the room.....:( )

“i need this arm! for.. stuff!”

I was gonna say “I would be keyleth in an apocalypse situation” but you know, i only wish i could be a keyleth.

STOP! MAKING! DRAMATIC! EYE! CONTACT! MID! BATTLE! BANNED! oh he lived. but now he’s talking... very dramatically.... archie... stop that.....

oh god dammit

(man, he got ANIME bisected :( ) aw hell, percy

KEYLETH!!! KEYLETH!!!! :DDDDDDDDDDD

“yes yes, she’s the tits, we still have to go” an excellent scene but ESPECIALLY for that line

percy!!! being the adult in the room! i mean he’s still baby but he’s doing his fucking best and its real good

i also like vex’s softer expression being a little- thoughtless. not even sure she knew she was doing it. :)

damn vax, timing-

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA OH GOD THIS IS MAYBE MY FAVORITE LINE IN THE SHOW NOW. Vaxleth is adorable and i am cheering for them but listen: that reaction to a mid battle confession scene is just. yes. fantastic. keyleth you’re so incredibly valid.

PIKE REALLY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE AN ENTRANCE.

ah the ~character implications~ embedded in the “marry me” “okay, lets go. right now” “What? really?” top notch voice acting from ashley and sam.

okay no jk this convo between grog and pike is my new favorite lines oh god their friendship is so good i love them so much “you’re glowing.. and buzzing.. are you DEAD?”

no hubby ilu we cant endanger u for our evil plans uwu ;*

character details in this fight are SO good. ive refrained from listing all of them but i cant resist saying: vex/vax “give me a lift” and then vax/grog competition.... :D

Y’all wha tNO dont FREE her she is VERY CLEARLY NOt- oh nice see Vax is using the wrench AND the pick again. Seriously how terrible was Krieg’s door. This is going to haunt me for this whole show isnt it.

oh. oh okay that works too.

AW THIS IS A REALLY NICE PIKE SONG. :D

overall:

- fuck, i really do like the combat with VM in this show. i think the tendency to have... everyone other than them brutally murdered makes me more leery of everyone else in combat, but seeing the VM in combat is always so good. so many character details. so nice to watch.

- i am trying very hard not to harp on about this but- *deep deep sigh* romance is. a tricky thing to communicate in shows. i get that. limited runtime, you gotta be a bit more heavyhanded with how you distribute Meaningful Interactions and dialogue space. but. buuuuuuuut. i do wish i could tweak the conversation ratios just a little. just a tiiiny bit. that said, i do understand why they’re paired the way they are.

- Pike is SO good holy shit I adore her. Fuck. Wow. Her arc, the blend of aggression and optimism and touch of crassness, her interactions- oh wow. Adore her, honestly.

-- Addendum to this- I really like the throughline of the two characters with some level of anxiety about their magic working + their worthiness of it/ability to wield it just being. Fucking incredibly powerful when things line up. (Keyleth and Pike specifically).

- <3 friendships within the VM my beloved.

[lighttrls]

the Whore Horde TM

[mothoslav]

"This is the dungeons Keyleth, the Briarwoods will be found elsewhere."

But Anna Ripley will be found right here >:)){

[databard]

PIKE MY LOVE MY LIGHT 😭😭😭😭

[makewavesandwar]

PIKE MY BELOVED

[biblicallyaccuratesandworm]

Aaaand this is why you want your cleric with you when dealing with the hordes of the undead.

They didn't undersell that Big Damn Hero moment from Pike, I'm glad she got to finally shine.

And damn, what a cliffhanger, first time watcher must be confused as heck.

[ravendruid]

[Pike giving everyone holy weapons] Husband: Ok, now that's badass.

[ravendruid]

Scanlan: Marry me? Pike: Okay, let's do it. Right now. Scanlan: Wait, seriously?

[ravendruid]

"Just kiss already, jfc."

My husband... about Vaxleth.

MY HUSBAND, ABOUT VAXLETH.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

[ravendruid]

Vax: You know that I'm in love with you, right? Keyleth: Wait. What?! Now? I mean, this is like the worst time!

[ravendruid]

Vax [to Keyleth]: Have I mentioned you're amazing? Vex: Yes, yes. She's the tits.

[databard]

not me CRYING over Keyleth freezing the zombies 😭😭😭

[mothoslav]

YOU'RE GONNA END THERE??? NO NOOO I NEED MORE WYJAVSUABSGS