Critical Role Review: Episodes 81 and 82
Episode 81: What Lies Beneath the Surface
[arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um3mkvNmDPY" /]Summary: Vox Machina take a moment to breath after defeating the monstrous Thordak and battling with the sly Raishan. They loot Thordak's lair for spoils, find some valuable treasures that may be more powerful then they can handle, and take the night to relax and recharge together.Why To Watch: This has to be one of my favorite episode of Critical Role ever!! I have never laughed harder or felt more for these characters. There were so many stand out scenes that just made this episode so easy to watch. Also, Patrick Rothfuss returns as the delightful paladin Kerrik. He is a gift in every episode he’s in.
Highlights:
Zahra and Kash (16:20)Kerrick (18:08)Scanlan’s had a rough day (29:25)Looting Thordak’s Lair (1:04:53)The best 12 minutes of DnD (1:07:19-1:19:34)Grog finds the best loot ever (1:07:19)Laura Bailey manifests in game (1:08:02)Patrick Rothfuss is all of us (1:11:27)Why would you give me that?! (1:14:40)Grog and the sword (1:15:51)Grog makes a shit rogue (1:19:34)Sam slays the party (1:48:33)Throw it on the ground, DnD style (2:28:50)Scanlan is the one who knocks (2:56:08)Percy is…working on something (2:59:45-3:01:21)We are trustworthy! (3:28:12)
Episode 82: Deadly Echoes
[arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgjf7knzbx0" /]Summary: Vox Machina infiltrate the island Viscan where the necromancer Opash hid his laboratory. The adventurers hope to unlock the secrets of Thordak and Raishan’s research into necromancy and perhaps uncover the Diseased Deceiver herself hiding in the ruins.Why to Watch: This is a classic dungeon crawl episode, complete with traps, pitfalls, and annoying bad guys to lower your hp before the big fight. If you love the thrill of discovering the creepy secrets hiding in an ancient necromancer’s lab, this episode is definitely for you.
Highlights:
Grog has bad luck with cursed weapons (16:32)The Island (41:48)Grog and the deck of many things (1:06:16)Zombie Island (1:40:32)This is how you get warlocks (2:02:19)Defeating the greatest foe, doors (2:14:03)Flaming skulls of doom (2:37:30)Cool, more zombies (3:36:11)Bungie jumping into the flying zombies (3:46:50)THIS IS FINE (4:12:28)The Lair (4:35:33)
Lowlights:
The pacing was a little bit slow for me. It was a very serious episode and the companions really took their time making sure every tunnel and doorway weren’t trapped. I lost the sense of suspense about halfway through this dungeon crawl, but for the more serious dungeoneers out there, this may be the episode for you.While I always love to see Patrick Rothfuss guest starring, I dearly missed both Ashley Johnson and Sam Riegel. The episode just has a different feel to it when they’re not around. It’s always a bit strange to have other cast members using Pike/Scanlan abilities and spells on each other.
Review:
I find it ironic that this review contains both my favorite and least favorite episodes of Critical Role. I was so excited to share and review episode 81 but had to rewatch episode 82 three times because I fell asleep or lost interest. Even now, attempting to rewatch highlights of episode 82 I don’t remember the majority of the episode. There were a couple moments that stuck with me; the anti-gravity Zombie death bridge being the main one.I would absolutely recommend watching episode 81. I haven’t laughed so hard or loved these characters so much as in that episode. The humor is just… perfection, and the story is light, engaging and a good change of pace from the crazy action filled Chroma Conclave battles previously.Spoilers for next week’s review: The next couple episodes are some of the most intense and heartfelt episodes I’ve seen and I can’t wait to get my review finished!! Definitely worth sticking through the story so far to get to some prime Dungeons and Dragons!
