#c3ep90

[iffasart]

Quick imodna redraw of ep 90 (i didn't even watch it)

DOOMED WITCHES

Edit: i forgot a layer of shading 😅

Screenshot

[mehoymalloy]

Here's my opinion that nobody asked for (but mostly just a factual recap) on the end of c3ep90, specifically regarding one Liliana Temult. I saw a teeny bit of speculation of Otohan potentially being the source of 'Did she know?' based on the accent Matt used, so of course I had to go back and listen to the scene a few times to check.

Obviously Matt left us on a cliffhanger for a reason, so very few statements can be made conclusively. The main one being: we know the scream was from Liliana.

From Fearne's persepctive (timestamp: 4.21.00):

Right as Fearne finds Ashton and FCG, the red energy around her (and simultaneously around Imogen, Matt notes) starts to brighten, and, "through both of your minds, you hear this high pitched scream, this earth-shattering scream of fury and horror, and then with that, the scream is gone."

When Laura asks if she recognizes the voice, Matt says, "Maybe. You've heard a lot of screams in your days." Laura asks if she can hear it even with the circlet on and Matt retcons a lttle, saying, "You felt it. It wasn't in your mind directly, but you felt it."

Just as Team Explosion start moving again, the music hall explodes: "this blast of bright energy with like a pinkish tone. You see the top of a shell-shaped building explode, and chunks of it fly out and stop and float in space. Immediately you see, like a bullet out of a gun, this singular lavender streak of power and energy that enters and kind of lifts and floats in the sky."

We then immediately cut to Team Infiltration.

From Imogen's perspective (timestamp: 4.29.58):

She sees the music hall explode from the balcony they are using to exit the tower ("Catching up," Matt clarifies). Matt says, "and you immediately know the source of the scream you heard earlier," confirming to Laura that it was Liliana.

Team Infiltration repel down from the balcony and keep moving. Matt then says, "You see that purple flame flickering in the air, and in both of your heads, you just hear, 'Did she know?'"

The cast all assume it is Liliana voicing the question (and that she now hates Imogen lol).

-

Ok now getting into opinion rather than fact:

To me this reads as the scream, the explosion, and the question all happening in quick succession, which implies Liliana is the source of all three.

As an aside: I adore that Imogen's immediate reaction is relief that Liliana is alive (she gasps, stares with wide eyes, and puts her hand over her chest). Imogen reaches out for Laudna with one hand, and Laudna even reassures, "I knew- I knew she was gonna be alright."

Considering the scream is of "fury and horror," specifically, I really lean toward the Ruidusborn Liliana had been gathering all being severely injured or killed during the assassination attempt. Seeing a bunch of young people you claim to protect grievously or fatally wounded would certainly be enough to trigger another exaltation, in my mind (though again, we don't know for certain Liliana exalted, it just reads that way to me); it would also explain why she just blew the roof off and flew directly into the air—if there was no one left to fight or protect. And I truly do think Liliana does care for the younger Vanguard recruits, based on what she says to Imogen in their dream conversation:

LAURA Mama, I want you to leave him. There's a fight coming. I don't want to fight you. MATT "Imogen, there are children here–" LAURA I know. MATT –"like you, that rely on me." LAURA Can't we just make sure he never wakes up? Put him to sleep. Get rid of Ludinus and keep him asleep. MATT "I don't know if that would just be delaying the inevitable. Being so close to this, I feel like I can guide this the best way it can be. I'm surrounded by some very dangerous people, but they need me, I can feel it, and they listen to me. I'm scared of what would happen if I wasn't here. What would happen to these children? These people?"

This is why I interpret that furious "Did she know?" as referring to those that were caught in the crossfire of the assassination attempt as collateral damage, not necessarily the attempt on Liliana's life specifically. Again, we don't truly know what went down there and who all survived, but I lean toward Liliana being the one of the few (or hell, maybe even the only one) to come out mostly unscathed based on the "fury and horror" tone of that scream.

That's not to say she wasn't also just straight up pissed that her daughter was seemingly complicit in an attack on her life lol because I'm sure she was, but like, it's layered. If anything, she'll tie her fury to the kids as this justified and righteous sort of anger, just to make herself feel better (ie less guilty about her own hand in leading all these recruits to their possible deaths).

And I really should not have to say this, but this post is not me defending or justifying Liliana's behavior or actions. I simply adore messy, deeply flawed characters. And I find it infinitely more fun to dig into their heads and attempt to view things from their perspective than to simply say "they're awful, I hate them."

Because yeah, they are awful and I do sort of hate them, but that's what makes them interesting to me. They're fictional characters—morality and even overall likability have no bearing here. All that matters is what gives my brain the zoomies, and for me, that's deeply fucked up antagonists and villains and their fucked up logic.

[skeletonsloverockcandy]

Does anyone know how long tonight’s episode is going to last? I’m trying to gauge how late I can stay up 😴

[suraelis]

From Critical Role C3EP90

The first panel is a reference to today's Dungeon Meshi's episode.

[mehoymalloy]

Some of them [judicators] are tied to certain faiths, but are exclusive to Vasselheim's high-end clergy. They're long kept as this secret force when they really need to flex on an independent scale.

–CR Cooldown, c3ep90

This tidbit along with Matt confirming that Otohan's DEX is 22 (something that was probably already known to numbers folks, but not to my shit-at-math ass) is already making Beacon worth it for me~

[mehoymalloy]

So y'all know how, in the latest episode (c3ep90), Chetney used Grim Psycometry on the Prime Pillar itself (the massive glass spire in the middle of Kreviris)? And saw "flashes of red, stone crushing, feelings of anger and hunger, and then, for a brief moment, a sense of aloneness"?

Y'all remember that model of the moon that they found in the Colloqium of Candescense? That showed that the core makes up over 30% of Ruidus' total mass and is mostly made of glass, with multiple glass pillars piercing out of it (ya know, like the one they're currently in)?

Y'all remember how Rashinna said that their entire society has been reset at least four times, with Kreviris being rebuilt twice (that they know of)? Presumably due to some especially massive moon quakes?

We already knew Predathos was likely gonna crack the moon like an egg if it's released, but it seems like it's been trying to hatch early for a long, long time.