Masquerade | Critical Role: VOX MACHINA | Episode 99 

I admire Matt's ability to stare at Sam as angrily as he did, for as long as he did; while Sam was wearing that shirt

Can we all appreciate Matt's excellent acting as Tary's Dad? That shit was better than most movies.

Tary's speech, holy shit... 'And I even learned from Percival... The type of man I'd want to marry one day.' The hesitance, the wording.. Somebody give Sam Riegel an Oscar. First Scanlan's speech and now this... I'm legit crying T_T

“This is my husband Percival and this is Percival’s husband Taryon.”

2:14:25 Headcanon: Modify memory failed this time, but they actually found him 3 times during the past year and don’t remember.

i love the theory that lionel was a duckling that scanlan polymorphed into a half-orc barbarian and thats why he cant remember anything before the pond..

"Nobody calls Scanlan handsome more than Scanlan!" Yeah, that's what sold it for me, too, Marisha.

Props to Matt for pulling off a Hollywood-level performance as Taryon's dad while having to constantly stare at Sam wearing that ridiculous shirt.

I will always love how Lionel is a whole different kind of dumb than Grog.

yo... props to Mercer for staring DAGGERS at Sam through Taryon's proposal.

When Grog said "Cat, C-A-T!" it made me cry :( He's so heartbroken that his buddy replaced him and he wanted to show that he's better than who he used to be!!!! AAAHHHHHHH :( :( :(

I like how Travis is starting a bar fight, because it is both very in-character for Grog as he would surely be jealous of Lionel. But also he ensures their guest actually gets to play a bit instead of having to sit through all their personal drama.

The whole reason grog yelled "C-A-T, cat" was because everyone said lion wouldn't win a spelling bee against him realizing that, this was the best moment of the show

"My god it's a shopping episode! It just appeared out of nowhere!" Everybody was so happy but Travis' reaction was absolutely priceless.

I audibly gasped when Taryon said everyone’s names in a very quick manner. It’s funny how the small things can do that.

Travis' face whenever something romantic or romance-adjacent comes up. His reaction to Tary's confession about Percy is adorable

"You're not the first man to panic at the loss of his shackles..." damn Percy. 😭😭😭

Jon Heder and this episode is proof that you don't need to know how to play D&D to be able to play D&D...

Some Thursdays, Sam Riegel wakes up and decides: "This whole episode will be about me." And by the gods does he pull it off.

"I even learned from Percival, the t... the type of man I'd like to marry one day". God that made me tear up. Sam's delivery was perfect.

When his character sheet said: Totem of the Duck I knew this was going to be good lol

"I always had a thing for her, but no that I know she's his daughter... eh." "You're not the first." The backstory behind that throwaway comment is amazing.

"If you don't want to be a part of this, you can leave my house." The biggest OH SHIT moment we've gotten in a long time. Tary hasn't been around for many sessions number-wise, but he's already had awesome character growth in the year that has passed in-game

love how smug tal looks after tary's confession like, "yeah, i'm amazing. you fucking wish you had a son-in-law like me" and i love it XD

grog spelling out 'CAT' was the saddest thing in 99 episodes of critical role. poor big guy :'(

"Cat. C-A-T." --most emotional line, for me.

Travis's intelligence is so underplayed. You can tell by his expressions when he figures stuff out, and it is usually before anyone else.

There was so much tension in this episode, but Lionel was absolutely a great comedic foil.

Laura’s smile as she says “I run up and hug him” is such a heartwarming thing

I can't believe how much I've grown to love Taryon in such a short time span. He's so pure, so innocent, so optimistic!

While Matt is acting as Scanlan as the Meatman, and He says the small one has been dealt with, you can see Travis aka Grog start cracking his knuckles and whatnot. I think he was thinking "This dude killed Scanlan, it's fucking on."

Percy's come a long way from 'your soul is forfeit' to 'I know I'm feeling emotional and I know that's when I need to shut up and listen to you'. (timestamp around 3:25:00 )

I love how this all shifted. When Scanlan left, Vex and Vax were the most angry and frustrated but when he came back they both welcomed him with hugs and love while everybody else was emotionally unstable about him I fucking love these guys and how amazing they are at roleplaying

Matt Mercer can jump from a heart-wrenching performance of an old man having to face loss and change to an incredibly accurate duck... can we get him an Oscar? Are there Oscars for D&D? There should be!

“i hold his hand and just listen” the character development 😭

Jon's comedic timing with his character is freaking amazing. And the nuance it takes to play a reasonable intelligence character with no wisdom is amazing. So freaking great.

This episode was the first time Matt Mercer has ever scared me. The Chroma Conclave ain't got shit on Howard Derrington. That freaking death glare.. Holy crap I almost apologised on Tary's behalf! XD

There are ducks that have seen the ziggurat, with their own two eyes. Ducks of dark origins. Ducks with arcane secrets. Think of them waddling around in the dark. Sinister Ducks.

Just imagining Percy watching a bar fight, constantly reaching into his pocket and placing more gold coins on the table; all while calculating the amount of the damage.

Matt's reaction to Pike wanting to use Firestorm was a look of sheer surprise and horror. He was like, "What did she just say?!"

I love how the minute Sam begins as Scanlan, Ashley and Travis just refuses to do anything with him. It's great

Using the fates reroll on that persuasion check just makes it so much more meaningful. I love it.

Sam and Matt just putting on a freaking masterclass in improv acting here

" I am angry, frustrated, and violent... so im going to try something new... and drink chocolate milk... and listen to you." I love this phrase cause of how it shows off Percy's development... through him jsut going to Vex and stress drinking hot chocolate pspsps It's just so funny I love it 3:25:36

Knowing that John was specifically told not to mention the Meat Man and it's one of the first things he brings up, and watching Sam's face when he does it was amazing.

If you ever wanted an example of Matt's AMAZING DM skills, 43:55 is where you go to. No big conflict, no hilarious side characters, just a description of Taryon's room, left covered in dust, but he remembered to put in the footsteps Taryon's mother left when she came in and out to borrow books. That is some AMAZING attention to detail right there.

I think Vex's friendship with Tary was really healing for her (esp. since they got similar dad issues and seeing him reconcile with his dad after she had reconciled with hers was probably also really good for her) and that's why she was the most forgiving and understanding of Scanlan

"If you don't want to be apart of this that's fine. You can leave my house." What a POWER PLAY

That fate die usage was amazing. Taryon grew strong enough that he was able to defeat almost the entirety of Vox Machina and used that power to come home and repair his broken family.

I feel like Jon Heder was given orders not to say Meat Man, to keep up the mystery. But, at the same time, it seems almost in-character that he would mess that up.

What a beautiful end to Tary’s arc. Props to Matt and Sam for creating that story. And the cast did an awesome job playing through and supporting it. Well done guys.

Taliesin: "How did the ducks knew that and get down there?" Marisha: "The same reason why pigeons are in Costco." 😂😂😂

[Spoilers] Okay so I love Travis. Like I could see him when the meat man was revealed just thinking and thinking. And when he was in the bar taking swings at Lion it started to make sense of why Grog did that. He was jealous because Lion was the meat man's giant and not him! And what makes it even more sad is when he goes by vex and vax and screams "C-A-T CAT." It was because he has improved so much yet it didn't help bring the meat man back and it's killing him on the inside because he misses his friend dearly but feels like he was easily replaced and wants to show how he's better. Travis is a truly brilliant role player! So sad though :(

Matt's FACE when Pike firestorms the remaining Ahnkegs! Oh dear gods that was an excellent "holyshit!" expression!

Is this Jons first time playing D&D? Dude is a goddamn natural, not just at the rp parts but even in the combat. 10/10

3:49:47 "Take your earring off! … We take ours off when we [sleep]. I'm taking mine off now, goodnight!" Me: *remembers how wearing their earrings to sleep saved them from assassins when Hotis attacked them*

I love when they burst into random yet perfectly synchronised song.

It's insane how I had almost forgotten the family interactions of the Darringtons by the end of the episode, even if that had me on the edge of my seat for the first hour. I legit can't understand how these people keep surpassing themselves like this constantly. The acting, the intrigue, the humor, the way it ties into past episodes, the camera angles, the pacing. Just everything. Pure quality.

I really love how Travis acted during the bar fight. He was working through Grog's emotions as Grog would, but Travis was still loving seeing Lionel in action, and afterward he went back to playing Grog properly

I am so unbelievably grateful to whomever put the second camera angle on Matthew Mercer

Can we take a second to appreciate Mercer's exceptional duck role-playing?

"Oh, is that what Gnomes do? They go into the forest?" Awk, awk, awkward

Most underrated joke of this episode from Teliesin: Calling the Transport Via Plants spell "Leaft" after someone called it "Tree Uber"

57:40 Ashley and Travis having the same reaction at the same time is too great. I have watched it back repeatedly and laugh every time

the conversation between terry and his father is some of if not the best acting ive ever seen... mat mercer is a blessing to the internet and the world... we need more people like him.

The ring that says "Do not go far from me".... tears! instantly! I miss the twins so much.

Am I the only one that LOVED the camera angle they used for Howard Darrington during Tary's speech?!?!?!

i love taryon so goddamn much. i can’t believe we’ve only had him for so little time and we already have to say goodbye :(

You know, I kinda missed Scanman.... but now that he's back and Tary's leaving.... I kinda miss Tary now =[

Taryon's mom is one of the adorablest Matt's personas. And i've seen him doing Pike. This still tops it.

I like that Taryon said about Scanlan being handsome just after they first met - it's exactly what I was expecting of Sam.

I busted out laughing when Lionel punched Keyleth in the face playing Boulder, Parchment, Shears. Fucking brilliant roleplaying.

Back to back earthquake and firestorm...someone has been reading her spellbook.

I friggin' love how well Matt and Sam improvise the fictional novels Tarry reads

That little hesitation Taryon had when saying type of man, was so good.

When Heder said "Meat Man" you can see Sam get annoyed behind his steely visage. He mentioned on Talks Machina that he gave Jon ONE instruction and that was to NOT mention the Meat Man, and he did within like 2 minutes of being there.

Grog is always one of my favorites but Travis really shines in the little details. It hurt to see how upset he was that he was replaced as scanman's big dumb guy and the C-A-T comment meant so much to grog growing as a character but still so sad for how he's feeling!

Look at Pike holding grudges like a pro! She's not a gnome, she's a dwarf!

2:23:00 Grog immediately siding with Pike is why I get up in the mornings

Oh god Lionel's gotta be up there with Gern Blanston what a hilarious character

58:40 "There was an idea, Grog knows this, called the Darrington Brigade Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could."

I think it's really interesting to see the difference between when Tary started, and the whole pamphlet business, vs now when he's able to just flawlessly rattle off all their names to his sister

The character development from Tary at being able to rattle off the names of vox machina so quickly compared to how he was at the start :,) 47:40

Ashley giving Sam the stink eye and texting under the table when she realized !

So... let's see how many levels we're dealing with here: Matthew Mercer plays an NPC who plays an alias to Scanlan who Sam Riegel plays, so it's Matt Mercer acting as Sam Riegel acting as a player character who's acting as an alias to his character acting as an NPC. My head hurts.

The moment your brain explodes when you remember the guy playing Howaardt in a rage and Mariya being adorable with Tary are the same person. And he's making that switch within minutes all while continuing a seamless background narration. As someone who has done this sort of stuff as a professional storyteller I am in awe of his skill. I don't think I've ever seen better.

Taryon really grew on me since his first appearance and here i am so proud of what he did. That whole scene with him and his family was amazing.

Its funny, Vex was the angriest when Scanlan left and the happiest to see him when he returned. She was quick to anger and quick to forgive.

Me: Hey this character kind of reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite. Me 10 minutes later: Wait a second...

Grog was fine when scanlan left for someone who isnt very smart he understood why he left. He was more mad that scanlan instead of saying Hi he tried to trick him Not only that scanlan found a new Big Brute to hang out with "replacing him in his mind" Scanlan even says himself he found someone he trusts to protect him

0:40 - New t-shirt and announcements 4:52 - Laura's present (d'aaaww) 6:39 - let's dive into tonight's episode... of Critical Role 8:02 - intro ends 11:08 - and that's where we left off (recap ends) 12:45 - Tary's idea 13:12 - Wooosh 14:50 - A LOT of Ahnkegs 15:55 - Phrasing 18:15 - Goodness Gracious 18:40 - high-power bug spray 20:15 - Grog's jug of poison 22:02 - farewell old orc friend 23:25 - Talesin Jaffe what are you talking about 23:52 - Pike's idea 24:10 - Boom Boom Shake Shake the Room 25:25 - Pike's Pest control 26:34 - Brand new mine 27:07 - mission accomplished, lets go 27:42 - The grumpy lily 28:53 - Grog looking for some lovin' 29:15 - talks begin 30:10 - Introducing Du'alla 31:10 - scrying 31:42 - What she sees 33:10 - The deed 33:50 - Persuasion check 34:50 - Tary's not finished 35:42 - Sweetening the deal 37:00 - "The more you press" 38:00 - That's some Moriarty shit right there 39:00 - leaving the Grumpy Lily 40:03 -Taryon Darrington: Homeowner! 40:40 - back at Tary's place 42:20 - Tary likes his bed 42:38 - stealth check 42:55 - "go minxy for me" 44:08 - memories 45:27 - Bertholdt's Breakfast Banquet 47:07 - Marian Darrington 48:38 - Family meeting 50:30 - news and proposal (first news) 52:20 - Death Stare 52:42 - Holy shit 53:27 - now the proposal 54:44 - Tary the Optimist 55:22 - Howards Retort 57:00 - What Tary has learned 58:40 - But wait! There's more 58:55 - The Darrington Brigade (No way is Howard buying this) 59:44 - Persuasion check 1:00:04 - The fates 1:00:30 - the result (he bought it) 1:02:05 - a broken man... 1:03:01 - "I'm sorry" 1:04:00 - metaphors 1:05:18 - Howards' Thoughts 1:09:33 - Tary's decision 1:10:55 - Phrasing 2 1:11:50 - Tary has to get his robet 1:12:00 - they're just hangry 1:12:50 - Mommy's boy 1:15:35 - Escape from Brave mountain 1:17:32 - "The first thing that catches your attention" 1:18:05 - A Festival? 1:18:18 - A shopping episode! (poor Travis) 1:19:25 - The farmers Market 1:21:17 - "I've heard of you!" 1:22:55 - potion of tongues 1:23:42 - A large figure 1:24:35 - Grog's way out of shopping 1:24:50 - Here comes a new challenger (Jon Heder) 1:26:15 - Looking for help 1:27:50 - THE MEAT MAN COMETH 1:28:00 - A strange interaction 1:33:20 - I don't talk to many girls 1:35:50 - off to meet the Meat Man 1:37:00 - empty Tavern 1:37:30 - search for mutton 1:38:21 - coffers gone 1:39:00 - The meat man? 1:40:24 - Investigation check 1:40:36 - Whispers 1:41:50 - what he wants 1:43:23 - What he will trade 1:45:32 - A very good threat 1:46:14 - Blonde of hair, Arcane traveler 1:48:05 - Do you know the meat man? 1:48:52 - The fate of the first meat man 1:54:27 - Insight check, Nat 20 and whispers 1:55:20 - "we know him" Vex follows 1:55:58 - Vex hug 1:56:23 - Return of Scanlan! 1:57:30 - Break starts 2:01:10 - Fan art (personal Favorite: 2:07:10) 2:11:38 - Break ends 2:12:55 - Scanlan pulls vex into an alley 2:13:15 - hat of disguise comes off 2:14:32 - Modify Memory 2:14:44 - Roll initiative 2:15:40 - What are the odds? 2:16:18 - The gang finds out 2:18:18 - Lionel goes to protect Scanlan 2:19:53 - Scalan's reasoning 2:22:00 - back into the tavern 2:22:31 - Sam's way of RP-ing 2 characters at the same time 2:23:56 - Real talk 2:24:55 - Scanlan's year 2:25:40 - Nothin' but abs 2:27:25 - simple revenge (Idiot's guide to becoming a Mob boss) 2:29:10 - What Lionel saw 2:33:00 - sounds like a cult.. 2:35:25 - Seems a bit much 2:35:43 - The futility of insight checking scanlan 2:36:55 - Scanlan tells Kaylee about himself 2:38:37 - Wise words 2:41:35 - What's Kaylee's Mother's name (for the record it's Sybil) 2:42:05 - The sound of tiny violins playing for Scanlan's tiny Tragedy 2:44:43 - Grog not happy 2:47:00 - Pike and Grog remove their earrings 2:48:02 - Lionel tags along 2:49:00 - Grog doesn't like Scanlan's new big guy 2:51:30 - Bar fight incoming 2:51:46 - Roll initiative (lionel vs Grog) 2:54:35 - Happy rage 2:58:05 - Off a ducks back (Totem of the Duck?) 2:59:43 - Reverse Pile-driver throw 3:01:40 - Lionel starts... Grinding on Grog 3:02:14 - Grog is stunned 3:04:40 - Wave Kick! 3:06:02 - Grog's feelings (exit Grog) 3:07:20 - "anyone else want to fight?" 3:09:16 - Lionel's Backstory 3:11:45 - "I don't remember much as a baby" 3:12:10 - Best Origin Story EVER 3:13:40 - "That's a continent" (Kiki derp) 3:14:38 - "A real killer babe" (Scanalan and lionel have a similar taste in women) 3:15:35 - Boulder, Parchment, shears, with a twist 3:16:00 - Twin talks 3:18:40 - it sounds like vex is getting at something 3:21:40 - A pickled Pickle 3:22:30 - Boulder! 3:24:25 - A quick pick 3:26:40 - That's just nasty 3:27:45 - Vulcan death pinch 3:29:04 - "haha that tickled" 3:30:12 - Tary and Percy flirting 3:31:00 - surprisingly small amount of collateral 3:32:37 - Vax and Kiki were going to make an exit 3:33:33 - Party line 3:34:04 - Best done in person 3:35:13 - Duck sense & Commune with ducks 3:36:12 - Enter the Ducks (some quality duck role-playing to follow) 3:37:20 - The ducks are all-knowing 3:38:57 - Scanlan's gratefulness 3:40:30 - Scanman goes to apologize to Grog 3:41:10 - Apology not accepted 3:41:30 - Scanman goes to apologize to Pike 3:42:06 - The apology 3:43:06 - Pike's response & Real talk 3:48:00 - Goodnight Pike 3:48:33 - "I think she can still hear me" 3:49:24 - One more adventure for Tary 3:50:13 - Scanlan returns the Salt rock 3:50:20 - Scanlan leaves (but not really) 3:51:10 - The game ends (but not really) 3:52:00 - Shorties 3:52:35 - The game ends (for real this time) & post game discussion 3:54:35 - Is it Thursday yet?

Ok Vox Machina has had some funny improve. But Heders “you feel just tons of ab” line when Vex checked to see if chode was actually Kailey was some funny shit

When Percy started explaining to Jon how to roll checks and attacks, I thought it was a little condescending. Then I realized Jon genuinely didn't know the mechanics, and I was blown away because from the way he played his character I assumed he'd been playing DnD for ages. He was very impressive.

The 1st 10 seconds of meeting him has Lionel complaining about a wonky memory. Explains a whole lot when you consider the spell his employer loves using. Also explains why with 12 INT he still has a hard time organizing his thoughts. Lots of holes to fill in probably.

53:20 that look of anger in Matt's face after being told they ONLY have the home and farm and nothing else after the joy of being told they were COMPLETELY free of debit. These are reasons he is so god damned amazing.

This episode does not get talked about enough!! There are so many great roleplaying moments from Taryan’s speech, to his father’s reaction, to Pike confronting Scanlan. I love these characters so much

18:15 it's just great how they all casually sing great balls of fire then act as if nothing happened

Something I find fascinating about DnD groups is the roles the players have, not just within the game, but the meta-roles that develop amongst the players. Grog has the role of the big dumb barbarian with a heart of gold and a fierce loyalty. Travis also understands how that character can break the tension at the table and the perfect time to do it (thinking about the "is there any more stew?" line). It's really cool to see.

I immediately go and hug him Sams face 🥲🥲🥲 And then when Laura says she hugs down coz scanlan is a gnome He smiles wider my heart ☺️☺️☺️

that look on Taliesin's face when Vex starts insinuating stuff about 'secrets' to Vax under the Sun Tree lol