Oh boy... it's happening, y'all, we're going after Ripley...
Cons:
Okay. Okay. So, the Scanlan situation. I'm not angry, I'm just a little scared. This isn't a... "instead of Bard's Lament" situation, is it? Like, I hope he goes and talks with Kaylie, makes her the promise that he won't get killed and will always comes back, then goes and joins the gang in the final dragon fights? I don't know. Right now I'm feeling a little bit of anxiety and sadness at the thought that he might not be there for the Glintshore fight? There's a moment in that fight in the stream where I can just hear Sam's voice saying something and it's so powerful and such an intense moment and I will definitely miss it if he's not there. I guess I'm just biting my nails over future changes rather than actually addressing what happens in this episode, though. More specifically, I thought it was weird that Scanlan decided he needed to go find Kaylie, and then instead of just telling the group or figuring out the best way to approach his various responsibilities, he backed out without a word or moment with anybody but Pike, abandoning his friends.
I feel slightly vindicated in my Raishan comment from last week, too. Her not being around to actively help fight Vorugal makes their alliance a lot more narratively... nebulous? Like, what did they really do for each other at this point? She saved them the once at the beginning from Thordak and Vorugal, and she tipped them off about the vestige being in Ank'Harel, which turned out to not even be true. And then to have the alliance be ended officially because they refuse to keep listening to her... I don't know. It just feels structurally messy the way this all played out, ultimately?
Pros:
This episode is split pretty neatly into a character-driven half in the mansion, and then the chaos of Whitestone - I thought it was a great transition, from our gang being really excited about having defeated a dragon, and full of determination to go home and keep going on their quest... to then seeing Whitestone in flames. Second time poor Percy has come home to a desolated hometown!
To start with the mansion, I was just grinning at every little detail. The different rooms for everyone's special interests, the cute little ghosts, the all-chicken dinner, the portrait of Pike and Scanlan on a horse, Scanlan's wonderful song... it was so fun! That's the thing about Scanlan, is that he seems so self-interested on the surface, but even when he's being flamboyant and ridiculous, there's such evidence of care and attention! The fact that he had been keeping this house secret is comedic and kinda rude, but when they all get in there, he's thought of ways to make them all happy! That's so sweet!
It's this nesting instinct that you wouldn't necessarily expect Scanlan to have, but actually feeds in perfectly to his character journey on this show. The mansion was always a cool place for the characters to hang out in the campaign, but here it can be that and it can also be a symptom of Scanlan's yearning to settle down and provide a safe (if fabulous and ridiculous) place to get to know his daughter. And as much as I thought the actual beat where Scanlan leaves was a little off, I did like his emotional journey with Pike in this episode. Her being there for him during his distress over Kaylie is so moving! Seeing Scanlan weeping in her arms really was emotionally affecting for me. It was also so sad to see Kaylie in the scrying that Pike did, secretly hoping that her dad was coming to find her again. She's just a lonely girl at heart...
I've gotta talk about the pool scene, with everyone jumping in! What a cool reference to a moment that I know a lot of the players really enjoyed back at the table, and we even got to see Keyfish! And then we got the legendary "I thought he'd never leave" bath scene with Vex, Percy, and Vax! I'm so fucking glad that made it into the show. It was hilarious then, it was hilarious now. We even got the "You know, you're getting weirder" line from Percy to Vax. So fucking true, Percy. We love him for it. On the Keyleth/Vax front we've got some awkward pining/angst, and I guess I understand it, I just am still kind of missing something from that plot thread? I do like the quiet pain of it, it will make things very satisfying when they do decide to get over themselves. The story of Keyleth and Vax is beautiful not because they were miserable, but because they actually were quite happy!
So then. We get to Whitestone. And it's all systems go! I really, really loved how the destruction of the city went down on screen. The addition of Thordak's children was so smart, it adds a creative new version of dragons to fight, another way to up the stakes and build tension instead of every fight just being Vox Machina vs. one very large foe. It reminded me of the Pyrah fight in season two, which was also excellent and creative. Gilmore getting a moment to shine, Percy running to Cassandra's rescue, Kima and Pike teaming up and doing sick combos... as always, I'm incredibly impressed with the variety and creativity of the combat sequences. The smaller dragons are still really terrifying but they pose a different type of threat, in that they might not be as difficult to take down, but there are so many of them.
I was really emotionally effected by Percy and Cassandra watching their home burn. Percy's arc here isn't just that he's motivated again by anger or vengeance, it's that this attack on his home is proof that he can never be at peace while his past is still an active danger to the people he loves. Ripley sold out Whitestone to the dragons, and she needs to be dealt with. He's not wrong! And his anger, while relevant and worrying, doesn't change what needs to happen from here. I loved him begging Vex for her help and Vex saying no begging needed. She'll be there with him, she'll support him come what may. Oof, this is going to hurt in all the best ways!
I think that's all to say on this one, for now - another stellar episode. I'm... anxious, about the Scanlan of it all. I'm sure what we get will be wonderful, but I probably will still be holding a torch for what might have been.
8/10
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