Allura talking to some blue tiefling girl: "Wait, you know WHO from the feywild?" Allura talking to some green satyr woman: "WAIT, WHO FROM THE FEYWILD??"
This episode fucked ALL of us up a bit, Fearne! Someone on twitter pointed out that Laudna, Fearne, and Ashton all seemed to regress into a childlike mind space of "I'm scared and hurting, I want my mom and dad, I want to go home."
Our three most care free individuals are starting to feel like the most traumatized and unsure of themselves. It's a surprisingly accurate picture. A lot of this episode was tough to watch. Especially Ashton. As someone with chronic pain...I see a lot of the questions about self reflected in him.
Ashley: "I wanna hit him in the face with the hammer." Cast: [gasps] Taliesin: [Expression that says "fair enough"] Ashley: "I'm going to try and break his hammer." Cast: [so shocked they barely even gasp] Taliesin: [Surprised, but down to see her attempt] The least shocked and most accepting person at the table was Taliesin. He is here for this and I love that.
I don't know. He doesn't have any place to complain after starting a nuclear melt down in whitestones basement but okay. Mans was ready to die. He don't care bout his things.
Tal is always down to have people fuck his character's shit up and I love that about him. When Scanlan tried to fuck with Percy's memory everyone was yelling at Sam not to, except Taliesin who kept saying "no PLEASE do it it'll be great".
He's accepting because he's just happy to be there. He shouldn't even be at the table right now but Fearne and FCG kept his dumbass alive. I'm sure he is "here for it" because he almost wasn't
I knew Travis was a good roleplayer but this episode hit me like a truck with him specifically. The moment the goofy gag character turns off the goofy is powerful, every single time.
Fearne and Ashton having a moment of a bittersweet reconciliation. Marisha and Sam being the nosy siblings: *Peaking at Ashley’s notes* Now I don’t know which group needs therapy more.
I know there was a lot to trim down but Ashton asking Chetney "How did you get in control of your shit?" really resonated with me. Like they know how bad they fucked up and they're sincerely trying to look for solutions.
Taliesin did a surgical job of drawing the connection each character has to his: with Imogen they talked about their parents and mystery of their origin, with FCG about the martyr complex and self-destructive tendencies, with Chetney about self-control, with Laudna they emphasized loyalty. At first it didn’t feel right, but later I realized that its Ashton defense mechanism - he has abandonment issues, so he intuitively grasps for bonds with others, as soon as felt that the bonds are weakened, trying to tether himself as tightly as he could.
This was such a powerful episode... But for some reason the part I really love is at the very end, when travis stares at ashley as Matt reveals the hint about Fearne's mom, and Marisha taps his shoulder and points at them in turn. I found the whole interaction so... cute. I don't know why. Also, Ashley and Marisha were absolutely brutal this episode. DAMN.
The "Orym's never been this quiet", followed by a split second pause, and then everyone reacting at the exact same time, most of them lowering their heads. Fucking hell, Sam.
I loooove rp heavy episodes. This is definitely my favorite episode of the campaign so far. Everyone did a great job progressing both their individual and the group’s journey
Allura (Matt self-insert) starting with when they bring up going to Nana, all the way to "hello, I'm Allura, I have powerful friends who know where I am if I go missing" was my favorite part of this episode 😂
30:30 I know this is going to sound made up, but i think this is literally the second time a Taliesin PC has EVER cried in the history of Critical Role. The first was Percy in Episode 115 I wish you had shown the cast's absolutely devastated reaction to it. But thank you for continuing to do us critters such a public service!
There was so much heavy rp this episode that I had forgotten some of it. Chetney's harshness towards Ashton really stuck out. But seeing again the Laudna & Delilah bits and the end with Nana Mori and Fern was huge. Thank you so much for the refresher!
Chetney's mad but not for his own sake. He's mad because of what Ashton did to Fearne, and that says a lot about the goodness in Chetney's heart. There was a lot with Ashton that told me just how...close to the edge and of sacrificing himself he has been this whole time. How much he wanted to prove that he was something special in the most reckless way possible.
I don’t think Chet was that mad at Ashton, I think he was being tactical and reverse psyching him. It was. ‘Game recognizes game’ thing.. Chetney had been through that stage of bad decision making, but never had the support that Ashton is spoiled with. Gave me some serious Al Anon vibes.
Probably the first C3 compilation of yours I can't bear to watch - watching the episode once was more than enough, but thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do this!
it was honestly quite hard for me to watch at first too, but after a lot of time working on this video, it doesn't really affect me anymore haha. totally respect your choice though
Honestly if i was Orym, I would trust NO ONE anymore. I'd start making contingency plans because Orym is the ONLY ONE that hasn't lied / betrayed others!
This is the thing I always say/think about Orym: this dude is a born and raised soldier. He did well enough that the earned a spot in Vesran royal guard/special forces. He basically has a line to the Voice of the Tempest herself, which is like having the President on Speed Dial. Orym trusts Bell's Hells to *not* make him kill them. He *wants* to not kill them. But even if *Fearne* raised violence without provocation against Keyleth, Orym would cut her down in a second. He is not going to have a good reaction to this. Ashton jeopardized the mission, maybe the world, and he didn't even talk to them about it first. I _cannot_ see how that's gonna go down well with Orym.
I think the fact that when fearne and chetney were talking and fearne was being really serious and her little plushie had a big smile is really ironic. I think it kind of shows that sometimes she just puts on a smile so she can help other people. I know it wasn’t on purpose but I just thought I would point it out
A piece of Travis's role play was him working through the drama between Brian/Ashley. I see it clear as day. That "you hurt Fearne" line is deeper than this campaign.
Its WILD how weve spent the last 2 years joking about how this group are messy or could betray each other or all snap and then when that ACTUALLY HAPPENS, suddenly its out of character or wrong. Like... these are messy people with a load of baggage with an insane amount of responsibility on their shoulders, fckin excuse me if they make bad decisions. Idk, this is the first time ive properly delved into the wider communities feelings after a big character moment and i really regret it
I regret it even more considering I'm stuck somewhere around episode 33-34 and trying to force myself to continue after finally having finished C2. I gotta say, this helped. Fuck me and my need to understand the situation after I was exposed to spoilers.
Oh man, it's been so long I forgot what we left on... Ashley had some time to think about how Fearne would feel this episode, and the answer was hammer to the face pissed. Also I didn't even think about poor FCG and their stress points!
"I'm tired of being that person." I felt that line in my soul. Spent a lot of years thinking I was worthless and hurt people because of it. The journey out of that is rewarding but fuck I wanted to give up so many times.
What can we say, Exandria’s just a different progressive world…when it’s not nearly being destroyed by eldritch horrors or taken over by crazed mages. That or she’s just using pronouns because she knows Laudna uses them and it’s just another way she tries to manipulate her.
That right there is one of the reasons why I feel this is the wrong battle to fight. If someone is a decent person and can respect you as a person and your rights but fumbles with unfamiliar or cumbersome pronouns out of sheer habit, that should be forgiven. Giving someone credit for nailing the pronouns gives too much credit, because that same person can turn around and be horrible in other ways or vote to strip you of your human rights. We throw out allies and embrace hostile dangers by focusing on syntax over actual respect.
An argument can be made here that Fearne was pier-pressured into taking the shard because she's really balls to the wall and she's fire-based. Those points do make sense, but I don't recall them talking to her about it thoroughly
Thank you for the highlights! I think this episode gets much better if you think of it as a bunch of already messed up people reacting Emotionally to a very disstressing event, instead of expecting them to have a good grade in rationality. It's not that rare to have one's stress response be anger, as unfair as it is! They are being uncomforting to Ash who just literally died, and unfair in some ways, and placing their focus on what we may think is "the wrong thing", and if they reacted as perfectly as possible and said/did everything everyone in the audience Wants them to, it'd be a Boring af story, i don't make the rules. Conflict instorytelling is supposed to open new paths, and I am here to see what those will be. And I love how everyone roleplays their reaction because I can see their characters falling into patters that were totally established before: Fearne is mad and attacks Ash bc she doesn't know what to do with her fear and anger (she usually avoids thinking of things that upset her, like the thought of her friends not making it, Ashley said that on 4-sided dive, i can't remember where this is from but when someone suggests they don't make it out she just goes "nonono we'll be okay!" and not in a silly optimistic way like start-of-c3 FCG would. Her coping mechanism is denial, so when forced to confront her fears in such a bad way Of Course she gets this scared and mad), Imogen's so focused on keeping Laudna safe that she is angry at anyone who makes her disstressed (and that is a flaw but not a reason to label her as horrible forever), Laudna remembers another scary traumatizing moment (Bor'Dor) and relapses and the abusive woman in her head isn't helping, etc etc. Also i think about how Fearne enabled Ash and Imogen and Fearne enabled Laudna in making a connection with Delilah again. I mean, they didn't stop her. Maybe because they want her to have agency on at least some level after she's had a manipulator in her head for years, but still, that's something to address later. I am Loving it. I am only a bit sad that Liam wasn't present, because Orym's reaction would have probably changed some of the scenes a lot. I wonder what he can bring in the future episodes
This episode was rough to watch but I'm glad it's leading to them having their little team building retreat. They really need it. Can't wait for the next one!
This was such a needed RP episode! Things have been moving at breakneck speeds for a while now, and many of the relationships had to take a backseat to the point where some didn't quite make sense to me anymore. For better or worse, Ashton forced them to deal with that before going on the most important mission of the campaign! I personally think Tal as a player could have done it in a much better way that didn't rob the other players of their agency and force them to slightly meta-game their way in to save him, but in-game I really like them having this reconning to really align with each other before trying to save the world. I missed Liam there though since Orym's voice was so needed in the chaos that ensued, and I really hope he is ok given that he missed the Red-nose charity stream as well!
This was a monster of an episode to try to cut down and compile. You did a fantastic job! Awesome timing too, I get to watch this before the new episode drops so it is a great refresher. Thanks a heap for all your hard work!!
Thanks for the video! I've only been able to watch your highlights the last couple of times. great job. I especially like how you capture some of the side banter and looks. I'm happy that they did a talky episode to make up for the insanity of Ashton's last "great idea".
I never understood why Ferne was mad at Aston when she agreed to the idea. Same thing with everyone being mad a him but ferne also help Aston come to this decision and didn't tell no one. She had a big part in this situation as well
I really like how Travis/Chetney said it: “Are you mad at him? Or are you mad at you?” I think that hit the nail on the head. It’s easier to be mad at something else, a person or an object or even a concept, rather than admit you feel like such a fuckup yourself.
@swagpotato720 right?? I'm glad he (chetney) said something along those lines, because her (ferne) somewhat hatred towards them (Aston) is her own doing not their's as in both fern and Aston
This episode was fantastic and ground-breaking for c3, but I could barely watch it. Just goes to show how much these characters have seeped into my soul.
Nah -- I think even if it is truly a calamity-style season where the thread is that they're gonna cause a bunch of bad shit, you do how calamity did and make it a retroactive "whodunnit" resulting in the final big bang. They've been doing the whodunnit thing, making angles for each of them to be the ones to cause the BIG fuckup, but much like calamity, it's gonna be a team effort in the long term.
That's how it looks bc they've been stuck on this irrelevant plot point for far to long I just want to see some progress plot wise it's honestly boring
@@GIxJ0SE To me, that's just sort of the nature of the game. Obviously, not saying you can't critique it, but the plot is kind of just about whatever is important to the characters in the moment, since it's a human based game. They're also missing a player so they probably realized there's stuff to say about the occurrence and they can also use that to finish this in character conflict and get their player there for the big event
I love how the CR parents (Travis, Laura, Sam) are being such great parental figures in game. I really enjoyed this episode! I can’t wait for the fae wild friend boot camp on Thursday.
Fearne after saying she didn't want it, agreeing with Ashton's plan and not telling anyone just like he did: Ooo I'm so mad!!! I'm gonna break the hammer!!! How could you Ashton!!!!
11:23 Do you think that if this scene gets animated in another CR animated series, will she get an award or nomination for best supporting actress in a series or animated series? I'm not sure what the categories are for shows.
From what i understand, people gave ashton/talesin a lot of shit for what they did in the last episode, but i really think i like that move more than if they hadnt. I like when characters fail, fuck up, make irrational decisions, disagree on very important things. It made for some really compelling conversations in this episode about things like trust. Thats a really important question to always need an answer, is do your party's characters trust each other and why do they trust/not trust each other.
I’m going off the top of my head here, but wasn’t that also before Ashton knew that he had a shard within him not just having titan blood? Definitely could be remembering wrong.
I think it’s mostly because of Laudna’s trauma surrounding being lied to. we saw how she reacted with Bor’dor and how that affected her. Ashton and Fearne did lie to the rest of the party and Laudna saw that as a betrayal. Delilah’s influence is also probably not helping here
Trauma turns you into a conspiracy theorist about your own experiences. Where others see a man in a suit, you see lizard people. Where others see idiocy and passive suicidality, you see betrayal.
Also, if I recall correctly, Matilda died from a lie from her own "matron" as she was given a feast and told that she would serve a great purpose. Laudna awoken with only this in mind, hunged from a tree after being told "you'll serve a greater purpose". Then, as one other user mentioned, there's the Bor'dor saga where he had been lying about his identity since the beginning and she had to be the one to kill him... just to find that the other half of the group had a pure blast... she felt betrayed by Bor'dor but by also half of the group since she had a breakdown which lead to a beautiful moment for Laudna/Imodgen shippers And then, Fearne and Ashton hide themselves from the rest since Ashton wanted the shard to protect people which was a mistake. Fearne looked scared to take in the shard since she (I think) felt pressured by the others while she really did not want that shard in her. I suspect Ashton knew it would put him into that physical state, but did not bother telling either Fearne or the others since they would've told him not to do that. It was a really hard episode to watch... watching people reconcille after a bad mistake from only one it something, but also, watching all these characters who had put some facades to hide their weaknesses throughout this campaingn break their facade and let their weaknesses be was also something. Ashton admitted his mistake, he is aware that the others will not pardon him right now, but he was also someone who never knew what love was, hence why he broke down after receiving what seemed like a simple gift from Laudna. When he received the doll, everyone seemed to soften about him... understanding that he was not a bad person in the end, but just a person that had a really hard a suffering past that lead them to make questionable decisions since he never knew otherwise. It might not make sense for others as this is my interpretation after watching this recap and the episode in glimpses... but I'm open to see what is everybody's takes on this event that occured through the last episodes
Something that struck me in watching highlights was a very possible problem in the form of Jianna Hexum. I have been wondering what she might be doing right now as the potions were in her home at one time. Also she may have had an automaton in there too. Is she allied with the Ruby Vanguard?
Where's the part where Chetney attacks Ashton, thinking that the new arm's got powers and they wanted to test that out? Seemed significant at the time. :/
I think because the episode was so rp heavy. I think it would be some eliviation but not having it in makes this episode (highlightsreel) so much darker and imo a lot better
i think i ended up not including it because essentially nothing ended up happening and i already had a lot to fit in lol. obviously it might be important to know that nothing significant happened, but i'm sure there will be other moments where they figure out/we end up seeing what ashton truly got out of the shard.
What an amazing episode. However, I kinda wished Ashton had lost his arm permanently (until someone can get the regeneration spell), I think it would have been a great narrative bit to go along with his chronic pain. But not my game so just my feeling.
Agree. I think there’s a part of me in the “tactically speaking, Ashton did Nothing Wrong” camp. I feel like there is sort of heavy handedness in the way power is distributed among the group, and it sometimes feels awkward when they have to make these big decisions about using these huge magical items. A little too drama. It’s somewhat off base that someone who had been for lack of a better term ‘written’ to be this ‘elemental titan experiment’ wouldn’t just think to accept the second shard. Given the information they have about how things work, it’s within reason to try. I mean, Ashton dove into lava to get the damn thing and Matt was like “yeah man, go!”. Now he’s like “oooh you tried to do to much! You must pay the price!” Feels off kilter.
Taliesin has a really annoying habit of thinking he knows the story Matt is telling them, and thinking he knows better than the rest of the table. This isn't the first time he's made a dumb decision that could have totally derailed Matt's story or had serious consequences for the party. It's about time he learned his lesson.
This episode would have played out SO differently if Orym wasn't so dang quiet the whole time. I feel like every character's anger is directed at Ashton and ignoring Fearne's part in this. Laudna obviously assumed that Ashton hurt Fearne and that there was an objective bad guy, and I don't feel like anyone refuted her claims directly enough to help prevent her spiraling further. Fearne grew up in the Feywild and is still new to guilt, especially when she knows that she made the choice to help Ashton hide things and he almost died because of it. Yes, Ashton was pressuring her, but that's just Ashton being them and not trying to be manipulative. Fearne is still dealing with the fact that she has to care about people, and that she DOES care, and regressed hard. I don't think BH would have taken a vacation to the Feywild if Liam/Orym were at the table because Orym is the only member of BH that knows where Fearne's fear of the shard comes from and would actually hold her accountable for her actions. Everyone else was too focused on Ashton's fuckup and making him feel bad (which he should, it was dumb) to have space in their minds to actually check in with Fearne's mental state. "Taking a day" should have massive consequences even if Nana Morri is helping them out this time. But I am looking forward to seeing a player make a deal with a hag for the first time! also unrelated but Orym should take the shard, it would be a dope powerup for him and keep the shard in the hands of someone who grew up respecting the elements (Fearne would be a legitimate danger with an elemental shard and a calling card to the Lord of the Hells without significant impulse control development)
This whole discourse and howve they've handled this made me drop this campaign, because they dialed back on Ashton actually successfully getting the shard, then everyone just dumping on Ashton over a selfless act,to try and spare Fern which she agreed to! #Ashtondidnothingwrong
I don’t think Matt will punish them too severely, if at all, for taking a day in the Feywild. They did almost the exact same thing in C1. And both times it wasn’t about fucking off on some vacation, but about actually regrouping because they weren’t ready to take on what’s a head. Without this Feywild trip I truly think the group would blow up the second they get on the moon
@@GIxJ0SE but doesn’t Ashton literally say he did it for selfish reasons? It’s true that part of his reasoning was to become stronger to help the group, but the biggest reason was to fulfill some inflated idea of self grandeur and destiny
@lexim.7582 Well how I took it I could be wrong but he did it for Fern, in the previous episode he took her aside and asked her if she wanted to do it and said no just that Fern and Ashton were the most compatible. Plus it didn't really matter bc they retconed/ punished him for doing something "stupid" and they keep rubbing it in his face, when there back to square 1, someone needs to take the shard for whatever plot reasons
@@GIxJ0SE Oh wow I guess this really goes to show how differently people interpret these things. I didn't read it as Ashton doing it for Fearne at all, and personally, I felt like both Tal and Ashton deserved everything they got in this one. Out of game Tal took away the other player's agency by telling them to stay away and forced them to either Meta-game their way in to save him or just sit by and watch his character die, and then he had the nerve to act cocky when he survived by the skin of his teeth, not good table manners imo. In-game he lied to his friends and made a massive decision on his own regarding an insanely powerful artifact that they all risked their lives to get, explicitly going against all advice they'd gotten on the matter. To me this episode was the perfect response, there needed to be consequences and the characters needed to realign with each other. I am really glad they did the Feywild trip as well since Liam/Orym really should get to say his part on this as well before the most critical mission of the campaign kicks off.
You know this is an intense episode when Marisha stress perches almost the entire time. I was stressed out too! If I could’ve done the stress perch I would have! I don’t think I’ve ever been this stressed out about an episode before! Fearne was VERY stressed out by the looks of things and I thought Laudna was gonna straight up do a murder! I gotta laugh everytime I watch Matt’s reaction to Fearne saying her grandmother is the Fatestitcher. It’s like when you tell someone you’re related to a super famous person and they’re just 😳🤯🤯🤯😧 . I love Matt’s voice for Nana Morri! And “tummy Nana”! I was a bit surprised and confused the first time we saw her but now she’s so cool! I have SO MANY questions about Fearnes mom now! Is Fearne part devil or something and that’s why she’s good at fire? Did her mom hook up with a demon or a devil? Is her dad really her dad! All the questions and I must know all the things! So much lore!
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Allura talking to some blue tiefling girl: "Wait, you know WHO from the feywild?"
Allura talking to some green satyr woman: "WAIT, WHO FROM THE FEYWILD??"
been downhill for poor Allura since meeting VM, strange people with stranger connections keep wanting to talk to her XD
"Matilda's dead" was such a fast and cold response from Matt after all the coddling Delilah had been doing. Caught me so off guard in the moment.
When that happened I got so mad! I almost yelled at my screen, "And who's fault is that?!"
This episode fucked ALL of us up a bit, Fearne! Someone on twitter pointed out that Laudna, Fearne, and Ashton all seemed to regress into a childlike mind space of "I'm scared and hurting, I want my mom and dad, I want to go home."
Truth be told, most of us would revert to that state when faced with the responsibility of "saving the world and the divinities"
Our three most care free individuals are starting to feel like the most traumatized and unsure of themselves. It's a surprisingly accurate picture.
A lot of this episode was tough to watch. Especially Ashton. As someone with chronic pain...I see a lot of the questions about self reflected in him.
I've had break downs like that in real life and it really is childlike in I've even cried out "I want my mom" during meltdowns, this episode hit hard
Ashley: "I wanna hit him in the face with the hammer."
Cast: [gasps]
Taliesin: [Expression that says "fair enough"]
Ashley: "I'm going to try and break his hammer."
Cast: [so shocked they barely even gasp]
Taliesin: [Surprised, but down to see her attempt]
The least shocked and most accepting person at the table was Taliesin. He is here for this and I love that.
I don't know. He doesn't have any place to complain after starting a nuclear melt down in whitestones basement but okay. Mans was ready to die. He don't care bout his things.
Tal is always down to have people fuck his character's shit up and I love that about him. When Scanlan tried to fuck with Percy's memory everyone was yelling at Sam not to, except Taliesin who kept saying "no PLEASE do it it'll be great".
Yeah Becuase Tal knows he's playing DnD and would love to explore the other agencies of what kind of scenarios or plays those decisions will make.
He's accepting because he's just happy to be there. He shouldn't even be at the table right now but Fearne and FCG kept his dumbass alive. I'm sure he is "here for it" because he almost wasn't
I knew Travis was a good roleplayer but this episode hit me like a truck with him specifically. The moment the goofy gag character turns off the goofy is powerful, every single time.
When he tells Ashton to leave...that told me exactly how hurt Chet was and how much he cares about Fearne.
@@ShadowyFox_86 I paused the episode, got up and left to go take a walk when he said that.
Sam losing the voice during the ad is one of the funniest things in the ads ever.
What is it that Ashley say that makes Sam lose it?
@@sorcereradventurer something like oh, you lost it
Laudina giving Ashton a doll as somewhat an insult, and Ashton taking it as the nicest gift they’ve ever been given was absolutely BRUTAL
Followed immediately by “I like children.” “…I don’t.” I am crying and sobbing and throwing up on the floor
Matt outsourcing bird noises to tal killed me 😂
Fearne and Ashton having a moment of a bittersweet reconciliation.
Marisha and Sam being the nosy siblings: *Peaking at Ashley’s notes*
Now I don’t know which group needs therapy more.
I know there was a lot to trim down but Ashton asking Chetney "How did you get in control of your shit?" really resonated with me. Like they know how bad they fucked up and they're sincerely trying to look for solutions.
Travis' reaction to that question of surprise really got me
Taliesin did a surgical job of drawing the connection each character has to his: with Imogen they talked about their parents and mystery of their origin, with FCG about the martyr complex and self-destructive tendencies, with Chetney about self-control, with Laudna they emphasized loyalty.
At first it didn’t feel right, but later I realized that its Ashton defense mechanism - he has abandonment issues, so he intuitively grasps for bonds with others, as soon as felt that the bonds are weakened, trying to tether himself as tightly as he could.
It sorta of goes back to Keyleth asking grog the same thing.
Allura: "has the danger passed"... Fern: " No" (whoa was that a hot moment or what!)
Travis usually doesn't RP being mad and _man it is scary..._
The most poignant statement Travis made is when he said"...unless it is on purpose." It just resonates differently with me now.
I love Tal loving some of these rp decisions
This was such a powerful episode... But for some reason the part I really love is at the very end, when travis stares at ashley as Matt reveals the hint about Fearne's mom, and Marisha taps his shoulder and points at them in turn. I found the whole interaction so... cute. I don't know why.
Also, Ashley and Marisha were absolutely brutal this episode. DAMN.
I thought so too. Excitedly tapping travis. Cute.
The "Orym's never been this quiet", followed by a split second pause, and then everyone reacting at the exact same time, most of them lowering their heads. Fucking hell, Sam.
That Chet/Fearne bit was so good. Love those two.
I loooove rp heavy episodes. This is definitely my favorite episode of the campaign so far. Everyone did a great job progressing both their individual and the group’s journey
Allura (Matt self-insert) starting with when they bring up going to Nana, all the way to "hello, I'm Allura, I have powerful friends who know where I am if I go missing" was my favorite part of this episode 😂
30:30
I know this is going to sound made up, but i think this is literally the second time a Taliesin PC has EVER cried in the history of Critical Role. The first was Percy in Episode 115
I wish you had shown the cast's absolutely devastated reaction to it. But thank you for continuing to do us critters such a public service!
Did... huh, yeah I guess Caduceus never cried, did he?
@@candyh4284 that mf was stone cold the entire time lmaooooooooo
He also cried in episode 24 of campaign 1. But yeah, it's very rare. That's why it hit me like a ton of bricks in this episode.
Liam not being here to bring up the Spider Queen's Crown is as sad as Ashley missing Bard's Lament.
The role playing absolutely destroyed me this episode. Ashley especially.
Orym stole the show.
😭
I don’t know if all of what she said is acting… there was a little too much raw emotion for it not to be.
Her talking to Ashton was amazing "I don't like you right now" oof
holy crap, everyone was in top form this episode
Orym MVP lol
Orym was the stand out, he says so much with so little
@@crimsoneclipse0618sometimes less is more
19:59 thats a verb not a place is just such a good line
39:20 Travis’ face is the best. Sound the alarms folks we got some good stuff coming next episode!!! 🚨🚨🚨
There was so much heavy rp this episode that I had forgotten some of it. Chetney's harshness towards Ashton really stuck out. But seeing again the Laudna & Delilah bits and the end with Nana Mori and Fern was huge. Thank you so much for the refresher!
Chetney's mad but not for his own sake. He's mad because of what Ashton did to Fearne, and that says a lot about the goodness in Chetney's heart. There was a lot with Ashton that told me just how...close to the edge and of sacrificing himself he has been this whole time. How much he wanted to prove that he was something special in the most reckless way possible.
I don’t think Chet was that mad at Ashton, I think he was being tactical and reverse psyching him. It was. ‘Game recognizes game’ thing.. Chetney had been through that stage of bad decision making, but never had the support that Ashton is spoiled with. Gave me some serious Al Anon vibes.
Probably the first C3 compilation of yours I can't bear to watch - watching the episode once was more than enough, but thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do this!
it was honestly quite hard for me to watch at first too, but after a lot of time working on this video, it doesn't really affect me anymore haha. totally respect your choice though
Honestly if i was Orym, I would trust NO ONE anymore.
I'd start making contingency plans because Orym is the ONLY ONE that hasn't lied / betrayed others!
Yet........
Oryx’s gotta go full Batman on this crew.
@@caderoster8333Finally - someone to take up the mantle of The Owlbear since Eshteross is gone!
This is the thing I always say/think about Orym: this dude is a born and raised soldier. He did well enough that the earned a spot in Vesran royal guard/special forces. He basically has a line to the Voice of the Tempest herself, which is like having the President on Speed Dial.
Orym trusts Bell's Hells to *not* make him kill them. He *wants* to not kill them. But even if *Fearne* raised violence without provocation against Keyleth, Orym would cut her down in a second. He is not going to have a good reaction to this. Ashton jeopardized the mission, maybe the world, and he didn't even talk to them about it first. I _cannot_ see how that's gonna go down well with Orym.
@@SeanBoyce-gp this right here. Orym isn't as sweet as people think he is
I think the fact that when fearne and chetney were talking and fearne was being really serious and her little plushie had a big smile is really ironic. I think it kind of shows that sometimes she just puts on a smile so she can help other people. I know it wasn’t on purpose but I just thought I would point it out
A piece of Travis's role play was him working through the drama between Brian/Ashley. I see it clear as day. That "you hurt Fearne" line is deeper than this campaign.
Its WILD how weve spent the last 2 years joking about how this group are messy or could betray each other or all snap and then when that ACTUALLY HAPPENS, suddenly its out of character or wrong. Like... these are messy people with a load of baggage with an insane amount of responsibility on their shoulders, fckin excuse me if they make bad decisions.
Idk, this is the first time ive properly delved into the wider communities feelings after a big character moment and i really regret it
I regret it even more considering I'm stuck somewhere around episode 33-34 and trying to force myself to continue after finally having finished C2. I gotta say, this helped. Fuck me and my need to understand the situation after I was exposed to spoilers.
I learned that lesson early on in C2: ignore the community because they will ruin every little thing for you for no reason.
Now i REALLY wants to read Ashley's notes 😂
Thank you for getting so much of this amazing episode into one of your highlights!
it was a tough one to cut down! i had over 2 hours worth of clips lol
Oh man, it's been so long I forgot what we left on... Ashley had some time to think about how Fearne would feel this episode, and the answer was hammer to the face pissed.
Also I didn't even think about poor FCG and their stress points!
"I'm tired of being that person." I felt that line in my soul. Spent a lot of years thinking I was worthless and hurt people because of it. The journey out of that is rewarding but fuck I wanted to give up so many times.
Delilah may be an awful undead witch but hey she respects Ashton's pronouns
She’s an awful undead witch, not a monster.
@@riverkathshe is a monster, though
@ThomasUfnalCrowlake a monster with standards.
What can we say, Exandria’s just a different progressive world…when it’s not nearly being destroyed by eldritch horrors or taken over by crazed mages.
That or she’s just using pronouns because she knows Laudna uses them and it’s just another way she tries to manipulate her.
That right there is one of the reasons why I feel this is the wrong battle to fight. If someone is a decent person and can respect you as a person and your rights but fumbles with unfamiliar or cumbersome pronouns out of sheer habit, that should be forgiven. Giving someone credit for nailing the pronouns gives too much credit, because that same person can turn around and be horrible in other ways or vote to strip you of your human rights.
We throw out allies and embrace hostile dangers by focusing on syntax over actual respect.
An argument can be made here that Fearne was pier-pressured into taking the shard because she's really balls to the wall and she's fire-based. Those points do make sense, but I don't recall them talking to her about it thoroughly
The interaction between Laudna and Ashton when she gave him the doll fucking KILLS me
Ashley is simply amazing.
Laudna giving Ashton the doll killed me
You know it's good timing with this video when we have a 4SD later today!
Ashley/Fearne BROKE me this episode 😭
Matt said "What did I tell you about touching the big glow-y thing that said do not touch, Ashton?"
Thank you for the highlights! I think this episode gets much better if you think of it as a bunch of already messed up people reacting Emotionally to a very disstressing event, instead of expecting them to have a good grade in rationality. It's not that rare to have one's stress response be anger, as unfair as it is! They are being uncomforting to Ash who just literally died, and unfair in some ways, and placing their focus on what we may think is "the wrong thing", and if they reacted as perfectly as possible and said/did everything everyone in the audience Wants them to, it'd be a Boring af story, i don't make the rules. Conflict instorytelling is supposed to open new paths, and I am here to see what those will be. And I love how everyone roleplays their reaction because I can see their characters falling into patters that were totally established before: Fearne is mad and attacks Ash bc she doesn't know what to do with her fear and anger (she usually avoids thinking of things that upset her, like the thought of her friends not making it, Ashley said that on 4-sided dive, i can't remember where this is from but when someone suggests they don't make it out she just goes "nonono we'll be okay!" and not in a silly optimistic way like start-of-c3 FCG would. Her coping mechanism is denial, so when forced to confront her fears in such a bad way Of Course she gets this scared and mad), Imogen's so focused on keeping Laudna safe that she is angry at anyone who makes her disstressed (and that is a flaw but not a reason to label her as horrible forever), Laudna remembers another scary traumatizing moment (Bor'Dor) and relapses and the abusive woman in her head isn't helping, etc etc. Also i think about how Fearne enabled Ash and Imogen and Fearne enabled Laudna in making a connection with Delilah again. I mean, they didn't stop her. Maybe because they want her to have agency on at least some level after she's had a manipulator in her head for years, but still, that's something to address later. I am Loving it. I am only a bit sad that Liam wasn't present, because Orym's reaction would have probably changed some of the scenes a lot. I wonder what he can bring in the future episodes
The episode where they need Orym the most and he's just so quiet
Chat was absolutely horrible this episode but I'm so appreciative that Matt and the cast stood by their rp and game decisions
True
Why was chat doing?
Ungodly amounts of salt in the chat that night.
Whenever I get the Cham e to watch the show on Twitch I never read the chat - those folks can't behave. Not a fan.
I guess that's why I watch it on YT. Don't have to deal with the chat drama. As if they know better than the cast does.
The Faewild is now essentially the bath house from Spirited Away.
This episode was rough to watch but I'm glad it's leading to them having their little team building retreat. They really need it. Can't wait for the next one!
Laudna nearly going full Gollum/Smeagol, talking with the voice in her head and its like 2 episodes ago they were dressed as the fellowship -1
The only thing that would make this episode better is if Talisan played each side of Ashton and Percy's therapy session...lol
This was such a needed RP episode! Things have been moving at breakneck speeds for a while now, and many of the relationships had to take a backseat to the point where some didn't quite make sense to me anymore. For better or worse, Ashton forced them to deal with that before going on the most important mission of the campaign!
I personally think Tal as a player could have done it in a much better way that didn't rob the other players of their agency and force them to slightly meta-game their way in to save him, but in-game I really like them having this reconning to really align with each other before trying to save the world.
I missed Liam there though since Orym's voice was so needed in the chaos that ensued, and I really hope he is ok given that he missed the Red-nose charity stream as well!
This episode was SO good & hurt in the best way. I needed a lot of what happened in this episode
This was a monster of an episode to try to cut down and compile. You did a fantastic job! Awesome timing too, I get to watch this before the new episode drops so it is a great refresher. Thanks a heap for all your hard work!!
every week we look forward to these. every single week. thanks so much, mrg
Thanks for the video! I've only been able to watch your highlights the last couple of times. great job. I especially like how you capture some of the side banter and looks. I'm happy that they did a talky episode to make up for the insanity of Ashton's last "great idea".
I never understood why Ferne was mad at Aston when she agreed to the idea. Same thing with everyone being mad a him but ferne also help Aston come to this decision and didn't tell no one. She had a big part in this situation as well
I really like how Travis/Chetney said it: “Are you mad at him? Or are you mad at you?”
I think that hit the nail on the head. It’s easier to be mad at something else, a person or an object or even a concept, rather than admit you feel like such a fuckup yourself.
@swagpotato720 right?? I'm glad he (chetney) said something along those lines, because her (ferne) somewhat hatred towards them (Aston) is her own doing not their's as in both fern and Aston
This episode was fantastic and ground-breaking for c3, but I could barely watch it. Just goes to show how much these characters have seeped into my soul.
I'm surprised you didn't add the moment where Travis reacted to his sleep roll
Just commenting to say I appreciate the hell out of you. Thanks you 🥰
22:39 all I can think of is how laudna is like the “get outta my head maaan!” Bit from smiling friends
why am i so torn up about Ashton’s reaction to getting a doll?? 😭 30:22
Someone was cutting onions at this point
Travis and Marisha getting activated at the end by Nana is giving me life
Anyone else see the possibility of this group falling apart before the moon?
Nah -- I think even if it is truly a calamity-style season where the thread is that they're gonna cause a bunch of bad shit, you do how calamity did and make it a retroactive "whodunnit" resulting in the final big bang. They've been doing the whodunnit thing, making angles for each of them to be the ones to cause the BIG fuckup, but much like calamity, it's gonna be a team effort in the long term.
That's how it looks bc they've been stuck on this irrelevant plot point for far to long I just want to see some progress plot wise it's honestly boring
@@GIxJ0SEit’s been like an episode and a half maximum 💀
@@stonersudowoodo7143 but that's like two sessions of people just arguing about something that as of rn has nothing to do with the plot
@@GIxJ0SE To me, that's just sort of the nature of the game. Obviously, not saying you can't critique it, but the plot is kind of just about whatever is important to the characters in the moment, since it's a human based game. They're also missing a player so they probably realized there's stuff to say about the occurrence and they can also use that to finish this in character conflict and get their player there for the big event
I missed this so much
I love how the CR parents (Travis, Laura, Sam) are being such great parental figures in game. I really enjoyed this episode! I can’t wait for the fae wild friend boot camp on Thursday.
A great lesson in how to own your mistakes and rebuild what you’ve broken.
20:53
My jaw dropped watching live. Insane... INSANE acting from Travis
"I'm a cat" seems like the tag line of a serial killer..
This episode was a dusty pill to swallow and the struggle was worth it
I really want to know what Fearne's mom's secret is! Omg is it Thursday yet!?!
Fearne after saying she didn't want it, agreeing with Ashton's plan and not telling anyone just like he did: Ooo I'm so mad!!! I'm gonna break the hammer!!! How could you Ashton!!!!
I love how in every whole-party-split-screen everyone is shocked or surprised and Taliesin is just "seems fair" 😂
11:23 Do you think that if this scene gets animated in another CR animated series, will she get an award or nomination for best supporting actress in a series or animated series? I'm not sure what the categories are for shows.
Kinda surprised how non-chaotic this group is. Not enough love for Ashton right now.
I think Imogen missed a great opportunity to cast Titty-Kenesis during that hug scene.
From what i understand, people gave ashton/talesin a lot of shit for what they did in the last episode, but i really think i like that move more than if they hadnt. I like when characters fail, fuck up, make irrational decisions, disagree on very important things. It made for some really compelling conversations in this episode about things like trust. Thats a really important question to always need an answer, is do your party's characters trust each other and why do they trust/not trust each other.
Sam's dog costume reminded me of the shining LOL
I still can't get over Ashton saying "it wasn't about power" when they literally said in episode 74 "I seek power". The audacity haha
I’m going off the top of my head here, but wasn’t that also before Ashton knew that he had a shard within him not just having titan blood? Definitely could be remembering wrong.
6:37 Sam's Matt impression is spot on. When I watched the episode I had to do a double take
I need Marisha on the next Four sided dive just to try and peel back that “they betrayed us” bit. Sure it was a stupidly dangerous idea but betrayal?
I think it’s mostly because of Laudna’s trauma surrounding being lied to. we saw how she reacted with Bor’dor and how that affected her. Ashton and Fearne did lie to the rest of the party and Laudna saw that as a betrayal. Delilah’s influence is also probably not helping here
Trauma turns you into a conspiracy theorist about your own experiences. Where others see a man in a suit, you see lizard people. Where others see idiocy and passive suicidality, you see betrayal.
Well being deliberately lied to directly to your face by someone you're close to can absolutely feel like a betrayal in itself.
Let's also not forget, Delilah is now back with her bs and whisper dark thoughts in Laudna's mind, and that is definitely not helping.
Also, if I recall correctly, Matilda died from a lie from her own "matron" as she was given a feast and told that she would serve a great purpose. Laudna awoken with only this in mind, hunged from a tree after being told "you'll serve a greater purpose".
Then, as one other user mentioned, there's the Bor'dor saga where he had been lying about his identity since the beginning and she had to be the one to kill him... just to find that the other half of the group had a pure blast... she felt betrayed by Bor'dor but by also half of the group since she had a breakdown which lead to a beautiful moment for Laudna/Imodgen shippers
And then, Fearne and Ashton hide themselves from the rest since Ashton wanted the shard to protect people which was a mistake. Fearne looked scared to take in the shard since she (I think) felt pressured by the others while she really did not want that shard in her. I suspect Ashton knew it would put him into that physical state, but did not bother telling either Fearne or the others since they would've told him not to do that.
It was a really hard episode to watch... watching people reconcille after a bad mistake from only one it something, but also, watching all these characters who had put some facades to hide their weaknesses throughout this campaingn break their facade and let their weaknesses be was also something. Ashton admitted his mistake, he is aware that the others will not pardon him right now, but he was also someone who never knew what love was, hence why he broke down after receiving what seemed like a simple gift from Laudna.
When he received the doll, everyone seemed to soften about him... understanding that he was not a bad person in the end, but just a person that had a really hard a suffering past that lead them to make questionable decisions since he never knew otherwise.
It might not make sense for others as this is my interpretation after watching this recap and the episode in glimpses... but I'm open to see what is everybody's takes on this event that occured through the last episodes
Christ the drama this episode was so good. The way they all played it. The fucked up feelings within and about Ashton. God it's so good.
Chetney making Fearne promise not to leave hits different after last night’s episode… 🥺
ughhhhhhh taliesins “nothing matters” “poor me” bit is so old. He does that with all of his characters
Everyone is pissed, and Ashton gets an intervention. All this and more in this weeks episode of Critical Roll
*everybody screaming, except ashton.*
The holes in Laudna's memory are pretty bad right now. I think Travis noticed. Im concerned for our goth witch!
The book peeking was fucking gold
Travis had that L from Death note stare at the end.
Something that struck me in watching highlights was a very possible problem in the form of Jianna Hexum. I have been wondering what she might be doing right now as the potions were in her home at one time. Also she may have had an automaton in there too. Is she allied with the Ruby Vanguard?
Man of all episodes for Liam not to be in..
Belated engagement for the engagement god!
Where's the part where Chetney attacks Ashton, thinking that the new arm's got powers and they wanted to test that out? Seemed significant at the time. :/
I think because the episode was so rp heavy. I think it would be some eliviation but not having it in makes this episode (highlightsreel) so much darker and imo a lot better
Nothing happened, so it didn't seem that significant.
i think i ended up not including it because essentially nothing ended up happening and i already had a lot to fit in lol. obviously it might be important to know that nothing significant happened, but i'm sure there will be other moments where they figure out/we end up seeing what ashton truly got out of the shard.
A minute in and I'm giggling like a naughty school boy.
What an amazing episode. However, I kinda wished Ashton had lost his arm permanently (until someone can get the regeneration spell), I think it would have been a great narrative bit to go along with his chronic pain. But not my game so just my feeling.
I found this episode incredibly difficult to get through. I wanted Ashton to stick up for their choices just a little bit.
Agree. I think there’s a part of me in the “tactically speaking, Ashton did Nothing Wrong” camp. I feel like there is sort of heavy handedness in the way power is distributed among the group, and it sometimes feels awkward when they have to make these big decisions about using these huge magical items. A little too drama. It’s somewhat off base that someone who had been for lack of a better term ‘written’ to be this ‘elemental titan experiment’ wouldn’t just think to accept the second shard. Given the information they have about how things work, it’s within reason to try. I mean, Ashton dove into lava to get the damn thing and Matt was like “yeah man, go!”. Now he’s like “oooh you tried to do to much! You must pay the price!” Feels off kilter.
Taliesin has a really annoying habit of thinking he knows the story Matt is telling them, and thinking he knows better than the rest of the table. This isn't the first time he's made a dumb decision that could have totally derailed Matt's story or had serious consequences for the party. It's about time he learned his lesson.
This episode would have played out SO differently if Orym wasn't so dang quiet the whole time. I feel like every character's anger is directed at Ashton and ignoring Fearne's part in this. Laudna obviously assumed that Ashton hurt Fearne and that there was an objective bad guy, and I don't feel like anyone refuted her claims directly enough to help prevent her spiraling further. Fearne grew up in the Feywild and is still new to guilt, especially when she knows that she made the choice to help Ashton hide things and he almost died because of it. Yes, Ashton was pressuring her, but that's just Ashton being them and not trying to be manipulative. Fearne is still dealing with the fact that she has to care about people, and that she DOES care, and regressed hard. I don't think BH would have taken a vacation to the Feywild if Liam/Orym were at the table because Orym is the only member of BH that knows where Fearne's fear of the shard comes from and would actually hold her accountable for her actions. Everyone else was too focused on Ashton's fuckup and making him feel bad (which he should, it was dumb) to have space in their minds to actually check in with Fearne's mental state.
"Taking a day" should have massive consequences even if Nana Morri is helping them out this time. But I am looking forward to seeing a player make a deal with a hag for the first time!
also unrelated but Orym should take the shard, it would be a dope powerup for him and keep the shard in the hands of someone who grew up respecting the elements (Fearne would be a legitimate danger with an elemental shard and a calling card to the Lord of the Hells without significant impulse control development)
This whole discourse and howve they've handled this made me drop this campaign, because they dialed back on Ashton actually successfully getting the shard, then everyone just dumping on Ashton over a selfless act,to try and spare Fern which she agreed to! #Ashtondidnothingwrong
I don’t think Matt will punish them too severely, if at all, for taking a day in the Feywild. They did almost the exact same thing in C1. And both times it wasn’t about fucking off on some vacation, but about actually regrouping because they weren’t ready to take on what’s a head. Without this Feywild trip I truly think the group would blow up the second they get on the moon
@@GIxJ0SE but doesn’t Ashton literally say he did it for selfish reasons? It’s true that part of his reasoning was to become stronger to help the group, but the biggest reason was to fulfill some inflated idea of self grandeur and destiny
@lexim.7582 Well how I took it I could be wrong but he did it for Fern, in the previous episode he took her aside and asked her if she wanted to do it and said no just that Fern and Ashton were the most compatible. Plus it didn't really matter bc they retconed/ punished him for doing something "stupid" and they keep rubbing it in his face, when there back to square 1, someone needs to take the shard for whatever plot reasons
@@GIxJ0SE Oh wow I guess this really goes to show how differently people interpret these things. I didn't read it as Ashton doing it for Fearne at all, and personally, I felt like both Tal and Ashton deserved everything they got in this one.
Out of game Tal took away the other player's agency by telling them to stay away and forced them to either Meta-game their way in to save him or just sit by and watch his character die, and then he had the nerve to act cocky when he survived by the skin of his teeth, not good table manners imo.
In-game he lied to his friends and made a massive decision on his own regarding an insanely powerful artifact that they all risked their lives to get, explicitly going against all advice they'd gotten on the matter.
To me this episode was the perfect response, there needed to be consequences and the characters needed to realign with each other. I am really glad they did the Feywild trip as well since Liam/Orym really should get to say his part on this as well before the most critical mission of the campaign kicks off.
You know this is an intense episode when Marisha stress perches almost the entire time. I was stressed out too! If I could’ve done the stress perch I would have! I don’t think I’ve ever been this stressed out about an episode before! Fearne was VERY stressed out by the looks of things and I thought Laudna was gonna straight up do a murder!
I gotta laugh everytime I watch Matt’s reaction to Fearne saying her grandmother is the Fatestitcher. It’s like when you tell someone you’re related to a super famous person and they’re just 😳🤯🤯🤯😧 . I love Matt’s voice for Nana Morri! And “tummy Nana”! I was a bit surprised and confused the first time we saw her but now she’s so cool!
I have SO MANY questions about Fearnes mom now! Is Fearne part devil or something and that’s why she’s good at fire? Did her mom hook up with a demon or a devil? Is her dad really her dad! All the questions and I must know all the things! So much lore!
I can't help but imagine Travis to be a wonderful Dad with the RP and how chetney handled the fearne situation
This episode has made me realize that I fucking hate when Taliesin crys it makes me so sad
Candela & Dragons ?
Dungeons Obscura ?
^ ya forgot the &, so its " Dungeons & Obscura"
It's not Candela & Obscura that was my reasoning
What happened this campaign !? It was so happy at the start when I took a break!
Holy shit I missed some heavy shit