time, as a symptom

something I'm really enjoying about the show is that caleb is clearly concerned about nott's drinking. him furrowing his brow when she chugged down a bottle in the first episode and the lingering shot of him watching her drink the bottle he gave her in episode 3 betrays his unease. it feels significant because her drinking was rarely commented on in the campaign until jester stole her flask, prompting a small mini-arc about her drinking that didn't have much of a firm conclusion outside of her explaining to caleb why she drinks so much--because even though the group has her back, no one has her front. and we never saw her have shaky hands and the shivers as she went through withdrawal during the campaign, which is further serving to emphasize how destructive this is to her on a personal level. and i think the thing i like the most is that caleb enables it. on one hand, it's as he said, "[he] is in no place to judge" and doesn't feel like he has the right to intervene with her vices. on the other, they are con artists and vagabonds who rely on each other, and if she were sober, she wouldn't be an effective partner. i think there's a fascinating push and pull there with his potentially growing concern for her welfare and the necessity of her skill set. they don't have time for her to get sober, and he doesn't have any right to ask her to stop drinking in the first place. so he watches her guzzle down bottles and use up what little coin they have on more, and makes sure he always has a spare on hand, just in case she needs it. and i wonder if he feels a little sick about that

and honestly, caleb enabling her becomes even greyer with what little context he has--he needs her to drink so she can execute a con to help him get spell materials. he has no idea why she's helping him do this, except that sticking together seems like a good idea for her right now. he doesn't know why she wants him to become more powerful, what her skin in this game is. from his perspective, he must feel like he's using her and her skills, providing her alcohol that is clearly slowly destroying her, for the benefit of him. but getting his magic back is so important that he does it. and THAT is what's really interesting about this dynamic