Amac Productions

You know, there was a minute when I actually thought to myself – what is a former schoolteacher going to do against Vox Machina?

I mean, oooooo he’s got a knife. So scary. I should find that Ashley Johnson gif, it would go well here.

Then you know, the fight began.

And I thought, oh shit. I should not have underestimated this schoolteacher who apparently hated his job and his students oh so much.

Oh no, he’s got Grog.

Everyone should probably run.

Then I thought, ew with the tongue dude! Stop! It’s freaking weird and creepy and is giving me metaphor vibes for a predatorially teacher type.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Honestly, I’m not sure what I expected really because about three seconds after that thought I reminded myself that this dude came from the mind of Matt Mercer. Which while that is not as frightening as saying from the mind of Tim Burton is still not good.

After all, this is the guy who gave us the demon baby of campaign two with the lightbulb hanging off it’s head that swallowed people whole and tried to digest them. I’ve said it before that Matt needs therapy. Although, maybe making us deal with the visions in his head is therapy for him.

You know what?

I don’t want to know.

Nope.

Anyway, Anders should not have surprised me. I have watched many hours of Critical Role, and I know that Matt Mercer is not to be trusted. If it looks easy, it’ll probably kill you.

Which Anders attempted.

Even attempting to use each other against each other.

Did not like having Grog against Vox Machina. Way more fun to watch him toss the other people rather. You know the actual bad guys!

He also had an army of suits that came to life to kill everyone. Why do the bad guys get all the fun toys?

The bright side is his tongue is shot off. A real thing that happens. Man, these guys don’t play around.

Eventually, the battle ends.

Oh, and Cassandra lives! Yay.

Which is good because it momentarily returns Percy to himself instead of the smoking version of himself. Which Keyleth noticed this episode. Maybe she’ll talk some sense into the rest of the team into – I don’t know – looking into it!

Cassandra has been kept alive by the Briarwoods all this time as some sort of figurehead to keep the people of Whitestone in check.

Which confuses me frankly.

If they needed a De Rolo to keep Whitestone in check – why’d they murder them all? Concoct a weird story about how they died and left Whitestone to them to rule.

The entire thing makes no sense really.

I’m not sure what the Briarwoods motives are.

I’m not even sure I trust Cassandra’s motives. As she claims to be working as a double agent for the resistance. Sigh. Are you?

Is she? I don’t know. But with everything going on, I’m having trouble trusting anyone outside of Vox Machina. At least, I know what those assholes are up to and what they want.

Except maybe Percy.

However, Percy is on the same page as the rest of Vox Machina for the moment given, they’re all working to free Whitestone and stop the Briarwoods. His revenge falls in line with their current predicament. Meaning for now, he’s trustworthy.

Although – again – I would like someone to do something about the freaking smoke.

Do I sound like a broken record yet? I should. I think I’ve said it in most of the reviews that this ought to be more of a concern for the group of friends.

Instead, they’re all like – this is Percy, he has revenge issues, a bit too stuffy and serious at times, and oh yeah, from time to time he gives off black smoke with zero explanation. No, we haven’t looked into it. That’s his business. Can’t possibly come back to bite us in the ass.

Nope.

Not with someone like Matt Mercer heading up the table.

How could that smoke possibly mean anything evil?

Yeesh.

Alright, then we discover that Deliah wants to do something evil on the solstice according to a star chart they found. Like big bads do.

However, with Vox Machina running around breaking into jails, setting shit on fire, and killing various allies Deliah has had enough and starts her ritual early. During which she kills what appeared to be the only person who was semi loyal to her this entire time. She just so casually invited him in for some help and then straight up murdered him to his shock.

I don’t know what he was shocked.

I’m pretty sure in one of my reviews I mentioned the Briarwoods were rather murder-happy people. They can’t seem to go a day without killing someone.

It’s an addiction for the maybe.

Regardless, without waiting for the solstice she decides to set her plan in motion before Vox Machina can stop her.

Or accidentally stumble into the ritual site and knock everything over by accident not even realizing they’ve saved the world. Honestly, I think that’s more their style. Then taking credit like, they planned it to work out that way all along. Know what I mean?

Then Keyleth tosses the De Rolo symbol into the sky.

She hopes to offer hope to the people of Whitestone, but it really just pisses off the Briarwoods. Moving up their plans and actually kind of making life in Whitestone even worse.

Because with that, Deliah sends a horde of freaking zombies out into the city.

Yep! Zombies.

Scanlan stumbles across them on his way to find the group after his successful distraction.

Deliah summons a ton of dead people to do her bidding and kill Vox Machina and anyone else who gets in her way. So I hope the people of Whitestone enjoyed the hope they had while they could. Everyone is going to die now!

Oh dear.

Meanwhile, Pike is going through her own ordeal.

She’s taking drugs or a meditation, I don’t know, something to go into her dreams to speak with the Everlight. She wants to patch things up between them, make amends.

Except, she pushes herself too far and even the clerics of the temple she’s visiting won’t be able to save her, she’ll have to do it herself.

Which so far, she’s been unable to.

However, Pike learns something very important – she’s the reason her connection to the Everlight was severed. Not the Everlight.

Called it!

Pike fears that because she enjoys drinking, partying, and violence with her friends it means she’s not walking a holy path that the Everlight would approve of. That she must be more like the clerics in the temple she’s visiting in order to be worthy of the Everlight’s grace.

Except as the Everlight comes to her, she provides wisdom.

She explains that any path is holy as long as Pike commits to it fully. That she can be with her friends and fight and drink and enjoy their lives on the road and still be worthy of the Everlight. She does not want her to forsake her friends. Although, that is a choice she can make as well.

And I really love this.

The Everlight does not tell Pike she needs to be one certain thing. She allows her follower to choose for herself who she wants to be. All she requires is a commitment to it.

Want to be an adventurer, traveling with your friends, and drinking together? Sure! Go for it! But embrace that role without regrets for the ones you did not take.

Or you can give up drinking and adventuring and be a cleric of the temple.

There is no right or wrong way to worship.

Only that you must commit to your path and stop looking back on roads not taken. I think that’s a lovely message and although we do not yet see what Pike has chosen, I imagine it’s obvious she will once again choose to be with her friends.

Although, again, I think she may need to hurry.

They’re about to take on an army of freaking zombies.

Even though apparently Keyleth can heal, it seems rather limited, and oddly inaccurate…? Like Keyleth didn’t appear to think it would work at first?

Not exactly a confidence boost given the literal army of zombies coming for everyone. Yikes.

Also, I don’t know about anyone else, but I do not want to live in Whitestone. It seems rather horrible. The current caretakers suck at their job and actively kill or attempt to murder the inhabitants.

Zero out of five stars.

Thanks for reading! Leave a like, comment, and subscribe!