#suude

Here is what I know about whitestone and residuum as magical materials and components.

EDIT & REPOST because I just realized about Suude

I am not linking it to the city of Whitestone or to the Alabaster Sierra.While it’s the main place for that particular ressource it’s not the only one.

I mean, since its inception, Scanlan’s quest for drugs has been a ‘joke’. It’s funny. Scanlan’s entire interest in drugs sprung up from misinterpreting what Fusaka was, which really got its start in the whole ‘Do you spice?’ scene. Which was comedic gold.

And then, of course, there were the periodic check ins with Jarrett to try and get his hands on the real stuff. Roping the poor guy in only made it funnier, as it became so clear that Scanlan had NO IDEA what he was asking for. Plus, the direness of the situation Vox Machina was facing only served to make these little asides seem all the more unimportant. It just showed how silly and stupid Scanlan was being in the face of something so much bigger.

So then we have episode 81. And Scanlan finally gets to use the stuff. And starts off by doing it the completely wrong way. Finally gets around to smoking the stuff and immediately passes out. Funny.

Gets back to Whitestone and modifies Jarretts’ memory to convince him to get more suude. Suddenly way less funny, right?

I think this is the moment that caused the most confusion. Because, Critters have pretty clearly reacted negatively to Scanlan using Modify Memory at all before. We don’t like the ethical implications of the spell (rightly so, in my humble opinion) so any time he uses it, we’re set on edge. But this is all still meant to be funny, right? I mean, the rest of the cast is shocked, but laughing along. They all seem to find it crazy, and thus hilarious, that Scanlan’s going to such lengths.

And that’s where I had a red flag. Because this isn’t ‘funny guy’ behavior. Or, well, at least, this isn’t ‘funny guy’ behavior that can go by without consequences. He is now forcing his will upon other characters in order to continue the ‘joke’. That’s not a joke, it’s just wrong.

The success of this character choice depends solely on Sam. And I think, by the end of the episode, I can say pretty confidently that he’s aware of how serious this stuff is. After all, using an ancient relic of a flute gifted by a foreign dignitary as a pipe is within the realm of normal Scanlan hijinks. After all, it was no longer magical and probably not very useful to them anymore. It was just funny. But tearing up Vax’s note, which he prepared specifically in case of death, and stuffing it down the pipe like it’s nothing? Not Scanlan’s style. And definitely not something Sam could do without knowing the implications of it.

I think, in a way, Sam using Modify Memory of Jarrett was his clue to us. I think he knew for a long time where this path was going to take Scanlan, maybe since way back when he had his more serious talk with Jarrett. And I think that by using this spell that he maybe knows the fandom seriously dislikes, it’s his way of saying, “Hey guys, this isn’t really a joke anymore. There’s actually a problem here.” Like he doesn’t need us to point it out to him. Like he’s pointing it out to us.

Because let’s get real here, the quest for suude has been a problem since its early days. Roping Jarrett into the mix, getting him to act as Scanlan’s middle man when he so clearly wanted nothing to do with any of it, made it a bad situation from the start. You don’t pressure someone, let alone your employee, into buying illegal drugs for you and think “Oh, ha, won’t it be so funny when I finally get high!” No, I think Sam realized the problem from much earlier on. And only now is he communicating them to us.