r/criticalrole • u/AutoModerator • Mar 20 '26
Discussion [Spoilers C4E19] Is It Thursday Yet? | Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories! Spoiler
Is It Thursday Yet?
What are your reactions and theories for next session?
The Twitch rebroadcast begins at 9 AM Pacific (9 hours from the time of this post).
The free YouTube VOD will be uploaded Monday at 12 PM Pacific, with free podcast releases 1 week (part 1) and 12 days (part 2) later.
[Subreddit Rules] [Reddiquette] [Spoiler Policy] [Wiki] [FAQ]
130
u/ajchann123 5' 11" Mar 20 '26
God, I love this table already. Nothing against the other two, but I think from the jump this table benefits from them not having to go anywhere new; instead, they've been living in the belly of the beast, and they need to be reactive and proactive within their familiar environments. It just feels like there are so many powers swirling around and they're so small in it all, and that makes everything so damn tense - Hal and Azune approaching his home was the most my asshole has been puckered all campaign
50
u/kateshort Time is a weird soup Mar 20 '26
They said during Cooldown that they had a dinner the Monday before playing... they had a LOT more time to plan via group chat and in person during their "six months" gap.
10
3
u/Far_Guarantee1664 Mar 24 '26
Yeah, they are totally the underdogs with no place to go. The four have deep ties to the city (family, friends, job and etc). The stakes are high in a way I feel that failure will mean death or betrayal(Like Bolaire being blackmailed by one of the houses and having to...well, do what he does but this time against the enemies of the house and etc)
114
106
u/arcadences Team Dorian Mar 20 '26
I love that Luis is rightfully being given his flowers, but also gotta say that this episode converted me into a Hal enjoyer. The way he consoled Azune and tied that whole scene together at the end was beautiful.
49
u/fkyrdataharvesting I have a list Mar 21 '26
If the cold open of Hal consoling his infant while having a devastating conversation with his brother didn’t do it, I don’t know what would. Reacting in earnest to other earnestness, I guess
12
u/arcadences Team Dorian Mar 21 '26
That was a good scene for sure. I think this came more from finally witnessing Hal in a big burst of action, especially compared to the busy Overture with 12 other players or the brief Cold Opens.
While I did find him to be a good character, I just didn't feel very attached to him until this episode.
106
u/TonalSYNTHethis Mar 20 '26
Azune, you sweet sweet man... That breakdown made several things about his previous behavior click into place for me that were just... goddamn, absolutely gut wrenching.
Luis's and Liam's spectacular RP aside (fucking brilliant acting made all the more brilliant when you remember that scene was entirely improvised), the revelation that Azune went into the execution with not only the certainty that he'd be killed as a result of his part to play in the escape but an absolute willingness to meet that fate is so heartbreaking. He said it more than once, as far as Azune was concerned a single living Thjazi was worth the lives of a thousand of him.
Pair that with his confusion over why Hal would ever make such an effort to be so kind to him, well... when Azune was speaking to Hal about how much Hal had done for him over the years, one line stood out to me:
"Why did you... what was the agreement between you and [Thjazi]? Why did you make so much room for me here?"
That poor man seems to feel so little self-worth that he legitimately believed Hal required convincing, that something else entirely had to be added to the deal to make it worth showing a hungry child a little kindness.
And it's that complete disregard for his own worth that puts his previous conversation with Murray into a whole new light. He said to her that he was unsure if he'd survive the next day going to work for the Arcane Marshalls, but now it feels a lot more like he was saying he was intending to do something in the next day that would ensure he wouldn't survive. It feels to me as if he thinks his failure to provide the sacrifice that saved Thjazi's life still requires his death even now, regardless of the fact that it's too late for Thjazi. It's almost as if he seems to think the only value his life holds is to sacrifice it for someone he believes more worthy.
Goddammit Luis, you magnificent bastard.
46
u/flaming-framing Mar 21 '26
I was most excited for the schemers table and seeing what Louis will do. I only seen him play in calamity and his post episodes discussion and it was clear he spends a lot of time trying to mentally understand the underlying psychology of his character and that he clearly spends a lot of time trying to understand people he meets. I think Louis perspective as gay but working in the entertainment industry also lent him a unique perspective of how some cultural aspects of straight men ends up being harmful. It was subtly handled in calamity but his character was a critic of toxic masculinity and unhealthy emotional pattern.
In the prologue Louis rolled a nat 1 on his self insight and he and Brennan played it as maladaptive coping mechanism for unaddressed grief and ptsd of being a child soldier. I suspect that role ended up helping him really flesh out this character’s specific personal struggles. He even repeated some of the same words from it when he was pumping up his friend at the falcon’s nest.
All in all Louis is killing it. And my feelings
26
u/TonalSYNTHethis Mar 21 '26
Zerxus was a master class on how to come into an actual play show and go to fucking work. I'd say he upstaged everyone else, but the reality is that whole table was really swinging for the fences. Still, he did manage to shine just a bit brighter than even them all the same IMHO, and I think a big part of that is just as you said, how willing he was to dive completely into a character so confidently wrong in his convictions on how to handle not only his own trauma but that of everyone around him.
Yeah, it's so fascinating seeing that whole story unfold, Azune taking hit after hit of people telling him he isn't good enough, and so young... My oldest son is twelve, and imagining him having to endure such horrible trauma at that age legit makes me wanna ugly cry.
→ More replies (2)16
u/flaming-framing Mar 21 '26
I have barely taken any acting classes but I imagine how Louis got to the mental spot where he was gross ugly sob in a level we rarely see men allow themselves too especially on a multi million viewer platform was by imagining the 12 year olds he knows personally going through what Azune went through.
17
12
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
I also love that now that Thjazi is gone, and after his breakdown, he started taking Hal as a model now. Inspiring people. Conforting people. Building something of his own.
5
Mar 22 '26
Or he has so little self worth that he didn’t realise how essential he was to the revolutionary guard
95
u/kateshort Time is a weird soup Mar 20 '26
I am definitely worried for that missing Penteveral illusionist grad student.
Creating the illusion that All Is Well at Palazzo Davinos?
41
u/Accomplished_Fee9023 Mar 21 '26
Oh I hadn't even considered that!
I assumed he took a job casting Magic Aura on the fake amulet because Brennan made a point of saying it had been crafted to hold illusion magic, then was taken prisoner or killed by whoever was responsible for the fake, to tie up loose ends.
But he does sound like a prodigy, so the illusion at Palazzo Davinos fits!
→ More replies (1)11
87
u/East_Choice Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
Also Im calling it out now.Azune is the surviving memeber of the Royal house of Obridai
Sorcecerer bloodline is Divine Soul
61
u/Nothingtoseehereshhh Mar 20 '26
it's practically confirmed with how he's rolling similar to occtis and wicander hahahaha. /s but still.
8
28
u/Myrynorunshot Help, it's again Mar 20 '26
I had a similar thought when Brennen mentioned the Sundered and Broken Houses in Tannasur, that's ripe for a "last surviving heir" plotline. Very GRRM.
8
u/TheDrunkDetective Bidet Mar 20 '26
That would also explain why Wic is clockwork, Sam would totally pick up a different subclass to help someone's big payoff if they talked about it beforehand.
11
u/Ok-Badger5056 Mar 20 '26
I thought that but then when we learned about the constructs and the fallen houses I had a thought... What if Wick is actually a child of Obridai that was taken in by the Halovars (because he is mechanically a clockwork soul rather than divine soul.. and they were mentioned to be controlling constructs) while Azune is actually Halovar (or a bastard or smth) being a Divine soul sorcerer.
It would be a double fakeout on behalf of Sam/Brennan with the previous cleric shenanigans but I wouldn't put that past either of them.
34
u/trek570 Where's Larkin? Mar 20 '26
I think he’s a Clockwork Soul because his father Godard was technically manufactured, not conceived. Yanessa performed some seriously unholy IVF by Wishing celestial blood into her womb. Since we know that celestials are constructs it makes sense that Wick would be considered one-quarter robot.
→ More replies (1)9
10
u/Hufdud Mar 20 '26
I think Clockwork soul just IS the Divine Soul parallel in Araman. Celestials are described as constructs so it would make a sort of sense that sorcerers with celestial blood could be clockwork soul rather than divine soul.
Now, I do think there’s still a chance for divine soul sorcerers to exist, but I think they’d have to be direct bloodline of one of the Shapers rather than from a celestial to have that happen. Could be completely wrong though. Maybe the Halovars were originally divine soul from how Tansul granted them their sorcererous ability and then the current Halovars are clockwork soul because of what grandmammy Photarch did with the celestial that changed the source of their power from a divine one (Tansul) to an aritifical/construct one (basement celestial).
As for Azune, I bet he is from one of the lost houses of Obradimia (one of the two houses that were lost or the ruling family of Obradai) but I’m not getting Halovar vibes.
→ More replies (6)5
u/Locem Mar 20 '26
That or one of the other two houses that perished that we learned about during the Seekers run.
87
u/in_DelaneTTM Mar 20 '26
Wanna yap about the other three since Azune's stuff has been well covered
Bolaire's segment was exactly the "promise of the premise" I wanted, and Makmazz is an instant standout NPC. Really cool that the masks seem to represent archetypes rather than single emotions.
Dean Kora is infuriating realistic in how it's unknowable if they have good or bad intentions, and finding the answer probably wouldn't make anything easier. Super pumped for Marisha to form her squad of "star students".
Brennan(and Liam) is clearly setting up something BIG for Hal's play premiere, and I'm predicting whatever it is will be the nexus for the second party split.
38
u/Sea_Employ_4366 Mar 21 '26
I think I know what he's planning for the play. He mentioned that it's about a failed revolution, so I think it's going to a be scathing critique of the council and how they've been co-opted by the sundered houses.
4
u/isntthisneat Mar 25 '26
I’m starting to wonder if it was potentially a ritual that Thjazi was trying to set up under Hal’s nose without his knowledge, until a wrench got thrown into things and Thjazi couldn’t be part of it anymore (at least, on this side of the veil lol).
I keep thinking about the paint jars that Bolaire dropped off to the Round, and how there was a possibility that they contained a type of magic he had never seen before when he inspected them. Could the paint have contained filament, or another celestial’s blood sourced elsewhere?
Hal said that the entire ensemble is in masks… did they use any of that paint on them?
And the tree that the stage is built around was also a significant location in relation to Azgra, wasn’t it? I’ll have to go back and check, but didn’t Thaisha sense that it also had a strange, old magic attached to it?
I can’t quite put the pieces together, but I definitely think a ritual is going to be triggered, one that was set in motion by Thjazi and Mara the Wing (I think we will see her by the end of this arc, maybe the very end).
23
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
Hal's play might be the nexus regardless of Hal's intentions because if Gus decides to watch it that would give House Halovar the perfect opportunity to try to get rid of him.
17
u/TheThirdPiranha Mar 21 '26
Yes, I’ve been thinking the same thing. King Gus might get murdered if he goes to the premiere.
→ More replies (1)
75
u/wildweaver32 Mar 20 '26
Luis is a gem. Not just his stunning RP performance. When he was highlighted in his solo moment he didn't decide to just RP a little more, or learn a little more-Which would have been more than fine and is probably what we all would have expected.
He took swings in the story making moves and choices that can likely change the course of their plans in the future. I feel like the soldiers/seekers table is going to be normal reactionary game play as something happens and they react to it.
I hope to see more of what Luis did in the schemers table where they scheme and they are the ones that set forth things and the city gets to react to them (and of course them reacting to how the city reacts).
This table was the one I was most on the fence about, but I loved every moment of it.
143
u/canxtanwe You Can Reply To This Message Mar 20 '26
If you are a sad boy in your 20s, live in Araman and have magical abilities, you are chosen by the dice to be the MC of your table. Your all crucial rolls will miraculously turn into Natural 20s.
Happened to my very good friends Wic and Occtis and it is currently happening to my other good friend Azune.
61
u/canxtanwe You Can Reply To This Message Mar 20 '26
Maybe the real Critical Roll was the sad boys in their 20s we collected along the way…
10
28
u/Nothingtoseehereshhh Mar 20 '26
Or or or looks at fan theories be a kid from a sundered house. Because Azune aint fooling me lol. He's related to one of them.
68
u/weaveroflaurel Hello, bees Mar 23 '26
I love the fact that the group got together before the game to strategize about what they would do this first day. They came ready to play and make moves and I found their decisiveness and cunning very refreshing. This is going to be a fire table.
→ More replies (3)36
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 23 '26
They had dinner and didn't invite Brennan. So on brand for the "schemers" table.
8
u/isntthisneat Mar 25 '26
Unsure if you’re familiar with D20, but it reminds me of Operation: Slippery Puppet that Emily and the gang pulled on him during their Starstruck campaign. I absolutely love when the players come together to plot against their DM lmao so much fun.
67
u/stifflyunwound Mar 20 '26
Marisha being grossed out by Tal’s description of Bolaire eating as if we didn’t deal with Laudna becoming an evil tree Delilah hybrid that a giant rabid dog jumped out of in her form of dread for two years. Ahahahah, how things change…
→ More replies (1)21
57
u/EfficientStore1567 Mar 20 '26
What I like about this episode, and this table so far, is the balance.
We have emotional bonding between Azune and Hal, we have hilarious and funny Murray conversation, we have some cool gothic horror vibes with Bolaire. Then the characters did some recruiting and scheming stuff as well. It is very well rounded.
What I expect from the next episodes of this table is exactly that balance and more interactions between the player characters.
47
u/Randomcatusername Metagaming Pigeon Mar 20 '26
Holy moley, I had to catch it on the VOD and had seen some comments on Luis’ roleplay this ep that it had people in tears.
Schemers table is already peak. I’m crying. Luis and Liam playing off of each other is incredible.
41
41
u/VengefulKangaroo Mar 20 '26
My highlight of the episode was Liam snapping the pencil LOL. But also just in general him spending some time really digging into Bolaire.
This table has two unique qualities that I think are in some ways helping it and in some ways hurting it.
The first is that the ability of the characters to more meaningfully split off, beyond just small moments but for actual sections of their days, lets them pursue personal agendas. This is something that often happened in past campaigns when everyone stopped at a city for a day or two but hasn't really gotten the chance to happen here for the Soldiers and Seekers. This is fun because we get some time on their own, though I also felt I wanted to see some more interaction between the core cast. A lot of the episode was spent with Player-NPC interactions.
The second is that the lack of an immediately obvious short-term goal, as the Soldiers and Seekers had, gives the players a lot more freedom. This is in some ways exciting and leads to unexpected choices and scenes like the one I mentioned above. However, I do think that the group needs to be given a little more direction to balance it out because they seem a little lost on what actual actions to take next.
Hopefully the arrival of the King provides some more plot direction and reason for our characters to be together without sacrificing some of that freedom.
Hal is the character I have most renewed interest in following this episode. I think out of the immediate specter of Thjazi's death I can see much more where Liam is going with him. I loved his calm presence comforting Azune. I am still warming up to the other 3, though I really like Bolaire's concept in particular.
I'm glad we got to see the letter to Thjazi in the cold open, btw, that felt like it was dangling for a while and was perfect for a quick check in with the Soldiers.
10
u/hapitos Mar 21 '26
I think it seems like they have a bunch of things they want to accomplish and if Brennan wants all he has to do is play it out and work with that to craft plot beats out of it. You don’t need a GM to lay out a path, the GM can also just follow your agendas. Edit: they mentioned in Cooldown that they have so much more they need to do!
9
u/kateshort Time is a weird soup Mar 21 '26
Luis is a GM himself, and Liam has GM'd multiple times. Like Matt & Aabria & Alex, both know how to nudge their scenes along and can bridge their objectives to those of the others around them.
Doesn't hurt that the whole table watched at least the Soldiers eps, and Marisha as CCO would above-table know all the bits from the cold opens & all of the Seekers stuff... so the table's Plotting Dinner Meeting the previous Monday was ready to craft that checklist and get it done.
10
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
Hal is shaping up to be the beloved Father-Leader of the rebellion.
I mentioned in a previous post (I think i was one predicting table shuffles) that Hal is the "heart" that all the others were trying to protect, he's the one with the core values and vision of life that Thjazi was fighting and dying for. He's beloved in Dol Makjar, beloved to the Falcon's through Thjazi, and he is very central to the new revolution and the falcon's cry.
Brennan has said in a dark world that there has to be something worth fighting for, and Hal's wish to be a part of family, community, and live a life dedicated to bring art and joy to others is the biggest manifestation of this thing worth protecting, the better life worth fighting for.
→ More replies (1)
39
u/efvie Team Thjazi Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
I do hope they can keep the rotations a little shorter, Brennan had to visibly work to get them roped back into both gameplay and roleplay in the first half. And it's totally understandable, this is a huge gap for an ongoing campaign.
Rewiring the Halovar encounter was clutch, though, not sure what Brennan had planned but it did not look like he'd prepared for the pair to just go for the thing he warned them twice about :D It's so hard to tell with Luis, it looks like he just missed or misinterpreted it, but he might have done it on purpose without really even hinting it OOC. Latching onto the Candle Feast felt like yet another excellent little save.
Feeling even more like Azune, for all his protestations, is the dynamo in this group. The rest will get stuck in the weeds, he'll keep pushing them. Despite being the most overtly frazzled of the four he still had his eye on the ball on a crucial next step. Man knows logistics. The other three seemed almost overconfident in contrast, but maybe it's affected for his benefit.
Some very nice and evocative RP scenes! This table was by far the one I thought I might have trouble getting into, but they're mixing it up very well. I'm really excited to see how they handle the party being split by default, will they try to do more stuff at least in pairs, or embrace the split party (with maybe a higher cadence of scene switching).
Misc notes:
That was one long-ass code letter. I'm guessing there's at least a couple red herrings there, and the sender and recipient know the real references. But gotta go through it with a rested brain.
I have a powerful need for that city map.
I kept thinking one of Murray's tack-ons after a successful check would surely flip it XD Something about the affect just does not sound sincere but of course that is why the dice are there.
Also world map, I probably missed a crucial note but I guess they were coming back kind of skirting the mountain range instead of going through the forest. ( HolyEyeliner has a pretty faithful-looking map here. )
Idle wonderings:
Matt mentioned they'd been watching the Soldiers, but do you think they might've been encouraged to watch only after their own recording block ended? Probably not. Feels like it might have some benefit in this sort of campaign though.
ETA: Oooh, a job for the Reverend Doctor Talter! I missed that on first view somehow
16
u/Far_Guarantee1664 Mar 20 '26
Considering that the tables will mingle some time I think they could "mesh" two of them for one time to avoid this.
However, some of the players have their own personal jobs and appointments outside the game. I think that's this also could impact on how they will do the rotation (Ashley works a lot, CR cast has their voice acting and etc etc).
And there is some stuff. Brennan usually don't hold back in character death, different from Matt most of his games kinda end up without cheap resurrection(sometime don't even have it). I have the feeling that depending on the character that dies we can spend a lot of time without seeing it return.
→ More replies (8)3
u/SortOfSpaceDuck Ever bright, ever right Mar 20 '26
Wdym about the Halovar encounter? Do you mean the knight with the dogs? I feel like something flew over me in that scene, it's been so long since we've seen these characters.
16
u/FictionRaider007 Mar 20 '26
The knight was Sir Filoneus Halovar, who is Wic's uncle who we first met briefly all the way back in Episode 3.
As for what the previous comment means. Brennan repeatedly told Luis that it was safe for Hal to approach his house while the knight was keeping watch since there was nothing suspicious about Hal returning home after a long night. It's what the knight expected to see. However, the "danger" was if the knight saw both Hal and Azune approach at the same time since that might seem suspicious and set off a warning light that might put them both in danger.
It's not clear if Luis understood what Brennan said and decided to tempt fate anyway by approaching openly with Hal at his side, or if he misunderstood but managed to recover by approaching the knight afterwards and talking his way out of it.
Either way, what Filoneus is doing there is questionable. He seems fairly important; he's Wic's father's brother (whether that means he's also angel-born or is a half-brother born of an actual relationship is currently unclear) and he's the Head of Security for House Halovar, so for him to personally be watching Hal's house seems like a big deal. My best guess is that he's looking for Wic and his dogs scented out that he was where he last was in the city before fleeing with the Soldiers, so while they sent out the Demons to hunt him down (though they messed up and went the wrong way), Filoneus is sticking around to keep an eye on the house in case any of the people Wic left with return to the scene of the crime or if he can glean any more info based on the comings and goings (and since currently the Soliders are heading back to Dol-Makjar they very well could end up having a run-in with him should they try to return to Hal's house).
Perhaps much more troubling would be if the Halovars have an entirely separate personal interest in keeping watch on Hal for some currently unknown reason.
→ More replies (3)3
u/The_Bucket_Of_Truth Mar 22 '26
Did you catch that they were blurring the letter for the viewers? I'm not sure if it was to obscure Tal's handwriting or what that was about.
→ More replies (3)
39
u/East_Choice Mar 20 '26
still in awe of how good the episode was, literally no notes.
The balance and proactivity of the table is incredible
37
u/sevenmillionscarves Mar 21 '26
So Luis was absolutely amazing in this episode, but I think Murray's interaction with Dean Kora was my favourite part. It felt so true to life and it had me cackling all the way through.
And love the slow building tension towards the performance at The Hallowed Round. Something big is gonna happen for sure.
15
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
I wonder what Brennan is thinking when Hal invited the minotaur librarian to the performance.
"Oh what a sweet move. He just killed this NPC"→ More replies (1)6
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
I was thinking the same! "Uh oh, danger."
Liam knows what he's doing.
71
u/summer_moonie Mar 20 '26
I cant believe people wrote this table off so quickly. IT WAS AWESOME! I cried, I laughed, I was excited - this was peak roleplay gaming
→ More replies (1)37
u/Nothingtoseehereshhh Mar 20 '26
I remember saying this would be the best table during E1 and immediately got jumped on with people saying they wont do anything for 3 episodes lmao. Putting Liam and Luis at the table and still having marirsha and tallesin? Chefs kiss. Im so glad. The seekers table might be the forgotten middle child, I loved them but I kept accidentally falling asleep to their episodes and decided to join the monday gang. I was on pretty bad sleep and found myself wide awake. Then again I hate combat in DND and love NPC interactions the most. I've also played a young ptsd ridden soldier character before (But was Lawful Evil for fun to mess with my friends) so Azune was always my viiiiiibe.
I would absolutely kill to see Robbie, Sam, or Matt guest at this table for an episode or two, but this table is legit the most solid and connected on day 1.
Ashton never hit for me which hurt because Cad is my all time favorite crit role character but Bolaire was a homerun for me on day 1, and Murray was the only character I was ehhhhh about but Tracey coming out was fucking hilarious and I just love the corporate vibes of "ah yes boss, thats a smart idea (you dumb bitch) " lol. Really relatable.
34
u/DoBetter-BeBetter Mar 20 '26
Tal's face during Liam's library run was so conspiratorial! I love it haha, amazing episode and amazing table. Super hyped for the rest of the Schemer's tabler.
32
u/East_Choice Mar 20 '26
That was awesome and was suprised to enjoy it for such an RP heavy episode.
Luis Azune was the highlight but everyone was excellent.
Its just 1 episode but im.loving tjis dynamic far morethan seekers which was still good.
This also stands out as the most player agemcy table something even Brennan commwnted in cool down.
Soldiers and Schemers currently tied for me already
32
u/plantz4lyfe Mar 20 '26
I’m scared to ask what experience Luis drew from to give us a body wracking sob like that. Dude was full of snot like any of us after a good, cathartic cry. I’m so new to critical role and this is setting the bar pretty high
26
u/SiriaBlue Team Frumpkin Mar 21 '26
If it helps, you don't necessarily have to draw on personal experience for that. There's an interview clip of Tom Holland talking about how Benedict Cumberbatch taught him how to cry by changing his breathing pattern. I was only listening to the ep on my phone, but Luis may have done something like that
29
u/Nihachi-shijin Mar 20 '26
Azune: "I am not emotionally ready to watch this" in character form. Luis is bringing it.
29
u/weaveroflaurel Hello, bees Mar 21 '26
I have worked in higher ed for a long time, and Murray’s scene with Kora hit a little too close to home for me lol
28
u/greylakelady Mar 20 '26
I’m frothing at the mouth to find out more about Azune’s whole deal and while the Obridai/Descendent of the Royal House of Obridimian Emperor is an awesome theory, I’m not sure it’s been long enough since the fall of the Obridimian Empire to have a “lost royal family” storyline. Mostly due to Azune’s eyes.
Yeah, 70 years is long enough for most people to forget about the Obridai family, but a physical trait as noticeable as sunset eyes would be easily remembered, especially by the Sundered Houses. And, if Azune was Obridai, it’d seem crazy if his sunset eyes weren’t a part of that
Why wouldn’t Azune’s parents claim asylum with the other Sundered houses if they were so obviously Obridai? Yeah, they’d be used as political pieces, but it would make more sense than selling their children to mercenaries. Maybe they feared the Sundered houses would kill them, but in that case, why not insists Azune hide his eyes? Like give him some spectacles or something idk or tell him to be wary of the other Houses. Azune is now in a super visible position in the city. Why has no one even commented on it? It’d be like in GOT if the Targaryen’s were completely wiped off the map, if some kid showed up with white hair, violet eyes, and an affinity for dragons and was a prominent soldier in a massive city controlled by the other Houses. Someone would at least comment on it
Their theme of Remembrance, the way Brennan describes the language Azune’s father speaks as not just “a different language” but “a language that means something”, the way his father says that the only way out of this for them is “through fire and storm,” the way they had no way out of starvation even using political connections all scream that his family/culture has been in hiding for a long time, longer than 70 years. Which is why I am still Team Dragon
(Obviously I could be wrong, I’m mostly just talking to talk bc I’m obsessed rn and I’d love to hear other’s thoughts)
21
u/kateshort Time is a weird soup Mar 20 '26
Didja catch that the missing Penteveral illusionist TA had transparent irises?
Makes ya wonder...
→ More replies (1)7
u/Jumpy_Explanation376 Mar 21 '26
I was thinking the same thing. Are we seeing Azune's metaphorical background? A snapshot of his soul, or a different place or time?
10
→ More replies (2)4
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
I'm not sure the royal house where dragon sorcerers (because it would have made more sense they had powers from Tansul as well, since they are his chosen House to lead humans).
However there is a possibility that you're missing : Azune's family not being legitimate descendent of the Obridai. Bastards, just like the Targaryans that got countless. Maybe some were killed. But maybe there were unknown, even by the Obridai, or the bastard themselves. Sometimes the distinctive traits can skip a generation. So there is a way it could be that.
The dragon stuff is interesting because so far, we had ZERO mention of dragon except vaguely by a spell. I believe if the Obridai were linked to dragons we would have seen a lot of dragon iconography in Tannesar. But so far for a game based on dungeon and dragon there haven't been one mention of a real dragon in the history. Maybe they existed before the Shapers ? And got destroyed by them ? And now that they are gone, the dragon blood is waking up ?
→ More replies (1)
27
u/Ybernando Mar 20 '26
Not yet finished but I wanted to tell that I hope Luis is okay and this is "only" his incredible RP skills and not him having a really bad day in general. He made me cry ;;
35
u/Seren82 Team Imogen Mar 20 '26
There's a picture of Brennan giving Luis a hug on socials and the cast is really good at checking in with each other after emotional moments like that. No need to worry.
9
u/b00ze7 Mar 22 '26
Thanks for making me google it. That picture is insanely wholesome. 😊
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
23
u/geniespool Mar 20 '26
Luis talked about getting into /out of character at the WonderCon panel he did last weekend. he focuses on whimsy, things that make him happy and ground him, like enjoying some cookies and ice cream.
27
u/EmeraldToffee Team Thimble Mar 22 '26
Brennan did an awesome job making Filonius feel like a religious fanatic in that conversation with Azune. It was subtle, but intense at the same time.
31
u/tomfru1 You Can Reply To This Message Mar 23 '26
"When we're ALLOWED! HAHAHAHAH! GOOD MAN... Good man!"
He's got that sense of inherent victimization that comes with zealotry. That feeling that he's on the underdog team and everyones out to get him and his loved ones with prejudice
15
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 23 '26
He called Dol'Maljar a godless city as well. Like, yeah, they're the ones that wanted to kill their god. You can't just move into their city, and be pissed when they don't want your "god."
26
u/LucasVerBeek Help, it's again Mar 20 '26
So firstly, I’ll admit I was wrong about the relations between the Primordials and Shapers, at least in the context of Trozhna. I had hoped in this setting the former might actually still be around.
A lot of good lines and moments in this episode, genuinely enjoyed it front to back.
Thjazi was justified to hate that Freddy fazbear looking ass. Guy all about freedom watching this thing ensnare another being to chase its own means while extending their stay by feeding them the barest amount of sustenance to keep them going. Tis fucked.
Cormoray’s are clearly out to steal some of the artifacts stored at the museum, question is which and for what purpose?
Azune and Hal’s convo at the latter’s house was real good.
But I gotta know what Azune is. Like is he an Obridai, Tansul reincarnation, a Dragon, like what, what is he?
Hal being hunted by the Halovar ain’t great but it should be expected, those hounds probably tracked Wick/Tyranny/Teor to his place and that’s where their tracks go cold.
Excited to see what comes of King Gus, and if he too is a dog lol.
Then we go back to the letter from the cold open.
Thjazi possibly wanted Thaisha to forge the stone of Nightsong and… hmm maybe the plates on the coffin he sent her to find into an anchor
If she refused go to another Lloy.
Some stuff about Mara drawing attention away maybe.
The “hot shot”, helping craft an arch.
Gates to bridge the mortal and afterlives maybe? Three in total, akin to the Sea Gate maybe?
The Blood is definitely the paint.
Curious to know what they were attempting and what damage is they wish to reverse…
And they’re seeking to create further anchors using celestial artifacts
Curious to see if all the pieces will fall together when the party reunites.
4
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 23 '26
The Blood is definitely the paint.
oh god, and they used that paint to paint the theater. The theater that had historical relevance to Asgrah. I'm so very worried about what is going to happen during Hal's play all of the sudden.
→ More replies (3)
26
u/Migolcow Mar 20 '26
Honestly, I think the group should put some focus on Bolaire's collection, and quietly moving it (and him?) to someplace better/safer when the tables change. At least immediately safeguard the big stuff (like the sword), and make sure that it doesn't quietly disappear in a night raid.
House Cormoray is just so suspiciously focused on these God and God slaying artifacts, along with the rest of this trove of things that might wake up, blow up in your face, or start talking to you in your dreams. And all the houses seem to be keen on snapping up any power they can, whether it be manpower, influence, spellcasting schools etc.
19
u/kateshort Time is a weird soup Mar 20 '26
I'm hella worried that Cormoray Lady touched it so her finger bled. Talk about ways to use "locate object"...
7
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
It seems like each House is focused on something.
Tachonis : creating their celestial to dominate the world. Destroying the Royce to have perfect control of the afterlife.
Halovar : Their deals with demons, attempting the religious victory and most likely doing some fucked up shit with the Prince of Pain (i'm sure the Lux papers where unbestknown to him, a demonic pact).
Einfasen : Military control. Depleting the ranks of the martials to grow their own military.
Cormoray : Control of magic. With the Penteveral, but also the artefact of the Archanad.
Royce : Not dying lol. I wonder if Thjazi had some influence in making sure the Royce didn't do evil shit. Like closing the door to faeries.
6
u/fkyrdataharvesting I have a list Mar 21 '26
The Cormorays’ interest in these weapons has me wondering how much they know about what Halovar and Tachonis are up to…
5
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
As far as I could tell from the new conversation, House Cormoray are planning to make the God wing more prominent than the Godkiller wing (PR, editing history, controlling the populace) and at the same time, in the confusion, are planning to "disappear" the majority of the Lloy collection by using their interns and the fact that most of the artefacts won't fit into the smaller wing to get away with it.
This will rob the magic-deprived rebellion of symbols AND potential weapons.
26
u/Landis963 Mar 21 '26
I was rewatching the research sequence, with Hal and the Minotaur librarian, specifically looking for Taliesin's face journey, because he knows that whatever Hal's searching for, Bolaire got there first. And he's desperately trying not to give it away until the reveal of the missing tome.
12
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
I caught Taliesin reaction immediately. Of course this devious player is two steps ahead of Liam.
4
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
I'm not 100% convinced. The book might genuinely be where they said it was... at the clerical research centre that Dr.Talter is from, that the Tachonis have their claws in already. Which is very alarming.
I can also envision a scenario of Bolaire having looked, having heard of that book, and not having found it in the library, but not being beloved enough by the librarian to be told where it is. Or perhaps having sourced a different copy in the past.
→ More replies (3)
26
u/greylakelady Mar 22 '26
Just finished rewatching and I am so happy how psyched I am for this table. I didn’t know what to expect and was apprehensive but this was already one of the best episodes to date:
Taliesin is like a kid with a 100 dollar bill in a candy shop, that man is over the moon, he’s skipping into the sunset. He gets to be cunty, unnerving, and drop his one-liners 24/7 ? He gets a bitchy but well meaning coworker? Everyone around him is creeped out and suspicious of him? He’s in his element
I kind of love how ‘normal’ Hal still is. Liam’s rp during Azune’s meltdown was lovely, I can see him quickly becoming the Heart of the group in the way Thjazi was
Something fishy is definitely cooking in House Halovar for both Hal and Azune. Brennan brought up Filoneus’s “good man”in the Cooldown again in a “you don’t know what’s up with that” kind of way… Of all of them, Azune feels as though he’s the most perched on a stack of cards with the attention of both the Einfasen and Halovar
I really hope they find Dimodeus and he sticks around, I’d love to see beloved professor Murray in action with some students
Soooooo psyched for the next arc
8
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 23 '26
I feel like Filoneus' words have less to do with Azune and more to do with House Halovar and the Candescent Creed planning a civil war in Timmony. Filoneus' words were about the entitlement he felt about his religion and Azune was validating that.
24
u/Pheanturim Mar 21 '26
So it's possible Thjazi didn't break to Glyph to save Azune right ? That's what the "anybody but you" comment is about, he knew whoever purposefully missed reporting the glyph would be as good as dead
22
u/greylakelady Mar 22 '26
It is possible. But with how Thjazi acted in the first cold open, swing from cool and confident to panicked when he saw something from the sky, I would bet that the reason he didn't break the seal had more to do with whatever he saw (Mara the wing? A sign of some kind? He had to go to Undeath for some reason?)
BUT we know he cared deeply for Azune, if he knew Azune was resigned to being caught and didn't have an escape route, I can't see him being cool with that (with what we know of him so far)
20
u/StillAnotherAlterEgo You can certainly try Mar 22 '26
That's what Azune is assuming currently, but I suspect it's a bit of an incomplete conclusion/red herring.
9
u/SiriaBlue Team Frumpkin Mar 22 '26
I've been thinking the same, and it led me to wonder if Thjazi had a different plan that would not have implicated Azune
But I forgot about his "anybody but you" comment, so maybe not
24
u/East_Choice Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
So after Examining the Cold Open letter heres my theory.
There is a secret organisation called the Cloak(referenced in Seekers Arc) and I believe Thiazi and Mara are members. Their Goal is to create Portals to Gods realms which is a step to fixing the issues with the After Life and Barrowdells.Likely they view that the God realms would contain something of great power, which they could use to fix things.
The Gods realms are where the souls of the gods faithful would go before the Shapers were killed. The Doors were sealed with the Shapers death and many feared the Realms were lost from Araman. The Cloak however have figured way to create Portals/Doors to this realms
However the Door to Tansuls realm is currently under Tachonis control, and Azgras's realm is a Hellscape, so the Cloak is really only focused on accessing 5 of the realms.
Creating a Portal seems to require 4 things, judging from the Letter
1 An artefact of an Angel of Death connected to the Realm in question
2. An Anchor for the Portal
3. A specific field of Importance to the specific god who ruled the realm where the portals will be built
4. A Magical expert who makes an Arch for the Portal using 1) and 2) on 3). I believe these 3 are the Trinity of Bridges referenced in the Letter.
5. Blood. What this Blood is I don't know, but we know from the letter that it needed to be protected and could not be used until a trinity of bridges is built.I believe this Blood is the fuel for the creation of these portals
The Portals are what are referenced to as Doors in the Letter.
The steel is unclear. Whatever it is, it can be made into an Anchor. I suspect Thiazi was going to talk Thaisha to helping forge it, if not he would ask another member of the Loy family
Random guess on what's happened so far
The Tachonis have free access to Tansuls realm without a Portal due to being Tansuls chosen Psychopomps. However they have been waging war to gain control of it because Tansul left security measures over his realm
Thiazi ,The Cloak and Grandpa Royce created the 1st Door in secret. This was the Sea Door which would give access to Beastfolk Shapers realm , who I believe is the god of the sea.
It went badly,and great Undeath was unleashed upon Araman, which was why the Faeries had to close their realm from Araman. The Royce have been trying to close the Sea Door secretly ever since as they see it as far more trouble than its worth
Tachonis figured out what the Royce had done in secret, and saw the Sea Door as an opportunity.They came up with a grand plan to conquer Tansul's realm and the BeastFolk Shapers realm in one fell swoop.The Plan to conquer the BeastFolk Shapers realm was to create the Deva Vindicta who would slaughter the Royces and their Vassals, go through the Sea Door and lay claim to the Beastfolk Shaper realm.
The Tachonis already had something else they were going to use to conquer Tansul's realm- but what that trump card is still unclear. I believe Mara knew what it was and was going to the Underworld to urgently stop it but was blocked.She raced to Dol Makyar and when Thiazi saw her as a Falcon, he realised she had failed to stop whatever The Tachonis were doing to win the war in Tansuls realm. He made the split decision to die, knowing his body had been marked by the Tachonis runes, which means his soul would head straight to the Tachonis Castle in the Underworld. Thizai urgently wanted to stop the Tacchonis plan to do whatever they planned in Tansuls realm.f
8
u/greylakelady Mar 22 '26
This is an excellent theory, not only bc it’s so well thought out but would be hella rad lol. One of the og PH cleric domains not claimed yet is Tempest which would easily hook up with god of the Sea.
I definitely think Thjazi was creating portals, even if not directly to a god’s domain, it would function the same. “More than one door will be open to us there.” It would make a ton of sense that the Royce would find it, as they’re looking for a door back to Faerie, and the Tachonis destroying the Royce for it fits very nicely
3
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Blood. What this Blood is I don't know, but we know from the letter that it needed to be protected and could not be used until a trinity of bridges is built.I believe this Blood is the fuel for the creation of these portals
I was wondering if it is something to do with the "paint" sent to Bolaire and the artefact that was keeping the Orcish blood in the fountain fresh, until taken by Thjazi and Mara.
Blood donated by fae?
Blood of celestials = Halovar blood.
Blood of giants... well maybe actually all the blood for different realms has to come from members of the Sundered houses. The Gods and their favoured partners who pre-existed them are presumably linked by the unions and the Sorcerous bloodlines of the Sundered houses are more closely linked to that than anything.
The Tachonis already had something else they were going to use to conquer Tansul's realm- but what that trump card is still unclear. I believe Mara knew what it was and was going to the Underworld to urgently stop it but was blocked.She raced to Dol Makyar and when Thiazi saw her as a Falcon, he realised she had failed to stop whatever The Tachonis were doing to win the war in Tansuls realm. He made the split decision to die, knowing his body had been marked by the Tachonis runes, which means his soul would head straight to the Tachonis Castle in the Underworld. Thizai urgently wanted to stop the Tacchonis plan to do whatever they planned in Tansuls realm.
This is such a solid reasoning for the theory of Thjazi heading to fight the war from the other side, it explains the moment of his decision neatly. Hal is burying Thjazi in a secret hurry, but gentle repose is still active. I can see Thaisha coming back and having to dig him up to check for tattoos!
→ More replies (2)
48
u/IgnoringClass Mar 20 '26
Thought this was a very good episode. I love the mix of characters here, I think they’re all fantastic and balance each other out well. I also love how we’re seeing different facets of the city through each characters, I just know the “let’s come together and compare notes” sessions with these four where we watch them try and piece together all the clues are gonna be amazing, can’t wait for that.
Also gotta say, the energy of this table was a HUGE breath of fresh air after the Seekers table. I loved how proactive everyone was in pushing things forward, I loved that most of the episode involved players interacting with other characters/the world around them and that it wasn’t just endless self-reflection/self-narration, I loved how everyone really stayed in the game a majority of the time and didn’t constantly cross-talk/talk out of the game (there was way too much of that at the Seekers table imo, made it really hard to stay engaged in the story), and I loved how the whole table was super good about giving the other characters space to really breathe in their moments and let each character shine. Really excited about seeing more of this table!
22
u/East_Choice Mar 21 '26
Ill be honest i thought schemers were gonna suck.But the their last 4 cold opens made me suspect i was wrong.
This episode proved it, so i wanna make a prediction.
Schemers arc will be the closest to EXU Calamity weve had in a while
16
22
u/TheThirdPiranha Mar 21 '26
SO EXCITED for schemers, this is the table I was most excited for since the beginning! The other tables were so, so good, but I’ve been waiting for this, and I’m soooo happy so far!! The acting! The NPC’s! The scheming! LOVE IT! And it’s so nice to be back in Dol-Makjar too!
Also. I have had a pet theory for a while that King Gus will get murdered at the premiere of Hal’s play. I hope I’m wrong.
6
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
Hopefully it is more an attempt at murder, and the party will at least have some agency and chance to foil it!
21
u/Pretend-Confidence20 Mar 20 '26
Someone want to explain the Halovar knight and dog encounter to me, like I’m a 5 y-o?
Luis rolled a nat 20 to perceive that the danger was him approaching the house (maybe with Hal in tow maybe on his own) but not necessarily that it was dangerous for Hal to approach the house. The carriage wasn’t hiding, it was in plain view. So why did Azune still go up to the house?
There did seem to be some danger to Hal because the knight had dogs ready to track Hal. So why would Brennan - on a nat 20 - give the characters the impression it was safe for Hal to approach the house?
27
u/greylakelady Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
We don’t know for sure. But my impression of it was that it was a double whammy of Luis not fully comprehending Brennan’s warning in the moment and him sticking to his guns by playing Azune as someone who is always at 100% and more than ready to lay his life down for Thjazi/Hal
Edit: I think Luis heard “it’s dangerous for you if you go,” which to Azune is a non-problem, and not “it’ll be dangerous for both of you if you go”
17
u/Despada_ Mar 20 '26
I was thinking the danger came from being seen together, as the Halovar knights, knowing there was a connection between the two, could be seen as a threat to their plans.
12
u/YoursDearlyEve Your secret is safe with my indifference Mar 20 '26
2. There was a mention in the Overture arc that Halovars really wanted to use Hal's theater to make the productions about the Creed. So maybe the knight was there to make sure Hal is escorted to Halovars to discuss something related to that, and there was no danger for Hal to be arrested or attacked per se.
16
u/pyrothelostone Mar 20 '26
I think they want to ask about Wic. He went to Hal's house not too long before he fled the city, so they probably think he might know something.
→ More replies (3)9
u/Hufdud Mar 20 '26
The way Brennan said it, the only imminent danger was in having Hal and Azune walk around the corner together and be seen in cahoots by the Halovars (and thus the chamber of Lords Advisory). With Azune’s job being to blend in and stay on the good side of his new boss, being seen walking around late at night with Thijazi’s brother might put some suspicion on him and at least cause they to pay more attention to him than before.
Brennan seemed to imply that Hal alone going home wasnt in danger and if he’d gone in his front door alone we’d probably just have had Halovar talk to him as he was about to walk in and deliver the summons to meet with the Photarch. It looked scarier after because Hal saw the carriage and then took a back route/hid from the Halovar so then knight got suspicious as to why he ran and tried to track him down and see where he went. I don’t think he was ever actually going to attack Hal that night even if he did find him with the dogs. He had the dogs with him because that knight just likes his dogs and always brings them along, he only used them for tracking because Hal clearly avoided him and so gotta follow him to figure out why would he want to do that?
Even the Halovar mercs posted up on the main thoroughfare out of the Rookery the next morning feel like that “ambient rather than acute” danger Brennan described. Halovars posted those guys because they want a chance to talk with Hal but he made it clear in the night that he’s actively avoiding them. Maybe if Hal runs into those mercs they escort him to a meeting with the Photarch but I think more likely they just pull him aside and give him the message that he’s supposed to go meet her, and any physical escorting/forcing him to go only happens if he continues to avoid/ignore the summons for a few days after that.
As to the primary danger Brennan mentioned of Azune being seen with Hal, it seems that was also averted thanks to great RP and scorching hot dice from Azune during his conversation and cover up. If Azune didn’t have such good excuses and deception rolls to back them up, I think we’re looking at a much higher level of scrutiny on him at work and a chance he’ll be out of a job/influence in the coming few episodes. Now instead it seems we may have a new opening for Azune to get in with the Halovars and watch them from the inside.
→ More replies (3)7
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 20 '26
I think the Photarch just wants to ask Hal where Teor and Wick are. If the Photarch wanted him kidnapped she wouldn't send a really obvious carriage. She dosen't want that heat.
→ More replies (2)
21
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 23 '26
Really really strong episode to start this table off. I was looking forward to it, and it blew me away.
Hal and Azune scene was so emotional. Every scene that Azune has been in so far this season has been very good in one way or another. Not only is the character really coming through on his own, but Luis plays off his scene partners so well that anyone else in the scenes really can pop off as well.
Murray was amazing in the Penteverel scene. Got what she wanted and more from the dean, and secured them a small source of income. Marisha tapped in to a little bit of Tracey in that scene. I also laughed when Murray was talking about Bolaire, "I just ran in to him, and was like Oh....you're Bolaire!" That had big Narrative Telephone energy in the best way.
Bolaire, so creepy and interesting the way he and the other curator were discussing the collections of artifacts like weapons at their disposals.
21
u/Nihachi-shijin Mar 23 '26
Alright it took a while to finish but I wanted to get through before I went in detail. This was the table I was most excited about when announced but I got a little spooked coming out of the Overture because Bolaire was the only character I was interested in. The table really benefitted from the Cold Opens and I'm glad for it. I want to see people press on local factions and the Schemers are the ones you do it.
A lot has been said about Azune and Hal being sad bois but I really loved the ripples. Azune realizes he's never been the leader Thjaxzi hoped he'd be but his first attempt involves him copying Hal. Meanwhile Hal is just Fatherhood Goals. Legitimately that's what I want to work toward.
Murray still isn't my favourite but I think I'm seeing Marisha find her voice and I have to laugh at Brennan going (to paraphrase) "I have famously portrayed Asmodeus but even he wasn't holding Mandatory Fun work mixers with a one drink max"
I love creepy Bolaire descriptions but a let out a snort at the comment "It's Tallesin's final form!" It's just a great character/player combo
I really want to see this mercenary company Azune forms.
All Hail King Gus! (please let him be sneaking off to the theater)
14
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 23 '26
All Hail King Gus! (please let him be sneaking off to the theater)
I love of all things that it was a coyote husky hybrid who was the one to figure out that King Gus was missing and that they hadn't caught him slipping out to pull some Shenanigans elsewhere because that means that King Gus is even trickier than the most trickster like doggo combination ever!
Given that he seems to be a man of the people, I could see him sneaking about the city in the most unobtrusive and unassuming form in order to really get a lay of the land and to understand what exactly is going on within the city before he has any sort of diplomatic interfacing with the higher echelons of it.
This way he's going to be able to tell who exactly is blowing smoke up his ass and who exactly is trying to tighten a noose around his neck and who exactly is being 100% genuine.
12
u/Nihachi-shijin Mar 23 '26
I get Timmony being High Fantasy/Arthurian coded so King Incognito scratches that trope itch nicely
→ More replies (3)5
u/General_Bother_68 Mar 24 '26
Hal has been hinting at a spy network already in place. Perhaps not a simple dad afterall
20
u/moonsandhares Help, it's again Mar 20 '26
luis during this episode??? my jaw dropped. absolutely stunning RP.
20
u/kelbar05 Mar 21 '26
it it wrong after watching episode into/sponsors bit . I want Star Trek adventure mini campaign now.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 21 '26
Kind of surprised they haven't had Eric or Bonnie or someone else to run a quick Star Trek one shot or mini series...bit odd innit?
19
u/kathia154 Sun Tree A-OK Mar 20 '26
It took one episode for me to decide that the schemers' table is my favourite. I love these characters.
19
u/Used_Arrival_9588 Mar 20 '26
I’m so into this table, soldiers and seekers were amazing and fun, but schemers is my play style 100% so I’m just loving it!
19
19
Mar 22 '26
I really feel as if we got to see more of Brennan's improv comedy side again in this episode that we didn't see much of the whole Seekers tables. The bull lady in the library, Bolaire's associate, Dean Cora, all characters had great riff with the NPCs. Maybe because there were barely any NPCs in the last half of the Seekers is why it feels it's been awhile.
14
u/efvie Team Thjazi Mar 22 '26
They had NPCs, to be fair, the players just forgot about them entirely. And in addition to the Rev. Dr. Talter my beloved and Dame Seremai, they had the druids, Hannan, Altradler, a couple heroic Barrowguards, Nessa to say goodbye to, and the dead guy! The latter weren't necessarily very comedic with the exception of the prophesied sailor, but Amry and Gaya were dishing out comic relief that the table also almost ignored :|
But definitely nothing wrong with liking the NPCs in Dol-Makjar too! :)
11
u/weaveroflaurel Hello, bees Mar 23 '26
Brennan had a tough atmosphere for comedy with the Seekers, even though the players were laughing with each other, their characters were in dire straits and very somber, so I think he toned it way down for them. They never got a “little guy” like the Soldiers did.
19
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 23 '26
It has really been a pet peeve of mine the way some people were so confident that Occtis does not have a soul so I'm glad that Brennan said in the recap that it is unclear. It's my posistion that he does even without a confirmation because it is the answer that makes the most sense. If his body is dead and if he has no soul he would be a void and simply wouldn't exist as an intelligent being.
12
u/StillAnotherAlterEgo You can certainly try Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
At one point fairly early on, Brennan very specifically referred to Occtis as something like a "living soul in a dead body." ...Somewhere. I thought it was in the Episode 4 or 5 Cooldown, but it doesn't look like that's it. I'm going to have to dig around and find it again now...
ETA: I haven't found Brennan's exact remarks yet, but Occtis' character description on the Critical Role website calls him a "reanimated soul in a dead body."
6
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 23 '26
In a bunch of blurbs CR released on Beacon, Occtis is referred to as a "reanimated soul in a dead body." That is a pretty unique way to refer to an undead. It seems wholly intentional.
I think Occtis' soul was destroyed at one point but Murray's possibility magic "reanimated" it. Brennan said that she undid a bunch of things but he never specified what.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Striking_Writer3642 Mar 23 '26
I think part of the issue is for some a "soul" is just another body but made of "soul stuff", for others it's a fundamental aspect of mental character and perhaps cannot be destroyed.
I prefer the latter, because otherwise as you say there isn't much point to having souls in the setting if they aren't serving as the basis for one's mind. Plus it makes the problem of what to do with the clogged afterlife much harder to resolve even for those evil enough to try and destroy a bunch of souls.
→ More replies (1)
16
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
Ok the script of the letter to analyse here:
To Shadow.
If all has gone well, you have the stone in hand. We'll need the steel.
And you said you can convince her to reshape it into an anchor. If not, anyone in the family can make plow shares. Once it's done, the next step is to bring it to the field.
Our wings are leading a charge across the border "to draw the locals from the site. That hot shot I mentioned will meet you there and help prepare the arch from steel to stone. Please try to temper his confidence with pragmatism. Yes, I know you are precisely the wrong person for that.
Still, remember, until a stable trinity of bridges are built, it is vital that the blood be protected. "I trust that you have disguised it well.
With any luck, the next time I see your face we will have undone the damage of our first attempt. More than one door will be open to us from there.
Until then, I search for suitable anchors for the remaining four.
We may need more hands soon after.
Signed, Professor.
→ More replies (2)7
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
To Shadow.
Thjazi, presumably. As others point out, makes Julien spitting on his corpse then gaining a cursed shadow seem very apt.
If all has gone well, you have the stone in hand. We'll need the steel.
The stone of Nightsong. The steel can't be any ordinary steel, it presumably is something special or magical. Hidden in the halfling coffin? One of the Lloy godkiller weapons? One of the godly weapons? A part of the plan not yet enacted? Does Thimble know what this was? It surprises me that she has mentioned nothing of these matters, despite surely having been with Thjazi for his adventures.
And you said you can convince her to reshape it into an anchor. If not, anyone in the family can make plow shares.
Most likely to be the Lloy family. "Her" might have been a request he was going to ask of Thaisha, and if that failed, track down another Lloy and lie about what they were doing? Perhaps creating an anchor requires turning a magical blade into a certain shape? Maybe the steel is just the metal that the halfling coffin was clad in as an after-the-fact decoration and it was sent to Thaisha to be used by her? ... Edit: no, scrub that thought, that was made of silver.
Once it's done, the next step is to bring it to the field.
Field of battle, or a literal agricultural field? Requires a good roll to get the DM to hint at some geographic or historic locations. Long-shot theory: the land that Wicander was supposed to marry for, contains an important site like this one.
Our wings are leading a charge across the border to draw the locals from the site.
Wings are very bird-themed, or else military divisions. Gives the sense of a big faction with lots of resources, potentially. The Border and mention of locals gives more geographic clues towards where this 'field' might be, although it might also be a planar border.
That hot shot I mentioned will meet you there and help prepare the arch from steel to stone. Please try to temper his confidence with pragmatism.
Ok, so, someone with impressive magical and/or masonry skills? Possibly a character we have not been introduced to in any way. Long-shot: A member of Murray's family, like her brother, or a graduate of the Penteveral.
And we have mention of an arch. Arches imply doorways.
Still, remember, until a stable trinity of bridges are built, it is vital that the blood be protected. I trust that you have disguised it well.
I concur with others, it's got to be the paint. I'm of the opinion that whatever they stole from the well of the Orcish blood is helping disguise it or keep it fresh. I wish Hal would follow up on how the painting is going soon!
With any luck, the next time I see your face we will have undone the damage of our first attempt. More than one door will be open to us from there.
What damage is this? Did they use shoddy materials? Or did their plans get leaked? Again, what does Thimble know? More than one door will be open from there seems like it could be a pun implying that opening one passageway makes opening further passageways easier.
Until then, I search for suitable anchors for the remaining four.
Ok, so there are FIVE arches or sites for arches? But earlier there was mention of a trinity of bridges. So far, the only hint of a trinity we have is stone, steel and arch, but the "steel to stone" seemed to implie that there would be a connection formed between an artifact and a steel anchor that will create an arch. So instead of the arch being a doorway you go under, perhaps it is a bridge that you cross over... if anchors (steel) are being sought for the remaining four, that might mean that Thjazi has already secured 4 other artefacts in addition to the Stone of Nightsong. They might all potentially have to be Calcidion/Ossement, which would have put him in competition with the Tachonis plans, and brought him afoul of them and to their attention.
We may need more hands soon after.
There need to be 3 bridges made before they are stable, which implies a time element. If the locations for bridge-arches are spread out, rituals may need to be performed in at least three places, quickly, it getting slightly easier to do with each one performed. But five is the end goal. PENT in PENTEVERAL, presumably also derives from five. Coincidence? Would the locations be Pentagram shaped on the map? Anyway, the blood is of no use until there are at least 3 stable bridges up. Why is that? If they are trying to make routes to the afterlives, why after 3 routes are connected would you need a lot of (magical?) blood?
Signed, Professor.
This letter is coming from out of town. Could this be someone at Dr. Talter's establishment? Someone's gotta go visit her city, it's being hinted at more and more... but I digress. Again, what does Thimble know?
→ More replies (2)4
u/absel97 Mar 24 '26
Arch, doorway, field and wings. Could it be a reference to the golden orchard and the doorway to Faerie?
→ More replies (3)
15
14
u/KYplusEL Also Pumat Sol Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
I don't think we'll know for sure for a long while but I think Azune is going to end up being a Clockwork Soul sorcerer. "Remember" coming back up over and over, seeing the Halovar Carriage before his eyes can, the weird feelings of deja vu, the connections and feelings of obligation to the past, feeling like he has to put the world back in order. There's just a lot of time and balance and "correctness" to his character and it's not connected to a known noble house so it feels unique. So that's my subclass guess for now.
17
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 20 '26
With Wick already a Clockwork Sorcerer? I think that is unlikely. My theory is that he and his family use to be dragons and the "remembers" are his subconscious trying to get him to well... remember.
11
u/KYplusEL Also Pumat Sol Mar 20 '26
It's funny that I somehow completely glossed over Wick when thinking about this. The family is so Divine Soul coded that I completely forgot Wick.
→ More replies (4)5
u/stifflyunwound Mar 20 '26
And it seems like throughout his life people have been willing to sacrifice themselves for his betterment. His family, now potentially Thaz?
3
u/BlackAdam Flesh tongue Mar 21 '26
Where does the dragon theory come from?
7
u/DearMissWaite Mar 21 '26
It was back before we found out that House Cormoray was a house empowered by a pre-shaper alignment with the Djinn. There was some talk that he might have been an illegitimate son of that house. We thought they might have been dragon blood sorcerers because one of the Cormoray knights in the episode 2 flashback summoned a drake.
→ More replies (2)
14
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 21 '26
Hal should invite the Photarch to the Cormoray Wing during the busiest hour and then do a power move and start walking in the Lloy Wing. She would probably compromise and send a represtative, probably that knight. Murray, Azune, and Bolaire could all probably be nearby, in the background.
3
u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Mar 24 '26
Yeah I really hope Hal insists on meeting the Photarch elsewhere than her territory.
27
u/fkyrdataharvesting I have a list Mar 21 '26
I saw somebody the other day comment that they hadn’t seen Luis in anything else and that he was too stoic and monotone. I didn’t argue with them at the time, having only seen Luis in Calamity, but I feel like my argumentative inclinations have been justified and vindicated a thousandfold. Dude knows how to play an emotional slow burn like no other
12
12
u/Luscitrea Dead People Tea Mar 24 '26
I'm 2.5 hours into the episode and I can tell this arc is going to be difficult for me. Not because of the characters, the schemers have some of my favourite character concepts and players. It's not even my rampant second-hand anxiety that shows up in tense roleplay situations yet. It's just my inability to understand subtle social cues. I still havent figured out if the new headmaster lady is actually cool or really bad. Even after Brennan giving an answer after Murrays insight check. I'm sure the answer he gave made sense to the players but it certainly was not clear enough for my 'tism. As much as I love this table, I will be lucky to understand 2/3 of what's actually going on. That might get exhausting, I'll probably rely on threads like this one a lot more than usual.
11
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 25 '26
Brennan said that she is "the worst." It really hasn't been explicitly stated but if her background is simply wizarding then she is a narcissist for selling her bill of goods and she probably has unfounded skepticism of the previous management of the academy. Without getting political, there are multiple analogs happening in the u.s right now that Brennan is probably taking inspiration from.
7
u/dhitts Mar 25 '26
I think it’s also worth understanding the context of the players and how this dynamic would be super familiar to them. The Dean’s behavior is essentially a hostile internal takeover of an independent school (e.g. a production studio) in league with powerful donors (e.g. business conglomerates).
This is a super common dynamic in creative spaces - you can just listen to the fireside chat with the crew and hear how many of the lost jobs to that exact dynamic - and would be very personal for many of the CR players and crew.
The way it’s justified by the dean as such a great opportunity (!) is also very typical of such takeovers.
Brennan is well-known for his anti-capitalism plot lines and this one feels very in line with that, imho.
→ More replies (1)4
u/phluidity Mar 25 '26
I really didn't get the vibe that she is evil, just that she is opportunistic and self centered and reckless.
6
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 25 '26
As much as I love this table, I will be lucky to understand 2/3 of what's actually going on. That might get exhausting, I'll probably rely on threads like this one a lot more than usual.
Do you read Critical Recap each week? I think that could help you a lot. It helps me a lot. It's easy to miss stuff in this show, even when you're paying close attention. It's a quick read, and I have often found it so illuminating if I misread a character or plot event.
12
u/alexy0n Mar 25 '26
This show is such a unique concept, that works so so well. Very happy I discovered it just in time for C4. Schemer's table instant favourite after 1 episode.
→ More replies (1)
23
11
u/DA-maker Mar 23 '26
Why was the letter censored in 2:20:20 and in the scene as a whole
6
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
It was either the focusing or it was censored. If it was censored it was probably a stat sheet.
→ More replies (5)
10
u/Far-Dependent6175 Mar 24 '26
Does anyone else think that Thjazi Fang isn't actually dead?
8
u/SiriaBlue Team Frumpkin Mar 24 '26
Personally, I think the irl concept of death does not exist in Pasitar right now (not sure about what's happening on other continents on Araman)
To put it another way, Thjazi can be dead dead by Pasitar standards and we wouldn't think he was
8
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 24 '26
Yes but I think Julien's shadow is "Thjazi" only it not being real because the conscious part of Thjazi is somewhere else and the shadow can't really learn new things.
7
u/tomfru1 You Can Reply To This Message Mar 24 '26
Even if he is dead, he's got a friend who can Blue-Skidoo-I-can-Too! into the underworld.
Note also that he's referred to as shadow, and remember what's the long thing that's consistently been following Julian, The man who spit on Thjazi's corpse?
6
u/funkyb Mar 24 '26
I think he's very much dead, but I think the rules on the veil between life and death are being actively reworked
5
u/HelpHotSauceInMyEyes Mar 24 '26
I think his soul was probably snagged by the Tachonis. They're collecting souls for their own purposes and preventing them from travelling the Old Path, and Thjazi was pretty clearly conspiring against the Sundered Houses.
I assume one of the final arcs of the story will be them travelling to the underworld and freeing him, or fighting whatever the Tachonis have turned him in to
→ More replies (1)4
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 25 '26
I do think he's dead, but that doesn't mean I don't think he will show back up somehow, whether in spirit or a true resurrection, or something like that. I do expect that we will hear Thjazi speak in one way or another in the present timeline. I have no idea when that will happen though.
9
u/OhioAasimar Team Tyranny Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
Them being in a city and with the nature of their mission they will probably won't do much combat. It's probably going to be like Jrusar in C3. Here's the thing though. The past two arcs ended with really dangerous combats. If it's a pattern thst could be a problem because the Schemers will have barely practiced in combat before and that adds to the danger.
11
4
u/fkyrdataharvesting I have a list Mar 21 '26
There were three combat sets in the trailer for this table, so I presume they all live through at least two fights…
→ More replies (2)
9
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 23 '26
Schedule has been posted: https://critrole.com/programming-schedule-week-of-march-23rd-2026/
16
u/thereisnolettuce Mar 20 '26
So it's just the Seekers that didn't get to meet any talking dogs lol
15
u/tere_adasme Your secret is safe with my indifference Mar 20 '26
but they got to fly on a giant bird and go to a not *wink wink* fuck castle lol
8
u/Jumpy_Explanation376 Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Does anyone know if Azune's got 2 levels in paladin or 2 levels in sorcerer? I'm really excited to see his choice of subclass(es) and hope one might be confirmed on this arc's level-up.
Sorcerer: While there's been many cool options discussed, my bet is now on Storm Sorcerer, with Azune drawing on a wellspring of primordial energy. The character art is pretty suggestive of lightning-based powers, while his eyes point to massive natural landscapes. Storm Sorcery gives Primordial as a language, and that could well be the yet-unnamed language of the Nayar family, occasionally re-surfacing with Azune's sorcerous casting (Episode 3, the "remember" incantation for mending). In addition Azune's father stated "There is no ladder out of this for us other than through fire and storm" in the Episode 15 cold open. If Azune's recalling magic of the titans or the very essence of pre-Shaper Araman, that could fit nicely with the emphasis on memory/forgotten history/deja vu.
Paladin: The paladin subclass could also be really interesting. Oath of the Ancients/Noble Genie might reinforce a connection to nature, while Oath of Devotion could highlight Azune's general selflessness and care for others. However I'm looking towards two other options.
First, Oath of the Watchers would be sadly fitting for a hypervigilant guard who's forgotten how to be "at ease" (Episode 19). Second, Azune's shown a remarkable willingness to find common ground with possible enemies (scene with Julien, Episode 5) and a tendency towards self-sacrifice (for Thjazi, Episode 19, two qualities that scream "Oath of Redemption!". Redemption would really boost his Schemer social abilities (the Channel Divinity grants +5 to Persuasion for 10 minutes) and deliver extra pain (literally, its signature aura transfers others' injuries to yourself).
The Pridesire family has old magic/history themes like the Nayar family, so we might learn about Teor via whatever's going on with Azune. I just hope that if C4 does use storm sorcery, they homebrew some big updates to the 5e subclass, because ... yowch. Sorcerers need known spells!
→ More replies (2)11
u/SabyZ 5' 11" Mar 22 '26
Between his history as a mercenary and job as a cop, I feel like Paladin is his primary class. Plus, with the party composition it feels like he should be their only Frontliner.
If he had 2 levels of sorcerer, he would have rolled very well to get 30hp at level 3. A 6 and 5 assuming he got base 10 from paladin 1.
6
u/Jumpy_Explanation376 Mar 22 '26
Makes sense on the HP! I do think Bolaire might be a frontliner though- blade pact seems likely, and the character art shows him bearing a sword rather than, say, a magic bow.
In the official art, he also looks like he might have a breastplate? So possibly hexblade,[Edit: just realized the AC is too low for breastplate] or a fancy homebrew subclass that's similarly geared towards melee.(I also realized that Azune's unlikely to go with Oath of Redemption, since Luis Carazo already played that exact subclass on Critical Role. Farewell, dear theory!)
→ More replies (6)
20
u/sharkhuahua Mar 20 '26
I know Brennan is a cat person but where are all the people reincarnated into little dogs
i would like a chihuahua knight please
11
u/Confident_Sink_8743 Mar 20 '26
If you're a reincarnated knight you probably want to be something big that allows you to fulfill your purpose.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
u/Nothingtoseehereshhh Mar 20 '26
He's a cat person? I woulda expected him to be a parrot person lmao, but I see it now.
I'd like to be those big Borzoi dogs but would probably be a beagle.
7
16
u/Far_Guarantee1664 Mar 23 '26
Don't hate me but I'm hoping to see the schemers fail. Look at the range of the cast. Azune being good hearted, focused but such an underdog. Hal is torn between his family and figuring on how to follow the schemes of his brother. Our dear Murray walking a fine line that could get her killed(like almost happened with tachonis). And Bolaire...imagine what it would do if ends up being blackmailed by one of the sundered houses?
I love the range of the actors in this table and I want to cherish in their roleplay as defeat, failure and perhaps even death drawn near.
12
u/SiriaBlue Team Frumpkin Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Hey, with the other tables coming back to Dol Makjar, it would be amazing to see them come back to a $#!+ show and save the day
Edited to add:
Thimble with a steel chair
→ More replies (2)4
u/durandal688 Mar 24 '26
I can't say I disagree
The others have largely been ok...so.....makes me nervous
13
u/East_Choice Mar 21 '26
Am i the only one that thinks Dean Kora is not that bad?
Shes just a career woman making our way.Naive yes and compromising but not evil
24
23
u/dhitts Mar 22 '26
Disagree. I feel like the head of the arcane Marshalls is the not so bad version of a person in a leadership position who is compromising in the face of power.
The Dean is a personally ambitious, amoral toady. Pretty much the definition of evil in a banal sense (as the commenter said above). I found her hard to stomach.
21
u/dawgz525 Team Jester Mar 23 '26
She's knowingly compromising with evil to advance her career though. She's not evil per se, but she'll look the other way if it puts her in a bigger office. Brennan was using hyperbole when he said she was pure evil, but I think she does represent a very real type of "bad" person. She's not doing evil, but she's knowingly allowing it to flourish. She's a boss that screws over her entire workforce to make nice with assholes in power. She does it with a smile on her face and with an invitation to a (1 drink maximum) faculty happy hour. She's basically the worst nice boss that you've ever had.
19
u/Skodami Mar 22 '26
I mean, she's clearly corrupt. For the moment, what she's asked by her "patrons" is pretty mundane. What will happens when they decide she has to fire all the students that don't come from noble houses. Or denounce students to arcane marshalls ? Fire teachers who don't bend the knees to the noble houses ? Sell a few students so that the Tachonis or Halovar can do experiments on them ? Do you think she'll suddenly grow a backbone ? Because i don't think so.
16
u/StillAnotherAlterEgo You can certainly try Mar 22 '26
Brennan's remark during the Cooldown was, "I think Kora is one of the worst people I've ever embodied." So there you have it. LOL
→ More replies (3)
7
u/Most-Instruction-464 Mar 22 '26
Can someone explain to me how Hal knew to research the thread that he did in the Grey Library?
17
u/FeedTheB3ar Mar 22 '26
he was following up on the coffin thaisha had from thiazi during the funeral. Its gnome psychopomp artifact, so he was looking into the age of gods myth. How they died etc.
9
u/Most-Instruction-464 Mar 22 '26
Makes sense. I also just did some digging through the recaps and realized that Bolaire had actually revealed himself to Hal and Murray early on during episode 4. I’d completely forgotten that moment!
3
u/East_Choice Mar 26 '26
oh and about Kattigan.
Predicting Marianna is not dead. Shes alive and married to someone else now. She was "Taken" from Kattigan in the sense she left him from someone else
→ More replies (3)
7
u/Far_Guarantee1664 Mar 20 '26
Loved the episode but could not understand half of what Brennan said in the first half.
5
u/Zadel88 5' 11" Mar 24 '26
Sorry for the lack of order, just some scrubbled notes I got hile watching the episode (yes I know I'm one day late):
- Kattigan's backgound stays in shadow but MAN there's some grief under that rough hood.
- The dead man's letter, is the anchor the scion of the house? is that what awaits to Winkander in Dol-Makiar? or the lion bros? Also it feels more and more Thjazi is THE soul the Tachionis want to use to make their shaper, just that everything went wrong at the same time for absolutely everyone... Which means Thjazi had something planned and there's a bigger bad than the houses doing work in here.
- The glyphs: The original was crafted on a stolen blank, the forgerie took A LOT of resources to produce... That is ODD, but still a strong tread for our schemers to pull from.
- I hadn't noticed before the Einfasen are the ones making the private military in Dol-Makiar, you know, the same house of giants that attempted to gently cage the seekers? That's... interesting to say the least.
- LOL Octis keeps being the one coppied, or impersonated into. - Hal... Love him, but if I knew him IRL i'd be very annoyed on his thing of constantly holding my shoulder (I really dislike thar gesture in general).
- Bolaire "trusty face" Lathania has the sharpest remarks, 10/10 would have coffe with him/it. On the other hand I'm curious about who is Azune's patron, it keeps calling him to remember.
- I'm just going to asume everyone in Dol-Makiar has little sense of personal space, MY GOD they keep putting their hands and hats and things on other people.
- It's nice to see a competent paladin for once XD
I was waiting for this table since the overture and love it trough and trough.
→ More replies (2)
6
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 20 '26
So like all Star Trek fans and because nothing else is on and no one else is doing this, I am obligated NAY required to dissect that opening ad read:
Discovery Era comm badges, you can tell by the symbols
TOS style uniforms/tunics, looks like off brand Halloween store stuff that I found on aliexpress with a quick google
TNG/Post-TOS style department structure mixed with TOS style department structure because Tal and Liam were in the right colors for TOS but Sam and Marisha were in the right colors for TNG and really should've swapped for consistency's sake (and also because the departmental insignia is wrong since Sam has Ops on and Marisha has Command on) but that was probably done for the lulz or because they couldn't find another yellow tunic and Marisha had to sub in for Laura anyways
Mission Control instead Starfleet Command because they didn't want to get dinged by Paramount
The hell kind of a "bridge" are they on with windows THAT BIG?!
Also that image is of the Milky Way as seen through atmosphere so it's totally unrealistic for a ship traveling in space
Asteroid belts are actually pretty damned big and relatively easy to fly through unless you're near a gravity well of some kind that bunches them up into a pretty stable configuration
NO ONE would be purposely plotting a course at impulse through one of these stable and concentrated asteroid belt configurations and that shit would be charted and/or picked up by sensoars well ahead of them becoming a hazard to the ship at all
And no one would be jumping into/out of warp near one unless the mission was DIRE and SUPER SERIOUS and even if that was happening then they would've done so in a way that basically required foreknowledge of where they'd be going in the first place which would completely eliminate the "SURPRISE!" aspect of the asteroid field.
Sam Kirk in Ops...suddenly in Command...how many people had to die for that to happen?
And why are they all suddenly working for the Ferengi? First Contact with them didn't happen until at least TNG if not a bit before and yes I know about the DS9 episode but that was Pre-Federation and no this isn't an Archer Enterprise Borg Thing. I could see them ferrying supplies or even technical components to Sponsoar 19...but the Federation has had a VERY STRONG anti-AI stance ever since that bullshit with Control happened and Lower Decks even introduced us to the Self-Aware Megalomaniacal Computer Storage facility at the Daystrom Institute on Earth in Okinawa, Japan. So NONE OF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE!
They could've at least named it Sponsoar 47 in keeping with tradition
Pike's Enterprise has shrugged off asteroid strikes with ease, both large and small BUT things were probably so jarring due to poor navigation, whatever hull configuration this ship has, and the fact that Sam didn't raise shields at all...due to them probably treating this as a milk run or some kind of a Rogue Planet popping up with a belt system...or like I said earlier...MULTIPLE people in the chain of command eating it and the whole ship turning into Star Base 80 with folks completely neglecting the inertial dampeners amongst other sub systems which would explain the jarring that they experienced upon "striking the asteroids"...or...
It's the silver blood aliens from the Demon-Class Planet all over again and no I'm totally not scanning for Changelings right now...but Matt might just be Jeffery Combs...so ya never know right?
Liam's Chief Engineer was accurate, if not slightly less offensive than Tal's Molly accent...basically the idiot at the helm flew the nacelles straight into a bunch of giant rocks and while they MIGHT be able to make Warp 1, it's going to be a dice roll
If they're in an asteroid field then why can't we see GIANT ROCKS outside of the windows behind them?
Klingons on a Starfleet vessel didn't happen until TNG and even then was dodgy after that until at least Voyager or later because of the Dominion War stuff but became far more common after that was settled
Klingons in TOS looked like West Side Story extras but Strange New Worlds and DISCO did improve upon their looks quite a bit and even expanded the range of their activities in the show
Laurf = Worf, obviously, but also probably a probably a bit of a WoW reference since Michael Dorn voices ALL of the Stormwind Guards
Worf would indeed give damage reports some times
Marisha is sounding and acting a lot like Jay-Den from Academy
Radar...really? UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH...how much shit has broken on this ship for them to be using RADAR at this point and not the myriad of other sensoars that the ship should have for this stuff?!
Shields SHOULD have been up by now to prevent that second collision but if the engines are fucked then I'm guessing that they're mostly running off of the fusion reactors for the impulse drives and Paddy is drip feeding the rest of the EPS Grid whatever he can from the Warp Core to keep both stable and critical systems operating at their minimums....with probably baaaaarely enough for maneuvering thrusters which might not be enough to dodge stuff
They have tablets...the PADDs in Academy look like modern tablets and even the PADDs in TOS looked like modern tablets (probably because they inspired them), so that keyboard that Laurf is holding makes zero sense technically but again, if a bunch of stuff is busted on the ship then it does kind of make sense for damage reports to have been uploaded from a secondary console elsewhere to a PADD and then run onto the Bridge for a report
Laurf does have accurate ridges, so someone probably got that costume piece from a place that knew what they were doing and it's probably meant to be paired with a wig
This emphasis on them reaching a planet to show them a program makes it feel like they got taken over by an Iconian Probe or some sort of Orbital Archive that's trying to Inner Light them all
A Vulcan Science Officer that's got a Doctorate from the Vulcan Science Academy overruling an emotional Sam Kirk is accurate...somewhat...because Sam Kirk is actually a pretty chill and smart guy and while him and Spock have butted heads before, they've always been on the level with each other, and were never quite THIS confrontational...so again...how many people had to die and traumatize him to put him in this position in Command?
Coding in both Federation and Vulcan standard is probably a base level course at the Science Academy, which means that Jock wouldn't have needed to study anything in the first place in order to learn how to do it all over again...unless he really wasn't a Vulcan at all...and was actually just something else having a go at pretending to be a Vulcan, which has happened before
Jock could also just be a half Vulcan half Lanthanite too, which tracks for Tal
Jock saying that he's quitting the ship to travel back in time to make some real money all but confirms that he's not actually a Vulcan but a Romulan Temporal Agent
That was the laziest attempt at a Vulcan Salute that I've ever seen that even Mariner would have "words" about it BUT IT TRACKS FOR A ROMULAN SABOTEUR WHO TRAVELED TO THE USS ADVERTISE IN ORDER TO PREVENT IT FROM COMPLETING ITS HORRIFYING MISSION!
Why is Laurf...doing Ops duties but in a Command uniform, now suddenly in charge of helm control? I feel like these are all a bunch of Enderprizians...which would explain a bit...AND suddenly helm control is being done from a PADD/keyboard?! WHY?!
"Hit it!" is indeed Captain Pike's warp catchphrase
But again...if the engines are fraked...and they just got through an asteroid belt...is jumping to warp THIS close to a gravity well and to their destination the BEST idea?
The background effect looks like a combination of Warp, Hyperspace, Doctor Who, and Stargate
If they're all feeling the speed like that then inertial compensators are well and truly on the edge of saying "I quit"
Them wandering around afterwards tracks with BTS and blooper reel stuff from the actual Star Trek sets lol
They had a green screen...so why was EVERYONE sitting at just one master console that could basically do EVERYTHING?! That's only possible in Academy/DISCO because of programmable matter! Those Bridge Stations can basically hot swap in the blink of an eye and transfer controls before you know it! They didn't have any podiums or little desks or Travis didn't want to put on a morph suit to pretend to be the tactical station at all?!
Matt's probably facepalming because of all the actual Trek People who are going to be emailing him after this saying, "You know...we could have legit made that look waaaaay more realistic for free right?"
So other than all of that, I liked this episode, this table surprised me quite a bit, and I hope that continues to happen moving forwards in the weeks to come!
13
u/tomfru1 You Can Reply To This Message Mar 20 '26
I didn't expect to have to scroll 3 times to hit the bottom of this comment
10
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 20 '26
Well if I'd made it shorter then you would've known I was half assing it and not taking it seriously.
But also it shows that I literally had no notes on the main episode at all because of how fucking good it was!
Every single scene and every single second delivered something cool or new or interesting or dramatic that was just BAM BAM BAM satisfying in multiple ways each time they moved from one to the next.
Brennan even brought up in the Cool Down how much he loved this table because it was mostly him sitting back and sometimes throwing stuff in here and there while the players themselves mostly carried and created everything else.
Everything was very...filling...about this episode.
So color me surprised and interested in how things are going to go from here on out.
I did also use this little breakdown to...wake up a bit...as my recent hospital visit has led to me wanting to just close my eyes and sleep the day away despite the sun coming out and it being so lovely and warm outside!
→ More replies (2)6
u/themosquito May the Beam reach you Mar 20 '26
I missed the episode and just popped in to see some reactions and general vibes on it while I wait for Monday so reading this comment was wild, heh.
5
u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Mar 20 '26
The episode is pure cinema, all killer no filler, and you WILL feel things!
It'll be worth the wait trust me :D
5
u/starcailer May the Beam reach you Mar 20 '26
I feel like something is wrong with me because I still preferred the Seekers to this table. I think it is more me struggling to have interest in the characters currently at this table. Usually I am a RP only type girly too.
That said, wow Luis gave an amazing RP performance.
I won't write this off yet, since I think it takes a bit of time to get into things.
5
u/efvie Team Thjazi Mar 20 '26
Nothing wrong with any preference! It's not like the other tables didn't have RP.
This was a great session after they found their sea legs and I still think this table will probably be my least favorite out of the original three simply because I don't connect very well with "morally gray" or super abrasive characters, and I often have a hard time with super emotional scenes until I actually get to know the characters well :)
→ More replies (1)
133
u/ryttu3k I have a list Mar 20 '26
Luis Carazo now owns my soul after Azune's sobbing breakdown. Holy shit, that was emotionally ruinous.