#just some iconic fabian moments from the first episode

[sincerelyhannibal]

Fabian Aramais Seacaster - Fantasy High

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.

[carebooks]

my S2 rewatch of HOA

so the thing about HOA is that the first couple episodes are always the weakest, it’s before the mystery begins and it’s not that interesting

i despise love triangles and the fact that couples break up due to misunderstanding so fabina breaking up so fast wasn’t fun for me

alfie was the best part of those first couple of episodes in his amber quest, the king tut outfit was iconic

i love bobby lockwood, sad to see him go, glad that it was for wolfblood

i should rewatch that after i finish hoa

joy’s storyline being completely fabian obsessed isn’t my favorite either, especially bc we see how organized and smart she is in planning events, that was fun, and we could’ve explored her having more tense moments around the teachers and victor.

though Klariza plays her with such charismatic acting that hey, Joy's in her villain era and she works it so well. im highly attracted to her when she's in control and scenes where she's just a plain bitch, like not signing up Mara for the competition. it's not a good thing to do obviously, still kinda hot in a villain way.

but anyway, all in all i hate making her into this almost wattpad-like character that is all about the boy and makes Nina into this horrible person that stole everything from her when there was never any build up to them being enemies. like never.

seeing her high-five mr. sweet was all around weird when you remember he was one of the adults responsible for her kidnapping

not even ms. andrews tries to apologize. come on daphne, you’re the one of these assholes i like (adults i mean)

i dont even like jasper all that much

WAIT NO IM SORRY TRUDY I DIDN’T MEAN IT YOU’RE A TREASURE AND IK I WOULD LOVE YOUR CHOCOLATE CAKE IF I HAD IT

i gotta say, victor playing young sarah’s message about ‘the atheneum is the place to look. lift the wings to find the book. hidden in this book of old, water of life and tears of gold.’

i recited that from memory

im just wondering, why did little sarah do that? record that message? did dad tell her about it? did she figure it out and did it herself? gimme context @frobisher-smythe if you got any

lets review some characters so far yeah?

eddie really doesn’t get the vibe that he’s in a boarding school with rules, it’s hilarious to see him make pancake runs in the kitchen and have victor catch him and him try to talk victor into it. he’s the newest kid so it makes sense especially when you count in his troublemaker personality. but still quite refreshing, i want to see him succeed one day, get victor to do a pancake run with him and get him to feel like a kid for once bc the guy is 95 and you best bet he didn’t feel like a kid even when he was a kid.

jerome is particularly interesting with his sister. he almost feels like a parent actually. poppy said so herself that she keeps his pictures on her phone because he was there for her, he came to recitals their mother flaked on, and he was there a lot. he tells mara he ‘trained her himself’ so he definitely spent time around her when she was little. and he takes her phone, keeps it, and if you rewatch the episode during the masked ball where she’s hiding and trying to get the letter and he feels betrayed by mara for her helping poppy do this, he sounds like a dad. he sounds like a dad trying to keep his kid out of trouble. and its really sad when you think about how he had to grow up fast. he’s been at boarding school since he was 5 years old, and the thing about boarding school is that it’s teenagers gaining some independence from parents, they’re alone more often despite the adult supervision, they don’t have their parents. jerome basically spent the better of 10 months every year since he was 5 without his parents. no wonder he became the way he is, and no wonder he tried to be there for his sister when she was growing up.

when he gets kidnapped by Rufus and he's fighting back, Rufus threatens to get Poppy as well and it's the absolute horror on his face that really sells it to me.

ngl, i feel bad for victor. rufus clearly sent vera with all the bullet points on how to sweeten up to the old bird and he is falling hard and fast. “smart and pretty lady likes to stuff animals AND she despises children? plus she cooks?” im surprised he didn't propose on the spot

idk about ya'll but i completely forgot about whether or not Vera really cared about Victor since i havent seen this in a minute. so lets talk about her. Vera's motives can be seen as though she's completely in cahoots with Rufus but really she's just a hired gun. he likes her, sure, but she genuinely believes that Rufus is insane. the whole 'becoming a god via the mask' is just too wild for her. think about it, from her perspective the Mask is a really old, really priceless thing she can exchange for lots of money but this old English bloke created a set of tunnels, why? bc rich people are weird. that's understandable, that's somewhat believable, the evil Senkhara ghost thing? pff, that’s going in the denial bucket. she denies it so much even after her frozen debacle. but even if she believed it all she wanted was riches in this life not the afterlife. and when he gets the wrong mask, he threatens to kill her, so she shifts her allegiances. get the mask, if this elixir thing Victor talks about is real then even better for her but overall? sell the damn thing and get rich. she might not have been 100% on Rufus or Victor's side, she was on her own side.

we’re finally at the chasm episode and they got the crocodile and i forgot this is where the rest of sibuna comes in!!! yeah!!

reminder that Eddie speaks fluent French. and so does Nina.

Alfie did an improvized interpreted dance for Ms. Andrews. it was glorious.

Victor reading Amber’s diary, “How can a man with perfectly groomed facial hair be so horrid?” as he proceeds to check out said facial hair in the mirror. fucking amazing

NOT AMBER FLASHING THE AMULET IN FRONT OF VICTOR BABE YOU’RE BETTER THAN THAT

not gonna lie, the phobia episode was so interesting when it came to Alfie. we love seeing his progress.

the fact that the Book of Isis was in the study the entire time, no one, not even Victor would’ve found it with the idea of the Mask on everyone’s head

Alfie being a genius with the itching powder

i remember someone posting about the episode where they all keep Victor awake to take the amulets off him, and man i agree, it’s a goddamn hoot

i love it when everyone comes together for something. reminds me of the episode of the cameras where alfie and jerome come up with staring at victor through them.

Alfie killing two birds with one stone, getting to do a fun jewelry heist with his best friend whilst scoring a point for Sibuna.

holy shit, guys, i think Alfie’s my favorite character.

you just know he had so much fun shaking that case.

when victor sleeps, he cuddles corbierre. its adorable.

again, some times i feel so bad for Victor this season, can’t see that Vera is clearly manipulating him.

I know a lot of people didn’t care for the goose chase and the other goose stuff. but the line, said by Alfie, “Alfie knows people.” when explaining how he got the goose is top tier for me

am i the only person thinking that Mr. Sweet feigned knowing Jerome’s dad because he was somewhat responsible for him going to jail? like idk, they were all in on it and pushed John under the bus? otherwise, why deny it and act all sus? @frobisher-smythe @mask-of-anubis thoughts?

damn, i forgot how long the hathor challenge took. between them all being hexed and trying to do everyday stuff with the hexes. nina gets real pushy and unlikeable but i mean i understand, she’s seriously under pressure, her and her friends lives are on the line and she’s the only one who isn’t hexed so she's the only one fully concentrated on the task, plus she feels massively guilty for doing all this. it’s bound to happen.

i suddenly remembered they need a cowbell or smth for this task. ugh, im not gonna lie, this was my least favorite one. probably bc it was just so long.

Jasper stealing the gem and Jerome declaring war. I don’t know why but it’s hilarious. Jasper you have no idea what you’ve started. i forgot that eventually Jerome and Jasper team up and that was actually pretty fun. Jerome started it out because of the Gem, bc Jasper stole it and then finds out that Trudy got kidnapped by this 'Collector', they're in cahoots now and y'know what, Jerome getting into this sketchy business is very-Jerome. idk it just fits his character, both he and Jasper have things to hide, and it's still about Egypt and/or the Frobisher-Smythes so it doesn't feel out of place, it's perfect.

Nina and Fabian hiding in the attic from Jerome and Jerome hiding under Vera’s bed from Vera.

when Sibuna + Jerome figures out that Rufus is back and then they actually decide to tell Victor is a pretty big deal. i really like it. because at this point, it's not about the Cup, it's not about the Mask, it's about Rufus. and that's never a good idea to keep secret. so instead, they immediately tell him, they tell him the truth about Vera, and big reminder that the number 1 rule in Sibuna is to not involve the adults. but they are all so terrified of this man that they know not to keep this hidden. and this time it's Victor who screws up by not believing them (but can ya blame him, all they do is lie)

reminder that during the scheme into giving Rufus a fake mask, Alfie was given the ‘replica’ to give it a new paint job so as to pass it off as the real one. so, not only did Rufus actually have the real one in his hands, throw it across the room, and dented it, but, out of all the Sibuna members, Alfie was the first one to hold the real Mask of Anubis.

and he painted it.

ok so, random thing but i’ve got to say, Klariza Clayton’s acting is incredible. i love Nathalia Ramos but some times certain scenes are left to be desired. but when Joy starts crying her eyes out, even when she knows she’s done bad, it’s heartbreaking and even relatable. Nina however, has to be written a lot in cliffhanging scenes that end up being more silly than serious by the next episode. but it's just a couple of scenes, not the whole show.

so, Victor Sr. died in pursuit of the Mask. does that mean he went through all the tasks? if so, how did they all get reset? and where are his bones?! did Nina just summon up his ghost out of nowhere??

i love how they all have good and proper reactions to Nina getting lost to the game. Alfie's freaking out, he's scared shitless. Patricia is yelling and silently crying. Amber's scared with shock that she couldn't even remember her steps to go back and her tears are much louder than the others. but not louder than Fabian's. he is an absolute wreck, sobbing the loudest and angry and just— just brilliant acting by Brad Kavanagh.

i've got to say, having Nina be benched first is weirdly perfect. it was a red herring that Amber was going to go down first, but instead, it was the main character. and everyone's feeling that loss. and it gives Nina a chance to talk to Victor Sr. and get some exposition about being the Chosen One and find out about the Osirian.

ok, so the next time they play the game, PROPS TO MY FAVORITE: ALFIE LEWIS MANAGING TO NOT GET SWALLOWED UP BY THE GAME BOARDS HE’S AN ICON, PEOPLE. NO ONE ELSE COULD DO IT

them all nominating people to bring over who are smart at chess but also needing someone ‘sneaky’

- Fabian picks Joy

- Amber picks Mara

- Alfie picks Jerome

- and Trixxie picks no one, vv Patricia

idk why but i liked that, they all had good choices, but Joy really was the one. glad she joined in.

i completely forgot that Trudy’s memory doctor was Rufus until he literally rips off the mask.

let me repeat that. Rufus Zeno. rips off his face. Scooby-Doo villain style. this is an actual thing that happened.

i completely forgot that Alfie gets taken by the game during Victor’s period as the gamemaster. ugh. Fabian, this was your idea, first Nina now ALFIE? you seriously suck during this task. buddy, come on, you were great for the spiderweb one but now? get your act together.

I FORGOT THIS IS THE EPISODE THAT JEROME GETS KIDNAPPED FUCK YOU RUFUS

hey Eddie, great Osirian instincts on being able to detect danger. *sarcasm*

the fact that Victor actually tries to call Sweet about Alfie's disappearance, and Alfie’s his least favorite last I checked (that or Eddie probably is) (some might say Nina but i think it’s mainly a rival thing rather than dislike) it tells you, just like when Alfie was immediately lost, Victor was beside himself, he refused to do this, hurting the students wasn't part of the plan. when you think about it, i don't think Victor really likes seeing children in pain, he was obviously abused as a child himself and then he took it out on Sarah, doing the same to her. he may enjoy punishing them with the most inconvenient cleaning supplies but actually hurting or killing any of them was out of the question.

AND THEN FABIAN MESSES UP AGAIN LOSING AMBER AND PATRICIA WHEN JOY'S THE GAMEMASTER BRO COME ON

FABIAN, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST NOT HELP?? YOU LOST NINA, YOU ALMOST LOST ALFIE, THEN YOU ACTUALLY LOST ALFIE, THEN THE GIRLS. NOTHING YOU'VE DONE IS GOOD DURING THIS GAME.

i honestly love how it comes full circle with Sarah’s doll riddle leading them not to the book of isis but to the key that led to the mask.

AND jerome’s gem being part of what completes the mask.

this season is fucking genius i swear.

AGAIN the idea that Senkhara was planning on having Nina wear it all along— it’s so deceptively obvious but no one ever expects it because we just don't question it. Amber asks what Senkhara even wants the Mask for anyway, she's dead. it’s so fucking cool

i think as a kid i understood that maybe Senkhara was tied to the Mask, that she needed Nina or something to unleash her so she could be free and then they'd find a way to tie her back or banish her

WE WERE CHEATED

I WANT THE ENTIRE SCENE OF ALFIE RUNNING THROUGH ALL THE TUNNELS WITH THE FAKE MASK W THESE TWO 90-YEAR-OLD MEN ON HIS TAIL

i finally got to hear the voices that Eddie's been hearing and the final one, "Find Nina," was Sarah's voice. (at least that's what it sounded like) that was so nice.

i also have a theory about Nina and the Dollhouse. what if Sarah wasn't actually watching them the entire time and Nina was actually unknowingly using her Chosen One powers? times where she legit asks the dollhouse for help, it lights up, after a while it feels like lazy writing for them to find answers quick rather than writing more clues for them to find. we've established that Nina can see the dead, she has 'the gift of sight' as Victor Sr. said. and Eddie can also see the dead, but he can also banish (and eventually have visions). so how do we know that Nina can't summon the dead as well? she constantly dreamt of Sarah, and now she's summoning her for information or help, only through a dollhouse instead of a crystal ball.

Nina telling Victor she had something for him and it was from his father, the utter confusion on his face as to how she could have possibly found this and her giving that message to him, "He says, sorry." as he holds it and weeps.

see, this is another reason to dislike S3, because when he's told that Nina won't be coming back he's glad of it, "she brought too much trouble" which ok fair, but you still wouldn't have gotten the cup because you had the wrong Chosen One, and never would've found the Mask anyway. she brings trouble for you but she's also the only reason things happen. and then he puts her down as being a 'bad influence' in front of Fabian the rest, and Fabian just explodes. like come on, the last time Victor saw Nina she was doing him a kindness, she gave him his father's ring. told him that his father was sorry. and the ring turned out to contain a tear of gold tHAT WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT EVER AGAIN.

what else, what else, what else.

i stand by being a Neddie shipper, because as said before by the resident neddie truther, @frobisher-smythe they have great personalities that compliment each other well.

I'm not surprised that Patricia broke up with Eddie, she's afraid of getting hurt so she does the hurting but the thing is that as a couple, while they enjoy bantering and have a lot in common, they could be foils for each other. kinda like Beck and Jade from Victorious. they're an iconic couple with a cool dude and a mean girl, but the thing about them is that they're incredibly toxic. that doesn't make them uninteresting, but very bad for each other. while i don't think Peddie is full-on toxic, they do have certain things going on like trust issues and lying (on both sides) and jealously issues too. and if you're that insecure about your relationship, if what you have with your partner is so fragile that you can't trust them around other people then why be with them?

Neddie had potential to be something huge and they couldn't even be bothered to explore it a lil bit.

well, i think thats about it, i hope you liked this messy review, the upcoming clips of some of my favorite moments, and be on the look out for my new sibuna inspired side-blog. i think i may get into writing one-shots again over there. @houseofwolfbloods

[jq37]

thoughts on this week's ep?

**spoilers for broadway brawl**

***Before we start, I remembered as I was typing this one of the important notes I lost from last week’s recap: Interesting that Christmas seemingly went off without a hitch. I expected Santa to come back into play somehow (like, someone would check on him to make sure Christmas was still on or he’d call them in to help or something) but he hasn’t, at least not yet.***

My guys, my guys, my guys. Was that something or was that something?

I think I am on record as saying that combat is my least favorite part of ttrpgs generally speaking because I’m here for the RP but when a combat episode shines it really freaking shines (see eg: that first combat ep of Bloodkeep where everyone went full Galaxy Brain except for Matt who couldn’t hit a single thing) and this is such a good example. This is easily a top five ep of the season for me, maybe top three so let’s get into it and break down why it was so awesome.

We start right where we left off with Titania and members of her court having come into the theater to beat the tar out of Misty mid-show.

Quick note: At the end of last ep, it was set up so that Misty was thrust on stage right after hearing the mirror was on stage which would place this fight right at the top of Act 2 but at the start of this ep, Brennan seems to indicate that it’s taking place during what would be the closing number. Which would make more sense but imagine you go see a play, the first act is super dope, and then the second act is an insane, minute long fight that’s pretty unconnected to the plot and then a buff, naked, beautiful man tells you the show is over and you should leave. Wild. Anyway.

Pixies with tommy guns in inherently funny.

So one of the things that makes this fight really great is the way it directly ties into the story in a way besides “These bad guys are in our way.” Misty is using this show as a part of her reincarnation spell so if the show is messed up, it fails and she’s on her last life. Brennan has a cool mechanic of making her roll death saves every round at a difficulty lower than her modifier (which is s/t crazy like 11) but that gets harder with damage done to her and performance checks failed by other players who decide to jump on stage. It’s a great way to make the battle feel like it has more personal stakes and it’s my fave original Brennan mechanic since the Family in Flames Sophie’s Choice situation.

(I love that the death save counter is changed for theater comedy/tragedy masks for this. Nice touch.)

Em, Esther, and Wally are also at the fight which is clutch.

Also, Sondheim is specifically here which is an insane detail to add just because.

WILD that no one knows what’s going on with the ritual initially because, as Lou almost does, getting all the civilians out is the smart move and it would COMPLETELY ruin Misty’s plans instantly.

Lou having Kingston take the stairs bc’s he’s 50+ years old and has no time for that nonsense has equal but opposite energy to him doing extra rolls for Fabian to do unnecessary parkour before a simple attack because Fabian’s Like That.

Murph fireblasts the hell out of Titania’s foot soldiers right off the bat from outside of counterspell range which is very cool.

“Give me a performance check for the cockroach.”

“You’re upstaging me bitch?”

Another great thing about this fight is that because of it’s theatrical nature, everyone’s RPing it more than a usual battle ep (or more intensely maybe is what I mean).

Titania hypnotizes Don Confetti and his goons into fighting for her.

“She doesn’t know she’s in a play but she does sing most of her dialogue which is helpful for you.” Titania is just Like That.

Pete drops an erupting earth and drops a sick 37 damage on those same minions Kug got.

I didn’t notice before but yeah, Ally does roll die like a f-ing beyblade champion.

Emily hearing Murph’s low key, offhand comments and cracking up is great.

“Get Sondheim!” (Emily and then Ally: WHAT?!)

Actual living dude Stephen Sondheim being involved in this fight is just so ridiculous and fun and crazy.

We go around to Misty’s turn and she has to beat a 28 (upped from 10) and she fails which feels worse than a normal failed death save somehow.

Lou, in a very good RP move, tells Pete to tell Misty to end the show so she can tell them not to so the group has a valid reason to not evacuate which is a thing they (or at least him and Ricky) would obviously want to do.

Sophie, the madwoman, jumps out of the balcony, grabs a costume, then runs on stage. Emily’s glee at being told that her grabbing the costume will give her advantage is great. She’s always trying to figure out how to make the most of her moves. She is the living embodiment of the concept of method to madness (which is from Hamlet since we’re talking Shakespeare today). 

Ox is constantly dying (Brennan!) but also it’s like, why was he even there before the fight started? I’ve never seen a non-service dog in a theater.

Ricky: Is this part of it?

Oh, forgot to mention that everything that happens on stage is kinda shielded by the Umbral Arcana so everyone watching thinks it’s part of the show, which is a cool plot detail.

Ricky gets fULLY NAKED (Emily, with perfect comic timing: Now do I roll with disadvantage?) and leaps into the fray. He casts Protection from Evil and Good on her which (1) He does by Magic Mike body-rolling on her while he’s naked and considering how much shorter she is that her raises some interesting questions about positioning and (2) is the most clutch use of this spell I’ve seen in a while. It’s a spell I always wanna take as a Paladin because it makes sense character-wise, but I’ve never been able to actually use it because we’re never fighting fiends, fae, or celestial.

Brennan’s dime change change reversal of the critic’s comments on Ricky’s body rolls when Zac re-rolls his 11 makes me glad I never had to face him in a debate team setting.

Ally: What’s Esther’s deal ;)/Brennan: *Esther’s Weapon Stats*

“Your only secret you’ve ever had in your life is that you have a crush on her.”

Wally has a beautiful singing voice and a working knowledge of Midsummer's which is wild.

Lou’s periodic, “My man”’s when Ally/Pete does something cool. He’s very dialed into being Kingston.

Ricky’s aura keeps everyone near him from being charmed and Misty saves everyone else w/ a nat 20 counterspell. Few things in D&D are more satisfying than a well executed counterspell.

Titania trying to get Pete to be her consort or something when he just over the super posh Priya is very funny.

“I mean between me and Sondheim, get Sondheim!”

“DO WE HAVE HOMEWORK TONIGHT?” (“We did have homework.”)

Anyway, Misty has one success now!

Misty tries to use puppet to get Titania to drop her crown and it doesn’t work. Brennan says the crown is Crown of Stars which I looked up and it’s actually a spell, not a physical crown, but I’m assuming he used the mechanical effects of the spell on a physical item.

Brennan doing all these musical/singing bits when he absolutely doesn’t have to. I love it.

I love Ricky and Sophie being the two martial fighting heavy hitters of the group. Like, the two fighters, having the spellcasters’ backs.

I hope the one kung fu fan in the back of the theater never sees another Broadway show again because he’s gonna be so disappointed. 

“I’m just so inspired by that beautiful penis.”

Murph, out of character, verbally acknowledging how insane what they’re doing is. I love when someone pauses in a game of D&D to just recite what’s currently happening out of context so everyone can appreciate how crazy it is. D&D. Gotta love it..

Emily and Siobhan have a quick conversation in the background about whether Sondheim did Les Mis or not (not, that’s Claude-Michel Schönberg) while Brennan and Murph are Ring nonsense.

I also was mildly suspicious of Alyssa so I’m glad Kingston checked her out.

The entire roast of Brennan when he’s selecting D6s is an instantly iconic D20 moment. I can’t do it justice. You kinda just have to see it.

“Someone call Wizards of the Coast!”

Em, Wally, and Alyssa go out when Titania puts out a huge spell that blinds Kug.

“Yummy, yummy, tastes like ass.”

On Misty’s next turn, she rolls a fail which makes it 2 failures to 1 success. Brennan mentions that a nat 1 counts as 2 failures and a nat 20 counts as 2 successes. I’m sure that won’t be relevant later because you can’t foreshadow things when dice rolls are completely random.

Misty fails on puppet again again and Titania goes full Wicked Witch of the West on her and starts Jonesing for those shoessss.

Emily’s Emily(tm) move of the session is doing a flying leap at Titania, hitting her with a stunning strike and having Brennan retract the Box off Doom he was pulling out because she can’t save when she’s stunned. She just plummets out of the sky.

Don Confetti respecting the sacrament of marriage as he goes full Opera ghost and tries to garrote Sophie.

Ricky (still naked) grabs the crown from Titania, tosses it to Misty, and, with some improv and a good charisma roll, makes the show suddenly make sense to the very confused but entertained audience.

I’m so glad that Murph decided to turn into a bear and that they made the Winter’s tale ref. I should have had faith in Brennan and Siobhan, the theater nerds. Exit pursued by a bear y’all.

Lou and Emily bonding over being proud of their die for rolling well when they lend it out for a big roll.

Really wish Pete had wild magic surged in this fight. Just to add that extra bit of chaos. 

With a very good turn (no damage taken, no performances failed) Misty only has to avoid snake eyes to get through this turn. She leapfrogs over that low bar and rolls a nat 20, instantly fulfilling her win condition. At this point, the play is superfluous and Titania is still down.

“Brennan lost and now he knows reddit is gonna eat his ass.”

OK, remember how I said earlier that Misty seems like the kind of character you nudge a little temptation at just to spice things up? Yeah, her killing Titania and getting the crown of the Seelie Fae makes me a liiiitle apprehensive, but we’ll see how that turns out.

“I killed my queen! This is America we don’t have royalty here.”

“Bear, I don’t know who you are, but take me on your back, let me ride on stage.” —creator of West Side Story, Stephen Sondheim

Misty charms the critic at the show to make sure they get a good review which is such a fae thing to do.

Kingston’s clearly not loving attacking Don and Co. post “real fight” what with his whole Do No Harm thing (well, that’s Dr’s but same principle applies I assume) is a good character detail. For that matter, so is Ricky just taking Titania’s crown and not beheading her which he super could have done while she was down but it would have been very incongruous with everything else about him.

Brian “This isn’t Loony Tunes” Murphy throws Sondheim as a projectile weapon at a pixie who snaps the pixie’s neck and then does a monologue at the audience.

I love it when someone rolls low on an insight check and Brennan gives them useless info and then they repeat it in their character’s voice.

4 mins from the end of the ep, Siobhan realizes there are two Perrys in this story for the first time and has a bigger reaction to that than almost everything else in this ep except her nat 20.

Ricky looks for costume faun legs to cover his fully out dick instead of costume pants or even his own pants.

Misty starts glowing with reincarnation energy and she runs into her dressing room for privacy. Also, she still super hasn’t told anyone what’s going on. (ALSO, assuming she’s gonna make the world think she died, it’s gonna be wild for the company of the show to have their leading lady put on the performance of her life and then die on opening night).

“Who am I to refuse a crown when it’s placed so deftly upon my head?”

You know that behind the scenes thing where Brennan is like, “Yeah, I knew Siobhan was gonna steal that book,”? I got some of those vibes during the crown scene.

The implications of what Misty did are gonna be left until next ep but Brennan says something about her creating her own court and it looks like she’s recruiting followers in the promo. IDK how I feel about that (these stories tend to have great power--especially tied to powerful magical items--as a corrupting force) but I am very excited to see how it goes down! See you then!

[aion-rsa]

Seeing Game Of Thrones, and its Dimly Lit Battle, in a Whole New Light

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It’s been a year and a half since Game Of Thrones aired its final episode ‘The Iron Throne’ (although it feels a lot longer thanks to 2020 time dilation), and now a ‘Complete Collection’ box-set has arrived.

It’s slightly odd to behold these 33 discs, squeezed into eight Blu-ray cases, snuggled up in a lovely box, with a little booklet nestled in. So much time has passed since the world watched that finale and the online discourse erupted with the fiery ferocity of Cersei’s attack on the Sept Of Baelor.

With so much vocal negativity surrounding season eight, it feels as if Game Of Thrones has ended up in the big pop-culture bin of shows that nobody talks about anymore (unless they’re taking the mick). But this box-set is a chance to revisit and reappraise, and see if that sentence is really fair…

“You were the best of them”

When season eight was first released in 4K Ultra-HD at the end of last year, word filtered down that it was the best way to watch the infamously dimly lit Winterfell battle episode ‘The Long Night‘. Having originally squinted at this episode (which I streamed on Now TV through a 1080p TV back in the day), I was keen to see how it would look with a 4K-enabled Xbox Series X console hooked up to a shiny new 4K ASUS monitor.

Long story short, it did look better than I remembered (although, who’s to say that I’m not remembering it worse than it was at the time because of all the memes). I wouldn’t necessarily say that the whole thing looks brighter, but that the nuance of the lighting and the rich details in certain shots are a lot easier to make out and understand with a Blu-ray disc and a proper 4K set-up. So yes, I felt I could properly watch the episode this time, with a far greater sense of what I was meant to be able to see.

Putting tech specifications to one side for a moment, there was also a simple joy to be found in seeing these actors and characters together again on screen. With Game Of Thrones so quickly having become meme-fodder and the inspiration for countless angry comments, it’s easy to forget how excellent the cast and crew clearly were. 

Although there isn’t much in the way of dialogue during ‘The Long Night’, it’s moving to be reminded of that sweet exchange between Sansa and Tyrion in the crypts of Winterfell. Reminiscing on their fraught marriage of many seasons ago, Sansa tells Tyrion, “You were the best of them.” It’s a reminder that Game Of Thrones isn’t just about big battles and questionable writing decisions – but also lovable characters, memorable arcs and great performances.

“It’s chaotic for a reason”

There are two commentary track options on ‘The Long Night’ disc, one with director Miguel Sapochnik and cinematographer Fabian Wagner. Listening to it, I’m reminded again of how I saw Game Of Thrones before that final season, back when Sapochnik was heralded as the genius director of such iconic battles as Hardhome and Battle Of The Bastards.

On this commentary track for ‘The Long Night’, which was clearly recorded after all the backlash about how dark the episode was, Sapochnik is in very candid form. It’s refreshing to find something that sounds so honest, and very far from PR speak, on what is clearly an HBO-approved product.

Sapochnik and Wagner reflect on the gruelling 55 days of night shoots that brought this episode to life, a discussion which, on its own, is enough to remind us that a lot of people put a lot of hard work into making this show – whether or not they agreed with the top-level decisions about its direction. 

It’s also interesting to hear Sapochnik’s take on why this episode is so dark – it was, of course, a conscious creative decision from the director and the writers, as opposed to a hapless work experience kid in the editing suite accidentally thumbing a big switch labelled ‘brightness’ in the wrong direction. 

“It’s chaotic for a reason,” Sapochnik explains, as the dead descend on Winterfell on a jet-black night, bringing wind and snow with them to baffle and disorient their human enemies. As Davos squints in the abyss atop the Winterfell battlements, Sapochnik jokes that our beloved Onion Knight should’ve bought a better TV. 

As well as providing some laughs, this insightful commentary can also help fans gain a better understanding of this episode – it wasn’t meant to be a traditional battle like the ones we’d seen before. Rather, it was a descent into hell for all of our beloved characters, brought to life by a crew that spent almost two months working through the night to make it happen.

“The hardest episode of TV anyone on this show has done”

The special features of this mammoth box-set include more than 15 hours of special features, so it’s a huge treasure trove for fans of the show. There’s access to basically every resource you could want. Say, for example, you wanted to know even more about ‘The Long Night’ episode. In the Bonus Features disc from the season eight case, you could check out ‘The Last Watch’ documentary, which includes footage from the first-ever table read for that episode – complete with Maisie Williams’ utter joy when she finds out that Arya will be killing the Night King, and Kit Harington’s bemusement at that same revelation. 

There’s also ‘When Winter Falls’, a documentary which shows exactly how ‘The Long Night’ came together: you can see which bits were special effects and which bits were built in real life, and you can hear the cast and crew reflecting on the harsh realities of making what Harington calls “the hardest episode of TV anyone on this show has done.” Emilia Clarke is convinced the episode must have broken some sort of “work endurance records,” if such a thing exists.

If Game Of Thrones had ‘stuck the landing’ with its final season and somehow managed to please every different subsection of the show’s fans, a bountiful box-set like this would probably look like a tempting investment to a lot of people. And, to be honest, even though I wasn’t utterly convinced by the final season, this treasure trove has reminded me that there was a lot more to the series than just the showrunners’ decisions in the finale. 

“All this chocolate fell out of his secret pocket”

In the ‘Bonus Features’ case are three discs of extra-extra features, which couldn’t be crammed onto the dedicated discs for each season. Across these three discs, you’ll find even more goodies to grow your Game Of Thrones appreciation. On one disc you’ve got ‘Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History Of The Seven Kingdoms‘, a feature-length animated special in which cast members narrate tales of Westerosi history. (This could be handy knowledge to have if those ancient history prequel series end up happening.)

You’ve also got numerous chunky featurettes in the categories ‘Behind the Scenes’, ‘Inside the Visual Effects’ and ‘Anatomy of a Scene’. I particularly enjoyed the Anatomy of a Scene on Sansa and Joffrey’s wedding – I’d forgotten quite how ridiculous it was, and again, it’s a great reminder of just how much great content this show has given us, how many brilliant performances Game Of Thrones boasts, and just how much hard work went in behind the scenes.

The ultimate fan-friendly celebration of Game Of Thrones can be found on disc one from the Bonus Features case, under the title ‘Game Of Thrones Reunion Special Parts 1 & 2’: it’s basically a two-hour love-in, during which Conan O’Brien interviews pretty much everyone you’d hope to see in a cast reunion.

Serving as the satisfying season finale to my rekindled Game Of Thrones fandom, this Reunion Special has so many moments of squee-inducing glee: there’s a fabulous montage that shows how lovely a time Emilia Clarke has had over the last eight years, compared to Kit Harington being caked in mud and left out in the cold at every opportunity (the gentle roasting of Harington is really quite heartwarming); there’s also a fun anecdote from Mark Addy about Sean Bean hiding chocolates in his costume; and Sean Bean himself turns up for a joyous reunion with his on-screen children, as well as being reunited with Ned Stark’s severed head. 

Seeing the cast and crew laughing together under Conan’s playful questioning, I’m reminded again of all the terrific actors and talented crew members that put years of their life into making this flight of fancy for us. And even though the decisions of the final season may not sit well with everyone, I’m glad that I dived back into the Game Of Thrones fandom and rediscovered what made me love it in the first place.

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Game Of Thrones: The Complete Collection is out now.

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