#and half irritation at the 'bh should have killed them' crowd

[a-couple-of-notes]

Thoughts on Yu post c3e29

I want to be clear: if Yu were a real person, I would hate them. They are unequivocally terrible. I've seen some things going around to the tune of "they didn't attack the party, just talked sexily evilly" and "stabbing was an overreaction" and "actually, Birdie seems just as untrustworthy for stealing the crown/making this machine that will definitely have unintended consequences." And let me just say - no. Absolutely not. To run down the list:

"They didn't attack the party, just talked evilly." A number of different people have already covered this, but you don't have to attack people physically to hurt them. Yu constantly gaslights ("I have been forthright with you about most things"), emotionally manipulates (turning into the half-elf man and Imogen, making Fearne doubt her affection for her mother/grandmother, bringing up Delilah, all the circular arguments about trust), and belittles ("you need me, you couldn't survive without me, you couldn't even choose breakfast without me") the party. This is absolutely intentional hurt, much like Saundor and his emotional manipulation of Vex'ahlia in Campaign 1.

"Stabbing was an overreaction." For DnD, with a legacy of stabbing bad things? Not really. In terms of causing yikes-damage to Yu, the only people who try are Fearne (it's Fearne) and maybe Birdie with the sneak attack. Orym does a bunch of damage as well, but mainly wants to knock Yu prone; the damage stacks because Yu keeps succeeding on strength checks. (He also jabs at her back a lot, but those seem to be escalating warnings.) In a world where you have healing spells and long rests bring you back up, the act of stabbing becomes a lot less dire than in real life. It's fiction, y'all!

"Actually, Birdie seems just as untrustworthy." So? Whether or not Birdie has bad intentions or has worked with bad people, this does not change the fact that Yu infiltrated the party, repeatedly lied to them, and then done all the above stuff when Bells Hells confronted them. Or the fact that they're there to kill Birdie, Ollie, and probably Fearne (they did say, "I will end the Calloway line" in their conversation with the Sorrowlord).

Okay. But with all that said: As a character pushing the narrative, Yu is great, and I'm so glad the party didn't kill them.

Again, this is fiction! Yu would be a terrible person in real life, but story-wise, the way they shook up the party is so, so interesting. We got to see Bells Hells confronted with barbs targeted to cause maximum emotional distress! We got to see what they do in the middle of a messy conflict with confusing sides! There were so, so many juicy actions that revealed these characters' lines and priorities, and also really solidified (for me) their actual approach to conflict as a party.

That's great stuff. And the fact that they didn't kill Yu means it's possible they could come back and shake things up again.

It would have been very gratifying if the party had overcome Yu's manipulation and killed her. But it would have been gratifying if Vox Machina had managed to kill Delilah all the way, too. In both cases, I think we got something far more interesting.