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your-turn-to-role · 4 years

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Top 5 favorite Vax moments?

i love you people, really i do

(and also my rogue boy)

(and also answering asks when i should be doing theatre homework but fuck it analysing critical role is way more interesting than analysing romeo and juliet in a language i don’t speak)

okay first off know picking just five is impossible and honestly if i were to list every scene i loved about vax we’d have like a hundred, but here’s what’s on my mind at the moment

5. “I have been here before, and I will be here again!”

i love the twins, i love their history, i love their dumb sibling fights, and i love that they have a bear they’ve grown up with that sometimes vex will set loose on her brother during said sibling fights

(but also said bear is not immune to vax)

(really the entire beach prank scene is fantastic, if you wanted to watch, part 1, part 2)

4. Defeating Thordak

first of all - what is with vax and climbing dragons. he has ranged attacks, he doesn’t have to, but like... brimscythe he killed with his usual “run up the dragon’s tail to the head and stab until they stop moving” thing. umbrasyl, he also did that (though didn’t get the killing blow). vorugal he could fly but spend most of the time hovering uncomfortably close to the dragon until he got knocked out of the sky. thordak, again, clung to his head, stabbed until the dragon stopped moving. raishan, hovered uncomfortably close to until he got knocked out of the sky.

but on a serious note about this scene, those super dramatic moments are always fun, and vax clinging to the head of the dragon that killed his mother, the entire reason he became specifically an oath of vengeance paladin, as thordak flies the two of them down into that dark hole and vex goes “vax, be careful!” over the earring, it’s just, real fuckin good

and then we have the actual scene itself and honestly it’s rare to find vax moments that are purely vax moments because he’s so defined by his relationships with other people? almost every moment i could think to list in this post specifically revolves around another person, people say he’s the brooding emo stereotype but like, he’s really not, because that archetype is so characterised by being a loner and vax’ildan “what the fuck do we have in this world except moments with each other” vessar is the complete opposite.

but this is one of those rare few. and like... thordak shaking vax off but vax catching up to him because he’s a hasted flying rogue and can move 240ft and still have two actions left, actually getting justice for his mother, whatever the fuck whisper did where it just turned into a sword for a bit, it was real good

(and then also vex catching up right after and this hug and vex’s quiet “you did it” and just aaahhhh i love)

3. Again, the beard prank

already linked this in the other ask for funniest moments, but like, this scene, it’s so short but so good, it makes me laugh as much now as it did the first time i watched it and i love him so much

2. Charmed by the Briarwoods, the second time

for two reasons here. well, maybe three. first, i just love this disaster bi and The Way He Is When He Gets Charmed, like... vex asks where he is, and his response is “uh..... i’m on top of a thing... i can see very far... everybody is very attractive up here” i adore him

but i also just love how liam played vax being charmed, and like... the very subtle shifting of loyalties? like, matt tells him he can respond, just he considers the briarwoods his closest allies, over vox machina, and he plays that very well, you can see even in everyone else’s reactions to the “where are you?”, like... vax knows they probably got out of there, the briarwoods expected them to die but vax has too much confidence in his friends for that, so he’s anticipating what would be the next best thing for the briarwoods, which is not having any loose members of vox machina wandering around

but at the same time he’s also just asking because there’s some part of his brain that registers he shouldn’t be alone, his friends should be with him, why aren’t they with him? (and like, you can see he gets really confused when vex attacks)

BUT THEN ALSO delilah asks him a direct question and he lies to her?? because telling the truth would put vex in danger?? like matt makes him roll a wis check to see if he’s even capable of it, he’s still charmed, and like, outwardly he doesn’t even really understand that vex and delilah are enemies right now, he’s just like “yes we’re all friends we should all be together”, but some part of him knows that if delilah knew vex was alive, vex would get hurt, and he’s physically incapable of betraying his twin

(and also, though it didn’t work out because of the raven queen deal, i did love the brief thing we got with vax wanting to follow sarenrae and the fact that he uses her to protect them there and just aaaaaaaaaaahhhh)

1. ....am I allowed to count the entirety of episode 57? fuck it, i’m doing it

seriously i can’t pick a favourite moment here. this episode has everything.

it’s his first visit to the raven queen, which is super interesting, it’s the first time that like... vax’s genuine long standing belief in fate is acknowledged, because he barely knew before this that the raven queen held dominion over fate as well as death, keyleth didn’t really know vax was a big believer in fate and got really worried that the raven queen was filling his head with lies, but like... he brought it up first. “this was always supposed to happen, wasn’t it?”

and it’s not the first time the raven queen’s talked to him (or even him to her) but it’s the first time after he really accepts it and, it’s an interesting scene to watch

(it also parallels really interestingly with the percy scene too but that’s a post for another time)

it’s got cute twin stuff after when vax is still pretty out of it from all that (and also him falling asleep on trinket which is also very cute)

even more cute twin stuff after dinner, when he wants to talk to her about percy and they’re both just ridiculous

it’s got further grog and vax pranks (grog spilling the oil very obviously outside his door, vax rolling a 31 to notice it and just looking at it for several seconds, and then picking up as much as he can hold and using it to write immature bullshit all over grog’s door)

laura: i walk by as he’s doing this and say-

vax: d’you wanna help?

vex: you know he can’t read, right?

vax: i picked specifically small words!

percy: preschoolers run amok in my gentle abode.

vax: get busy living or get busy dying

and then, you know, if you’re in an angst mood, you get what you think is a gilmore scene (and i do also love the fact that even though they’re not together and vax would never think of cheating on keyleth, he still takes a second in front of the mirror to make sure he looks good, which is something he has never done for anyone else ever), followed by, the most shocking and effective betrayal in this entire goddamn show!

(which is another real fun scene)

#xombigirl #ask #cr1 #vax'ildan #cr thoughts #text #meta

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the-desolated-quill · 5 years

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The Tsuranga Conundrum - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Ugh. I suppose it had to happen eventually. After four great episodes on the trot, it was only a matter of time before Chris Chibnall ran out of steam and returned to his usual output.

Okay. That’s not fair. The Tsuranga Conundrum isn’t that bad. It’s not like Cyberwoman or his Silurian two parter. In fact had this come out during one of Moffat’s series, I probably would have considered this episode a highlight. But Series 11 so far has been a true return to form for the show, with episodes like The Woman Who Fell To Earth and Rosa featuring some amazing moments of characterisation as well as intelligent and quite often powerful writing. Somehow Chibnall has managed to defy expectations and demonstrated just what you can do with a show like Doctor Who if you were to actually put the time and effort in. It’s for that reason why I feel like The Tsuranga Conundrum is such a spectacular dud.

It’s funny how i mentioned Moffat’s tenure as showrunner because this honestly feels like an episode from that era just as The Power Of Three felt like a throwback to RTD. All the episodes so far this series have had slow deliberate pacing, giving the audience time to truly get to know the characters and the setting. In fact the characters are clearly the main focus this series with the plot and monster (if there even is a monster at all) being secondary. This I feel is what has made this series so strong. It’s what made even a weak episode like Arachnids In The UK have an emotional kick to it. The Tsuranga Conundrum on the other hand feels like the complete opposite of this. Everyone is dashing about, spouting exposition, with the characters becoming almost an afterthought. Obviously if you’re into this kind of plot driven, fast paced Who, then more power to you. It just feels really out of place after the previous four episodes.

What also affected my enjoyment were the character inconsistencies and general stupidity. I have had nothing but praise so far for Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, but this... I don’t know what has happened, but this is not a good episode for the Doctor. For starters the episode opens with Team TARDIS on a junk planet and coming across a sonic mine, but instead of doing something sensible like running away, the Doctor just stands there like a twit waiting for the thing to detonate. Then when she regains consciousness four days later on the Tsuranga, she tries to hijack the ship so she can get back to the TARDIS. Yeah! Fuck the other patients! It’s not like their lives matter or anything! That has got to be one of the most unDoctorly things I’ve ever seen. I’m sorry, but the Doctor would never do something like that.

But wait! A UO breaches the shields and enters the ship. The Doctor’s doctor Astos, having just ordered her to return to her bed, demands she checks the much safer port side of the ship while he takes a look around the more dangerous starboard side. It was his tone and manner that really got to me. Can you imagine him saying that to a male Doctor? And do you know what the worst bit is? She actually does what he tells her to do. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. Again, there’s no way the Doctor would do something like that. I don’t care what gender they are. The Doctor in any of their incarnations wouldn’t have submitted to someone else. They would have taken charge. And yeah, she eventually does once Astos gets killed, but that scene still irked me. When I first heard the words ‘Chris Chibnall is going to be writing the first female Doctor,’ this was the kind of thing I was afraid we would get.

I’ve got nothing against Jodie Whittaker of course. She’s still giving it her absolute all, but there’s just very little for her to work with here. Another scene that really stood out as weird was the scene where she asked Yasmin to pick a number to set the bomb timer to. Why?! That just seems like such a callous and inappropriate thing to do in that situation. Matt Smith’s Doctor I could buy doing that. That’s just the kind of dickish and plonkerish thing he would do, but Whittaker’s? It just feels like an excuse to do weird, kooky shit. And here I was hoping we’d left that behind with Peter Capaldi and the dreaded sonic sunglasses. Not to mention all the moments where the story stops dead in its tracks so that the Doctor can witter on at length about hope and anti-matter. Again, Jodie Whittaker does her best, but there’s a time and a place. It’s hard to marvel at an anti-matter drive when there’s a fucking alien eating the spaceship.

Let’s quickly discuss the Pting. I liked it. It’s a good design and a different kind of threat for Doctor Who. I’m impressed this series how Chibnall so far has managed to stay away from the usual ‘alien invaders wanting to take over the world’ schtick, finding different kinds of threats and motives for each episode. The Pting isn’t evil. It’s just hungry and looking for something to eat. That’s so innocent for a Who antagonist that’s almost charming. Unfortunately it’s undermined by yet more stupidity. The Doctor is alarmingly slow to catch on to the fact that the Pting isn’t interested in killing the crew. It just wants to eat the ship. I would have thought the computer describing it as ‘strictly non-carnivorous’ and seeing it scoffing down her sonic screwdriver would have been a bit of a giveaway, but there you go. She acts like this is a big revelation, but we knew this from the start, didn’t we? If the audience are further along than the Doctor, something has gone spectacularly wrong. And then Chibnall drops the clunker that the Pting feeds on energy. Wait... huh?! If it feeds on energy, why was it eating metal earlier? And if the Pting ate all the energy in Astos’ life pod, how did it explode?

Characters are another issue. Because the episode is zipping along at a hundred miles an hour, there’s barely any time to really get to know anyone. Lois Chimimba’s medic character I thought had potential, having to take charge of the ship after Astos’ death and maybe taking inspiration from the Doctor and following her example, but she’s too busy dealing with a comedy male pregnancy (that I didn’t much care for by the way. I didn’t think it was particularly funny and it just felt like Chibnall came up with it at the last minute to give Graham and Ryan something to do). You’ve got this famous general and her engineer brother who aren’t particularly interesting. There’s the usual sibling rivalry you’ve seen done millions of times before the eventual reconciliation where the two spout ‘I love yous’ over slushy music (this is the closest composer Segun Akinola has gotten to Murray Gold territory and I very much hope we don’t come any closer). Then the general pops her clogs due to Plot Contrivance Syndrome and the engineer ends up saving the day piloting the ship... which begs the question why didn’t he just pilot the ship in the first place if he knew how to do it? Makes the general’s death seem a bit silly really.

Whereas previous episodes managed to tug at the heartstrings with subtle, but effective moments of characterisation, The Tsuranga Conundrum goes the RTD route of bashing you over the head with gaudy sentimentality and melodrama. Nothing can be left to chance. Everything has to be spelt out so that even the idiots at the back of the class can understand the emotions on display. The Doctor’s speech about hope. Ryan talking about how his mum died and how his dad was never there for him. Ryan then using that experience to tell Yoss how to be a dad. The android giving the final eulogy about stars guiding you through bollocks (I’m paraphrasing obviously, but that was the gist of it). It all just feels incredibly forced and not in the least bit affecting. The one moment I think sparked a genuine emotion out of me was Graham and Ryan laughing about how Grace would react if she saw them delivering a baby on a spaceship. That was a nice human moment that. I liked that.

It isn’t a bad episode. It’s certainly not the worst thing Chibnall has ever written. If I close my eyes and cover my ears during the stupid and annoying bits, I’d probably enjoy it. But compared to the previous four episodes, it’s hard not to see The Tsuranga Conundrum as a massive step backwards.

#the tsuranga conundrum #chris chibnall #doctor who #thirteenth doctor #jodie whittaker #graham o'brien #bradley walsh #yasmin khan #mandip gill #ryan sinclair #tosin cole #bbc #review #spoilers

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