I love the fact that this is a member of one faith using their faith to help a member of a totally different faith find their way through a crisis of faith...without evangelizing at all.
I'm glad Cad stayed. But it really would have been in character to leave. This was not part of his plan, his idea of his journey. But I think he needed to feel lost, because he didn't realize he already was.
When we were introduced to Caduceus, it felt a bit weird that he would decide to follow those weirdos to whatever the fuck they were doing for his quest, but with the time we got with him and the hindisght of his backstory being pretty fucking tragic, it really makes this scene shine. The dude was so deseperately lonely and purposeless when the Nein arrived at his garden that he basically throw himself at them claiming they were the sign he was waiting for. The truth is that he couldn't bear to wait alone in that cemetery any longer and he would have seriously ended himself if it wasn't for that timely arrival. But then he realized here that the Nein were as purposeless as he was and they didn't know what the fuck they were doing either, so he had a bit of an existencial crisis, added to the fact that they (accidentaly) almost abandonned him in that port, so he was considering that he probably bet on the wrong horse. But Jester has those words of wisdom, and that's really all it takes for Cad to decide that his next purpose is to help those guys get their shit together, because by doing so, he will get his own shit together.
Jester is one of the few that could ever understand fully what being limited into such a small, confined area feels like, only to walk out into a wider world and realize just how much you never knew. The cemetary was all Cad knew, and he stayed there so long, it set him into habits and plans, and now, he's absolutely nowhere familiar, in a place of endless water and salt, with nothing like the forest sounds at night that would bring comfort. Jester stayed almost entirely glued to her mother's side for the longest time, until her pranks finally came back to her and she needed to leave. She was a sheltered kid, in a way, and didn't know the world outside Nicodranas, more specifically, the Lavish Chateau where her mother kept her close and safe for so many years. It's a beautiful friendship, and I feel it really starts here
My partner is now meeting Cad for the first time and does not like him at all (he's still getting over his Molly Trauma) I can't wait for him to get up to the moments like these where Talisen just breathes so much life into the character Beautifully done
A lot of people didn't really care for Cad, but he was very important for the group. He added stability and ethicality (but in a quiet, non-judgy way) that the M9 were missing.
@@akhasshativeritsol1950 importantly, cad was only non-judgmental in behavior. cad was a zealot through and through, jamedi being a hollow one and cad finding immense issue with that was Taliesin pointing out that cad can be a judgemental prick when it pertains to his faith
I believe that the M9 needed molly more than they needed cad. The 9 without Molly is like Vox Machina without Kyelith. It just wouldn't be the same team. Different morality and world view. Cad helped them sure. But sometimes, you need a crazy uncle more than you need a good father. The M9 was a good example of that
At this point, not only was Cad wondering if it was a mistake to leave home, but i think he was questioning whether he really went to save his home or just ran away. He left home with barely a clue or a hope to just find a way to fix it... A mission that he might have believed had killed his family, as he'd never asked jester to scry or send a message, and I think that scared him a lot more than he let on.
Jester excelled as a cleric not in her healing capabilities, but in her wisdom in faith and spirituality. Her unique experience gave her all she needed to guide people, even though she lacked much knowledge of the world
Spoilers: He's not only worried he chose the wrong path, he is literally triggered by almost drowning. Near the end of the campaign Caduceus shares that he after his family had all left, he waited. For decades. Alone. Even the Wild Mother grew quiet. He was so miserably alone that eventually he couldn't take it. He tried to kill himself by eating a poisonous plant and attempting to drown himself. He survived, luckily, but this brush with death brought him back to the pure hopelessness he felt after being abandoned by everyone he knew and his god that he questions it all here. This time, he doesn't have a vision from his god to pull him back, but he does have friends to help guide the way back to hope again.
I always read it not as a suicide attempt but more as a 'fuck it, why not' moment. Like if I can reach you any other way maybe this will work. He was definitely aware it might kill him, but I don't think that was his intention
Aaaaah I'm so happy you made another one! This has always been one of my favourite scenes, just for the incredibly human vulnerability and love in it, you portrayed it wonderfully! Your effort is super clear, great job ^^
i think one of the best things about the critical roll gang are they give each other space, i feel like if i was playing in a campain and started a 1 on 1 conversation 2 other people would interject into the coversation (you know cause their just sitting their listening IRL)
Professionals at work! Actually you can hear both Liam and Marisha moving near the conversation during this scene, respecting the rules of the world, but chose not to intervene, beau even makes a comment of how impressed she was by jester later
I think this was the moment I came to love Caduceus. I (like many) had the automatic reaction of not wanting to like him, because of who he replaced. But in this moment, I felt more connected to Cad than I ever could have with Molly. Deep down, to me, Molly connected to my younger self, and Caduceus connected to who I grew to be.
One of my favorite moments of the campaign so far. I'm listening through CR for the first time and seeing so many excellent animatics is awesome! Also, I like the crab falling off the rock with Taliesin's sigh. It was very cute.
Sometimes I like to speak to myself how i would react to what's being said/done. in this case "Do you have a plan?" "No... ah but that's on because plans tend to not work. I have more like strategies and hopes and ideas on what we should do. I hope to keep all my friends alive, including you, and help them feel better. I have ideas on how to do that and right now my idea for you says that the strategy of having you tell me everything that's weighing on your heart should be shared with me so we can hold it together."
Wow, this scene has a lot of emotions and vulnerability in it, and you conveyed it very well. Thanks for sharing your work. I especially liked the way you drew Jester's expressions, very easy for me to "read", which is very in character!
I'm watching campaign 3 and how I miss this little moments from the mighty nine. I can think so many good conversations between different characters. And I think the new campaign lacks character deep. But playing a game is about having fun, and they seem to have fun the new way too, now reflecting, playing characters like this is quite heavy.
Spoilers for a campaign long finished lol. When Molly died, I was so heartbroken. I thought Molly was a poorly designed character, but I felt the RP possibilities, so his passing hit hard. All those possibilities, wasted. But then, Caduceus was just so...GOOD. Loved every second of him :) that and the return of Molly later 😏
I’m my opinion so far C2 was the peak for critical role. I loved every single one of the characters and felt so loved and attached to them. I really love everyone from C2 not c1 or c3. C2 holds a special place in my heart.
