Let's dive in! I'm still having a lot of fun but also I'm wondering about a few things... I wonder if I'm just being nitpicky or if other people agree with any of my comments in the "cons" section.
Cons:
I have a lot of... what I guess I'll call aesthetic objections? The show looks great, and a lot of this is a matter of preference, but there are a few things that I know aren't a big deal end of the day, and yet I definitely noticed them so I want to point them out.
2) Marian's voice is not it, for me. The singing was great, but the talking, the accent was too over the top. Matt plays Marian with a much subtler accent than Jester, and here it's almost the opposite. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
3) Fjord imitating the Vandren voice feels very strange here when in fact Vandren didn't have much of a southern drawl at all. He doesn't sound like he's talking the same way as his mentor at all so again I think for show-only people that might be a confusing thing.
4) I don't like the two-tone green on Fjord. I know it's canon to the show art, but I think the starkness of the dividing line looks weird? It feels like an animation constraint that I don't fully understand. Too hard to have the colors blended more? Same way the Molly's coat situation is simplified due to animation constraint?
4) Jester's character design. Jester is my favorite character in any campaign of Critical Role ever. Her character design in this show is just... like... I know this is a personal preference thing, I know they haven't broken any promises or gone back on anything, but the version I have of Jester in my head has a round face and arm dimples. She's bigger. It's a problem in general in animated shows that everyone has the same trim little waist, that the default body type is slim. But I kind of wish at least they'd made Jester softer, rounder, instead of having her have the tiny little pointed chin and sharp jaw. She just looks so generically pretty + blue hair + purple eyes. I wanted something a little more distinct for her. Probably the design out of all of them I'm feeling the most meh about, and I think it is because of my deep love for her. I just wish maybe a slightly less predictable choice had been made there.
This next thing is going in "cons" but really it should go in its own section because I'm still debating with myself on it. Seeing Essek backstory stuff and learning about his sick mother is interesting, and I like it, and I want more. And, at the same time, what an anticlimactic, boring-ass way to blow one of the biggest twists in campaign two lol. I'll never forget the Essek-is-the-traitor reveal, and here it's not a reveal at all. I guess that's the sacrifice you make when you elevate him to main character, but I am kind of bummed about it if I'm honest. Also, and this is very much a "wait and see" situation, I'm really hoping they don't make his motivations for this betrayal too sympathetic? Like, he loves his mom, I'm find adding that element into the mix, that's great. But it's pretty important for the whole Essek story that he's... a war criminal? Knowingly, intentionally, trading secrets to the Empire from the Dynasty. In an evil and destructive manner that leads to the deaths of many. I know we all love Essek but I'd hate for him to be softened too much. Also, if you're watching this without having seen the stream I think the impact of the "reveal" that he's working with Trent Ikithon is kind of blunted. I asked a friend who is going in blind and hasn't watched the stream what she thought of this, and she was kind of like, "oh, I'm honestly still figuring out all these factions and character names, so you're saying the purple guy is betraying his country to work with the other country?" like I think if you're not watching closely and you don't have all this lore in your head already, it doesn't really hit as a big "oh shit, this dude is bad" kind of moment. And that's too bad because it should be a really impactful character beat!
Pros:
The biggest thing so far that I think they're getting really, really right in this story is the Caleb and Nott stuff. That has uniformly been my favorite material in the first two episodes. You can see how Nott is being portrayed in this "scrappy kid" way but also... not, with these moments where she's definitely emotionally caring for Caleb however she can with her limited knowledge. The moment of Nott sneaking off to get a pillow for Caleb, the moment of Caleb wordlessly lifting Nott onto his shoulders to walk across the stream, without there being any discussion about it, was honestly really beautiful. They're already at this place of silent communication and strange, unearned and yet entirely real trust in one another. I love, love, love that Nott revealed she had the wanted poster from Caleb. In a lesser show, it would have been an annoying plot beat where Caleb found the poster, assumed Nott was going to betray him, and they'd have to just circle back around on repairing trust and the story would just go in a circle. I love that instead it's a moment that builds a stronger tie between them. Really, really excellent stuff.
Not a ton for Beau to do in this episode but I love that she's training with Dairon against a specific enemy she knows will be hunting for her, that gives her character a real drive moving forward. And I think the way she was replaying the fight with the volstrucker and then realizing new information about her was such a nifty way to show "extract aspects" as like... a thing Beau is capable of doing! Also lol at Nott and Caleb letting her horse escape. Although, as Nott said in my one laugh-out-loud moment all episode, "this horse is racist."
I know I gave Essek a hard time for his boring "I'm a traitor" reveal and for looking like a doofus floating around everywhere, but obviously, obviously, the second I saw hot boi I clutched my heart in joy and said "my baby" out loud to the screen. I love how we hear him talk to the Bright Queen, to his mother, and then in the end to Trent Ikithon. All of these aspects of him are equally real and equally important, but I love seeing that switch from deference to a queen he is betraying, a boyish loyalty and fear for his mother, and then a condescending and superior tone with Trent, over whom he has a lot of power due to his superior knowledge of the beacon. I also love how we're getting some more details about the lore of the Luxon and the faith that Essek does not have in it. He views it as a thing to be studied, not worshiped. And he's willing to do that work with his sovereign's enemies. I'm not clear on how this connects with his ailing mother, but I'm excited to find out more. It makes sense why this young, unconsecuted person has such a high position if his family has been reduced to an ailing mother and nothing else. Where's his brother, one must wonder...
I also said "my baby" when I saw Fjord for the first time, and I love how clueless and scared and awkward he is, while at the same time just earnestly wanting to find himself and be a good person. Imagine that your captain who you look up to tells you that you're leadership material, and then immediately there's a giant shipwreck and he's gone and you're all on your own. I liked how his magic is manifesting, very fun to have different flavors to each power set and the different ways these powers are sourced. We see Caleb needs components, and therefore money, to be able to cast very intentional spells. And then we have Fjord who, driven by pure untested instinct, manages to cast Command, Disguise Self, and Misty Step, if we're going to use the D&D spells, all while not having any clue what the hell he's up to. That's very fun and cool. And I love the idea of him disappearing and appearing in the flash of water when he gets away during the scuffle. That was incredible.
I really cannot overstate how disappointing I find Jester's character design unfortunately BUT, obviously from a voice acting perspective, I love her so dearly, Laura can do no wrong my eyes. It occurs to me that this show has two characters (Nott and Jester) who, at first blush, you might think are literally supposed to be children, but that the show needs to demonstrate to you are actually adults. With Jester, the sheltered life she's living gives her this sense of arrested development, but then you see the paintings, you see the kind of skill and ambition that she has, and you get the sense that she's been waiting to get out there in the world for some time. I appreciate that she doesn't have some Disney Princess-like yearning to escape her provincial life, and that her love for her mother and the Traveler and her life as she knows it now is strong enough that she's not actually looking to run. I also like how the story of Fjord and Jester is implicitly very similar to Tusk Love, with Fjord being roped into being a bodyguard kind of out of nowhere. Very fun. As with the others, we're seeing her magic come to life with its own distinct flavor. I particularly loved the little creature sewing up Fjord's wound as a way to visually represent healing. We don't get any visual representation of the Traveler here, other than Jester's sketches of him with his hood up. When she's speaking to him, it's to complete silence with absolutely no outside indication that there's actually someone there to see or hear. That is a brilliant choice that I want to chew on forever. I can't wait to see how that plays out as the group comes together.
It's too early to make any sweeping judgments about this season of course, but I think one thing I'm noticing is that the story pace is a lot slower in TLOVM. There's only eight episodes of the season, so we're 25% of the way through after 2 episodes, baby, and that was just introducing people and kind of getting all the chess pieces on the board! We haven't even met Molly and we've barely met Yasha. I am in no way complaining about this, for the record. I just think it's interesting, and I hope that fans of TLOVM who don't have preexisting affection for the M9 as characters and for this story as a whole, understand that they're going to need to wait on a slower story as regards the plot. I'm super curious how much ground we'll cover, so to speak, in season one and season two... and as far as I know, we haven't gotten any official confirmation beyond that as to the number of seasons this show will get. But I'm excited to see the story they're able to tell in whatever amount of space they're given!
7/10
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