Tear Jerker / Critical Role Mighty Nein

Sad and heartbreaking moments from the second Critical Role campaign involving the Mighty Nein.

Episode 2: A Show of Scrutiny

• In a failed attempt at haggling, Caleb startles a shopkeeper with Frumpkin, who hits the cat with a heavy sack. This dealt 1 point of Bludgeoning damage to Frumpkin, and cats don't have much HP. Thankfully Liam looks up his notes and realizes that isn't enough to kill him, but in the moment there was a very real fear that Caleb's cat could've died in only Episode 2. A sobering reminder of how cautious low-level characters need to be. Subverted in Episode 3 when we learn that, being a summoned fey spirit rather than a real cat, Frumpkin cannot die permanently.
• The party spends much of the session wandering around town and asking about the old man who turned into a zombie during the show, seeing if they could piece together whether he had any enemies, any contact with something infectious, or any other potential lead. The townsfolk mention that he had a son who'd left town decades ago, he was hired around town for odd jobs - less out of any actual usefulness and more out of pity from the townsfolk, and that the general reaction to his death is "I'm surprised it took him this long to kick the bucket." He was just a lonely old man who had few, if any, actual friends, and was simply going through the motions of his twilight years, and the overall picture it paints is incredibly melancholy. It's even worse when you consider that he died at the carnival - probably the only fun thing he'd had the chance to do in ages, and instead of forgetting his troubles and enjoying himself for once, he ended up dying horribly.

Episode 4: Disparate Pieces

• Toya's breakdown upon learning of Kylre's death.
• The Fridge Logic that, though not confronted in the episode, of what exactly caused the events to happen. Considering the lack of "old people" and "sick people" per the rules, Kylre could feed off audiences without much danger. But then that old man snuck in and while feeding, he inadvertently killed him. He most likely hadn't removed the syphon by the time that woman died, making her into a husk too. This makes the first incident a complete accident that quickly spiralled out of control.
• When Zeenoth is absolved of teaching Beau and bringing her back, he apologizes to Beau for failing her and previously denied the accusation that he only taught her because he was paid to. He leaves the warehouse dejected after Expositor Dairon kicks him out.
  • Part of the reason Beau is so hostile is that she believes that her father sent her to the monks just to get rid of her.

Episode 7: Hush

• Parents are likely to feel sympathy for the horrified outrage of the manticore at the death of her baby, the "eats people" part notwithstanding (especially when Matt and Khary paint her HDYWTDT as a Mercy Kill). To compound it, an overheard conversation suggests that the human sacrifice and the raid on the city were the priest's idea, and she was simply a mother accepting an easy source of meat for her child. (Also, the huge chains in the nest suggest that she was, at least at one point, a prisoner.)
• When Caleb kills the priest with Fire Bolt, he fails a Wisdom saving throw and triggers his first of several PTSD flashbacks throughout the campaign. He immediately goes catatonic, only snapped out of it by Mollymauk, who slaps him and tells him there will be time for that later. He follows this up with a kiss on the forehead. Caleb spends the rest of the episode and some of the next episode looking absolutely devastated and very out of it, and it's clear these episodes take a heavy toll on him.
  • Made extra sad & slightly Heartwarming by the fact that Caleb described his attack on the priest as being made out of anger that the priest and the manticore had hurt his "little friend," referring to Nott.

Episode 8: The Gates of Zadash

• Jester drawing in her sketchbook takes a sad turn when she starts praying to the Traveler and confesses that she is worried he is no longer with her because of how far from home she is now. She even vows to leave the party if it would make him come back to her, because he is her best friend. The Traveler reassures her through the holy symbol she carries, but the interaction speaks volumes about how much Jester depends on him emotionally.
• Later, Jester, in typical Jester fashion, paints a mostly idyllic, happy picture of her childhood, but it's easy to see that she grew up very lonely, kept hidden from the world by her mother in fear that it would damage her reputation as a courtesan. And then a prank gone wrong leads to a powerful lord demanding she be killed, forcing her to flee her hometown and everything she knows to go look for her Disappeared Dad in hopes of finding a new place to live.
  • After Jester has shared her reasons for leaving Nicodranas, Beau immediately questions why she wants to go find her father, adding that "sometimes, fathers are disappointing". It's a clear reminder that Beau herself has a very bad relationship with her father.

Episode 9: Steam and Conversation

• The stories the downtrodden citizens organizing a makeshift La Résistance tell about their mistreatment by the empire, in particular one man describing how his wife got caught up in a group of fleeing bandits and was arrested as one of them, and thrown in Zedash's most brutal prison without a trial. He's never seen her since.
• Frumpkin rolls a 4 on stealth, so the Crownsguard kicks him away. Liam forces Matt to say if it dealt damage or not, and Matt affirmed that it did. Liam declared Frumpkin gone (until resummoned), as he'd rolled a whopping one health this incarnation.
• Jester has another rough moment when she finds out that there is no package from her mother at the Pillow Trove. She pays for a room, but once she arrives there, she is clearly at her wits' end. The way in which she asks the Traveler what she should do is almost child-like and once more highlights just how out of her depth she is.
  • Once she's returned to Caleb, Jester voices her worries regarding the lack of money, to which Caleb offers her some of his. Due to her upbringing (having grown up in the lap of luxury, essentially), she unintentionally winds up offending him. In response, he smears mud across his face to once again become The Pig-Pen, coldly turns his back on her and storms off to find the rest of the group. Considering they all just had a rather sweet and fun shared bath experience, Jester's words clearly struck a nerve and might've thrown a real wrench in her and Caleb's burgeoning friendship.

Episode 10: Waste and Webs

• The very beginning of the session can be perceived as such when Jester shares her encounter with The Traveler and fails to summon him after her companions manifested their interest to meet a god that actually shows himself to its followers. Even if they remain supportive toward her, some of their reactions clearly imply they doubt the encounter actually happened. Beauregard even goes to the extent to question the godhood of Jester’s patron.
• Although Caleb stays vague, what little he shares with Fjord about his past paints a pretty depressing picture:
  Caleb: I've made mistakes in my life. I have harmed people [...] You know, I thought I was going to be something, someday. A long time ago. And now I, uh, don't.
  • During this conversation, Caleb also states that he doesn't trust anyone in the group...and doesn't clarify Nott as being outside of the group. He even seems to hesitate for a moment after saying it, but then reiterates that he doesn't trust anyone in the group.

Episode 11: Zemnian Nights

• When Fjord confronts Nott on why she was going through his things, she reveals that she wanted to help Caleb get into the Soltrice Academy by forging his name on the recommendation letter. She then reveals that she wants Caleb to get stronger so he can save her from certain dangers. While she's not specific about what it is she needs to be protected from, it's clear that it terrifies her.
  Nott: The closer we get to the north... they don't like me up there. He can protect me.
  Molly: Well, I think we can all do that.
  Fjord: Absolutely!
  Nott: ... No. No, you can't.
  • She also reveals that she wants Caleb to learn how to change faces... so that he can change hers, the implication being that she doesn't want to be a goblin anymore, so she wants him to hit Level 17 and cast True Polymorph on her.
  • It's also another blow to the perception of Caleb and Nott's relationship: Caleb doesn't trust Nott, and Nott is using him. While it's clear that the relationship is much more complicated than that and that they do genuinely care about each other, it's sad to realize the ulterior motives and lack of solid trust between them.
• In a blink-and-miss-it moment during the conversation before things get really heavy, Nott and Fjord are commenting about how everyone finds him handsome, and how in his own words he used to be a typical heavy kid growing up. Nott makes a crack about him having braces, to which Fjord responds that he "did [his] own dental work". Suddenly, Travis' subtle insistence on Fjord not having the usual half-orc tusks in his art becomes a lot more horrifying and heartbreaking.
• Beau and Jester rib Caleb for showing them his 'bread gloves' trick and tell him he could just buy mitts instead of getting the bread dirty. Neither one realize that until very recently, Caleb wasn't able to afford to buy warm clothes and a hot meal.

Episode 13: Lost & Found

• Caleb reveals to Nott that he was originally going to go to the Soltrice Academy but he "fucked it up" in some way, even though his small town was very excited for him and even pulled together some gold to help. When Nott asks if it's something he could be forgiven for, he simply replies that it's not his call to make, implying he doesn't think so.
• Caleb's dream fits here, as Matt ends it with: "For the first time in a long while, you feel at peace." The implication, naturally, being that Caleb is being hounded by something in his mind.

Episode 14: Fleeting Memories

• Everything about Molly-er-Lucian-er-Nonagon's backstory reveal in the Evening Nip. Cree clearly cared for Lucian-Nonagon, and Mollymauk has no idea who she is. Something clearly went wrong two years past, and Molly doesn't care to fix it.
• The party notices some guards in the Gentleman's hideout are carrying rifles. Despite Percy's best efforts, his great shame has made it out into the world, likely at least in part due to Anna Ripley's proliferation of firearms amongst tinkerers and sale of them in general.

Episode 16: A Favor In Kind

• Fjord fully explains what was only implied earlier: he did indeed cut down his half-orc tusks, because he was bullied for them as a child. He's been filing them down ever since, partially out of habit, partially because he doesn't like how they represent the rougher aspects of his heritage.
• Molly and Beau's drug-induced trip around town takes a sudden sad turn when Molly realizes out loud that he technically didn't have a childhood, prompting Beau to muse whether having a childhood that was meant to be someone else's childhood even counts as a childhood at all. Molly somewhat forlornly asks what happened to her, but the moment passes before Beau responds.
• Nott spends an hour at a cafe disguised as a halfling girl, simply to experience what it's like to be normal.

Episode 18: Whispers of War

• Caleb doesn't say a word while Jester reads the letter from her mother aloud, but Liam wears a tortured expression pretty much throughout the entire thing. Taking his backstory into account, it's not difficult to imagine that Caleb was thinking of his own parents, grieving their deaths and feeling guilty for the part he played in them.
• Caleb's backstory, and Nott and Beau's reactions. Liam sounds like he's in tears while giving the monologue, despite keeping a Creepy Monotone to show how broken Caleb is.
  • Beau is absolutely horrified, a break from her usual casual indifference to other people outside of some minor instances.
  Beau: What. He made you... executioners.
  Caleb: We wanted to be.
  Beau: Caleb, that's... deeply fucked up. You know that, right?
  Caleb: ... Yeah.
  • Of particular mention is Nott's response when Caleb asks if she can accept him after knowing what he did.
    Caleb: Are you and I good?
    Nott: ...What you did was awful. Truly terrible. Dispicable and unforgivable. Until you can forgive it. At some point, you'll have to do that. And I swear that I'll be at your side until you do.
• Matt's description of the mood and atmosphere of Zadash after news of the war spreads.

Episode 19: The Gentleman's Path

• Nott's backstory is all about how tortured she felt as a White Sheep who couldn't do anything right. She finally gets around to talking about her Only Friend the halfling she was supposed to torture, and seems about to cry as she discusses him.
  Beau: What was his name?
  Nott: It's not important. He was... He was just a nice man.

Episode 20: Labenda Awaits

• Kiri's utterly heartbreaking backstory. Her family were fleeing the Xhorhasian conflict and tried to hide in the Labenda Swamp only to be spotted by 'Swamp People' who attacked them. As they tried to escape Kiri slipped and became trapped in the bog. Her parents couldn't pull her free and chose to leave her rather than risk themselves or her sisters. To make matters worse, when Jester dissects one of the crocodiles that was attacking her they find its stomach is full of small, bird-like bones and a lot of black feathers which Matt indicates are what remains of Kiri's sisters.

Episode 21: Stalker in the Swamp

• Beau comes incredibly close to dying, being knocked unconscious by the swamp troll's poison and carried away to be eaten (which might have made resurrection impossible). Caleb almost casts Scorching Ray at the troll while it's holding her, but decides to cast Haste on Nott instead. Matt confirms later than Scorching Ray would've killed Beau had he gone for it (four instant-failed death saving throws would do that). Had she died, Jester didn't have a single 300-gold diamond, so Revivify would have been impossible. Not only that, but Caleb would have to have lived through the guilt of killing another person close to him with fire once again.

Episode 22: Lost Treasures

• Fjord's eye-induced vision includes seeing himself as the sea captain who had taken him on and cared for him like a father. Fjord narrates what he knows of the shipwreck, including sabotage and a storm that threw him overboard, and ends by saying he doesn't know anything about the fate of the ship, crew, or captain. Seeing as the captain was one of the very few people who had ever been nice to Fjord before meeting up with Beau and Jester, it hit him hard.
  • Fjord asks the crew if they ever dream of looking into water and seeing someone else's face. Nott admits that she does. It's a powerful moment in hindsight: she's dreaming about the person she was before she was turned into a Goblin.

Episode 23: Have Bird, Will Travel

• When Caleb kills the venom troll with Scorching Ray, he fails a Wisdom saving throw and triggers another PTSD episode. The fire begins to die down, and in a crossover with Heartwarming, Beau gently picks him up and leads him away to walk it off. Caleb spends the rest of the aftermath of the fight looking very dissociated and is described as "not present." It's hard to watch, but he had to do it to save Fjord, who had been knocked unconscious three times already.

Episode 24: The Hour of Honor

• Beau trying so hard to be blase about her dad having her kidnapped. She tells Nott with a shaky, forced laugh about how her dad straight-up told her he never wanted to see her again, trying to play it off as almost a joke, but it's obvious how messed up she still is over it all.
• After the hilarity of drunk Caleb, and the sweetness of Jester inviting him to dance, Mood Whiplash hits. As soon as the line hits, Jester's face grin is instantly gone, and the painful awkwardness of the entire situation is palpable around the table as it is clear what Caleb was drunkenly thinking.
  Caleb: ...You were always a better dancer than me, Astrid.
• Clef Tinkertop. He's a bit quirky, but he's clearly devestated by his automaton going berserk, the casualities and the fact that the Warden of the prison regularly sends people to rub his failure in his face.

Episode 25: Divergent Paths

• The Nein leaving Kiri behind with the family in Hupperdook. They all knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Marisha and Ashley are both tearing up, Matt looks like he's having a hard time staying together. The music box music Matt had prepared makes it even worse. When the music box comes out, Taliesin, who has been keeping it together until now, whispers "that's not fair, man..."

Episode 26: Found & Lost

• Though it's also a comedic moment, hearing Nott reminisce about solving crimes with Jester, and how much she misses their time as the "dynamic duo" is sobering.
• Mollymauk's death. First, it's just his own Blood Maledict knocking him out, but then Lorenzo attacks him twice for four failed death saves. It's made clear in the episode's aftermath that due to the party's current low level and the lack of access to resurrection magic, this death will be permanent. This makes Molly the first Critical Role character to permanently die mid-campaign.
  • Made worse by how quickly everything went wrong. Molly never even got a chance to make a single death saving throw; he automatically failed four death saves at once, and as a result neither the other players nor Matt himself had time to do anything to try to save him. The overwhelmed shock on everyone's faces as they realize there is no way to play their way out of this...
  • It's worth noting that the Talks Machina show after this episode aired featured many tearful goodbyes to the character, from Taliesin (his player) to Matt (the DM) to the host of the show and some of the crew members.
  • The fan reception to Molly's death hurts just as much as over the course of a week a good chunk of the Critters were confronted with the reality of a high-risk D&D campaign and went through the Five Stages of Grief coming to terms with the fact that Mollymauk is well and truly dead. More upsetting is that some fans were, and some still are, stuck in the Anger stage, lashing out at Matt for killing a beloved character.
  • As opposed to the thumbnails of other episodes that feature members of the cast either in a pair or a trio goofing off, or a single cast member smiling or making a silly pose, the very thumbnail used for this episode is an image of Taliesin sitting by himself in a small and wistfully-lit room, in a pensive and somber-looking pose - his face in an arguably pained expression.

Episode 27: Converging Fury

• As to be expected, the aftermath of Molly's death is hard to watch. It takes nearly a minute for any of the players to even begin speaking, and when they do they each deal with their loss in their own way.
  • Beau begins by picking up Keg and slamming her to the ground, demanding to know why her information was so wrong, before gradually transitioning to a surprisingly passionate eulogy. She mentions that while her and Molly were both assholes, Molly was always the type of asshole who left a place better than it was when he arrived. Sure, he grifted people and lied to them, but it was always in a way that made them feel better about themselves. Molly was given nothing, expected nothing, but always gave everything.
  • Keg stays dead silent nearly the entire time, fully aware that the whole situation is, in a large part, her fault, and takes Beau's verbal beatdown without response.
  • Nott recalls how Molly taught her to only steal from grumpy people. When preparing Molly's body for burial, Nott refused to take ANYTHING.
  Nott: He was never grumpy.
  • Caleb uses his earthen catspaw to dig a grave for Molly's body, then removes his coat. The three remaining members of the Nein then wrap his body in his tapestry of the Platinum Dragon. Caleb then marks the grave with a tall stick, and hangs Molly's coat on it.
    • Before he's buried, however, Caleb writes a note and tucks it into his lapel. It says his name is Mollymauk Tealeaf, a member of the Mighty Nein, and to seek The Gentleman in Zadash to find the rest of them. Just in case.
  • The remaining party's words to Molly as they say their last goodbyes. Beau's in particular is a callback to a much funnier moment from only a few episodes before.
  Beau: Long may he reign.
  Caleb: Shine bright, circus man.

Episode 28: Within the Nest

• Despite being a funny moment in itself, Beau's sheer reaction of terror towards Nott after narrowly blocking a crossbow bolt to her throat is no laughing matter. This is the first time she has ever been truly terrified of her own mortality, especially in the wake of Molly's death.
  Beau: You could've fucking killed me!

Episode 29: The Stalking Nightmare

• Nott rolls a Nat 20 to pick the lock of the cell that an unconcious Jester and Fjord are in. She immediately runs to give Jester a big hug and whispers in her ear.
  Nott: Case closed.
• Upon defeating the Iron Shepards, Keg falls to her knees and bursts into tears, showing better than any words could express just how much she'd been hurt by them.

Episode 30: The Journey Home

• Jester and Fjord wake up... and the moment everyone was dreading comes. The party has to tell them of Molly's death. Fjord takes it particularly hard, due to the whole mess arising from their kidnapping, he blames himself for Molly's death.
  • Jester's reaction is just as bad, if not worse as her line implies she doesn't want to believe it's true.
    Jester: (After being told Molly didn't make it) ...to... this dungeon? 'cause he's waiting upstairs?
  • "Where's Molly?" is one of the first things out of Jester's mouth. Worse, once it's confirmed that he really is dead, is the implication that the reason she asked so quickly, and is in such denial at first, is that she already knew; she reveals that she heard them calling out for him when the caravan was attacked, but due to being imprisoned and unable to see or hear properly of course none of them knew exactly what had happened.
• Caleb creates a magical Hut for the group, and explains that he has been working on it for a long time so that they don't have to worry about being kidnapped ever again when they sleep at night.
• Jester sits outside of Beau and Keg's room, and starts trying to draw... but can't think of what to draw after her captivity, so she just writes in her sketchbook a note to the Traveler: "Well, why didn't you come?" She then sits in silence for a little bit before going back to her room. The effect seems to nearly bring the rest of the cast and even Matt to tears.
• The team stops on the return trip to Zadash at Molly's grave, which has been left undisturbed. Fjord and Jester say their goodbyes, including Jester drawing a card from Molly's tarot deck: The Moon, one of the cards he drew in a reading for Jester when they first met. Fjord salutes Molly's grave with the Summer's Dance sword that Molly once used, now combined with Fjord's falchion. And then Yasha wakes up. Her reaction is silent tears and pure rage as she falls in front of Molly's grave, saying nothing but a cryptic "It happened again". She leaves the party and heads off into a nearby storm, telling them she will find them again when she is ready. Matt really sold the entire scene, since Ashley wasn't able to participate due to her filming schedule, and everyone was basically in tears.
  • Yasha's breakdown makes complete sense and is even more heartbreaking considering how fast it happened from her perspective. Fjord and Jester at least had the news of Molly's death broken to them as gently as possible, and were given warning and time to prepare themselves for the stop at his grave to say goodbye. Because nobody was in the cart with her, however...Yasha's last memory is of intense torture before being forcibly knocked unconscious. She has a mere split second upon waking to process finding herself outside, in the cold, mostly healed and free, with the rest of the Nein close at hand... standing beside the grave of her closest friend.
  • The Moon in the Major Arcana means fear and illusion, when something is not as it seems, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Episode 31: Commerce & Chaos

• Jester's first interaction with The Traveller since being kidapped is heartbreaking, as is the entire reason for the chaotic vantalization of the Platinum Dragon's temple- she wanted The Traveller to like her again, because she felt abandoned by him during her captivity. Laura has a heartwrenching look on her face during both telling the others her plan to mess with the temple and why, and when talking to The Traveller.

Episode 33: The Ruby and the Sapphire

• Upon finding out The Gentleman might be her father, Jester excitedly contacts him via the Sending spell. The first time he gives no response. The second, long silence followed by "That's preposterous". After spending the entire campaign searching for her father and being excited to meet him, The Gentleman seems to want nothing to do with her.

Episode 36: Oh Captain, Who's Captain?

• Caduceus/Taliesin has a truly tragic expression in the first part of the episode, and it's made even worse when he explains that he's having a crisis of faith after nearly dying and watching the Mighty Nein steal a boat. He even starts wondering if he should leave the Mighty Nein.

Episode 43: In Hot Water

• Dumb brute she may be, but Matt's description of Bouldergut being utterly distraught at the deaths of her fellow crew makes it easy to feel awful for her.

Episode 45: The Stowaway

• With none of her friends in sight, Jester casts a desperate Inflict Wounds at the dragon facing her down, but misses by a few inches (thanks to Laura rolling a Natural 1 on the attack). She's clearly panicking at this point and whimpers that she's all alone, only surviving that turn thanks to her Blink spell kicking in.
• Caleb makes the decision to teleport away by touching the orb, leaving Nott behind to face the dragon with Twiggy and Jester (though he wasn't aware that the last was still in the room). The guilt is plain on Liam's face for the rest of the session.
  • When Sam reveals that the below dropped him to 1HP, Liam takes off his glasses and collapses onto the table. When he comes up, his face is full of guilt.
• Nott draws the dragon's attention by not disengaging (thereby forcing the dragon to burn its reaction on an attack of opportunity against Nott), which leads her to get severely hurt but ensures that Jester will be able to get away safely. Based on Sam and Laura's reactions, they were well aware that this act could have resulted in Nott's death.
• The group being completely drained from the episode's events. Though they've survived near-death situations before, this one leaves most of them heading straight to bed to try and cope. Jester and Caleb in particular seem wrecked by the experience.
  • Beau even asks if Jester is okay, to which Jester insists that she is. Beau retorts that she's not a convincing liar, but Jester smiles and says that she's actually a very good liar, which sounds awfully close to what a certain Campaign 1 character said before leaving the group.

Episode 46: A Storm of Memories

• Yasha's feelings about being the one left behind while everyone else disappeared. One of the possible outcomes she considered was that the group just left her because they didn't want her in their group anymore.
• Everything about Yasha's backstory. Yasha fell in love with Zuala, a woman who wasn't chosen for her by her tribe, and they secretly married. When the tribe found out, they killed Zuala and Yasha was forced to run. In addition to Yasha still grieving, Yasha's tribe also believes in marrying for life, so Yasha feels Zuala will always be hers.
• The implication behind why Yasha collects flowers. She hopes to one day return to Xhorhas and bring flowers to her grave.
  Yasha: I have so many flowers to bring to her.

Episode 47: The Second Seal

• We find out a little more about Beau: while she was in training with the monks, she got a letter from their parents explaining that they've now had a son and so have disowned her. With a family like that, you can see why Beau became such an asshole.

Episode 48: Homeward Bound

• Caleb and Beau's conversation about his fear that one day, Trent Ikithon will catch up with him and destroy the Nein.
  Caleb: The problem with friends is that you have to care about them!
• Nott's sheer panic as she discovers Yeza's house destroyed and practically yells at Caleb and Jester to break open the door — and later her desperation in hugging her son.
• Luc's relatively subdued reaction to seeing his mother apparently back from the dead. The poor boy is clearly traumatized and untrusting. He doesn't run to hug her or anything; just talks to her in a stilted, frightened way. When she picks him up to hug and kiss him, he stiffens up. It all culminates in a heartbreaking "Mommy, where were you?"
  • It turns out that Luc has been getting his presents, but Yeza hadn't dared to tell him it was actually from his mom.
• Caleb, who used to make himself appear unwashed and disgusting as a form of protection, has repeatedly pointed out that his personal hygiene has greatly improved during his time with the Nein, with him actually taking regular baths while out at sea. In this episode, as several figures from his past show up, Caleb becomes so afraid of being discovered that, for the first time in months, he purposefully smears filth all over his face again.
• In a moment of drunken distress, Nott recklessly reveals parts of Caleb's backstory, implies that he's partially responsible for the attack on Felderwin, and says "fuck him" — which is shocking given how tender and maternal she usually is. Caleb, who's also just learned more about Trent, throws up and spends the rest of the episode looking entirely dissociated.

Episode 49: A Game of Names

• Nott's backstory. Nott was originally a halfling woman named Veth and Happily Married to Yeza and had a son with him. To protect her family, she ran off in the opposite direction to lead goblins away from them and even managed to kill their leader with a vial of acid. In revenge, the goblins took her to a female mage and demanded she make Nott suffer. They did so by drowning Nott and resurrecting her as a goblin.
  Nott: They made me everything I thought I was...not pretty, not good...just not.
  • Worse, the longer Nott's a goblin the more goblin-like she becomes and the more she forgets from her life as Veth.
• We also learn that Ikithon experimented on Caleb and his fellow students by putting crystals in the arms. Keep in mind Caleb would have been 16/17 when this happened
• The fact that both Caleb and Nott have been using fake names all along and never felt like they could truly trust anyone in the party with that knowledge.

Episode 53: Cornered

• As the Mighty Nein continue pursuing Yeza to free him, he confirms to Jester via two Sending spells that he is locked in an underground cell somewhere, and after responding to her inquiries, weakly asks, "Are you still coming?" He goes unanswered as Jester never sent a third message.

Episode 55: Duplicity

• Caleb is charmed by a succubus and betrays the party, nearly killing all of them. For Caleb, whose worst fear has always been hurting the ones he loves again, this has to hurt. He seems pretty guilty after Yasha breaks the charm, despite none of his friends holding a grudge.
• Beau spends a turn just trying to ensure Caleb is okay, and asks if this is the day she's been fearing and she'll have to kill him. It's played for laughs but it's really sad especially given how close Caleb and Beau are.
• Without thinking, Sam chooses to have Nott use an explosive arrow to kill the incubus. She succeeds in killing it, but in the process kills Caduceus, who was unconscious and had failed two death saves already. Both Sam and Matt look horrified for a moment, and this results in a quick but tense revival by Jester. Sam looks very apologetic during the whole thing. This also makes Caduceus the first and only player character in Critical Role history to be killed by another player character's friendly fire.
  Sam: Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh...no.

Episode 57: In Love and War

• Nott's terrified demeanour over reuniting with Yeza while looking like the one of the creatures that tormented him. The following reunion is heartwarming (due to the overwhelming support from her friends and Yeza himself), but in the moment her anxiety was strong enough to bring back her alcoholic dependency. Her self-esteem in her appearance is so low, that she fearfully asks her own husband to promise he won't throw rocks at her.
• Crossed with Heartwarming, the fact that after all this time, Beau quietly cites Molly's "leave every place better than you found it" as the only guiding philosophy she trusts.

Episode 58: Wood and Steel

• Fjord reveals that the orphanage in which he was raised is called the "Driftwood Asylum." His companions are quick to point out how depressing a name this is.

Episode 59: Perspective

• The giants explain how they fled their homes from terrifying demons that unnaturally weakened many of their group and fed on the ones who couldn't escape. They found the steelworks fort and took shelter there, but the workers they'd driven out kept attacking them and they couldn't risk going back without being slaughtered. Landspeaker Soorna later mentions how her brother died fighting them, only for her to find him again - as a dead body being demonically possessed.

Episode 69: The King's Cage

• The end of the episode, where the group is forced to leave Yasha behind, locked in a tomb with the Laughing Hand. Mitigated ever-so-slightly or made much, much worse by the fact that both of them made it out of the tomb some time later.
  • Jester and Nott both do a Futile Hand Reach for Yasha as the doors close and seal her in the tomb. Jester also sobs out Yasha's name as this happens.
  • This animatic adds a kick-right-in-the-feels flashback for Yasha as she prepares to strike the killing blow on Jester.

Episode 70: Causatum

• Jester scries on Yasha, learning that she and the Laughing Hand broke out of the temple and managed to resurrect Obann. Afterwards, she is so distraught that she bursts into tears, and it's awful.
  Jester: (Tearfully) What if she was bad the whole time, you guys?

Episode 71: Family Gathering

• The party finally receiving Calianna's presents ventures into heartbreaking when they see the presents she sent for Mollymauk and Yasha.
  • It also serves as a reminder that Calianna has no idea that Molly has died.

Episode 72: Clay and Dust

• The destruction of the Summer's Dance Falchion means the Nein's most visible memento of Mollymauk is now gone. Although alleviated somewhat when Taliesin confirmed on Talks Machina that Molly wouldn't have minded.
• On the heartwarming side of being a tearjerker, after Fjord comes clean to the party about losing his powers, they all equip him with weapons to protect himself with. Travis nearly begins crying as they do.

Episode 77: A Tangled Web

• Jester successfully scries on Yasha, and sees her as she, Obann, and the Laughing Hand conclude an assault on a location in Zadash, presumably the Cobalt Archive. Yasha has killed many innocent people, including one while Jester watches, and while Yasha obeys every order Obann gives, Jester sees that her face is streaked with tears. Yasha is still in there, trapped in her own body. Doubles as Nightmare Fuel.
• There's also her attempt to bond with her father, the Gentleman, through a sending spell, only for him to coldly deny being her father once more. When the party asks how the message went, she lies about it and makes it seem like they bonded.
• Caleb gets one as well, when he used Seeming to turn the party into people from his past, he notes that he's unable to keep his gaze from lingering on Beau-as-Astrid.

Episode 78: Between the Lines

• As the Nein travel through Alfield, they try to get in contact with Bryce, the crownsguard they'd befriended there earlier. However, after asking around, they find that Bryce has been sent to Bladegarden, right to the heart of the conflict with Xhorhas. Made worse by the fact that Bryce had previously confessed that they were terrified of being sent to the front lines, and hoped that a podunk town like Alfield wouldn't be considered a source for manpower.

Episode 80: The Folding Halls

• The Nein's repeated failures are really starting to weigh on them, especially Jester, who goes into Yasha's room at the Xhorhouse and prays for the Traveler to watch over her because in her eyes, the Nein abandoned her despite there being nothing they could do.

Episode 83: Dark Bargains

• Though it's brief and immediately reverted when Nott triggers a Power Word: Kill trap, everyone's worry and relief hammers home how affected they were for the brief moment that Nott was dead. Caleb in particular emphatically reiterates to always check for traps.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: In Campaign 1, Vax (also played by Liam, like Caleb) lost a loved one instantly because of an improperly-checked trap. She was brought back shortly after, but at great cost.
• Honestly, the devil Halas lied to that was kept in a belljar and driven insane by loneliness is just... sad. Halas claimed they can't trust anything it said, but nothing it said changed from when it was in Zone of Truth or out of it. It wants the M9 to read it a poem that would help it "remember things". Jester expresses sympathy for it, but Caleb says to "let it rot".

Episode 84: Titles and Tattoos

• The Mighty Nein return to Nicodranas, but they decide not to stop off at the Lavish Chateau before heading off again. They are on business, but Nott and Jester also agree that it's hard to just pop in and see their families briefly and without warning before having to head off again. Although, given that one of their enemies ambushed them in Pumat's shop later that day, perhaps it was good that they didn't.
• The girls of the party getting tattoos together is a beautiful moment, but the whole time Caleb looks visibly uncomfortable and keeps rubbing his arms, like he's remembering his own experiences with having gems put into his skin.
• Beau choosing to get a tattoo in honor of Mollymauk is a crossover with Heartwarming. She uses the tarot cards she'd taken from his body, and Taliesin looks like he might tear up the whole time.

Episode 85: The Threads Converge

• When the Nein visit the Gentleman, Jester uses her powers to make herself look like her mother. The Gentleman legitimately doesn't appear to recognize her, indicating that he might not be her father after all.
  • Despite Jester's visible teary-eyed misery, the Gentleman still taunts her to her face by smirking and making a joke about how if her mother really is the "best lay ever," maybe he'll have to visit someday. It's a pointlessly cruel dig, and the fact that he was saying it to hide his own underlying pain does not make its effect on Jester less heartbreaking.
• However, it soon emerges that he is a Consummate Liar. He is Jester's father. He fell deeply in love with Marion, and vowed to make a fortune. His ship was attacked and he was enslaved. He managed to earn his freedom, but underwent a Start of Darkness along the way, and felt that he was both a danger and no longer worthy of her, so he stayed away.
• Jester takes it pretty well, but admits that Marion never loved anyone else the way she loved him.
• The Gentleman feels he was telling the truth when he denied that Jester was his daughter. He wasn't there for her growing up, so he doesn't deserve the title.
• Jester wants to tell Marion that she found the Gentleman, but he doesn't think it's a good idea. Jester is hurt by this, because she was so close to her mother for so long and she has already kept a lot from her over the past few months as it is.

Episode 86: The Cathedral

• Yasha drops Beau during the fight in the Chantry. When she turns away, she is crying.
  • Even worse, as Beau is stabbed in her unconscious state, the DM informs those still up that the blow "evokes imagery you've seen once before", mirroring how Molly met his end against Lorenzo. Unlike Molly, though, Beau does survive but it was still a very tense, very sad moment.
  • Made worse when Ashley reveals on Talk Machina that Yasha might have been Driven to Suicide if she'd killed Beau. She'd taken so much life already and the guilt would have been too much to bear.
• Fjord successfully nails her with a spell attack. She looks momentarily relieved.

Episode 88: Unwanted Reunions

• When the Nein split into their rooms at Camarouth Cottage, Caleb cleans up a bit quickly before summoning Frumpkin. He then sits and pets Frumpkin as he just stares out at the city and remembers.
• Yasha is happy to be free, but she feels like things are unfinished even though Obann is dead.
  • The only times she truly felt like herself were when she was asleep.
• Caleb spent years avoiding Trent, and imagining how another meeting would go. Now he has to work with him.
• As they depart from the meeting with Trent, Caleb takes a moment to talk to his old friend Eodwulf. Eodwulf does say that Caleb looks good and asks him to see him sometime, but his delivery is cold. It's pretty clear that the friendship is over as far as Eodwulf is concerned.
• Caleb talks a bit more about Trent's teaching style. He mentions that Trent would sometimes follow up moments of cruelty with moments of kindness, a classic abuser move.

Episode 89: Lingering Wounds

• Caleb goes to visit Astrid. He finds out that she and Eodwulf had to subdue him when he had his breakdown, and he lashed out at her with fire magic. She still has the burn scars.
  • Worse, she seems to have fully embraced Trent's teachings and his actions as head of the Scourgers. She doesn't hate Caleb, and in fact still cares for him immensely, but she refuses to comprehend that Trent has ever lied to her, and considers everything she's done to have been for the greater good.
• Yasha does not rage at all during her pit fight, and at one point she pulls her punches. It's clear that she wants to be beaten up to atone for her time with Obann. Caduceus catches on, it's hinted that Jester does as well, and Caleb understands immediately.

Episode 90: Bathhouses and Bastions

• Jester attempts to begin researching Mollymauk's tarot cards in order to better use them. In the process she discovers that the tarot cards are actually a handmade set dedicated to the Moonweaver, and that while it is used to the point that some cards are barely legible anymore, several other cards just have crude sketches on them or are left entirely blank. Upon realizing that the deck is a work of art made by Mollymauk that he never got to finish, she immediately breaks down in tears.

Episode 91: Stone To Clay

• Beau asks Caduceus why he hasn't tried to scry on his family. Caduceus admits that while he is on his journey and believes that it is the right one, he is also protecting himself from what he might find. However, his time with the Nein has led him to question some of what he thought he knew about his quest. Crosses over with Heartwarming.
• A Tear Jerker on multiple fronts. Firstly, Caleb, Nott, and Essek finish the spell needed to transform Nott back into a halfling. This takes Nott by surprise; she did not expect that it would happen so soon, or so easily, and she is deeply insecure about what it will mean for her even though she very much wants to take her old form back. Her goblin form has affected her mind on some level, so she worries that she will look at the Nein differently if she turns back. The Nein reassure her that they will completely support her in whatever she chooses, and that she will be one of them no matter what, so she goes through with it... only for the spell to fail. There is a curse angle to the initial transformation, and it will not release her so easily. So, even though she has what she needs to become Veth Brenatto again, she can't just yet.

Episode 92: Home is Where the Heart Is

• Yasha and Caleb have a heart to heart about dealing with their pasts. Crosses over with Heartwarming.
  Yasha: How do you deal with it?
  Caleb: Is it that obvious?
  • Yasha cannot handle the Nein's forgiveness. She could handle anger, she lives there, but she just can't handle forgiveness. Caleb talks her through it as much as he can, and asks her not to leave them. Then the conversation turns to a woman Caleb loves (revealed in a later Talks Machina to be Jester). Yasha doesn't know all the details, but as a widow she knows the importance of not leaving things unsaid.
• Everything that Beau ends up going through in this episode as her confidence and composure slowly erode from the moment she realizes that her past and Nott's have a very familiar connection: a witch that exchanges boons for "fragments of fortune". And it only gets worse from there:
  • Not wanting to go back home at all, even revealing to those not already informed that she was taken from home by the monks, that her father actually slapped her as she was dragged away, and reluctantly going for the sake of finding a lead on how to help Nott.
  • Seeing Jester be so happy as she gushes about her relationship with her father The Gentleman, she withdraws further and further into herself, reminded of what she never got with her own dad.
  • Admitting to Fjord that the Mighty Nein are her first real family, not wanting to think about the past as they're not in it, feeling happy for the first time in so long and scared of losing that feeling, and that she feels like even after she was taken away that she was STILL being scripted to be something else... and that she likes who she became but is still terrified because she's always known such a moment to be inevitable.
  • Approaching Kamordah and putting up her "walls" once again, and Jester recognizing that it's all too similar to the persona she had the day they first met.
  • Stepping back inside the Lionett estate for the first time in three years, and a heavily stilted reunion with her mother and her first meeting with her brother, Thoreau Jr., and upon asking if she was already pregnant with TJ when she was taken away, her mother's silence answers that for her.
  • The tense conversation with her father, as he admits his fault yet never truly apologizes for it. It's gaslighting at its most subtle, as Beau is left confused as to whether she should feel validated or vindicated. In other words, she's left with even more doubts as to what's she doing for herself, and whether ANYTHING she's done was because of her father's actions or in spite of them.
    • It could've even been worse had she not asked the Mighty Nein to stay with her for the entire thing.
  • And finally, at the very end of the episode, she fully breaks down in tears as the Mighty Nein embrace her as a found family.

Episode 93: Misery Loves Company

• Beau's offering to Isharnai is her perpetual loneliness. She will turn her back on her position in the Cobalt Soul, her family, the Nein, everything that matters to her, if it means that Nott can be returned to her proper body. Her justification for it is heartbreaking as well, as she thinks she's essentially peaked and her life can only go downhill from here anyway. She is ultimately saved by Jester, which can only further her crush on her.
• The fact that Nott was willing to sabotage the possibility of peace between the Empire and the Dynasty just to get her body back. That she almost went that far shows just how painful the curse is for her.

Episode 94: With Great Power...

• Nott clearly expresses her dilemma now that her curse is lifted. If she sticks with the Nein, she will feel shitty about her perceived abandonment of Luc and Yeza. If she returns to Luc and Yeza, she will feel shitty about leaving the Nein while they still need her.

Episode 95: Blessing in Disguise

• Caduceus finds some of his family: his parents, his aunt, and one of his sisters... but they have been turned to stone by a giant gorgon, and they looked afraid. This hit both Caduceus and Taliesin hard.

Episode 96: Family Shatters

• As Caduceus's family members are restored, the mood shifts from jubilation to shock as everyone collectively realizes that one of the statues that got smashed by the bull was Caduceus's aunt, Corrin. Nott, Jester and Beau immediately start trying to piece her back together, but the rest of the Clay family is frozen in horror the entire time. Even once Caduceus snaps out of it and starts coordinating people, he is very obviously shaken.
• Jester is upset to find that they probably can't help the people whose statues have been smashed too badly.

Episode 97: The Fancy and the Fooled

• Caleb is deeply hurt at the discovery that Essek is a traitor. He had suspected him all this time, had just abandoned his suspicions... and then had them confirmed.
  Caleb: I feel like a fool.
• The Nein confront Essek on his actions, and find that he is remorseful.
  Essek: There's nothing worse than betraying people you care about before you even came to care about them.

Episode 98: Dark Waters

• Fjord and Orly are killed by an agent of Uk'otoa.

Episode 99: High Seas, High Stakes

• Taliesin rolls a total of 11 on his roll to resurrect Fjord. While it turns out to be just enough to bring Fjord back to life, there was a very tense moment before Matt revealed that, and when Caduceus follows up with a third level Cure Wounds, Taliesin's voice is cracking and his hands are trembling (moreso than normal).
  • Caleb is completely silent during the whole ordeal and, going by Liam's acting, seems to have a very hard time grasping or accepting the situation.

Episode 103: Maritime Mysteries

• Jester and Artagan have a conversation about having Traveler Con on Rumblecusp. Artagan admits that, while he preferred his plan worked as intended, the memory-sucking effect of the island was his backup. He claims that, if things went sideways, he would have rescued Jester and "everyone of import," which basically just means the Nein. Jester is shaken.
• When the Nein wake up, the memory loss has taken hold of some of them, leaving them with heavy amnesia about very significant figures in their lives.
  • Jester forgets everything about both of her parents. For all she loves her mother, and all the effort she went through to find her father, they are wiped clean from her mind.
  • Fjord struggles to remember his own name at first, and has completely forgotten about Vandren, the man who was like a father to him.
  • Yasha's is perhaps the harshest, because the memories she loses are of people who are long deceased, and who she is still mourning. She forgets her wife's name, and when pushed by the rest of the Nein to think of Mollymauk, only remembers a colorful coat, not who it belonged to.

Episode 105: Rumble at Rumblecusp

• Jester has a breakdown during the heroes' feast, admitting that she has no idea what she's doing in regards to planning Traveler Con, leading to subsequent breakdowns about how she's scared about how her relationship with the Traveler has become so strained and complicated, and that it's hard for her to even consider sharing him. The Nein do their best to comfort her.
  • Laura later confirms on Talks that that moment, along with the other, smaller breakdowns while on Rumblecusp, have helped Jester get past the point of “needing to put on the mask”.
• Yasha's dream where she gets her wings fully feathered. The last thing holding her back? Hearing Zuala's voice. And yet, Yasha chooses to let go and be free of the chains of her guilt, prompting this response from her wife: "I'm proud of you. Don't let me be a shackle."
• Matt later confirmed on Talks as to who could've been on the receiving end of Disintegrate had it been reflected: he thought for a moment to reflect it to Jester, as she was the one that banished him to the Astral Sea. But he and Liam confirmed later on that the target would have been Caleb because he was the one who cast the spell in the first place, and the second thought was due to Caleb's Ring of Evasion that would have guaranteed his survival even if he failed the saving throw.
  • Liam also revealed why did he choose Disintegrate to deal with Vokodo: because the late hour, the stressful fight, and the continuous changes of plan caused him to forget about Vokodo's ability to reflect the spells until it was too late to change for him to change his mind. Luckily it worked out in his favor, but for 60/90 seconds of gameplay he was genuinely freaking out at the idea of having just killed one of his friends' characters because of his oversight.

Episode 106: A Fog Lifted

• Many people were hurt by the sudden return of their memories, and now they all have to decide whether to go or stay.
  • Some of the villagers, renamed by their time on the island, choose to embrace their new identities because they've been on Rumblecusp so long, or because they don't know what they would go back to.
  • Some of the villagers had been in Vo long enough to have children. Imagine being in a happy relationship and having kids, then waking up one day to remember you are actually someone else and were already married (possibly with other children) back home. Matt says there were several "awkward conversations" among the village's families that day.

Episode 107: Devoutness and Dicks

• A joyful tear jerker, anyway, as after 20 years in universe, Keyleth is finally reunited with her mother.

Episode 108: Traveler Con

• The barside conversation between the Empire Kids, Veth, and Yasha. Caleb wants to do right by going back to the mainland, stressing that while he does need the Nein by his side, he specifically pleads that Veth (his best friend) and Beau (his partner) come with him to make right. And all of their admissions and such of their concerns and fears are all equally heartbreaking, with Beau finally opening up about her fear of losing the Mighty Nein and the reasoning behind her offer to Isharnai in her darkest hour, Veth's conflicting loyalties to the Nein and to her husband and son, and Yasha not having anywhere else to go.

  Beau: This is all I have is the Mighty Nein. To the point of where I was so desperate to control the situation of how I theoretically lost you all by attempting to sacrifice myself to that hag. Because... I guess I thought if I could control the way that this ended, even if it's as innocuous as growing apart, that might be less painful. Because even the thought of simply becoming distant means that that would be the second family that that would have happened to with me, so... I'm all in.
  Veth: Honestly, I'm a bit conflicted myself. I mean, I definitely want to help, but I've got to go home at some point. And not just to Felderwin. I mean to my family. I want to help, of course. I love the Nein as well. But, at the same time, that feeling of throwing your arms around your child that you haven't seen in a long time is on my mind. And I need to do it.
  Yasha: I haven't even thought that far ahead, but I don't have a home. I don't even know if my tribe is alive. And it's not like I would want to go back to them anyway. You all are the only family that I have, so I... I want to be wherever you are, if that's okay.

• Artagan is bound in chains and lifted off by an avatar of the Moonweaver, with Jester trying to hold on to him. Both Jester and Laura are visibly broken when the avatar says that Artagan is going to return to the Feywild as punishment for impersonating a god.
  • Though this turns out to be not only a a test by the Moonweaver to see if Artagan learned anything about messing with others, but also to extend an offer to Artagan's followers to follow the Moonweaver.

Episode 109: Frigid Preparations

• Caleb gains the Teleport spell, allowing Veth to stay in Nicodranas with her family for one more night. The Nein are fully supportive of this, but Caleb is visibly saddened by the prospect of heading off somewhere without Veth.
  • Veth takes her family out to a fancy restaurant that evening. It is remarked that that is a fantasy in 2020.

Episode 110: Dinner with the Devil

• Caleb wants to see if Astrid and Eodwulf are redeemable. He hopes that they are, but he doubts it.
• During the dinner, Caleb asks Eodwulf and Astrid about how they feel about their parents' deaths. From their answers it becomes clear that at some point they found out that they were actually innocent, but they think about their deaths as a noble sacrifice for the Empire's sake, comparable to a soldier dying on the battlefield. Caleb visibly fights not to cry.
• Jester reveals that she was sometimes bullied by the "mean girls" she met in Nicodranas during the rare times she went outside and tried to meet people.

Episode 111: New Homes and Old Friends

• In contrast to the love he put into his friends' rooms, Caleb sleeps in a hidden attic with nine rooms, one of which is a dirty reconstruction of the room he, Eodwulf and Astrid were tortured in.
  • And the secret password to access these hidden rooms? "Fort, doch nicht vergessen", loosely translated as "gone, but not forgotten".
• The party return to Molly's gravesite on the Glory Run Road.
  • The first thing that happens when they arrive is Beau reaching out for Yasha's hand, who squeezes it tight, and considering they made no effort to assist in digging the body up, it's implied that they didn't let go even once.
  • The grave digging, in particular. The first sign that something's wrong (which went unnoticed to the party) is that the dirt is looser, foreshadowing the shoe-dropping to come.
  • Next, they find no trace of the body, even after digging six feet into the ground. Then they find his iconic and beloved coat buried in the dirt several feet away.
  • Finally, Jester casts Scrying once more (after having seen Cree in a blizzard earlier) and sees a purple tiefling walking through the same blizzard, with Cree beside him. Their good friend appears to be gone and, potentially, Lucien has reclaimed the body.

Episode 112: The Chase Begins

• The shot of Molly's grave in the Opening Credits has been updated to reflect the events of the last episode. The snow has melted away, it's pouring rain and the ground looks disturbed. A gust of wind stirs the coat and eventually blows it completely off the staff causing the raven to fly away.

Episode 114: An Open Window

• Lucien's short conversation into Jester's scrying sensor, as well as the fact that he murdered Vess in cold blood in her own bed (despite what she may have done to him in his previous life, it was a gruesome and terrifying way to die if her corpse was anything to go by) proves more or less that any trace of Mollymauk Tealeaf is either dead or buried so far inside of Lucien's psyche that bringing him back may be nigh-impossible outside of extremely powerful magic.
• Beau's check-in with Yasha due to her reaction to Trent's telepathy during the dinner, while funny and soft, also had a couple of sad moments: Yasha still being broken up about the fight in the Chantry, having thought about it every single day and being afraid and unsure about what she would've done if anything happened to Beau because of her; and Beau quietly admitting "No one's ever written me a poem before," visibly moved by such a simple gesture of appreciation.

Episode 115: Fetching Fables and Frosty Friends

• Investigating through the entrance of the cave at the excavation site, the Mighty Nein find five frozen, violently slaughtered corpses hidden by the snow. As to confirm that they were meant to represent the Nein themselves, at least one of them has no recognizable features, two are humans and one is a goblin. The implication that Mollymauk/Lucien blames the Mighty Nein for his second death is upsetting.
• Jester's sending to Mollymauk/Lucien, and the complete lack of humor is subtly heartbreaking. Her usual exuberance and Motor Mouth tendencies are completely absent, and her subdued tone makes it clear how upset she is by the entire situation.
  Jester: Why are you doing this? What do you even want from us? We just miss you. I thought you were our friend. Anyway, we're here.

Episode 117: The Tortoise and The Dare

• The general reaction to Lucien's speech. Not only he does he not remember the Mighty Nein, but according to him, Mollymauk was nothing but a stray fragment of his soul, and now that it is back together again Molly is now gone forever. To some of the Mighty Nein it felt like they saw Molly die a second time.
  • Veth, just like she did back when Molly revealed his backstory, encourages him to try and remember the missing pieces of his past. Lucien replies that his past as Molly is not important, just like Molly considered his past life as Lucien not important.
  • Yasha gives him back the four-leaf clover Molly gave her with her book, the gift that inspired her to start her collection of flowers for Zuala. Lucien realizes how important it is for her and accepts to take it back.
• Caduceus asks the group, as an external observer of the events, if they followed the Tomb Takers with the intention to stop them from the beginning or if it was an attempt to take back their former friend. The reaction of most of them makes it clear that they believe Lucien - they think Mollymauk is gone forever and all they can do now is to stop Lucien from doing whatever he is planning for the Eyes of Nine. Yasha, however...
  Yasha: I would love to have my friend back.
• Jester consults the tarot cards that once belonged to Molly. She finds out that the illustration of the card she drew, the Magician and the Tinker, was inspired by Caleb and Nott, and it is not the only card dedicated to the Mighty Nein.
  • Jester asks Caleb what they should do, as she drew his card. Caleb tearfully admits he has no idea of what they are doing ever since Lady DeRogna died, and that he is scared about how the situation is evolving and the consequences the Mighty Nein could end up to face once they will be back in Wildemount.
    • Before going to sleep, Caleb visits one of the rooms on the eighth floor of the tower. He sits down, looks to a bed torn apart and starts to talk aloud to someone. It is not clear if it is the memory of Astrid and Eadwulf or if he is talking about himself or a mix of both, but it clearly shows how much he wants to make the Empire a better place, how little he trusts himself to do this on his own, and how he desperately wants the important people from his past to understand his reasons and help him.

Episode 120: Contentious Company

• While he’s on watch, Caleb notices Jester leaning on Fjord’s shoulder, and Liam’s describes a glimpse of recognition in his eyes. He spends the rest of his watch petting Frumpkin for comfort.

Episode 121: Ice and Fire

• During the night watch, despite a mostly heartwarming and funny conversation, Beau confides in Fjord why she wants a fresh start with Yasha: because the extent of contact they've had was through fighting each other (and at one point, Beau almost dying by her own hand). Is it any wonder why she wants a new beginning so badly?
  Beau: I just want a fresh start with Yasha because we've been through so much. I was thinking about it the other day. I've fought Yasha, like, four times in hand-to-hand combat. We've had more physical contact through beating the shit out of each other than anything else.

Episode 122: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

• As Matt is describing the eye on Beau’s hand, Marisha closes her eyes and clenches her jaw while muscles jump in her neck. You can see her saying goodbye to a character she loved, as she assumes (like everyone else) that Beau will betray the party.

Episode 126: Worth Fighting For

• Beau follows Astrid after her meeting with Caleb and finds her seated on the ground in an alley, hugging her knees to her chest and slowly crying. The reason is unclear, but the Nein speculate that she is conflicted about whom her loyalty should go to.

Episode 128: Cat and Mouse

• Laura as Jester is explaining to Marion that they have powerful people after them, and agoraphobic Marion will need to come with them as they leave Nicodranas. The shame and regret that is was Jester who led Ikithon to the Ruby shines through as Jester tears up, and Liam visibly has to fight tears as well.
  Liam: That made me want to De Niro cry.

Episode 129: Between a Ball and a Hot Place

• Luc is killed during the fight with the guardian. Caduceus brings him back, but Veth is profoundly shaken by the experience.

Episode 130: The Calm Before The Storm

• After Caduceus's sister Calliope tries to convince him to stay home, he walks out without a word. The two of them then have a conversation where he reveals how desperately lonely he was in those ten years alone, and how much he wishes he didn't have to go.
  Caduceus: It has to be me because I've already seen it, and it will just horrify me just a little less than the rest of you.
  • In particular, Caduceus reveals that once his family left, it felt like time stopped having meaning, and that even the Wildmother wasn't speaking to him. Eventually he'd started collecting lilies and eating the petals because he'd heard somewhere that they were the most magical plant in the Grove, but all he'd get from them were terrible nightmares. It speaks to just how lonely he was that he'd regularly eat very toxic flowers just to find some semblance of connection to his goddess, and how, despite never having wanted to leave the grove, he jumped at the chance to go with a group of strangers he'd only just met.
• Caleb's monologue towards the end of the episode implies Frumpkin's default form is based on a real cat he once had who died, likely in the same fire that killed his parents. In his monologue, he tells Frumpkin that even if he does survive the coming attempt to deal with Lucien and the Tomb Takers, he is willing to let Frumpkin go free to go back to the Feywild permanently.
  Caleb: You've been a good companion all this time. Actually, it's a win-win for you because... if we all die out there, you get to go back to where your home is. But if we do make it back, I'm going to let you go anyway. Because... you're not my cat. My cat is dead.
• The fact that most of the Mighty Nein are convinced they're all going to die. Not even Jester thinks they're going to make it, and she admits to Fjord that she lied to her mother that she would come back if things got dicey. You just really want to give them all a big hug.

Episode 131: Into the Eye

• As the Nein are camping in the dome on their way to the outpost, the topic of conversation lands on what they want the others to do for them if they die. Some requests are humorous, but there's a strong undercurrent of resigned grief. Fjord solemnly promises to care for their next of kin, Veth wants Yeza to be able to remarry and move on, and Caleb, Beau and Yasha don't have any requests, as they no longer have families outside the Nein.
  • Before they go to sleep, Jester asks Caleb if he can make "pretty images" on the inside of the dome again. Caleb starts a fire, and uses Control Flames to make images of their homes, loved ones, and happy memories of their past, until they all finally fall asleep. Doubles as Heartwarming.

Episode 139: Rebirth

• During the fight with Lucien, Jester calls out to the fragment of Molly inside him, confessing that she's always blamed herself for his death.
  • In general, each of the Nein calling out to Molly. Lucien's reactions imply that their friend is still in there somewhere, but they have no choice but to attack with no mercy to stop Lucien.

Episode 140: Long May He Reign

• Yasha having an illusion of a bloody Zuala asking her, "Why did you leave me?"
• During the fight, both Jester AND Caleb die fighting the final boss. Jester is revived during combat and Caleb is revived after but even the idea that this is the end for these characters was enough to send a lot of critters into emotional distress.
  • Just before she dies, Jester mutters out "Arty..." then collapses.
    • Matt visibly winces from the display.
  • After Jester is killed, Caleb wails Jester's name and telepathically yells to Lucien, "You're killing her! You're killing her! You love her! You're killing her!" It doesn't get through to Lucien. Molly, however, starts tearing at his face, leaving bloody scratches.
• The cast moves to revive Mollymauk, everything succeeds on the player's side. 114 episodes after Molly's death, everything comes down to a single roll of the dice from Matt. It's a nat 1. Mollymauk fails to be revived. Cue the entire cast (and everyone watching at home) in shocked disbelief that they fought so hard, only to fail right at the end.
  Essek: It's not fair. It's not fair. We fought so hard... It's not fair. I spent my whole life studying to not let things like this fall to chance. That can't be it, can it?
  Fjord: (Beat) I don't know.
  • Matt's narration is equally somber, describing the spell fizzling out, unable to locate and/or restore the fraction of a being they are looking for.
  • Quickly changes to tears of joy when Caduceus casts Divine Intervention, leading to Mollymauk’s successful resurrection! Credit goes to all parties present for contributing to the somber, emotional mood, but special note to Taliesin for selling the gravity of the moment in every single way that matters, in particular through Caduceus' soft, simple prayer.
  Caduceus: Whoever it was, just put it back. I think they've earned it. Put it back.

Episode 141: Fond Farewells

• Caleb unbinds Frumpkin as he promised, who rubs against Caleb's leg and looks forlornly at his former master before disappearing into the scrub.
• It turns out that Mollymauk is still dead, and the person inhabiting the body is someone new. Kingsley, as he dubs himself, has some memories of both Molly and Lucien and is very similar in personality, but it's still very obvious that he is not the friend they knew.
• Astrid's breakdown when she makes the choice to spare a bound and depowered Trent Ikthion; Matt really sells her cry of frustration and trauma as she throws her sword aside and sinks to the ground weeping. She had been a ruthless assassin in Trent's name, but she had suffered at his hands just as much as Caleb, perhaps even more so; it's hard not to feel sorry for her.
• As the Nein prepare to head off to Rexxentrum, Veth and Caduceus each say their goodbyes. They've reached the end of their road with the Nein; it's time for them to be with their families. However, they will both be there for their friends when and if needed.
• Caleb finally returns to his hometown and finds his parents grave. He pulls out the book he keeps strapped under his left arm, which is revealed to have been filled with letters he wrote them in his grief, and breaks down in tears as he promises to try and become the man they wanted him to be. He then teleports it into their grave, so that he finally had given them his letter.
• Matt's epilogue, visibly fighting back tears and barely succeeding:
  "The tale of seven friends, became eight, then nine. Wild swells of adventure and love and guilt and redemption. Family. Truth. This story comes to a close tonight. But the tale of the Mighty Nein lives on and who knows, maybe we'll have the chance to see some of them again in some shape or form. I love you guys so much."

Campaign Wrap-Up

• While the way it was revealed was hilarious, the revelation that the rest of the Nein had a contingency plan to kill Caleb and Beau if they ever wound up with nine eye tattoos is a bit awful to think about.
• Much as before, by the end of the video and the campaign all wrapped up after the Nein manage to earn a happy ending, everybody's in tears. Even Matt, who does his usual Signing-Off Catchphrase clearly struggling to hold back a few tears.