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I'm glad they animated Pike's contractual obligations to play a scientist on NBC's Blindspot.

Fun fact the reason Percy’s hair is white is because of all the physical and psychological trauma he suffered under the Briarwoods which is a real life phenomenon known as Antoinette syndrome.

I love the detail of Pike grabbing Grog with one arm, holding the table with the other, and spitting in the wraith's face when it attacks her. She's a monstah!

The table that looks really good for playing D&D is actually the table that critical role use when they play

your right about Asheley not being there because she was filming blindspot at the time the briarwood arc came around

If you watch the campaign Grog was thrown out of his "herd of goliaths" when he was young and left for dead and Pike and her grandfather found him and raised him. So Pike and Grog grew up together.

Vax gives a lot of nicknames to the party. Pike is Pickle, Keyleth is Kiki, and Vex is stubby (a joke about him having longer ears). [Thanks to anyone who made corrections]

A change for the show vs. the campaign: by the Briarwood arc in the campaign, Vox Machina had a much better relationship with the Tal'Dorei counsel - Allura was actually a good friend of theirs for the things they helped her with. When they were rewarded their keep (after a lot more good will built up from various quests not covered), they actually hired their own staff, and one of them was Captain Jarret as head of their guards (Jarret is the survivor - the dialogue on that first wight death confused me at the time too) and he one of the group's favorite NPCs because of how noble and badass he is, and he was generally just fun to talk to. It was nice that they gave him that little moment in the spotlight without overshadowing the party.

I think the "time limit" of going to Whitestone is that the Briarwoods can just keep sending monsters after them. Vox Machina needs to deal with them as quickly as possible, since we saw how dangerous even one attack from wraiths was.

One of my favorite things about spells in d&d can be flavored any way you want. Matt's descriptions have always been top tier and I love the way they're portrayed in this

One note: The guards keeping them under house arrest are based on the actual Guards Vox Machina *hired* to guard their keep in the campaign, with the "hero guard" being Captain Jarett of said guard. The group was frequently impressed with how badass he was for being just a regular guard.

That "D&D table" is their actual D&D table from the show. Its a custom rig made by Wyrmwood.

This party in particular had a real lack of an intelligence based caster, like a wizard. Someone like that would have the ability to decipher the script. Their highest intelligence character is Percy and he's not trained in magic and Scanlan doesn't have the language knowledge to translate even though he's trained in magic and he doesn't have the flexibility with the spells he can know to take a spell like Comprehend Languages.

Keyleth's story early on in campaign 1 was displayed beautifully in the first season. Aaron picks up on it very quickly here, with her confidence issues. She actually got a lot of flack during live streams for the way she played/roleplayed her character, myself not being a big fan of her early on, but by the end of the 'Briarwood' arc of the campaign keyleth was easily one of my favorite if not my favorite character. So seeing her story arc being put into the show so vividly is awesome.

Remember when Vax was liking at the book. There was a picture on the page that the book was open to that was a copy of the skull from the cover of the book. Vax then said “The whispered one!”.

I'm pretty sure these were wraiths or specters (which are the same, just different power levels). They fit perfectly. While wraiths get disadvantage in bright light, they represented that by making them corporeal, which I thought was a clever touch.

Matt Mercer has stated that Allura Vysoren was his self-insert into the campaign. She’s definitely the one the group goes to when they need clues or any kind of help. Also, the stream started with VM going to save Lady Kima in the Underdark. They definitely decided to change that up to give us all the greatest hits of the abridged campaign.

"You're their light now" hits real hard knowing what comes at the end of S1.

It always astounds me how Aaron can hear a name clearly and still pronounce it very wrong. I don't envy that talent.

This episode did the horror elements so well! This episode is so well done overall, especially with all the little character interactions, it really gives you an insight to the characters!

I think what was happening from the wraiths was the 5e mechanic where you take damage to your max HP

It'd funny you refer to kerrion stonefell as a soltaran. His voice actor Darin de Paul played one in the doctor who rpg series on geek and sundry.

I *loved* the design and execution of the wights in this episode - I enjoyed the first three episodes, but this is the one that really kicked it into a whole different level for me. Aaron was spot on that Pike splitting off was because, in the Campaign, Ashley Johnson was splitting her time between Los Angeles (where Critical Role is filmed and they all lived) and NYC (where Ashley was filming the show Blindspot -- that show has a lot of Critical Role easter eggs around Ashley's character). The plot reason, about her losing her connection to the Everlight, came from an earlier plotline that they folded in here to streamline the narrative and for dramatic effect.

About Ashley Johnson not being there for a lot of the game: She was actually filming a T.V. show in New York (the gang is in California I believe). She was a main character on it, which is pretty cool! The show is called Blindspot. Not the best show in the world to be honest but it's not bad either, and Ashley's pretty great in it! I dunno, that could be a reaction, eventually! :p

some of the monsters and spells have changed a bit due to not being able to use wotc copyrighted things, but also i think to make for a smoother narrative. so far i feel like they've captured the essence of everything pretty well!

I really liked the monsters in this episode. You never really think about what necrotic damage would look like when playing Dnd, and this episode makes me never want to let my characters ever take necrotic damage ever again.

In case nobody caught this, Delilah Briarwood is voiced by Grey Griffin, who voiced Azula in ATLA. Also I had no idea that was her name but that's badass

Going back to a previous episode, when the Briarwoods were walking back to their room, they passed a mirror where you could only see Delilah reflected, thus showing she is not a vampire

Keyleth's (KEE-leth) Aramente isn't well explained in the show, and maybe they changed it a bit, but the goal is more than finding inner strength. A potential leader of an Ashari tribe goes on their Aramente to connect to the other tribes, and they become leader when they return home. Part of Keyleth's insecurity is rooted in not feeling worthy to be a leader, but there's another element to specifically _her_ Aramente that's kind of a spoiler.

"Eat a fucking sandwich." - One of the funniest lines in the whole series.

10:05 That is exactly how their table looks in campaigns, so you were right. Well, it's not broken there but the shape is the same.

I really love the horror vibe of this episode, and the rest of this arc pretty much.

I love the angry stomping of Percy! 🤣

Haha Comments: “That table is actually their table” Rick in the discussion: “That table is actually their table”

I love how deeply you look at the show and the fact that you actually take notes!

A point of note, the characters are SEVERELY underpowered in the show compared to where they were in the game. They were level 10+ in the campaign

fun fact - this episode was written by Ashly Burch, who was played with the cast as a guest in Campaign 2 as well as some one shots.

Go back and watch episode 3, there's a scene where the Briarwoods walk by a mirror. Delilah has a reflection, Sylas does not. She's a necromancer.

Ashley Johnson was also in a show with Jamie Alexander (Lady Sif from Marvel) called Blindspot. I campaign 2 she would leave to work on it fairly often throughout the game. probably about 30% of the time.

Having finished this incredible show, im so excited to see you guys react to the back half of the season. Some incredible storytelling

When it comes to vampiric possession and being bit... In D&D a vampire bite only takes effect if the character dies before a greater restoration spell. Sylas bit Vax, who would have turned into a vampire had he died soon after. He was close and this was a big moment in the table top game. But Pike was able to greater resto him and remove the curse. As for possession. A person is possessed until they take damage. Vax having taken damage during the fight would have his charm removed. But Uriel has not been hit so he still stays under Sylas' control.

This show is such a ride! One episode it's "Pull on my mothafokin beads" And the other it's "Maybe you should just say sorry?"

The undead here are more like shadows than wights. In the game, shadows have various disadvantages when they're in the light. I like how they change it up here to better emphasize their weakness to an audience who are not expected to be familiar with every detail of D&D.

That table was actually what they played at, its an easter egg from their stream

That table IS their D&D table from the stream

In the campaign, they fought invisible stalkers. Obviously that's not very entertaining for cartoon, so they made these Wight-like creatures instead.

This is probably one of my favourite episodes!

Yes!! So glad you guys have done this!!

Everybody talks about the voice actors in general… but nobody talks about Grey Griffin’s FLAWLESS evil sorceress spell screech.

Basic thaumaturgy can put out a torch or candle.

"I've heard it both ways". Yes, and one of those ways is wrong.

This show is just so amazing that final fight scene omg!!!

Another amazing reaction

pike has to go off because she has a blindspot in her belief 😂

Pretty fun to hear your theories

good catch on the table for D&D that is their old table from critical role

what an insane episode

If you wanna arrest a house, arrest the Monster House from Monster House!

So Grog was just gonna down like 5 pounds of paprika?

The table is a replica of the table on the stream Critical Role used during their 2nd campain.

Getting ready to have nightmares about this episode

21:01 just a guess from a new critter, I think what we were seeing there was necrotic damage. I think 🤔

They showed in episode 3 that delilah had a reflection but sylas didn't

It's funny one of you mentioned how you like that table (at 10:06) for a D&D campaign because that is actually the exact table Critical Role played at for much of their game.

The Belts name is Simon.... and he is a One Eyed Trouser Snake lol

My favorite episode

After checking the monster manual I believe those monsters were actually stylized Specters. Wraiths are more powerful forms of Specters that can actually MAKE their victims into Specters, so I'm pretty sure with all the similarities to Specters that's what they actually are. Wights are something COMPLETELY different. They do have a time limit now, a few actually. Now Delilah is sending monsters to kill them and get her book back, so going to them will be safer cause running away is giving them as much time as they want to make something REALLY powerful. Second Sovereign Uriel is under their influence, and that's VERY bad. That needs to be solved quickly. Third, they're under "investigation" for attacking the Briarwoods, so who knows what bullshit will be levied towards them (especially since Percy shot a kid's hand off.) Then there's the fact Percival is like "They know I'm alive now, so they're going to stop at nothing to get at me." So their only real option is to go and confront them and stop whatever it is they're planning, cause they know they're up to some shady shit. Also, it's KEY leth. Not Kai. Nobody has ever called her Kai. Vax calls her Kiki, but nobody calls her Kaileth. Fun fact, in the game the Briarwood's cover story was they were facilitating the construction of a bridge that would make it easier to trade with Wildemount, which is another continent and where the second campaign takes place. Also keep in mind Delilah is NOT a vampire herself, only her husband is a vampire. We see last episode they walk past a mirror and only Sylas doesn't show in it. Delilah is a powerful necromancer, like a Lich.

Wights, Ghouls, and Ghasts are coporeal undead. The weakness reaction of Shadows to light is not the same as Wraiths. These were Wraiths (as depicted in 1E-3.5E).

Tbh I feel like Percy is so cold(not a compliment) at this point in time that the second he'd understand his family is undead he'd shoot them without blinking an eye

The table is based on a table built by wormwood for critical roll

I don't think a lone bite is ever how vampires work, that's usually werewolves and zombies in modern lore. In some lore it's draining the victim dry and then drinking the vamps blood, others it's just draining the victim to death but I can't recall any that a lone bite would cause a victim to turn otherwise every time they fed they'd create a new vampire to feed.

But you do see Delilah's reflection in the mirror, which is not the case with Sylas.

A fun thing is that Keyleths Daylight spell lasted the exact amount of time the spell in D&D lasts Edit: this is actually wrong. Read it somewhere else and thought it was neat. It's 1 minute like sunbeam, but the effect was more like Daylight which is an hour. That's what I get for blindly repeating things without investigating myself.

We didnt see them murder Percy's family.... oh oh oh just wait for that and all will be revealed.

The Aramente was not at all explained. Probably would be fleshed out in S2. But I genuinely worry they would even push it back to S3 and do a poor rush job. Simply, a prospective leader is chosen based on character and lineage. Once of age, they are sent off to to meet the other Ashari tribes and to gain their respect and approval. The approval from these other tribes will come from completing a difficult trial of their design. Keyleth is from the Air Ashari and she has to visit the Earth, Fire, and Water Ashari tribes scattered across the continent (Fire and Water Ashari are not even in this continent). Ideally, because these are long trips, they are bound to gain experience and competence. The combat nature of these trials also incentivizes gathering and using a party hence leading to some leadership experience. Keyleth is inexperienced enough to settle for a bunch of f*ck ups.

I only hear Ellie when Pike talks.

Did anyone tell them. That is their dnd table LOL.

The only thing that irks me a bit is how the mage created a miniature star... With that kind of power they would barely have any issues with any creature that is not some kind of deity, I mean, she could even solve the energy crisis of her entire world creating mini fusion nuclear plants lol

1:30

9:48 well... technically they're all already dead from the start

This was brought about by a kickstarter that raised over $11 million dollars in donations. Critical Role has been streaming for more than seven years now.

These acts of extreme violence in this episode to me it just meant that they wanted some payback oh so badly

Key-lith............they say it in the god dammed show!!!!!

who is kai-leth?? its KEY-LETH

Please tell me they will figure out Percy’s home is called Whitestone and that Briarwood is Sylas and Delilah’s last name and not the name of the town, because it’s kinda irritating right now. Percy literally had a whole monologue about when the Briarwoods showed up at Whitestone and Blind Wave still calls the town Briarwood instead of Whitestone (or at least most of them still call it Briarwood)

I think they were wraith's.

Lol, it's funny that Eric commented on the table looking like it would be good for a D&D campaign. That actually is the critical role group's D&D table. That was an easter egg :)

It's "Keyleth" (key-lěth). Pronounced like key+lethe. I've never seen anyone in the cast or on the staff pronounce it any other way.

Her name is never "Kaileth" it's always either "Keyleth" or "Kayleth." It's an E or an A sound, never an I (eye) sound.

love the content but as someone listening on non-laptop speakers it would be great if u could cut or significantly lower the bass in your audio, you don't really need all that rumble in a youtube video, especially the speaking portion

Engagement

Dudes! go faster, I really enjoy your takes. When watching the first reaction I was like "Oh no... they play dnd and haven't watched CR...wait, what? they're taking notes, oh no!"

:)

Jesus, Rick gets off on being a wet blanket huh?

Anyone else here waiting for Flash?

Guysss, react to The Hunger Games and to 28 days later

I feel like this episode is the calm before the storm. I think it's the weakest in the season -- not bad at all, but every season has to have a best and worst episode -- but 5 through 12 are great and hopefully a sign of the quality of a future season 2.

WHERE IS COMMUNITY?

Maybe by the time you finish watching season 1. Season 2 will drop. Or my grandkids go to college. Whatever comes first 🤣