Critical Role campaign 2 finale
Jun. 5th, 2021 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkI enjoyed watching the big battle in last week's episode 140 of Critical Role's campaign 2, and since they said 141 would be the last one I decided to watch the rebroadcast on Friday without spoilers. Even though it was more than 7 hours! (After five hours at the office and three hours of classes, so no surprise that toward the end I started to zone out occasionally.) Brain is foggy today but worth it, it was great. I'm very glad now that even when I stopped regularly watching I still kept up with the plot enough to know what was going on, so I could properly appreciate the ending.
Episode notes:
(I'll probably rewatch at least the second half, might come back and add to this later, idk.)
- Veth taking a level in wizard! :D
- Jester, to Caleb: "You're a good person."
Caleb: "I could be."
Essek: "Trust me. I've met a few bad people. You're not one of them."
Beau, to Essek: "I think you're a good person. And that means a lot, coming from me, 'cause you're a fucking war criminal."
- "Where and when."
"Now. Outside."
Oooh :D
- "Yeza, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to run into the forest while I take care of this,"
Heh. Ow.
- Essek being so nervous confronting Trent
- Jester dominating Astrid is cool (and Caleb counterspelling Trent's counter-spell), but it would be hilarious to find out she's been on their side all along.
Okay later it turns out she might have been?, but she also might have pretended to play along for longer if not for the "excuse" of being controlled into attacking Trent, who knows.
- Essek tethering Eadwulf and Trent together is very smart, because Trent is very well protected but Edwulf much less so. And then dragging Caleb out of danger again! Shame the tether wasn't very effective against Trent.
- Yasha striking down at Eadwulf from the air :D
- Essek: "Caleb, I'm scared" aww
- Beau jumping through the air at Trent being propelled by the wind from Veth is super cool, and snapping the collar around his neck (oh no, the grappling rules xD)
- Death Ward on Caleb! :D "Don't piss off a grave cleric" indeed.
- All the counterspelling during this fight (iirc Caleb did little else (that worked)), wizard battles. And even Fjord joins in with a dramatic one at the end.
- Fjord telling Eadwulf (who is already very weak) "choose wisely," Eadwulf sheathes his sword – and then collapses xD
- Liam's face when Veth makes the illusions of Caleb's parents!!
- Everyone surrounding Trent on the ground as if the fight is already won and I'm still so tense… If Essek hadn't paralyzed him that might still have gone poorly. Astrid activating the collar! Very cool. But, uh, there are spells without verbal components too… (Not sure how many in 5e tbf.)
- Caleb to Trent: "Death is too good for you."
Trent: "See, you aren't a failure. Now, finish the job. Fulfil your destiny."
And Caleb just destroying the mindspeech ring. Heh.
Of course Astrid wants to kill him though. Glad they convinced her otherwise, but poor Astrid. [I was sort of hoping for her to cut off an arm ngl, ahem.]
- "The Matron has a special place for people who burn temples," Caduceus, eyes black, telling Eodwulf to help put out the fire :D
- Yeah, when Trent gets interrogated it might get Eodwulf and Astrid and even Caleb into deep trouble – but it definitely will get Essek into trouble. And he's just standing – sorry, floating – here, listening.
- Fjord/Jester kiss in the rain xD (meanwhile I bet the Clays are wondering why Fjord didn't do that before to extinguish the fire ^^ )
- Caduceus to Trent: "Command: Empathize," shiit. But he saves like ten times in a row, oof. "We can try again tomorrow." And later it turns out he is unable, so, a sociopath? Hm.
- Heh, poor Kingsley, being confronted with these people xD
- Beau's look at Essek when he volunteers to garden ^^
- Glad that Eadwulf and Astrid returned after only a few days :)
- Aww, Caduceus will miss Jester's hugs.
"Thanks for showing me how cool it is to actually heal people."
"Not as cool as a giant lollipop" ^^
- Essek: "This world was so much easier when it was black and white."
Beau: "But it's so much more beautiful in all the shades of color."
Essek being scared of what he would have done if he hadn't met the M9, yes good.
Aww, Jester will send him a message every day. (Okay she'll likely forget but still.)
Essek to Caleb, "I've literally seen you survive worse" ^^
Beautiful goodbye and thank-you and "I'm off to accept the consequences of my actions now" speech. With group hug ^^
I need fanart of Essek in a flower crown immediately.
Caleb hugging Essek: "This might be a bit hypocritical coming from me but try to be kind to yourself." Heh.
- There's 2.5 hours left for the epilogues!
- The Pirate Kingsley ^^
- Beau's father on trial, nice, especially the emphasis that she is more respected than he is. And the one who made the deal with him.
- The Storm Lord sending the lightning bolt when Yasha returns to visit her tribe
- Caleb and Essek exploring Aeor together, and eventually Essek offering to help Caleb if he does want to travel back in time :)
And then being together for a while but only a while because after all Caleb is human and Essek a drow who will live centuries longer
Essek found a way to build himself a new life :) and stayed in close contact. (I like the idea of him being an "emergency contact of last resort" for the others' descendants. (I dislike thinking about him and Caduceus mourning the others who will die much sooner.))
And Caleb teaching Luc :)
- Kingsley calling his ship the Mollymauk ^^
- "It was a pretty good story, Matt." "Let's do it again." <3
That was great.
I really enjoyed the atonements & second chance themes of this campaign especially. More with the NPCs than the main characters, funnily enough (because Liam tends to wallow a lot and Yasha was never my favorite.) My favorite PC was Beau (followed by Caduceus), but her story and character development was very gradual so there aren't really many singular moments to point to, and I'd have to rewatch a lot to properly appreciate it. Similarly with Fjord.
Coming soon: Vox Machina vs. The Mighty Nein! Vax, Pike, and Scanlan vs. Beau, Jester, and Fjord, with Percy/Molly as the wildcard, everyone at level 15. It will probably come down to Taliesin and how many magic items VM are allowed to use (theirs are a lot more powerful than those of the M9.) Certainly promises to be fun.
Episode notes:
(I'll probably rewatch at least the second half, might come back and add to this later, idk.)
- Veth taking a level in wizard! :D
- Jester, to Caleb: "You're a good person."
Caleb: "I could be."
Essek: "Trust me. I've met a few bad people. You're not one of them."
Beau, to Essek: "I think you're a good person. And that means a lot, coming from me, 'cause you're a fucking war criminal."
- "Where and when."
"Now. Outside."
Oooh :D
- "Yeza, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to run into the forest while I take care of this,"
Heh. Ow.
- Essek being so nervous confronting Trent
- Jester dominating Astrid is cool (and Caleb counterspelling Trent's counter-spell), but it would be hilarious to find out she's been on their side all along.
Okay later it turns out she might have been?, but she also might have pretended to play along for longer if not for the "excuse" of being controlled into attacking Trent, who knows.
- Essek tethering Eadwulf and Trent together is very smart, because Trent is very well protected but Edwulf much less so. And then dragging Caleb out of danger again! Shame the tether wasn't very effective against Trent.
- Yasha striking down at Eadwulf from the air :D
- Essek: "Caleb, I'm scared" aww
- Beau jumping through the air at Trent being propelled by the wind from Veth is super cool, and snapping the collar around his neck (oh no, the grappling rules xD)
- Death Ward on Caleb! :D "Don't piss off a grave cleric" indeed.
- All the counterspelling during this fight (iirc Caleb did little else (that worked)), wizard battles. And even Fjord joins in with a dramatic one at the end.
- Fjord telling Eadwulf (who is already very weak) "choose wisely," Eadwulf sheathes his sword – and then collapses xD
- Liam's face when Veth makes the illusions of Caleb's parents!!
- Everyone surrounding Trent on the ground as if the fight is already won and I'm still so tense… If Essek hadn't paralyzed him that might still have gone poorly. Astrid activating the collar! Very cool. But, uh, there are spells without verbal components too… (Not sure how many in 5e tbf.)
- Caleb to Trent: "Death is too good for you."
Trent: "See, you aren't a failure. Now, finish the job. Fulfil your destiny."
And Caleb just destroying the mindspeech ring. Heh.
Of course Astrid wants to kill him though. Glad they convinced her otherwise, but poor Astrid. [I was sort of hoping for her to cut off an arm ngl, ahem.]
- "The Matron has a special place for people who burn temples," Caduceus, eyes black, telling Eodwulf to help put out the fire :D
- Yeah, when Trent gets interrogated it might get Eodwulf and Astrid and even Caleb into deep trouble – but it definitely will get Essek into trouble. And he's just standing – sorry, floating – here, listening.
- Fjord/Jester kiss in the rain xD (meanwhile I bet the Clays are wondering why Fjord didn't do that before to extinguish the fire ^^ )
- Caduceus to Trent: "Command: Empathize," shiit. But he saves like ten times in a row, oof. "We can try again tomorrow." And later it turns out he is unable, so, a sociopath? Hm.
- Heh, poor Kingsley, being confronted with these people xD
- Beau's look at Essek when he volunteers to garden ^^
- Glad that Eadwulf and Astrid returned after only a few days :)
- Aww, Caduceus will miss Jester's hugs.
"Thanks for showing me how cool it is to actually heal people."
"Not as cool as a giant lollipop" ^^
- Essek: "This world was so much easier when it was black and white."
Beau: "But it's so much more beautiful in all the shades of color."
Essek being scared of what he would have done if he hadn't met the M9, yes good.
Aww, Jester will send him a message every day. (Okay she'll likely forget but still.)
Essek to Caleb, "I've literally seen you survive worse" ^^
Beautiful goodbye and thank-you and "I'm off to accept the consequences of my actions now" speech. With group hug ^^
I need fanart of Essek in a flower crown immediately.
Caleb hugging Essek: "This might be a bit hypocritical coming from me but try to be kind to yourself." Heh.
- There's 2.5 hours left for the epilogues!
- The Pirate Kingsley ^^
- Beau's father on trial, nice, especially the emphasis that she is more respected than he is. And the one who made the deal with him.
- The Storm Lord sending the lightning bolt when Yasha returns to visit her tribe
- Caleb and Essek exploring Aeor together, and eventually Essek offering to help Caleb if he does want to travel back in time :)
And then being together for a while but only a while because after all Caleb is human and Essek a drow who will live centuries longer
Essek found a way to build himself a new life :) and stayed in close contact. (I like the idea of him being an "emergency contact of last resort" for the others' descendants. (I dislike thinking about him and Caduceus mourning the others who will die much sooner.))
And Caleb teaching Luc :)
- Kingsley calling his ship the Mollymauk ^^
- "It was a pretty good story, Matt." "Let's do it again." <3
That was great.
I really enjoyed the atonements & second chance themes of this campaign especially. More with the NPCs than the main characters, funnily enough (because Liam tends to wallow a lot and Yasha was never my favorite.) My favorite PC was Beau (followed by Caduceus), but her story and character development was very gradual so there aren't really many singular moments to point to, and I'd have to rewatch a lot to properly appreciate it. Similarly with Fjord.
Coming soon: Vox Machina vs. The Mighty Nein! Vax, Pike, and Scanlan vs. Beau, Jester, and Fjord, with Percy/Molly as the wildcard, everyone at level 15. It will probably come down to Taliesin and how many magic items VM are allowed to use (theirs are a lot more powerful than those of the M9.) Certainly promises to be fun.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-09 08:24 pm (UTC)The "Caleb, I'm scared" moment gave me life <3<3<3 I've had so much fun watching the interpretations of how the Essek/Caleb relationship went down post-canon (so to speak) over on Twitter and Tumblr. People are keeping eagle-eyed watch over what fan-posts the cast like XD Plus, seeing as drow/shorter-life-span relationships are par for the course in the Dynasty, I'm convinced Essek would stick with Caleb for a good while, no matter what Liam said in-the-moment (both because it's My Canon Now that the campaign is finished and because Liam isn't Essek's player, so there was no way for him to know how Essek would handle Caleb aging).
Re: Trent, I think the collar completely blocks off magic, as far as I've under stood it. I could be wrong, but I think the reason it was such an issue for Yussa when he got trapped in one was that it blocked his speech _and_ his general access to magic. The "keeping Trents hands immobile" I think was just extra insurance.
Kingsley is such a bittersweet character for me. I'm not great at dealing with "total amnesia" plot lines because that happening to one of my loved ones is one of my Worst Fears, and I did feel we got set up for "Molly" coming back in ep 140, buuuut I totally get what Taliesin is going for with Molly/Kingsley as a character, the whole "no past, only future"-situation. Though I can't help but speculate what would have happened, down the line, if Jester hadn't cast Greater Restoration on him... (still liked the finale! Just can't help speculating XD)
And ye gods, the lifespan angst in these campaigns! ;_; I try to combat that harsh future by focusing on the years immediately after the campaign. Veth's summer camp is my source of joy! Just picturing the M9 getting to play camp coaches, such sweet sweet chaos XD Oh, and all the "time to rescue Yussa from whatever trouble he's gotten himself into this time" is one of my favorite fanons too - poor, stupidly curious wizard XD
Looking forward to the death match oneshot! Loving the Mad Max theme :D
no subject
Date: 2021-06-12 12:50 pm (UTC)Good points.
Veth's summer camp is my source of joy! Just picturing the M9 getting to play camp coaches, such sweet sweet chaos XD Oh, and all the "time to rescue Yussa from whatever trouble he's gotten himself into this time" is one of my favorite fanons too - poor, stupidly curious wizard XD
Yes! So much potential xD
In addition to the VM & MN one-shot, I'm also looking forward to the mini-series - could be fun! Especially exciting to see Matt get a chance to be a player :)
no subject
Date: 2021-06-16 06:48 pm (UTC)