Scanlan: "I'm not opposed to being called daddy." And it was at this moment that thousands of critcal role fans inwardly cringed in horror knowing what was coming.

Travis Willingham as Grog is the best example of a character that in so many other stories wouldn't ever have so much dimension, but in this one he has so damn much. Also his acting in the episode is so fantastic. His screams of pain as well as the sheer terror in his voice when he thinks Pike might die are so visceral and uninhibited. It's just so damn good.

@JnEricsonx

Ай бұрын

I am so happy I've met Travis, and will again in 2 months.

The battle against Kevdak is widely considered one of the best battles in the entire campaign. I highly recommend checking out the clip of the game during it. The hype of Grog getting that final blow in was *insane* after such a brutal drag out fight. "Vox Machina, Fuck Shit Up!" remains one of the best battle cries.

@y813lnJack

3 күн бұрын

@@VegetaLF7 and if you do check out that fight I need you to understand the energy around it. They removed all their dice from the area and got Wil Wheaton to show up to say hi cause that guy has the worst dice luck. They got him to come check out the board (Matt already revealed it so they weren't after secret info) and pick up Kevdak and just tried to jynx Matt with the curse. Matt actually picked up toothpicks while out with at least Marisha but I believe a good chunk if not all of them to use on the spike barrier that Grog was stabbed on. It was awesome (they have a video of the Wil Wheaton meet up I suggest watching too).

About Grog’s timeline. You got the flashback wrong. Grog when younger saved Wilhelm. The same old gnome that helped him get his strength back. After Kevdak almost killed Grog Wilhelm saved Grog along with younger Pike. That was black-haired Pike. Not her mom. Her hair went white, just like Percy from trauma. Half giants live almost as much as humans. Maybe a bit shorter lifespans.

So much to add from the Campaign! The Grog Pokeball attack was faithful to the improvised move by Laura Bailey at the table, an epic in game moment that shocked even Mercer However, if any other player had killed Kevdak, the herd would not have stopped fighting and the party may have lost. Grog was already heavily damaged. At the table, the Herd was even stronger bc they had a spell caster, which was omitted to streamline the animated battle The Kaylee reveal was all Matt Mercer - even Sam did not know it was coming. All a long con by a DM

@billbishop6109

Ай бұрын

What is funny is that Matt named her not realizing that Sam had based Scanlan Shorthalt after Marshall Mathers, being discovered by Dr Dre and having a daughter Kayleigh.

@CeliriaRose

Ай бұрын

@@billbishop6109 Just a slight correction. Eminem's daughter is named Hallie not Kayleigh.

@billbishop6109

Ай бұрын

@@CeliriaRose Right… thanks for the correction

the biggest thing i think some misunderstand about grogs lesson here his strength comes from his friends, literally, its not that sappy Shonen bs, yes his love for his friends and wanting to stand up for people leads him to fight, but he is not strong alone, if he had been alone here even if he was fighting for his friends he'd of been killed so fast, he's strong because he has Vox Machina, he has pike to buff and heal him, he has Scanland and vex who can apply debuffs(like trapping people in the vines) Percy who can plan and do a good bit of damage himself, his rivalry with Vax that pushes him to keep getting stronger, and Keylith does a few of these herself as a druid(debuffs with spells and damage with her wildshapes) everyone in the party has a part to play, Grog is great at damage dealing and soaking up damage but that lone doesn't win you a fight, no matter how much you love your friends

@PristineTX

Ай бұрын

Absolutely those aspects are completely true. But it’s even more simple than those mechanical D&D things. It is core to Grog’s character. The key line from Earthbreaker Groon isn’t actually “Where does your strength come from?” (“Where do you find your strength?” In the game session.) The key line is actually when Groon tells him “You walk between worlds…weakness in mind and weakness in conviction.” (This line is unchanged from the original table session version, and for good reason, it is a perfect, concise analysis of Grog’s character.) THAT’S what Grog’s weakness is WITHOUT HIS FRIENDS. He is stupid and has no focus. Those are aspects he can only overcome with his friends. They can help him navigate a complex world with his simple mind. They can inspire his fierce loyalty to push him farther and fight harder as a warrior than he ever would if on his own. Grog doesn’t have it within himself to do great things, but if he is fighting for someone else, he is near unstoppable. And if he has a team behind him, adding their skills as you mentioned, his force is certainly multiplied. When Groon said he already showed him the way, he was telling the truth. He gave him an answer the warrior’s way - telling him what his weaknesses were so he could improve.

@manahakume9870

Ай бұрын

@@PristineTX trruuue XD i guess i just simplify it to much lol most of the time when i post this people try to argue with me that i'm wrong cause it is that shonen 'i fight for my friends so i cant lose' bull XD like no, i just don't respond to them cause they are to stupid to argue with, love to see someone expand on my takeaway :D

Gnomes live for hundreds of years. Grog has a fairly normal life span and was young when he saved Wilhand. Wilhand is just very very old.

In the original campaign, when Vex dropped Grog out of the amulet and he did a dropping attack on Kevdak, Travis rolled a nat 20, which allowed him to get the killing blow. Unfortunately, the damage from the fall brought him down to 0 hp

@playlistb3795

Ай бұрын

I believe it was even crazier, as it was a 1 and a 20, Reckless Attack for ya

@quinnbrentson151

Ай бұрын

He also did it knowing that he couldn't survive. It was a 50' drop with single digit (possibly 1?) Hp.

@Becky31389

Ай бұрын

​@@playlistb3795correct, I remember this moment so we'll. Travis literally had 1 HP left and chose to drop on Kevdak recklessly, giving him advantage on the roll. His first roll was a nat 1, second was a nat 20 and he got the HDYWTDT. Sometimes, the dice just decide to tell an epic story 😁

@Becky31389

Ай бұрын

​@@quinnbrentson151yepp, Travis literally had 1 HP left. I remember this moment so well. Sometimes, the dice just decide to tell an epic story 😁

@pierluigidipietro8097

18 күн бұрын

​@@Becky31389 that happened multiple times in critical role. Just remember what happened at the very end of campaign 2

Pike's grandfather is Henry Winkler, and Grog's final hit was a nat 20 in game.

Somebody already replied with the basics, but to clarify some details: Wilhand Trickfoot, AKA Pop-Pop, the old man that helped cure Grog's corruption after Kraven Edge sapped his strength, is Pike's great great grandfather. Gnomes are super long lived. He basically raised Pike, and after Grog saved him, he became a surrogate parent to him as well. Pike was the one that healed Grog after Kevdak almost kiled him, and they basically grew up as siblings after that. Pike is estranged from the rest of her family.

The story behind it is quite fascinating too! Like Grog was 3HP or something when Vex put him in the amulet, and then he rolled a Nat 20 on that "Death from above" attack that killed his uncle... It's just so good and satisfying when the dice cooperate

Grog, and other Goliaths, have a typical humanoid lifespan of 75-90 years. Gnomes are the second longest lived race at 500+ years (Scanlan is 69 during the events of Vox Machina). The main confusing thing about the flashback is bebe Pike being shown with her natural dark hair, which changed during events that took place when the group played before streaming.

@iancody3215

Ай бұрын

69 nice!😊

@grizzledwizard7129

Ай бұрын

Scanlan is 69?? Ugh why am I not surprised lmao well played 😂

@zammis17ify

29 күн бұрын

That is not Pike, it's her mom. She says 'thank you for saving my great grandfather' while healing Grog. Not to mention that Pike had no idea thats how her great-great (she corrects Grog on this) grandfather met Grog.

@johnobrien7562

28 күн бұрын

@@zammis17ify no. it is Pike. it's specifically from her backstory in her campaign. Pike said that she had no idea about Grog's terrible backstory, only that he'd saved her great-great-grandfather. "She [Pike] lived a peaceful life, quiet and simple, until one day, Wilhand was captured and almost killed by a group of goliath barbarians. One of the goliaths took a stand against the murder of the innocent gnome, and he himself was beaten, bloodied, and left for dead, abandoned by his herd. Wilhand went to Pike for help. She prayed, and healed this barbarian as best she could, bringing him back to life. When he awoke, she discovered his name was Grog Strongjaw. "

@zammis17ify

28 күн бұрын

@@johnobrien7562 I understand that's what they did in the campaign but the dialogue for the show indicates that's her mother. The healer says "thank you for saving my grandfather" while Pike literally corrected Grog two scenes earlier to remind him Wilhand was her great-GREAT grandfather ("two greats"). So while I understand that the campaign went in a different direction, but there would be no need for Grog to explain his backstory in the show if she had been there.

Was super excited for you to get to this episode. My favorite episode of the series so far, and that fight is probably a 3-way tie of my favorite fight scenes in any show or movie. If you get time, I'd recomend watching either the whole episode of "The Killbox" from the let's play campaign or look for a recap / highlight reel for that episode. That whole fight was basically the whole 3.5 to 4 hour episode from the let's play. Glad you enjoyed the episode!

"I hope you enjoyed my reaction..." Yes, always. Glad you could get this one out, I've been looking forward to this. So commenting for the algorithm! :)

The Kill Box is perhaps the closest Vox Machina got to a TPK at that point; the herd were true to their name and relentless, a caster - Greenbeard - was particularly protected and proved difficult, it also required Grog to kill Kevdak, nobody else. And boy it was close, had Grog missed the pokeball drop - which was on table, as was the 'for Strongjaw' battle cry - he would've been done, he literally fell unconscious after bisecting Kevdak. The Titanstone Knuckles has Siege (double damage to objects and structures), increases their strength stat (22 minumum, Kevdak's was up to 24 but it can go up to 26 with improvement) and gives the user Enlarge/Reduce for 10 minutes once a day, when in effect they're resistant to fire, cold, lightning and thunder damage. Indeed, the daughter twist caught everyone by surprise, including Sam, close to a Zeus incident there.

BRUH THIS EPISODE IS FIRE 0:17 GOOD LUCK

In the live show, the first people to actually die this fight were some townsfolk prisoners who were burned to ashes from keyleth using a firestorm spell and not seeing they were in the crossfire. It really deflated the spells use lol

@johnobrien7562

Ай бұрын

Keyleth placed the Fire Storm to not hit any townsfolk. But Scanlan had already used his Wand of Fireballs and killed them by then.

@hhylobates4098

28 күн бұрын

They entirely cut the herd using human shields, probably so Vox could be seen to act so friendly with them after the battle

Hell yeah! I love Grog in this!

This was metal!!!!

Great reaction to a great episode. That battle is pretty accurate to the way it played out on the table - right down to epic player choices you would never script, lol. Grog was about to die and theb, well, that epic ending! I love that in this version they used it to combine and wrap several seperate Grog stories into a single story aboutbhim coking to terms with his past and who he is. Sam bringing We Will Rage as Scanalan made a great backing track as we get a chance to see everyone and their new skills really gel together ina single fight! Still one of my favourite episodes.

Well he meet both Pike and Wilhand at the same time, so he can't be that much older than Pike.

I had to thank Sam for MAKING When We All Rage. :)

This episode was truly epic

Great reaction. Loved this episode too

Waiting three whole weeks for my Vox dose was just brutal :(

@grizzledwizard7129

Ай бұрын

Trust me, I know! I've been battling the copyright monster with a sword and shield for weeks now 😅

@IlChatNoir17

Ай бұрын

@@grizzledwizard7129 ahhh that makes sense. I thought you were spreading the last episodes out as a way of coping with the wait before season 3 in October which is a tactic I respect lol

@davidbodor1762

Ай бұрын

@@grizzledwizard7129 Huh, judging by other vids, I didn't think copyright was that much of a problem on LOVM episodes.

@grizzledwizard7129

Ай бұрын

​@davidbodor1762 It's been smooth sailing, I think Episode 4 had some issues but for whatever reason this one got hit super hard

@davidbodor1762

Ай бұрын

@@grizzledwizard7129 I'm guessing it's the music? Music tends to be a magnet for copyright. and I think they released the sountrack separately from the show now too which could also mess with the automated content ID system.

Gilmore is a fan favorite. And yes, his first name is Sean.

@Becky31389

Ай бұрын

I think it's spelled Shaun though 👍🏻 (why there has to be 3 different ways to spell this name I'll never understand lol)

Craven edge absolutely would've been useful, in the actual dnd game travis VERY much wanted grog to hold onto raven edge just long enough to fight kevdak but the rest of the group was afraid of it taking control of him. Also not a big deal thinking it was pikes mom, it very much seems that way and I've seen a lot of people think that of they don't already know pikes hair was made white later on, they dint explain it at all.

one of my fav Grog moments as well. I believe Grog had like three hp left and Kevdac was hitting for double digits with each blow.

@Becky31389

Ай бұрын

Actually, Travis literally had 1 HP left and chose to drop on Kevdak recklessly, giving him advantage on the roll. His first roll was a nat 1, second was a nat 20 and he got the HDYWTDT. Sometimes, the dice just decide to tell an epic story 😁

This episode is so metal ❤️❤️❤️

RAGE! 🤘

Best fight so far. It was amazing in the game too. Highly recommend you watch the critical role episode of the same name.

Hell yea, finally

193 likes to 1 dislike... you are doing something right :D

i laugh so hard that i couldn't breathe on 6:14😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Grog is a much better fighter than Kevdak in terms of technique (at least in the show) - in a straight fight with no gauntlets, Grog would take him

When Grog destroyed the Sword, he just died and got rezzed afterwards. Which is boring. I really love that hey changed it to be more impactfull in itself, but by doing so, also keeping death from becoming Dragon Ball levels of pointless.

So why does no one get that the reason Keyleth didn't immediately jump at Vax's mid-battle confession wasn't because she didn't like him it was because she's insecure and inexperienced and has a ton on her plate?

@theshadowfax239

Ай бұрын

Because he kind of takes everything at surface level in these reactions I've noticed. And when he makes up his mind about something he'll ignore everything that contradicts that.

@grizzledwizard7129

Ай бұрын

The depth of my analysis is proportional to the depth of the media, just FYI 😂

@hhylobates4098

28 күн бұрын

Because they have even more on their plate now, Vax especially? And there hasn't really been proper growth yet for Keyleth, she just had a one-episode-feature granting a boost of confidence from the getting fire powers, but her insecurity and inexperice regarding her lacklustre social skills and conflict of duty should all still be there.