Critical Recap: Critical Role C4E28 “Chasing Shadows”

HelloOOoo and welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Jared Deiro, the Critical Role Junior Lore Keeper!! Let’s skip, hop and dip into Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 28 Chasing Shadows!

GOODBYE GUS

We open in the opulent courtyard of Bowsprit Manor, owned by the Timmonish wool merchant, Harving Bowsprit. As Gus gathers his returning group, he tells the party they can rely on Harving as an ally. As he bids Murray adieu, King Gus offers her a job among his court – interested as she may be, she can’t abandon her Penteveral students right now. She offers Demodus Blix as a close alternative, though.

Gus tells Thimble that wherever she may plant the seed, the Miller’s Road will make the weeklong trip to Timmon’s Rock only a day or two. They’ll be hearing from Gus, and the wagons head off.

WE KNOW THE PATH

Back at the Hallowed Round, Hal breaks the bad news to the theater troupe, explaining that the Candescent Creed will send representatives to ensure edits have been made to KoTher’ai. He asks that they absorb the pages for the fake run. Then, on opening night, they will run the show as originally intended.

Shadia stands and shouts, “Fuck the Candescent Creed! We know the path we walk!” She rushes toward the entrance and places a faerie door – the company breaks into applause.

LOST

As the sun sets, Thaisha, Thimble, Vaelus, and Occtis approach the gravesite of Thjazi Fang. Vaelus reaches out to his spirit with the Stone of Nightsong, but feels nothing, just vacant mist. Something is wrong. Thaisha sends roots down to touch Thjazi’s body, feeling a deep scar on his stomach.

Suddenly, a gargantuan skeletal arm reaches across the skies and the white translucent face of Nullus Tachonis, Occtis’ dead grandfather. Occtis hears him utter “Bring him to me,” as over a dozen dripping skeletal arms reach from the sky. The group stands ready to defend Thaisha, but Thaisha encloses them in a barrier of vines and roots. Nullus howls in anger as the skeletal hands retreat and the Speak with Dead spell ends.

Returning to the physical realm, Thaisha tells the group that Thjazi’s soul is nowhere to be found.

FINAL ACT OF BRAVERY

Azune and Murray approach Bolaire’s apartment just as Demodus finishes writing three copies of his statement, just like they asked! Azune tells Demodus they need him to give a witness testimony at the Einfasen House tomorrow morning. Murray then tells him that after the meeting he’ll get into a carriage to Timmony to be King Augustus’ council mage.

Azune looks through the statement and keys in on a line from Lieutenant Junaeus, saying, “The Falcon has been delivered to Obrimus Manor.”

CYD’S STORY

Bolaire, Julien, Tyranny, Wick, and Teor leave Knife and Palette Pigments to arrive back at the Archanade, where Hero D’vyen holds the anti-petrification serum to help bring Cyd back. As the party readies itself, Teor pours the serum on the back of Cyd’s mane.

Talcydimir roars as he returns to his body, and the Pridesire brothers embrace. After Cyd gets a hold of his surroundings, he tells everyone about his journey with the Tachonis.

The knights carried Cyd all across Timmony. He remembers being bound and gagged on a tavern floor. At the same time, he overheard Lady Univere and Doset Tachonis talk about the Sea of Lachris and the “Hall of Mercy”, a place for devout beasts to plead their case to enter a Shaper’s afterlife. The Tachonis were looking for more statues like Cyd to reach the Hall of Mercy and raise banners.

When Cyd arrived at Tybry’s Lea, the Tachonis met with another wagon, where they dumped a medium-sized stone sarcophagus on the side of the road, disappointed that it wasn’t old enough.

Later that night, the Tachonis raised goblets before entering the city and cheered to “The end of the Path,” mentioning a place called Arx Nocturnis, which may be somewhere else by the Sea of Lachris – they repeated that they needed many more like Cyd.

The Knight of Seremai (Aniko) was disappointed because they were waiting for reinforcements, but something had gone wrong: “a battle at an Orchard.” They were expecting many more soldiers to come, including Koral Tachonis and a “bound celestial,” but none had arrived.

THE PLAN

At around midnight, the rest of the party reconvene and share their extremely long day and set up a plan with three teams spread throughout the city tomorrow night:

Team Bird Watching, consisting of Thimble, Occtis, Julien, Cyd, and Thaisha, will head to Obrimus Manor, where a fellow Cloak member of Thjazi’s, Mara the Wing (the wildshaped falcon), needs rescuing.

Team Theatre, consisting of Hal, Murray, Azune, Kattigan, Vaelus, Teor, and Hannen, will be at the Hallowed Round, where they believe something major will happen. The problem is “what?”

Team Spy, consisting of Wick, Tyranny, and Bolaire, will waltz straight into the Villa Aurora to be eyes and ears at the meeting of the Sundered Houses.

WICKY

Wick and Tyranny approach the Villa Aurora with Bolaire in a bag; the two figure out their cover story before entering as Tyranny scratches and bites Wick’s face to make his escape from Teor look real.

As they enter the grounds of the Halovar Home, Filoneus explodes with surprise, telling the others to alert everyone that Wicander Halovar has returned home!

Wick settles in his chambers when Yanessa enters. Wick weeps, feigning shame as he tells her he has dimmed and betrayed her; he thought that she was EVIL and that everything they taught was WRONG. He thought the Creed was a lie, and he left. He tells her that he hated her at that moment.

But after finding the lion man and traveling with him, the fairy, and the drunk man with the wolf, Wick realizes that everything he went through was a test. Wick was in his “Shadow” phase, his lowest moment. It was the call in the town square that she had been resurrected that he deemed a sign to return home. The Light called him back.

…and the Photarch believes him.

CRUSHED

Murray, Azune, Groto, and Demodus stand before Lord Otto Einfasen and his entourage to review the case.

Lord Otto acknowledges that everything he has learned over the past week, as well as Demodus’s statement, corroborates. Einfasen asks whether Azune has any additional evidence. Azune produces the Tachonis candle and the torn letter from Petra and Ryah.

After being dismissed, Murray and Demodus step outside. Murray tells Demodus that he fucking CRUSHED it and she is SO proud. She writes ‘Diploma’ on a piece of paper, adds his name, and ties a red ribbon around it. The two give each other a goodbye hug, and then Murray sends Demodus off to Timmon’s Rock.

Inside, Otto recognizes the honor, integrity, and nobility that Azune carries. Azune tells Einfasen that his aim is only to serve HIS house. Otto commends his vision, promotes the Lieutenant to Captain, and gives him a stone-headed, leather-wrapped hammer – a weapon befitting his new role.

PREP

At the Hallowed Round, Lady Iris Halovar (Wick’s Mother) is deeply moved by the performance of the candescent play; she gives her approval and leaves the Hallowed Round troupe as they tear it all down and go back to the original!

Julien and Teor agree to set aside their Falconer’s Rebellion wartime beef, as Julien hands Teor the Einfasen great-axe he received from Ingrid.

In Tintazi Wood, Thimble gathers support from the other fair folk, while Vaelus, Hannen, Kattigan, and Wulferic scout a bit. Vaelus is glad that Hannen is here with them; she shows him the sprig of holly she found in Tannesar and enlightens him on who she really is.

Hannen thinks it’s weird ever to have prayed to a god in the first place, feeling that Sylandri hated her children. Otherwise, why would she have taken their ability to grow? Though it feels awful for Vaelus to hear, she thinks Hannen may be right.

Hannen tells Vaelus, “We may share this world for another thousand years. Let’s get that journey started sooner rather than later.” Kattigan approaches the elves, understanding that family is complicated. Vaelus tells Kattigan that he wouldn’t know; she hands Hannen the Stone of Nightsong, and they step away and ready themselves for the ritual.

That is it for Episode 28 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• DANG, what an episode, so many moving parts, so many teams. This is like a Mission Impossible movie.
• I have to watch these episodes twice, and lemme tell you, I definitely cried both times Demodus had to leave.
• I cannot WAIT to see this next episode – we’ve waited so long for Opening Night! LETS GOOoOo!! Curtains Up!

Catch Episode 29 of Critical Role Campaign 4 on Thursday, June 11th at 7pm Pacific on beacon.tv, where Beacon members get access to the entire episode, podcast included! The episode will also release on twitch.tv/criticalrole and on youtube.com/criticalrole and in two parts on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?