A lot of Percy's dialogue was lifted directly from Taliesin's improvisation at the gaming table. He does, indeed, have some of the best lines in the show and it's all Taliesin. You, Kyra, are sharp. You would be such a magnificent player in a D&D game. I'm sure you could get a dice bag with strings long enough to make it a collar for your emotional support cow (actually, that's a great idea, now that I think of it: combo dice bag & emotional support plushie - it'll sell like wildfire).
@ShawnLevasseur if I could post a gif on youtube it would be the fry zoom in suspicious meme because I have a feeling you know EXACTLY what I meant, lol
What I love about the Briarwoods is that their love for each other is so true and deep. But they're the *only* people the other can feel love for, like other people's emotions or wellbeings aren't even on their radars. Which makes them super interesting villains to me
"Percy, can you stop having the coolest one-liners?" No. Taliesin is the best at them, and all four of his characters destroy using them.\\ You caught the eyes! SO proud!
Whats one from his C3 character? Genuine question because I havent see any shared around likeable the rest, from what I *have* seen they appear a person who dosent ever think much before speaking 😅
@@hhylobates4098 "I hope her ends are fucking great because these means are just not forgivable." "I hope that you do great work. You were very expensive." "I serve the weak. I serve the forgotten. I serve the dirt beneath out feet."
The concern the gang shows with Percy being mean to Ripley has nothing to do with what Ripley deserves. It's concern about Percy's soul and the whole demon possession thing.
Lord and Lady Briarwood were former powerful nobles from the Dwendalian Empire on the continent of Wildemount. The Dwendalian Empire is very authoritarian, with all magic and religion strictly regulated and controlled. Delilah Briarwood was the Archmage of Antiquity for the Cerberus Assembly, the powerful branch of the Dwendalian government in charge of magic. This job required her to locate and obtain all manner of magic artifacts and tomes, for potential exploitation by the guild and the government. This is how she probably knew of the ruined library, where the book of the Whispered One was located and where the Whispered One probably first noticed her. In the Empire, Necromancy is supposed to be absolutely FORBIDDEN. So Delilah performing an act of Necromancy to save her husband caused them to go from nobles to fugitives from the law. But Delilah did it anyway, to save her husband. Yeah. Perceval’s one-liners are notoriously baddass. Even better, considering they are basically all lifted directly from the original Critical Role Game, where Taliesin Jaffe just IMPROVISED them on the spot at the time: “Of all the names on my list you were the one I was least looking forward to.” “Yours was the face I saw when murder first entered my heart.” “You’re the luckiest person in Whitestone…you are at the bottom of my list.” …etc, etc, etc. and some of my very favorite Percy lines haven’t even showed up in this show yet. I hold out hope for some of these moments (like Percy explaining the importance of human history to Keyleth,) but I don’t think they will be able to cover them all due to the condensed nature of this adaptation.
A lot of people didn't like Keyleth during the actual play campaign, and admittedly she was one of my less favorite members of the group as well. I feel like the show really showcases her well, and I notice that she has become a fan favorite amongst LoVM watchers.
Great analysis/commentary, and you caught the control of Cassandra a lot earlier than most! The crew are in a real bind heading into the final two episodes, looking forward to seeing your reaction to the end of the first season! Also, that's a really cute plushie
When it comes to villains, and their love stories, I always try to remember a single rule. Loving and caring for each other does not necessarily mean they are good people. That's how I deal with relatable villains.
You're very perceptive to pick up on how the show is exploring the corrosive aspects of love. But don't forget that it's also showing the opposing healing power of love. Remember that when Percy puts on that mask and becomes vengeance, it's always his love for Cassandra that pulls him back, first when Archie tells him that Cassandra is still alive, and second, just after he kills Anders, and Cassandra calls to him. He immediately takes off the mask and runs to make sure she's all right. BTW, I'm really interested in watching your EPIC reaction videos, but I'm just waiting until I listen to the sagas myself. So, keep going with those, please.
We all know that Delilah is the power behind the couple, but Silas is a real trophy husband. She lets him deal with the minor inconveniences (like the bandits on the road), and when there's something serious, she takes charge whilst he admires her new arts and crafts projects.
Role-playing games are a simulation of the real life. As such, it's perfectly OK to have the feels for the characters, whether they are labelled "heroes" or "villains". What ultimately separates the former from the latter is the choices they make and the consequences they reap.
The revitalization the party had when pike showed up is an indicator of how important a powerful cleric is against undead from a game mechanics pov. But it also really shows the IRL morale boost that the players always got when Ashley was able to be in the game between "blindspot" shoots. Even when she Skyped in but especially when she could be at the table in person the energy would always just be at a whole different level.
Delilah's voice actress is also Azula of Avatar's Voice actress. ANd Delilah is a necromancer. Even before she made some sort of pact with the Whispered One.
It's worth pointing out that Delilah was already a powerful and respected wizard in her own right long before her bargain with the Whispered One. (Side note, it will always be funny to me that our first glimpse of the Briarwoods' home in Wildemount comes in episode nine/"Nein.")
Keyleth and Percy friendship is everything and I wish that the show had more time to focus on them. Hopefully once you are done with the show you'll be able to watch some of their moments in the campaign. They really are alike in a lot of ways. Also Keyleth is the best. The Briarwoods are some of my favorite villains because of their love for each other. Doesn't help that they're so hot. And there are absolutely so many parallels between them and members of Vox Machina. Also, watching the campaigns I shipped Percy and Vex almost immediately, so seeing you highlight their interactions is giving me absolute life!!! As always love that you are digging into the interactions between characters and the small things they put in the animation, and I'm excited to see you catch up for season 3!!
When I rate “Stirring Speeches” from movies and shows, I always remember President Whitmore’s speech from Independence Day(1996) as my baseline for a perfect 10. Anything better breaks the scale, and most of them are worse.
heres the issue...yes their love is admirable but they were already evil before they got involved with the whispered one. do not mistake their love for each other for some hidden goodness
Pike is a Cleric going against Undead. That's right in her elements Of course she *will* make everyone look bad. It's not a fight, it's dead seal clubbing
Fumigator: "ma'am I think just took care of your little gremlin problem upstairs" Kyra: "Gremlins!? no-no-no! rats! I wanted you to get rid of the rats, not the gremlins!"
Yeah even without the vampire mindcontrol stuff, ive personally had trouble as far as putting any blame on Cass. a freshly tortured, abandoned, orphaned 13 year old girl, being groomed by the Briarwoods for the last half decade. Yeah Percy couldnt have gone back for her, but Cass having resentment for being left behind, tied up in her abusive relationship with the briarwoods, I cant imagine what living in those conditions would do to someone.
Controlled, brainwashed a little bit of both. She helps them legitimize their claim to rule, plus as Delilah basically states at the end of episode 10 They need a blood sacrifice. Before they got Vax they planned to use Cassandra for that. or maybe anna, they had to have back ups :P
What Cassandra has going on is a very nasty cocktail of Stockholm Syndrome, genuine resentment for being left behind, magical mind control and a fuckton of trauma. That girl is going to need _all_ the therapy.
Your "the bad things love makes us do" analysis makes me think of The Last of Us, specifically some comments in that vein by the TV show creators. (also, I would do moderately terrible things for a TLOU reaction from you, haha. not sure you would survive it, but your suffering would be... extremely entertaining? sorry?? reactions are a weird genre lmao)
A slight spoiler (but not really), Delilah was a mid level member of an organisation called the Cerberus Assembly in Willdmount, Tal'Dori's neighbouring continant and geographically not far from Whitestone. No spoilers but they are not great, so she was still associating with crappy people even before the Whispered One .
High level member really, as one of the 8 archmages she would have been "equally" at the top. Other than the Martinet as leader, and any of the usual office-politics that we don't know the details of
At the risk of a spoiler, they lay off of Percy in Season 2, so you might be okay for it! Everyone gets Vax & Vex confused; Sam/Scanlan once threatened to make a character named Vix just to piss everyone off!
I know you're used to finding themes in series, but you do understand that this was not an intentional prewritten plot, right? It's a DND game, so a progressive, collaborative plot. Which means most character parallels are coincidental. You're trying to overlay themes where none really exist, because these action reflect the player's decisions, not a pre-planed story.
i dont think we need to give the evil eldritch entity the respect of being concerned about its pronouns lol you can easily find out who the whispered one is by searching the 'whispered one Dnd' nothing in this is subtle XD they just had to use the names/words that WOTC couldn't copy right lol and Delilah doesnt need your pity, she made her choice, she could have simply accepted his death as painful as that would have been, she could have dedicated her self to learning about what ever condition killed him and found a treatment/cure, but no she dedicated herself to and evil eldrich entity and became a necromancer who has 0 qualms about killing babies ._.
@@InkyPetrel Pronouns are a part of speech. Weaponizing them by getting offended when someone uses their own senses and expresses an obvious, biological truth is extortionate, whatever some professional organization might be intimidated into saying. You have a right to call yourself anything you wish. You have no right to DEMAND other people indulge your imagination.
Anytime you feel too bad for Delilah... remember her putting that necklace on the little girl who thought she had won a prize.
Sobbing
@@georgerobins4110 Got to break a few eggs to scramble the world, or something like that...
youre so right, but also "I broke the world for us" will never fail to break my heart just a little.
Most of Percy's one-liners are straight from the live game. It was wild to see Taliesin come up with those on the fly during this arc.
Any character he plays is guaranteed to have memorable lines. Good or bad.
@@zachwillett5853 "Life needs things to live."
@@ChrisSpecker Exactly what I was thinking.
@@ChrisSpecker”Die with hilarity or die not at all”
@@ChrisSpeckeralso “Your secret is safe with my indifference” which I REALLY hope sneaks its way into the show at some point 😂😂😂
A lot of Percy's dialogue was lifted directly from Taliesin's improvisation at the gaming table. He does, indeed, have some of the best lines in the show and it's all Taliesin. You, Kyra, are sharp. You would be such a magnificent player in a D&D game. I'm sure you could get a dice bag with strings long enough to make it a collar for your emotional support cow (actually, that's a great idea, now that I think of it: combo dice bag & emotional support plushie - it'll sell like wildfire).
you"re so good at analyzing the relation between character... you'll love season 2
The worst part of that Anna torture scene is just that look on her face. Pure sadistic satisfaction
Pike really "zoomed" in to save the day, amiright!?!?!
Is that a reference to something? If so, I don’t get it.
I guess I just have a blind spot.
@ShawnLevasseur if I could post a gif on youtube it would be the fry zoom in suspicious meme because I have a feeling you know EXACTLY what I meant, lol
@@ShawnLevasseur In the D&D liveplay she used Zoom to call in on a screen to participate
"stop calling me out in the comments! That was hot!" It's okay, you aren't the only one under Taliesin's spell. 🤤
What I love about the Briarwoods is that their love for each other is so true and deep. But they're the *only* people the other can feel love for, like other people's emotions or wellbeings aren't even on their radars. Which makes them super interesting villains to me
Fun Fact: That rifle's name is "Bad News"
Nothing travels faster!
The thought of Silas just standing behind Delilah doing dark with his hands in his pockets just asking "Sooo what ya doing?" is making me giggle.
Loving your emotional investment and analytical insights, this is a blast!
32:29 that’s why it’s always important to have a cleric in your party… nobody handles undead like a cleric.
"Percy, can you stop having the coolest one-liners?"
No. Taliesin is the best at them, and all four of his characters destroy using them.\\
You caught the eyes! SO proud!
Respectfully
Whats one from his C3 character? Genuine question because I havent see any shared around likeable the rest, from what I *have* seen they appear a person who dosent ever think much before speaking 😅
@@hhylobates4098 "I hope her ends are fucking great because these means are just not forgivable."
"I hope that you do great work. You were very expensive."
"I serve the weak. I serve the forgotten. I serve the dirt beneath out feet."
Great insight as far as the Love / Family subtext.
At first I thought that was one of Mosco's highland "Coos", until you clarified that it was a comfort musk ox.
The concern the gang shows with Percy being mean to Ripley has nothing to do with what Ripley deserves. It's concern about Percy's soul and the whole demon possession thing.
Lord and Lady Briarwood were former powerful nobles from the Dwendalian Empire on the continent of Wildemount. The Dwendalian Empire is very authoritarian, with all magic and religion strictly regulated and controlled. Delilah Briarwood was the Archmage of Antiquity for the Cerberus Assembly, the powerful branch of the Dwendalian government in charge of magic. This job required her to locate and obtain all manner of magic artifacts and tomes, for potential exploitation by the guild and the government. This is how she probably knew of the ruined library, where the book of the Whispered One was located and where the Whispered One probably first noticed her.
In the Empire, Necromancy is supposed to be absolutely FORBIDDEN. So Delilah performing an act of Necromancy to save her husband caused them to go from nobles to fugitives from the law. But Delilah did it anyway, to save her husband.
Yeah. Perceval’s one-liners are notoriously baddass. Even better, considering they are basically all lifted directly from the original Critical Role Game, where Taliesin Jaffe just IMPROVISED them on the spot at the time:
“Of all the names on my list you were the one I was least looking forward to.”
“Yours was the face I saw when murder first entered my heart.”
“You’re the luckiest person in Whitestone…you are at the bottom of my list.”
…etc, etc, etc. and some of my very favorite Percy lines haven’t even showed up in this show yet. I hold out hope for some of these moments (like Percy explaining the importance of human history to Keyleth,) but I don’t think they will be able to cover them all due to the condensed nature of this adaptation.
Glad you had your emotional support cow. Loved the prediction on slapping Percy there near the end. Can't wait to see how you handle the conclusion!
The emotional support Yak strongly reminded me of another Reactor Wee Lass Reacts and her emotional support highland cow :) I love it.
A lot of people didn't like Keyleth during the actual play campaign, and admittedly she was one of my less favorite members of the group as well. I feel like the show really showcases her well, and I notice that she has become a fan favorite amongst LoVM watchers.
Great analysis/commentary, and you caught the control of Cassandra a lot earlier than most! The crew are in a real bind heading into the final two episodes, looking forward to seeing your reaction to the end of the first season!
Also, that's a really cute plushie
"Trust in the Whispered One, for we are *his* blood" - Delilah
To clear up the pronoun query
When it comes to villains, and their love stories, I always try to remember a single rule. Loving and caring for each other does not necessarily mean they are good people. That's how I deal with relatable villains.
You're very perceptive to pick up on how the show is exploring the corrosive aspects of love. But don't forget that it's also showing the opposing healing power of love. Remember that when Percy puts on that mask and becomes vengeance, it's always his love for Cassandra that pulls him back, first when Archie tells him that Cassandra is still alive, and second, just after he kills Anders, and Cassandra calls to him. He immediately takes off the mask and runs to make sure she's all right.
BTW, I'm really interested in watching your EPIC reaction videos, but I'm just waiting until I listen to the sagas myself. So, keep going with those, please.
Still very happy that you are doing this series, love how you analyze stuff inbetween^^ Can´t wait for the finale of the season!
We all know that Delilah is the power behind the couple, but Silas is a real trophy husband. She lets him deal with the minor inconveniences (like the bandits on the road), and when there's something serious, she takes charge whilst he admires her new arts and crafts projects.
Role-playing games are a simulation of the real life. As such, it's perfectly OK to have the feels for the characters, whether they are labelled "heroes" or "villains". What ultimately separates the former from the latter is the choices they make and the consequences they reap.
And whether the DM finds murder hobos amusing.
@@kenle2 "The Thorian butchers... Butchered. The Murderhobos... Murdered. And the Death Dealers are all dead!" ©
wait... now I am subscribed to 2 Queer female reactors with emotional support cows ? The hell ?
The revitalization the party had when pike showed up is an indicator of how important a powerful cleric is against undead from a game mechanics pov. But it also really shows the IRL morale boost that the players always got when Ashley was able to be in the game between "blindspot" shoots. Even when she Skyped in but especially when she could be at the table in person the energy would always just be at a whole different level.
Before I start watching I just want to say that the thumbnail for this video is excellent.
21:37 so you finally got to hear some.. “Bad News”… Percy’s other gun… a rifle.
Taliesin Jaffe is indeed great at the one liners and some of the speeches.
Delilah's voice actress is also Azula of Avatar's Voice actress. ANd Delilah is a necromancer. Even before she made some sort of pact with the Whispered One.
It's worth pointing out that Delilah was already a powerful and respected wizard in her own right long before her bargain with the Whispered One. (Side note, it will always be funny to me that our first glimpse of the Briarwoods' home in Wildemount comes in episode nine/"Nein.")
Omg I never noticed that 😂
Keyleth and Percy friendship is everything and I wish that the show had more time to focus on them. Hopefully once you are done with the show you'll be able to watch some of their moments in the campaign. They really are alike in a lot of ways. Also Keyleth is the best.
The Briarwoods are some of my favorite villains because of their love for each other. Doesn't help that they're so hot. And there are absolutely so many parallels between them and members of Vox Machina.
Also, watching the campaigns I shipped Percy and Vex almost immediately, so seeing you highlight their interactions is giving me absolute life!!! As always love that you are digging into the interactions between characters and the small things they put in the animation, and I'm excited to see you catch up for season 3!!
Grog knew as soon as he saw the light.
Fun trivia bit- Kestral is the name of one of Sam Riegel (Scanlan's) kids. They played the voices of the children in Ep. 1
oh no am i now up to date!?!??
Nice catch about Cassandra's eye color. I've never seen anyone catch it that early before.
It’s just me and Percy’s cute blue eyes in the comics, nothing intelligent 😅
The eye color was just due to the lighting in the scene in question though, I don't think it was meant to be a hint.
Turn undead is a hell of an ability
With you being such a fan of Vax.....I'm looking forward to seeing your reaction vids on what happens with him in season 2.
I mean pike being the ultimate badass against undead is kinda on brand, Cleric vs undead is never a fair fight for undead
"I've got 99 problems, but a lich ain't one!"
@@kenle2 true that!
When I rate “Stirring Speeches” from movies and shows, I always remember President Whitmore’s speech from Independence Day(1996) as my baseline for a perfect 10. Anything better breaks the scale, and most of them are worse.
Theodin's speech at Pelanor Fields.
"DEATH!"
(You orcs think we're AFRAID TO DIE?)
Welcome to the intro of Dr. Riley’s extremely disturbing villain crush on Percy 😖
Residuum is concentrated magic, basically. YOu can replace specific spell components with it. Among other things.
heres the issue...yes their love is admirable but they were already evil before they got involved with the whispered one. do not mistake their love for each other for some hidden goodness
How about, "Evil couple goals?" Even Karens love people, right?
Pike is a Cleric going against Undead. That's right in her elements
Of course she *will* make everyone look bad. It's not a fight, it's dead seal clubbing
Fumigator: "ma'am I think just took care of your little gremlin problem upstairs"
Kyra: "Gremlins!? no-no-no! rats! I wanted you to get rid of the rats, not the gremlins!"
Yeah even without the vampire mindcontrol stuff, ive personally had trouble as far as putting any blame on Cass.
a freshly tortured, abandoned, orphaned 13 year old girl, being groomed by the Briarwoods for the last half decade. Yeah Percy couldnt have gone back for her, but Cass having resentment for being left behind, tied up in her abusive relationship with the briarwoods, I cant imagine what living in those conditions would do to someone.
Controlled, brainwashed a little bit of both. She helps them legitimize their claim to rule, plus as Delilah basically states at the end of episode 10 They need a blood sacrifice. Before they got Vax they planned to use Cassandra for that. or maybe anna, they had to have back ups :P
What Cassandra has going on is a very nasty cocktail of Stockholm Syndrome, genuine resentment for being left behind, magical mind control and a fuckton of trauma. That girl is going to need _all_ the therapy.
I have a feeling that Vex frequently "initiates" with Percy.
Don't be shy about finding Percy and Vex hot, they ARE hot.
1:05:58 everyone, literally everyone lmao
Can you reorder the Playlist for this series?
Your "the bad things love makes us do" analysis makes me think of The Last of Us, specifically some comments in that vein by the TV show creators.
(also, I would do moderately terrible things for a TLOU reaction from you, haha. not sure you would survive it, but your suffering would be... extremely entertaining? sorry?? reactions are a weird genre lmao)
Sylas is absolutely #husbandgoals
You're the second person Ive seen reacting to Vox Machina that has an emotional support highland cow (the other being Mosco @weelassreacts )
A slight spoiler (but not really), Delilah was a mid level member of an organisation called the Cerberus Assembly in Willdmount, Tal'Dori's neighbouring continant and geographically not far from Whitestone. No spoilers but they are not great, so she was still associating with crappy people even before the Whispered One .
High level member really, as one of the 8 archmages she would have been "equally" at the top. Other than the Martinet as leader, and any of the usual office-politics that we don't know the details of
At the risk of a spoiler, they lay off of Percy in Season 2, so you might be okay for it!
Everyone gets Vax & Vex confused; Sam/Scanlan once threatened to make a character named Vix just to piss everyone off!
Why not at least wait until she's done with episode 12 to say that.
I felt like she needed to hear it sooner rather than later.
I know you're used to finding themes in series, but you do understand that this was not an intentional prewritten plot, right? It's a DND game, so a progressive, collaborative plot. Which means most character parallels are coincidental. You're trying to overlay themes where none really exist, because these action reflect the player's decisions, not a pre-planed story.
i dont think we need to give the evil eldritch entity the respect of being concerned about its pronouns lol you can easily find out who the whispered one is by searching the 'whispered one Dnd' nothing in this is subtle XD they just had to use the names/words that WOTC couldn't copy right lol and Delilah doesnt need your pity, she made her choice, she could have simply accepted his death as painful as that would have been, she could have dedicated her self to learning about what ever condition killed him and found a treatment/cure, but no she dedicated herself to and evil eldrich entity and became a necromancer who has 0 qualms about killing babies ._.
Pronouns are not a prize for good behaviour. Respect everyone's pronouns, period.
@@InkyPetrel
Pronouns are a part of speech.
Weaponizing them by getting offended when someone uses their own senses and expresses an obvious, biological truth is extortionate, whatever some professional organization might be intimidated into saying.
You have a right to call yourself anything you wish.
You have no right to DEMAND other people indulge your imagination.