Critical Role Review Episodes 67 & 68

By: I.Am.No.Man.

Episode 67: The Chase to Glintshore

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Summary: After discovering Ripley has returned, Vox Machina scramble to follow the clues to track her down and race to the next Vestige.

Why to Watch: There’s some pretty awesome badass action in this episode. Keyleth steals the show with her powerful druid magic and saves her companions from several dire situations. There is humor and character development dotted throughout the episode, including the return of Scanlan’s “Meatman” persona.

Highlights:

Well…throw it in the acid (11:12)

Keyleth’s secret ball (21:20)

The Bay of GIFs (58:40)

Friends in High Places (1:19:50)

The Meat Man Returns (1:30:00)

A new, brilliant NPC (1:48:04)

Scanlan is a broken man (2:06:47)

Keyleth is actually in the X-Men (2:51:50)

Attack from the sky (3:15:30)

Lowlights:

This episode actually covers a lot of story progression very quickly without feeling too rushed.

Marisha really commands with Keyleth, which is awesome, but also means there’s quite a bit of extra loud screaming.

All considered though, this ends up being a pretty solid, action packed episode.

Episode 68: Cloak and Dagger

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Summary: Percy and Vox Machina continue their pursuit of Ripley and the stolen Vestige. They must face the dangers of the Isle of Glass and Ripley’s cunning treachery.

Why to Watch: Ripley vs Percy. The rivals finally face off in a suspenseful battle. The character development is intense, the action is intense, the feelings…are intense.

Highlights:

‘What the shit is happening’ check: (18:10)

Angry tornados of death (45:40)

Roll of the Beast (49:37)

Ripley’s been busy (1:04:14)

I finally got you (1:18:06)

Ripley (1:27:19)

Uh-oh (1:38:48)

Oh shit (1:49:57)

Talesin has made a deal with the devil (1:57:18)

Literally Percy’s worst nightmare (2:05:49)

A Triple Violent Shot (2:40:08)

That’s a cool dagger (2:50:20)

A series of very poor life decisions (3:00:24)

Pike saves the day (3:15:20)

Now Scanlan saves the day (3:53:16)

Percy fights for his life (4:06:10)

The moment everything changed (4:11:49)

For Percy (4:21:48)

Lowlights:

For being such an important episode, it took me several days to actually watch this episode. Something about the pacing couldn’t hold my attention or interest. But when the story actually does pick up in the last hour of the show, it’s pretty intense.

Review:

Well… It finally happened. One of Vox Machina’s members is dead with Pike on a completely different continent. This is why you need Clerics! The way that episode 68 ends is honestly heartbreaking. The uncertainty of Percy’s death and every cast member’s real life emotions in turmoil is like watching a bad accident. You just can’t stop watching. I’m sure that Percy will be back by some miracle in the next episode but man, what a whirlwind of an episode.

On a much lighter note, episode 67 had some hilarious hi-jinx and adventuring. The emotional contrast between these two episodes is kind of a rollercoaster but it’s so worth it. Vox Machina finally sees how serious their quest is and watching what they do next will be very interesting.

Can Vox Machina do enough to bring their gunslinger back from the dead?