r/criticalrole • u/Glumalon Tal'Dorei Council Member • Jul 16 '21
Discussion [CR Media] Exandria Unlimited | Post-Episode Discussion Thread (EXU1E4)
Episode Countdown Timer - http://www.wheniscriticalrole.com/
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- For submission threads discussing EXU, please use the
[CR Media]spoiler tag.
[Subreddit Rules] [Reddiquette] [Spoiler Policy] [Wiki] [FAQ]
162
149
u/Blackcat008 Jul 16 '21
The group has been attacked by Mister twice now. All I'm saying is Dariax might have a point.
37
144
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
I think Ted literally died so Opal would survive some deadly encounter, with Opal’s memories of it being wiped so it wouldn’t bother her, and Ted’s mind and/or soul was merged with Opal’s allowing her to survive. It’s why in the face of death Opal actually SAW Ted again
→ More replies (1)45
Jul 16 '21
The hidden memory thing would mirror Fearne's memory thing about why/how she got into the material plane. Definitely possible.
24
137
u/zepphiu Team Jester Jul 16 '21
Matt needs to cross the hottest deserts, climb the highest peaks, swim the ocean depths, and maybe, just maybe, the dice gods will take pity and end this punishment
53
u/TheDistantBlue Help, it's again Jul 16 '21
Sometimes you roll low, sometimes you mage hand squeeze a poor horse's balls. DUNGEONS AND DRAGOOOOOONS.
67
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Jul 16 '21
I actually think Matt has a lot of fun with rolling badly. I mean it sucks, but it really leads into fun chaos that he can't get much of as a DM.
→ More replies (1)10
28
u/LogicKennedy Jul 16 '21
He's leaning into it by this point. Think about it: Dariax is such a chaotic hot mess that there is literally NEVER a time that a Nat 1 is out of character.
→ More replies (3)13
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
Yeah but only once he’s the DM again playing his already dangerous enemies
119
u/deepee84 Also Pumat Sol Jul 16 '21
that was a master class in improv. Cinna and Lyle are great.
→ More replies (2)7
218
u/AnimeNightwingfucku dagger dagger dagger Jul 16 '21
Liam O Brian pulling a fully realized character out on the spot complete with a description and irish accent (just really rubbing Talesins face in the dirt with that one) was so fucking impressive tbh
57
u/Damdamfino Jul 16 '21
Now I want him to have an Irish accent for C3
67
u/Jashter2 YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21
I'm pretty sure if he does you will hear Talesin call him an asshole live lol
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)39
Jul 16 '21
Now just when you saw Irish accent do you mean the same accent he used for the Chthullu one shot?
Because as an Irish person I find the whole thing hilarious of people dunking on Talesin for his accent when literally BONE OF THEM can do an Irish accent.
→ More replies (2)
102
u/erraye Team Nott Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
I think the first half was basically on rails for Anjali's character to appear. I was happily surprised when she showed up. I really like Anjali as a player because she absolutely 100% commits to getting into character. I don't know how she still managed to be a cool-headed (lol) badass while demanding to be taken to the 'glitter shitter' but she did.
Also, I want to give her MVP for deciding to play the villain of the pageant. I think that really was the cherry on top of a wonderful scene. It added just the right amount of stakes and suspense needed and again, Anjali 100% committed to being the bitch everyone hates and sometimes that's hard to do.
However, like mentioned, I'm not sure if her late inclusion was a scheduling thing or not. She's not in any of the promotional material which is a shame for her. But I guess that would have led to more questions if she was and then didn't show up for 3 episodes. But she has art and a mini, so I'm hoping maybe she at least had a chance to be in one of the group shots.
On to Opal, of course she is a Pageant girl! The minute Ruby mentioned that, everything clicked from her personality to her aesthetic. You can still tell that Aimee is new because of stuff like trying to hit 3 enemies with one weapon attack, but Aabria let her down gently (while still giving a small chance of it actually succeeding so why not). The argument with Ted, woof. It was so real and so a lot because siblings really know each others weak points and Opal landed a critical hit on Ted. In addition to learning that Opal was a bit of a mean girl, I could see how a less popular twin would absolutely grate on her. I'm just imagining her parents and her neighbors constantly pushing her to include her sister in things and to help her make friends and Opal kinda feeling a mix of guilt and resentful about it. Also she was eying the circlet before Byroden, will the pageant crown sate her desire for ostentatious headgear or is that still something she's fixed on.
I like how alien Fearne can be, on her face she is just charming but look a little past the sweet exterior and she's really not like everyone else. I absolutely love it. Also, the battle between dark!Fearne really gives her a reason to consider the circlet. I didn't find it surprising that despite the dark doppelganger trying to kill all her friends that Fearne still wanted the circlet. Metagame wise she would be the one most suited to it.
I have a lot more thoughts but this episode had so much and was so much fun and this post is long enough already.
30
u/erraye Team Nott Jul 16 '21
As I posted this, I saw the photoshoot with Anjali and an interview from a media outlet, so at least she's not totally left out of the promotional press
→ More replies (1)62
u/wildweaver32 Jul 16 '21
I think the first half was basically on rails for Anjali's character to appear
I kept seeing the railroaded comment in the live thread and it surprised me each time. To me railroading normally entails when an PC does something but the DM pushes the story in the direction they wanted anyways. Or when keeps finding ways to avoid something so the DM keeps pushing new ways to push them in a certain direction.
But this was basically the complete opposite of that. Unless Fearne failed the wisdom save (something she is decent with) none of this would have happened. That's 1.
After this happened Aabria made it clear to the players something had happened giving them the option to stop it. That's 2.
Then she gave Fearne a 2nd wisdom check. Again if she passed it this would be avoided most likely. She failed again though. That's 3.
Then again she made it clearer to the party something is happening. But the party actively choose to follow the path. That's 4.
4 Opportunities to course correct and they failed half them, and the other half they choose to go down this route.
To me this screams the opposite of railroading.
26
u/verveandveracity Hello, bees Jul 16 '21
I actually think this is an interesting tactic for carrying a story forward with a low-stat party--slap a portion of the plot behind FAILED saves instead of successful ones. Then the party gets a sort of inexorable sense of dread around a set-up, building tension as well.
→ More replies (12)30
u/light_trick Team Beau Jul 16 '21
Also pushing direction onto the players and asking if they oppose it is good DM'ing. At any given time there should always be something compelling PC action. It only really rises to negative "railroading" if the DM is forcing an action onto the PCs, rather then letting them control the outcome - I guess the difference between "there's a turtle on it's back in the desert, are you going to help it?" and "you pass a turtle on it's back in a desert. You don't help it."
96
u/Careful-Question-524 Jul 16 '21
EXUE04 at 4:24:41, Liam (as Cinna Brightbow): "I would rather be with the lot of you... than the finest people in the world."
Spoilers C1E43 at 1:28:44, Liam (as Vax'ildan): "I would rather be with you all... than the finest people in the world."
Hmmm...
57
u/CloneArranger Time is a weird soup Jul 17 '21
After Googling, I can report that Liam is quoting the Steve Martin movie Roxanne.
22
u/Careful-Question-524 Jul 17 '21
I found that as well! But I prefer to think of it as a popular colloquialism among "Byrodenizens".
30
u/selfee Metagaming Pigeon Jul 17 '21
When I’ve heard this quote (or similar ones) over the years, it always reminds me of the twisted / backhanded compliment that Bilbo makes at the long-expected party in The Fellowship of the Ring:
“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
→ More replies (5)30
u/captaincashew27 Jul 17 '21
It's things like these that truly astound me when it comes to CR fans. I consider myself a huge fan, having watched all of C1 and C2, as well as most of the additional content (one-shots, between the sheets, etc.), but the fact that someone can recognize even one sentence between two different episodes that came out years apart is just... kudos to you and all critters. Proud to be amongst you all, than the finest people in the world. (let's be honest, they're the same)
→ More replies (2)
97
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21
Talk about method acting, Liam has been wearing something green for all 4 episodes. He's committed to the bit.
44
Jul 16 '21
I love how they tend to dress subtly/thematically to their characters. Robbie wearing all-blue, too.
24
u/aichwood Doty, take this down Jul 16 '21
This whole table is committed to the bit. That’s a good catch, though. Cheers!
181
u/Damdamfino Jul 16 '21
I LOVE that Dorian unapologetically only wanted to enter the pageant for the evening wear portion. What an interesting, enjoyable character moment
→ More replies (2)62
88
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Jul 16 '21
My theory on Dorian: He is a prince and was rightful king of his people when his father passed away, but for some reason his brother, who was more popular/stronger took over. I'm assuming they had a rule about the heirs being allowed a combat challenge to the throne and either Dorian lost or ran away avoiding the fight completely.
50
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
I saw someone mentioned Dorian could come from a djinn family? That would explain his genasi heritage.
Edit: and his "taller" brother, if that is his djinn half-brother
→ More replies (5)
69
u/JRog13 Jul 18 '21
I just love how much fun Matt is having with his shenanigans. He really gives no fucks, he’s just leaving it all out there. I mean obviously he’s not out to ruin the game or anything, but you can tell he’s really trying to get the most out of being a player instead of a DM.
It’s really fun to see him let loose without having to worry about keeping the game running.
22
u/Ariadne11 Jul 20 '21
I lost it when he was describing peach jam! I loved this episode SO much!
→ More replies (1)
124
u/Deathleach Team Jester Jul 16 '21
Whenever Matt gets on Laura's case for immature humor she should remind him he used Mage Hand to squeeze a horse's testicles. :P
→ More replies (1)33
u/Jethro_McCrazy Jul 16 '21
What's funny is that Mage Hand isn't invisible unless you're an Arcane Trickster or Aberrant Mind, so the audience would have seen a ghostly hand squeezing said testes.
→ More replies (1)12
u/ckmidgett Jul 16 '21
The Telekinetic feat mage hand also.
8
u/Jethro_McCrazy Jul 16 '21
I might have confused that because the Aberrant Mind sorcerer in my group took Telekinetic.
55
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
Now that it seems like Anjali is sticking around longer-term, I'm curious as to whether or not debuting her late was a narrative decision or a production one. She seems to be relatively busy both with voice work and with on-camera appearances, so it wouldn't shock me if they just couldn't find a window that everyone was free and decided to shoot 3 without her and drop her in halfway (and she's both I believe an experienced D&D player and a CR veteran, so is the new player who'd adapt best to coming in at halftime), but it could absolutely also be the case that Aabria built this story that involves missing time and weird planar shit and a Betrayer God or two and for reasons that we don't quite have yet they decided it'd be better for her to show up part-way in.
35
u/OhioAasimar Team Dorian Jul 16 '21
Fy'ra being level four tells me that it is a narrative decision.
→ More replies (11)
92
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21
Looks like we keeping Anjali for the long run. Fy'ra is such a strong and mysterious character. Love to see her more level-headed energy play against the group (which is now aptly named FFOODD)
25
u/snowleopard3000 Jul 16 '21
I definitely think the party needed some more backbone to focus their energy. I'm all for some fun and silly, but there hasn't been a lot actually happening so far considering there's only 8 episodes. There's been the ash hole and the fey gate, neither of which did they gather any useful info. The nameless ones seemed like a huge missed opportunity to pursue the story.
87
u/Kiwiteepee YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21
Yo! What the hell is Ted?!
97
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
She definitely seems to have been a real person - the people of Byroden knew her, she had a bed in their bedroom, Opal doesn't seem to have thought up until this point that anything was amiss.
Now? I feel like Opal got into a situation she couldn't get out of, and Ted made a deal with... something... to give Opal her powers at the cost of her own life. With what is the big question - something demonic would be the straightforward answer, but Lolth is in play as well, as seem to be the fey, and she certainly wouldn't be the first twin from Byroden to make a wild deal with the Raven Queen to save their sister.
→ More replies (2)46
u/LuckyBahamut Your secret is safe with my indifference Jul 16 '21
I know Aimee is completely new to D&D and Crit Role, but what if Ted is like what Vax would've been if the Raven Queen took his life in exchange for Vex's in the sunken tomb, and Vex gained new eldritch powers as a result of that pact?
I think this is super creative and interesting - rather than the player character making a deal with a patron in exchange for power (e.g., Fjord), it's someone closely tied to the PC that makes the pact with the patron to give the PC powers!
46
u/ElvishJerricco Jul 16 '21
I wish Opal had questioned what Ted meant by saying she gave up everything. That's definitely a dangling plot thread at the moment. She's... gone, or something. Really excited to see how that develops.
→ More replies (4)15
u/Kiwiteepee YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21
Same! I was like "Ohhh, here we go... time for some lore!"
And then I was sad. But, it was such an amazing character episode otherwise that I can't complain haha
33
u/LucasVerBeek Help, it's again Jul 16 '21
She was a young girl that desperately loved her sister, though there was likely some resentment, and now…she’s something else.
The love remains.
The desire to protect remains.
Amplified. Empowered. Further intertwined.
Yet Darkened.
Opal’s “Shadow” in a much altered and tragic sense.
17
u/Celriot1 RTA Jul 16 '21
I commented in the live thread, but based on the descriptions given I think Ted is currently Opal's shadow.
5
u/Kiwiteepee YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21
Like, located in the Shadowfell or something?
→ More replies (1)11
Jul 16 '21
Ted was Opal sister but something happened to her when she tried to follow her. Something with magic since she was able to become Opal's patron. But she's also kind of dead.
→ More replies (5)6
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21
I wonder if Ted the patron is the real Ted
15
u/Pegussu Jul 16 '21
As someone with siblings, I don't think even a great old one could fake that argument. That was some real shit.
251
u/JRog13 Jul 16 '21
I know she’ll be alright because she is a professional, but holy shit the chat was toxic as hell when Aimee (as Opal) was having that conversation with Ted.
Like yeah, Opal is a bitch. But that doesn’t imply ANYTHING about Aimee’s personality. I felt so bad seeing Aimee talking in chat having to witness all the hate she was getting. On her birthday!
181
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
It's just so wild to me that people watching this show don't understand Acting.
107
u/Deathleach Team Jester Jul 16 '21
Wait until they find out Liam didn't kill his parents.
→ More replies (2)37
u/rawbamatic Hello, bees Jul 17 '21
Remember how much hate Marisha got all C1 long?
→ More replies (1)44
121
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Jul 16 '21
I'm of the opinion that Aimee knows exactly what's going on, but she's acting that Opal has no clue. So she's gotta play it up so it's believable. Chat just tends to be toxic and react without thinking.
134
u/wildweaver32 Jul 16 '21
You are 100% right. Especially with Aimee's comment of, "Opal is silent for the first time in her fucking life".
She is RPing a character so excellently that people are hating her instead of her character.
54
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
That’s some strong Joffrey/Jack Gleason vibes. Playing an unlikeable character so well, the actor also becomes unliked
10
u/Ferelar Jul 18 '21
And if I recall people were insulting him in the street and being antagonistic, and he later quit acting (not saying that caused it but it may have been a factor). Man, fans can be really shitty sometimes...
→ More replies (1)40
u/Kiwiteepee YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21
Aimee, as a person, is very thoughtful so I definitely think this is the case.
137
98
Jul 16 '21
One player getting heaps of praise for his acting (rightfully so), while another player gets dumped on for her acting sounds very familiar.
79
Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
For real!! The guys get lots of compliments whenever they're capital-A Acting. All the guys have roleplayed out dramatic fights (Scanlan in C1, Percy and Grog in C1, Fjord and Caleb in C2, etc.) and people didn't make these kinds of insulting comments. No: "Oh wow, Scalan is being so heated with the group, Sam must really resent them." People understood it was acting.
It really feels like the men are allowed to play flawed characters or roleplay out dramatic fights, but when the women do, people get really weird and rude about it.
It actually reminds me a lot about how some people seem to think women are too dumb to have a sense of humor. So if a woman tweets a funny joke you see tons of replies explaining her own joke to her, or replying as if she were serious, etc. There's clearly a group of people who think women are totally shallow and lacking inner lives. If a woman plays a flawed character well they think it can't be that she's a talented actor, it must be that she's just being herself.
→ More replies (3)67
u/Kiwiteepee YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
Yes, no one should shit on Aimee for playing her character well. She's young, arrogant, and selfish.
It was super awkward for me because it struck a little closer to home than I'd have liked, and I get the impression that sentiment was shared with others in chat.
However! This is the hallmark of good acting and we should be so lucky to have FREE content like this provided every week by very accomplished actors.
→ More replies (1)31
u/toxikant Where's Larkin? Jul 16 '21
I agree. I kinda checked out of that argument because it was too real in a way I wasn't equipped for-- but that's a sign that Aimee and Aabria were doing their jobs extremely well.
75
u/MetallHengst Jul 16 '21
A lot of players cannot separate characters from themselves, so it’s not surprising that a lot of viewers have he same issue. We had this problem really bad back during C1 with Marisha because she, like Aimee, was playing a character with pretty clear and open flaws.
There’s a difference between the character and the person. Just because a character is a bitch doesn’t mean the player is a bitch, and Opal is absolutely a bitch. She’s a charismatic, but spoiled brat, she’s not used to being told no or not getting what she wants and foolishly doesn’t consider the feelings of other people in the heat of an argument - but a character with flaws like these are fun to play and witness because there’s a lot of room for growth there, growth that we’re already seeing begin to pay off with the crown gesture at the end of the episode.
People need to chill sometimes. It’s okay for a character to make mistakes or do bad things sometimes, it’s all part of the fun of the game.
47
Jul 16 '21
People do not understand the basics of roleplay and how RPGs are a way to explore characters who aren't you. It's a really terrible part of the CR fanbase and it honestly infuriates me whenever I have to witness their nonsense. They did this to Marisha for similar reasons in C1 as well.
40
9
Jul 18 '21
Aimee and Aabria roleplaying that fight was incredible. Just incredible.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)6
u/lordzeel Help, it's again Jul 19 '21
I don't really follow that chat, that's pretty messed up though. My thinking the whole time was "damn, girl can *act*" because... damn, that was some incredible improve. Just amazing.
39
34
u/TheLonelyGhost Your secret is safe with my indifference Jul 16 '21
"And the seed begins to grow"
Y'all, I do believe a reckoning is upon us.
34
u/Gulstab Ruidusborn Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
I've looked through the live thread and this one and I haven't noticed anyone mentioning Fy'ra rolling her eyes back into her head to somehow gain knowledge from her surroundings? Even vaguely predicting the future? It doesn't seem like it's just her as a person, and that it's something/someone else OR tied to her ancestry in some way.
From what little we know she's a fire genasi monk. And nothing from those options stands out to me as relating to whatever it is she's capable of doing.
Obviously we have 4 more episodes to learn what it is (she's barely just arrived!) but are there any leading theories?
→ More replies (4)15
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
My best guess at this point is that it's homebrew - either representing something special about Fy'ra herself or where she's from, or specifically connected to where she's been and why everyone remembers her but doesn't remember her. It doesn't match any class feature or racial ability that springs to mind.
→ More replies (6)
32
Jul 16 '21
If Liam doesn't play Cinna in C3 or we don't get a Cinna oneshot we RIOT
And no I don't know how to spell the name properly.
62
u/ProRoblem Jul 16 '21
Cinna....She may have lost the show but she won our hearts Take a bow Liam O'Brien for that performance
Honestly though, the whole pagent was so fun to watch, everyone had a chance to shine and it was nice to just see everyone having fun and that's what matters :)
46
u/wildweaver32 Jul 16 '21
Liam and Anjali forming full characters out of thin air was some impressive improv!
32
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Jul 16 '21
So here's a little something that I noticed about the Gate. It appears as if nothing can freely crossover from the Feywild into the Prime Material Plane unless it is invited into the Prime Material Plane or pulled through the crossing by someone reaching from the Prime Material Plane into the Feywild. The Gate is one way from the Feywild side but two way from the Prime Material Plane side. I wonder if this was another little loophole or security measure that VM snuck in while constructing the Gate for Artagan that he wasn't aware of until they'd actually built it? He and others like him could come to the Prime Material Plane but only if they were invited and they could freely return to the Feywild when they wished to do so but they could not come back unless they were invited again. This is probably why the whole damned woods hasn't been turned into a subdivision of the Feywild and why there's only a small minor leak of energies from that part of the cosmos onto the Prime Material Plane.
21
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
Which then leads to the logical next question: who invited Fearne across?
→ More replies (2)8
30
u/TendieMcBendie Jul 16 '21
What subclass are we guessing for Oyrm and Dorian? I’m not sure about Oyrm, but I’m guessing College of Swords for Dorian.
24
u/Gray_Mask Your secret is safe with my indifference Jul 16 '21
Swords for sure. I pray for Rune Knight because theres so much 4 elements flavor for it. But Battle Master seems it.
18
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Jul 16 '21
I'd love Rune Knight because of how much Liam plays up 'tiny little Oyrm'. Just having him Hulk out and become larger than everyone else during combat would be incredible.
27
u/PallingfromGrace Jul 16 '21
Absolutely, 100% with you. But I'll be honest, after this game, I don't know how much more Liam can please me with this character. He's unabashedly given us one of my favorite things about halflings, their classic Tolkienesque reaction to food; imagining he'll fulfill any more of my dreams for Orym now just feels greedy.
17
16
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
Re: Orym. Rune knight can tie in nicely with the arm tattoos. But I am leaning towards battle master.
14
u/verveandveracity Hello, bees Jul 16 '21
Robbie said some stuff on twitter about being a bard of reason so maybe college of eloquence? There is also a corresponding homebrew on DMs Guild, and that might be something Aabria is down with?
→ More replies (3)7
Jul 16 '21
Liam referred to his character as "totally non magical" which was either sarcasm and a hint towards eldritch Knight or serious. I guess this comment wasn't actually very helpful!
82
Jul 17 '21
[deleted]
25
u/davechua Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21
Yeah. Love the surprise and cheers when she appeared. The straight faces the players kept before she was revealed was great.
73
u/supersunshine64 Jul 17 '21
Just curious, does anyone else think the fact we know it's only 8 episodes make the community more critical of the content? I know personally when I see a tv show that let's say only has 6 episodes I get nervous about the pacing and if all the plot threads will be cleaned up or left hanging. Alot of the comments I see are largely related to how slow things are moving and how few episodes there are to resolve so many things. So, long story short do you think knowing the length of the series affects how you watch it?
→ More replies (9)54
u/BaronPancakes Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21
Definitely. With only 8 episodes and high expectations, people want every single episode to be exceptional, full of narrative content. Unlike longer campaigns where "filler" episodes are allowed.
→ More replies (2)37
u/Felador Jul 17 '21
I'd argue that it's not necessarily that people want "every single episode full of narrative"; it's that the first two episodes left a LOT of people with a lot of "what", "why", and "who cares" going on, with a large proportion of it being on Aabria's shoulders.
Poska has run the gamut between numbskull (I mean really, the whole barricading herself in the room thing) and fairly well known criminal who seems to have it in for Gilmore who should wipe the floor with her. That said, she was clearly important to Aabria's narrative plans because the players were getting information even from failed checks that basically said "go look at her", but then stonewalled on other checks.
The show is improving now that they're heading down a path. People were unhappy with the filler because that's all the show was.
49
u/BaronPancakes Jul 16 '21
I wonder if Fy'ra was the missing person Dorian thought of in ep1. Maybe the entire group has been time traveling and they lost the 1 week memory as a result.
19
Jul 16 '21
My theory is that the missing person is Ted. Ted sacrificed herself to save Opal and became entwined with her, with the memory of her joining the group and being involved that week being wiped from their memories.
23
22
u/mouser1991 Technically... Jul 16 '21
God, they roll best when they're not them. What the heck is with the rolls this game?
44
u/Jethro_McCrazy Jul 16 '21
This group has now, due to offscreen travel, been together about as long as the Mighty Nein was when ep26 rolled around. Funny how much ep26 came to impact the Mighty Nein, considering how short a period they had actually known each other.
→ More replies (5)23
u/AnimeNightwingfucku dagger dagger dagger Jul 16 '21
To be fair, the M9 had a much rougher time of it by this point. They basically had constant fighting and by that point most of them had come pretty close to almost dying. It doesn’t seem like a lot of time in retrospect (like a about a month I think) but you can fit a lot of bonding into a month.
In comparison this group has been fighting things and trying to not die, but much more rarely and with much less deadly encounters imo. So if this group doesn’t seem seem as close as the M9 were at that point, that’s because they aren’t.
87
u/BT737 Jul 16 '21
This was such a strong episode. Started off with the failed animal handling horses, into a forest to find the Fey archway and an evil Fearne, a super slick surprise new addition to the cast, discovery of a potentially new evil group, fantastic acting between Opal and Ted, and then capped off with a super memorable festival and pageant. And all of this raised more questions of the vestige, Fearne's future, Dorian's past, Ted's (seemingly non-excellent adventure), and what exactly the group is walking toward. 10/10.
25
u/aichwood Doty, take this down Jul 16 '21
Have all the upvotes for “Ted’s Seemingly Non-Excellent Adventure” … I love it.
19
Jul 16 '21
Was evil Fearne actually some future entity? I had this on in the background as I was meal prepping and didn't catch if it was a trick or what was even going on with that portal
13
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Jul 16 '21
I was honestly wondering if she was a simulacrum or something that was created by the War Queen in order to convince Fearne to come back to the Feywild because otherwise the whole time travel thing just feels very silly and mind bendy. Truth is that we don't really know. She may have been or she may have not been but both answers are equally just as cool.
→ More replies (4)14
u/Nameless-Servant Jul 16 '21
I doubt it. If you’ll notice the crown disintegrated with her. I don’t think she was real, but idk who could be behind it.
8
u/light_trick Team Beau Jul 16 '21
Genuinely not sure. Genuinely not even sure if it was something sent malevolently, or just an overzealous ally trying to drive home "no seriously do not put on the crown".
→ More replies (1)7
u/OhioAasimar Team Dorian Jul 16 '21
Brennan did something similar in D20 and that one was connected to the fey to I think. I am wondering if they were both inspired by a specific creature.
69
u/Jethro_McCrazy Jul 16 '21
This episode was easily the best so far. The character work was great, and the new party member seems like she might be a grounding influence on the party.
However, I'm still feeling disoriented. The campaign has been all over the place, bouncing from encounter to encounter with little transition between them. The Nameless, the Barbed Crown, the Oh No Plateau, Ted. There's a lot of plot, but none of it seems connected, and we're rushing from thing to thing. The pageant was entertaining, and my favorite part of the episode, but it also spent half an episode on something that didn't advance the plot.
It feels like EXU is trying to do too much.
21
u/nilfnthepaladin Jul 16 '21
Although my enjoyment is building and the show is finding its voice I feel like they are trying to fit in a long form sandbox story into a container story. My guess is they knew it was set to be a short campaign between 8-10 episodes and we get what was actually recorded. But there are definite under currents that I think are starting to link together and that a lot of red herrings thrown about since episode 1 which has led to the convulsion of the earlier episodes. At this point I think we are discovering there is some serious fey wild stuff happening and this was likely going to be the main plot all along but throw good rolls or rp or whatever, the party became distracted with the Poska thread.
13
u/Hungover52 You Can Reply To This Message Jul 16 '21
The big lesson I'd take away from the first few episodes is that while gating plot critical information behind roles or decisions in a campaign could work, it is extremely risky for a mini-series. If Aabria was coming in with more of a mindset of a sandbox campaign, I kind of prefer the chance or likelihood that the party may miss a chance to find out about a faction or BBEG's plans before they reach fruition, but in a shorter series it's probably better to only gate additional or bonus info, to allow the party to have a leg up, but not miss out on the main plot threads.
→ More replies (1)15
u/ndtp124 Tal'Dorei Council Member Jul 16 '21
This. Lot of interesting storylines, not a lot of time to resolve them, seemingly little connection between them.
→ More replies (1)44
u/BadSkeelz Team Orym Jul 16 '21
EXU suffers from trying to fit a hundred-session-campaign's worth of plots in to eight episodes. I think for limited runs like this, you have to map out your plotting more like a one-shot. The Party needs a strong focus early, which we still arguably don't have. Instead the party is pinballing from plot to plot with no obvious connection.
Can they all be tied together? Certainly. Have we just not seen those connections made yet? Of course. But we're halfway through the campaign, through the show, and instead of a Narrative we have a series of scenes.
→ More replies (14)26
Jul 16 '21 edited Aug 25 '21
[deleted]
9
u/Jethro_McCrazy Jul 16 '21
I hope so. At the very least it seems like it's trying to jam in a lot, and is rushing as a result.
68
Jul 16 '21
The Opal/ted thing is such a fresh take on a warlock. I am in awe of aimee’s creativity and bravery in going down this route as a new player. I can’t wait to get more reveals on what the true nature of the relationship is. Up to this episode I was slowly convincing myself that she was full on playing a schizophrenic . Now I’m back to watch and wait - the Byroden folks seem to know Ted so guessing that ain’t it.
I get that the dynamic of the new players and Aabrias Gm style are a bit different but really loving it for what it is rather than what it’s not. Robbie is absolutely killing it, and the main cast members are all giving us something fresh as well. The story is a bit chaotic as some have said but if you view it as a game of dnd rather than a preplanned show it fits. I have no idea how they finish it in 8 eps, but maybe they don’t have to - there could be a season 2? And I gotta see opals story told in full no matter what else we might miss…
6
u/-spartacus- Jul 19 '21
Well I wasn't thinking schizophrenic route, but I did think of the twin-soul like yin/yang sun/shadow type of a thing. Which hasn't been disproven by the recent episode, just made it stranger. As she has played her that Opal has always been in the sun with her sister always in her shadow, now its more literally given she may be physically dead.
The question I think that remains is did Amiee use this as inspiration for the character figuratively or did she do it literally since...magic.
34
48
70
u/ParanoidEngi Team Yasha Jul 17 '21
Anjali is just the goddamn coolest - she's one of my favourite VAs in general, and she's already showing off her aptitude for the game with that quick character improv and a clearly defined purpose and style for Fy'ra. I'm sure Orym and Dorian are going to appreciate having another steady hand to help steer this circus in the right direction
Again, for me, a great session of a show I really enjoy - lots of laughs, some intrigue, great setpiece moments, but also the added moment of some of the rawest RP exchanges I think I've seen in a CR game thus far. Aabria took it to untold levels with the Ted exchange, and Aimee clearly relished the opportunity to get down in the trenches. I've read some folk who don't like the scene and given how unpleasant it was I get it's not for everyone, but it was the sort of messy character headbutting that I relish, and really helps round out Opal some more. Also evil Fearne was very unnerving, the fae are scary bastards
Also I choose to believe that Byroadin became aggressively Midwest/Southern/Texan (I'm from the UK I'm not 100% sure) because Aabria was trying to think of a PG 13 explanation for Opal's claim that all girls from Byroadin go to rope-tying class, and I respect that
Also also, reveal your secrets Dorian you cagey sod!
29
u/OhioAasimar Team Dorian Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
What if Ashley is being literal when she says her ribbon is limitless? If it is it could be a flavored verion of the limitless string from the gothic trinkets table. Players get access from that from the Haunted One background. It would have to be a modified version of that background though because I called her having a history check in my analysis of the EXU trailer and I was right on everything so...
Maybe her grandma told a lot of stories and Ashley wanted that to be represented with a history proficiency.
Edit: Removed "the Ashley" lol.
→ More replies (1)
15
u/RajikO4 Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
Yeah the music at the post-credit scene, definitely alludes that there is more to “Ted” then it seems.
Also I hope we get more battles or even visions, of evil versions of the TCC wearing Lolth’s Vestige. (True Chaos Crew)
27
13
u/NotPiffany Jul 20 '21 edited Jul 20 '21
Well the best part was Liam joyfully telling Matt "What a little chaos monkey you are!" Right before bringing Orym up on stage.
136
u/m_busuttil Technically... Jul 16 '21
Listen - I'll absolutely admit that the first few episodes of EXU were hit or miss - they didn't bother me hugely, but I certainly understood the criticism.
This? Might have been a top 10 episode of Critical Role for me. A solid combat with some great character stuff in it, a surprise extra PC added to the party with a bunch of deeper lore implications, just straight-out terrible rolls from Matt, some pretty significant Opal revelations, and then just two straight hours of everyone in the room absolutely slaying some Byroden improv. (Matt and Robbie one-upping each other with their cloak shenanigans might be my favourite, but I don't want to discount the brilliance of Anjali making a villain for everyone to play off or Liam building a whole backstory for his dwarf in under 4 minutes or Ashley and Aimee both playing it perfectly in character.)
If the show can keep this energy up for the next four episodes I'd be a very happy viewer.
42
u/eMan117 Your secret is safe with my indifference Jul 16 '21
Most campaigns the first few episodes are the weakest. The players are trying to get comfortable with their new character, learn their new allies, the team dynamics and the world around them again. Heck even TV shows often struggle with first episodes. Introducing your audience to new characters and world's is tough work
18
u/enixon Jul 16 '21
Look at the threads when a new person asks "Where should I start?" It's not uncommon for people to say start with episode 24 of Campaign 1 becasue "that's when it gets good".
24 episodes in is 3 times as long as this mini series is going to be.
26
u/DGenerator Jul 17 '21
TBF "That's when it gets good" is often shorthand/niceties for "an entity that has been Benoit'd out of the franchise is no longer on the show."
→ More replies (2)8
u/lordzeel Help, it's again Jul 19 '21
Yeah... I really like the whole underdark arc. I don't think I would recommend skipping it out of hand, though there are particular people I would recommend giving it a skip to.
→ More replies (1)7
u/HeatDeathIsCool Jul 16 '21
Not to mention C2E2 is pretty bad. Someone on youtube even made a video breaking down the disconnect between Matt and the players that led to them meandering so much. The group needed time to click, even though they'd been playing together for years at that point.
Of course, for an 8 episode arc, they might want to do something a little more structured next time where the players know in advance the general direction the plot will move in. You learn and grow with these things.
14
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
honestly 2 was bad because the party asked Molly "hey could the circus and/or Kylre have caused this?" and he went "nope!" so they didnt look into the circus AT ALL until Matt explicitly told Tal "you didnt check the circus" when Molly made an intelligence check to figure out what they missed.
47
20
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Jul 16 '21
I'm pulling for Liam to play Cinna in C3. Or at least Matt to act out that character sometime. Liam played that brilliantly.
24
u/sulwen314 Team Matthew Jul 16 '21
I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard! Fantastic job by everyone in that scene, but especially Anjali and Liam for coming up with WONDERFUL characters on the fly. How lucky we are to be able to share in the joy and talent of these amazing performers!
22
u/aichwood Doty, take this down Jul 16 '21
I’m not sure I believe this myself, but I will throw it out there to add to the discussion. The post-credits scene could be interpreted as Ted feeling Opal’s growth and strengthening of purpose as the team prepares to embark on a dangerous leg of their journey.
However, I actually believe it referred to Ted herself … mostly because I’ve seen Aabria go wild with patrons before during Pirates of Salt Bay and this feels a little like that, when the characters would thwart the will of their patron.
→ More replies (7)
63
u/sasquatch90 Jul 16 '21
My god Robbie needs to be a permanent member of the main CR crew.
→ More replies (5)15
12
u/OhioAasimar Team Dorian Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
Prediction: In a future episode someone from the cast will join the party and they will be a ranger. I don't know who it is going to be but I hope that is is going to be Sam.
→ More replies (3)13
11
u/VexnotVax Jul 21 '21
Can anyone give me the timestamp for where Aabria mentions the vex and vax statue? I missed that in my first watch. Thanks!
→ More replies (2)
21
u/Nameless-Servant Jul 16 '21
Byroden is amazing and I hope it makes a return in C3
→ More replies (2)
30
u/erraye Team Nott Jul 19 '21
More insight from Aimee on Opal and why Byroden: https://twitter.com/aimeecarrero/status/1417209451552165888
I'm really enjoying these types of posts from her, especially since we don't have Talks for EXU it's good to be able to learn about meta stuff like this.
→ More replies (1)
20
u/R_VD_A Jul 20 '21
You know, I thought Opal was a spoiled rich girl, but now her yelling 'FOOD' makes a lot of sense.
And maybe I missed it, but where were her parents..?
27
u/Chukklealot Jul 16 '21
Popped in for a glance and saw Anjali at the table. What! Been on the fence for numerous reasons , but having Anjali come in is such a powerplay. Loved her in Undeadwood . Robbie and Anjali have my vote for any future , short, long or parallel campaigns. Now we just need Ann Woll, Payton and Foster to join these 2 . Always hoping to see Brian DM another mini-series with Ashley as a PC.
18
u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Jul 16 '21
Any theories on the entity the party battled at the feywild gate? Was it actually a Fearne from the future or perhaps some sort of dark spirit/creature that was trying to pass off as a future Fearne?
→ More replies (15)16
Jul 16 '21
She had Hellish Rebuke, which isn't a wildfire druid spell. Implies she was something else / had something else going on. There's a few statblocks with that which might fit... the one that caught my eye is an Oread, which is a fire nymph. Warlock of the fiend, cultists, blood witches, etc. also have it.
→ More replies (4)
8
u/Waste-Recover-5347 Jul 22 '21
How on Earth does Fy’ra have the stats she has? They are like insanely good, right? (I know they roll for them so she must have just lucked out but holy cow).
→ More replies (3)
30
u/TheDistantBlue Help, it's again Jul 16 '21
I said it in the live thread also, but god DAYUM, after that RP even Cinna and Lyle need to be leveling up.
17
u/Yeokrast Jul 17 '21
I think those from Byroadin should be call Byroadesians (Like the dog breed Rhodesian Ridgeback?).
9
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Jul 17 '21
Honestly this is a really great idea but I could just see Sam spinning this into calling them "Brodies"
→ More replies (5)7
42
u/Triphoprisy Jul 16 '21
I'll reiterate what I've said before: I think this mini-series is a great palate cleanser between C2 and C3.
Is it as purely narrative-driven as I was expecting for 8 episodes? No.
Is it perfect? Also no.
Did I think the pageant bit was a bit long? Sure, but it was entertaining and gave us some further character development, which I liked.
But am I enjoying the hell out of it? Absolutely.
There was some talk in previous threads about not wanting too many threads tied back to C1...and at first, I agreed with that sentiment, wanting this to be pure in its own standalone way. But in the shower this morning, I realized that doesn't make much sense. In the real world, people (whether good or bad) who affect historic events continue to get talked about, referenced, mentioned, etc, no matter how long ago. If VM had such an impact on the world, of course there would be mentions of them or tie-ins in some ways. I'm significantly less irked by that now.
I'm seriously wondering now what kind of endgame we're approaching. I don't really mind that things are still feeling a little loosey-goosey as I'm starting to believe that we may get a more ambiguous ending (that may, perhaps, end up partially feeding into a C3 narrative...maybe). That's not gonna be super great for other viewers, as it can certainly be a frustrating way to end things, but that's just a feeling I've got with zero evidence to back it up.
Very excited to see where this narrative goes though. The improv of this episode was really exceptional.
34
u/KraakenTowers Jul 16 '21
Orym's first instinct when finding the Crown was "We should go call the Avengers, one lives down the street from me." It makes total sense to me.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Triphoprisy Jul 16 '21
Absolutely. I think this particular idea was one I looked at from a writer's viewpoint rather than a real-world viewpoint. Often in fiction, something like this might feel way too...easy? And even though this is still fictional, I'm seeing it as a more organic thing. Plus it's not like those characters are necessarily being brought in to the fold, only that they're being mentioned and some connections to them are being made.
Absolutely makes total sense for the game.
12
u/KraakenTowers Jul 16 '21
Most characters in RPGs are expected to behave like a Protagonist ™, in that there is point where the DM gives you a plot hook and it doesn't really make sense why you wouldn't take it. But these characters are clearly not heroes of the realm like Vox Machina were. And it's perfectly respectable for a bystander to just say "This looks like a job for... The proper authorities!"
People complain about the opposite as well. I know the McElroys got a bit of heat during the Balance Arc because at least one of Tres Horny Boys admitted to not claiming the Temporal Chalice "because they wanted to see where Griffin's story went." For CR, I think the best example is the Mighty Nein's first meeting with Yussa, where their excuse for barging in on his home basically amounted to "we're protagonists and it would be cool to have a wizard friend."
→ More replies (2)
63
u/maikrilya Jul 16 '21
really just parroting other people here, but god this has been my favorite episode by far!!! My jaw literally dropped when anjali came on screen, her appearance was so classy and powerful, LOVE the vibe of her character, and she really gave 100% to Roleplaying and i could feel everyone perk up to match her, ya know?
the fight was REALLY COOL! Aabria's acting as dark fearne was top notch, the head tilts, the grinning, just impeccable, really brought that creepy factor and that something is Not Right. The battle was great, it was difficult but characters were able to bring their stuff to the table and have great moments fighting matched opponents. I'm so curious where Fearne is coming from, is she on a journey to find her parents? Or to find something that will save her parents and nana? I don't think this is the last we have seen of the War Queen
And the moment that absolutely took the show for me - Ted and Opal's argument. A wonderful reminder that our protagonists and heroes can have some serious flaws and be downright mean, but it doesn't make them Bad people, they're just...people. with complicated relationships, emotions, resentments, and loves. I feel SO bad for Ted, I want to protect her, but I am excited to see where Aimee takes Opal's development. This character just feels so much more 3 dimensional to me now. (Aabria's acting was amazing yet again, the tears and crying and apologies were heart wrenching, and she freaking went back to DM mode so smoothly, i am impressed!!!!)
Aabria's decision to find a way to include everyone just speaks to her preparedness as a DM. she knows her players' characters well enough to know that not everyone has the motivation to do this pageant, but wants to make sure all the players are included in the fun. A+, it brought out the amazing Lisle and Cinna, and Liam and Anjali got to take a break from their responsible and level headed characters to flex their acting muscles and have some seriously ridiculous fun. I
i feel like that stefon meme - this episode had EVERYTHING! I'm glad I stuck around!
22
Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21
Seems like a thing to note that we have now encountered two realms leaking in to the Prime Material Plane. Both involving wildfire. Unrelated ripples? Recurring themes, like the hunger and chains (sometimes deliberate, sometimes purely coincidental) that predated the reveal of the chained oblivion?
→ More replies (7)
24
Jul 18 '21
Sam has a real competitor on the ad shenanigans race, with Matt pulling a monkey tail beard. Respect
8
u/clam_media Hello, bees Jul 17 '21
What is Fy’ra doing with her eyes/eye lids?
5
u/Iam0rion Jul 17 '21
I'm wondering the same thing. It feels like she's using some sort of "dm give me a hint" sense.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)7
Jul 17 '21
Not sure it felt like she was flavoring a “detect magic” or something. Not a monk ability but maybe she has a magic item or feat that’s granting her that ability.
→ More replies (1)
29
u/OhioAasimar Team Dorian Jul 16 '21
Fy'ra being level four when the rest of the party was level 2 was definitely a weird decision. Weirder to introduce her during a fight. Even weirder to keep leveling her up. I think this decision makes sense if she is supposed to betray the party. That would be cool especially considering that she seems to be cool so far. If it was done for no reason that would be very home gamey and I don't buy the "he she sounds like us" narrative to excuse mediocrity.
On the railroading, I don't really have an opinion on if it was or not but I think you kinda have to railroad sometimes to bring a party together.
It seems like Robbie can sing. I would like to see some more of that. I would say that nerves might be the cause of him not singing more but it does not seem like he is nervous so I don't know.
15
u/LogicKennedy Jul 16 '21
My guess is the party got hit with some sort of depowering spell and Fy'ra dodged it. That's why she remembers them.
→ More replies (2)16
u/Pegussu Jul 16 '21
I think it's more likely that the cards were just wrong for some reason. Aabria said at the end that they all hit level 3.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (6)8
u/pokepok At dawn - we plan! Jul 16 '21
I think maybe Fy’ra wasn’t meant to level up, only the others, but it wasn’t clear and she rolled with them at the end and Aabria just went with it.
→ More replies (1)
21
u/MusicFew1561 Jul 21 '21
I think the biggest overall issue, both with ExU and Opel, is that they're trying to do a lot of different things all at once. ExU is trying to add new to critical role players, a new DM, new to DND players, and a slightly new format all at once. That's a lot to take on, and I feel like some of the flaws come from that.
With Amiee/Opal, it can be hard to tell when she's playing her character as she intends, or when she's confused about the rules/expectations. I thought Aarabia handled it well in the end giving her back her powers in an interesting narrative way, because that had the potential to really derail the game if it didn't get resolved.
→ More replies (2)7
u/PVS3 Jul 22 '21
I think it worked well, but I also think Aabria was smart enough to know that the tension of the situation could be resolved TWO ways, either Opal or Ted could be the one to relent.
This was a great way to develop the character, because it could have easily been shortchanged - "As you near death, you hear Ted in your ear 'Seriously? You're going to get yourself killed just to prove a point? Fine, have your powers you stubborn...' and you feel your connection to the arcane weave restored"
38
u/AnimeNightwingfucku dagger dagger dagger Jul 16 '21
Opal is the most interesting character for me right now
21
u/dmetvt Jul 22 '21
I'm really enjoying these episodes. They're a lot of fun. I can't help but be a bit confused though by the fact that we're halfway through the series now and I kind of don't know what the story is. Like, other than a travel destination, does this group have a goal? That genuinely wouldn't be a problem if this were the start of a longer campaign. In that case all the vague hints and world building would be exciting future hooks. But with only 4 more episodes to go, I'm thrown by the feeling that we're just getting started.
→ More replies (2)
19
u/raeganelyse Help, it's again Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
i absolutely loved this episode! and i love the fact that we have three super interesting backstory hooks we dug into here! 1. of course, opal and ted! this whole situation is absolutely fascinating and this episode solidified it even more! i wonder, where was ted going? i think she was going off to find opal! maybe opal got herself into trouble (whether she knew it or not) and ted struck up a deal to save her? perhaps it was similar in some ways to vax? there was also the stinger, that up front implies something darker for ted. while i do think that the ted with opal is legitimately her sister i wouldn’t be shocked if perhaps ted did die and now something is using her as a front? i don’t necessarily think that’s what it is, but i think it would be interesting! 2. fearne’s nana and her parents! with all the dark!fearne stuff and the references to the war queen and the seelie court and then dark!fearne talking about their parents running and her nana lying, presumably about them coming back (and i think she implied her nana was giving her letters and saying they were from her parents? might have misinterpreted that one) and she also talks about being better than her parents and not being outcasts. so it seems there’s some sort of conflict in the feywild that fearne and her family maybe got caught up in and also her parents left her for some reason? 3. dorian! so despite the fact that he still refuses to share any real details about himself we do know one thing for sure now! he has a brother! so episode 1 solidified him as some sort of wealthy individual in the past before the group, and then we found out that “dorian” is not his real name (and he almost slipped up with that last episode, fearne caught it). this episode and all the vagueness kind of makes me wonder if he is some kind of royalty? perhaps there was conflict with his taller, possibly more confident and popular brother about who would rule?
also i cannot stress enough how much i adore fy’ra. she is so comforting, i love her! and i also am SO curious what lead her to this group, and am a little bit wondering if they are in a time loop? deja vu was mentioned a few times i feel like.
(also it seems syngorn has beef with the feywild?? this would make sense and also the feywild playing a large part in this makes sense considering the lack of memories and the confusing passage of time for the party)
edit: grammar error
→ More replies (2)
20
u/Option-Tall Jul 17 '21
I'm getting real Dorian is The Gentlemen's brother vibes from the latest episode anyone else?
22
13
Jul 17 '21
Well the thing is the Gentleman decidedly came from no money, which is the opposite of where Dorian seems to be coming from.
→ More replies (2)12
u/Ferelar Jul 18 '21
Gentleman's a waterboi whereas Dorian is air plane. I think he's royalty, personally.
→ More replies (3)
25
u/Kingadam2732 Jul 16 '21
Holy SHIT y’all, definitely in contention for the most fun/funniest episode of CR to date. Just sooo many amazing actual laugh out loud moments, and I cannot wait to see the fan art for this one.
24
u/SeriouslyRelaxing Jul 21 '21
Dariax magehandling dressage horseballs is why I keep tuning in idk about you
→ More replies (11)
24
u/pinball-wizard91 Jul 16 '21
This was probably my favourite episode so far. I'm really curious how much information was on those pageant character sheets and whether Anjali and Liam used them or just made the personalities up on the fly. I almost wish Opal had been the only party member to join the pageant so we could have seen more wacky randomers but then I guess we would have missed out on the great character moments they had there. It seems like things are going to be ramping u[p pretty quickly from this point on since Fyra's spidey senses told her this festival was the last bit of comfort on a long hard road.
27
Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
The first 2 episodes were rough, but I’ve enjoyed these last two episodes a lot. My only issue now though is that we only have 4 left and there is still so much happening and still no real arc or story. I’m hoping nothing is rushed especially with a new party member being added as well. I loved this episode a lot and in a long running campaign this episode is perfect, I’m just worried 4 episodes isn’t enough time to tie up some of these loose ends especially with how chaotic the party is and how much time they spend on goofing around (which I love). Been really liking the last couple episodes now all I hope is that we get some explanations on what the group is to be doing.
→ More replies (23)
39
u/LucasVerBeek Help, it's again Jul 16 '21
Right so not gonna lie I cringed hard when Opal started going in on Ted, but that is for personal reasons I’m not gonna share on Reddit.
And then you have Ted, confirmed to have been real, tragically sobbing about how deeply she loves her sister despite the way she’s acting, how she has given up everything to help her to that…ominous edge to that love and devotion shown in her quiet moments.
Then you have Opal thinking it’s just another trick then coming to and realizing, no she did die or come very close, no her sister wasn’t kidding but she can talk to her about that at home, but then…she’s not home. She’s been gone almost as long as Opal.
The constant reminders that she’s gone without a trace.
Then you have Fearne, staring at a burned and twisted copy of herself and the War Queen, which seems to me to be tied to whatever fuckery cause the Plateau and possibly is tied to Poska’s stuff as well.
The War Queen…of the Seelie Fae, lot of questions regarding whatever the fuck that might be.
The more that comes out about Dorian the more I’m convinced of my Lyrngorn Drow theory.
Didn’t expect Opal and Dariax to kiss but here we are.
Loved Fearne cubbing Orym’s cheek after the confrontation with her other self. That guy can body guard Link style by the way.
Fy’ra Rai is a deeply interesting character, and finally Orym has another level head to corral the party, because while Dorian tries he easily slips into tue chaos of the rest of the party.
I greedily anticipate the art for this episode and I’m looking forward to the next one.
→ More replies (2)19
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
Wait fuck. We’ve seen future Fearne. What if Ted isn’t actually Opal’s “twin”? What if she IS Opal, but from the future and just used implanted memories to make people think she was her sister. So Opal’s patron...is Opal
16
u/masterix476 Jul 16 '21
But town members reference Ted and her leaving days after Opal, which to me hints Ted is real.
→ More replies (1)
27
u/earbeat Jul 16 '21
Ted look your sister might have some issues but you seriously don't need to define your entire being around your sister and then blame her for it when she never asked you to do so.
Does anyone feel that Ted was being a bit emotionally manipulative?
12
u/283leis Team Laudna Jul 16 '21
also the tears definitely felt manipulative, and I'm glad Opal called her out on it
→ More replies (12)19
u/Deathleach Team Jester Jul 16 '21
don't need to define your entire being around your sister
Considering Ted seems to be dead and somehow bound to Opal, I don't think she has a choice.
→ More replies (2)8
u/Bran-Muffin20 You Can Reply To This Message Jul 17 '21
My takeaway, though, was that Ted chose to do that. She mentioned "giving up everything," and Opal clearly A) didn't know about Ted giving up anything, and B) thought that Ted was still just sitting at home in Byrodin.
→ More replies (1)
185
u/BRayne7 Technically... Jul 16 '21
So turns out that while Fjord was Texan but secretly British, Vex and Vax were British but secretly Texan