#and beau stands by while jester gives caduceus a little pep talk and then she tries to talk to caleb about... do you think this was all

[mostlyanything19]

Man I LOVE Beau and Fjord's conversations

[maskeddevera]

Critical Role: Campaign 2, Episode 77 “A Tangled Web”: Caleb Widogast’s relationships

 With the Critical Role week break this week, I’m writing a post for each Mighty Nein character analyzing all of their current relationships as of the end of episode 77. Since I’m writing these posts in alphabetical order, the third post up is Caleb Widogast.

Caleb Widogast - relationships as of episode 77

Due to his background, Caleb initially tells himself that he is just joins with Nott the Brave and then the rest of the Mighty Nein as there is an advantage in being in a group, but his heart is big and it doesn’t take long before he has developed a fondness for all of the Mighty Nein despite continuing to tell himself that he is just using them. Caleb’s relationships can be complicated, and Caleb can sometimes be hard to read.

There was some feedback to a previous Critical Role relationships post that wrote that flirting should not be considered as a canon romantic relationship, so going forward I am not going to label any flirting relationships as romantic at the moment even if I think that they might have crossed a line into that territory.

Caleb & Astrid

“For a while, she was the one, but that was a long time ago.” - Caleb, episode 62 “Domestic Respite”

Astrid was one of the select few that included Caleb (then Bren) chosen by Trent Ikithon to be trained to be scourgers. We received hints early on that Caleb possibly had feelings for her, and later he confirmed to Jester that she had been his girlfriend. He tells her and Nott that “she was the one.”

Caleb & Eodwulf

Eodwulf was the third of the three students that Trent Ikithon hand selected in Caleb’s year for special training. Other than he was strong, we don’t know much about him. Caleb doesn’t seem as obsessed with him as he is with the memory of Astrid, although some fans speculate that there might have been a romantic relationship with Eodwulf as well.

Caleb & Essek Thelyss

Essek is a prodigy Xhorhasian wizard who is teaching Caleb the art of dunamancy. Their language in their interactions often seem flirtatious, and Liam has mentioned that Caleb suspects that Essek might be interested in Caleb.

The Mighty Nein Relationships

Caleb & Beauregard “The Empire Kids”

Caleb and Beau were initially very suspicious of each other and their motivations despite (literally) leaning on each other in early fights, but after Beau blackmailed Caleb into telling his past, Beau encouraged him to share but has never given up his secret. Of the rest of the Mighty Nein other than Nott, Beau still knows the most about Caleb’s backstory and motivations. They have learned to literally and figuratively reach out to each other when they need help, and both of them are invested in rooting out corruption in the Empire.

Caleb & Caduceus

Caleb likes Caduceus and his calming personality. He gave Caduceus his wound closure necklace to help keep him alive. Caduceus has multiple times told Caleb that he believes that he has a great destiny. It is unknown how Caleb interprets these pep talks.

Caleb & Fjord

Caleb and Fjord have had some contentious moments in the past, including when Fjord became upset about Caleb endangering the party by trying to steal a scroll from the High Richter’s house in Zadash and held his sword to Caleb’s neck. Along with the rest of the Mighty Nein, Caleb helped rescue Fjord, Jester, and Yasha from their kidnapping by slavers. Caleb figured out fairly early that Fjord was hiding something and also began to notice that Fjord was occasionally slipping into another accent. He began to assume whatever Fjord was hiding would endanger the group (much like his own secrets). Fjord told Caleb that while he would prefer to hide his past, his past would not endanger the party. Fjord owes Caleb a favor based on a pact that they made over an altar in Dashilla’s lair; per Liam, Caleb sees the exchange as manipulation on his part similar to how Trent Ikithon manipulated people. Currently Fjord and Caleb are friendly; Fjord specifically apologized to him after he dropped the accent that he had been using. Some fans speculate that there might be feelings between the two of them. To me I haven’t noticed much evidence on these feelings from Caleb to Fjord, but I have noticed that Fjord seems very protective of Caleb in battle situations.

Caleb & Jester

Caleb is puzzled by Jester introducing herself by telling him he smelled bad and should bathe, but it doesn’t take long for him to admit that she is extremely likeable and charming. They argue early on over Jester not understanding how privileged she was to have the money that her mother gave her, but afterwards Caleb gave her some loot that they received. Both of them have purchased each other gifts. They have a close friendship with Jester being very protective of Caleb. Caleb likes that Jester sees good in him and has kept the information that he murdered his parents from her even when asked what the shadiest thing he has done by her. Love triangles are one of my least favorite things in storytelling, so I have been attempting to ignore the subtext around their friendship. However, after episode 77, it seems clear to me hat Liam has been playing Caleb as slowing falling for Jester. At this point, I’m afraid that it will have to be dealt with in story. Caleb has also noticed Jester’s crush on Fjord and asked her point blank about being sweet on Fjord. I have a theory that it might be possible that there is a parallel in Caleb’s relationships with Jester and Fjord to his former relationships with Astrid and Eodwulf.

Caleb & Mollymauk

Caleb and Mollymauk had an interesting relationship, with Mollymauk certain that he understood Caleb’s motivations and often missing out reasons Caleb was taking certain actions such as when he kept loot not for himself but to give to Jester. Caleb threatened people with Mollymauk as part of intimidation attempts. At one point Mollymauk gave Caleb a forehead kiss and at another point he also “gently, socially” pinned him against a wall. (Caleb did not make eye contact). I think that there might have been something developing between these characters, but it did not get that far before the end of Mollymauk’s journey with the Mighty Nein.

Caleb & Nott

Caleb meets up with Nott as part of a jailbreak and discovers journeying with her is better than journeying alone. Caleb initially views Nott as part little sister, part best friend and partner in crime. It’s interesting that Caleb mentions Nott might be like a sister when we find out recently that he sees others in Trent Ikithon’s cult as brothers and sisters. Nott is one of the first relationships that Caleb allows himself to have after his breakdown and escape. He eventually shares the full extent of what he did in his past with both Nott and Beau. When Nott confesses how she wants him to transform her back into how she was as Veth, he seems willing to pursue that goal as well as his other ambitions. The return of Veth’s husband causes some awkwardness in Caleb and Nott’s close relationship as they used to sleep together, and it makes Caleb aware of Nott as a fully grown and married woman. Caleb seems to pine for the closeness of his former relationship, standing outside Nott’s door at one point. He becomes flustered and denies romantic feelings for Nott when Beau presses him on the matter (in what turns out to be a plan to get him to leave her room). A number of the other players seem to wish that Marisha had rolled an insight check. Family is important to Caleb, and he seems to be rooting for Nott’s happiness with her discovered family.

Caleb & Yasha

Caleb identifies with Yasha’s discomfort with close contact with people and her introversion. They become friends after Caleb asks her for advice on interacting with the entire group. Early on Caleb appears to be attempting to play matchmaker to Beau and Yasha, but Yasha doesn’t understand his attempts at getting Yasha to impress Beau. Caleb twice asks Yasha to shave him with her broadsword, but after the second time was less successful decides to shave with his razor going forward. He often sends Frumpkin to visit Yasha.