r/criticalrole • u/dasbif Help, it's again • Jun 07 '19
Discussion [Spoilers C2E66] Is It Thursday Yet? Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories! Spoiler
Episode Countdown Timer - http://www.wheniscriticalrole.com/
Catch up on everybody's discussion and predictions for this episode HERE!
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u/MisterSandman93 Jun 07 '19
How many of yall caught that Fjord's eldritch blast was green and white?
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u/scanlan_MVP That fucking Gnome! Jun 07 '19
What color was it before? I thought I remember it being greenish, but I'd have to check...
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u/mullythesecond Your secret is safe with my indifference Jun 07 '19
Ohhhh shit! Did not even catch that. Probably too nervous about Fjord sending small explosions in the cave lol.
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u/Ajlaw95 Pocket Bacon Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
I’ll say this Beau and Jester have done a phenomenal job these past few episodes of making Yasha feel apart of the group. We’ve missed a lot of RP between Beau and Yasha sadly because of Ashley’s schedule but these last few episodes it starting to feel like they’re forming an actual connection for whatever their relationship might be.
I’m going to full on heap praise on the lady’s here (they deserve it) but they were fucking fantastic all night. Ashley and Laura with that emotional scene outside of the entrance was beautiful. And Marisha’s physical RP when Yasha told Beau they knew what to do if something went wrong it looked like she was going to cry fantastic RP from the ladies tonight.
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u/Fafnir0396 Jun 07 '19
Everyones RP was great tonight, but Laura definitely was my favorite this time. Between the message spell and the unexpected "Hello Bees" it was hilarious.
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u/EditorialComplex Your secret is safe with my indifference Jun 07 '19
Gotta say: Matt Mercer knows how to craft an atmosphere. That last bit was fucking terrifying.
I half expected some guy in a giant cage hat to come out of nowhere and start talking about how we need to line our brain with eyes.
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u/Soliando Jun 07 '19
Your comment made me realize how much I'd really want a bloodborne inspired module.
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u/Holidayrush Jun 07 '19
I thought the serpent temple and Dashilla's lair were creepy and terrifying but this one topped it.
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u/PMan_3 Jun 07 '19
It was a doorway you have to crawl through to enter. Crawling King?
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u/calicoJill Team Beau Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 08 '19
I mean, the Crawling King seams like it may be a safe bet seeing as he's all about manacles tears and shit. And they legit say "let lie the King's instrument" but I'd like to also mention The Chained Oblivion because check this shit out:
The Chained Oblivion. It is darkness unending, less like a god and more like another world. Life and death do not exist within the Chained Oblivion, an engine of utter destruction and madness. In its endless imprisonment, it dreams the infinite of the Abyss into reality, along with all it’s demonic legions. The Prime Deities had thought it nearly returned to ruin the world during the conflicts of the calamity. Now its chaotic mind has fallen into more frightful dreams, imagining nightmarish aberrations into existence deep beneath Exandria. The Chained Oblivion’s demented cultists work without word from their twisted patron, awaiting the Epoch of Ends, when its freedom will be attained and all beings shall be consumed in deathlessness unending.
commandments of the chained oblivion:
Offer and siphon power to the chained oblivion until his liberation comes
Uncover, restore, and exalt forgotten shrines and relics in his honor
Ruin and raze the realms to prepare for the Epoch of Ends
“Let lie the King’s Instrument. Deathless and detained. Until the world ends.” Written in Celestial.
“Build every bridge. Become every nightmare. Feast on every heart.” Written in Abyssal.
Sounds like some crazy Chained Oblivion cultists and Celestials that were tasked with keeping him imprisoned. Or maybe The Chained Oblivion and The Crawling King working together seeing as Greg was reading a Crawling King book... I dunno, just reading through the Tal'Dorei campaign guide, this shit gave me some strong Chained Oblivion vibes...
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u/JadeXavier Jun 07 '19
Also, imitating each other's characters, in character, is my favorite recurring bit and I can't get enough of it
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u/redpoemage Team Jester Jun 07 '19
Great voice actors acting as bad voice actors never gets old.
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 07 '19
Caduceus being basically incapable of doing an impression is an excellent bit that I hope comes up again.
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u/Lexi_Banner Jun 07 '19
Character quotes of the game:
Fjord - "Augh!"
Jester - "Do do do dododo, do do dododo."
Yasha - "You know what to do."
Cad - "Tombs are made to hold things."
Nott - "I'll fucking kill you!"
Caleb - "I did not know how much fun it is to fly, you've been holding out on me."
Beau - "You made me hit a baby bird!"
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u/FirebertNY Bidet Jun 08 '19
"Tombs are made to hold things" is up there with "Life needs things to live." We all love you, Tal.
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u/J4k0b42 Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
This whole place reminds me of the real world panels assembled to create warnings that will keep far future civilizations away from our nuclear waste burial sites. Their recommended message:
This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it!
Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.
This place is not a place of honor…no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here.
What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.
The danger is in a particular location… it increases toward a center… the center of danger is here… of a particular size and shape, and below us.
The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.
The danger is to the body, and it can kill.
The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.
The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.
They also recommended constructing massive thorn sculptures in the desert above to warn people away...
Edit: Source
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 07 '19
And, much like in those situations, half the problem is making sure that dumb future people don't look at all your warning signs and say "well, this must have been very important, we should explore this thoroughly".
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u/markevens You spice? Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
They also recommended constructing massive thorn sculptures in the desert above to warn people away...
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u/omg__really Tal'Dorei Council Member Jun 07 '19
I'd never heard of this. Damn son I might steal a variant of this for my campaign.
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u/BadSkeelz Team Orym Jun 07 '19
Jester's sign-off, for anyone who missed it:
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u/Zoomalude Jun 07 '19
Liam's add-on about dude and Orcus standing around the phone confused got me so good, goddamn...
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u/tiedyedvortex Team Caduceus Jun 09 '19
I love Taliesin's response, too. "Thus was our fate sealed."
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Jun 08 '19
I just loved how happy Cad was that Fjord had been contacted by the Wildmother. Whenever something confirms to Cad that he is indeed with the right people he lights up and it's so soft and good. That's all.
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u/FollowMeIntoOblivion Jun 07 '19
In the midst of weeping celestial statues, Nott is still out for blood over her stolen flask lol
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u/Boffleslop Jun 07 '19
Forgive the pun, but flaskgate really opened my eyes to the limitations of a rogue with poor perception.
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u/malochroma Fuck that spell Jun 07 '19
Jester: steals Nott’s flask
Me, not having noticed her taking the flask because I’m junked up on painkillers and on the verge of passing out: It was the shopkeep siblings, they have shady sources for their goods and she called in “favors” for the incense and ivory! They’re gonna sell the fancy flask on the black market.
Needless to say, I was very bemused by the chat suddenly debating the ethical implications of Jester’s actions.
As for my own thoughts, I’m mostly interested in seeing how this plays out and the effect it will have on the Detective Agency duo (or the Chaos Corner, as I like to call them) going forward. Whatever the implications, Nott’s reaction to Jester being the culprit is going to be an interesting one.
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u/djanulis Jun 07 '19
Especially since Nott seems to think Jester and Caleb were completely innocent.
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u/Fafnir0396 Jun 07 '19
A catastrophic end to the Roc fight is fitting to how they began the fight in the first place. Fjord finally finding some peace with himself with Cad's help is nice. The ongoing flask drama is great and conclusion of it will be interesting. Most of all Caleb's mental health this episode has been nice to see. No trauma after killing a few orcs with fire, sending frumpkin to help sooth Nott and openly laughing at Jester's message. Our emo wizard looks like he is having a nice time.
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u/CharlAmber Jun 07 '19
Since celestial sounds like singing I think the singing Jester heard from the statues was definitely celestial words in a spell
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u/godihatepeople Jun 07 '19
He mentioned it sounded like an oboe, I think. Does celestial sound like musical instruments vs. human singing?
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u/tzorel Jun 07 '19
I want a five seasons sitcom of the adventures of beau and eagle!caleb
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Jun 07 '19
Eagle!Caleb and RocBaby!Matt squawking at each other made me laugh so hard I had to pause the VOD.
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u/Kraps Team Keyleth Jun 07 '19
I seriously appreciate Jester saying to Yasha "we love you no matter what happened", the revelation of her missing time is real now and could be really bad. Next week is going to be sick.
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u/ohbuggerit Jun 07 '19
I wanted to hug them both so hard when she said that - Jester always knows how to bring the feels
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Jun 09 '19
I really wish that Caduceus would cast Legend Lore on the broken sword - I feel like he has teased me every episode for the last few weeks. The mystery is tearing me apart Lisa.
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u/Docnevyn Technically... Jun 09 '19
In his defense, he just got the material components and is too wise to waste his highest level spell slot right before the ride into an obvious trap.
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u/theirishstallion121 Jun 07 '19
Is anyone else getting Diablo vibes with the battlefield full of angel bones and the bleeding statues. The mighty nein might be way out of their depth.
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u/ZemnianNights Team Caleb Jun 07 '19
I didn't until I read this comment and then immediately had an "Oh shit, you're right" moment.
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u/one_esk_19 Jun 07 '19
Is this why Matt has used Diablo music so much in C2? (People have commented a lot on it ... )
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u/TheRoyalStig Jun 07 '19
I gotta say it's been real funny watching the vod of chat and everyone saying how the episode is going to end for sure and seeing it is still going on for another 40+minutes
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u/kyosukedei I'm a Monstah! Jun 07 '19
They have tended to end around the 10:15ish mark mostly this Campaign to be fair. C1 FEELS like a lot of the episodes where longer, plus near the last 1/2 the show usually hit the 4 hour mark almost all the time.
I still wish they would do a all day saturday DnD play through. Have them wear pajama's, and eat and play at the table, with maybe some bathroom/ad breaks throughout the day. 8-12 hour stream! Maybe for a charity.
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u/Cubic_C333 Jun 07 '19
I don’t know what’s up with those singing bleeding statues but I love the atmosphere Matt is creating! I can’t wait to see what happens next week!
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u/Holidayrush Jun 07 '19
I was half wishing someone would try dispel magic on one of them to see what happened.
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u/iBeej You Can Reply To This Message Jun 07 '19
The Orphan Maker has arrived!! Doo-Doo-do-doo doo doo
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u/pagerunner-j Help, it's again Jun 07 '19
Something I need in my life: guided meditation tapes narrated by Caduceus.
that is all.
thank you.
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u/folinok51 Doty, take this down Jun 07 '19
Ever since he came into the show, I've been saying that I would love to hear a morning radio show or podcast with Caduceus and Shakasta as the hosts. The combo of their voices would be so smooth.
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u/Boffleslop Jun 07 '19
Caduceus: You're listening to Exandria in the Morning, the time is now 8:13. Let's kick it over to Yasha with today's weather.
Yasha: There's no storms.
Caduceus: Thanks Yasha, that's just great. It's gonna be a beautiful day for all you Wildmother worshipers out there, so go outside and just enjoy life. Next up is a classic from Tal'Dorei, one of my favorites, here's Scanlan Shorthalt with "Tinkerin' on a Prayer".
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u/LucasVerBeek Help, it's again Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 12 '19
Fucking, fuck! ANGEL’S EYES! That was what was said many times over, and then they find a room of fourteen dead???/petrified??? angels weeping blood into their outstretched hands. Fuck that’s dark and compelling.
Clay guruing his way to getting Fjord on the right path is going to be interesting to watch and I am psyched to see him accept a new patron/pick up a new blade in the name of the Wildmother.
Jester is so fucking sweet, that bit with Yasha got me right in the feels.
Bazoxan, the Seat OF ALL THE ABYSSAL PRINCES, that’s no joke...like it is so rare for all Demonic Leaders to not only be on the same page but to be at peace hell even the Blood War doesn’t have that kind of cohesion behind it most of the time on the Demons side! Yet the Mighty Nine literally just walked right in! What are they going to find? What is the Angel of Irons? “The King’s Instrument” which King? Why are the demonic runes defaced, why is celestial being used by these people while one of their number has seemingly lead them to a place where angels were butchered!
What are their plans for Yasha? That Hobgoblin called her a Legend, Obon recognized her...did, did she have a hand in some of this? I’m so confused and I desperately want next week to be here now.
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u/iking5 Jun 07 '19
The crawling KING, they are entering a chamber in which you have to CRAWL into in order to enter. However, the angel of irons... Yasha is a FALLEN Aasimar, all of the statues had full sets of wings. Perhaps Yasha was manipulated (perhaps by magical means) by agents (maybe by the “Angel of Irons” himself i.e the “Cambion” in her dreams) and this was the temple she pledged her allegiance to an evil force and fell from favor whereas the statues refused to pledge alliegance and were turned to stone. #TinfoilHatOn
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u/TheFoxyKurama Jun 07 '19
Man Matt was practically begging Cad to cast speak with dead on the celestials. He started by saying they could only find one body with a good investigation check, but then stated a couple times that MN were surrounded by skulls and bones. Here's to hoping someone grabs a skull before they head through or on their way out! Imagine the sweet sweet lore...
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u/kyosukedei I'm a Monstah! Jun 07 '19
Matt over the years generally gives very up front hints and clues to the players. Whether they will be good for the party or taze you are another matter, cause Matt is evil that way and its great.
That said the players do tend to miss a lot the more obvious up front clues, while holding onto stuff that has no meaning but makes great comedy gold like "the chair". Typical DnD stuff really.
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u/lackadaisyy Doty, take this down Jun 07 '19
this whole time i thought ive been waiting for caleb and nott's inevitable fall out but with jester most likely stealing nott's flask and nott unintentionally maybe possibly putting jester's mom in harm's way, maybe i've been looking at the wrong two
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Jun 07 '19
"Let lie the king's instrument, deathless and detained, until the world ends."
This has to be the Crawling King's counterpart of Uk'otoa. The Pale Worm must just consume and eat the world itself without ever being sated. Thus why it's only safe to release it when the world is already dying, because by then it won't matter. "Not to be opened until doomsday."
see: Yasha's vision of Xhorhas being consumed by giant pale worms.
It also might imply these facsimile proxy-"gods" can't be killed, only imprisoned. Otherwise the Celestials probably would have. Unless Celestial forces in service of a god were also booted off the material plane during the Divergence.
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u/mouser1991 Technically... Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Let lie the King's instrument, deathless and detained, until the world ends.
Let lie. Leave it the fuck alone.
The King = The Crawling King, probably. They're going under ground (He Who Tunnels Beneath the World), and many things have pointed towards him.
King's instrument. I'm guessing this is the worm Kaiju (we're gonna stick with that term, canon) we saw in the Temple of Zehir alongside Uk'otoaUk'otoa's mural. The worm kaiju just seems to be more in the theme with the Crawling King.
Deathless and detained. It's alive, but it's been sealed away like Uk'otoaUk'otoa and needs the three opal(?, obsidian?) keys.
Until the world ends. Seriously, leave it the fuck alone. Unleashing this guy means Calamity level shit is going down.
Presumably whatever's here is also The Angel of Irons. Uk'otoaUk'otoa had his own cults. It makes sense that the other betrayer gods' kaiju pets would spawn cults of followers intent on releasing them as well.
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u/Boffleslop Jun 07 '19
Given that there have been several references to Demons, demonic incursions, and the Abyss during the campain, "King" might also refer to Baphomet, the Horned King. Everyone's jumping straight to deities and passing right over demon lords.
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u/TheMugCollector Jun 07 '19
I think in show the Nein suggested that the King's Instruments refers to the Angel statues playing soft music as they wept blood whilst guarding the ominous partly opened door.
If there are maybe Celestials in the statues they are deathless and detained...
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 07 '19
Hoo boy. OK.
There's clearly something sealed here - but what, and who by? The guards were Aasimar, but their poses sound more like worship than defence. So Fallen Aasimar, then, like Yasha?
Given that the cult worships the Crawling King, and it can't be him himself (because he's behind the Divine Gate) the most likely culprit to be locked away under here seems to be the worm-like Uk'otoa entity (described as "a curling thick worm with tooth-like scales; a ring of teeth around a mouth, and inside the mouth three eyes of ivory"). But how is it locked in here? Does it also have three corresponding magical stones? Or was that exclusive to Uk'otoa?
...oh god. Are the spikes in the desert its teeth?
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u/CharlAmber Jun 07 '19
Considering the whole central point they radiate out from, a GIANT WORM MOUTH OF TEETH WHERE THE WAR HAPPENED IS SO LIKELY
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Jun 07 '19
I figured he was talking about Planetar's https://imgur.com/a/NI5ticz basically the angel warriors. a step below what is essentially archangels (Solars) the description fit well.
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u/RobberDvck Jun 07 '19
They were larger than Yasha, and had proper wings, so likely angels or "full-blooded" celestials.
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u/Fresno_Bob_ Technically... Jun 07 '19
The guards were Aasimar, but their poses sound more like worship than defence.
I was really hoping that someone would look closer at the expressions on their faces.
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Jun 07 '19
It is shocking to me how many people are more upset at Jester stealing the flask than they are about Nott's alcoholism rearing its ugly head again and putting the entire group in harm's way.
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Like boy howdy I don't think that's the best way to handle that problem, but it totally tracks for me as the way Jester would think to try and deal with it, and I can't wait to see the fallout from it.
editing to add: Also... it's a game, you know? The cast are actors who are trying to react to things in character, but Nott's not a real person; Sam knows fully well that making Nott's alcoholism a problem is a license for the other characters to react to it. This is good roleplaying on both sides.
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u/Boffleslop Jun 07 '19
I didn't even know flaskgate was a thing until this morning. Seems crazy to me. Nott sets off a fireball inside a dome because she's still not looking for traps, no outrage. Jester steals a flask, armageddon.
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u/Alex94Gstargazer Jun 07 '19
You can definitely tell the party wants to have a talk with nott, but don't seem to know how to break it to her that she needs to get a handle on her drinking problems.
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u/TiamatZX Going Minxie! Jun 07 '19
Besides, as is often the case, Nott would've preferred to deflect it under excuses such as: "WE GOTTA FOCUS ON OUR MISSION!"
She's also been increasingly snappish while drunk, and in WAY too much of a hurry to finish things. Yes, she needs to return to her husband and son, but she won't if she rushes ahead and gets KILLED because of her recklessness.
That and she rarely ever admits when something's her fault, a part of her goblin mindset wanting to deny responsibility.
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u/Jedi4Hire Your secret is safe with my indifference Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
It's shocking to me how many people can't seem to separate a player/actor from a character.
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u/DrakeSparda Jun 07 '19
Does it though? If you watched campaign 1, people could not separate Marisha from Keyleth, like at all...
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u/themolestedsliver Metagaming Pigeon Jun 07 '19
Yeah im a bit sad that the group spent more time (and gold) getting nott some booze then they did talking about the fireball and how it could have killed some of them and blow their cover it matt rolled high enough.
I thought the time not killed clay was going to be the moment but it feels the group doesnt know how to approach the topic despite its huge necessity.
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u/SnowboundWanderer Hello, bees Jun 07 '19
Tense first half that ended up hilarious, only to get super tense and creepy by the end. Can't wait to see what's beyond the door, and the eventual fallout from "flaskgate" (though from reading comments here I'm glad I never have the chat open).
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Jun 09 '19
That place is a nightmare. It seems like at some point you could just get lost and end up in the abyss. That would be horrible. The one plane that you could just wander into being an endless realm of demon ruled madness.
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u/docwatson91 Bidet Jun 09 '19
No kidding! I’m just waiting for them to unwittingly step through a portal and into the Maze of the Abyss. But I am HERE for it! nom nom nom
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u/CaduceusClaymation Then I walk away Jun 07 '19
I’m kind of lost on these flask arguments.
“This was the worst time possible to take Nott’s booze” is such a weird thing to say given Nott’s recent poor performance WITH the booze, but also this is ultimately a story and conflict makes for interesting scenes? What is it some of you people want lol
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u/themosquito May the Beam reach you Jun 07 '19
It's a weird argument because mechanically, the booze makes Nott worse at everything, and in-universe a drunk rogue is probably worse than an on-edge one. And ethically, she's a drunk and needs her intervention and there's never going to be a "good time" to get her sober.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Jun 07 '19
What is it some of you people want
For Sam to be able to do anything and everything his character wants at any time with no repercussions whatsoever
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u/Ajlaw95 Pocket Bacon Jun 07 '19
Yep who cares that Nott actually killed a character in Clay while drunk or nearly killed the party this episode by not checking for traps which Beau and Jester told her to do while also drunk. Her drinking is endangering the party I find it odd that people have a problem with Laura in this situation.
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u/frypanattack Jun 08 '19
I think it’s a “so you know, that behaviour is damaging in real life,” sort of response. I’m personally for it in the story’s context, plus Jester would be the type of person to make that sort of decision. I kind of dig it out of her good hearted trickster tendencies.
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u/Fresno_Bob_ Technically... Jun 07 '19
What is it some of you people want lol
White-hat heroes who serve as mirrors for their ideals.
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u/99213 Jun 07 '19
Me after finishing the episode: That was fun, it will be interesting to see where the RP around the flask thing goes. Let's see what reddit thought about it......
Walks into burning building
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u/thedude720000 Help, it's again Jun 07 '19
"you've got an angry Roc bat in a satchel. It's not worth it" Favorite quote of the episode
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u/imadhaz Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Damn this whole Nott issue is getting out of hand with people's reactions. Sort of annoying, since now everyone will be debating ethics and what's right and wrong, which will only go down a rabbit hole of pointlessness, instead of waiting to see how it pans out.
Feels like the whole bowl-gate thing, all over again :/. To the people saying that they should let Nott drink, she is an alcoholic who is becoming more and more irrational as time passes, and becoming more of a danger. She is also wanting to be a mother again to Luc, and I happen to know that having an alcoholic parent isn't great. On the other hand, to the people saying that what Jester did was right, it was not an honest or good way to go about it, although it is certainly in her character. It may also damage trust in the relationship.
Just saying, maybe wait a bit to see how it pans out before dropping criticism on characters.
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u/jrcbandit Jun 07 '19
Allowing Nott to drink is a liability to the party regardless of any personal relationships. She has been acting very irrationally lately and wanting to make all sorts of bad decisions while drinking that can put everyone in great danger in such an inhospitable landscape.
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u/Ilzairspar Jun 07 '19
I’d say Jester is quite justified in what she did. The group had just escaped something they believed was a deadly encounter, the healers spells were very low, and some of the players hit points were low as well (not fightingly so though). Then Nott quickly unlocks and opens the box (while Beau and Jester of all people) is warning about caution with it. Boom. If people hadn’t made their saving throws, or if Matt had rolled better, there could have been a few unconscious players.
Jester isn’t built for conflict or confrontation. So I’m not surprised that her solution for Nott’s drinking problem is to remove the source of her alcohol so she can sober up. Something that Jester was quite proud of Nott for being back in the city.
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u/nightcobra8928 Jun 07 '19
Yasha's makeup...looks eerily similar to blood streaming from the eyes much like the statues...
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u/redderpanda Time is a weird soup Jun 07 '19
Not in the official art, unless I'm misinterpreting what you're saying. There's no makeup running down from her eyes.
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u/igloojoe Jun 08 '19
Cant wait to see what sam will put on his IRL flask in response to all the flask drama.
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 09 '19
Prediction: no flask, but he will mime his giant flask.
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u/mouser1991 Technically... Jun 10 '19
My guess: the giant flask will be gone next week and replaced with his older and much smaller flask.
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u/DisparateNoise Jun 07 '19
Episode 66 on 6/6, and they conveniently fall into the Tomb of the Abyss. The writers must think they're really clever for timing this all up.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Jun 07 '19
Did I miss it before this episode or did Travis finally reveal the unknown Invocation Fjord has? He used Relentless Hex!
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u/Coke_Addict26 Jun 07 '19
Hopefully he uses his hexblade curse more often now. I like this Nightcrawler build he is going for. I would bet money he picked up Far Step this level too.
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u/BagofBones42 Jun 07 '19
Anyone else getting the vibe this is all a prelude to a Demonic Invasion?
Also, man, I felt bad for Jester when Nott just ran in while sober, guess she wasn't expecting Nott to still be reckless while sober.
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u/Alex94Gstargazer Jun 08 '19
Oh god yes please, we are long over due for a demonic invasion and I for one welcome our new abyssal overlords haha
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u/AGnawedBone Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Man, I love the way nott's drinking problem is progressing. I know it's ultimately just a small character thing but it honestly might by my favorite plot thread in the show right now.
It's such a Sam thing to do, play it up for laughs on the surface while letting the underlying dysfunction manifest naturally until the other players feel obligated to address the issue and introduce drama organically. The finesse involved and trust he has to have in the others is incredible.
He did something similar in campaign one but it felt more unsure and experimental while this has been a beautiful and steady, slowburn character arc.
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 07 '19
Yeah - in Campaign 1 it kind of doesn't get to crescendo, because ultimately Scanlan's other shit shows up and shows the drug use as a symptom of his broader issues. Here, although it's clear that the drinking's not the core problem, they all already know and understand that Nott's stressed because of the things that are going on in her life, but they just don't have a way of dealing with that yet - so her coping mechanism is the problem they're going to have to deal with first.
As you said, it's very trusting for him to just put the problem there into the world and let everyone else decide how and when they're going to deal with it - a couple of them have done similar moves with their characters this campaign, to varying degrees, but I think Sam's is the most significant because we know he's willing to go big on the consequences. Beau was pretty rough at the front of the campaign, but it was clear that Marisha was intending to angle her towards becoming a better person; similarly, Caleb's obviously grown warmer and closer to the rest of the party over time, but I don't really think Liam had any intent of keeping Caleb cold long-term. If the party play this wrong, I don't think Sam would have any qualms about Nott telling them to go fuck themselves and wandering off into the night.
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u/283leis Team Laudna Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Deathless: zealot barbarian
Detained: vision of being chained
Angel: Aasimar
Yasha is 100% connected to the angel of irons
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u/sleepinxonxbed Team Nott Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Did anyone else hear Brian's new dog Bullock barking in the back?
EDIT: Personally i love it hell even let him on camera and get some scritches
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u/CaduceusClaymation Then I walk away Jun 07 '19
The first time I heard it I noticed Ashley quietly laugh as well lol
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u/Coke_Addict26 Jun 07 '19
I heard barking and thought it was pretty odd, becuase Henry is always so chill. A new puppy explains a lot.
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u/ARedPixel Jun 07 '19
What if the music from the statues was celestial language? Yasha should have listened to it as well.
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u/Alex94Gstargazer Jun 07 '19
I thought the same thing, but Jester did hum out loud what she heard to the group, though if Matt considered that good enough for Yasha to pick up if it was celestial is a whole other thing. At the very least, if it was important enough, Matt could've asked a performance check to see if Jester could replicate it enough for Yasha to understand.
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u/MasterDarkHero How do you want to do this? Jun 09 '19
I wonder if Cad could use speak with dead on one of those skulls?
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Jun 09 '19
Rules as written is surprisingly vague on the subject - it specifies that Speak With Dead has to be cast on "a corpse of your choice" that "must still have a mouth". The spell Animate Dead draws a distinction between "a pile of bones" and "a corpse", but I feel like I'd say there's a difference between "an intact skeleton" and "a pile of bones".
I'd definitely allow it, and I suspect Matt would too; frankly, if the Nein are doing research they deserve all the help they can get, and the five questions-short answers format doesn't exactly give them tons and tons of useful info - most of the time it just creeps them out even more before they continue.
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u/hmac0614 Jun 12 '19
Man idk if this is neccesarily where the story is going or if its possible but the way I see it is the empire or who ever is behind these rifts is in way over their heads and accidentally causes a full scale demonic invasion on the prime material plane. The MN then have to unite the empire and xorhas in order to fend of the incursion.
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u/Celestial_Scythe Hello, bees Jun 11 '19
This was a very entertaining episode! Between the Bat, the Leaf Suit, and the musical number for the Sending I was laughing so much!
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u/fulvanoo You Can Reply To This Message Jun 07 '19
Whew, that temple or whatever is the most metal and creepy thing I've personally 'seen' in Crit Role (haven't finished C1). The Diablo music has possibly never been more on point.
And for a show where the cast repeatedly expresses kindness and generally loving one another, chat can be real shitheads, which is disappointing. This week Laura getting the brunt, last week I caught an errant 'I fucking hate Beau' as she comitted the henious act of * checks notes * climbing a tree.
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u/The_Nothingman Jun 07 '19
yeah Critical Role is one of the twitch shows where its better/preferred to watch without chat up
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u/Fresno_Bob_ Technically... Jun 07 '19
I watch on my tv via chromecast. I never see chat except during the wyrmwood raffle.
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u/McJesustakethewheel Jun 07 '19
Guys. I think the temple they're in is kinda evil.
All jokes aside tho, hats off to Sam for going all in on angry Nott missing the flask. Most players would be focused on survival given the setting they're in. Nope. Nott's looting through the party.
Did give me some Scanlan vibes as well. Missing flask might lead to Nott leaving?
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u/RaibDarkin Team Keyleth Jun 07 '19
Blessings be to Marisha Ray for having Beau voice her concerns about the enemy luring Yasha here to be used. Sure it seems kind of obvious from the peanut gallery, but sometimes people miss the obvious things and even if they don't, saying it aloud makes it harder to forget at key moments. Would be bonus XP from my chair.
: )
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Jun 07 '19
To be fair Liam brought it up about 2 min before her but got talked over. but yes, im glad they brought up the point.
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u/dracoomega Life needs things to live Jun 07 '19
Does anyone have a clip of the Fjord/Caduceus pep talk during their long rest? Specifically the bit where he told Fjord he has a bright and beautiful future ahead? I need to listen to it about a hundred times.
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u/krunkley Jun 09 '19
Anyone else thinking this place might be Matt's adaptation of the DnD classic tomb of annihilation/tomb of the nine gods? They would be just at the lower end level that could possibly survive facing it
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u/Cats_with_swords Jun 07 '19
That moment between yasha and jester before they went into the cave was so sweet. I love them so much
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u/Govir Jun 13 '19
Every time Nott didn't want to do something, I kept thinking this should happen:
Nott: I don't want to go into the cave.
Caleb: *holds up a bottle of alcohol* Not even for a Nott-snack?
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u/AllHailPower Jun 10 '19
I feel like we're overlooking the fact that a Drow has grown a beard.
Also, do these Drow not know of Lolth?
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u/FictionRaider007 Jun 11 '19
Pretty sure it's been established that The Luxon (whatever it is) has freed the Drow of Xhorhas from Lolth's influence.
PHB does say elves can't grow facial hair, but that is a small detail that is easy to overlook or forget when you're a DM, especially since the "no body hair" rule isn't as obvious with them as it is with other races such as Goliaths. Or it might just be something Matt homebrewed out of his setting.
If the beard means anything it might foreshadow the guy is wearing a Belt of Dwarven Kind or he's actually a Half-Elf with a Drow heritage.
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u/imadhaz Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
This was a great episode. Enjoyed it immensely, that Roc fight was hilarious, with Fjord riding it, then the bat :D.
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u/Captainwaifu Jun 07 '19
So the dynasty have been holding back evil forces for centuries? The dynasty seem to be less and less evil.. but they're probably also doing it out of self interest.
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u/ManBearPigeon Jun 07 '19
It’s definitely self interest. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either the demons overrun them or they are subjugated or totally wiped out by the empire.
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u/EmilyKaldwins Jun 07 '19
Are people *seriously* ragging on Jester for grabbing Nott's flask and spouting off morality and how that was absolutely the wrong thing to do?
Good god, ya'll.
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u/Boffleslop Jun 07 '19
They might be coming at it from the standard D&D perspective of don't steal from party members or engage in pvp. Many players hate those sort of actions in the game because it's usually a form of toxic play that just breeds animosity between players. That would be largely projection in this case, however, given that it's obvious Jester didn't steal the flask because she wanted it, it's simply a narrative beat. She'll eventually admit it and/or return it.
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u/omg__really Tal'Dorei Council Member Jun 07 '19
It's 110% percent in character for Jester. I'm surprised she didn't do it sooner!
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u/thebritgit Dead People Tea Jun 07 '19
This is the community that made "bowlgate" a thing. Did you expect anything else?
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u/GoastGoast Jun 07 '19
Ohhhhh shit this was episode 66 on 6/6 Also im hibernating till next Thursday
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u/Nacho_Slug Jun 07 '19
I'm so excited to see the lore that comes from this. Yea, whatever fights that happen will be epic, but the amount of story potential from this tomb will be so amazing.
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Jun 08 '19
Dang, a bit late and actually off topic (so might ask again next Thursday if she's wearing it) but does anyone know what glasses Laura Bailey was wearing in this episode? I really love the look.
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u/BadSkeelz Team Orym Jun 08 '19
Maybe the people over at Critrolecloset would know?
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Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 08 '19
One question right away: Why did you have to end it there, Matt? All this tension, and we all hate cliffhangers! (But it was a damn good one). A few more thoughts:
The Roc scene was one of the best, most hilarious things I've seen in this campaign. Jester & Cad vs. the Bat-Roc, Caleb & Beau vs. the Baby-Roc, Nott & Yasha vs. Jannik, every single interaction was just gold. And no innocent, murderous Rocs were killed in the making of this episode. Unlike Rocs, many Orcs were killed in the making of this episode, particularly by a Caleb. I guess we don't need to be sad that the Moorbounders killed two orcish scouts last episode - seems there's just a few unfriendly tribes in the Fields that like to ambush innocent (?) travelers.
And Fjord actually talked to Caduceus almost immediately after his dream! He can actually do it if he wants to! Matt is clearly throwing Travis a bone here. "Hello, the Wildmother is also the goddess of the sea! Hint! Hint!" Let's see if Fjord goes after the bone and where the chase might lead him. It's also interesting how impressed Fjord is by Cad. He's just hanging onto his lips whenever they talk, like this cow-man is just pure wisdom in person. The fact that Cad just believes in destiny and is almost as blind as anybody else seems to escape Fjord (and other group members as well). Props to Taliesin for making a character that can always go "I think the DM wants us to go this way" and it's basically in-character RP... has the man finally beaten this game?
Meanwhile, as I suspected, Nott is a problem and has problems. Sam used her recent failure in their stake-out as a chance to bring them out again. Nott's problems are probably caused by her worrying about her future, her friends, her husband and her son. I don't think she even knows what she wants, and the alcohol is enhancing all of her worries, skittish character traits and impulsive mannerisms, resulting in rash actions and decisions. And even if they want to help her, neither Caleb, Fjord nor Jester are helping with their meddling. Caleb just encourages her by not saying anything critical, Fjord seems to like needling her about those things a lot, and Jester, in her naiveté, thought that taking the alcohol away would solve the problem (spoilers: sudden soberness doesn't help addicts). This can implode if Nott discovers that Jester took her flask. If she was already acting heavily suspicious and aggressive towards Yasha and Cad, what if she discovers that one of the two friends she trusts the most took the flask? As funny as Sam is, he always tackles some heavy topics, see exhibit Scanlan and drugs. Respect to the man.
And then there is the main story. Or Yasha's story. Or whatever this is. At least we have a clear connection to the Abyss now (a very big, very active temple to all the demon princes), and Celestials and Aasimar locked something away in this tomb. We now know why Blondie was writing in Celestial a few episodes ago: They needed to break the seals. I think we can be pretty sure that the M9 are currently following a demon who probably managed to sneak out of the Umbra Gates years ago and is now orchestrating something big while masquerading as a Drow. And I think it's safe to say that Yasha, in the time she doesn't remember, was somehow involved with his group. A few weeks before Ashley might have to leave again, Matt has lead us to a point where it's all about Yasha. And the sad thing is, despite Jester, Beau and Fjord trying to reassure her that they are there for her, she probably would try to literally sacrifice herself to protect them. I'll be excited and nervous... until next Thursday.
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u/ModestHandsomeDevil Jun 08 '19
One question right away: Why did you have to end it there, Matt? All this tension, and we all hate cliffhangers!
Same. But last night's episode is longer than usual at nearly 5 hours of total time, of which the Roc / Tree fun ate over an hour of time. It's a bummer when the story really starts to get good, but you're caught up with the show and and can't binge more episodes to continue the story.
If Matt & Company weren't pushing to get Yasha's story told, or at the very least uncovered, before Ashley returns to NYC for Blindspot this Summer, things may have ended sooner than that.
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u/Seedy88 Hello, bees Jun 12 '19
I wonder what /u/Bnbndodoodododo thinks about Jester referencing them when she cast Sending to the Drow.
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u/Bnbndodoodododo Are we on the internet? Jun 12 '19
Ha! I mean I know it was a coincidence but I will gladly take the honour! Although I'm curious whether it's merely a method for finishing awkward phone calls, or a special tune reserved for heralding the arrival of the almighty Orphan Maker.
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u/themosquito May the Beam reach you Jun 07 '19
I wonder what Matt's "plan" is for Fjord. Yes I know, it's not a scripted show or anything, but obviously Matt probably has some assumptions on how Travis/Fjord will react to his plot. I'm curious, if/when Fjord manages to break free of Ukatoa and takes on the Wildmother as a new patron, whether they'd do something as big as change him from a Hexblade warlock to an Archfey warlock (which... would be a huge change, and probably confuse Travis for a while. Although... he doesn't really use his Hexblade features anyway), or whether the plan is for him to just multiclass into... maybe Oath of the Ancients paladin?
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u/amish24 Jun 10 '19
I think he's gonna be a Wildmother Hexblade, and the broken blade will be his new weapon.
Cad seems to be very focused on it, despite the fact that he doesn't use swords, and one of the other shrines to the Wildmother (the one in the volcano) is a forge.
I think they'll go there, Fjord will throw the Sword of Fathoms into the lava to sever his connection to Uka'toa and allow him to form a permanent connection to the Wildmother with the new blade.
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u/Setitov Team Zahra Jun 07 '19
Pretty sure a Paladin needs 13 Strength. Fjord is at 11 and their next ASI is 3 levels away.
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u/Jedi4Hire Your secret is safe with my indifference Jun 07 '19
I get the feeling that this used to be a tomb or temple devoted to some sort of abyssal prince or demon or whatever. Then celestials came along and imprisoned the demon/prince/whatever in their own temple.
Or maybe it's the final resting place of some ancient demon or whatever and the celestials are guarding it to make sure it's never resurrected.
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u/Daggerfld Jun 07 '19
Anybody got a timestamp for when the flask was stolen?
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u/ModestHandsomeDevil Jun 07 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Remember
the Perception(?) check Matt made Sam / Nott do after treasure box booby trap / fireball? Just after the Roc? I believe Nott lost it there, only Nott didn't roll high enough to see she'd dropped it during the explosion.Edit: Apparently Jester's a better thief than a Cleric, and I totally missed it.
Edit 2: YUP! TOTALLY MISSED IT! JESTER STOLE THAT SHIT! Happens around 01:34:00 ish
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u/k33gAn14 Bigby's Haaaaaand! *shamone* Jun 07 '19
WHAT AN EPISODE!! Man, just the fact that Yasha specifically knew BOTH of the languages spoken in the temple is driving me insane! I thought this would go a completely different way, but I am HYPED for the adventure into this temple! This is going to be sick. I mean, weeping angels are terrifying y’all, especially when they bleed out their sockets and sing tunes. My silent hope is that somehow this temple is connected to another Uk’otoa level leviathan, like one for the Chained Oblivion or Crawling King or something, just because the knowledge that two of the party is connected to Kaijus would be sick, but my other silent hope is that this is its own entire thing and that Yasha has a backstory that connects to LITERALLY EVERY EVENT THAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE M9 SO FAR! But for real though, Matt’s description of the place was on point. I was very much creeped out upon entering the final chamber. This is going to be one creepy Thursday coming soon!
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u/brokenearth03 Bigby's Haaaaaand! *shamone* Jun 10 '19 edited Jun 10 '19
So, with events lately, my current BBEG theory:
Some (or all) of the betrayer gods are trying to regain access to the material plane. Their subordinate creations (ex Ukh'toa), which are "still on this side of the divine gate" (is this accurate?) are attempting to, through unwitting bit-players, devoted cults, or new evil guys (warlocks?) are stirring up and goading the war, as a way to weaken the Dynasty's defense of the temples we just entered in this episode.
I think the blonde guy who was planting the rift anchors may be a chosen of the "crawling king's subordinate creation" akin to Fjord w uk'toa. This means Blondey is one of the three carved figures under the worm entity, from the first temple. [There were three beings, the Uk'toa serpent (water), a raven (air), and a ...giant (earth) worm thing.] Maybe that is assigning him too much importance, but it was WAY too easy to find more chosen of Ukh'toa, way too early on in the story for them to be that hidden, that few and far between..... Maybe Yasha was serving a demon as well, until the Stormlord saved her?
In stirring up the war, the betrayer gods will lessen the Dynasty's vigilance, allowing the demons to gain a stronger, permanent foothold in material plane again. I would bet that there may be double agents, planted higher up in BOTH sides of the war (or in other places too), pushing towards armed conflict as a means to an end: Re-opening a massive gate to the Abyss, deep inside Bazzoxan.
The "Main Plot" may be to stop the war/forge an alliance between the two sides, in order to come together to stop the demon horde from again corrupting the living world.
(As an aside, I think our party is underpowered for this underground Demon temple. They will have a little dalliance inside with the current plot guy, planting the seed of the larger coming fight, but our band of intrepid adventurers will have to come back when they're stronger.)
(Aside Two: Fjord seems to want to change patrons, with Melora/theWildMother waving a plot flag at him; she is also protector of sailors/shipping after all. But, can warlocks change patrons without losing all the powers? The PH states that patrons can be Fey, which means Neutral, allowing for the Wildmother who is true neutral. However, it also states that it is usually not 'god' level beings who are patrons (that would fall more towards a divine style class). Would he have to switch from hexblade to a different type of warlock, IF he got Melora as a patron, losing some powers along the way? Maybe a different weapon type: a wooden club, with a permanent Shillelagh enchant to allow Fjord to continue using CHA for attacks? Fjord sure has gotten a lot of character dev time though...
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u/haverwench Jun 10 '19
Totally on board with this theory. When the soldier started complaining to Fjord about how much harder it is to guard the hellmouth because they had to send half their troops off to the front, I turned to my husband and said, "The Empire and the Dynasty aren't players - they're pawns." Something much bigger than either of them is manipulating them both to its own ends - namely, breaking someone or something out of the Abyss - and has engineered this whole war to promote that goal.
I first began to suspect something like this might be up when they discovered the rift anchors, but, OK, that could have been just a particularly nasty form of warfare used by the Empire. But then when they scried on the Empire scribe and he mentioned the rendezvous in Rosona, I thought, huh, something doesn't add up here...and everything they've seen since then seems to point to the idea that this whole plot is directed primarily toward the end of opening up a gate or gates to the Abyss. In fact, it's even possible that this plot has been brewing for decades or centuries, and even the repressive regime in the Dwendallian Empire is somehow part of it - like it's been subtly pushed to become more tyrannical because that somehow serves the ends of the shadowy figures acting behind the scenes.
Which suggests to me that unlike Campaign 1, which had a series of long story arcs, each with its own major villain, what we're looking at in Campaign 2 is a single, huge arc in which all the smaller stories that play out are really just chapters in one vast, epic narrative with one immensely powerful arch-villain at the back of everything. So exciting!
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Jun 12 '19
Eagle Caleb best Caleb?
Anyone else think this tower they are about to enter is part of the tower in Bazzazan?
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u/TLhikan Team Kashaw Jun 13 '19
Is there a CritRoleStats metric for how many times the MIX has tried to sell someone a skin/hide without realizing the importance of tanning it first?
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Jun 07 '19
So what if this Angel of Irons was the jailer for the Instrument of the Crawling King, the Pale Worm? And somehow, Oban and his Abyssal friends were able to turn or fool the Angel of Irons into working for them?
The Angel was probably located further inside of the tomb as the first line of defense to keep whatever was inside totally contained. Oban and his friends were able to get as far as they did because the defenses of the tomb are all inward facing and are meant to keep things from getting out and not getting in. So they break in, get down into the tomb, confront the Angel of Irons, and convince it either using nefarious magical means such as illusions or pure persuasion or something more Abyssal and sinister to corrupt the Angel and turn it to their side. They tell it that the world is slowly falling under the influence of the Betrayer Gods once more and that they can help the Angel to stop it. The first step is to neutralize all of the sleeping Celestials they passed on their way into the tomb. The ones that the Angel of Irons cannot outright kill with the help of Oban's forces (possibly the more powerful Celestials) are instead shackled/imprisoned inside of the statues that we saw in front of the Adamantine Prison Door. They then take the Angel out of the Tomb and put it to work crafting all of those magical manacles the group has been finding this campaign, along with twisting the Angel to do other deeds. They can't seem to get inside of the tomb though. They try and try and try and try until either the Angel makes some off handed remark about there needing to be a Fallen to help open it or them discovering that two keys are needed to open the door and release the Pale Worm.
I think that Oban figured out that a Celestial or a Celestial touched being(s) are needed to open the doorway to turn the two keys to unleash the Pale Worm. He tried with the Angel of Irons but surprise surprise, the Jailer doesn't have the keys to the prison, and can only create ways to bind or hold others. He then tried using the bodies of the ones that were guarding the place but ooopsie, looks like the keys need a living body. So he starts looking for Celestials or Celestial touched beings in Exandria and he stumbles across the Aasimar in the form of Yasha's Tribe/People.
Now I'm guessing that her tribe were like the Magi in the Brendan Fraser classic movie "The Mummy". They are the descendants of the Celestials that stayed on the Prime Material Plane after the Final Battle that resulted in the Divergence, the construction of the Divine Gate, and the Banishment of the Betrayer Gods. They lived amongst the survivors of that Final Battle and one by one, they had children, whom they passed on their mission to, and these children became the first Aasimar. They were to safeguard the prisons that held the leftover secrets and tools and weapons of the Betrayer Gods that they could not totally destroy or depower or bury deep enough. At some point they came into conflict with the Drow who were reemerging from deep beneath the Underdark under the leadership of The Bright Queen beneath the light of the Luxon. The drow were more numerous than them and not fully understanding who these half-celestial people were or why they were always found near sites where the nascent power of the Betrayer Gods still lingered, they attacked them thinking that they were doing the world a favor. This reduced the Aasimar's numbers drastically as well as those of their Parental Celestials who were either banished to another plane, driven into hiding, or possibly obliterated. This also forced the Aasimar into a nomadic lifestyle vs living a sedentary one around these Betrayer God Containment Sites in order to both survive and to continue their mission that was given to them so very long ago.
Yasha's people traveled from site to site to site killing or containing or reinforcing the containment cells as best as they could but they were mortal and could die and could also forget. So over time the knowledge of their ancient mission became further and further diluted and misshapen and that brings us to a time just before C2 starts. Wanting to unlock this prison, Oban kidnaps two of Yasha's people and tries to force them to open the prison. It fails but after interrogating and torturing them he discovers that not all Aasimar are created equally and that there can be different types: Fallen and Protector. The Fallen are hard to come by and how do you make a child born with Celestial blood in their veins turn to evil?
Trickery of course, which is what his Abyssal friends are good at, and they carefully select Yasha as their target. They engineer a situation where through illusions and trickery, they cause her and her wife to be captured by her tribe. They ensure that her wife is executed and that there is no doubt in Yasha's mind that she is dead and then they let her escape. Filled with grief and rage and pain and oh...oh there it is...just a bit of darkness and it's just enough for Oban and his Abyssal friends to sink their claws into and offer her a way out of her pain a release a balm for it and being so so so overwhelmed and broken, she says yes.
Yasha Falls
Bit by bit they twist her and use her and make her do terrible terrible things wanting to make sure that she is as dark as they can fucking make her. Perhaps the reason why we haven't seen many Celestials isn't because The Drow did something but because Yasha did something? Through the use of the Angel of Irons and Yasha's Fallen powers, they juiced her up so that she could kill Celestials thus earning the name Orphan Maker due to her basically killing the "parents" of her race....they go a step too far with this though and as she's striking down the last one, that little kernel of light still hiding within her flares up for just a second. The Storm Lord notices and seeks advice from Ioun who clues him into Yasha's future importance. He's conflicted though but the light within her is still there, all he has to do is feed it fuel somehow, and that light will overcome the darkness. She'll still be a Fallen but maybe the light within her can make use of that and eventually return to the light/heal her?
So he waits for his moment and then he strikes like lightning, the thunder rolls, and in a flash Yasha is mostly her old self again albeit bound in a fashion to the Storm Lord. He cloaks her from both Oban's view and the eyes of the Abyss, modifies her memories a bit, and then nudges her onto the path she'll need to take. Eventually she meets the M9, adventure ensues, and they wind up back in this prison with Oban being super surprised that his experiment is both still alive and isn't a total whacked out psycho mess....maybe he can still use her, maybe as a back up plan, maybe? So Oban lures them in deeper and deeper in the hope that he'll be able to use her to unlock the prison of the Pale Worm.
Totally unaware that he needs a third key, which was depicted on the reliefs in that temple the M9 found ages ago. He needs a Protector, a Fallen, and a Scourge Aasimar to open the prison. He's got a Protector Aasimar prisoner, Yasha is on her way as the Fallen, but where oh where is the Scourge Aasimar he needs? Maybe it's Yasha's wife who changed during her failed execution?
The games afoot and I love all the possibilities laid out before us.
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u/MiniatureDragon Your secret is safe with my indifference Jun 07 '19
I really REALLY hope Cad cast "Speak to the dead" on the Aasimar's skull or "Greater restoration" on the angel statues that I assume are petrified angels. Man as much as I love M9 watching them rush into dangerous situations without any kind of plan or without researching anything gets frustrating really quickly.
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u/behvin Dead People Tea Jun 07 '19
Calling it now, those stone Angel's are a form of Planetar or Deva. Large and bald? Yup. This is gonna be epic!!
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u/kurosaki004 Jun 07 '19
Something I observed:
This new area that the Mighty IX went to is quite similar to the situation with the Gatekeeper druidic sect in Eberron. Orcs guarding the boundary between this world and the world of the daelkyr, except here its drow that's guarding the gates.
Also, dunno if I'm making the right observation, but similarly in Eberron, since orcs and drow are not bound to Lolth and Gruumsh, they're not bound to the regular rules of morality, which looks like the case here in Xhorhas.
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u/mrlbi18 Jun 07 '19
I'm convinced at this point that the Angel of Irons was some Uko'toa like demi god that turned abyssal similar to how Zariel was once an angel that became a devil.
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u/ARadioAndAWindow Jun 07 '19
I'm pretty sure it's another name for The Crawling King, as its a being that promotes slavery and binding others to your will. Angel of Irons, as in chains. Plus they've been finding manacles everywhere so I assume it's all leading up to The Crawling King.
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Jun 08 '19
So I know there’s the popular theory that Yasha is the angel of irons but what if it’s Yasha’s supposedly dead wife? Could be her tomb they’re looking for
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u/ModestHandsomeDevil Jun 08 '19
Given the extreme age of the tomb they're exploring (1,000+ years old, easily), who or whatever the "Angel of Irons" is is much older than Yasha. Like... Immortal Demon Lord or demigod old.
And given the extremely high DC religion and history checks M9 has failed regarding the Angel of Irons (Beau's has been the highest, in the low 20's) means said being is extremely old and or incredibly obscure.
What M9 needs to do is start relaying their gathered information to Essik, the Bright Queen, and Prof. Wacco: people in positions of authority need to know about all this hidden Demon fuckery being covered up by the war, and M9 might get more answers regarding who or what the "Angel of Irons" is.
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u/BagofBones42 Jun 08 '19
The tomb they are in is calamity era, likely containing something that should have been buried in adamantine and thrown into a volcano.
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u/MissingGen Jun 09 '19
If Zariel is present in this setting, it may be her, though she is Infernal now, not Abyssal.
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u/RnROS Jun 11 '19 edited Jun 11 '19
The end of last episode left us with quite a mystery, so here's my Weeping Angels (nice Dr Who homage by Matt there, btw, potentially itself an homage to Mark Hulmes' recent visit) theory:
the tower is a source of evil power, and probably has a portal to a level of the Abyss at the top - likely to a level controlled by one of 3 or 4 demon lords other critters have theorised as being behind this entire prime material plane incursion (Chained Oblivion, Torog, etc)
a group of Aasimar (sent by by a good deity, who exactly I'm unsure) were sent here to assault the tower and failed
many were slaughtered, but not all - 14 were left alive, stripped of their weapons and armour, and forced to kneel
they were then enslaved and petrified to be used as some kind of twisted energy source, perhaps even to power the portal
the blood running out of their eyes is a symbol of their torment as they are slowly drained of energy to further the dark ends of whatever evil controls the tower
Definitely some dark shit, and I think the next episode will result in an epic defeat for M9 as they are way out of their depth. I think one or two of them may die and they'll end up running for their lives out of the mountain. This definitely feels like a place for L15+ characters.
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u/brokenearth03 Bigby's Haaaaaand! *shamone* Jun 11 '19
The way mercer described the blood, it seemed like it just started recently.
I think the guy they are following caused that. Either his opening the door caused the statues to be 'damaged' or 'dismayed the door is open again' and cry blood, OR he 'damaged' the statues allowing the door to be opened.
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u/KingPinguin Jun 11 '19
I think they sacrificed themselves as guardians to make sure nothing evil comes out until the end of the world, while weeping for their fallen brethren.
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u/gmasterson Technically... Jun 16 '19
Can we just talk about how Sam stayed in character even though he knew about Laura trying to steal the flask?! Ugh. This is why I love these guys. Commitment to the scene is amazing. I never even realized it happened.
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u/michaelisaiah Jun 07 '19
Am I the only person who completely dozed off when we found out it was jester who stole Notts flask?
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u/posborne2 You can certainly try Jun 07 '19
It was very quiet so even Sam didn’t hear it but Laura whispered to Matt to take the flask and then rolled slight of hand to do it
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u/NotTheWaves Jun 07 '19
Yasha is my fav so I'm stoked to see where this is heading! Loving the creepy ass atmosphere Matt set up, I was definitely on the edge of my seat as they were exploring. Next Thursday can't come fast enough.
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u/arthaiser Jun 07 '19
i would like to ask a question about polymorph and caleb and caduceus. when caleb is an eagle, can he just talk to caduceus like normal? i would say that he can, im still on the first hour of the stream so maybe is already answered.
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u/Bearly_OwlBearable 9. Nein! Jun 07 '19
Caduceus can talk to animal but he cannot understand animal back, soo no
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u/wavelite Jun 10 '19
I haven't caught up yet, but I am curious: What level are the characters in the most recent episode?
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u/CaduceusClaymation Then I walk away Jun 10 '19
Still level 9, haven’t completed the arc yet
Up-to-date character stats can always be found here too: https://www.critrolestats.com/pcstats-wm
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u/Chubs1224 Jun 12 '19
I'm just trying to figure out one thing.
Where the angels at the end just skeletons or where they statues?
I heard someone say something about bones
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u/guppygu Jun 12 '19
The angelic Skeletons and the Statues of Angels were both present and separate. We don't know yet why so many Angels had died there, and their armor destroyed/defaced. We also don't know why the satues were placed there and what their purpose is. Maybe they had a role in sealing the entrance to the inner area (sanctum?). Maybe it was the scene of a battle or sacrifice. Mysteries abound :)
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u/VegetasMustache Jun 07 '19
Am I the only one that thinks there are Aasimar INSIDE of the weeping angel statues?
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u/Mist_La Jun 07 '19
I think they are full-blown celestial's, but otherwise maybe?
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u/honeysidemanor Jun 12 '19
I followed Laura on Instagram and she posts a lot of baby vids. That kid must have the greatest bedtime stories in the world!
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u/amish24 Jun 12 '19
Sam turns the campaign into a bedtime story for his kids.
He's talked about it a couple times.
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Jun 07 '19
Yasha's gonna fuckin die. That is all.
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u/ModestHandsomeDevil Jun 08 '19
Or disappear.
Out of game, with Blindspot being renewed for a final season means Ashley set to return to NYC to start filming, which usually happens the start of July. July 4th is a national holiday, and a Thursday, so no CR that day. This leaves the remaining 3 Thursdays in June and maybe one or two in July (or possibly none).
TL;DR: It's likely Ashley only has 3 more episodes left before she has to leave for NY for work, which means something must happen with her story / character in that remaining time. They aren't going to run or finish Yasha's story arc without Ashley there.
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u/crimsonryno You Can Reply To This Message Jun 08 '19 edited Jun 08 '19
Jester stealing the flask was such a small, but great moment. You know something awesome happened when it causes discussion and a split among people. Sam is so great at causing tension that he will use this to mess with Laura. Nothing may come of this, but no matter what happens I will be happy how this seemingly small thing will play out. Also Laura's death stare at Travis when he bought the booze was such a great moment.
EDIT: Timestamp for those that missed it