I have been anxiously awaiting your response to this episode. I LOVED the switch out. My response was "THIS is why I love Critical Role" when it happened - meaning, I love that they try wild stuff and don't stay in a pattern, they really play with whats possible with the game in ways and to a degree that no other real play show does (or maybe even can). It was so refreshing and surprising and engaging. And I love your take on it. I agree, it's fine to say "this didn't work for me because of x, y, and z - this was not my taste." What's bonkers is "because this isn't my taste, its therefore bad and wrong and shouldn't have been what they did because my taste is the singular arbiter of what is right and good." That's an infantile way of thinking and, you're right, very selfish and short-sighted of detractors who lean into that entitled perspective.

"I'm glad and I'm excited that people are passionate enough to be so invested that they are frustrated that things they came up with didn't happen, or that they saw circumstances that outside of the game could have worked. To me, I think those discussions are great. There are some people that take it too far and actually make verbal attacks on the players via social media, or go out of their way to use those circumstances to really be unfairly dark and unnecessarily down on us, and I'm like, those are kind of shitty... But overall, I love the discussion, and I think it's great. Everyone will handle a situation differently, and I love people who will have those talks." - Matt. This is basically how I feel. Respectful criticisms are fine, these discussions and debates can be interesting and insightful. Seeing different perspectives is great. But don't take things too far. Try to empathize and see where others are coming from. I do hope that those with fair, respectful criticisms don't get lumped in with the "entitled"/hateful/toxic crowd; that would really be terrible for meaningful, genuine discussion and would just result in echo chambers.

The message that Orym sent while back on Exandria after Bells Hells found the portal is the message Abbriya refers to at the beginning of the second half. That moment was I think 2 days from where we are currently with Bells Hells. So all of the EXU stuff should be happening within the past 2 days.

I don’t know why, but for some reason I remembered Dariax as a dwarf divine soul sorcerer/bard.

I didn't like the second half that much, so you know what I did? I went to bed. I needed the sleep anyway. I suggest that people try it when they are not enjoying an episode!

last time I was this early, FCG was still alive

I think the worst thing about the toxicity for me is that it makes it hard for fans that enjoy what happened to talk about it. The one CR online space I hang out in, I was trying to talk about what I liked about the episode and I just ended up in arguments with people that didn’t like it. They weren’t even being super entitled, it just felt like they couldn’t let my appreciation of the episode stand without pointing out everything they didn’t like about it. I just stopped looking at that chat and haven’t talked about the episode since even though I really liked it, because it felt like I wasn’t allowed to just enjoy it

I honestly thought the group swap was absolutely genius. Not only do we get to catch up with some other major players in the overall story - some being fan favorites, and allow further world/story development from additional perspectives - including champions from other gods, *even a betrayer*, but also it creates space for a plethora of narrative options with the EXU cast, and further breathing room for the main cast, too. FCG was a heavy loss; everyone (in game) is on the edge of breaking; a massive 30 persuasion roll that pulled a ton of lore and a promised alliance with Lilliana likely threw wrenches in Matt's plans. Some space was crucial. The EXU cast was also obviously being included and considered in the story background, and the messages to Dorian acted as a perfect segue into introducing their characters back into the fold.

Came from the podcast to KZfaq to say say thanks and thanks for calling out the viewers who latch on too tight or who let their reasonable concerns devolve into toxic complaints

Just occurred to me, when FCG died, did Sam's gas tank flask die with him?

I don't think Dariax will join the main campaign with Dorian, because Matt is gonna have to GM.

I’m gonna say this ahead of time, but the conversation around this episode would be so different. Had the party TPKed People gotta remember when you have guest on the show like this that shit has to be scheduled in advance meaning this was planned to be an EXU tie in well before episode 91. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that the whole episode was supposed to be the Crown keeper not just half but they needed to resolve what it happened

I got the impression that the crown keepers picked up 2 weeks prior to the current day of C3.

This is gonna be long, just hear me out, haha! Luboffin a while ago had a live discussion that helped me understand both perspectives in a civil manner. EXU never connected for me. It didn't have anything to do with the people involved. It's just a personal preference! So when the show switched over, I was a bit confused. The best way I've tried to describe it is jumping into a friend's favorite TV show while they're in the 3rd season. Yes, I still was able to enjoy what I saw despite my lack of context. I'm smart enough to put some pieces together on my own, but it just led to me focusing more on the questions I had moreso than what was actually going on in the episode. I could have stopped watching and gone back to watch the two seasons of EXU, but I think (as many others have already expressed I'm sure) EXU always came off as optional. Sort of like how watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. felt back in the day. The story and its characters were deeply connected to the main story that the MCU was forming, but was self-contained enough to where more casual viewers didn't feel a need to go back and watch if they didn't have the time or simply didn't want to. It only enhanced the story for those who chose to partake. I think where the request to "be warned beforehand" could be better phrased is if, say, this were a separate episode altogether. And I already know what people have said, "it wouldn't be a surprise if they told us!" I know! But taking time out of the main campaign in a moment of peak interest was just unfortunate timing. Now I fear that the EXU story will feel rushed to accommodate for the limited space when it could've had an entire episode or two+ to make the Dorian reunion feel natural and satisfying. And this is not to say that it won't still! It very well still could work out just fine and all of this discord be for nothing. But I think it could've been a win-win for fans who have watched and appreciated the EXU story and for fans who never got the chance. While I do understand the disdain for the overly whiny portion of the fanbase, I hope it doesn't turn into discrediting everyone's appreciation for the show given their differing opinions on this one choice. One can choose to not jive with the twist and still be a fan. I feel like all of the discourse is sort of being lumped into one massive category of "entitled CR fans" (which Luna, I think, eloquently described why this outcome can be harmful for building a genuine community that is open to expressing their opinions about the show.) There's a balance on both sides! Discussion is good! People should feel comfortable expressing their opinions as long as it is respectful. I just wouldn't give so much time and energy towards giving the obviously hateful/toxic people attention. It takes away from the good discussion that could actually be had talking about this piece of media we all enjoy. Anyways, regardless of all of the noise, I'm excited to see where the story goes from here. I've been on the ride since early C1, I'm not gonna get off now!

34:00 Correct me if I'm wrong. But I believe Matt Mercer himself stated that he always wanted a long running game where he can call back to previous campaigns and events telling a more complete story more than the single campaign he is currently running. Not only that, at the start of Campaign 3 they stated that they would be trying a new story telling format. I took this to mean, that all the information for campaign 3 might be split up into more segments than the linier story telling of the previous campaigns.

I feel like casting Haste on an enemy and then immediately dropping concentration could actually be an interesting tactic.

I can understand why certain people didn't appreciate the transition at the break, for various reasons...however, I think it's clear that it was Matt's plan to bring in the EXU cast once Bells' Hells made it back from Ruidus. Of all the CR campaigns, #3 has been the most railroaded. Matt has had an agenda with this one from Day 1, and let's keep in mind that the original cast just LOVES their cliffhangers and dramatic surprises. The reason why they didn't announce anything, IMO, is because folding in EXU to the main campaign was always the plan. Granted, the timing of this switchout was definitely not the best, given what happened in the prior episode. I think I'm most impressed that Matt stuck with this in spite of a player perma-death (that was the bare minimum that probably would have happened, he's lucky he didn't end up with a TPK after first creating Monster-han and then siccing her on his PCs)...although maybe he *was* expecting it, and having the other team come in was his insurance policy to still be able to have an actual episode, in the event that all of Bells' Hells had ended up dead. Either way, there was bound to be an emotional backlash, especially from the people who can't help but be entitled and toxic. I think Aabria is great, even though I'm not always the biggest fan of her DM style...I personally didn't have an issue with the switch-up, but that combat did drag on for quite a long while.

Forgive me if this has been explained already since, I'm catching up on your episodes, but courtesy of Aabria from 4-Sided Dive recently, Opal and her mother are Kalashtar, beings with 2 spirits inside them, brought into Exandrian lore. So it is a racial trait that a small society essentially unlocked through their own study of the Luxon, and now there are Kalashtar in small pockets of Exandria.

i only just started looking at CR reddit this week, and boy, you guys are so right

It looks like my dream of Matt playing with the cast will have to wait. Maybe someday he will be able to play with his people in the future

Can you imagine what Reddit will do if tomorrow they start out with the rest of the crown keepers, and Opal kills everyone except Robbie and Matt, and then teleports out. Then the go to break, and when they get back Abria is still behind the screen and Robbie and Matt are sitting with bells hells and we get a 6 or seven episode arch with Dorian and Dariax. I would be down for that, but the internet would break.

Vote FCG for Champion of the Changebringer!!! What is Aeor; may never die!!

Most likely, they planned this switch ahead of time probably thinking that when the party gets back to Exandria there would be a good slow down of action and a good spot to switch out with the other party. Not thinking the Odahan battle would go down the way it did. If things had happened differently in that battle I don't think there would be this great upset among the fandom. There would have been grumblings for sure but not to the extent of the outrage we got. People mourn differently. That being said, I liked the switch. I out loud said "Aabria, what are you up to?!?!" in joyful glee. But, I didn't quite remember a lot of what happened with the Crown Keepers the last time we saw them. I spent most of that second half trying to piece together what was happening. What's cool about this cast and the guests, though, is they 100% knew this would be a divisive thing to do and did it anyway cause it's fun. Not the first or last time people are going to say terrible things about CR cast and guest. Aabria strikes me as the type that would approach this as a "I'll do it. Bring it, let them hate me. I'm not afraid, I love it." Which is one of the things that make her so great. Anyway, another great discussion guys. Always look forward to your thoughts on things CR related.

i kinda assumed part of the reason they cut to it was in case Dorian dies,

Dorian might be able to get Greater Restoration hit Opal, might do some good. Or if Morraigan has Spell Sniper, she might have access to it.

Dont remember which 4-sided dive it was but Travis mentioned an MCU approach to this campaign where they would be involving a lot of secondary cast members to flesh out the story of campaign 3 as a way to show the level of impact of these events. Personally keep turning things on their heads and keep us guessing. D&D is at its best when you go off the beaten path.

I love Aabria, and really enjoyed EXU. I guess my only gripe was it felt like Amy lost character agency. She may have been aware of what was coming, so what we saw was all roleplay. This can be a problem at many tables. CR, as always, is an exception in many ways.

I am so so tired of the situation. Every time Aabria appears hell break loose. I love her dming, i love that she interwovens combat and narrative, how she fleshes out everything. Some people prefer it that way, instead of one hour of pure combat without any roleplaying in it. For people saying that she removes agency... You cant really say that and pretend you understand what's happened in the session. When Opal got the crown, we all knew there were gonna be consecuences. Of course the Queen of Spiders, chaotic *evil* goddess of trickery, lies and war is gonna lie, cheat and be aggresive. What we saw, was consequences. What we saw, was Aabria portraying the Spider Queen. Do you remember in C2 how staggering was any time Matt asked Ashley "what do you do" in the dreams sections and she froze? every time? and keep saying "i dont know?" (No shade on Ashley, she was going through a fucking lot and was very busy at the same time) Aabria does push a little and keeps the flow. Morrighan ended loosing up a little (she seemed to be very nervous at first) and even adding flavour (and inspiration points) to her actions. I really dont see the huge fucking problem everyone has. Brennan puts feelings and thoughts into players. But if he does it all is right and good. And also there are people saying "i was just expressing my opinion" well their dear negative, cruel sometimes opinion maybe isnt much needed, first of all, and most of the times, those opinions arent as nice and neutral as they think they are.

After this past couple weeks of C3.... I'm really starting to think this is going to be their longest campaign by a wide margin... I'm thinking around 150-155 episodes.

I think my best explanation is staying up to midnight to watch the Green arrow and then the episode completely switches to the Legends of Tomorrow that requires you to have watched the show to understand what is happening. Essentially you were advertised one show, but given another. If you like exu and Aabria, you were probably happy. If you never watched exu or you dont like Aabria's dm style you were going to be upset. I think there should have been a notice. If the EXU stuff was a one shot and didnt require having to watch exu to understand what was going on it would have been better. Also they should have spent ten minutes or so introducing the characters and explaining what was going on. I also think doing this before the break was a bad idea because people who dont like exu wouldn't have to wait two weeks for bells hells. I also think if you had Brennan Dming, a lot less people would have been upset. Im kinda in the middle. I dont like Aabria's Dm style so for me i was more disappointed than surprised. So annoucing ahead of time would have been better. I was never going to be excited for the change. So i would have likely just gone to bed and watched the VOD later. Which is probably another issue. By midnight all of is east coasters were invested in staying up for Bells Hells. And importantly apparently nearly 50% of the audience abandoned the show during the break. I think from a production standpoint it was definitely a mistep. And everyone wants Dorian back with bells hells. We still arent guaranteed that will happen since it feels like Dorian may end up with the Crown Keepers and there might not even be any overlap between the two groups. Which could be adding to the issues.

I hope Sam comes back as scanman

Ther only issue I had with the second half of last week is that I didn't watch EXU: Kaymal so I had no idea what was going on. It took the entire second half to start getting into it. But I was really excited with what they did.

Great response guys...one of the best! And yeah, internet opinions, people are weird.

Did Opal drop her concentration on mass suggestion? Because if she didn’t, then Darian has to do his best to get back to Orym att most cost.

I admit I have not been an avid C3 watcher, even I absolutely devoured everything C2 related when I first got to know more about CR. Was a great fan of ExU and Calamity, tried to get involved in C3 when it started but for something just didn't work for me and I dropped it after like Ep. 7 or 8. When I learned about this twist it absolutely amazed me and I had to watch the Episode and am now very excited to check the Ep 93 now also as soon as possible even I can't catch it live... I love your channel and your takes on it, first learned about the channel during the Legend of Vox Machina episodes for some extra context as I had only watched C1 "highlights" here and there.... What I'm trying to say is maybe that there is many types of us fans there. Not all of us are maybe as hardcore as some others and some like different things than others. I do not like those hyberpolic takes that Internet in general, especially in Comment boards like Reddit, Twitch Chat and even these KZfaq comments often goes in to. Thank you for a great channel and being so level headed. Much much appreciated.

Listen.. Matthew Mercer created monsters.. in game and out.😂 I LOVE the storyline.. I started in c2 and then paused it and backed up to c1e1 (because i hate missing ANY backstory) and I FINALLY caught up a couple months ago so I feel like I can say that if one gets SOOOO addicted to something.. so ENGROSSED.. it stands to reason that any divergence is going to cause SOME people to feel suddenly disconnected from their IMMERSION.. and if im being honest, I was at first a little butt-hurt but then I realized I wasn't ready after what happened to "bruno" because I still can't think about that..😢 and I needed the time to refresh my memory about kymal, anyway.. which I did.. before finishing e92... But NOW I think I'm ready to carry on.. my point being, some people take suddenly being dumped out of their immersion hard.. but honestly, that's just a testament to MATTHEW MERCER being THE GOAT storyteller. Which is exactly what Travis said in the episode prior.... *BOOM 💥🤯

As someone who skipped the whole EXU (except Calamity of course) - and not wanting to binge the whole series within a week -, I didn't really follow the second half; although I tried. Is there any chance for a recap or something on this channel?

You can be upset but don't be mean about it. They had to have planned that day ahead of time as when those people would be able to get together to play D&D, and no one would've known how mission "get off the moon" was gonna go.

I doubt they filmed the 2 groups sequentially.

I find people forget that all those people at the table have jobs outside of Critical Role. The same people who are upset with the EXU transition are also those who are complaining about when both the animated series are coming out. This transition not only gives others a chance to play (Matt a break from planning and making maps) but gives the original cast time to work on the animated series. Not to mention brings more diversity to the table which has also been a big thing that people like to complain about! I love that we get to see more of the background story and can’t wait to see all of them meet up

Reddit sucks, pure and simple. People are just searching to say the "edgy" thing and get upvotes. I deleted my account in 2021 and never looked back. It's just not a place for actual legitimate discussion anymore. People just play the extremes and bash their heads in the middle. And it doesn't matter what the content or thought is. I think people who are just watching CR to enjoy it rarely talk in forums like that. I think people try to find spaces like this to enjoy themselves and have a chat. Thanks for everything you guys do and doing all the breakdowns and summaries. Appreciate it. On a side note: I loved the switch up and I love that we finally got to see what was happening with the Crown Keepers. The one way conversations with Orym and the stone was getting old. Also, after an entire year of complaining about Robbie leaving the table... Now him coming back is "killing storytelling"??? Just makes me laugh at how reactionary people are about CR and how Matt wants the stories to be told. Also, great to see Aabria at the table again, I love her style of DM'ing and how she is merciless but also mixes in the "rule of cool" for fights and really lets players drive the narrative.

So ok, I just watch the last two episodes of CR, and I really enjoyed them. And I like Abria, and after watch D 4 deep dive tonight I have some more opinions. I think Abria is even a better DM and person than I thought. Here’s the constructive criticism. She kills it at creativity, and story telling. Here are things she can work on. If you picture the game as a play, and when the PC is doing their thing the spotlight is on them, and when a DM is doing their thing the spotlight is on them, then Abria hogs the spot light a lot, I mean a lot a lot, like three times as mutch as all the players combined. She has a case of DM main character syndrome. Plus she has the tendency to take away player agency (this is how your character feels, this is what your character is doing right now, never mind how you think your character would react, I say you do this.) . Then there is the changing of the rules, and inventing of new rules. I know the rules of DnD inside and out, and I make decisions on what I’m going to do based on those rules, and to have know the rules and know what I’m going to have to be good at to accomplish what I want RAW. Then I choose a course of action, then the DM on the fly just changes the rules and says here is the new rule and now instead of the Jump rules your buff athletic barbarian has to role a perception check for the jump and you fall to your death. I know how jump and Athletics works, and I would have never have had my character jump across the ridge if I new this BS new rule you invented out of thin air, I would not have attempted that, thank you so much DM. I’m really enjoying this game. When do we play again!!!

Been waiting for this!

Even though I don't believe it'll be any sort of true, Dominox being D, but also being Sam's new PC would be wild in the best way.

I hope that Aimee is okay with her character changing and the PVP battle

Abria is so good. I still don’t think she is my cup of tea, but damn she is soooo good! She is so good!!!

Do I like EXU cast, the DM and the story: HELL YEAH!!!! Did I wanted to see more about them during this cataclysmic event: OF COURSE! Does I like Having EXU right now instead of "classic" CR: it's nice to have a breather but I'm not sure how much I like it (6.5/10 right now). Did I like the move? ehh, clear transparency would have been much better, people always talk about communication on DND is the corner stone of everyone having fun, this is prime example of what not to do. Now onto what I do not like about this: 1) They do the game for the player and not for the public, ok I understand the logic but why do you cut the session one hour in that way your player can do what exactly? 2) You cut the session without the release of the tension (they are not 100% safe yet and you tell them, well we'll see in a few weeks for the next part)??? this makes no sense, to me 3) If you want to have time because the whole thing was a lot, why not explain it to your audience or make 1 episode that is shorter and then announce EXU ? Bonus, you can make the 1st episode a Special Tuesday and then the next on Thursday so people have "more" content. It would not have been hard to hype it on the Let's see what happens on Exandria! 4) Saying that people should shut up because they say it's a masterclass in killing the audience, is the same as saying they kill the audience, it's start with strong intention but just crush the whole point you're trying to make. If so many people in their (most often dumb) ways say it's killing the audience is probably because it is. EXU and C3 audience are not the same, not only because some people did not watch or liked EXU but mostly because a lot of people did not knew/watched EXU so if you start watching a tv show and after the ad break you get something different (by the cast, the dm style, the story) and that you should have been up to date to understand what's happening I understand that you could consider it killing your audience. AGAIN warning people that they will switch to EXU during those events would have made it much easier and new audience could have read a summary or watch episodes to understand who are the people in front of them. 5) !!! Saying that it's killing the audience, or CR or whatever is a kneejerk toddler reaction that is useless and demonstrative of how little can people stop, breathe, think and then argument. (Everyone can express themselves but we should expect a certain level of effort from them). 6) why do you say we get C3 back next week? the whole EXU thing is not resolved and Aabria literally said "and that's where we gonna pick up next week". I might update more things later but that's what I had in mind for a while and wanted to share here, I like C3, I like EXU, I like having a change but this feels wrong on many level. It's like going to a metallica concert and ending up with a jazz buff, I like both but don't announce one make me prepare myself for it and pull the rug so went I get up the whole room has changed.

I feel like you might be misinterpreting what Liliana said about Ludinus. She doesn't think he's doing Predathos's will, necessarily, just that he's being used by Predathos to enact *their* will. In other words, he's a tool. But I mean we knew that already

My only criticism was "i would have liked more time before the switch like getting back to keyleth", but that's literally it. The toxicity has been incredibly bad. I love CK, can't wait to see the next ep. As others have said, it was probably planned for a TPK, so it got thrown out of whack when FCG scarified himself for the party

I think this episode was great in theory not in practice. The sudden change from super serious FCG to Crown Keepers is jarring. Then they didn’t give a recap to people who didn’t remember nor to people who never watched. Having Candela after that was the final nail. 3 weeks after episode 91 to process FCG death doesn’t feel good for most people. I understand scheduling and FCG death being abrupt but I think you have to bite the bullet sometimes.

I was disappointed because I haven’t watched EXU, and was told by a bunch of friends that I didn’t need to watch it to start C3. But that was a me choice to not watch what was basically a prequel to this campaign.

Y'all hit the nail on the head. It makes sense for some people to prefer Bells Hells over Crownkeepers, but it's still connected to the story! People saying ridiculous crap like the cast should have "warned" the audience this would take place are just as you said: selfish.

Having complaints about something you like isn't necessarily toxic and can even be valuable and true UNLESS it degenerates into bigotry and small mind stupidity. I didn't love the mid episode switch and it killed the flow but I understand they are going to regroup and give Matt a chance to play. Didn't love at all Aabria's EXU campaign but she's a fun DM for sure.

I've been watching this game for nearly a decade and swapping characters and DMS mid episode was one of the most innovative things I've seen here

I was happy to see the EXU crew. I love it when Matt gets to play.

I think opal will leave and Denise will show up.

For those watching EXU i think this was fine, but for me that do not watch it and do not have any interest of it, this was a real bad move. I stopped watching the episode after 5 mins when it did happen. It's like they are trying to "force me" to watch EXU by "having" now to watch it to understand them coming in. Nothing against the other dm or other players, that is not what I made time in my schedule to watch.

Didn't watch after the switch... will EXU be this week as well? Pass. If you like it. More power to you.

I know this sounds horrible, but is Marisha pregnant?! If she is what a joy, if she isn’t I’m an ass hole.

Actually something kinda clicked for me in this episode with Liliana. She's not actually wrong. Predathos being caged is not a good thing. Don't get me wrong, the Gods should probably not die, but also you're keeping a person or creature or whatever it is, locked up indefinitely for life. Why? I get that it's a god-eater, but also, it's a living thing, locking it in a prison forever is pretty bad. We as humans criticize when zoos have too small cages, or prisons conditions are too severe, I can't think Predathos' cell is too comfortable. It does deserve freedom, everyone does to an extent. If there's a way for Predathos to go free and the Gods to stay safe, that would be the best option. The question is, can they find this option, bc for all of this campaign there seemed to only be two and maybe there is a third hidden there somewhere.

Aabria’s style isn’t for me. She makes combat take so long with her constant breaks, which I like when a dm stops to ask characters how they feel but she does it every turn. I like home brew and DMing for the narrative rather than strictly based off the rules but she disregards the rules so often the mechanics of the game seem pointless. She has in her mind what she wants to happen and it doesn’t really matter how people role or what the players want, she just pushes events to her goal without it happening organically. I love the crown keepers and it’s not like the sky is falling, I was just disappointed and couldn’t make it through all of the second episode I had to skip through some of it

There were plenty of people speaking in a respectful way about how they didn't enjoy the episode and they were getting attacked for it by others, telling them that they should leave and not even watch. Basically treating them like their opinion didn't matter. The toxicity went both ways, people are allowed to not like something and express that as long as they are being respectful. I wish you didn't focus just on one side of the toxicity.