Critical Role | Campaign 3 Episode 1 “The Draw of Destiny” Review
Better late than never for a Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 1 review!
Critical Role hit it out of the park with Campaign 1’s premiere episode! Coming from a series I did not enjoy, Exandria Unlimited (where I reviewed each episode and the series), it was important to have a strong start to Campaign 3 and I loved Episode 1.
Matt Mercer starts Episode 1 by clearing out the table except for Laura Bailey and Marisha Ray; we join their two characters Imogen & Laudna, riding a cable car between spires in the city of Jrusar.
The two young women sorcerers are on a quest to gain access to one of the two great libraries in Jrusar, for research purposes, but have been denied entry to both.
Moving over to the Fownsee Hollow neighborhood inside the slums of the Core Spire, Ashton Greymoore (Taliesin Jaffe), a punk-rock Air Genasi Barbarian, opens his eyes and calls out to “Letters”, his robot companion. “Letters”, a nickname for F.C.G. or Fresh Cut Grass (you heard me), is a little automaton cleric played by, who else? Sam Riegel.
Ashton met Fresh Cut Grass when he/they was hired to check on a mining party that hadn’t come back. Fresh Cut Grass was the lone survivor.
The next group introduced in Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 1, came as a bit of a surprise; Exandria Unlimited veterans:
Orym, Fearne Calloway, and Dorian Storm.
On a quest from Keyleth, Orym is sent to Marquet along with Fearne, and Dorian.
I was not a fan of Exandria Unlimited, to say the least. With this reveal, I was shocked, disappointed, and confused all at once.
Shocked because Robbie Daymond was announced to sit at the table.
Disappointed because I wanted to see new characters from Ashley and Liam.
Confused because where is Travis!?
Very shortly after the ExU group’s arrival to Jrusar, the paths of all parties cross together with our first encounter of Campaign 1; a bunch of animated objects in the middle of the street!
The encounter was a bit of a bland battle, except for the introduction of our final character, Critical Role One-Shot veteran, Sir Bertrand Bell (Travis Willingham).
Bertrand is an old adventurer in his late 70's/early 80’s and is basically a senile, old man. He is comic relief and also somewhat of a player NPC, as he gets the group together for some potential work when he introduces the groups to Lord Eshteross at the end of Episode 1.
If you’re looking for a closer look at the Characters of Critical Role Campaign 3, check out my Meet The Characters post or the video below!
I re-watched the episode for this review and I must say, it was fantastic; a perfect opening to Campaign 3!
Campaign 3 Episode 1 Positives:
Relationships:
The relationships between the characters of Episode 1 really stood out to me.
- Imogen & Laudna — I love the dynamic between these two magic users. Whether they’re BFFs or lovers, they play so well off each other; With Imogen being the more reserved bookworm compared to her happy, goth, older sister. I’m really excited to find out more about their background and their research intentions.
- Ashton & Fresh Cut Grass — The relationship between Ashton and F.C.G. is an interesting one, as well. Ashton is teaching Fresh Cut Grass about the world, while Fresh Cut Grass looks out for Ashton (as is his nature as a Heal-bot).
Comedy
Episode 1 was full of laughs.
- Laudna — Laudna with her goth, Jack Sparrow vibes, literally scaring NPCs had me cracking up. She actually seems pretty kind-hearted, but she looks like an eldritch nightmare. What a hilarious combination!
- Bertrand Bell — Need I say more? I didn’t watch Campaign 1 or the one-shots Bertrand is involved in, but Travis roleplays a senile old man in the most hilarious fashion.
- Fresh Cut Grass — For a split second, hearing Sam say “robit” had me down; a robot in a fantasy setting? Alright. Once Fresh Cut Grass brought us the joy of his first “Smiley day to ya.” I stopped caring about whatever it is. Let’s be honest, this heal-bot is 100% going to have a murder-bot reveal during the campaign. Right?
- Fearne — Ashley Johnson seems to have worked on Fearne a bit since Exandria Unlimited because she is a complete wildcard! Fearne plays right to her faun, chaotic nature and had me crying almost every time she spoke.
Campaign 3 Episode 1 Negatives:
There were a few aspects I was down on in this premiere episode. Nothing major, but still worth noting:
- Orym — I really did not enjoy Orym at all in Exandria Unlimited. I don’t like his whisper-voice and he just seems a bit boring. Matt mentioned on Twitter that Liam and Ashley used ExU as a test-run for their Campaign 3 Characters, so I’m giving Orym the benefit of the doubt. I will give Liam and Orym a chance, he did crack a couple of jokes in Episode 1, so hopefully, the rest of the group is rubbing off on him. He’ll most likely be the much-needed “Dad” in this crazy party.
- The Fight — A fight with animated household items is just sort of boring. I’m sure we’ll find out the origins in a future episode, but I thought it was just sort of “meh” for a big premiere.
I really enjoyed Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 1. We were introduced to a wild cast of characters, had a lot of surprises, and ended on a great cliffhanger.
If you’re interested in a Recap, Reaction, and Review of Episode 1 that took place immediately after the episode ended (2 AM EST), check out my weekly C3R3 Series, where I will be; Recapping, Reacting, and Reviewing each episode of Campaign 3!
Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 1 | The Draw of Destiny gets a 5/5.
While not without flaws, Episode 1 was a blast, full of surprises, and laughs. I thoroughly enjoyed my two watches of this premiere.
Let me know your thoughts on Episode 1 of the new campaign from Critical Role. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly Critical Role videos!
If you haven’t seen the episode yet, why are you reading this review!? Episode 1 is below if you need to watch!
Originally published at https://currentkick.com on October 28, 2021.
