#Season Nein Episode 2

[haerdoepfu]

Mighty Nein, episode 113

[marypenelope]

Assuming that the M9 series will also get 12 episodes per season, I personally think s1 should end on Molly’s death.

An episode or two to cover the group meeting and the whole thing with the carnival, another episode or two to go through Alfield, Bryce, and Shakaste. A couple episodes for the Zadash rebellion and the recovery of the Beacon, about 3-4 episodes to do the whole journey from Zadash to Labenda to Hupperdook, and then end the season with half the group getting kidnapped and Molly dying in the attempt to save them. Feels perfect to me tbh

[aspiringsophrosyne]

The latest teaser confirmed it: the Mighty Nein animated series will draw on material that not only predates episode one of the campaign but at least two characters' respective session zeros. The synopsis for the show also highlights what is most likely the Beacon, suggesting it may get significant emphasis early on.

Because of all this, I think it's possible (even likely) that the first season will NOT end with the events of episode 26, which is where I and many other fans figured it would after the initial announcement.

Instead, as a few fans posited, we could see C2E12 and its consequences serving as the season one finale.

When I first saw posters bringing this idea up, I liked how it sounded. It would give the Mighty Nein much more room to breathe than Vox Machina. I didn't want to believe that could happen, though. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Now, I am getting my hopes up. Just a little.

Because to get to the Iron Shepherds before the end of season one, the CRew has to hustle. They cannot afford to waste time on any extraneous content. Pre-episode-one material is most welcome but it is extraneous to the Mighty Nein's overall story. It is nothing we can't infer from context.

Incorporating this material implies that the pace will be, at the very least, somewhat slower than TLOVM's pacing has been.

Showing how everyone meets means they can dedicate the rest of the season to Trostenwald, the Gnoll Mine, (Shakäste!) various Zadash hijinks, and then the attack. If paced well, that’s enough for 12 episodes, even without moving some later events (Where The River Goes, Harvest Close, the tournament in Whispers of War, etc.) up in the order, which they could do.

But I could be jumping the gun. It could be the CRew makes the mistake of trying to squeeze pre-session-zero content into an otherwise faithful adaptation of a season that ends at C2E26. Or adding that material but slicing out tons of content from the stream to make that work. We don’t know yet. We can’t.

But, again, the allusion to the Beacon makes little sense unless we have some time to sit with it. Not if it’s in the middle of a season racing towards Glory Run. Travis has said here about TLOVM that they had a limited runway and wanted to be off to the races from the jump. But with the Nein, they want to play around more. We could take that in several different ways, but it sounds promising.

We might get a slower burn with TM9 than with VM. If the first season ends around Midnight Espionage, we might not even see Caleb’s or Molly’s backstories until season 2! And that’s exciting; new watchers will have time to get to know these characters, care about them, and mull over who they could be before the bombs drop. And that’ll be fun to watch.

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

My hot take about what they should do in the Mighty Nein animated series

They should reveal Essek is working with the Assembly AS SOON AS WE MEET HIM.

Hear me out. Everyone in the fandom knows it’s coming and everyone not in the fandom will get spoiled immediately, so just cut out the middle man.

Personally I knew the Essek twist when I saw campaign 2 and the best part of that arc was paying attention to Essek’s actions and slowly watching him fall in love with the Nein (and Caleb) while having the identity/moral crisis of the century.

Just picture it:

The Nein arrive at the dynasty and hand over the beacon, they meet the elegant and intimidating Shadow Hand and invite him over for dinner.

Next scene Essek is in a dark room talking to Ludinus who tells him that the Nein could ruin everything. Then in dramatic lighting Essek is like “Do not concern yourself Ludinus, I’ll deal with our guests”. Episode ends.

Throughout the show we can sporadically cut to him doing evil stuff and sabotaging the Nein in small ways.

Then next season we see Essek learning small talk, working on spells with Caleb, blushing at inappropriate comments from party and just having a real family for the first time.

Then in camera we can see the exact moment when he realizes “Oh shit, I love those idiots… OH SHIT I LOVE THAT WIZARD”

He then has a beauty and the beast like freak out in his laboratory and destroys it with graviturgy. It would be awesome.

[fragmentofpossibilitybeacon]

“The dodecahedron of gray faintly glowing crystal is heavier than it appears. A set of handles are affixed to the sides and it undulates to the touch. If a hand is placed on the artifact and is concentrated on for one minute, the bearer is granted a Fragment of Possibility.”

Ever since I saw and heard this description of the Luxon beacon in Critical Role Season 2 Episode 16, the whole concept of an object containing the potential for possibility resonated with me. There’s a whole lot (and I mean LOT) more this beacon came to represent through the Mighty Nein. It felt right that representing this literal galaxy of potential be my first tattoo.

I can’t thank my amazing artist (and longtime friend after she was one of my students) Gaby (find her at gabymariatattoo on Instagram!) for taking my idea and running with it, Sweet Roll Tattoo for having the cutest shop ever, and to the whole cast of @criticalrole (especially Liam and Matt for giving us Caleb and Essek) for making a world that inspires creativity and community.

[greenreticule]

Predictions for what will make it into Season 1 of The Mighty Nein animated show.

(I am presuming 12 episodes and eyeing the general pacing of Vox Machina)

The season will primarily focus on what the wiki lists as "Arc 1: Come Together"

Episodes 1-2 will be the Carnival Arc that brings our team together, like how we had the Brimscythe arc for Vox Machina

Episode 3 will be the Alfield adventure, as this is where several important things are introduced:

Caleb's trauma with fire (they will keep Molly kissing his forehead)

Shakasta (who I presume will be kept in as he reappears later, and Khary Payton voiced a character in the Vox Machina show)

The group being forced to take on the Mighty Nein name in order to get paid

Beau's goggles

The characters will develop an in-universe vocal stim with "Nein" to replace the game-level significance of everyone rolling 9s on their dice and yelling "NEIN"

Episode 3 will end with the sleeping Nein surrounded by dark figures at their camp as the week's cliffhanger.

Episode 4 will open with the Syphilis Bandits.

Episodes 4-6 will be broadly about their time in Zadash.

Plot points established:

The Kryn attack and the beacon

Caleb sharing his backstory with Beau and Nott

The Gentleman

The close brush with Trent Ikithon and other members of the Assembly

Moments kept:

Tusk Love

Pumat Sol

Mollymauk cornering Caleb about the coin

Beau and Yasha in the bath

"Long May I Reign"

Episode 6 will end with Cree recognizing Mollymauk as the week's cliffhanger (a confrontation moved to the Nein's second meeting with the Gentleman)

Episode 7 will open with Mollymauk disentangling himself from Cree so the Nein can go meet with the Gentleman for additional jobs.

Episodes 7-9 will be about them running jobs for the Gentleman

Plot Points Established:

Molly's life began when he woke up from a grave two years ago

Fjord's discovery of the first Cloven Crystal

Moments Kept:

Beau and Caleb getting into a fight and then being counseled by Fjord and Yasha about how best to apologize

And then everything else about depends on where they plan to leave off the season. There are three places I can think that they end it:

Fjord, Jester, and Yasha being kidnapped

Molly's death and burial

Meeting Caduceus

And I think most likely that it'll be Option #2: Molly being buried. Maybe there will be a Caduceus tease, maybe not. A toss-up.

Things I'm assuming will be cut:

Knights of Requital (the writers will have other ways to show the corruption of the Empire)

The pickpockets and the prison arc of Hupperdook

Calianna

Kiri (I know we all love her, but she doesn't have a lot of impact moving forward)

[renatogpadilla]

THOUGHTS ON CR3E92 IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

- FIRST EVER CR CROSSOVER EPISODE?!

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

- Dariax said "This Flute doesn't play itself anymore." Doriax canon offscreen?

- "After all the handjobs, this is what we mean to you?!" Damn... I mean, I'm glad Opal and Cyrus found a way to relieve stress, Gods know they're both stressed, but damn.

- Ending the episode on Opal Twice-Crowned hitting phase 2 of the boss fight was EVIL!

I love it, @quiddie ! I feel like when this gets animated in a decade or so, we'll get this fight and the fight with Otohan Thull overlayed one on top of the other for a Season Finale or something!

- Raven Queen going two for two on Rogues turned Paladin! Which is great, but now I have to replan Morrighan's moveset for that imaginary Critical Role fighting game that only exists in my head (somebody ask me about it please, I NEED to talk about it!) but at least she gets some Smite options out of the Bunny Hop command jump!

- Dariax is a Bard now too! That's honestly so perfect for Matt! And the fact that both Sorcerers and Bards are Charisma Casters makes me feel like the Synergies are gonna be great!

- Oh, Dorian, wonderful blue king... That's a lot of strength that your Dice will never agree to let you use for anything cool. I missed you SO MUCH!

- Speaking of that imaginary CR fighting game, this just solidified Opal as a puppet character. The tag combos with Ted would be WILD! Think Kenshi from MK1!

- Fy'ra Rai... Just... FY'RA RAI! Gods, I've missed Anjali at the table! Her memory with Opal, her tug-of-war with her thoughts about her sister... THE LAVA WHIP! Nothing sexier than Monks! Except a pissed off Wizard or Druid.

- On the other side of the table, I LOVE the moment the girls all collectively remembered they had to break the news to Frida... Oh, that's gonna hurt BAD!

- Anyone else noticed that Ashton is BURNT OUT and laying on the ground after his Titan form wears off, but Fearne just says she's really tired and just KEEPS GOING? Ashton is DONE for now, but Fearne needs to keep moving forward... Fuck, I love these two.

- Orym... Just... Orym. If you take a level in Barbarian after this, I wouldn't blame you.

- Side-Note: This means Dorian DID get Orym's last message before they went to the moon! He just didn't/couldn't answer! Which means, through the static and everything, Dorian COULD hear Orym! And now he's probably gonna get this message once the battle is over... Jesus, if they get to Zephra and Keyleth went to the Lodge next to the lake that's gonna be a problem...

- Side-Note Side-Note: Anyone else hoping to GOD that Allura called the Nein to help? Cause Beau and Caleb were involved, but now it feels like an "All Hands on Deck" situation, and we could use Kingsley's small army of pirates right about now...

- So much happened this episode between the grieving and the flashbacks and the rolling for handjobs that I didn't have time to process the splinter cell of Xhorhasians that split their soul in twain until I woke up... Opal may have forgotten, but maybe Ted hasn't? Though if they're the same person, maybe they both forgot...

- Aabria, the corrupting of the Memories was FOUL, I LOVE IT!!!

- Somebody needs to tell Essek about the soul-splitters. In fact, let's get to that while we deal with Ashton too!

- IF OPAL DIES, AMY CAN COME OVER AS DENI$E! Like, I don't WANT her to die, but Westruun isn't that far... 👀

- I just realized this is the first ever FULL episode of CR without Sam at the table... Fuck, man, when it hurts it hurts. Glad Marisha brought back the fan.

"Forgot the Consonants?" "No Letters." OUCH, MISS RAY, WHAT THE FUCK?!

- Raven Queen Paladins hasting themselves first thing in the fight. Vax is back, and he's a Bunny Girl now!

- I like that the Crownkeepers are a two-way Overwatch reunion (McCree Cassidy and Symmetra) and a three-way Persona 5 reunion (Yusuke, Ann Futaba and Akechi).

- Everything was so fucked this episode that everything with Liliana got knocked to the background for me, THAT'S how good it was!

- The SECOND Evoroa said Ludinos was on Exandria I knew EXACTLY where he would be! Now we HAVE to get the Nein involved, right? Unless the bastard makes the city float again...

I cannot WAIT for the next episode! And if Sam brings a new character when all the groups are together, it would be SPECTACULAR! I'm guessing he's going to play one of the moon races, because that just sounds cool... Either that or Tary!

[tua-five]

Season 3 Episode 5!

⚠️⚠️ Don't read if you haven't watch s3! ⚠️⚠️

Omg, Klaus meets his mom!!! Oh, and finds out he died so many times...

Okay, but I actually love the fact that Tom Hopper's wife is Klaus's mom. I don't know why. It's just cool and sweet.

Aww.... but I forgot that Allsion got nightmares... it's so sweet how Ray would just immediately know and start helping.

This episode is just so quick. A lot of moments that I'm a little overwhelmed.

Even though Stanley knows that Diego isn't his dad, he still tells him that he flipping killed his brother. Yikes. Diego's freak out 😭 "And you were gonna dissolve the body!?"

Klaus's "even the naughty bits?"

That's it.

"Hate to say I told you so,"

"You love to say I told you so." Dang, Viktor!!

I really just want to know exactly where everyone is from. (And before I start, yes, I do know that Reginald made them learn many languages) because Five keeps speaking German. He said, "Nein!" In season 2, when everyone failed to meet the 90-minute deadline. And just now, he called the briefcase "kaput". Broken in german. I can definitely see Five being German, but everyone else in the Fandom believes he's from Greece. But I do fully believe he's from Germany. I don't know.

I also love "guy in a carpet." And Chen just accepts it and says,"I hope you win."

And then Klaus is like "sup! I'm back from the dead."

"What would happen if I cut off your head? Would it grow two of you?" And then Diego curs in, cause that's rude, right?

"Stan." He turns to look at Klaus. "Would it?"

"Klaus, do you know where the kugelblitz is?" "Yeah, I saw it!"

"Why didn't you tell anyone!?"

"I told you!" Yeah, Diego. He told you. Why even ask that question?

"You say stupid shut all the time!"

This is why we should listen to each other.

Olay, but as much as it's like.. arguing and stuff. I love their immediate concern for Viktor because harlan hurt him.

And omg, Five saying that Harlan was insignificant and then Viktor immediately with the comeback, "You once told me no one was insignificant." Yeah.. he's not wrong.

I love how Harlan is listening to Wind. And then specifies through a field of corn, and my first immediate thought was... Viktor doesn't have a good experience with field corn.

God. I really hate the writers. I mean, why couldn't stan be his actual son? They were so cute. He's yelling at Stan (not literally yelling, but disciplining, parenting,) and then he jokes around, making stan laugh by putting the cleaning supplies on his head? And then before he leaves the room he tells him not to forget about his ear medication downstairs??? Hello? He's such a good dad just for that to be thrown away?

Another full circle moment. We all know five said "I'm the daddy here!" To Luther in season 2. And now Diego says it. "I'm the daddy here.." to lila.

Allison just said, "The new timeline will just be worse for me." And yep. I truly believe it will. She might've gotten everything she wanted in this last timeline, but everything comes with a cost.

Oh... wow.. yeah. "Luther just said you can't use me for that" and Allsion said that she can of she wants to. Then she rumors him to stay. He begs her not to. And then... she rumors him again. And we all know that.

Oi.. Klaus telling Five that that's the Mother's of Agony. Symbol or whatever.

And then we find badass Pogo.

The gifs!

Sorry in advance that there isn't much gifs. I'm in a bit of a rush today and wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to watch this episode so I didn't have much time to write all of this or find the gifs.

I'm not sure if or when I'll watch and post tomorrow's episode but I'll try to as soon as I can! Love you all!

[augentrust]

awaiting the nein in eiselcross

Laura Bailey, Critical Role transcript, Campaign 2 Episode 117 // Between Heaven and Earth, #72 by Conrad Jon Godly // The Carnivorous Lamb by Agustín Gómez Arcos, translated by William Rodarmor // Detail of An Arctic Winter Day by Bob Ross, Season 26 Episode 6 // Matthew Mercer, Critical Role transcript, Campaign 2 Episode 117

[crystal-lillies]

a rambling retrospective on the last year as a new Critter

So, it's been about a year (a little over) since I fully dipped into the Critical Role fixation.

Last year around this time, we got the other Halloween episode in Whitestone, just before the Mighty Nein Reunited two-parter, and gee, we just got a Halloween episode in Whitestone and we're about to go into a Mighty Nein Reunion this week! And a LIVE show at that, the first one since pre-COVID!

And last year at this time, I was just starting into a work D&D group and I'd just gotten my first set of dice at a renaissance festival, and I'd just bounced around a bunch of compilation videos, several oneshots, and some out-of-context Campaign 2, along with The Legend of Vox Machina season 1. I was just barely dipping my toe into the wider CR + TTRPG world.

So much has happened since then.

Every Thursday since that Halloween in Whitestone last year with Bells Hells, I've been tuning into the stream (despite the ET time difference) and sometimes even making it through all the way (for some exhaustion points that are still worth it). I watched more of the oneshots (the Call of Cthulu one and Nautilus Ark being particular favorites I've seen in 2023). I've also watched a lot more of Campaign 2 and even went back into Campaign 1, bought myself some merch (I'm actually wearing the Hot Topic Ashton shirt, haha), and I got friends into The Legend of Vox Machina before and after Season 2 dropped on Amazon.

I even wrote a little fic when Matt slammed us all with the Apogee Solstice on the 8th anniversary session :)

And, as anyone who's been following me has noticed, I got the Exquisite Exandria cookbook and have been making the recipes from it whenever I can, and that's also been amazing.

Plus, I've watched some Dimension 20 (Mentopolis was incredible and Burrow's End rn is fascinating) and dipped into Worlds Beyond Number thanks to that.

My work D&D group has since dissolved, but I took a leap of faith and I joined a pickup oneshot game of D&D5e in April, and around late June/early July, the DM of that game invited me with a few others to a campaign set in that homebrew world the oneshot was based in.

We started playing at the end of July, and I've been having such a blast. Each session is so much fun and the highlight of any given week we play. I cannot believe I went so long in my life without having D&D until this point, honestly. But I'm so glad I have it now.

All of this to say, a lot has happened in the last year, and I'm so glad to have stumbled into the Critter community and gained knowledge of Critical Role and the wider TTRPG sphere as a whole. The fandom has been so welcoming and supportive in a way I haven't felt from many fandoms in my experience. It feels like it's been more than just a year of being invested in Critical Role, but I suppose that the fervent intensity of the story and the people involved and the genuine excitement in front of and behind the cameras.

I guess, just... thank you for everything. And here's to many more years of Critterdom to come :)

Love y'all very much, and is it Thursday yet?

[hayleysayshay]

we r probably not getting s4 bc they most likely summed up the whole story in one season- i watched something like that happened with MHA they took a whole manga story arc and summed it up in 2-3 episodes and idk I think they worked on s3 but r more focused on m9 we’re getting more news about m9 than vox machina and at this rate we probably won’t get s3 til late late this year or next year or years from now bc it seems they stopped whatever production on it to focus on m9 and fans seem to want m9 more than v3 anyway :///

This is what I’m fearing. That the production delays are because they reworked it to be an ending.

I want to be proven wrong. I feel like I’m just making things up but I’m fully prepared for TLOVM to be cast aside for the Mighty Nein, again.

[tin-cant]

When The Mighty Nein's animated show was announced, I saw a lot of takes about what the first season would cover. I disagreed with a lot of them.

A lot of people seemed to want the iron shepherds arc to wait until the second season. I don't think they'll do that.

Lets go through what they did after the circus. They kill a gnoll cult, kill some spiders in the sewers, meet some npcs who they help commit treason, align themselves with The Gentleman, go to a festival, win a fighting ring, clear out a safe house, give a dragon lady an evil bowl, save a bird child, find some teens who picked their pockets, and kill a robot. (Anything I missed here was so unimportant the wiki didn't mention it in the episode summaries)

The only part of that list that is relevant in the future is them meeting the Gentlemen. That's it. The first arc has iconic moments, but the plot itself isn't that notable. An entire season of them going on random quests is just going to feel really messy.

What I think they'll do is take the best parts of the first arc and condense it down to half of the season. This leaves time to set up the characters, the group dynamic, and future plot threads without boring us.

The second half should be the full Iron Shepards arc. I've seen some people say they should end it on Molly's death, but I don't think that's a good idea.

The first season is probably going to focus on showing the neins development from a tense, barely functioning party to people who to look out for eachother. Thats why ending it with the surviving members all together again would feel like a satisfying conclusion and ending it with them separated wouldn't. It would also give us a clean slate to start season 2 by heading to Nicodranis immediately, and they could introduce us to Cadueces earlier (thats not that important I just like him).

Unfortunatly, we'll have to wait like 4 years to find out, so who knows! Maybe they'll skip all of this and start with Molly's death then never tell us who he is. I can't prove otherwise.

[elliesgaymachete]

how would you suggest someone get into critical role if they don't know where to start

There’s a lot of things to take into consideration when starting CR because it’s A LOT of content so I’ll give you a few options, friend!

Option One: Start with Campaign 1. Vox Machina is the most plot driven and has the most classic fantasy hero archetypes. Pros- it’s complete, less episodes than campaign 2, sets the foundation for the world/story so you understand references in the later campaigns. Cons- the quality is kinda shit for most of the campaign, and the first 25 or so episodes are a little rough because there is another cast member that eventually leaves the group. Very little ashley johnson 😔 EDIT: Also it starts in the middle of things because it was an already ongoing dnd campaign that Geek and Sundry wanted to start streaming, so characters and relationships are already established versus c2 and c3 we start at the beginning of the story

Option two: Start with campign 2. The Mighty Nein’s story is more character driven, and they’re more of a ragtag group of misfits that kind of stumble into being heroes. Pros: it’s complete, much better quality the whole time, and no weird hiccups, the story itself stands alone from c1 so it’s easy to start with. Cons- you might miss some references to c1, and it’s more episodes than c1 so it’ll take longer to get through. Little ashley johnson but her character stays more relevant in her absences and eventually she’s back full time.

Option Three: say fuck it we ball and start with campaign 3. C3 is pretty plot driven like c1 but the characters are kind of ragtag misfits like c2, and it’s currently in progress. Pros- the least amount of episodes so you could catch up the most easily, episodes are the highest quality so far. The most Ashley Johnson, she’s here full time babey. Cons- a lot of backstory and plot is relevant to c1 and a liiittle bit to c2, and also some things from Exandria Unlimited (a short like 8 episode miniseries they did) so you might feel like you’re missing out on some things.

Alternatively: If you want the best way to catch up on Campaign 3 because it’s still airing, I would recommend watching The Legend of Vox Machina animated series. I think the 2 seasons that are out is more than enough to understand the most important callbacks. Then if you really care about having full context watch at least one episode of EXU, at least to know the characters. And then jumping into Campaign 3 should be no problem! You could also watch TLOVM and then jump into campaign 2, or watch TLOVM and then jump into campaign 1 where it leaves off (though things are a bit different and more fast paced in the show)

Other general tips/resources: Watch at 1.25 or 1.5 speed so you can get through the episodes faster. Critical Role Animated Recap exists for all of campaign 2 but it’s VERY vague. Like bare bones basic plot points. Written recaps are also available on the CR website if you want to read. Also marisharaygun on youtube does highlight videos but i’m not sure exactly what campaigns/episodes they exist for

That was A LOT of information and I totally understand if it’s overwhelming because they do have a LOT of content. But hopefully this helped a little bit, and if you have any other questions totally feel free to let me know!

[pitviperofdoom]

I really loved WTNV way back when, but I fell off of it pretty early on and in the back of my mind I always wanted to get back on, but there were so many episodes that it was daunting, and now there's over 150 and counting.

But now that's not an excuse anymore because 1) I binged four forty-episode seasons of The Magnus Archives before the fifth came out, and 2) I've been steadily working my way through all of Campaign 2 of Critical Role, which is 141 episodes that average about 4 hours each.

...

I'm coming Cecil I just gotta finish up with the Mighty Nein first.

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM S2 Episodes 1-3 Ramblings

AHHH! So fucking stoked for this season!

EP. 1

- This is incredible. They’ve managed to translate the absolute terror of this moment so well.

- Uriel’s death... fucking gruesome..

- Interesting that the main focus is on Umbrasyl, with enough Raishan and Thordak sprinkled in to establish their status in the conclave.

- They managed to capture the “19 Misses!?” moment so beautifully. I love seeing how these game mechanics adapt from game to screen.

- Missed moment from the campaign: Vorugal collapsing the top of Allura’s tower. Vorugal doesn’t make a direct attack until VM is at their keep.

- The looting of the remains of Gilmore’s shop. Poor Scanlan being left with a broom. That can’t possible be useful for anything at all.

- The adventures of Grog and Kraven Edge begin... this will go well.

- The snowflakes as Vorugal approaches. Nice touch.

- Nothing but respect for Keyleth in this house. 

- Green-eyed little girl... that’s not suspicious at all...

- And a moment of perspective for Vox Machina. Love seeing a team come together.

- Liam as Vorugal was a fantastic choice.

EP. 2

- I love the visualizations of their magic so much. Each character has their own colour scheme and style and I love it so much.

- Matt as the guard to Vasselheim. 

- Bidet.

- Caduceus easter egg when Keyleth mentions the Wildmother. Which makes sense given that Caduceus is the only member of the Mighty Nein that would be an adult and not a small child at this time. Now I need a story about his adventures in Tal’Dorei.

- Raven Queen!

- Green-eyed individual pointing them to the Slayer’s Take... 

- Forgot how much of an asshole Kash comes across as...

- The design of the Slayer’s Take is amazing. 

- Love how long it took them to realize they lost their fucking Goliath...

- That combat wheelchair is fucking badass and I love it so much

- Grog and Earthbreaker Groon. One of my favourite moments of the campaign. 

- “I just wanna put her in my pocket” I would also love a little pocket Pike giving me guidance and fucking up shitty people I deal with at work.

- “Where does your strength come from?” The ease with which Earthbreaker Groon can launch Grog across the room is amazing.

- Osysa the Sphinx... isolating them... reading their deepest fears and insecurities... fuck... Also the animation for her very clearly separating her as a being older than time.

- “No one cares about you. I’m no different.” Fucking. Brutal. And another wonderful foreshadow to Scanlan’s path later on.

- Pike my beloved. 

- Interesting that they didn’t have Grog reach the answer to where he gets his strength in this encounter.

- This animation for the story of the vestiges is gorgeous.

- Viktor the Black Powder Salesman... I look forward to this recurring character. Also I’m really glad Matt is voicing him because I don’t think anyone else coudl capture that particular unhingedness...

EP. 3

- “A bird? How does that help!?” Well at least we’re still at the “thinking rationally about Wild Shape” point in time.

- I need Zahra to have a scene in every single episode. 

- Canonical making fun of Purvan’s name. Love it.

- Grog’s Beard! I love the Travis squeal laugh.

- Zahra’s eye-twitch. 

- “Do not go far from me.” Just stab me in the fucking heart why don’t you...

- Baby twins! Love these flashbacks we didn’t get to see in game.

- Fucking Syldor. Hate him so much. Feed him to Trinket.

- Separating the twins as well as Zahra and Kash, like the original Trial of the Take episodes. 

- Grog going absolutely feral with Kraven Edge... I can’t fucking wait to see the culmination of this partnership.

- The Ladies of Critical Role continue to remind me of how gay I am...

- Pike’s concern over Grog’s change in behaviour in battle... this is going to hurt.

- Deathwalker’s Ward... 

- They did change this ever so slightly. In campaign, Taliesin/Percy intentionally touched the armour without thinking about checking for traps. In the show, Percy accidentally touches it while distracted. Both resulting in the same devastating effect.

- Fuck that happened fast. 

- The black feathers... the Matron of Ravens is coming...

- Liam... my heart can’t handle Vax’s sobbing...

---

What and amazing and brutal start to the second season of this show. I can only hope they continue to get picked up for the rest of Vox Machina’s story once the Conclave is done in season 3. 

[wavebiders]

You know, I used to figure that if EXU Prime got an adaptation it would probably be either a movie or a 2 part special, but the more I think about it the more charmed by the idea of it being a 1 season miniseries acting as a prequel to the Bells Hells story

Like, TLOVM started with the party already being together just like in the stream, Mighty Nein animated will probably start with their first meeting in the tavern. Why not have the third show do something different entirely and spend time on the characters before they all come together?

Along with following the plot of the campaign, they could also do subplots with Imogen and Laudna's first meeting and bonding up until Imogen sets off her powers to defend Laudna before they run away together, and Ashton being sent on a job where they end up finding FCG. Chetney would be a bit harder to include without weakening his introduction later, but I'm sure a quick teaser scene could be included

CR3 already played with introducing characters seperately, both through some of them debuting in other series and the longer intro before they met in episode 1. The basics of the backstories were revealed incredibly early so it wouldn't spoil any mystery. It'd be a great way to avoid the animated shows falling into a repetitive formula, and a way for existing fans to experience the story in a new way