Also because it was a big Keyleth moment. Keyleth and even more Marisha (Keyleth’s player/va, and Matt’s wife) was often the target of some serious Twitter hate for her play style, and seeing Keyleth get her big moments set to amazing music is powerful. Matt is so proud when his wife does cool shit. Couple goals lol.
I like the idea that Percy, in the process of trying to make the pepper box, inadvertently created a blood sacrifice through his failures, and that combined with his thirst for revenge created his pact with the demon.
I have been waiting for your reaction to "Darling, take off the mask" and it did not disappoint. That line is ALSO one from the game, although there it happened a little earlier. How it is in the show is SO perfect though. I have not stopped thinking about that moment and line for literal years. Also I would LOVE any analysis videos that you did based on just the show. The show is it's own canon and the themes and character relationships should stand on their own merits. Plus that is why I got into Vox Machina reaction content in the first place, I know what it's like to watch the show as someone who knows the campaigns in and out, I want to know the perspective of someone who hasn't seen anything but the show. (That said, if you ever want to react to moments from the livestreams I would also welcome that.)
No Mercy Percy was always my favorite. Along with 'your secret is safe with my indifference' Percy. In game, 'Diplomacy' (the hand-thing) was something that Percy and Keyleth worked on, just a glove, not in his hand itself. But I really do like the way they compressed it, and slid it in with all of this. It's emblematic of the whole troupe. They all sacrifice bits of themselves for each other, making the whole stronger.
Okay, now that S1 is over, I can talk 😂 yeah, you were pretty spot on on Percy not knowing he was possessed by a demon, in fact, his VA Taliesin Jaffe didn't know either, he just said in Percy's backstory that he got inspired by a dream and created the Pepperbox, Matt Mercer came with the idea of Orthax, the bird like demon. In the original campaign there is an excelent moment were Percy/Taliesin wonders if he even wanted revenge before Orthax came to him. Another fun fact, Taliesin was NOT happy that Sam(Scanlan VA) threw the gun in the acid, you should search for that segment, is hilarious 😂
“Fun” fact: I’m pretty sure Taliesin has confirmed that that’s Percy’s face is always making that face under the mask. Also, good news: While Percy obviously isn’t center stage anymore in season 2, he definitely doesn’t just fade into the back. His character continues to progress and develop, even though the main part of his arc is over.
The perspective of someone familiar with the characters but not with the source material (through the comics or the novel about the twins) is fascinating to me.
If you put the lyrics to Your Turn to Roll along with the music in the sunbeam scene, Silas is destroyed on the line: "Villains beware 'cause you're 'bout to be dead." And Percy's player/actor Taliesin, said that the face Percy was making in the "darling, take off the mask" moment was the face he was ALWAYS making under the mask.
she keeps saying "theyre evil, but theyre in love" like being in love somehow overtakes all the evil things they did. also assuming that their goals were ever about each other after sylas was brought back
@@starlepus9437ya, their kinda love is supernova level toxic. When no one else in the world matters to you but whom you love, it isn't love, it's caustic codependency. Delilah being unable to let Sylas go and grieve is a sign she was mentally ill, and then became a self mutilater who turned her husband into a literal monster that required human blood/murder to survive. That's hardly "love". That's sickness.
“Is she gonna get away? I just feel like that’s gonna cause a lot of problems.” Season 3 poking its head around the corner giving a thumbs up: “It sure is!” But more seriously, the issue was that killing Ripley in that moment would have been very bad for Percy.
I would love to see any analysis video you wanted to make about this series, you have fantastic insight into the characters and the story. And as for not being as familiar with the campaign, the show is an adaptation not a faithful recreation, some things will be changed. For example I don't know if Delilah was evil or not before making her deal with The Whispered One in this version, because like you pointed out, we've only been shown her being desperate to save her husband and choosing to make a deal. Personally I make some assumptions based on her willingness to slaughter a family and enslave a town, but I'm also biased from what I know from the campaign. So yeah, I think you would have a very interesting outlook on things. (Also there is a shocking lack of reactors who love Vex, and every time you praised her and understood her character motivations I gained three years of life, so thank you for that.)
This. It's the "legend" of Vox Machina. Like a retelling of a fairytale. All of the versions hit the same beats, it's the same story. We still have a red hooded cloak, we still go to grandma's cottage and find the wolf, but in some versions the wolf lives, in some, there is a woodcutter, in some little red defeats them, in some grandma carves her way out, and every version is worth enjoying and analysing on its own merits, and it's still the "same" story. (Although sometimes its also fun to compare versions and say "huh, this changes a dynamic I hadn't thought about" or "that isn't as clear in this version" or "this framing makes the wolf more sympathetic" or whatever) [/waffling] I'm agreeing, in a very long winded way 😆
@@InkyPetrel Exactly! Like in the original campaign Archie was an advisor to Percy’s father, in TLOVM he’s a childhood friend of Percy’s. This change is something impossible for a show only viewer to know (unless told) and that change in dynamic shifts how Percy interacts with his character and how the rebellion occurred in the story. Both versions are interesting, but neither one is “better” than the other.
The Ziggurat was originally dedicated to the Knowing Mentor, a goddess of knowledge and one of the Prime deities. The Dawnfather put the Sun Tree over the Ziggurat in order to help her heal from being partially devoured by the Chained Oblivion, one of the Betrayer Gods. Ripley and the Briarwoods corrupted it in service to the Whispered One.
A little confusing in the animated series, but Percy shooting his hand wasn't the act that banished the demon back to the gun. He shot himself in the hand to use the pain as a way to overcome the demons control. His defiance of the demon and refusing to carry out the execution of Delilah is what banished the demon back to the gun to lie in wait
1:11:00 They probably did it for another reason: In nature, it has been long observed that hawks and eagles preferred to dive out of the sun in order to hunt the animals and fish they prey on with higher success rates. Early military airplane pilots also adapted the strategy, preferring the tactic of coming out of the sun in dogfights or dive bombing runs whenever possible.
Would actually really like to see an analysis video from the perspective of someone who's only watched the show and seen the comments: a lot of critters love giving more info, so some of us will give more info, but that doesn't mean your take isn't good or interesting. if someone's an asshole about it, that's their issue. but honestly, just do whatever you most like to do, no pressure either way. hope to see your reactions to season 2 though -critter who has watched this campaign multiple times through.
THIS! I hate to think that any of my enthusiastic lore dumping (sorry!) has been interpreted as shutting down a different perspective and analysis of the animated show on it's own merits, just as a piece of media. I feel like often critters will be guilty of correcting reactors out of, like, desire to add to the enjoyment of the show by providing context, or to stop someone moving through the story with an assumption that might confuse things later? I feel like most of the time it's not coming from a place of "well actually" and smugness (though there are always those elements as well, because... comments on the internet) but we probably need to step back sometimes (myself included) and let people just... watch the thing. It can be difficult to not add context or extra lore sometimes, because it can feel like choosing not to help? A little? IMO anyway. Your mileage may vary. But I think it would be cool to hear an analysis without the bias of familiarity with the source material! I'd be here for it :)
some general lore from Whitestone, ziggurat and the sun tree (not really a spoiler) "Beneath Whitestone lies an ancient underground ziggurat, a temple to the goddess Ioun (knowledge). During the Calamity Ioun baited the rampaging Tharizdun to her central temple there, but Tharizdun badly wounded her and nearly consumed her, causing her temple to sink underground in her sorrow. Pelor (The DawnFather) then defeated Tharizdun in a climactic battle that transformed the nearby region in its violence by killing everything living, and after chasing and banishing Tharizdun elsewhere, Pelor returned to the site of Ioun's wounding and blessed the land with his own Sun Tree directly over the site of her sunken temple. The land has been under his protection ever since."
This is also not a spoiler, but the Calamity was basically a long war between the various gods of Exandria. It happened roughly a thousand years before any of these characters were born. You do not need to know all the detailed lore to enjoy the cartoons (or the campaign for that matter. I didn't know know any of it before I watched it.).
5:37 Speculating about the ziggurat using only knowledge from the show to this point; the ziggurat was a form of temple designed to contact divinity of some form - given the placement under Whitestone, the Dawnfather seems more likely than the Everlight (the two deities mentioned so far), though the Briarwoods seemed to use Dr. Ripley to change the ziggurat to attune with this “Whispered One” instead.
@@KestralWolfeI mean, Taliesin is pretty good at making tragic characters too lol But yeah, Liam is the king of making characters whose entire lives are Pain 😂
Your hate for Dr. Anna Ripley is completely valid. There are lots of evil villains in Critical Role lore that are more powerful and inflict more suffering. However, I don't know if I hated any of them more than I hated Ripley. She has absolutely no redeeming qualities. So welcome to the Ripley Haters club. There's millions of us lol
It took a few viewings, and they never say it, but when the Demon is in control, Percy holds the gun in his left (he is right-handed.) So shooting his left hand made it so he couldn’t fire ‘demon handed’ anymore, banishing it so it could be destroyed. It’s so so subtle and well done.
You should totally do some analysis videos once you finish s2 or when s3 is finished. Even if some us know things from the campaign, its always interesting to hear thoughts from only the show's tellig
Yes. One reason I enjoy watching the reactions to the animated series, is because I like seeing how it is interpreted by people who don't have all the minute details of the original source. You're picking up on a lot of stuff that I never noticed, simply because I already knew the story. For example, I never realized how Vex was using touch to communicate with Percy. Which is actually very interesting, because, as a kid of nobility, he probably didn't get a lot of physical affection from his parents.
These two episodes were just a dynamic duo of gutpunches, such a fantastic and emotional end to a great season! Lots of great commentary on the inner dynamics that have developed within VM, and I agree, the soundtrack/music was so good! Season 2 only gets wilder!
for the record, i would absolutely welcome analysis videos based off just the show! i think thats a cool idea and you'd bring an interesting perspective. but i also TOTALLY understand being wary of the kinds of "um actually" comments it might draw...
That is a shame! As someone who has watched all of campaign one MULTIPLE TIMES, read the comics and the books I would love an analysis video from an outside point. Usually the Critter community is so accepting and nice. Sorry if some people who act like they know it all are gatekeeping the fandom from you. ❤
1:12:15 "My heart hurts a lot" There's a future event (not saying anything about which campaign/game/oneshot, obviously) which caused Taliesin to stay up part of the night after the game crying. He called it "a good workout for the soul." Catharsis through media is great; from what I hear, the kind you can get from being really deeply invested in a TTRPG is... quite something. (I've only dipped my toes in myself, no long campaigns so far.)
"Despite my ramblings" listen, we´re here because we LOVE your ramblings^^ I like it when reactors actually react, and you do that amazingly! 😁 I kind of love how the act that defeated the demon was Percy spilling his own blood to NOT kill his sworn enemy Can´t wait for when you do season 2^^ Also, such a glorious moment from the game when the demon appeared: Taliesin/Percy´s player: "Do you actually have a mini for the dark spectre of my soul?" *Matt/DM puts down a mini* Taliesin: "Yaaaay! 😃"
A little bit of clarification about the demon inside Percy´s gun (Orthax) that the show maybe didnt explore as full as in the Campaing: When Percy was a kid his hate and desire for revenge atract Orthax and inadvertently make a pact to get his revenge in exchange the Demon will get every soul he personally kill, including the maker of the pact. But because Orthas didnt want percy to know of the contract, he just make it look like it was all a dream and the "help" he give was the original inspiratio for the pepperbox, knowing percy was smart enougth to creat it. Then the gun itself became the tether to the contract, so when scanlant throw it in the acid he end the pact. Funny enought Matt confess later that if Scanlant didnt do that, even if they beat the demon this time, there was always posibility of Percy getting possessed the more he use the gun. PS: Yes i also have the headcanon that Keylith has a crush of boths Twins, is just Vax the one who resiprocate the feelings, although if Percy wasnt in the picture maybe thing would have been very different😈
The sun tree was planted by the dawnfather to trap evil. In the distant past there was a war called the calamity where the gods and their followers fought across the planet. Where Whitestone would be an evil god almost killed a good one but was beaten by the dawnfather. The evil gods essence seeped into the ground. So the dawnfather put the tree there to try to sanctify the area. Don't know who built the zippertwat and for what reason. If you'd like a great short video that gives you all the info you need without spoilers is critical roles history of Exandria. Could be a good reaction video.
I watched the hundreds of real-play that they published, and I'm a big D&D player myself. I get the "now I can see what they're doing" in the fights, and I 100% agree. The creators of the show did such a good job catering to two completely different audiences while still making both happy. There are tons of inside jokes that get slipped in, but they're not so obvious to leave viewers who never watched the game out of what's happening. Anyway, I think you're awesome and I hope you enjoy the ride!
I really love the portrayal of different leadership with Percy vs Keyleth. Percy is analytical, an inventor, a planner: he does better when he has time to prepare, but often struggles when put on the spot (freezing up or freaking out or otherwise being overwhelmed). Keyleth is the opposite: she is incredibly powerful and capable, as long as she doesn’t have too much time to overthink and doubt herself. Her impulses are selfless and protective, but she struggles with trusting herself with the big picture. And they end up balancing each other out really well
We do get a bit more of goofy Percy from here on out. He still has some Of that angst and edge to him but with out the drive of revenge and literal demon in his head he does lighten up a bit
Another reason the dragons approached from the sun was actually tactical from the Dragon’s POV. If they fly with the sun behind them, it’ll take longer for the guards to spot them and raise the alarm, giving the people of the city less time to prepare for a counter-attack or evacuation
Okay, regarding the Percy's consent in the deal, you're correct. In the live-play, he describes his meeting Orthax as a figment of his imagination, even shouting at the others that "It was a dream!" and therefor not real.
Contracts with demons are a lot looser than with devils. Devils will draw up a forty page contract for a simple request, and every clause is followed to the letter. Demons are pure chaos and pure evil. They really only need you to be weak enough to submit to their demands, and they will betray you at the earliest convenience.
Percy's giving up the element of surprise proves the old adage, "Ziggurat smoking may be hazardous to your stealth." (Yes, I've posted this pun on a lot of S1E11 reaction videos. I probably should stop, but can't.)
Fun fact: certain things in the original DnD livestream campaign for Critical Role were changed because of copyright issues, so "BigbY's Hand" is Scanlan's Hand" and "The Whispered One" does have an official name, but the mention of this character's name is guaranteed to send chills down the Dnd community's spines, especially if your adventruing party happens to go up against him in battle - VECNA! Vecna is a very powerful character in DnD lore, the one you go up against, and if things go badly - like REALLY badly - it's a lilely TPK (Total Party Kill). So if the "Whispered One" is the individual Delilah's been in contact with the entire time - be very glad Vox Machina stopped that ritual when they did, or .... well, they'd all be royally EFFED! Hi, Kyra, glad you got through the series and had the courage to go forward! Here's to more reactions of this fun series down the line, hopefully!
WoTC who own the copy rights of dnd are very..... yeah... so anything that even remotely resembles their intellectual properties they want money for. Grogs race had to be changed from Goliath to half giant, bigbys hand was renamed, season two had a monster changed in appearance cause WoTC owns the rights to like half the races, monsters, spells, etc and to use them they want royalties to an extreme amount compared to other companies I believe
Well copyright is very particular, so I wouldn't say they are any more protective of their copyright than any other company. Because if you let something slide in not protecting your copyright, then it applies evenly to everyone else. A "We'll let this person slide on that" ends up with someone (or everyone) else using their stuff and when they then try to protect it, it can be taken to court with "you've set a precedent for not being protective of your copyright, so you can't change your standards now". Disney used to get a lot of shit for sending notices to daycares that they needed to stop using their characters, and I thought that was pretty petty until I found out that they would lose protection of them if they didn't apply them even in cases one would think that they should let it slide. And in most cases it's not a matter of paying royalties but that anything that uses their copyrighted materials that they own would fall under their umbrella. So it would have to be that WOTC would own part of the show, that it would be part of WOTC control (which would then allow WOTC to be able to use stuff owned by Critical Role themselves before. I do find it an interesting subject as D&D (though it was TSR at the time) faced their own copyright problems for using "Hobbits" which they then had to change to Halflings.
I feel like pre-Whispered One Delilah was probably not so much clearly evil as she was… sketchy. Like, she was already a necromancer willing to cross boundaries for knowledge, but she may have had lines she wasn’t willing to cross morally just for forbidden knowledge… until that knowledge was instrumental in her husband not dying.
Oh youre right, the Briarwoods are certainly more evil than what they were before, we just really dont know the details of what they were like prior to being bound to the Whispered One. I assume you saw comments saying "Delilah was part of an Evil orginisation so we know shes always been Evil!!!". Which is not the case at all, people who have seen the game should remember there were people at Delilahs top level position that were "neutral" and even decent characters. So Delilah probably wasnt a saint but she could have been an average person, or your average power-hungry and selfish mage, or even technically "evil" aligned but its not like she was stringing children from trees. Sylas we have no idea at all, I imagine his current demeanor has as much to do with becoming a bestial, undead creature as being a servant of the some evil force; like there is nothing left of what Sylas was before except his strongest emotion, hes straight up a monster that still loves his wife. Regardless, youre right in that the Whispered One has corrupted them to an extent. Sorry to hear that you have a few too many commenters of the defensive fan variety who are quick to "Um actually 🤓👆" commentary that they might deem wrong or incomplete and cant accept that the show presents things in different ways, for better or worse, and that the source material doesnt overrule the flaws or how new viewers interpret things. I'm sure there are people (me!) who would welcome a full series analysis, maybe just guard it with an opening disclaimer that you are interpreting the story and themes as presented, and comments to "correct" based information that might not even exist in the shows distinctly separate canon are not helpful. Since those kind of comments rightfully bother you, *definitely* be careful around the comments on episode 4 of season 2. Ive consistently seen too many people give too much away about what is clearly supposed to be a mystery in the show even if things were more clear in the original, they just cant help seeing reactors with questions about it and take that as a green light to just spoil the answers instead of letting the story be told. Now... if you will excuse me answering some of your questions based on the source material (not corrective or spoilery I promise): 3:00 For the Ziggurat explanation, Keyleth said they were ancient structures for contacting gods so its not a monument to the Whispered One himself, it has be repurposed. By the symbol of 3 eyes either side of the doors at 9:27 in your video (just after Ripley gets away), you can take a guess at what kind of god that represents. Maybe one who was mentioned in S2E2, with some slight connection to the imagery of a third/minds eye? After the temple sunk into the earth, the Dawnfather did indeed come and deal with the thing that caused it, and commemorated the event/blessed the damaged land with the Suntree. 6:30 Yeah she should definitely be dead by now, a flaw in the shows writing caused by changes; in the game Anders and Cassandra were in the castle, Ripley slipped away in the chaos of that combat. I can imagine the main reason for the change to bring Cass to the group earlier was to make the betrayal have more impact, if it followed the game timeline in the much shorter timeframe then it would have been all of 5 minutes between the rescue and acid trap.
Huh, So Percy had to fight his literally inner demons. I wonder what that could be a metaphor for. Especially since he kept pushing other from getting too close.
Your analysis videos would be great! you're very perceptive and understand the characters well, I have watched everything and I would love to know the insights of someone who has a fresher look at the series! I know Critters like to info dump in the comments but its just our love language, please feel free to add all your thoughts to our little community, it is always welcome
Aw man, that sucks that you've felt analysis vids would be unwelcome 😞. I hope the ppl who have presented you with lore bits at least gave it in a friendly way thinking they were just informing you, in spite of them being ignorant of the fact that the "um actually" lore bits weren't something you asked for. And as far as her backstory, it's never been definitively said how evil the briarwoods were prior to the whispered one giving Delilah the rights of vampirism. They were ran out of Wildemount dmand escaped to Whitestone for practice necromancy, but nothing said that necromancy was going on before the whispered one tempted Delilah, so technically you might well actually be right, the briarwoods did become MORE evil afterwards, and just how evil they might have been before isn't ever made clear. (Been watching the campaign streams since 2015, helped fund the Kickstarter to get the cartoon made, been neck deep in the lore for almost 10 years lol).
If you like fight cerography you should check out RWBY the trailers and the Volume 1-3 fight were done by the late Monty Oum and oozes love for the craft.
You were right on the money recalling that reference from the comics! Ripley was indeed the first name Percy tried to cross off his List, and his failure to do so is both how he ended up in jail where VM found him and the reason she was inspired to try making her own pepperbox. According to Taliesin Jaffe (actor and player behind Percy), Percy didn't know that the voice in his head was real; he thought that he'd just had a bad dream, woke up, and built something terrible. The blank barrel on his gun was not meant for himself after crossing out the last name, but rather Percy (and Orthax) acknowledging that the List would never end, that there would always be another name, as well as countless unnamed others who were likely to die in the future as a consequence of him bringing firearms into the world. Speaking of Orthax, while Vox Machina may have defeated him, he's not actually dead...
I have to admit, Ripley getting away I feel was done badly in the animated series. In the campaign she went invisible and was more obviously slippery using magic as well as being an engineer, while here in the show, they just sort of biffed it and she only made a brief reference to mixing tech and magic. They didn't really make it make quite as much sense, yeah, that she couldn't be taken out quietly maybe by Vax at the least. And ofc, shouting Percy was, uh, not the same Percy that had been worried about noise moments before, he was more in Orthax's control, but it still just felt a bit messy and unsatisfying to me.
Not quite invisible, the incident with Cassandra and Anders happened in the castle, and during that Ripley was left alone in the hallway as everyone rushed into battle. Trinket was left to guard her and did his very bear best, but she got out of his grasp and used a basic smoke bomb, leading him on a merry chase through the castle before slipping out the front door into the chaos of the rebellion.
Enjoying your thoughts as you watch - I'm glad you finally did. It's amazing that the cast could take their make-believe world of vibrant fictional characters and "bring it to life" through animation - something the cast is all so familiar with. As for something you said that I hear often among Critters...I wouldn't say the Briarwoods really *love* each other. It's more of an obsessive/possessive codependent attachment, a relationship that is a cheap, perverse reflection of love. Definitely NOT "relationship goals", as some people put it. The Briarwoods as characters don't understand what love and compassion is, and their relationship is hollow and worse for it. They also weren't converted, twisted or turned by The Whispered One - the Briarwoods already were psychopaths before they found out about him. But you point out that you're only working with what you've been presented with in the show, and that is totally valid. (I think you'll find that as much as we love talking about this, we Critters are - mostly - a pretty welcoming bunch.) Looking forward to watching your reactions to Season 2, and eventually 3!!!
We're here finally! :D *settles in with popcorn to watch PAIN * 😆 I think I speak for most folks here when I say we aren't "putting up with you" I really enjoy how deeply you invest your emotion and attention in the stories you react to. Being detached and unemotional about a piece of media doesn't make someone's opinion better, like a few reactors seem to think. :) The frustration and need to check the comics about Ripley is so real. Aside, you have, of the many many reactions I've seen (it's a hobby :p ) you have a unique starting point. Of the people who are watching with some background knowledge, I've seen a few folks reacting who watched the current campaign 3 but not previous ones, a lot who watched campaign 2, but not 1 or 3, and a whole lot of folks with no idea who or what a "Critical Role" is, but you're the only reactor I've encountered who's familiar with the comics but not the liveplay OR (much of) the animated series. It's such an interesting place to start! (genuine) Judging on the sample size of one, It seems like the comics have given you a great lens for what to expect, depth-wise, especially from the characters, comparable to the expectations folks who watch the campaigns bring in to a reaction, it's just kind of fascinating. (And is a great endorsement for the comics as well, imo. They're so good.) Vex in particular seems to have benefitted from that extra lore. I've noticed she tends to be the one most misunderstood by newcomers to the story, and I was curious to see if the comics would be enough to counteract that. ANYWAY, this waffling is meant to be complimentary, it's a good thing! it's cool that people can be introduced to the story in so many different ways, and neat to see the differences in perspective that appear in reactions. I've thoroughly enjoyed these, looking forward to the speedrun continuing! If you're interested, there is a short recap song of season 1, sung by Scanlan, that was posted before season 2 dropped, I'd recommend that just for the amusement value. BUT I would suggest avoiding the "teaser trailer" they also released for S2, since it's literally just a clip of the first minute of the season. It was a neat bit of hype when we were waiting for S2 to drop, but a bit pointless if you're about to watch the first episode anyway 😆 (also, obviously, spoilers for season 2, and the upcoming season 3, abound in the thumbnails on the official critical role channel, so it's probably better to google "Scanlan's season 1 recap" and jump directly to it, if you're going to.) Percy is SUCH a lil dork under all the trauma, and I love that for him :)
we are actually getting a comic in the this continuity for Ripley soon. and that's a valid point -this is a different continuity from the campaign, akin to differences between Marvel Comics and the MCU. they are making changes. "I broke the world for us" is from the campaign. Delilah screamed it when Sylas was killed there, and it actually made Laura/Vex pause. I can't say I like them calling it an "unspoken partnership" here. In game, Percy willfully chose to deal with Orthax. He later claimed he thought it was just a dream, but not accepting responsibility for his actions is very much a Percy thing, and why he's my least favorite character. That said, this moment was amazing, here and the campaign. There, when Orthax was pushing him to kill Delilah (and Cassandra), he said, "Did I even want revenge before I talked to you? Did I? I don't remember anymore. What does she die for? What do I even need? I want my country. I want my sister! I've killed two of those who have wronged me and nothing is better. Nothing feels better, nothing is avenged." Kudos as always to Taliesin for his performance.
The last 10 minutes of the video were terrible. Is the girl drunk or on drugs? Her eyes don't open at all. It's not cool. Overall, the video is not bad. But next time, try to bring yourself back to normal.
At 00:20 she speaks about it being very late in the night and being tired. So an hour later her eyes are heavy. Nothing to worry about and very normal. 😊
Can you do me a favor? Could you please read that comment out loud to a friend that you trust and ask them whether it sounds more helpful or cruel? Thank you.
The entirety of this comment was terrible. Is the user drunk or on drugs? Their sense of empathy isn't open at all. It's not cool. Overall, the comment is not bad. But next time, try to bring yourself to a place of understanding before spouting off nonsense.
"At least he saw the sunlight one last time." Cassandra with the literal burn of the century
Fun fact: During the live watch-along the cast did for this episode, Matt (the DM and voice of Sylas) started to tear up around the 25:39 point
Epic moments with great music do that.
Also because it was a big Keyleth moment. Keyleth and even more Marisha (Keyleth’s player/va, and Matt’s wife) was often the target of some serious Twitter hate for her play style, and seeing Keyleth get her big moments set to amazing music is powerful. Matt is so proud when his wife does cool shit. Couple goals lol.
This episode still makes me cry! As someone who watched these scenes in the original game they did such an amazing job adapting these moments. 😭
I like the idea that Percy, in the process of trying to make the pepper box, inadvertently created a blood sacrifice through his failures, and that combined with his thirst for revenge created his pact with the demon.
I have been waiting for your reaction to "Darling, take off the mask" and it did not disappoint. That line is ALSO one from the game, although there it happened a little earlier. How it is in the show is SO perfect though. I have not stopped thinking about that moment and line for literal years.
Also I would LOVE any analysis videos that you did based on just the show. The show is it's own canon and the themes and character relationships should stand on their own merits. Plus that is why I got into Vox Machina reaction content in the first place, I know what it's like to watch the show as someone who knows the campaigns in and out, I want to know the perspective of someone who hasn't seen anything but the show. (That said, if you ever want to react to moments from the livestreams I would also welcome that.)
Also on to season 2, I'm so excited!! There's so much more good stuff to come.
No Mercy Percy was always my favorite. Along with 'your secret is safe with my indifference' Percy.
In game, 'Diplomacy' (the hand-thing) was something that Percy and Keyleth worked on, just a glove, not in his hand itself. But I really do like the way they compressed it, and slid it in with all of this. It's emblematic of the whole troupe. They all sacrifice bits of themselves for each other, making the whole stronger.
Okay, now that S1 is over, I can talk 😂 yeah, you were pretty spot on on Percy not knowing he was possessed by a demon, in fact, his VA Taliesin Jaffe didn't know either, he just said in Percy's backstory that he got inspired by a dream and created the Pepperbox, Matt Mercer came with the idea of Orthax, the bird like demon. In the original campaign there is an excelent moment were Percy/Taliesin wonders if he even wanted revenge before Orthax came to him.
Another fun fact, Taliesin was NOT happy that Sam(Scanlan VA) threw the gun in the acid, you should search for that segment, is hilarious 😂
"oh no he's got a dinosaur inside him" Lmaooo that was my favorite reaction
*pterodactyl screech * 😆 Yeah that delighted me as well.
Percy did not let go of that gun so easily in the game. They had to magically freeze him to keep him from jumping into the acid to get it back.
And every time the pepperbox had a major misfire Percy would have to get to his workshop and repair it, costing time and a lot of money.
And Taliesin was not as happy as Percy was here. He long held a (playful) grudge against Sam for destroying the gun.
@@Logan_BaronI love the memes about this so much lmao
@@Logan_Baron He was just insane with vengeance.
“Fun” fact: I’m pretty sure Taliesin has confirmed that that’s Percy’s face is always making that face under the mask.
Also, good news: While Percy obviously isn’t center stage anymore in season 2, he definitely doesn’t just fade into the back. His character continues to progress and develop, even though the main part of his arc is over.
The perspective of someone familiar with the characters but not with the source material (through the comics or the novel about the twins) is fascinating to me.
If you put the lyrics to Your Turn to Roll along with the music in the sunbeam scene, Silas is destroyed on the line: "Villains beware 'cause you're 'bout to be dead."
And Percy's player/actor Taliesin, said that the face Percy was making in the "darling, take off the mask" moment was the face he was ALWAYS making under the mask.
Honestly one of the best react creators I've seen. You have so much empathy. Its very refreshing.
Your thoughts on the Briarwoods are pretty common. They're evil as hell, but still couple goals in terms of genuinely caring for each other.
she keeps saying "theyre evil, but theyre in love" like being in love somehow overtakes all the evil things they did. also assuming that their goals were ever about each other after sylas was brought back
@@starlepus9437ya, their kinda love is supernova level toxic. When no one else in the world matters to you but whom you love, it isn't love, it's caustic codependency.
Delilah being unable to let Sylas go and grieve is a sign she was mentally ill, and then became a self mutilater who turned her husband into a literal monster that required human blood/murder to survive. That's hardly "love". That's sickness.
“Is she gonna get away? I just feel like that’s gonna cause a lot of problems.”
Season 3 poking its head around the corner giving a thumbs up: “It sure is!”
But more seriously, the issue was that killing Ripley in that moment would have been very bad for Percy.
I would love to see any analysis video you wanted to make about this series, you have fantastic insight into the characters and the story. And as for not being as familiar with the campaign, the show is an adaptation not a faithful recreation, some things will be changed. For example I don't know if Delilah was evil or not before making her deal with The Whispered One in this version, because like you pointed out, we've only been shown her being desperate to save her husband and choosing to make a deal. Personally I make some assumptions based on her willingness to slaughter a family and enslave a town, but I'm also biased from what I know from the campaign. So yeah, I think you would have a very interesting outlook on things. (Also there is a shocking lack of reactors who love Vex, and every time you praised her and understood her character motivations I gained three years of life, so thank you for that.)
This. It's the "legend" of Vox Machina. Like a retelling of a fairytale. All of the versions hit the same beats, it's the same story. We still have a red hooded cloak, we still go to grandma's cottage and find the wolf, but in some versions the wolf lives, in some, there is a woodcutter, in some little red defeats them, in some grandma carves her way out, and every version is worth enjoying and analysing on its own merits, and it's still the "same" story.
(Although sometimes its also fun to compare versions and say "huh, this changes a dynamic I hadn't thought about" or "that isn't as clear in this version" or "this framing makes the wolf more sympathetic" or whatever) [/waffling]
I'm agreeing, in a very long winded way 😆
@@InkyPetrel Exactly! Like in the original campaign Archie was an advisor to Percy’s father, in TLOVM he’s a childhood friend of Percy’s. This change is something impossible for a show only viewer to know (unless told) and that change in dynamic shifts how Percy interacts with his character and how the rebellion occurred in the story. Both versions are interesting, but neither one is “better” than the other.
The Ziggurat was originally dedicated to the Knowing Mentor, a goddess of knowledge and one of the Prime deities. The Dawnfather put the Sun Tree over the Ziggurat in order to help her heal from being partially devoured by the Chained Oblivion, one of the Betrayer Gods.
Ripley and the Briarwoods corrupted it in service to the Whispered One.
A little confusing in the animated series, but Percy shooting his hand wasn't the act that banished the demon back to the gun. He shot himself in the hand to use the pain as a way to overcome the demons control. His defiance of the demon and refusing to carry out the execution of Delilah is what banished the demon back to the gun to lie in wait
Basically it was just Percy very forcibly snapping himself out of it. And also making it so he couldn’t really use the gun even if he wanted to.
1:11:00 They probably did it for another reason: In nature, it has been long observed that hawks and eagles preferred to dive out of the sun in order to hunt the animals and fish they prey on with higher success rates. Early military airplane pilots also adapted the strategy, preferring the tactic of coming out of the sun in dogfights or dive bombing runs whenever possible.
Would actually really like to see an analysis video from the perspective of someone who's only watched the show and seen the comments: a lot of critters love giving more info, so some of us will give more info, but that doesn't mean your take isn't good or interesting. if someone's an asshole about it, that's their issue. but honestly, just do whatever you most like to do, no pressure either way. hope to see your reactions to season 2 though -critter who has watched this campaign multiple times through.
THIS! I hate to think that any of my enthusiastic lore dumping (sorry!) has been interpreted as shutting down a different perspective and analysis of the animated show on it's own merits, just as a piece of media.
I feel like often critters will be guilty of correcting reactors out of, like, desire to add to the enjoyment of the show by providing context, or to stop someone moving through the story with an assumption that might confuse things later? I feel like most of the time it's not coming from a place of "well actually" and smugness (though there are always those elements as well, because... comments on the internet) but we probably need to step back sometimes (myself included) and let people just... watch the thing.
It can be difficult to not add context or extra lore sometimes, because it can feel like choosing not to help? A little? IMO anyway. Your mileage may vary.
But I think it would be cool to hear an analysis without the bias of familiarity with the source material! I'd be here for it :)
1:11:20 It's also good combat strategy in airborne combat, to make yourself harder to see. It's a tactic dragons would know intimately.
some general lore from Whitestone, ziggurat and the sun tree (not really a spoiler) "Beneath Whitestone lies an ancient underground ziggurat, a temple to the goddess Ioun (knowledge). During the Calamity Ioun baited the rampaging Tharizdun to her central temple there, but Tharizdun badly wounded her and nearly consumed her, causing her temple to sink underground in her sorrow. Pelor (The DawnFather) then defeated Tharizdun in a climactic battle that transformed the nearby region in its violence by killing everything living, and after chasing and banishing Tharizdun elsewhere, Pelor returned to the site of Ioun's wounding and blessed the land with his own Sun Tree directly over the site of her sunken temple. The land has been under his protection ever since."
This is also not a spoiler, but the Calamity was basically a long war between the various gods of Exandria. It happened roughly a thousand years before any of these characters were born. You do not need to know all the detailed lore to enjoy the cartoons (or the campaign for that matter. I didn't know know any of it before I watched it.).
Both Silas and the Demon inside Percy is both Matthew Mercer
5:37 Speculating about the ziggurat using only knowledge from the show to this point; the ziggurat was a form of temple designed to contact divinity of some form - given the placement under Whitestone, the Dawnfather seems more likely than the Everlight (the two deities mentioned so far), though the Briarwoods seemed to use Dr. Ripley to change the ziggurat to attune with this “Whispered One” instead.
“Not gonna cry” lol keep telling yourself that. Critical Role just loves to rip our hearts out and this show took that and RAN WITH IT
Especially tragic king Liam O'Brian, haha
@@KestralWolfeI mean, Taliesin is pretty good at making tragic characters too lol
But yeah, Liam is the king of making characters whose entire lives are Pain 😂
I don't think a demon can be killed that simply, but his connection to this plane, and to Percy was destroyed.
Your hate for Dr. Anna Ripley is completely valid. There are lots of evil villains in Critical Role lore that are more powerful and inflict more suffering. However, I don't know if I hated any of them more than I hated Ripley. She has absolutely no redeeming qualities. So welcome to the Ripley Haters club. There's millions of us lol
I really appreciate what an empathetic and emotive reaction you give to each episode. I'm looking forward to your videos of Season 2!
As a note, whilst there are many analysis videos out there, they are always welcome provided they are genuine - as your content always is.
It took a few viewings, and they never say it, but when the Demon is in control, Percy holds the gun in his left (he is right-handed.) So shooting his left hand made it so he couldn’t fire ‘demon handed’ anymore, banishing it so it could be destroyed. It’s so so subtle and well done.
You should totally do some analysis videos once you finish s2 or when s3 is finished. Even if some us know things from the campaign, its always interesting to hear thoughts from only the show's tellig
Yes. One reason I enjoy watching the reactions to the animated series, is because I like seeing how it is interpreted by people who don't have all the minute details of the original source. You're picking up on a lot of stuff that I never noticed, simply because I already knew the story. For example, I never realized how Vex was using touch to communicate with Percy. Which is actually very interesting, because, as a kid of nobility, he probably didn't get a lot of physical affection from his parents.
These two episodes were just a dynamic duo of gutpunches, such a fantastic and emotional end to a great season! Lots of great commentary on the inner dynamics that have developed within VM, and I agree, the soundtrack/music was so good! Season 2 only gets wilder!
for the record, i would absolutely welcome analysis videos based off just the show! i think thats a cool idea and you'd bring an interesting perspective. but i also TOTALLY understand being wary of the kinds of "um actually" comments it might draw...
That is a shame! As someone who has watched all of campaign one MULTIPLE TIMES, read the comics and the books I would love an analysis video from an outside point. Usually the Critter community is so accepting and nice. Sorry if some people who act like they know it all are gatekeeping the fandom from you. ❤
1:12:15 "My heart hurts a lot"
There's a future event (not saying anything about which campaign/game/oneshot, obviously) which caused Taliesin to stay up part of the night after the game crying. He called it "a good workout for the soul."
Catharsis through media is great; from what I hear, the kind you can get from being really deeply invested in a TTRPG is... quite something. (I've only dipped my toes in myself, no long campaigns so far.)
"Despite my ramblings" listen, we´re here because we LOVE your ramblings^^ I like it when reactors actually react, and you do that amazingly! 😁
I kind of love how the act that defeated the demon was Percy spilling his own blood to NOT kill his sworn enemy
Can´t wait for when you do season 2^^
Also, such a glorious moment from the game when the demon appeared:
Taliesin/Percy´s player: "Do you actually have a mini for the dark spectre of my soul?"
*Matt/DM puts down a mini*
Taliesin: "Yaaaay! 😃"
"You are their light now, keep them out of darkness." is actually hard hitting quote and it follows Keyleth whole series.
A little bit of clarification about the demon inside Percy´s gun (Orthax) that the show maybe didnt explore as full as in the Campaing: When Percy was a kid his hate and desire for revenge atract Orthax and inadvertently make a pact to get his revenge in exchange the Demon will get every soul he personally kill, including the maker of the pact. But because Orthas didnt want percy to know of the contract, he just make it look like it was all a dream and the "help" he give was the original inspiratio for the pepperbox, knowing percy was smart enougth to creat it. Then the gun itself became the tether to the contract, so when scanlant throw it in the acid he end the pact. Funny enought Matt confess later that if Scanlant didnt do that, even if they beat the demon this time, there was always posibility of Percy getting possessed the more he use the gun.
PS: Yes i also have the headcanon that Keylith has a crush of boths Twins, is just Vax the one who resiprocate the feelings, although if Percy wasnt in the picture maybe thing would have been very different😈
The way you're clutching that stuffed animal is so adorable and so sweet, lol
The sun tree was planted by the dawnfather to trap evil.
In the distant past there was a war called the calamity where the gods and their followers fought across the planet.
Where Whitestone would be an evil god almost killed a good one but was beaten by the dawnfather.
The evil gods essence seeped into the ground. So the dawnfather put the tree there to try to sanctify the area.
Don't know who built the zippertwat and for what reason.
If you'd like a great short video that gives you all the info you need without spoilers is critical roles history of Exandria. Could be a good reaction video.
It was a Temple of the Knowing Mistress, the goddess of knowledge.
I watched the hundreds of real-play that they published, and I'm a big D&D player myself. I get the "now I can see what they're doing" in the fights, and I 100% agree. The creators of the show did such a good job catering to two completely different audiences while still making both happy. There are tons of inside jokes that get slipped in, but they're not so obvious to leave viewers who never watched the game out of what's happening. Anyway, I think you're awesome and I hope you enjoy the ride!
I knew the end of this arc was going to hit you hard. ❤
I really love the portrayal of different leadership with Percy vs Keyleth.
Percy is analytical, an inventor, a planner: he does better when he has time to prepare, but often struggles when put on the spot (freezing up or freaking out or otherwise being overwhelmed).
Keyleth is the opposite: she is incredibly powerful and capable, as long as she doesn’t have too much time to overthink and doubt herself. Her impulses are selfless and protective, but she struggles with trusting herself with the big picture.
And they end up balancing each other out really well
A cool touch, in case nobody mentioned it, is that Percy and the demon shoot with different hands. Hence why Percy put a bullet in his other hand
We do get a bit more of goofy Percy from here on out. He still has some
Of that angst and edge to him but with out the drive of revenge and literal demon in his head he does lighten up a bit
Heeey you made it, so proud of you! So much fun to watch alongside with you, looking foreward to S2
Another reason the dragons approached from the sun was actually tactical from the Dragon’s POV. If they fly with the sun behind them, it’ll take longer for the guards to spot them and raise the alarm, giving the people of the city less time to prepare for a counter-attack or evacuation
Okay, regarding the Percy's consent in the deal, you're correct. In the live-play, he describes his meeting Orthax as a figment of his imagination, even shouting at the others that "It was a dream!" and therefor not real.
Contracts with demons are a lot looser than with devils. Devils will draw up a forty page contract for a simple request, and every clause is followed to the letter. Demons are pure chaos and pure evil. They really only need you to be weak enough to submit to their demands, and they will betray you at the earliest convenience.
Thanks for the video and love the cow ❤
Percy's giving up the element of surprise proves the old adage, "Ziggurat smoking may be hazardous to your stealth."
(Yes, I've posted this pun on a lot of S1E11 reaction videos. I probably should stop, but can't.)
Yes you should stop 😉
Fun fact: certain things in the original DnD livestream campaign for Critical Role were changed because of copyright issues, so "BigbY's Hand" is Scanlan's Hand" and "The Whispered One" does have an official name, but the mention of this character's name is guaranteed to send chills down the Dnd community's spines, especially if your adventruing party happens to go up against him in battle - VECNA! Vecna is a very powerful character in DnD lore, the one you go up against, and if things go badly - like REALLY badly - it's a lilely TPK (Total Party Kill).
So if the "Whispered One" is the individual Delilah's been in contact with the entire time - be very glad Vox Machina stopped that ritual when they did, or .... well, they'd all be royally EFFED!
Hi, Kyra, glad you got through the series and had the courage to go forward! Here's to more reactions of this fun series down the line, hopefully!
WoTC who own the copy rights of dnd are very..... yeah... so anything that even remotely resembles their intellectual properties they want money for. Grogs race had to be changed from Goliath to half giant, bigbys hand was renamed, season two had a monster changed in appearance cause WoTC owns the rights to like half the races, monsters, spells, etc and to use them they want royalties to an extreme amount compared to other companies I believe
@@tycol322yeah WotC are at, like, Nintendo levels of copyright ridiculousness
Well copyright is very particular, so I wouldn't say they are any more protective of their copyright than any other company. Because if you let something slide in not protecting your copyright, then it applies evenly to everyone else. A "We'll let this person slide on that" ends up with someone (or everyone) else using their stuff and when they then try to protect it, it can be taken to court with "you've set a precedent for not being protective of your copyright, so you can't change your standards now". Disney used to get a lot of shit for sending notices to daycares that they needed to stop using their characters, and I thought that was pretty petty until I found out that they would lose protection of them if they didn't apply them even in cases one would think that they should let it slide.
And in most cases it's not a matter of paying royalties but that anything that uses their copyrighted materials that they own would fall under their umbrella. So it would have to be that WOTC would own part of the show, that it would be part of WOTC control (which would then allow WOTC to be able to use stuff owned by Critical Role themselves before.
I do find it an interesting subject as D&D (though it was TSR at the time) faced their own copyright problems for using "Hobbits" which they then had to change to Halflings.
Keep the cow close for all of season two.
You're insightful.
8:46 Orthax Moment
I feel like pre-Whispered One Delilah was probably not so much clearly evil as she was… sketchy. Like, she was already a necromancer willing to cross boundaries for knowledge, but she may have had lines she wasn’t willing to cross morally just for forbidden knowledge… until that knowledge was instrumental in her husband not dying.
Oh youre right, the Briarwoods are certainly more evil than what they were before, we just really dont know the details of what they were like prior to being bound to the Whispered One. I assume you saw comments saying "Delilah was part of an Evil orginisation so we know shes always been Evil!!!". Which is not the case at all, people who have seen the game should remember there were people at Delilahs top level position that were "neutral" and even decent characters. So Delilah probably wasnt a saint but she could have been an average person, or your average power-hungry and selfish mage, or even technically "evil" aligned but its not like she was stringing children from trees. Sylas we have no idea at all, I imagine his current demeanor has as much to do with becoming a bestial, undead creature as being a servant of the some evil force; like there is nothing left of what Sylas was before except his strongest emotion, hes straight up a monster that still loves his wife. Regardless, youre right in that the Whispered One has corrupted them to an extent.
Sorry to hear that you have a few too many commenters of the defensive fan variety who are quick to "Um actually 🤓👆" commentary that they might deem wrong or incomplete and cant accept that the show presents things in different ways, for better or worse, and that the source material doesnt overrule the flaws or how new viewers interpret things. I'm sure there are people (me!) who would welcome a full series analysis, maybe just guard it with an opening disclaimer that you are interpreting the story and themes as presented, and comments to "correct" based information that might not even exist in the shows distinctly separate canon are not helpful.
Since those kind of comments rightfully bother you, *definitely* be careful around the comments on episode 4 of season 2. Ive consistently seen too many people give too much away about what is clearly supposed to be a mystery in the show even if things were more clear in the original, they just cant help seeing reactors with questions about it and take that as a green light to just spoil the answers instead of letting the story be told.
Now... if you will excuse me answering some of your questions based on the source material (not corrective or spoilery I promise):
3:00 For the Ziggurat explanation, Keyleth said they were ancient structures for contacting gods so its not a monument to the Whispered One himself, it has be repurposed. By the symbol of 3 eyes either side of the doors at 9:27 in your video (just after Ripley gets away), you can take a guess at what kind of god that represents. Maybe one who was mentioned in S2E2, with some slight connection to the imagery of a third/minds eye? After the temple sunk into the earth, the Dawnfather did indeed come and deal with the thing that caused it, and commemorated the event/blessed the damaged land with the Suntree.
6:30 Yeah she should definitely be dead by now, a flaw in the shows writing caused by changes; in the game Anders and Cassandra were in the castle, Ripley slipped away in the chaos of that combat. I can imagine the main reason for the change to bring Cass to the group earlier was to make the betrayal have more impact, if it followed the game timeline in the much shorter timeframe then it would have been all of 5 minutes between the rescue and acid trap.
Fair warning season 2 is around or slightly more emotional in certain moments than this. Make sure you got the plushy or some tissues handy.
Huh, So Percy had to fight his literally inner demons. I wonder what that could be a metaphor for.
Especially since he kept pushing other from getting too close.
Would love to see your analytic perspective.
Your analysis videos would be great! you're very perceptive and understand the characters well, I have watched everything and I would love to know the insights of someone who has a fresher look at the series! I know Critters like to info dump in the comments but its just our love language, please feel free to add all your thoughts to our little community, it is always welcome
Aw man, that sucks that you've felt analysis vids would be unwelcome 😞. I hope the ppl who have presented you with lore bits at least gave it in a friendly way thinking they were just informing you, in spite of them being ignorant of the fact that the "um actually" lore bits weren't something you asked for.
And as far as her backstory, it's never been definitively said how evil the briarwoods were prior to the whispered one giving Delilah the rights of vampirism. They were ran out of Wildemount dmand escaped to Whitestone for practice necromancy, but nothing said that necromancy was going on before the whispered one tempted Delilah, so technically you might well actually be right, the briarwoods did become MORE evil afterwards, and just how evil they might have been before isn't ever made clear. (Been watching the campaign streams since 2015, helped fund the Kickstarter to get the cartoon made, been neck deep in the lore for almost 10 years lol).
The critter community is mostly a welcoming bunch. If you want to make analysis videos, we'd enjoy them.
If you like fight cerography you should check out RWBY the trailers and the Volume 1-3 fight were done by the late Monty Oum and oozes love for the craft.
I would love to see you do some reactions to the translations from the table to the screen, I think you would really appreciate them.
You were right on the money recalling that reference from the comics! Ripley was indeed the first name Percy tried to cross off his List, and his failure to do so is both how he ended up in jail where VM found him and the reason she was inspired to try making her own pepperbox.
According to Taliesin Jaffe (actor and player behind Percy), Percy didn't know that the voice in his head was real; he thought that he'd just had a bad dream, woke up, and built something terrible. The blank barrel on his gun was not meant for himself after crossing out the last name, but rather Percy (and Orthax) acknowledging that the List would never end, that there would always be another name, as well as countless unnamed others who were likely to die in the future as a consequence of him bringing firearms into the world.
Speaking of Orthax, while Vox Machina may have defeated him, he's not actually dead...
Percy never thanked Scanlan for destroying his gun in the campaign. And though he made more, they never were quite as good as the original.
For the record; Scanlan's song recounting their deeds does exist: ruclips.net/video/6quct4MdF50/видео.html
1:04:13
Well yeah, but everyone thinks that..... right?
From my point of view, if something is not in the show, it doesn't exist, so go ahead, make your Show analysis ^^
I have to admit, Ripley getting away I feel was done badly in the animated series. In the campaign she went invisible and was more obviously slippery using magic as well as being an engineer, while here in the show, they just sort of biffed it and she only made a brief reference to mixing tech and magic. They didn't really make it make quite as much sense, yeah, that she couldn't be taken out quietly maybe by Vax at the least.
And ofc, shouting Percy was, uh, not the same Percy that had been worried about noise moments before, he was more in Orthax's control, but it still just felt a bit messy and unsatisfying to me.
Given Percy's reaction to Keylith and Grog taking Slyas out, he wouldn't have wanted anyone else to kill Ripley.
Not quite invisible, the incident with Cassandra and Anders happened in the castle, and during that Ripley was left alone in the hallway as everyone rushed into battle. Trinket was left to guard her and did his very bear best, but she got out of his grasp and used a basic smoke bomb, leading him on a merry chase through the castle before slipping out the front door into the chaos of the rebellion.
Enjoying your thoughts as you watch - I'm glad you finally did. It's amazing that the cast could take their make-believe world of vibrant fictional characters and "bring it to life" through animation - something the cast is all so familiar with.
As for something you said that I hear often among Critters...I wouldn't say the Briarwoods really *love* each other. It's more of an obsessive/possessive codependent attachment, a relationship that is a cheap, perverse reflection of love. Definitely NOT "relationship goals", as some people put it. The Briarwoods as characters don't understand what love and compassion is, and their relationship is hollow and worse for it. They also weren't converted, twisted or turned by The Whispered One - the Briarwoods already were psychopaths before they found out about him. But you point out that you're only working with what you've been presented with in the show, and that is totally valid. (I think you'll find that as much as we love talking about this, we Critters are - mostly - a pretty welcoming bunch.)
Looking forward to watching your reactions to Season 2, and eventually 3!!!
You're seeing things that aren't there. 😅
Which is impressive, given how you did almost the whole video with your eyes closed. 😂
We're here finally! :D *settles in with popcorn to watch PAIN * 😆
I think I speak for most folks here when I say we aren't "putting up with you" I really enjoy how deeply you invest your emotion and attention in the stories you react to. Being detached and unemotional about a piece of media doesn't make someone's opinion better, like a few reactors seem to think. :)
The frustration and need to check the comics about Ripley is so real.
Aside, you have, of the many many reactions I've seen (it's a hobby :p ) you have a unique starting point. Of the people who are watching with some background knowledge, I've seen a few folks reacting who watched the current campaign 3 but not previous ones, a lot who watched campaign 2, but not 1 or 3, and a whole lot of folks with no idea who or what a "Critical Role" is, but you're the only reactor I've encountered who's familiar with the comics but not the liveplay OR (much of) the animated series. It's such an interesting place to start! (genuine)
Judging on the sample size of one, It seems like the comics have given you a great lens for what to expect, depth-wise, especially from the characters, comparable to the expectations folks who watch the campaigns bring in to a reaction, it's just kind of fascinating. (And is a great endorsement for the comics as well, imo. They're so good.)
Vex in particular seems to have benefitted from that extra lore. I've noticed she tends to be the one most misunderstood by newcomers to the story, and I was curious to see if the comics would be enough to counteract that. ANYWAY, this waffling is meant to be complimentary, it's a good thing! it's cool that people can be introduced to the story in so many different ways, and neat to see the differences in perspective that appear in reactions.
I've thoroughly enjoyed these, looking forward to the speedrun continuing!
If you're interested, there is a short recap song of season 1, sung by Scanlan, that was posted before season 2 dropped, I'd recommend that just for the amusement value. BUT I would suggest avoiding the "teaser trailer" they also released for S2, since it's literally just a clip of the first minute of the season. It was a neat bit of hype when we were waiting for S2 to drop, but a bit pointless if you're about to watch the first episode anyway 😆 (also, obviously, spoilers for season 2, and the upcoming season 3, abound in the thumbnails on the official critical role channel, so it's probably better to google "Scanlan's season 1 recap" and jump directly to it, if you're going to.)
Percy is SUCH a lil dork under all the trauma, and I love that for him :)
we are actually getting a comic in the this continuity for Ripley soon. and that's a valid point -this is a different continuity from the campaign, akin to differences between Marvel Comics and the MCU. they are making changes.
"I broke the world for us" is from the campaign. Delilah screamed it when Sylas was killed there, and it actually made Laura/Vex pause.
I can't say I like them calling it an "unspoken partnership" here. In game, Percy willfully chose to deal with Orthax. He later claimed he thought it was just a dream, but not accepting responsibility for his actions is very much a Percy thing, and why he's my least favorite character. That said, this moment was amazing, here and the campaign. There, when Orthax was pushing him to kill Delilah (and Cassandra), he said, "Did I even want revenge before I talked to you? Did I? I don't remember anymore. What does she die for? What do I even need? I want my country. I want my sister! I've killed two of those who have wronged me and nothing is better. Nothing feels better, nothing is avenged." Kudos as always to Taliesin for his performance.
"Why am I encouraging to be more violent"
Would you say you encourage violence? (She won't know, but you all know).
The last 10 minutes of the video were terrible. Is the girl drunk or on drugs? Her eyes don't open at all. It's not cool. Overall, the video is not bad. But next time, try to bring yourself back to normal.
At 00:20 she speaks about it being very late in the night and being tired. So an hour later her eyes are heavy. Nothing to worry about and very normal. 😊
Chill. No reason to be a dick about it.
Can you do me a favor? Could you please read that comment out loud to a friend that you trust and ask them whether it sounds more helpful or cruel? Thank you.
The entirety of this comment was terrible. Is the user drunk or on drugs? Their sense of empathy isn't open at all. It's not cool. Overall, the comment is not bad. But next time, try to bring yourself to a place of understanding before spouting off nonsense.
She'd already said it was late. Anyone can have a bad day.