The Wisdom of Caduceus Clay
Caduceus Clay is a firbolg character in Critical Role campaign two and is one of the wisest characters I have seen in a while.
He is known for offering some simple advice in times of stress, to hero and villain, and its two of these pieces of advice I would like to analyse.
MAJOUR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 2
Ok, I know why you are reading this, and I know which speech you are thinking of. I will get there, don't worry, but first:
"Have you ever planted a tree before? Or a plant? Have you ever planted anything? Put anything in the ground?"
At face value, this is a speech about a garden. Caduceus is talking about green beans. But the metaphor here is, in my opinion, really cool.
"It doesn't know its purpose, but its moving to green beans."
Caduceus is talking about fate, and his interpretation of it is quite interesting. Fate exists, but it's pointless to chase it or run from it because you can never understand what it is. If someone tells you that you are fated to do something, maybe they're right, maybe not. You'll find out. Your fate is whatever you happen to do, in the end.
"The tree doesn’t know what it’s going to fruit."
Taliesin Jaffe (who played Caduceus) has since said that, when you think about it, Caduceus is calling out the story. This is a speech about playing D&D. You don't know how it's going to turn out, but life happens. Sometimes a story doesn't continue, sometimes it fails, but it was planted for a purpose, you only find that out later.
"And you, what are you?"
"Vegetarian, so I hope the meal reflects that."
So, Dinner with the Devil.
This speech is iconic. If you have made it this far in Critical Role, you have the final line burned into your brain. Here is Trent Ikithon, the villain of this story, being defeated not with a great flash of violence, but quietly and elegantly.
"Pain doesn't make people, it's love that makes people. The pain is inconsequential. It's love that saves them."
This here, is the thesis of the entire campaign. Forget the insults that sandwich it, this is incredible.
This is why Trent takes issue with the Nien on a personal level. These people represent the opposite of what he stands for. They are his antithesis.
This is even backed up by the plot of the entire story. The Nein are more focused on getting Mollymawk back than defeating Trent, he has become something they moved past. In the end, their story is defined by love, not trauma.
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