Critical Recap: Critical Role C3E28 “The Deathwish Run”

Hello! Welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Dani Carr, the Critical Role Lore Keeper. Let’s dive into our recap of Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 28 The Deathwish Run!

READY, SET…

Excitement fills the air, a crowd gathering beneath the Bone Tree in the Skids as everyone prepares for the Deathwish Run. Four skirmish crawlers are lined up to race against one another and Bells Hells’ two crawlers. Ashton is the driver for the purchased crawler, with Imogen as his passenger – this crawler is named ‘The Red Moon’. Chetney is the driver for the loaner crawler, with Laudna as his passenger – this crawler is named ‘The Buck Fucket’. After some deliberation, FCG is attached to the Buck Fucket as the front wheel via the tanglefoot bag and Chetney’s tinkering.

Dusk and Orym set up at a hairpin turn in the ravines with the intention of commandeering a crawler and joining mid-race. Fearne turns into a flying squirrel and attempts to stealth aboard the crawler owned by Paragon’s Call, but she is swiftly caught and her true form revealed. Fearne sits on the sidelines to cause mischief from the audience. Imogen spots Otohan Thull and General Ratanish observing from a watchtower and recognizes Otohan as the woman from her dream.

GO!

As the sun sets, the race begins! The Red Moon and the Buck Fucket take off alongside the four other crawlers, racing through the Skids. Everyone is attacking everyone as the race quickly descends into violent Mario Kart, with FCG casting spirit guardians as a protective ring of turtle shells and Laudna using infestation to vomit bees onto a driver. Imogen takes one crawler out of the race with some well-placed lightning. The Buck Fucket gets waylaid by a wire net, which Chetney tears apart by turning into an invisible werewolf.

They enter the ravine portion and Imogen casts blindness on the driver of a second crawler, sending them careening off the edge. Orym and Dusk manage to leap into a third crawler, seizing control and booting out its driver and passenger. It’s down to just the Paragon’s Call crawler, the Red Moon, the Buck Fucket, and the stolen crawler as they move into the caves. Orym kills the Paragon’s Call driver with the Chromatic Rose and Ashton changes the density around themself to turn into a gravity boulder, slamming into the Paragon’s Call crawler and destroying it.

CREATURE FEATURE

Though all three remaining crawlers are driven by Bells Hells, the race isn’t over. A subterranean creature known as a kagaronk appears in the darkness of the cave, attacking the crawlers. Laudna takes the wheel of the Buck Fucket so that wolf!Chetney can do damage. The kagaronk does a good deal of damage to the party, but they manage to wound it and leave it behind, tripped by Orym and stunned by Dusk.

They avoid a boulder ambush and enter the climb up the cliff, where a strange dust storm picks up. The kagaronk appears again, having climbed up the cliffside to cut them off. The creature knocks Laudna unconscious, but the group takes it down with Ashton delivering the final blow. Dusk leaps from her crawler to the Buck Fucket, healing Laudna with lay on hands.

At the finish line, Fearne notices people setting out wooden platforms, which turn into a bladed barricade of spears that leaves only a ten-foot gap for the crawlers. She uses her Stonkey’s Ring to move one of the barricades, widening the gap another five feet. She tries to set up the portable hole, but accidentally falls into it. The stolen crawler and the Buck Fucket manage to squeeze through the gap, finishing the race, but the Red Moon collides with the barricade.

IMPENETRABLE

Ashton and Imogen are okay, though the Red Moon is a bit smashed. That’s nothing compared to FCG, whose wheel was nearly destroyed from the race. Ashton gets Fearne out of the portable hole, though not before falling in as well. Otohan and General Ratanish arrive, voicing their pleasure at Bells Hells’ performance. Otohan declares this the beginning of a relationship and gives them quarters in the barracks, informing them that training will begin in a few days.

Bells Hells head to Imahara Joe’s with the crawlers and poor FCG. Joe keeps FCG overnight for repairs and Ashton stays to keep an eye on things. The rest of the group return to the caravanserai, with Imogen telling Laudna that Otohan is the dream woman. Laudna apologizes to Dusk for her earlier awkwardness and explains that she is not ready for an emotional leap like a relationship. Imogen watches the two and tries to detect Dusk’s thoughts but finds nothing, as though her attempt slips off.

Later that night, Chetney quietly offers to help Dusk hunt the Calloways. He assumes that their story is a lie and that Dusk is actually a bounty hunter. Dusk denies this, stating that she is not trying to kill Fearne’s parents. Dusk tells Fearne about Chetney’s offer, but Fearne thinks he was just joking. Fearne and Dusk are both nervous about seeing the Calloways tomorrow but will get through it together. They’re practically siblings, according to Fearne. Orym quietly watched all these conversations, reading lips. As Dusk sleeps, Imogen again tries to read their thoughts, but Dusk’s mind is completely protected.

THE REVEAL

In the morning, Bells Hells meet at Imahara Joe’s. As they approach, they see a skirmisher crawler pull up, driven by an auburn-haired faun wearing a dusty leather jacket – Birdie Calloway, Fearne’s mother. Birdie enters Joe’s and requests as many of her usual items as he can spare, as they’re getting close to finishing their project. Fearne and Dusk enter the shop. Birdie sees Fearne and immediately embraces her in a beautiful mother-daughter reunion. Birdie can’t believe how much Fearne has grown in the last six years.

Fearne points out Dusk, but Birdie doesn’t recognize them. Fearne tries to explain that it’s been longer than six years, but Birdie is sure that she doesn’t recognize Dusk. As Birdie goes on the defensive, the tattoo on Dusk’s arm comes to life, splintering over their body in geometric shapes and revealing their true changeling self. She reaches out and grabs both mother and daughter as Birdie tells Fearne that she “led them right to us.”

That is it for Episode 28 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Holy shit y’all, that was quite the reveal! Props to Erika Ishii for pulling off that switch!
• Chetney totally called Dusk’s gambit! Travis said it clicked for him over the weekend. Well-deduced!
• The race was absolutely incredible and such a fun game scenario. I’m amazed that Bells Hells got first, second, and third place!
• Six years?! Six years for Birdie?! That’s a very different number than ninety!

Anyway, catch Episode 28 on Thursday, August 4th at 7pm Pacific on twitch.tv/criticalrole and on youtube.com/criticalrole or a week later on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?