Rebellions are built on hope.

This isn’t me complaining because it’s not a fault of the campaign but more just me admitting that I personally had a hard time getting invested in C4 and was on the verge of giving up on C4. The Schemers table arc changed that though. Part of it might be that most of my favorite characters from the overture were at that table but I think the biggest part of it was the Schemers were getting answers to a lot of questions the overture introduced about Thjazi and his execution whereas I felt like the Soldiers and Seekers were just creating more questions than finding answers (which was probably intentional) and that made me feel so hopelessly lost in a way I hadn’t felt before with CR.

Some of y’all need to learn to give your criticisms and talk about the things you dislike about a piece of media without assigning a quality to it. You can say I didn’t like the writing because it felt stilted, or the dialogue felt too cringey, or the pacing felt wrong, or the editing was off or whatever it is you didn’t like but quit saying meaningless blanket statements that do nothing but try to make others feel bad or stupid for liking something you don’t. This applies to literally every piece of media, I don’t care if it’s Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Dragon Age The Veilguard or fucking Grey’s Anatomy.

However, I was incredibly surprised to see Nydas Okiro and I think the Nein raiding his stash works a lot better to tie other things into the main storyline than the actual mission from the campaign. But at this point I will be surprised if no one in the Nein or Vox Machina interacts with Patia’s orb at some point because they seem to be tying the Brass Ring into events wherever it makes sense too. Maybe Beau and/or Caleb will do it while researching about Aeor.

Glad to see they are keeping Molly’s backstory the same, I think if he does survive the next two episodes, which is still debatable, he’s not gonna last long into season 2.

Yasha actually being feared as The Orphan Maker is an interesting choice because it was something we really only heard about in the campaign but I do think this episode gave more evidence to my theory about how they are handling Yasha’s story in the show being likely. Obann seems to not be always in control judging by how she was mentally comparing that woman to Zuala until Obann kinda popped in and reasserted a bit of control over her. I think all her time with the Nein is going to be under his control and I think her turning against them is going to be sooner than in the campaign because of his desire for the Beacon.

I wonder if it’s more like a perverted version of a warlock pact. Not in the sense that he gives her powers but that he’s forced a bond of sorts between them that allows him to give her commands without being right there, but still allows her to be Yasha most of the time so that we can still get all the great moments between her and the rest of the Nein before he turns her against them and essentially make her be more of an unwilling sleeper agent than in the campaign.

I was kinda surprised that Caleb is revealing his backstory to the whole group this early but I think that works better than it being a secret from everyone except Nott and Beau for a large portion of the campaign. I love that Nott’s comment about Caleb being her boy was put in but that it was directed to Beau alone. It becoming a moment between the two people that will become the most important members of the group to Caleb was more fitting. Sure he loves everyone but Nott and Beau are different.

I am wondering if Caleb killing monks of the Cobalt Soul is going to be the big blowout between Beau and Caleb before they work things out and start becoming the Empire Kids instead of the bowl. I think that works better for a tv audience than them randomly arguing over a bowl that isn’t that important to either of them in the long run. Also, it could make for even more tension between Beau and Yasha if she still kills members of the Soul while working for Obann (I am incredibly interested in seeing how the changes made to Yasha’s story impact Beauyasha).

Caleb not having his amulet is gonna put them in a lot more danger than they were in the campaign because now the folks looking for him can scry on him even before they learn about the rest of the Nein.

I think it’s a given the big, important moments like Molly and The Cathedral will still be there but how and when we get there may be different. I’m fully okay with that after watching the first episode because of how well the changes were handled and fit with the both the story and characters.

I loved that Beau is the Beau we love but isn’t hiding just how smart she is. I love that Caleb is still Caleb but seems more openly angry about his past than in the campaign. And the way they are handling Yasha’s story in the show looks like it could lead some seriously great moments when things go the way they do.