Okay! This episode I felt was stronger than episode four, it had more a sense of motion to it, literally, and we end up in Whitestone where things are really going to take off!
Cons:
Those same script issues I was mentioning in episode four do make an appearance here in a couple of spots. One is the clunkiness to the campfire scene, where they're all swapping stories. I wish they'd come in the middle of the story, and then not explained directly, just had the next person jump in with "oh, what about the time I..." instead they kept repeating "the worst kill I ever had was..." and it just seemed unrealistic as to how they'd be having a natural conversation. It just seems like the kind of thing where they could have taken one more pass at the script and smoothed out some awkward-sounding moments.
There was also one pacing note that I wanted to mention. The end of the episode is a big reveal about Whitestone being destroyed by the Briarwoods. But Percy is reminiscing about what a paradise it was literally right before they emerge and see the wreckage and the corpses on the Sun Tree. I would have arranged this slightly differently. Maybe Percy could have shared about the Sun Tree with Keyleth back in episode four when they were having their heart to heart. Or earlier in this episode with Vex on the cart, or during the campfire scene. Something where we already know what Percy is remembering, and then maybe a brief reminder of it as they approach, like Keyleth saying "I can't wait to see the Sun Tree" or something. Maybe this is the most nitpicky thing I've said yet, I just wanted to say it felt like "Whitestone has been desecrated" could have been built up better if we'd had longer to sit with the knowledge of what it once was.
And this is also a small thing, but since money was such a concern for the first few episodes, I found it odd that they didn't explain how they had money to pay Gilmore. Vex is grumpy because apparently he charged her a lot, but I got distracted wondering if they'd been given money somewhere offscreen. The keep was their thank you after the dragon thing, so how do they have the coin? Whatever, this is a classic case of overthinking it, but they made money such a focus in the opening episodes that this felt odd to me.
Pros:
So much to talk about! While the last episode let me down a bit in this regard, this episode had plenty of quiet moments where characters got to check in with each other and build some rapport, and I thought those moments all worked very well, broadly speaking. Let's go through a few rapid-fire.
Gilmore and the half-elf crew: I just loved this opening scene, the way Gilmore easily trapped them but was also willing to cut them a deal and was interested in what they were up to. I also think they're angling away from doing too much relationship angst with the Gilmore vs. Keyleth love triangle thing, which is a smart move in my opinion. Gilmore seems intrigued by what he sees of Keyleth and Vax, wondering what might be developing there...
Keyleth and Vax: their budding romance is charmingly awkward. I loved the moment in Gilmore's shop where Vax helps her get free from the little toy. "I'll just stay this way. For forever" was a great line delivery from Marisha. We then see him reassuring her that she'll be a great leader for her people when they're in the woods. They have this extreme bashfulness to them that works really well for me because Vax is more suave in other moments, so it's extra sweet to see him feeling self-conscious. And Keyleth deserves to be recognized for the wonderful person she is!
Vex and Percy! Holy shit, I already love these two so much. Their scene on the cart was perfection, with Vex trying to coax some confiding out of Percy, and the whole "bitch face" conversation. Then later, Vex egging Percy on as he's driving the cart... absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait for more of these two.
Scanlan and Keyleth have a great moment in the cart where they're researching the book together. I liked the vibes where they both share all they know, and then agree collectively that they're pretty screwed. Scanlan and Keyleth are very different people, and to be honest they didn't have a ton of material on the streaming show, so it's nice to see them have little moments here.
Grog and Vax's check-in about Pike was similarly very sweet. I love that Grog is missing her and trying to reach out to her, but can't quite find the way. As many problems as I might have with Pike's subplot stuff, I do love the way we're seeing the emotional resonances of her departure through Grog.
Vex and Vax's conversation in the woods about Vax's obvious crush on Keyleth... in some ways I'm kind of surprised they kept that element from the stream, where Vex was clearly antagonistic to the idea of Vax and Keyleth's romance, but it also makes so much sense for the characters they've set up. The twins have been codependent for so long, the idea of anyone else growing to be as important to them as they are to each other is bound to be frightening, and I love that we're seeing a bit of that exploration. This is another example of not needing to spell everything out, but still showing how these relationship dynamics are in flux and need some extra negotiating.
Also, we already had Vax calling Pike "Pickle" in previous episodes, but here we get "Kiki" for Keyleth and "Stubby" for Vex. This makes me SO HAPPY. Vax having nicknames for most members of Vox Machina that basically only he used was one of my favorite little details of the stream. If Vax ever calls Percy "Freddy" my soul will ascend directly to heaven.
Grog and Scanlan: pulling in some decent comedy during the scene where Scanlan has a polymorph scroll, or whatever that's supposed to be... we see Grog's childlike delight in Scanlan's transformations, and Scanlan being super into himself in a woman's body was so on brand. I've got to say, Scanlan being openly and unapologetically queer is one of the great gifts of the animated series so far. They really haven't shied away from that. His utter self-confidence about his sexuality and physical attributes makes for some great comedy when they can figure out the good writing on the jokes.
And again with the amazing moments during action sequences! Just like I mentioned in the last episode, there's just so much going on whenever the action and fighting picks up. It really feels like the best of the combat stuff from the stream, but even stronger because they can make strong narrative choices and add in character beats without being beholden to the random chance inherent in the game format. So you've got Vax getting hurt, and Keyleth going all feral and diving at the wolf thing to protect him, the beginnings of an animalistic transformation coming out... you've got Grog grabbing Vax and Keyleth in his arms as he's jumping from the cart. You've got Vex saying "I'm not dying for that gnome" and yet urging Percy to go faster, all of them hurtling towards a cliff to save Scanlan. And then of course their grief and subsequent relief when they think Scanlan didn't make it, and then when he rises up in triumph on his magic hand.
Great comedy beats during the fight too. My favorites being Grog: "That's for Pike! And me! And maybe Scanlan 'cause he probably won't survive!" and then Scanlan calling back to Vex: "Come on Vex, no one breaks balls better than you!" Just amazing.
And then there's the villain stuff... holy moly, y'all. First of all, those undead wolf things were pretty cool in terms of character design. The fact that it's cut in half and still goes back to Whitestone was wicked cool. And when the random Whitestone citizens showed up to the castle, I got full-on butterflies of dread, knowing what was going to happen to them... jeez, the Briarwoods are the worst.
While I mentioned that the buildup wasn't perfect, the reveal of the corpses on the Sun Tree is one of those iconic moments from Campaign One that really upped the stakes and showed just how serious this shit was going to become. I loved how they did it, the reaction shots, the hanging people dressed to look like Vox Machina, the cut to dark, and then Keyleth's voice... "it's us". Just... chills, even writing this out now. Perfect ending to an episode. Really elevates the stakes as we go into episode six!
So yeah, I felt so much happier with this episode than the last, the momentum picked right up after that brief slump, and I'm pumped for more Whitestone content to come!
8.5/10
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