Brennan has stated that it takes him continuous conscious effort to not monologue like this all of the time.

@skyphy

3 ай бұрын

as someone with ADHD - I get it 😂

@aquatis1721

2 ай бұрын

BLeeM is absolutely an almost supervillain who just never had an inciting incident. Or went through an early redemption, who knows

@jamespryor5967

2 ай бұрын

@@aquatis1721 He has asked to be abbreviated as BLeeM, to avoid confusion with the many organizations abbreviated BLM.

@aquatis1721

2 ай бұрын

@@jamespryor5967 my bad, didn’t know that

@jamespryor5967

2 ай бұрын

@@aquatis1721 It’s cool.

I love how during Asmodeus' monologue everyone is all freaking out like "this is crazy" while Lou just sits there like "yep, this is all par for the course"

@thanatos7007

2 ай бұрын

I think that's just what Lou looks like when he's really uncomfortable. He also goes pretty nonplussed during the Calroy monologue, when he goes off in Ravening War and the recent Sophomore Year PvP.

@Lukegunter19

2 ай бұрын

4:33 Is when he realizes what’s about to happen. It took him only 10 seconds to know what Brennen was up to.

@Highwaym4n

Ай бұрын

I think, its one thing to see Brennan 'unfurl' on screen, and another to be in the room when it happens, And Lou and Abreya's reactions are nearly opposite, but, you can tell they have the experience. Abreya, shes seeing her favorite come up to bat, maybe, taking a note? Theres excitement for a performance yet to happen, Lou, .. Its reminiscent of a friend going 'dude, I love you to death, but when you get like this,.. I worry." And with the Critrole crew, I think they get to see something new, I cant say Ive seen all that Matt lays down, But I feel theres different arrangements,.. for different BBEG, Theres Dark, Ambivalent, Personal, Evil, And this is Brennan being very comfortable with mixing Personal/ Evil. This isnt wild undirected rage, Its not cold uncaring, collateral damage, This is Personal, Directed, Hatred. Not something you see often at the table, because its needed top tier collaboration, you need to know your players can take it and play in it.

@maegencorrell900

Ай бұрын

​@Lukegunter19 as soon as his posture changed, he knew some sh!t was about to go down. He's played enough campaigns with Brendon to read the room

@jakefisher3328

22 күн бұрын

Lou: yeeeeah....craaazy. (under his breath: just another damn thursday....). CRAZY.

Lou is so used to this shit he may be entitled to financial compensation

@kate8821

Ай бұрын

But still watching through his fingers; Lou is pure of heart.

@AndrewG99

24 күн бұрын

@@kate8821 Lou's reactions give me life. I love him so much.

Love watching Lou. He knew the look in Brennan's eyes. He knew where the Asmodeus speech was going and just went into PTSD mode.

@popburnsy3207

Ай бұрын

It's the tone of Mulligan's voice. Need to catch him monologuing

@felixst-gelais6722

Ай бұрын

omg you're right he turns around and does a "oh shit here we go" look

@rayzabel8789

2 күн бұрын

Props to Aabrea and Travis for picking up on it at the same moment. Although they didn't quite know how hard it was about to go.

@Zelmel

9 сағат бұрын

@@rayzabel8789 Travis is the sleeper hero of that entire series. His character is subtly (or not subtly) looked down on by the other characters, he full-on bails before the final fight, but he was super keyed in to what was happening and ended up somehow making the ending way less dark than it probably should have been.

Even though it’s played as a joke, the phrase “I’m all the bad guys” could absolutely go hard if said by certain villains

@hangover89

Ай бұрын

Yeah palpatine used that one, didn't work out so well

@jackbuchanan6441

Ай бұрын

@@hangover89 Well, that's what happens when you let Disney purchase the rights to your cool stories.

@ragon4517

19 күн бұрын

could work with a changeling bbeg!

@Zelmel

9 сағат бұрын

I once played in a Mutants and Masterminds (superhero TTRPG) in which the BBEG actually was all the villains, minus the one or two we turned to our side or defeated early, because he was one of those shapeshifting/absorbing types. It ended up being super cool.

"My greatest heartbreak is that when i have collected every last mortal soul, and my siblings, into my pit, I will only have eternity to punish them." is the hardest line ever spoken by anyone in the history of EVER

@pretentiousname01

2 ай бұрын

“Oh good you speak english” also goes hard

@mARTYR2010

Ай бұрын

see also, “what do you want me to tell your family”

@puck6080

Ай бұрын

"Where is your bulb now" was a hard line

@pretentiousname01

Ай бұрын

@@puck6080 facts. but that was Zac, not Brennan

@puck6080

Ай бұрын

@@pretentiousname01 Yeah but we're talking about the hardest line spoken by *anyone* in the history of *ever* lolol

I really love the subtitle “cake in hot ass pants” to really bring Calroy’s evil monologue home

@meganjones3427

2 ай бұрын

The finest pants in all of Candia!

The Lord of the Hells is a masterfully evil performance, but theirs something so personal about Calroy's betrayal. He was the trusted NPC, everyone's favorite. Right hand man up until the moment he put a blade in Amathar's back.

brennan monologuing for fucking ever then ending with “oh yeah and i kill your character” will never not be funny to me

Watching the Critical Role Crew *squirm* under the weight of the Full Brennan is something I can watch over and over.

I have never felt chills and such a profound sense of dread quite like watching the Asmodeus monologue for the first time, Brennan is truly in a League of his own

@skyphy

3 ай бұрын

Truly. He undestands philosophically what evil is, and can act it out without it being detached from reality, even in fantasy settings. Like, Aabria does an intimidating person extremely well, I can really feel it. But evil - that's much deeper than mean, and Brennan manifests it like no one else

@SeanBoyce-gp

2 ай бұрын

@@skyphyi think he understands that evil and good exist because of perspective and projection. I think Brennan's version of Amodeus doesn't even think himself "good." He sees himself as wronged and will do anything and everything in his power to see that wrong paid for. It's like, you do great once you can do the bad guy with a point of view that isnt inherently wrong but has manifested in a totally evil way. And then you can dig one step deeper and find the bad guy that doesn't hate everyone but cares only about themselves and their ends that the problem of opposition is just math. And that's kind of Calroy, kind of Robert Moses. And then there's that final layer down, the Asmodeus layer, where it's just pain. It's just pain and rage, and anything to inflict that pain back out into the world is justified. Not right, not good, but Just. Such a hard perspective to achieve. But I've always loved that Brennan's performance of Asmodeus here and in this series makes me occasionally wonder "but what if he *was* right? What if worship corrupted the Celestial beings that became the gods of Exandria?"

@magickmynd1296

Ай бұрын

@@SeanBoyce-gp villains whose perspective you can kind of understand or possibly empathize with are the best villains. And the writing! omg the dialogue is soooooo good

“To reach a hand down to someone they need to be BENEATH YOU…. and I am beneath NOBODY!”

The line "My greatest regret... is that I will ONLY have eternity to punish them." Might be the most EPIC line ever uttered

Lou and abria knowing that something absolutely fucked is about to come out of Brennan's mouth is The exandria campaign is golden

The part that really fuckin gets me with Calroy is HE MADE A BIT OMINOUS! They spent the season joking about war buddies watching each other shit and then BLeeM pulls that fucking line, UGH!

@trailblazer225

Ай бұрын

To get super nerdy, I think one of the reasons it really works is because, on a metatextual level, one of the ways storytellers signal that you can trust a character and that they're a true friend is by having them participate in the humor and be in on the bits. There's a sense that you only joke around and laugh with someone who you're truly bonded to. So when Calroy betrays Amethar, it's like... goddammit, man, I trusted you! It's kind of a two-pronged betrayal, both Calroy betraying Amethar and Brennan "betraying" us. So then when he brings back the bit and uses it as a threat this time, it kind of loops back around and suggests that, every time we heard this bit before and they were all laughing about it together, Calroy was silently thinking about how much he resents and hates Amethar, and he was putting on the humor as an act. So finally in this moment, when he really wants to twist the knife, he's like... "You thought we were friends because we laughed about this disgusting bit together? Go fuck yourself. I had the upper hand the whole time, and the only thing I feel about the bit is blinding rage that I had to pretend I didn't hate it and you." Like, the bit is still silly, but Calroy's boiling disgust and resentment about it only hits harder because it feels so incongruous with the dumb bit that's been hiding it the whole time.

@nyanbinary1717

Ай бұрын

Don't forget the group bit about coups, too. A king and queen can't coup, but a count can coup.

“…then he pulls the back of your head and rips your skin off of your skull.” 🥹

I still think the villain in A Crown of Candy has one of the best portrayals. Calls Amethar "lucky" for losing all of his siblings, some he killed himself, and getting a crown he never wanted. His view of the crown and what Amethar deals with is so completely different of what Amethar is actually going through. But you can still understand why he does what he does with his plans laid bare. He is a piece of... cake but he fully leans into it.

@odding3472

Ай бұрын

A crown of candy will still probably be one of my favorite campaigns ive ever watched. I just love game of thrones, but food

@Doomrider47

Ай бұрын

Of course the cherry on that cake? Brennan was actively trying to kill Amethar the entire time for a narrative device, and almost managed it with the fall.

@meganjones3427

Ай бұрын

I've always said this, he goes on a whole diatribe about Amethar's "good luck" in getting the crown, while also describing how the "luck" was largely his doing. Really, he put off the last step, overthrowing the king, for so long, he almost could've stopped there and just enjoyed being the right hand. In another world, Calroy could've been the obsessed best friend who would do anything to see Amethar succeed and ride with him. Just wild.

@cczwhite

Ай бұрын

Like a piece of cake! Omg I never noticed that😮❤

@MeonLights

Ай бұрын

@@cczwhite You're right that is another fun play on words. I was referencing the reaction to Calroy's betrayal, where Emily (I think? Maybe Siobhan?) calls him a "piece of.... cake", clearly implying that she calls him a POS xD

Lou’s face of “this shit again” in the EXU campaign will always kill me

God i love a good Mullilogue.

The secret is: Almonds.

@sebastiansparky1444

Ай бұрын

FUCKING YES!

The calroy monologue is one of the many villain monologues I listen to when I wanna go to sleep

@kalebgentes5328

2 ай бұрын

Are you ok? 😂

@peppa4412

Ай бұрын

It's weird for sure but I do that too.

7:22 Aabria points at Marisha who is sliding more and more under the table and giggles like "Yeah, that's the mood!"

@Thaxannadrote

Ай бұрын

Poor Travis, Sam, and Marisha were not prepared. They're sitting there going, "Man, and we thought Matt was bad with his whole wanting to strangle Vax thing..."

I can quote the whole Asmodeus monologue and i catch myself myself going “you are a bad first draft” often

the growl at "redemption" here (6:30) is probably the best delivery in the series, and one of the top 5 deliveries in Critical Role, if not the best. I could listen to him say this line for an hour and not get bored. gives me chills.

this needs his vampire the masquerade villain

@skyphy

2 ай бұрын

I haven't watched it. Do you have a link for me ?

@charlesbryant5897

2 ай бұрын

@@skyphy Its a LA by Night Episode where he plays a vampire hunter priest and he monologues so hard at Erica Ishii he makes their character and themselves question their entire philosophical outlook on life, I will look for it for you

@charlesbryant5897

2 ай бұрын

he's in Season 5 Episodes 4, 6, and 8 believe its the one-on-one scene at the beginning of episode 6

@Blue_Lunacy

2 ай бұрын

There was a compilation edit of Brennan as that priest. It was chilling to watch him played that character... Cold, unnerving and unwavering conviction personified.

@skyphy

2 ай бұрын

Thank you, I will def check it out

3:35 he had everyone at the table fuckin' terrified, and me too. Truly Asmodeus was one of Brennan's best characters. Chilling.

His monologue with the baseball bat in Candela Obscura was just straight up more disturbing than even any of these.

Ah yes. Let me sing you the song of my people. _🎶 Take me out to the ballgame... 🎶_

Where … the FUCK… is Brennan’s SCREENPLAY WITH ALL THIS AWESOME SHIT IN IT. I swear to god, GoT and LotR would have a run for their money.

@spiritskyes

Ай бұрын

He's got a webcomic, Strong Female Protagonist! It's illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag, creator of The Witch Boy, who has also worked in various roles on The Owl House and Star vs. The Forces of Evil-and incidentally, as long as we're talking DnD, wrote for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, too! Tragically, it's coming up on the six year anniversary of its going on indefinite hiatus, right at the start of its final arc, since Brennan and Molly are so busy with their other work. But it's still 100% worth the read!

Would love to see Matt’s first reaction to Brennan’s monologue from EXU

I will never EVER tire of rewatching Asmodeus's monologue. It's SO good. Chills every time.

Watching Aabria's eyes widen even further at "I will ONLY have eternity"

The reactions during the EXU clip are PHENOMENAL.

I imagine Brennan gives this look to anyone in the vicinity when he orders a chicken parm

Brennan tried so hard to kill Amathar lol he talked about it in an interview

The fact that I know every line of Calroy's betrayal speech really says something.

Marisha hiding under the table is a mood 😂

"I will only have eternity left to punish them." Goes unreasonably hard.

7:03 said SO nonchelantly after that performance lmao

Unrelated, but love the progress bar you put in the video! 👌

Aabria is all of us during the ExU bit. God.

*He stabs you in an area you'd die instantly* Proceeds to give a monologue to what would realistically be a corpse after two sentences.

@holysecret2

Ай бұрын

To be fair though, these are almost demigod-power level characters

@dontmisunderstand6041

17 күн бұрын

A god's whim does not care for the laws of mortality or reality. That's why they're called gods in the first place. Your soul proceeds to the afterlife if and when they deem it permissible. The audacity of some people, trying to die off cue during a monologue...

His game changer monologs as himself being a villian are my favorite

Marisha hiding behind the table is everything lol

The whole Asmodeus monologue is a masterwork of GMing, the best I have ever seen.

"to reach a hand down to someone, they need to be beneath u" rocked me to my CORE the first time i saw it

I love how young and innocent Lou was before Brennan 😅

not this video making me have a mild case of being attracted to brennan again 😭😭

@jg6861

26 күн бұрын

Mild please.

@cosmodusty

10 күн бұрын

unbelievably real

I love how some of the others are surprised during the monologues

“This is not who you are!!” “WHO AM I?” “You’re… not this!” 😂😂😂

@SamuelGeist

Ай бұрын

YOU'RE... JEAN VALJEAN!

I don't know what show this is from and have zero context, but that stabbing in in the beginning sounded so real I could feel the pain in my back.

Calroy is my favourite monolouge

Calroy really did feel the need to throw in like 5 one liners at the end

I love A Crown of Candy (and Ravening War), but holy shit is Calamity's big reveal there just STUNNING. Like from the start we all know it's going to end with certain things happening, but that shift was masterful. The entire last episode was just insanity.

Brennan is an amazing actor and GM

Love Aabria and Lou getting hyphy at the end of Brennans big bad monologue

amazing that both S-tier villain moments had the phrase "you wanna know what I always hated about {you}" embedded in them.

incredible acting

Thank you for reminding me how crazy good exu calamity is

Time to rewatch Crown of Candy

I forgot Marisha hid under the table, lol.

Why *does this man make being bad sound so good? Fixed your title for you.

@sewerentropy5217

Ай бұрын

nah seems perfectly fine as is!

Don't suppose anyone knows the music used during the first scene? It's great betrayal music

4:41 Lou leaning in because he knows some shit is going down makes me laugh every single time

His baddies are so compelling, because usually, they're not evil for evil's sake. They have human traits that exist in all of us. They're envious, they're arrogant, they're ambitious, they're petty, they're mocking and gloating, they're spiteful, they're vengeful, they're stubborn, they're proud, they're selfish. Having all that motivation keeps them grounded and believable, even the comedic baddies like Kalvaxus.

Critical role crew: 😱😱😱, Lou: 😶 same shit as per usual.

This needs Finnerty’s monologue from Candela Obscura Chapter Two.

4:22 they had to bleep out “sucking”?!?!?

Brennan Lee Mulligan? More like Big Long Monologue.

I'm Marisha at 7:27

Didnt amathar end up surviving that fall? thanks to rage

3:42 it should be shit instead of "shoot" and "shed". it's been a while since i watched acoc and "the last thing a man does before he dies is shoot himself" is a very VERY confusing statement. idk if u wrote them but please don't censor captions, especially by replacing curses with real words that then change the meaning of the sentence.

Brennan is as evil as evil can be. And I love him for that alone. Trust me folks, he's just playing nice in front of the cameras, and these monologues is just his opportunities to show the inner workings of his mind, to us all. A tiny peek, a little glimpse of the purest unsullied vitriol that mankind has ever witnessed. All those times he's acting goofy, it's just his cover act. You lot might not know it but I've seen those inner machinations of Brennan. I've been to these universes where he has trampled over people, I've seen the bloodbaths that ensued. Once he turned a toddler into a skiprope for the toddler's sister. Not in some magical fashion, no, in the most heinous and twisted fashions. As an observer who cannot intervene in any mortal affairs, Brennan Lee Mulligan, as you all know him, is a force to be reckoned with, the times he've looked into our observers' eyes, with a grin, and taking a bow as if it was nothing but a cute performance... In a sense, he is the purest soul to ever be, a trickster of the finest sort. You lot should be happy he went to your plane of existence, a truly magic void place, where this grand wizard can't use his powers.

It does looks cool, but why thaat long of a monologue?! 😂Thats the longest stab/convo/coffee chat i ever saw lmao

@_Moe

Ай бұрын

That's who Calroy is. Dude was waiting for DECADES to say all this shit to his "best friend" and he was that dramatic. Amethar was paralyzed for the whole speech and Calroy was reveling in it.

@sarahbearbabygirl

Ай бұрын

@@_Moe i don’t think OP realized that amethar was legit paralyzed by calroy in the moments before, so it was the only time calroy would get to air out all his grievances without any possible pushback, verbal or physical. amethar was forced into an immovable state while a man he considered his best friend confessed to have been orchestrating the murders (and attempted murders) of his sisters, children, friends, allies, and himself, as well as actively plotted against him for decades while amethar had obliviously allowed him to stay right by his side. calroy in any other circumstance would not have been able to take amethar, but in that moment when all his plans had finally come to fruition, he had all the time in the world to revel in his own success and let amethar know just how much of an imbecile he thought he was. i think the fact that he kept it to about 3 minutes shows calroy’s restraint as well as how long he probably practiced the exact words he wanted to say to amethar when he finally succeeded. imo calroy is the best D20 villain, and one of the best villains period.

All of these monologs have me believing that Brennan is one really bad days from going full super villain in real life 😂

LOUDquietLOUD

I would watch any of Brennan's campaings for him but the rest of the cast is so 😴😴😴😴

With each of these examples I can’t help but think of how my telepath character with a +18 insight would have thrown a wrench in his plans.

This clip shows why, in my opinion, Mulligan is a good performer and a terrible GM.

I cannot wait until this ends up animated like Legends of Vox machina.