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It’s a new year and I’m not just utterly hooked on Critical Role. I’ve fallen in love with the Mighty Nein animation, enjoying how it explored a dysfuctional relationship I was, perhaps, a minority in being fascinated by in Campaign 2.
Matt Mercer and Liam O’Brien have fantastic chemistry, bringing layers of depth to their roleplaying together. I saw this in action when vampire lord Silas Briarwood stalked and bit Vax in Campaign 1. I saw it whenever Vax and Gilmore interacted, or that powerful moment Hjortis tried to take revenge upon Vax. I saw it in the development of Caleb and Essek’s bond in Campaign 2, a bond I’m hoping we’ll see more of in the Mighty Nein animated series. (Was that there first meeting in a single, shared glance in Episode 8 The Zadash Job? Whoo hoo!)
I noticed this chemistry again, taking a terrifyingly intense turn of master and student turned enemies as Trent Ikithon and Bren faced each other at a dinner party. Listening to their conversation, I wondered at how much of Bren’s pain was carefully planned by his master. Trent reminded me of the Smoking Man on The X-Files, weaving an elaborate web of agony and manipulation, which Bren, like a hapless Fox Mulder, can never escape, grasping strands, only to have them slip out of his hands.
Only was Trent Ikithon’s truly so inescapable? His favorite student may have been crushed by his master’s schemes, yet he rose from the rubble of his former self, remaking himself into a formidable foe.
This was something the Cereberus Assembly master manipulator never failed to take credit for. Pain was a learning tool for Trent Ikithon, and Bren was his masterpiece. Trent’s proudest moment as a master and a mentor would have been his death at Bren’s hands, right before his favorite student took his place on Cereberus Assembly. If Bren failed in his teacher’s expectations, Trent would destroy Bren himself, using the pain such an act would cause to better himself.
All of this was the impression I got of master and student watching Campaign 2 and the one shot in London. Now that Mighty Nein is an animated series, new elements of that relationship are coming to the light.
Mark Strong is doing a marvelous job of bringing Trent Ikithon to life via his voice; even as he allows his villainy to hang out in a classroom, slicing living creatures open to show a response to pain. (I thought of how Caleb in Campaign 2 once said there were wizards who’d cut him open if they caught him. I can see where Bren would have gotten this idea!) Curiously enough, Trent shows a measure of dignity and courage undergoing torture him, revealing he’s quite a gambler with his monarch’s regard and the Beacon itself.
Viewers see Trent’s strength and callousness, yet he reveals a tender, nurturing quality Liam O’Brien commented upon for Bren; his little spark he coaxed into becoming a bonfire. True to Trent, there is a creepiness to all of this; taking the nickname Bren’s mother gave her son and applying it himself. I got the chills, when Trent sat down with Bren and his family, thinking of the London show. I’m guessing that was another deliberate reference. Frumpkin was not amused. No wonder he scratched Trent Ikithon. Trent being Trent, decided the cat was a threat to the Empire, putting Frumpkin on a list of spies and traitors with Bren’s parents as collaborators for Bren to deal with. Ahem. Such a dark and disturbing scene as the death of Bren’s family makes desperate jokes bubble to the surface.
Viewers haven’t seen the rest of what Caleb Widogast revealed about his past, what happened to put him on the streets. Hopefully, we will see it, along with Molly’s kiss for Caleb. Ahem, back to the topic of mentor and student.
What’s different from Campaign 2 is that Trent Ikithon seems to want Bren back. Trent asked Bren to come back, to help him study the Beacon. There was a moment when Caleb lowered his hand, seemed to consider his former master’s offer, where Nott feared Caleb had turned traitor.
I found this moment fascinating; the complexity of not only Trent’s feelings for his favorite student, but Caleb’s for the powerful mage who believed he was special. It might be enough to prompt a moment of treachery, even if it was just a moment.
Speaking of treachery, Trent Ikithon now has Essek. after Essek fought with Dynasty soldiers to take back the Beacon. This might well be the end of Essek, although I hope it’s not. Master Ikithon may have a use for this Kryn dunamancer of dubious loyalties. It may be to retrieve the Beacon, but I wonder if it might not be to retrieve Bren as well? At the very least, Essek may have been commanded to spy upon Trent’s former favorite, learn as much about Bren and his new allies as possible.
This could lead to a very interesting development of Essek getting to know all of the Mighty Nein, particularly Caleb.
Whatever happens next, I’m eager to see it.
Matt Mercer and Liam O’Brien have fantastic chemistry, bringing layers of depth to their roleplaying together. I saw this in action when vampire lord Silas Briarwood stalked and bit Vax in Campaign 1. I saw it whenever Vax and Gilmore interacted, or that powerful moment Hjortis tried to take revenge upon Vax. I saw it in the development of Caleb and Essek’s bond in Campaign 2, a bond I’m hoping we’ll see more of in the Mighty Nein animated series. (Was that there first meeting in a single, shared glance in Episode 8 The Zadash Job? Whoo hoo!)
I noticed this chemistry again, taking a terrifyingly intense turn of master and student turned enemies as Trent Ikithon and Bren faced each other at a dinner party. Listening to their conversation, I wondered at how much of Bren’s pain was carefully planned by his master. Trent reminded me of the Smoking Man on The X-Files, weaving an elaborate web of agony and manipulation, which Bren, like a hapless Fox Mulder, can never escape, grasping strands, only to have them slip out of his hands.
Only was Trent Ikithon’s truly so inescapable? His favorite student may have been crushed by his master’s schemes, yet he rose from the rubble of his former self, remaking himself into a formidable foe.
This was something the Cereberus Assembly master manipulator never failed to take credit for. Pain was a learning tool for Trent Ikithon, and Bren was his masterpiece. Trent’s proudest moment as a master and a mentor would have been his death at Bren’s hands, right before his favorite student took his place on Cereberus Assembly. If Bren failed in his teacher’s expectations, Trent would destroy Bren himself, using the pain such an act would cause to better himself.
All of this was the impression I got of master and student watching Campaign 2 and the one shot in London. Now that Mighty Nein is an animated series, new elements of that relationship are coming to the light.
Mark Strong is doing a marvelous job of bringing Trent Ikithon to life via his voice; even as he allows his villainy to hang out in a classroom, slicing living creatures open to show a response to pain. (I thought of how Caleb in Campaign 2 once said there were wizards who’d cut him open if they caught him. I can see where Bren would have gotten this idea!) Curiously enough, Trent shows a measure of dignity and courage undergoing torture him, revealing he’s quite a gambler with his monarch’s regard and the Beacon itself.
Viewers see Trent’s strength and callousness, yet he reveals a tender, nurturing quality Liam O’Brien commented upon for Bren; his little spark he coaxed into becoming a bonfire. True to Trent, there is a creepiness to all of this; taking the nickname Bren’s mother gave her son and applying it himself. I got the chills, when Trent sat down with Bren and his family, thinking of the London show. I’m guessing that was another deliberate reference. Frumpkin was not amused. No wonder he scratched Trent Ikithon. Trent being Trent, decided the cat was a threat to the Empire, putting Frumpkin on a list of spies and traitors with Bren’s parents as collaborators for Bren to deal with. Ahem. Such a dark and disturbing scene as the death of Bren’s family makes desperate jokes bubble to the surface.
Viewers haven’t seen the rest of what Caleb Widogast revealed about his past, what happened to put him on the streets. Hopefully, we will see it, along with Molly’s kiss for Caleb. Ahem, back to the topic of mentor and student.
What’s different from Campaign 2 is that Trent Ikithon seems to want Bren back. Trent asked Bren to come back, to help him study the Beacon. There was a moment when Caleb lowered his hand, seemed to consider his former master’s offer, where Nott feared Caleb had turned traitor.
I found this moment fascinating; the complexity of not only Trent’s feelings for his favorite student, but Caleb’s for the powerful mage who believed he was special. It might be enough to prompt a moment of treachery, even if it was just a moment.
Speaking of treachery, Trent Ikithon now has Essek. after Essek fought with Dynasty soldiers to take back the Beacon. This might well be the end of Essek, although I hope it’s not. Master Ikithon may have a use for this Kryn dunamancer of dubious loyalties. It may be to retrieve the Beacon, but I wonder if it might not be to retrieve Bren as well? At the very least, Essek may have been commanded to spy upon Trent’s former favorite, learn as much about Bren and his new allies as possible.
This could lead to a very interesting development of Essek getting to know all of the Mighty Nein, particularly Caleb.
Whatever happens next, I’m eager to see it.
