Feels a bit weird to finally be done with this. I started watching Campaign 2 sometime around mid-2019, so this took me about 3 years to finish. (I watch very sporadically, sometimes going many months without watching any.) I had initially started watching Critical Role back in 2017, and it took me about 2 and a half years to finish Campaign 1. I started on C2 soon after, but C2 was already over a year old at that point. I had actually almost caught up during their COVID break - I was less than 10 episodes away from being current before they started up again. (That may sound like a lot, but seeing as there's 141 damn episodes, it's actually kind of notable.) But then I slid way behind because I went on another one of my multi-month hiatuses - I think it was like 8 months this time.
Maybe C3 is the one I'll finally catch up on? Who can say.
I didn't even know that Crit Role was on Trakt until earlier this year - I never thought to look.
Anyways, it was quite a ride. I preferred C1, though. C2 certainly had its share of highlights, but I simply do not like the Mighty Nein as much as I do Vox Machina. I also think C1's story was way more interesting than C2. C1 felt like it pulled out all the stops, whereas C2 feels like it reins it in quite a bit by comparison. I'm definitely armchair critiquing here, but I would guess that C1 was Mercer crafting a crazy story with whatever he felt was cool, whereas in C2 he started to realize this was going to be an ongoing endeavor, and therefore started pacing himself and crafting a story with continuity and longevity in mind. Sure, C2's final arc is kind of bananas, but a lot of everything else was somewhat banal (at least in terms of D&D). But almost every arc in C1 was crazy. In the end, it boils down to personal preference, but there were some parts of C2 I would label as being straight-up bad or boring. I wouldn't say that about anything in C1.
I discovered Critical Role in Jan 2021, when the pandemic was hitting pretty terribly here in the UK - my mind was dealing with a lot between that, being in my final university year at the time, and some personal mental health stuff as well. Not the greatest time ever.
I can't recall exactly how it came to be in my orbit - but remember at some point I came across it and wanted to find out more. I was familiar with Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey, and knew some of the other voice actors by name mostly, yet I didn't know anything about D&D and wasn't sure where/how to jump in. The first thing I ended up watching was their "Narrative Telephone" episode where Laura tells a story as Jester - I liked the character and the voice so much, I decided to try checking out the Mighty Nein campaign.
Now, a year and some months later... here we are, and what a ride it has been. Took forever to watch because it's a lot and I don't really watch the episodes in one sitting - I kinda got into the habit of taking in the story slowly - but following the Mighty Nein's adventures was a true gift in a very challenging year. Watching a group of people play a game didn't sound that exciting on paper, but very soon into the first episode I found it's pure theater - Matt Mercer's wonderful storytelling and world-building, along with the cast's chemistry and expertise in what made their characters tick, makes for such a complete experience. I laughed, got emotional, got excited, wanted to unravel the mysteries of Wildemount with them, and see as many places as I could.
I'm thankful for the cast, and this campaign, for introducing me to characters I will never forget. Caleb and Beau taught me to make most out of a dire, seemingly hopeless situation. Fjord, Yasha and Essek, that it's never too late walk a different path, and choose the one you belong to. Caduceus and Molly help me think about life and death, purpose and uncertainty. Veth and Jester... that there's never any situation where you can't put a little chaos out into the world, and a smile on your face.
Goodbye, Mighty Nein! Long may you all reign.
Shout by KyriaCrosszeriaBlockedParent2021-07-07T20:27:39Z
What an emotional end… to think the last episode was one big boss fight only for them to have yet another this round!
What an emotional ride. Crazy to think we’ve been with them for years really, years this story took to unfold, and as all good things come to an end so did this, and so sweetly and befitting. Love the characters and the crew. The way Matt was in tears in the end didn’t leave me untouched either. So very emotional :cry: Indeed, thank you for a beautiful story, Matt, and thank you for that brilliant mind.