Critical Recap: Critical Role C2E105 (Rumble at Rumblecusp)

Hello! Welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Dani Carr, Production Coordinator and Afraid of Vokodo. Let’s dive into our recap of Critical Role Episode 105 Rumble at Rumblecusp!

CALLING A KAIJU

As they discuss their plan to fight Vokodo, Jester brings up an idea – she could message the dragon turtle and entice him to come destroy the ships in Vokodo’s garage, thus enraging Vokodo and forcing him to come out of his lair and fight the dragon turtle (whom the Nein name Dieter). Since it only costs a sending spell, they encourage Jester to try it but Beau and Fjord don’t want to destroy every single ship that’s hoarded away. They have other, more limited ways off the island, but these ships also represent the villagers of Vo’s previous livelihoods. They all agree that the important thing is to give these villagers back their freedom of choice in their life and freedom from Vokodo’s influence.

The Mighty Nein weigh their various options. They could go to Vo and try to restore Terra, but they are low on components for greater restoration and they don’t know who Terra will be once she has her memories back. This goes for the other villagers as well, so they rule out visiting Vo to seek aid. Fjord suggests casting major image of an Astral Dreadnought to spook Vokodo, but they worry that the creature is too psychic to fall for it. They give Jester the go ahead to reach out to Dieter, hoping to convince him to come to Rumblecusp. Jester’s offer of treasure intrigues him, but he wonders why they would offer this to him, given that he just destroyed their ship.

They decide to leave him on the hook and message him back in the morning, since Jester is tapped on spells. Veth can understand Vokodo’s collector instinct and believes he would not want any of his precious items destroyed, so they feel confident in this potential Kaiju battle. Wanting to prepare for the fight tomorrow, Vilya casts transport via plants through a local tree and they return to their lagoon at Heavenfalls. They take refuge on Eden’s Horizon, attempting to fine-tune the plan and doling out their remaining components.

REBIRTH

An excited Jester casts her first ever heroes’ feast, creating a magical spread of pancakes, candy, scones, and bacon that includes bugs for Yasha and a salad for Caleb. As they feast on this magical, sugary breakfast, Beau brings up Traveler Con, wanting to know how Jester is feeling – which is lost, mainly. She is still going to have the gathering, but she’s conflicted by the Traveler and his desires. She just wants to go back to the way it was, when it was just her and him. Teary-eyed, Jester confesses that the Traveler did know about the memory loss on the island, but that he promised he would have saved her and the Nein.

Veth encourages her to call him out and that Traveler Con should be about her and the Traveler, not anyone else. They know that trying to make the Traveler happy is hard on her and is putting her at risk. Beau offers to kill him, but while Jester appreciates the verve, she does not want that. The consensus is that no one wants to see Jester be used. They point out that she is just as powerful as he is now but she claims that all her power comes from him. However, Fjord tells her that her ability to care about people makes her more than the Traveler could ever be. Jester appreciates their support and the knowledge that her friends are there for her no matter what.

Tying themselves together at the wrist, the Nein fall asleep under Caleb’s dome. Yasha dreams of being surrounded by darkness. In the distance, a single white feather drifts and falls to a watery surface. As she steps toward the feather, she can hear crashes of lightning and thunder that increase with each step she takes. She can feel old fear welling within her, shackling her as she approaches the feather. Despite this fear, and despite the lull of the safety behind her, she hears a voice in the storm, telling her to overcome. She grabs the feather as a bolt of lightning streaks down at her. She accepts the bolt, telling the sky that she wants to be free of her fear.

As it hits her, her body vibrates with power, a power that she embraces. She looks down at the abyss below her and sees it alight with blue glow, broken chain length spread endlessly beneath the water. Holding the feather, she looks up and sees a hole in the clouds, the voice telling her to show that she can be reborn. Yasha bamfs out her wings, skeletal with their tufts of growing feathers. She watches as feathers emerge, blooming and filling out her angelic wings as energy crackles and sparks.

She looks up to the sky, but she hears a female voice from below, among the chains. She cannot understand the words but the voice is Zuala’s. She crouches down and sees that she could swim below the depths. Yasha tells the voice, tells Zuala, that she has to go and leaps into the sky. As she flies towards that open space in the clouds, she hears Zuala telling her that she is proud of her and to not let her be a shackle. Yasha breaks through the clouds and into a starry sky, seeing Exandria spread out below her, feeling completely free.

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE-CUSP

Upon awakening, it is Caleb alone who has lost his memory, but his high intelligence makes him aware that something is amiss. Jester, losing the three-way Boulder, Parchment, Shears, casts greater restoration on him to restore his mind and a momentarily cheerful Caleb returns to his more dour disposition. Jester reaches out to Dieter, explaining that yes, they didn’t get off on the right foot, but they like this other guy way less and that he “should come fuck him.” Despite meaning that Dieter should come fuck him over, the dragon turtle takes it as a sexual meaning and he again defers against desiring a mate. Jester tries to explain, but Dieter refuses.

Forced to accept their loss of this potential ally, the Nein discuss a new tactic. They decide to destroy some boats themselves, blowing up The Fiona with Veth’s depth charge. The boat explodes and the volcano rumbles violently in retaliation, continuing unabated. Vilya checks outside and confirms that the volcano is erupting. Caleb starts burning another ship, in hopes of luring Vokodo out, but the volcano continues to erupt. The Nein realize that it’s time to just go to the lair themselves and confront Vokodo head on.

Swimming ahead, Fjord and Beau are guided by the magical pull and lead the party through the winding tunnels. Upon arrival, Jester and Caduceus cast freedom of movement on Beau and Yasha. They enter the cavern, where an enraged Vokodo lowers from the ceiling. The battle is intense as the water boils around them, with Beau punching lava and Yasha hypnotized by his psychic powers as Veth and Fjord spook him with illusions of portals and dreadnoughts. Spells that Vokodo beats ricochet and strike various party members, resulting in both Beau and Caduceus momentarily banished to the Astral Sea.

But Jester’s second banishment succeeds, sending Vokodo to his home plane in the Astral Sea. She has to concentrate on it for an entire minute to lock him there, so they take round after round of fire damage while she tries to keep the creature at bay. They realize that locking Vokodo in the Astral Sea will cause them to lose out on the treasure horde upon his back. So, the Nein decide to bring him back and attempt to kill him, knowing he was looking rough. When Vokodo returns, he is completely terrified from the Astral Sea. During the surprise round, Caleb casts disintegrate, and as the spell goes off, fear of it ricocheting onto a party member permeates. But the spell hits true and destroys Vokodo from within.

As he dies, psychic energy bursts out in waves and the Nein see visions of the Astral Sea, of a city moving under its own power, hungry and hunting and chasing Vokodo. They have a vision of the city itself, seeing paved roads and buildings that flicker and pulse, alive in some way. Thousands of minds within are the city and the Nein are unable to make sense of it all as the visions flash – the phrase ‘eyes of nine’, Vokodo fleeing and breaking through the planes. The vision slowly subsides and the Nein return to themselves, their eyes and ears bleeding as the water continues to boil around them.

That is it for Episode 105 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Holy shit y’all! What the fuck is that living city???
• Eyes of nine? Who did we know with nine mysterious eye tattoos…
• Vokodo is dead! But is the volcano still erupting? Is the village okay? Are the villagers okay? Who are the villagers now??
• Jester and the Traveler need another conversation but the Nein need to be there as mediators, like an intervention for asshole gods.
• Oh Mighty Nein.

Anyway, catch Episode 106 on Thursday, August 13th at 7pm Pacific on twitch.tv/criticalrole or a week later on our podcast! Is it Thursday, yet?