This week's episode of Critical Role took place at the C2E2 convention in Chicago and was a live show with over 3,000 Critters in attendance. Despite technical difficulties and the late start, this episode was chock-full of hilarious moments, audience participation, and huge plot twists. Below are a few of the best moments of campaign 2 episode 97 of Critical Role.
Tons of spoilers for campaign 2 episode 97 are beyond this point!
Critical Role Karaoke
Possibly one of the most surreal moments of the night was the sing-along to the Critical Role theme song, "Your Turn to Roll." Hearing the weekly theme song is a totally different experience when 3,000 people are screaming it, albeit with a half-second delay due to syncing issues, but the magic is still there.
A Familiar Face
The betrayer among the Xhorhasian people, the one who started the war between countries in order to profit off of it, turns out to be none other than the Mighty Nein's close friend, Essek. The mage for the Xhorhasian empire had been disguising himself as Lord Thane, a lord in Nicodranas, and communicating with powerful people who serve the Dwendalian empire, and the shock of the revealed betrayal is felt not only in the cast but the audience.
The Friends We Made Along the Way
Continuing on with the last moment, Caleb is spying through his cat (temporarily turned monkey) on Essek's conversation with Cerberus Assembly member Ludinus. Essek explains that he had become a little more caring about making sure that no innocent parties were hurt in future dealings between the Empire and the Dynasty mostly due to his newfound friendship (of which he is referring to the Mighty Nein). Sam hilariously adds that knowing that the M9 affected Essek in this way was going to make it harder to kill him later.
Veth the Brave
After Caleb formed a transmutation spell with Essek and Jester bamboozled a hag to break the curse, Nott finally decided to officially change back into her past self as Veth the halfling. It was a beautiful moment and the audience gave a round of applause as Matt revealed Nott as Veth Brenatto once again, with her character sheet changing to match.
Beau's Best Self
Caduceus decided that the best way to uncover the secrets of this party was to give Beau the ability of True Sight. The way he pitched the idea to Beau, however, leaned more in the direction of drugs in a back alley or likely the last thing you would hear before you die.
Welcome to the Mighty Nein!
After the M9's interrogation of Essek, Veth realizes that Essek's journey of doing things selfishly, then growing and realizing that he does have a heart after all is very reminiscent of every member of the M9 and their journeys. Perhaps Essek really would be a great addition to the party...
You can catch episodes of Critical Role Thursday nights at 7pm PST on their Twitch channel.
Source: Critical Role